Clearly, Ms Parker had known the love of God from her childhood as a \u2018cradle Christian\u2019 and had always had a strong sense of \u2018shared humanity\u2019. She described her experience working in India reporting on the lives of women and campaigning to get women\u2019s concerns incorporated in the political process. Subsequently she worked in Mother Teresa\u2019s community in Calcutta and prayed to develop the ability to look anyone in the eye and see Christ \u2013 whether they were Christian or Hindu, orphan, dying or destitute. She developed a belief in \u2018the principle of charity in a fragmented world.\u2019 \u201cLord, open our eyes that we may see you in our brothers and sisters,\u201d she learnt to pray with Mother Teresa. The work confirmed her in her Christian faith. Her first listed principle for mission was \u2018Be honest to your roots\u2019. <\/p>\n Her second principle for mission was to \u2018put global social justice at the forefront of mission\u2019. It\u2019s important to \u2018see what God values through the eyes of Christ and look at social justice without demonising the financial structures of the world\u2019 she said, quoting Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.<\/p>\n In her 20s, while working in Kenya raising funds for the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, Ms Parker experienced a spectacular intervention in her life. With a group on a snorkelling expedition on Christmas Eve, she was shipwrecked in shark-infested waters by a 30-foot wave. Hanging on to a plank for five hours during the night, the group, after several disappointments, finally reached the coral reef where they were rescued. \u201cMy life was saved by a Muslim,\u201d she said. Not surprisingly, her third principle for successful outreach was \u2018Humanity unites and divides us \u2013 we need to understand, admire and appreciate people of other faiths.\u2019<\/p>\n During her five years, as The Bishop of Oxford’s Advisor for Overseas Projects she was sent by the bishop to work at the edge of the Kalahari Desert, on developing an HIV\/Aids project. After initial misgivings, she learnt her fourth principle of outreach \u2013 \u2018Don\u2019t make assumptions.\u2019<\/p>\n Finally, Ms Parker described to her audience her response to the war in Iraq and images of prisoners in Basra. Feeling totally horrified, she approached the imam at the mosque near her church in Oxford. \u201cIf we walk to the mosque from the church, will you welcome us, can we come in?\u201d she asked. Thus was born the Interfaith Friendship Walk which now includes Jews, Sikhs and people of other religions. \u201cCommunities matter,\u201d said Charlotte, referring finally to the African principle of Ubuntu and quoting Bishop Desmond Tutu, \u2018My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours. We belong in a bundle of life.\u2019 She concluded, \u201cA person is a person through other persons.\u201d<\/p>\n Inevitably, the rich Q&A session included questions about the difference between inter-faith conversations and conversion targets and about \u2018the danger of ending up in \u2018wishy-washy religion\u2019 by doing prayers with Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs etc.\u2019 Charlotte maintained, \u201cI just became a richer Christian by others asking me questions about what I believe and letting them share with me their perspective on what I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n Another questioner asked whether it was possible to share faith without being oppressive or colonising. In Charlotte\u2019s experience, it had been in many places, she said, especially in India where she believed that there was a legacy of educational empowerment. When someone asked her, \u201cWhat do you think about Seventh-day Adventists?\u201d whom she had rarely met before that evening, she answered, \u201cI\u2019d like to get to know you better!\u201d [ted<\/em>NEWS]<\/p>\n The full lecture can be seen on the Newbold College of Higher Education Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Newbold](\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/sitenews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/images_news-2018_Newbold-diversity-April2018.jpg\")
<\/a>As a small child, Charlotte Bannister told everyone she wanted to be a missionary when she grew up. Now she is the Rev Charlotte Bannister-Parker, Director of Outreach for The University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford. So, it seemed particularly appropriate that she should give the last Diversity Lecture of the 17-18 academic year on \u2018Outreach and Christian Identity\u2019. From the outset, she made it clear that her Biblical principles of successful outreach were derived from her personal experience in a lifetime of working with development and outreach organisations.<\/p>\n<\/a>Ms Parker\u2019s life in Africa alerted her to the importance of young people in mission and outreach. She presented the startling statistic from the UN in 2015: by 2030 – 42% of global youth will have lived in Africa. Her fifth principle of outreach: \u2018Listen to the youth\u2019.<\/p>\n
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