Lambeth Awards for CMS people
Archbishop of Canterbury recognises unique contributions to church worldwide
Photo: Alex Baker / Lambeth Palace
Congratulations to some former CMS colleagues, who were recognised by the Archbishop of Canterbury in this year’s Lambeth Awards.
The Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion was awarded both to Paul Thaxter, former CMS international mission director, and to Pauline Walker, who worked with CMS and CMS-Africa for many years in South Sudan.
Paul was commended “for his outstanding contribution to sustaining and strengthening the bonds of love and unity across the Anglican Communion”.
“Paul Thaxter connects with contexts and cultures effortlessly,” the citation continued. “He has an insatiable interest in people and places, sharing the good news of Jesus with everyone he meets.”
Pauline received the award “for almost 44 years of missionary endeavour in Sudan and South Sudan through which she stimulated the development and training of a new generation of Christian leaders, many of whom are bishops today.” Having first worked in Sudan as a CMS mission partner in 1978, she later helped establish Scripture Union Sudan, was a CMS a regional manager and then joined the CMS-Africa team.
Also receiving the Cross of St Augustine was Asia-CMS trustee Andrew Khoo, for his role in supporting the Anglican Communion’s global strategic response to the pandemic, which helped to sustain connections, share learning, promote mutual prayer and build solidarity and hope.
Rana Khan, the chair of CMS’s Asia Forum, received the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation, cited for his many and varied contributions to interfaith dialogue across the communion.
Former CMS-Africa trustee Claudette Kigeme was recognised for her work among people in Burundi with the Langton Award for Community Service. By training and developing a team of 25 staff and 900 volunteer facilitators, she has empowered over 78,000 people to use literacy to improve their lives.
They join a number of other members of the CMS family who have been recipients of Lambeth Awards since the archbishop reinstituted them in 2016.
That year former mission partners Deaconess Susan Essam and Rev Pamela Cooper received the Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness.
Other recipients since included former mission partner Rev Canon Dr Adrian Chatfield, Rev Canon Dr Bill Musk, Rev Bob and Mary Hopkins (2017); former mission partner Rev Canon Joanna Udal and former chair of trustees Rt Rev Paul Butler (2018); and former mission partners Rev Graham and Gillian Burton and Rt Rev Graham Kings (2019) and John Clark (2020).
