Thanks be to God, whose Church on earth

Thanks be to God, whose Church on earth. (Thomas) Caryl Micklem* (1925-2003). Written for a service (18 July 1977) to mark the founding of the Council for World Mission, an amalgamation of the London Missionary Society, the Commonwealth Missionary Society, and the English Presbyterian Mission. Until 1977 the Societies had acted as agents, sending missionaries out to countries that were perceived to need them. In 1977, the constitution was revised so that there were no longer ‘senders’ and ‘receivers’ but all were equal. This is referred to specifically in verse 4, although it is so phrased that it is applicable to all kinds of modern missionary activity: Thanks be to God who now would...