Introduction

The beauty and challenge of Guyana, formerly British Guiana, has drawn a succession of missionaries from the Church of England to South America. My latest book ‘Guyana Venture’ tells something of that history from the English end. An Englishman who has ‘eaten labba and drunk creek water’ and been made a Canon of St George’s Cathedral, I have a lifelong bond both with Guyana and the Anglocatholic faith of my fellow missionaries. ‘Guyana Venture’ is framed by my service to the Diocese of Guyana and my spiritual friendship with Canon John Dorman and Dean-emeritus Derek Goodrich. The book charts my personal adventure, including my marriage to Anne at Yupukari, whilst addressing two centuries of missionary enterprise. Closure of Guyana Diocesan Association (GDA) in 2022 was a milestone in this mission partnership of which my book is a celebration. 

Guyana Diocesan Association and I go back over 40 years to the friendship I built with John Dorman. A fellow member of the Company of Mission Priests, it was he who planted in me the idea of investing a period of my life in Guyana to build on the work of other missionaries training priests supported by GDA and its partner the then-styled United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG). By 1987 12 indigenous candidates had been formed as priests so the sacraments were available regularly across most of Guyana’s interior. The invitation, which I took up with Fr Allan Buik and my wife-to-be Anne, at the Alan Knight Training Centre at Yupukari, was to lead training for a second group of men. In writing my new book ‘Guyana Venture’ I chronicle this drawing upon the writings of my late friend Derek Goodrich aiming to complement Blanche Duke’s great work on the Diocese of Guyana. 

On every visit to Guyana I am made aware of the contrast in the size of congregations there and those in the Church of England. It was refreshing, as priest used to small congregations, to sweat away at giving Holy Communion to hundreds of folk week by week. I recall one Sunday Mass in Guyana when I emptied the Tabernacle and had to re-consecrate twice to provide for the multitude that flocked to the rails.  On another occasion I recall 1000 young people aged 15-30 turning out for the annual Diocesan Sports Competition, something most heartening at a season when the Church of England was losing 1000 young people every week. My new book ‘Guyana Venture’ researches the Church of England mission to British Guiana, later Guyana, starting from 1781 up to the closure of GDA in 2022. It is no exhaustive study but a personal one with broad brush strokes linked to the author’s limited perception. It is a fruit of the investment of my life in the Diocese of Guyana from 1986, training priests (picture), visiting to serve mission and ministry there at the invitation of successive bishops and working with GDA Council to facilitate exchange of gifts and personnel supportive of the Diocese. 

Despite the misuse of power during the colonial era many Guyanese keep affection for the UK and the Commonwealth. Though now part of the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) the Diocese of Guyana similarly retains an affection for the Church of England, which will survive the 2022 demise of Guyana Diocesan Association, grateful for its contribution to raising up priests to serve Guyana’s vast interior. This work was crowned by the consecration by Bishop Charles Davidson of an indigenous assistant bishop, The Right Revd Alfred David, in 2021 (picture). My new book ‘Guyana Venture’ explains the origins of British Guiana, the heroism of pioneer clergy and the long reigns of Bishop William Austin and Archbishop Alan Knight. The latter built up the mission partnership known as GDA attracting key personnel from overseas to serve the Diocese, especially the saintly John Dorman’s mission within Guyana’s interior affirming Amerindian culture, paving the way for indigenous priests and inspiring service by priests like myself from overseas.