Deaconess Susan C Essam Susan has been working in Jos since her arrival in Nigeria in December 1983. Susan has travelled widely, teaching and preaching and leading TEE (Theological Education by Extension). When the Rt. Rev Dr Benjamin A Kwashi was consecrated and enthroned in February 1992 as Bishop of Jos, he asked Susan to work with him. Under his leadership the church has taken on a new lease of life, and God can be seen working in and through his people in amazing ways.
Susan is the Bishop’s Administrative Chaplain and also finds herself involved in many aspects of church life including teaching, preaching, writing and editing. Music has come to the fore again in recent years and she is Director of Music at St Luke’s Cathedral, and Head of the School of Music at the Diocesan Christian Institute. Since February 2000 she has also been Acting Dean of the Christian Institute.
Susan was born and brought up in Northamptonshire. She read music and gained her teaching qualifications at Southampton University. On leaving University she taught in Norfolk. From there Susan went to Lincoln Theological College, and later worked in the Diocese of Worcester, becoming an ordained deaconess in 1980.
The CMS Link Scheme connects congregations in Britain with world-wide mission through a CMS Partner in Mission. It brings British churches into closer partnership with churches in another culture. It also brings the experiences of Christians of other cultures into our worship and witness here in Britain.
Through our link with Susan, we gain a greater understanding of God’s work in the Jos Diocese of Nigeria, a very different culture from the Diocese of Coventry! We contribute to that work through prayer, letters and financial support. We are challenged in our own mission and learn much from Susan and her colleagues through both Susan’s letters to Viv Lott which can be viewed on the Oureach Noticeboard and which are sometimes included in the Searchlight, and her occasional visits to the parish. Susan's most recent visit to St. Andrew's was at the end of August 2005.