Minister From Linwood To Work In India

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31032, 12 April 1966, Page 9

Minister From Linwood To Work In India

The difficulty of obtaining visas for United States . missioners to work in India will cause a New Zealand minister to go there in June to work for the United Christian Mlsstonary Society of America. He is the Rev. K. C. Ogier, a minister of the Associated Churches of Christ, who has been seconded to the American church society for five years.

Mr Ogier, who was a minister of the Church of Christ at Linwood for four years, is a brother of the Rev. I. W. Ogier, minister of the Church of Christ, Moorhouse avenue. He graduated bachelor of divinity from the Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana, last year after three year’s study. Mr Ogier will work in the Phulibani district of Orissa province, south of Calcutta. The American who was originally intended for the position was denied a visa three times in 18 months, said Mr Ogier. India’s refusal to grant visas to American missionaries was partly political; also each application had to go through a long process of approval from state to local level. Even the local policemen could object to an application and stop its approval. While he will be responsible for several churches, Mr

Ogier’s main task will be that of up-grading and helping to get more training and development for Indian, ministers. It will not be the usual kind of missionary job, but rather one of finding out the problems faced by Indian churches and trying to discover how best to overcome them. Training Centre

As part of his training for his work in India Mr Ogier spent six months with his wife and two children at the Mission Orientation Centre, Stoney Creek, about 30 miles from New York There were 70 families living at the centre, together with single workers, training for tasks in all parts of the missionary world.