Sharing of Ministries Abroad (SOMA) was founded in 1978 as a charity within the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

worldwide to promote the work of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

by giving leadership training to

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and church leaders.

Formation

It began at an Anglican International Conference on Spiritual Renewal which was held just before the 1978

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference convenes as the Archbishop of Canterbury summons an assembly of Anglican bishops every ten years. The first took place at Lambeth in 1867. As regional and national churches freely associate with the Anglican Communion, ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s from around the world, meeting at

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. It was spoken in a prophecy that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

was saying there was a need for an organisation to be "caring for the nervous system of the Church." This was interpreted by attendees of the AICSR as being the work of the Holy Spirit. SOMA was established in the following year with Michael Harper has the first Director.Soma UK website, ''Vision''
/ref> SOMA's calling statement notes that, "SOMA is a mission agency called by

to serve the Anglican Communion and the worldwide Church: by building up and equipping the

Body of Christ In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus Christ's words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it ...

; through the renewing power of the Holy Spirit; principally through short-term cross-cultural missions for the transformation of individuals, churches and communities." SOMA was founded in the United Kingdom, but it has since spread to other countries, including the

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Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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and

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are currently working on setting up SOMA offices. SOMA UK is a member of the international network of mission agencies.

Activity

The most visible part of SOMA's work is the sending of teams of volunteers from churches in sending-countries to dioceses overseas at the invitation of local bishops. The volunteers come from churches sympathetic to the aims of SOMA who commit themselves to raising travel expenses for a 10- to 15-day short-term mission. The host dioceses aim to raise the finances for the cost of accommodation, both for the team members and for attending delegates. Teams have been sent to about 50 different countries, some of which are in situations of great poverty. This frequently places strain on the finances resulting in the need for fund-raising by supporters to enable missions to areas such as Southern Sudan, or

Kitgum Kitgum is a municipality in Kitgum District in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda. The town is administered by Kitgum Municipality Council, an urban local government. It is the largest metropolitan area in the district and th ...

in northern

to be possible. Biblical teaching material is provided by the visiting team and covers topics such as Renewal for Life; Healing; Gifts of the Spirit; Renewal in the Midst of Chaos; Building a Prophetic Community; Worship; Leadership; Marriage. The organisation also emphasises the importance of ‘reciprocity in mission’, with international teams visiting each other in two-way travel. SOMA is in partnership with other missionary organisations including the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS-USA).

Leadership

In 2024, the current director is Rev Richard Moy.Soma UK website, ''People'', retrieved 2024-03-05
/ref>

References

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External links

SOMA UK Website SOMA Ireland WebsiteSOMA USA WebsiteSOMA Canada WebsiteSOMA Australia WebsiteSOMA New Zealand Website
Anglicanism Christian organizations established in 1978