Giving thanks
Under God, many people have served with CMS over the years. We regularly acknowledge and give thanks to God for former or current CMS missionaries who have been called home to be with their heavenly Father. Here we remember Margaret Cannell, John Mercer and Yvonne Newmarch.
Margaret Cannell
Let us thank God for the life and service of Margaret Cannell, who went to be with Christ on 26 June 2024, aged 80. Margaret and John served the Lord in Nepal with CMS from 1999-2007. John taught and researched hydroelectric power generation, and Margaret taught English in the Sanjiwani School, a local primary school in Dhulikhel. The school was poorly resourced, with few books and no heating or glass windows. Margaret was dearly loved by her Nepali students.
From 2007-2010, they continued serving in Nepal under a new arrangement as ‘Missionaries Seeking Prayer Support’ (MSPS). They partnered with the Norwegian Himalayan Asian Mission during this time.
John and Margaret retired in Tasmania in 2010. They remained active CMS supporters, regularly attending CMS Summer conferences and prayer meetings. May God give his comfort and peace to John, their friends and family.
John Mercer
We praise God for the life and ministry of John Mercer, who went to be with Christ on 27 June 2024, aged 96. John and his wife Phyllis, who died in 2018, served the Lord with CMS in the Northern Territory from 1951–1963.
John became a believer at 19, after hearing the gospel at church and working alongside two strong Christians. He studied at Melbourne Bible Institute, and in 1951 began his service with CMS in the Northern Territory. Before his first term on location, he became engaged to Phyllis. They married on his first furlough in 1953.
John’s ministry at Roper River Mission (now Ngukurr) was highly stressful, due to frequent conflict and quick turnover of mission staff. John later established a CMS mission at Rose River (now Numbulwar). He and Phyllis then served in Groote Eylandt and Darwin.
After finishing their service with CMS, John became an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church and served in parish ministry. We praise God for John’s life of service and witness, and we pray for his family and friends in their grief.
Yvonne Newmarch
We praise God for the life and witness of Yvonne Newmarch, who went to be with Christ in Glory on 27 June 2024, aged 88. Yvonne married schoolteacher Theodore Neuhaus on 24 August 1957. They felt God’s leading to cross-cultural mission through the Billy Graham Crusade in 1959.
In 1960, Yvonne and Theodore were sent as CMS missionaries to Tanganyika (now Tanzania) with their two sons. Together, they learned Swahili, made many friends and mentored future leaders. During their time in Tanganyika, Theodore served as a high school teacher, the acting principal of a teacher’s college, and later as an ordained school chaplain. Yvonne homeschooled their children. They had three other children during their service. Tragically, two of their children died in 1966 and 1971.
Yvonne and Theodore concluded their service with CMS in 1974. They moved into parish ministry in Berala and later Bundanoon. Theodore went to be with Christ in 1987.
Yvonne attended CMS NSW & ACT Summer School each year. It was here that she met Walter Newmarch (who served with CMS in Sabah from 1954-68). They married in 1998. In 2001, Walter became the locum minister in the International Church in Islamabad, Pakistan. Walter passed to glory in 2006.
We praise God for Yvonne and for her service in Tanzania and Pakistan. We ask him to grant his peace and grace to her family and friends.
