Melchior Renner (1770-1821) was a German missionary who served in Sierra Leone.[1] Renner and Peter Hartwig, both German Lutherans, were the first CMS missionaries in Africa, recruited to a mission in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1804.[2] Elizabeth Renner, a Canadian-born missionary teacher who taught in Sierra Leone after emigrating from Nova Scotia in 1792, became the housekeeper of Melchior Renner in 1804, whom she would marry later in 1808.[3] In 1808, Renner also founded a station among the Susu people, attempted to learn the Susu language, and worked with his wife to run schools on the Rio Pongas in Sierra Leone. Renner died at the age of 41 after 11 years serving the CMS.
Early life
editWhile Renner’s official birthplace is noted as Wurtermberg, his letters to London indicated his hometown as Grodenheim, though no official CMS histories have confirmed this.[4]
Mission
editIn 1801, Renner along with Hartwig was recruited by, and trained with, the Berlin Mission seminary. They then spent 15 months in Clapham, England studying Susu, were later sent to Germany to be ordained as Lutherans in 1803.[4] They were then accepted by the Church Missionary Society and sailed from Portsmouth to Freetown, Sierra Leone arriving on April 14th in 1804.[5] They first set out to get familiar with the land, language, habits, and manners of the Susu people. During this time they were both attacked aggressively by fever and continued on their mission. They spoke of God, the necessity of faith, and the influence of the Holy Spirit to natives. Both Hartwig’s and Renner’s letters home highlighted interesting challenges presented in Sierra Leone, like that of food scarcity and frequent sickness.[4] Eventually, Hartwig would venture north east while Renner would remain in Freetown. There Renner diligently worked to find Africans to convert, although between natural and physical challenges he was unable to fulfill this duty. By 1806 Hartwig and Renner had found themselves in service together again and Renner talked about increasing disagreements between them. A dispute had risen between them in regards to seniority.[5] The disputes seemed to continue eventually spiraling out of control despite direct orders from London and the CMS.[4] As a result they were to be accompanied by a newly-arrived missionary because of how violent their disagreements had become. However, once stationed at Bashia, Renner was refocused by religion and worked with parishioners, on a much larger scale than other German speaking CMS members that sought out new converts.
Legacy
editRenner arriving in the Bashia settlement in Rio Pongas created and carried out a plan with the following points:
- Have Divine Service every Sunday
- Abstain from traffic with natives on Sunday
- Hold family prayers every morning and evening; as well as require attendance of everyone on the premise who understood English
- Hold prayer meeting in German on the first Monday of the month (more for the missionaries)
- Receive for instruction the children of all traders, on condition that the parents would provide food and clothing.[5]
By this time Renner and other missionaries were prepared to diffuse their religion into the people and the Church Missionary Society began to direct its attention to establishing institutions under the protection of the British Government. Renner continued teaching in the Bashia settlement until he returned to Freetown in 1814 where he was put in charge of the Christian Institution.[4]
The mission was overall taken to be unsuccessful and Renner returned to Freetown to live and serve churches until his death in Kent in 1821.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ P.E.H, Hair (1770–1821). "Renner, Melchior". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Woodham, Jeremy (2024-04-23). "225 years together". Church Mission Society (CMS). Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "Elizabeth Renner", Wikipedia, 2024-03-03, retrieved 2024-12-07
- ^ a b c d e Keefer, Katrina H.B. (2017). "The First Missionaries of The Church Missionary Society in Sierra Leone, 1804–1816: A Biographical Approach". History in Africa. 44: 199–235. doi:10.1017/hia.2017.5. ISSN 0361-5413. JSTOR 26362156.
- ^ a b c Seddall, Henry. "The Missionary History of Sierra Leone" (PDF). US Archive.
- ^ P.E.H, Hair (1770–1821). "Renner, Melchior". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "The CMS Archive - Church Missionary Society Periodicals - Adam Matthew Digital". www.churchmissionarysociety.amdigital.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-07.