Page 1 - Presbyterian Connection Fall 2025

P R E S B Y T E R I A N
Connection
The Presbyterian Church in Canada • presbyterian.ca
ISSUE 35, FALL 2025
Serving the People of Nepal
By Beth McCutcheon, International
Ministries, in conversation with
Gerry and Lorna Kent
Why would a couple living in
Cranbrook, B.C., who have had
busy and productive lives, want
to give up the freedom of retire-
ment and the comforts of home
to live and work in Nepal? Meet
Gerald and Lorna Kent, who are
embarking on a three-year volun-
teer appointment (beginning Sept.
1, 2025 – Aug. 31, 2028) with the
PCC, supported by Presbyterians
Sharing.
As former PCC mission staff,
Gerry and Lorna and their five
children lived in Nepal from 1992
to 1997 when Gerry served with
United Mission to Nepal (UMN) as
director, Engineering and Industri-
al Development Department. Dur-
ing those years, his work included
overseeing organizations involved
in irrigation, hydropower develop-
ment, appropriate technology dis-
semination, apprenticeship train-
ing, water systems and forestry.
He was also a member of UMN’s
senior management, overseeing
programs in rural development,
health care and education.
This September, Gerry embrac-
es his new role as funding man-
ager at the United Mission to Ne-
pal headquarters in Kathmandu, a
longstanding partner of the PCC.
Among other responsibilities,
Gerry’s new position includes
assisting in developing and im-
plementing plans to secure finan-
cial support from diverse sources
such as individual donors, corpo-
rate sponsors and foundations;
cultivating and stewarding rela-
tionships with existing and pro-
spective donors to deepen their
engagement and commitment to
UMN and the UMN Medical and
Development Trust; collaborating
closely with internal stakehold-
ers, including leadership clusters
and hospitals and other relevant
teams to align fundraising efforts
with organizational priorities and
goals.
So what drew Gerry to this new
opportunity with UMN? Why do
Gerry and Lorna want to return to
Nepal? What hopes do Gerry and
Lorna have for these next three
years? I posed these questions
to Gerry and Lorna via email, and
here are their responses.
From Gerry:
Last Fall, I came to Nepal for
what I described as my “goodbye
trek.” I wanted to visit places that
held some special memories for
me—the two Himalayan peaks I
had climbed and where the first
sod was turned for the Melamchi
Project (more about that project
later).
Before I left, I visited the UMN
website, as I have occasionally
done over the years, to get updat-
ed on their work. I also checked
out the vacant positions for ex-
patriates and noticed the funding
manager position. Although I am
a retired lawyer (having practiced
in Cranbrook, B.C., for over 30
years), I thought that my work
and experience might qualify me
for the job. Part of my work as
director in the 1990s was fund-
raising, which included raising
one million dollars for a feasibility
study for the Melamchi Project.
While back in Canada, I also in-
Gerry Kent and language teacher
Himal Shrestha, taken at UMN head-
quarters in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Gerry and Lorna Kent.
stigated a Canadian International
Development Agency–funded
project under which the Canadian
Bar Association gave assistance
to the Nepal Bar Association in
providing input during the draft-
ing of Nepal’s new constitution
(which began in 2006 and was
finally announced in 2015).
However, I also thought my
legal skills might be helpful in
the funding manager position as
I would essentially be advocat-
ing for the poorest of the poor
in Nepal, since that’s the focus
of UMN’s work. Although I have
been retired for seven years, I
couldn’t resist having them as my
last client!
I was delightfully surprised
when I wrote to UMN about the
funding manager position to find
out that Mitch Rhodes (who re-
sponded to my email as UMN’s
Expatriate Coordinator) was
supported by the PCC, as is his
spouse, Lora, who offers pasto-
ral and psychological support to
UMN expatriates in her position.
I was very happy to find out
that the PCC was still support-
ive of UMN’s work. Mitch sug-
gested Lorna and I approach the
PCC about another secondment
to UMN, which Lorna and I were
happy to do as we had a very
positive experience working for
the PCC from 1992 to 1997. It
was no different this time—Lorna
and I have really appreciated the
help and positive feedback the
PCC has provided. Lorna and I
are very much looking forward
to being part of the PCC mission
team again in our capacity as vol-
unteers (with some much-appre-
ciated financial support from the
PCC).
Lorna and I love Nepal. It’s a
second home for us. Lorna also
taught at Kathmandu Interna-
tional Study Centre (which has a
strong informal connection with
UMN) from 2009 to 2011, while
I divided my time between Nepal
and Canada to maintain my law
practice in Cranbrook. My Mas-
ters thesis (I obtained a Master of
Laws degree from UBC in 2005)
involved a close study of aspects
of Nepal’s legal system.
Over the past ten years, Lorna
has dedicated herself to helping
our youngest daughter, Rachel,
and her husband (who live in
Cranbrook) look after their three
children. However, the youngest
will be starting school in Sep-
tember and the eldest is now old
enough to start caring for her
younger siblings. Not as much
“Nana care” is needed, includ-
ing for our other six grandchildren
who live in Calgary, Saskatoon
and France.
One might ask, “What is UMN
all about?” Essentially, it is sup-
porting worthwhile Nepali ef-
forts that alleviate poverty and
suffering. Over the years, it has
Continued on page 3
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