He added that it would be "quite untrue to believe that missionaries, or mission companions as they're called today, no longer go from the Church of England to central Africa", listing the hospital workers, development workers, youth workers, parish priests and even two bishops who are supported by USPG.
"And in days when giving to mission agencies is modest, it's interesting to see that these missionaries, like their Victorian forebears themselves raise much of the funds which enable them to fulfil their calling. I'm not sure whether we should be proud of their commitment, or ashamed of the level of our giving which make it necessary," he said.
The Bishop concluded his address by making the link between mission work and the current state of the Anglican Communion, and stressing that the Lambeth Conference must take place.
"We still live in the gap between vision and reality, and there are still people prepared to give their lives to seek to close that gap in mission and we in England will have the opportunity of meeting many from the global Anglican mission field next year with the advent of the Lambeth Conference, if it happens, as it certainly should," he said.
"For it would be obscene that with so much human need crying out for attention around the globe, if the Church cancelled or postponed its conference because of arguments on such fractious matters as homosexuality.
"The Lambeth Conference next year could be really significant if the bishops paid attention to what really matters, and we will deserve God's judgement if we don't."
The celebrations move to Cambridge next year for the actual founding of UMCA, and then to Malawi in 2011 to commemorate the arrival of the first missionaries led by Bishop Mackenzie.
