They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” [Mark 16:3] Preached by the Most Reverend Robert Duncan at the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh Vigil, in St. Peter’s Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on Easter Eve, 7th April, A.D.2012. In the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, One God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Blessed and Praised forever:  Amen. In all four gospels it is women who come first to the tomb. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us the purpose: to anoint Jesus’ body.  Burial on Friday had been hurried.  At least the soldiers had not broken his legs to speed death.  He was already dead.  The Sabbath was at hand.  In the moment, Joseph of Arimathea was moved to give his own freshly hewn tomb, which was, St. John tells us, very near to the Place of the Skull.  Nicodemus, John tells us, had given spices, but Jesus’ own inner circle had not been able to care for his body in the customary way.  There had been so much hurry.  They had loved him so much.  Nevertheless, they could still do what was right, what at the very least they owed him, when the Sabbath ended.  They surely recognized their problem.  They surely knew that the immense wheel-like stone had been rolled over the entrance to the tomb.  St. Mark tells us that they had actually seen this happen.  Maybe they had also heard about Pilate’s order that the tomb be sealed and a guard set to keep things that way.  It is St. Matthew that records for us this detail. So the women meet very early on Sunday, sometime after sundown on Saturday.  They must do what it is right to do and what could not be done on Friday.  They can now prepare the spices and the ointments.  It is still dark.  They will arrive near first light. Everything is, of course, very confused and confusing.  Their grief is overwhelming.  Have they forgotten about the stone?  Do they not think about the stone until they are actually on their way?  Do each think about it earlier, but not discuss it?  We cannot know.  All we can know is that on their way to the tomb they are saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”  Followers of Jesus often face what seem to them insurmountable problems…challenges for which there seem to be no apparent solutions.  They will nevertheless do what is right, what they can do, even if there is a part of the puzzle they do not have or cannot conceive.  Trust in their God drives them on.  With God, there has always been a way through in the past, so why not trust Him now? A terribly injured child?  An impossible situation at work?  A marriage in tatters?  Some debilitating illness or handicap? An unjust accusation?  An adolescent in rebellion?  A friendship betrayed?  Wars and rumors of wars?  Domestic or civil violence?  Whatever the present impossibility…  We Christians will trust him with this too. We can wonder what the women spoke of as they went in the darkness toward the tomb of Jesus.  Was there more than “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”  Might they have remembered the Passover story of long ago, the very feast being celebrated in these same days?  All the first-born of Israel had been spared.  Might they next have recalled the victory at the Red Sea, when all God’s people were saved and all of Pharaoh’s army drowned?  Might they have remembered Jericho, where the walls miraculously tumbled down?  Could they have encouraged one another with the stories of Ruth or Esther, or Daniel or the Three Young Men?  Might they have spoken of Judas Maccabeus or the miracle of Chanukah?  Could they have rehearsed some of the miracles they had seen at the hands of their crucified rabbi?  The healings, the feedings, the castings out, the raisings from the dead?  Might they have even dared to wonder about his teaching concerning what would follow his own death?  We cannot say what broke the silence of their preparation of the spices and ointments, or the silence of their walk to the tomb.  We are sure of their grief – for that is why they were meeting – and we are sure of the one question:  “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb? In all of our speculation about the run-up to the arrival of the women at the tomb, it is very hard to imagine that the women could have imagined in advance what actually confronted them on arrival.  God is so much bigger than our thoughts or imaginings.  Even the rehearsal of earlier mighty deeds does not prepare us for the immensity of what he can do in the present moment, in the face of our seemingly insurmountable challenges. Yes, he often appoints brothers and sisters, or sometimes even strangers, to help us – to help us in quite ordinary, quite natural ways.  But sometimes there is the supernatural, and the great stories seem to be filled with this.  Indeed, at their arrival, they would soon have the greatest story of all time to tell.  God would act.  God powerfully, God unmistakably.  God alone.  Without man’s help. God addresses our human challenges both naturally and supernaturally.  He is God, after all.  Our chief attitude needs to be to trust him, no matter what we face.  His operation, whether natural or supernatural, is his choice, his provision by whatever means.  He is Creator, sustainer and end of everything, so why do we doubt? But tonight’s work – this dawn of the day work – is God’s alone.  “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”  God will.  God does.  There is earthquake.  There is an angel, dazzling light.  The guards fall away.  The stone is rolled back.  But there is more, much more.  The tomb is empty. “He has been raised, as he said.”  They are invited to see the place where the body had lain.  They are given a message.  (Forget the spices and the ointments.)  “Go tell his disciples.”  It hadn’t been about the stone after all…or about a dead body.  The crucifixion wasn’t the last word.  Not at all.  They had mis-read what God was up to.  Yes they were being faithful, but their plan – their challenge – was much too small.  Fear – a different kind of fear – and great joy are now theirs.  They hadn’t run from their problem, from their grief, but had headed straight into it.  Now everything was changed.  So now they run with a different purpose.  They are bearers of the greatest good news of all time.  And suddenly he himself meets them:  “Greetings!”  They fall and worship, and so do we.  And his last words to them are “Go and tell.”  We, too, now fall and worship.  Our next step is to go and tell.  There is now, with Jesus, no challenge we cannot face, not even death.  For now the last challenge has been swallowed up in victory, and – for those who put their faith in him – no stones that cannot be rolled away.  There is nothing now that can separate us from the Father’s love or Jesus’ resurrection or the Spirit’s power.  Rejoice this Easter Day!  Rejoice like never before!  Rejoice for the stone on the tomb proved no problem to our God.  Alleluia!  Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen indeed.  Alleluia.   

Sharing Community: Church of the Savior Sees Transformation at Housing Development As part of the Anglican Church in North America’s “A Look Inside” Diocesan news series, the Diocese of Pittsburgh shares news of profound transformation in a local housing development and how one of their congregations hopes to change the world “one life at a time.” A young child living in a government subsidized housing development raises his hand during a weekly children’s program led by parishioners of Church of the Savior in Ambridge, PA. “Pastor Andrew, please tell me that God loves me,” he says. The Rev. Andrew Kosarik pauses his Bible lesson, points at the boy, and says, “God loves you.” After that, all the children start raising their hands and asking to be told that God loves them. “Every time I told one of the kids that God loved them, they acted like they had won the lottery,” recalls Kosarik. This is just one example of how Church of the Savior is reaching their neighborhood with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. Crestview Economy Village is a government subsidized housing development in Ambridge, PA with about 150 families. Most Tuesdays, children and teens in this community have a unique opportunity to encounter Jesus through an outreach ministry of Church of the Savior (COTS). The kids who attend the program just call it ‘Church.’ The outreach to Crestview Economy Village got its start when the Rev. Dennett Buettner, rector of COTS, attended the consecration of Bishop Bill Thompson in the Diocese of Western Anglicans. During his sermon, Bishop John Guernsey shared about a team at his parish starting a Vacation Bible School off-campus, actually in the community they wanted to reach. “I had this sudden realization. I know exactly where COTS can do that,” recalls Buettner. “We had been trying to do Vacation Bible School in our building with limited success. It was very clear. They aren’t coming, so let’s go somewhere else.” A team of 20 parishioners formed to plan and organize the first summer VBS at the community center in Crestview Economy Village. At the end of the program, the team from COTS was approached by the manager of the housing development with a request. “We need something like this all the time,” he told them. Buettner turned to the Rev. Andrew Kosarik to spearhead an ongoing program at the housing development. Initially, Kosarik didn’t want to do it. He suffers from an undiagnosed autoimmune syndrome and chronic pain from a failed back surgery. “But I agreed to pray about it,” he says. “God told me to do it, so here I am.” Kosarik and Deacon Laura Wicker gathered a team of eight parishioners to lead an ongoing children’s program at the housing development. They started by focusing on living in community with each other. They engaged in team building exercises and cross-cultural training. “I knew this wasn’t going to be Sunday school. We were going into their house. They weren’t coming into our house,” explains Kosarik. The team had a vision of forming a community and then giving that gift away to the housing development. In February 2011, the team launched their weekly Tuesday program for children. At first, the program consisted of games, a Bible teaching, and a snack for about 20 elementary age children. Since the launch of the children’s program in 2011, it has grown and expanded to include more and more residents of the housing development. Today the team from COTS leads a two-tiered program for kids ranging in age from pre-Kindergarten through high school seniors. Participants play games, sing worship songs together, and learn about the Bible. Instead of a snack, everyone gets a hot meal. About 100 kids participate in the program. Part of the growth came from neighborhood teenagers who started showing up, even though it was originally designed for younger children. “We didn’t quite know what to do with them, so we decided to put them to work. We got even more teens when we asked them to be helpers and gave them responsibilities,” says Kosarik. The team from COTS is beginning to see the fruit of their ministry in the subtle transformation of the community. Kosarik sees some of this transformation in the behavior of the neighborhood kids, “They are more respectful. Ninety-five percent of the bad behaviors are gone.” Kosarik and Buettner are quick to give credit to God for the transformation they are seeing at Crestview Economy Village. “This is not about COTS. This is about what God is doing,” says Buettner. Kosarik and Buettner have big, long-term hopes for the community at Crestview Economy village, but for now they are focused on each life they touch. “We are convinced that COTS should be a parish that changes the world one life at a time, beginning in Ambridge,” says Buettner. (Marquee photo: The Rev. Andrew Kosarik (left) and the Rev. Dennett Buettner (right) are taking the gospel outside the walls of their building to a nearby housing development. Story photo: Children gather round to hear the Easter story read by Sarah Schneider, a seminarian who regularly volunteers at the program. Credit: Diocese of Pittsburgh). Story source: http://www.pitanglican.org/?main/page/271

“We Need to Join Jesus on His Mission” This coming June, members and friends of the Anglican Church in North America will gather at Assembly 2012 in Ridgecrest, NC.  A celebration of what the Lord is doing in and through us, Assembly 2012 will feature several guest speakers to encourage and impassion us in our callings, both as individuals and as a church. Dr. Ed Stetzer, a renowned author, speaker, pastor, and researcher will speak with us about how we must “join Jesus on His mission.”  President of LifeWay Research, Ed Stetzer has planted, revitalized, and pastored many churches. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Our Canon for Provincial and Global Mission, The Venerable Canon Dr. Jack Lumanog, spoke recently of his excitement to hear from Dr. Stetzer. “I am blessed by Ed’s passion for Kingdom growth.  It will be an inspiration to all of us whether we are serving a local parish or about to start a new one!  I am always encouraged by Ed’s teaching because he understands this Anglican moment that we find ourselves in as a Province.  The potential for Kingdom growth is enormous and his leadership and friendship at this moment is a blessing to our whole Church.” Anticipating Dr. Stetzer’s discussion with us at Assembly 2012, the Anglican Church in North America conducted a Q&A session with him.  Here’s what he had to say: Q: What message do you hope to share with members and friends of the Anglican Church in North America at the upcoming 2012 Provincial Assembly? I have three messages, I think, so there will be a variety of themes: transformation, gospel, church planting, revitalization, etc.  However, the central point will be that we need to join Jesus on His mission. When Jesus proclaimed, “As the father has sent me, so send I you” (John 20:21), he declared that we are participants in his mission.  Our call is not to go do what Jesus did—died on the cross, for our sins, and in our place.  But, our call is to do what Jesus said—he told us to live out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment—to share and show the love of Jesus.  So, the church joins Jesus in his mission. Q: Why does church planting matter and what is the best way to get involved? It matters because, upon hearing the words of Jesus in the Great Commission, the disciples responded by planting churches.  So, when Jesus said “go,” they thought “plant.”  That’s a fascinating response and worth emulating. Churches can get involved in a couple of ways: 1) Parenting: taking direct responsibility to “mother” a “daughter” church from their own congregation. 2) Partnering: teaming up with others in church planting by sponsoring a new church. I think every church can be a parent or partner. Q: What, have you noticed, are some particularly unique ways of spreading the Gospel today? I certainly think that social media would be one. Another we found in our research for Transformational Church is a desire to engage in ministries of mercy as a way to show the love of Christ—giving us the opportunity to share Christ.  In this research, the largest project of its kind ever done, we surveyed 7000 Protestant churches in North America and searched for characteristics of transformation.  Then, we followed up with those in the top 10% and sought to discern what made them who and what they were.  The answers were fascinating—and one of the factors that showed up was a passion for the ministries of mercy I mentioned.  However, there was much more—seven elements to be exact—including missionary mentality, vibrant leadership, prayerful dependence, relational intentionality, worship, community, and mission. Q: How do you think the Lord is working through you today and how can the Anglican Church in North America continue to pray for your ministries? In addition to my full time role as President of LifeWay Research, I recently planted a church on the weekends.  I am an unpaid volunteer, but also the lead pastor—so pray I can balance that out well. Q: When you’re not writing, blogging, or giving public speeches around the country, what are some of your favorite hobbies? I only really have four hobbies: one wife and three grade-school age daughters.  I plan to pick up hobbies when they are all at college! Q: Are you working on any projects, or books, that we can be on the look-out for? The newest book will be out in May.  It’s called The Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation and also have a video curriculum by the same name.  I’m pretty excited about it. If you have not already done so, there is still time to register for Assembly 2012 and hear from Dr. Stetzer and other guest speakers.  As Canon Jack concluded, “All of the faithful of the Anglican Church in North America – whether we are ordained or lay – will be blessed by his teaching ministry at Assembly because we will return to our local parishes revived for mission!” To learn more about Ed Stetzer, visit his LifeWay Research blog at http://www.edstetzer.com/.

Anglican Church in North America Commits to Development of Ecumenical Relationship with the North American Lutheran Church A first meeting of representatives of the Anglican Church in North America and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) was held Tuesday, March 27, at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA.  This gathering included representatives from the two denominations, including the leaders of both groups: Archbishop Robert Duncan and Bishop John Bradosky (NALC). The Anglican Church in North America was formed in 2009 as a new Anglican Province in North America. The NALC was formed in 2010 as a reconfiguration of Lutheranism in North America.  Both bodies represent a biblical, confessional expression of their respective historic traditions. The group was hosted by Trinity School for Ministry, a biblical and orthodox Christian seminary which trains men and women for lay and ordained ministry. A presentation was made by Bishop John Rodgers on historical Lutheran-Anglican dialogue. Bishop Rodgers was a regular participant in this work at both the international and national levels from 1969 to 1990. Bishop Bradosky and Archbishop Duncan affirmed that it is our mutual commitment to pursue the development of ecumenical relationships between the Anglican Church in North America and the NALC on the basis of Holy Scripture.  Jesus’ prayer “that they all may be one . . . so that the world may believe” (John 17:21) calls us to give expression to our unity in Him as a vital part of our witness to the world and an expression of the power of the Gospel. It is further our commitment to pursue this relationship on the basis of strengthening the capacity of both church bodies for mission and ministry; strengthening both pastoral leadership and congregational outreach. The joint group agreed to meet again for reflection on prior Lutheran-Anglican ecumenical work and the study of both groups’ foundational documents: the Lutheran Augsburg Confession and the Anglican 39 Articles. They will also explore opportunities for joint mission and service work through Lutheran and Anglican relief agencies. In addition to the leaders of both groups, participants included Bishop Ray Sutton and Pastor David Wendel, ecumenical officers of their respective bodies; along with Bishop Win Mott, Bishop Paul Spring, Pastor Mark Chavez, Canon Jack Lumanog and the Rev. Dr. Travis Boline. Photo caption (from left to right): Canon Jack Lumanog, Bishop Win Mott, Bishop John Rodgers, Bishop Ray Sutton, Dean Justyn Terry, Bishop John Bradosky (NALC), Pastor David Wendel (NALC), Archbishop Robert Duncan, Archdeacon Mark Stevenson, Pastor Mark Chavez, Bishop Paull Spring, Rev. Dr. Leander Harding, Rev. Dr. Travis Boline, Dr. Theresa Newell (Credit: Trinity School for Ministry).

As one of the primary ministries of the Anglican Church in North America, Anglican 1000 has grown immensely since its inception in 2009.  Following Archbishop Duncan’s prophetic call for 1000 new congregations during his investiture, more than 200 new works have been planted, many with the assistance and support of Anglican 1000. Canon David Roseberry, along with the Rev. Daniel Adkinson and other key leaders have helped to grow Anglican 1000 into a collaborative effort by rectors, bishops, dioceses, networks and others who are embracing the call to plant churches. As with any new ministry, the time has come to move to the next phase in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church.  Working towards this next phase, the central leadership role and office of Anglican 1000 is moving to the Provincial office located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This new role, the Vicar (Provincial Director) for Anglican 1000, will be the “provincial catalyst for making church planting the central enterprise of the Anglican Church in North America” explained Archbishop Duncan. Archbishop Duncan’s closing message at the 2012 Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit addressed the history of the church, spiritual warfare, remaining a movement, and “reaching 1000.” Click here and scroll down to Archbishop Duncan: ACNA/Anglican 1000 Plenary (2012 Summit) to hear audio of his address. The Vicar will serve Anglican 1000 in raising up an ever-increasing number of Anglican congregations and communities of faith to reach the men, women and children of North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more, a full job description can be found here.  Application materials will be accepted until Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012. Please join us in praying for this vital new phase in the life of the Anglican 1000 movement.

The time has come to move to the next phase of Anglican 1000 in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church. As one of the primary ministries of the Anglican Church in North America, Anglican 1000 has grown immensely since its inception in 2009.  Following Archbishop Duncan’s prophetic call for 1000 new congregations during his investiture, more than 200 new works have been planted, many with the assistance and support of Anglican 1000. Canon David Roseberry, along with the Rev. Daniel Adkinson and other key leaders have helped to grow Anglican 1000 into a collaborative effort by rectors, bishops, dioceses, networks and others who are embracing the call to plant churches. As with any new ministry, the time has come to move to the next phase in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church.  Working towards this next phase, the central leadership role and office of Anglican 1000 is moving to the Provincial office located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This new role, the Vicar (Provincial Director) for Anglican 1000, will be the “provincial catalyst for making church planting the central enterprise of the Anglican Church in North America” explained Archbishop Duncan. Archbishop Duncan’s closing message at the 2012 Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit addressed the history of the church, spiritual warfare, remaining a movement, and “reaching 1000.” Click here to hear audio of his address. The Vicar will serve Anglican 1000 in raising up an ever-increasing number of Anglican congregations and communities of faith to reach the men, women and children of North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more, a full job description can be found here.  Application materials will be accepted until Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012. Please join us in praying for this vital new phase in the life of the Anglican 1000 movement.

The time has come to move to the next phase of Anglican 1000 in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church. As one of the primary ministries of the Anglican Church in North America, Anglican 1000 has grown immensely since its inception in 2009.  Following Archbishop Duncan’s prophetic call for 1000 new congregations during his investiture, more than 200 new works have been planted, many with the assistance and support of Anglican 1000. Canon David Roseberry, along with the Rev. Daniel Adkinson and other key leaders have helped to grow Anglican 1000 into a collaborative effort by rectors, bishops, dioceses, networks and others who are embracing the call to plant churches. As with any new ministry, the time has come to move to the next phase in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church.  Working towards this next phase, the central leadership role and office of Anglican 1000 is moving to the Provincial office located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This new role, the Vicar (Provincial Director) for Anglican 1000, will be the “provincial catalyst for making church planting the central enterprise of the Anglican Church in North America” explained Archbishop Duncan. Archbishop Duncan’s closing message at the 2012 Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit addressed the history of the church, spiritual warfare, remaining a movement, and “reaching 1000.” Click here to hear audio of his address. The Vicar will serve Anglican 1000 in raising up an ever-increasing number of Anglican congregations and communities of faith to reach the men, women and children of North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more, a full job description can be found here.  Application materials will be accepted until Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012. Please join us in praying for this vital new phase in the life of the Anglican 1000 movement.

The time has come to move to the next phase of Anglican 1000 in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church. As one of the primary ministries of the Anglican Church in North America, Anglican 1000 has grown immensely since its inception in 2009.  Following Archbishop Duncan’s prophetic call for 1000 new congregations during his investiture, more than 200 new works have been planted, many with the assistance and support of Anglican 1000. Canon David Roseberry, along with the Rev. Daniel Adkinson and other key leaders have helped to grow Anglican 1000 into a collaborative effort by rectors, bishops, dioceses, networks and others who are embracing the call to plant churches. As with any new ministry, the time has come to move to the next phase in order to expand upon God’s call to spread His Church.  Working towards this next phase, the central leadership role and office of Anglican 1000 is moving to the Provincial office located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This new role, the Vicar (Provincial Director) for Anglican 1000, will be the “provincial catalyst for making church planting the central enterprise of the Anglican Church in North America” explained Archbishop Duncan. Archbishop Duncan’s closing message at the 2012 Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit addressed the history of the church, spiritual warfare, remaining a movement, and “reaching 1000.” Click here and scroll down to Archbishop Duncan: ACNA/Anglican 1000 Plenary (2012 Summit) to hear audio of his address. The Vicar will serve Anglican 1000 in raising up an ever-increasing number of Anglican congregations and communities of faith to reach the men, women and children of North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more, a full job description can be found here.  Application materials will be accepted until Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012. Please join us in praying for this vital new phase in the life of the Anglican 1000 movement.

Anglican Relief and Development Fund Partnering with Church of Uganda to Fund “Northern Uganda Rehabilitation” The following article was originally posted by the Anglican Relief and Development Fund: The Church of Uganda has been made aware of the Kony 2012 campaign initiated by the US-based organization, Invisible Children. The Rev. Canon Alison Barfoot, Assistant to the Archbishop for Int’l Relations has released a statement in response and a portion of this statement reads: “While Invisible Children has been a good partner with the Church of Uganda, they are not the only organization working in Northern Uganda. The Church of Uganda, through its dioceses working in the affected areas, has a number of programmes related to rebuilding educational infrastructure, improving health services, providing water and sanitation services, orphan care, and community development projects. The Church is in every village with schools and health centres, is in touch with needs at the grassroots, and has a solid accountability structure. Some people may want to support the ongoing efforts to restore normal life to the people of Northern Uganda through other organizations.” To read the full release, click here. The Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) is accepting tax-deductible contributions for Church of Uganda projects that address currentconcerns in Northern Uganda. These projects will go through the ARDF research, approval and follow-up process providing donor accountability. ARDF is honored to partner with the Church of Uganda. The Province of Uganda has a proven track record of development and is uniquely qualified to support this work as follows: 1) With more than 500 local congregations, the Church of Uganda is active at the grassroots and is found in every village and community throughout the affected areas in Northern Uganda…not just an office in a major town. 2) The Church of Uganda not only has churches where Kony survivors and victims find solace, counseling, healing, and hope, but it has many schools, health centers, and community development projects that have practical impact. 3) Only three churches in Northern Uganda survived the war; most people are still worshiping under a tree and long for the day when they can gather and worship when it rains because they have a building again. 4) The Church of Uganda provides approximately half the education and health services in Northern Uganda. Most church-founded schools and health centers were destroyed during the war, and they need to be rebuilt. 5) Boreholes and wells at church centers and in villages need to be redug so there is access to safe, clean drinking water as people rebuild their lives and communities in their home areas. 6) The Church of Uganda is running a number of vocational training programs that could reach more people if greater funding were available – tailoring, carpentry, brick laying, catering, etc. Archbishop Robert Duncan said: “The Northern Uganda Rehabilitation effort of the Church of Uganda will be immensely significant in rebuilding countless lives, families and communities. Let’s do what we can to aid our partners in this Matthew 25 work.” (As you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me – Matthew 25:40) To financially assist projects that address current concerns in Northern Uganda, click here.

Nonprofit Is Dedicated to Initiating New Anglican Churches between Seattle and Portland The Rev. Aaron Burt and his team at Northwest Anglican are hard at work, endeavoring to do their part to help build Christ’s church. However, their trademark style breaks the traditional church planting mold in many ways. Northwest Anglican is an unaffiliated Anglican nonprofit that focuses on building churches from the ground up with the laity, rather than starting off with a pastor or a mother church. As the church grows, members of the congregation initiate a search for their pastor and then work through other decisions ranging from worship style to affiliation. In addition, Northwest Anglican doesn’t just plant one church at a time; it plants a whole string of churches. The project and the vision behind it have garnered the support of the Anglican Church in North America, the Anglican Mission in the Americas and Anglican 1000. Regardless of the exact tactics, it is becoming clear that Anglicanism and new church plants in particular are gaining steam with young people, new believers and those who may have fallen away from church. In part, it stems from the tie between ancient Anglican worship and an authentic connection to Christ that is evident in daily life. That is exactly what Northwest Anglican plants aim to embody. To learn more, read our Q&A with the Rev. Aaron Burt: 1. How would you sum up Northwest Anglican in just a few words? Here’s my one-sentence summary: Northwest Anglican is a nonprofit that initiates and coaches lay-led Anglican church plants in the Seattle-to-Portland area. 2. How does Northwest Anglican go about accomplishing its mission and what practical steps does Northwest Anglican take to help foster new churches? There are four stages to what we do that could be categorized as: get, gather, guide, and ground. First, every plant starts with people. But where do you get them? Knowing how to do effective marketing and promotion is a key element to finding the people who will become the lay planters for a new church. We do that in a given target city until we have about 12-20 interested people. Once we have gotten them, we gather them together five times over the course of 10-15 weeks. During these gatherings we worship, giving people a sample of the Anglican liturgy, and we spend time in discussion, dreaming and wondering about what God might be up to. In short, we are asking ourselves the question, Is God planting a church in our midst? If the consensus is that he is, then we move on to the next stage. We got the people, we gathered the people; now Northwest Anglican begins to guide the people through a specific process. We start weekly meetings of worship and planning, in which the clergy coach (a staff member of Northwest Anglican) leads the people in grappling with a set of questions pertaining to identity, logistics, and leadership. At the end of this four-month process, the group has discerned some of the nuances of its identity, gotten a brief education in the logistics of planting a church, and composed a description of the type of leader they are looking for as a rector. Get, gather, guide. Now it’s time to ground this new church plant. We do that first by providing a list of prospective clergy to interview (though they are encouraged to find candidates outside that list as well). As a nonprofit, Northwest Anglican provides the fledgling plant with as much or as little business resources and oversight as they desire. We can offer licensing, website hosting, bookkeeping, nonprofit status with the IRS, design and print, and a host of other details that are hard for new plants to pull together. We offer all this freely, without expectation that a plant will ever pay it back, affiliate in a certain way, or put our name on any of their materials. We offer it freely to any aspiring Anglican group in the Seattle-to-Portland area because freely we have received. We want people in this region to come to trust the honestly of grace, offered in the name of Christ in the midst of his Church. 3. Can you tell us more about your background and how you developed a vision for church planting through Northwest Anglican? I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so this region is in my blood. I love it. But I left here in the 90s to go off to college, where I discovered Anglicanism. Have you ever had two friends that you desperately wanted to introduce to each other because you just knew they would hit it off? That’s how I felt about the Pacific Northwest and Anglicanism. That’s not to say there were no Anglican efforts in this region, but it was painfully sparse. So the desire to get these two further acquainted has been in my belly for about a decade now. But how did that bellyache result in Northwest Anglican? There are days when I look at the vision and work of Northwest Anglican and think, Where did all this come from? Mostly it’s the cumulative result of working alongside and under some amazing clergy, watching laity plant churches with great results, and finding personal guidance and encouragement in the voices of trusted friends. And it still depends on all these influences. It’s still open for critique and needs ongoing development. Even so, I believe in pursuing our plans doggedly while holding them loosely. 4. Are you working directly with a church plant currently and can you tell us more about it? We are working with several current and prospective plants at various points in their development. Next month we intend to start the process of gathering contacts in several new target cities to initiate another set of prospective plants. In the meantime, we continue to bolster the work of one of our plants in Bellevue, Advent Anglican, and one in Longview, St. Patrick’s Anglican Mission. We provide encouragement and logistical support to two other plants, Light of Christ Anglican (Ballard, Seattle) and Arnada Abbey (Vancouver, WA). We have also built relationships with established Anglican parishes and leadership locally. In many cases, Northwest Anglican has simply built upon the prior work of other brothers and sisters in the faith. We are grateful for their efforts. 5. How can we pray for and support the work of Northwest Anglican? Any and every way possible! Many days I have felt keenly aware of the fact that we would not have gotten this far were it not for the support—prayers, finances, connections, and encouragement—of many people. To be candid, we still need that support just as much as ever. Pray that Northwest Anglican would continue to boldly participate in God’s mission here, and pray for our staff: myself, Rev Scott Walker, and Rev Kristen Yates. Give financially if you can; we run incredibly lean, so every small bit goes a long way. Connect us with people who might support us in one of these ways, people who might want to join one of our plants, or people who you think would be encouraged by our work. And support us with encouraging words by dropping us a line at http://www.NwAnglican.org/contact. Don’t sell that last one short; we love to be spurred on by our family in Christ! To learn more about Northwest Anglican, offer support, or get involved, visit www.NWAnglican.org or watch the video below.    

Nonprofit Is Dedicated to Initiating New Anglican Churches between Seattle and Portland The Rev. Aaron Burt and his team at Northwest Anglican are hard at work, endeavoring to do their part to help build Christ’s church. However, their trademark style breaks the traditional church planting mold in many ways. Northwest Anglican is an unaffiliated Anglican nonprofit that focuses on building churches from the ground up with the laity, rather than starting off with a pastor or a mother church. As the church grows, members of the congregation initiate a search for their pastor and then work through other decisions ranging from worship style to affiliation. In addition, Northwest Anglican doesn’t just plant one church at a time; it plants a whole string of churches. The project and the vision behind it have garnered the support of the Anglican Church in North America, the Anglican Mission in the Americas and Anglican 1000. Regardless of the exact tactics, it is becoming clear that Anglicanism and new church plants in particular are gaining steam with young people, new believers and those who may have fallen away from church. In part, it stems from the tie between ancient Anglican worship and an authentic connection to Christ that is evident in daily life. That is exactly what Northwest Anglican plants aim to embody. To learn more, read our Q&A with the Rev. Aaron Burt: 1. How would you sum up Northwest Anglican in just a few words? Here’s my one-sentence summary: Northwest Anglican is a nonprofit that initiates and coaches lay-led Anglican church plants in the Seattle-to-Portland area. 2. How does Northwest Anglican go about accomplishing its mission and what practical steps does Northwest Anglican take to help foster new churches? There are four stages to what we do that could be categorized as: get, gather, guide, and ground. First, every plant starts with people. But where do you get them? Knowing how to do effective marketing and promotion is a key element to finding the people who will become the lay planters for a new church. We do that in a given target city until we have about 12-20 interested people. Once we have gotten them, we gather them together five times over the course of 10-15 weeks. During these gatherings we worship, giving people a sample of the Anglican liturgy, and we spend time in discussion, dreaming and wondering about what God might be up to. In short, we are asking ourselves the question, Is God planting a church in our midst? If the consensus is that he is, then we move on to the next stage. We got the people, we gathered the people; now Northwest Anglican begins to guide the people through a specific process. We start weekly meetings of worship and planning, in which the clergy coach (a staff member of Northwest Anglican) leads the people in grappling with a set of questions pertaining to identity, logistics, and leadership. At the end of this four-month process, the group has discerned some of the nuances of its identity, gotten a brief education in the logistics of planting a church, and composed a description of the type of leader they are looking for as a rector. Get, gather, guide. Now it’s time to ground this new church plant. We do that first by providing a list of prospective clergy to interview (though they are encouraged to find candidates outside that list as well). As a nonprofit, Northwest Anglican provides the fledgling plant with as much or as little business resources and oversight as they desire. We can offer licensing, website hosting, bookkeeping, nonprofit status with the IRS, design and print, and a host of other details that are hard for new plants to pull together. We offer all this freely, without expectation that a plant will ever pay it back, affiliate in a certain way, or put our name on any of their materials. We offer it freely to any aspiring Anglican group in the Seattle-to-Portland area because freely we have received. We want people in this region to come to trust the honestly of grace, offered in the name of Christ in the midst of his Church. 3. Can you tell us more about your background and how you developed a vision for church planting through Northwest Anglican? I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so this region is in my blood. I love it. But I left here in the 90s to go off to college, where I discovered Anglicanism. Have you ever had two friends that you desperately wanted to introduce to each other because you just knew they would hit it off? That’s how I felt about the Pacific Northwest and Anglicanism. That’s not to say there were no Anglican efforts in this region, but it was painfully sparse. So the desire to get these two further acquainted has been in my belly for about a decade now. But how did that bellyache result in Northwest Anglican? There are days when I look at the vision and work of Northwest Anglican and think, Where did all this come from? Mostly it’s the cumulative result of working alongside and under some amazing clergy, watching laity plant churches with great results, and finding personal guidance and encouragement in the voices of trusted friends. And it still depends on all these influences. It’s still open for critique and needs ongoing development. Even so, I believe in pursuing our plans doggedly while holding them loosely. 4. Are you working directly with a church plant currently and can you tell us more about it? We are working with several current and prospective plants at various points in their development. Next month we intend to start the process of gathering contacts in several new target cities to initiate another set of prospective plants. In the meantime, we continue to bolster the work of one of our plants in Bellevue, Advent Anglican, and one in Longview, St. Patrick’s Anglican Mission. We provide encouragement and logistical support to two other plants, Light of Christ Anglican (Ballard, Seattle) and Arnada Abbey (Vancouver, WA). We have also built relationships with established Anglican parishes and leadership locally. In many cases, Northwest Anglican has simply built upon the prior work of other brothers and sisters in the faith. We are grateful for their efforts. 5. How can we pray for and support the work of Northwest Anglican? Any and every way possible! Many days I have felt keenly aware of the fact that we would not have gotten this far were it not for the support—prayers, finances, connections, and encouragement—of many people. To be candid, we still need that support just as much as ever. Pray that Northwest Anglican would continue to boldly participate in God’s mission here, and pray for our staff: myself, Rev Scott Walker, and Rev Kristen Yates. Give financially if you can; we run incredibly lean, so every small bit goes a long way. Connect us with people who might support us in one of these ways, people who might want to join one of our plants, or people who you think would be encouraged by our work. And support us with encouraging words by dropping us a line at http://www.NwAnglican.org/contact. Don’t sell that last one short; we love to be spurred on by our family in Christ! To learn more about Northwest Anglican, offer support, or get involved, visit www.NWAnglican.org or watch the video below.    

Highlights from the 2012 Anglican 1000 Summit including Plenary Speeches and Archbishop Duncan’s Closing Homily 400 people gathered on March 6-8 for the third annual Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit in Plano, TX. It was an exciting gathering of worship, networking, prayer, and reports from the mission field.  Below is an excerpt from Archbishop Duncan’s closing homily on March 8, followed by featured content from Anglican leaders and plenary speakers. Also see below for an opportunity to apply for the new Vicar for Anglican 1000 job position. “Where we are and how we got here.” “The subject has changed. It really has changed. The things we talked about in the past are long gone and the subject about which we speak now is radically different. How? Jesus is at the center of who we are and what we are doing….” Read the rest of Archbishop Duncan’s closing homily at Anglicans United. Additional content from the 2012 Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit: Mike Breen’s Plenary Talk: Challenge and Invitation David Taylor’s plenary address: The Formative Power of Artful Worship Bishop John Guernsey, Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic, offers his personal account of the Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit. We are searching for a Vicar (Provincial Director) for Anglican 1000 - the provincial catalyst for making church planting the central enterprise of the Anglican Church in North America. Archbishop Duncan has asked that clergy and congregations pray and think about who might be able to fulfill this work.  The full job description for the Vicar for Anglican 1000 can be found here.

Archbishop Robert Duncan will welcome nearly 400 church planters, bishops, clergy, and lay leaders to the 3rd Annual Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit on March 6-8, 2012. The Summit, to be held at Christ Church, Plano, Texas will celebrate the start-up of over 200 churches in the last two and a half years across the U.S. and Canada.  The conference also will feature plenary sessions, reports from the mission field, workshops, worship, and networking fellowship to uplift, challenge, inspire, and bless the church planters and the new church plants. Anglican 1000 is a movement of God to help all North American Anglicans become a church with a church-planting culture. While Anglican 1000 is a key ministry of the Anglican Church, it has been catalyzed and managed by the Rev. Canon David Roseberry, Rector, and the Rev. Daniel Adkinson of Christ Church in Plano, Texas.  The Summit leadership also will announce a transition for Anglican 1000 from a start-up ministry to the central mission work of the Province.  “Anglican 1000 has grown to the point where it needs the full support of the staff and leadership of the Anglican Church in North America.” said David Roseberry, Chairman of the movement.  “The impact of Anglican 1000 has been wide spread around the Anglican Church in North America and we look forward to its future and expansion.” In support of this move, Roseberry continued, “Anglican 1000 brings hope and encouragement across the wide spectrum of Anglican churches in the U.S. and Canada.  What a joy it has been to have seen over 200 new works get up and running all over North America. That is exciting! “While the Province was in its early stage of formation, we were happy to take the leadership role,” concluded Roseberry. In an effort to guide the transition and growth of this vital ministry, the Province will be looking for the next Executive Director to guide the movement through its next phase. Archbishop Duncan will be appointing a task force to oversee the search for the leader who possesses the vision and steadfastness to carry Anglican 1000 through the next decade and beyond. The Rev. Daniel Adkinson, who has been functioning as Executive Director, said, “I have had a front row seat for all that God has done through Anglican church planting over the last few years. I am committed to seeing Anglican 1000 go from strength to strength as we effect this transition for the next ministry season of this vital movement.” During his 2009 investiture, Archbishop Duncan made the prophetic call for 1000 new congregations. A few months later, a team gathered in Plano to dream about a cooperative movement to plant churches and answer this call. Since then, Anglican 1000 has become a primary ministry of the Anglican Church in North America to raise up Anglican congregations and communities of faith to reach people with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. “Anglican 1000 is a signature initiative of the Anglican Church in North America. At my investiture, on hearing the call to plant 1000 churches, Canon David Roseberry immediately stepped forward to provide the catalytic leadership necessary to launching our movement. The entire Anglican Church offers our profound gratitude to Fr. David and the extraordinary team he assembled, the team that brought Anglican 1000 from start-up to maturity,” said Archbishop Duncan. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for announcements about this new position. Both clergy and laity are invited to gather at Christ Church in Plano, Texas, on March 6-8 for Anglican 1000’s 2012 Church Planting Summit. The event will seek to answer the question: What type of DNA is needed to plant, grow and multiply new Anglican churches and communities of faith in North America? Click here for more information or to register.

Archbishop Duncan Calls on Province to Pray for the Diocese of Recife It is with a heavy heart that the Anglican Church in North America passes on the sad news today from the Anglican Diocese of Recife in Brazil.  It was reported earlier that the Right Reverend Bishop Edward Robinson de Barros Cavalcanti and his wife Miriam Cavalcanti were tragically killed. Their lives were taken by a family member on Sunday, February 26 at around 10:00pm in the city of Olinda, Brazil. Details of their deaths are still being investigated. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti was among the great friends and steadfast heroes of the Anglican Church in North America.  He and his wife, Miriam, are mourned by all of us in this Province.  Our prayers and love are extended to the clergy and people of Recife, and to all friends and family, not least because of the tragic circumstances of their murder. Bishop Robinson was a champion of the faith once for all delivered to the saints. He led his diocese to stand against the theological revisionism that plagued his Province and he stood with all of us in the parallel battles in North America and in global Anglicanism. Internationally, he was among the band of courageous bishops and archbishops who adopted North American congregations during our days of trial. I personally have the warmest of memories of Robinson Cavalcanti throughout all of my years as bishop. Moreover, since the founding of our Province, he was often a guest at meetings of our Provincial Council and College of Bishops, most recently in September.  We thank God for the lives of these faithful servants.  We entrust them to the merciful keeping of our Lord and Savior in whose Resurrection “death is swallowed up in victory.” Robinson’s words to us at this moment would be one with the Apostle Paul’s in I Corinthians 15, not least in the exhortation at the end: “Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Faithfully your archbishop, Statement released from the Diocese of Recife: “The diocesan family gives thanks to God for the life and devoted ministry of its Father in God, our pastor, teacher and friend, a true prophet and present day martyr, who championed the cause of the Gospel of Christ for the Church and for the Anglican Communion, which was attended by his wife, as a faithful helpmate, who supported him throughout his years in ministry. “[Bishop Cavalcanti has] left for Eternity, leaving a legacy of service, love, and doctrinal firmness, by which this Diocese will continue. In due course we will be releasing the day, time, and place of his burial.” -Bishop Evilásio Tenório, Suffragan Bishop Elect -Bishop Flávio Adair, Suffragan Bishop Elect -Rev. Márcio Simões, President of the Diocesan Council Photo caption: Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti and Archbishop Duncan at Provincial Council in June, 2011, Long Beach, California (Credit: Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh).

St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee Built up by Families and Faith As part of the Anglican Church in North America’s “A Look Inside” Diocesan news series, we spoke with Fr. Eric D. Dudley, rector of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, a member congregation of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. Fr. Dudley tells how his church was built up physically and spiritually by families and how they are honoring their faith’s orthodox heritage today. St. Peter’s Anglican Church is still a relatively young church. How did it get started? St. Peter’s is seven years old this year.  I left St. John’s Episcopal Church (the old downtown church in Tallahassee) seven years ago with the majority of the staff, all but one Vestry member and 700 members of the parish.  A group of ten families bought an old Church of Christ building, and two small ancillary buildings and gave them to us for worship.  The first week here looked like an ant hill, with people running all over, cleaning and building and creating church!  We had absolutely nothing when we came, so we had to build an altar, buy a pulpit, build kneelers, buy chalices, etc.  Many of the families who chose to come had a heritage at St. John’s that extended back many generations in a beautiful church that was 180 years old; yet, they left all of that for the Truth of God’s Word which is ageless. How have you witnessed the Lord growing your church? God has grown this church in two particularly visible ways:  in size we have gained almost five hundred members who were never a part of St. John’s Church, and our growth in commitment to the Lord has been visible in all the mission outreach that has happened here from day one (we sent at least one group per month on a mission trip in our first year alone). What characteristics or qualities of the St. Peter’s congregation and its ministries strike you as particularly unique? A few things stand out about the life of St. Peter’s:  1. An extraordinarily warm and friendly church where newcomers feel immediately welcomed 2. We are old-fashioned Anglicans who have remained true to traditional worship and traditional music, yet our seams are bursting with young families and singles.  3. We seek to do everything we do with excellence (in Worship, Sunday school, parish dinners, etc.). In what ways has the Tallahassee community impacted your congregation, and in what ways has your congregation impacted the local community? The move from St. John’s Episcopal to St. Peter’s Anglican was spread across the front pages of the local newspaper the day after we left.  Instantly we were embraced by orthodox brothers and sisters of other denominations (PCA Presbyterians, Baptists, orthodox Methodists, Catholics); senior clergy from several denominations came to our first service to show solidarity.  We are well known in the community- hated by some, embraced by others, but clearly understood.  I think because many of our members are very visible in the community (Two Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court, the President of Chamber of Commerce, numerous doctors, lawyers, judges, professors, the most recent Lieutenant Governor) it has made a huge impact for the larger community to witness this public profession of orthodox faith. What are words of wisdom you can offer to other growing churches or churches in formation? Do not fear!  God is in this movement, and that on which He places His hand will not fail!  We have not had one moment of regret!  It is, however, terribly important that you not look back (keep your hand on the plow); I encouraged our members from the first Sunday to stay away from the blog sites, and from conversation about the Episcopal Church.  We made our decision, we followed the lead of God, now we look forward with great joy to the future He intends.  I would also strongly encourage new churches NOT to throw the baby out with the bath water!  Yes, there are things about the Episcopal Church that we want to let go of, but many things that we helped shape and which are part of a much larger Anglican tradition that we would never want to lose.  Leaving the Episcopal Church does not mean leaving Godly Anglican traditions.  Sometimes I fear that we are trying so hard to be something else that we cease to be Anglican.  All these rich traditions that we have inherited (the centrality of the Eucharist, kneeling in corporate confession, corporate Creedal affirmations, collared clergy, youth deeply involved as acolytes, etc.) provide a sense of anchored stability, ancient mystery, that do so much to shape hearts and minds for Christ, and which we have found to be enormously appealing to young people looking for mystery, sacrificial living, ancient Truth. How is the Lord working through St. Peter’s today and how can the Anglican Church in North America continue to pray for your church community? God continues to use us as a witness to the Life and Hope that only comes from His Truth.  We are in the process of building a large, new church whose architecture will reflect our ancient and orthodox heritage, and which will be located on the busiest thoroughfare in Tallahassee (visible on our website www.saint-peters.net); we hope to have the money needed to build by the end of this year; please pray for that!  Photo caption: St. Peter’s Anniversary Celebration, October 10, 2010.

St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee Built up by Families and Faith As part of the Anglican Church in North America’s “A Look Inside” Diocesan news series, we spoke with Fr. Eric D. Dudley, rector of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, a member congregation of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. Fr. Dudley tells how his church was built up physically and spiritually by families and how they are honoring their faith’s orthodox heritage today. St. Peter’s Anglican Church is still a relatively young church. How did it get started? St. Peter’s is seven years old this year.  I left St. John’s Episcopal Church (the old downtown church in Tallahassee) seven years ago with the majority of the staff, all but one Vestry member and 700 members of the parish.  A group of ten families bought an old Church of Christ building, and two small ancillary buildings and gave them to us for worship.  The first week here looked like an ant hill, with people running all over, cleaning and building and creating church!  We had absolutely nothing when we came, so we had to build an altar, buy a pulpit, build kneelers, buy chalices, etc.  Many of the families who chose to come had a heritage at St. John’s that extended back many generations in a beautiful church that was 180 years old; yet, they left all of that for the Truth of God’s Word which is ageless. How have you witnessed the Lord growing your church? God has grown this church in two particularly visible ways:  in size we have gained almost five hundred members who were never a part of St. John’s Church, and our growth in commitment to the Lord has been visible in all the mission outreach that has happened here from day one (we sent at least one group per month on a mission trip in our first year alone). What characteristics or qualities of the St. Peter’s congregation and its ministries strike you as particularly unique? A few things stand out about the life of St. Peter’s:  1. An extraordinarily warm and friendly church where newcomers feel immediately welcomed 2. We are old-fashioned Anglicans who have remained true to traditional worship and traditional music, yet our seams are bursting with young families and singles.  3. We seek to do everything we do with excellence (in Worship, Sunday school, parish dinners, etc.). In what ways has the Tallahassee community impacted your congregation, and in what ways has your congregation impacted the local community? The move from St. John’s Episcopal to St. Peter’s Anglican was spread across the front pages of the local newspaper the day after we left.  Instantly we were embraced by orthodox brothers and sisters of other denominations (PCA Presbyterians, Baptists, orthodox Methodists, Catholics); senior clergy from several denominations came to our first service to show solidarity.  We are well known in the community- hated by some, embraced by others, but clearly understood.  I think because many of our members are very visible in the community (Two Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court, the President of Chamber of Commerce, numerous doctors, lawyers, judges, professors, the most recent Lieutenant Governor) it has made a huge impact for the larger community to witness this public profession of orthodox faith. What are words of wisdom you can offer to other growing churches or churches in formation? Do not fear!  God is in this movement, and that on which He places His hand will not fail!  We have not had one moment of regret!  It is, however, terribly important that you not look back (keep your hand on the plow); I encouraged our members from the first Sunday to stay away from the blog sites, and from conversation about the Episcopal Church.  We made our decision, we followed the lead of God, now we look forward with great joy to the future He intends.  I would also strongly encourage new churches NOT to throw the baby out with the bath water!  Yes, there are things about the Episcopal Church that we want to let go of, but many things that we helped shape and which are part of a much larger Anglican tradition that we would never want to lose.  Leaving the Episcopal Church does not mean leaving Godly Anglican traditions.  Sometimes I fear that we are trying so hard to be something else that we cease to be Anglican.  All these rich traditions that we have inherited (the centrality of the Eucharist, kneeling in corporate confession, corporate Creedal affirmations, collared clergy, youth deeply involved as acolytes, etc.) provide a sense of anchored stability, ancient mystery, that do so much to shape hearts and minds for Christ, and which we have found to be enormously appealing to young people looking for mystery, sacrificial living, ancient Truth. How is the Lord working through St. Peter’s today and how can the Anglican Church in North America continue to pray for your church community? God continues to use us as a witness to the Life and Hope that only comes from His Truth.  We are in the process of building a large, new church whose architecture will reflect our ancient and orthodox heritage, and which will be located on the busiest thoroughfare in Tallahassee (visible on our website www.saint-peters.net); we hope to have the money needed to build by the end of this year; please pray for that!  Photo caption: St. Peter’s Anniversary Celebration, October 10, 2010.

So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled with God.  [I Cor.5:20] 22nd February, A.D.2012 Ash Wednesday Rend your hearts and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.  [Joel 2:13] So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled with God.  [I Cor.5:20] TO ALL WHO SHARE IN THE LIFE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA: Beloved in the Lord, We have come again to the awesome season of Lent.  The name of the season comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning spring.  Our English word lengthen comes from the same root, for this is the season when days lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere.  This is the season when we, too, are lengthened or stretched because we are invited to get our relationship with our God and our relationships with each other restored and renewed.  Getting things right is hard work, often painful work, but from the effort comes the immense fruitfulness of an Easter and Pentecost – a summertime, if you will – of our souls.  Lent is when I must prune my roses – and when I need to allow my Lord to prune me – so that a riot of color and beauty and fragrance can occur in a couple months’ time. As I have said my prayers in recent days, I have had a very strong sense that it was time to write you again, both to invite you into the opportunity of Lenten discipline and devotion and to share with you the results of some of the corporate pruning our God has already been engaged in. HOLY LENT Self-examination and confession are foundational to the Christian life.  Whether it is the “sinner’s prayer” that invites the Lord Jesus in the very first time, or the penitential opening of daily morning and evening prayer, or the regular accountability of the sacrament of reconciliation, we cannot make progress without personal repentance and conversion.  Because we are sinners, the need to restore right relationship – with God, with our spouse, with our parents, our children, our friends, with our priest (or our people), with fellow-workers and fellow-worshippers, with neighbors, with the poor and needy – is as constant as our need to breathe and our need to give thanks.  “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a Holy Lent.”  Immersion in God’s Word and contemplation on the mighty acts of our Savior in his Incarnation, Passion and Death-on-the-Cross are also means by which our lives – both individually and corporately – are anchored in Christ.  There is no substitute for them, and there is no exercise more central to our discipleship than these twin enterprises.  CORPORATE BLESSINGS I wrote to the Church twice in December, once in preparation for Christmas and a few days later about the crisis in one of our founding jurisdictions, the Anglican Mission in the Americas.  Much hard work has been done with (and within) all three groups – the Province of Rwanda, P.E.A.R./North America, and the Anglican Mission – where relationships were fractured.  That work continues, but I can honestly say that there has been much progress.  As Archbishop, I, together with many other Anglican Church leaders and people, have poured much prayer and energy into healing of the wounds and the re-building of our future together.  Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council, has also poured himself into reconciliation and restoration of Communion order.  Many of us are now encouraged and hopeful.  I continue to find young people drawn to the Anglican Way, and particularly on college campuses and in urban settings.  Many will have seen the Christian Broadcasting Network’s six-minute story entitled “Anglican Fever: Youth Flock to New Denomination.”  I think there is a direct tie between our “joyful acceptance of the confiscation of our property” [Heb.10:34] and young people seeing in us those willing to follow Jesus whatever the cost.  It seems to me that what so many of us found to be painful pruning in the loss of properties and possessions has produced abundant new fruit in a generation looking for something (someone) worth living for.  What is more, among the generation that is experiencing the “loss,” I see very little bitterness or anger, but an abundance of the fruit of the spirit [Gal.5:22-23] and amazing hopefulness about the future. What is also worth commenting on in this season of legal losses is the David and Goliath story emerging from one of our smallest and poorest dioceses, Quincy: a “win” on summary judgment by those who characterized themselves as “hayseed lawyers, working on a shoestring.”  Whatever the general losses, it remains true that our God loves to show His power by lifting up the lowly. HALF-WAY The Executive Committee of the Province and the Archbishop’s Cabinet met together recently at St. Peter’s Church, Tallahassee.  (What a great company of Christian witness!)  On the minds of most were that we are now half-way through the first five-year term of an archbishop.  Once again there was extraordinary evidence of how far the Lord had brought us.  All the difficulties and challenges we have faced because of our stand for “the Faith once for all delivered to the saints,” have generated remarkable developments. Anglican 1000 has changed us profoundly.  We passed our 200th plant just before the Tallahassee meeting.  We have a long way to go, but church planting increases exponentially.  The catalytic work, led from Christ Church Plano, that turned an archbishop’s call into church-wide reality is first and foremost something for which we are thanking God.  The subject has changed.  We are not looking in the rearview mirror any more.  We are all about reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ through ever-increasing numbers of missionary congregations.  The Anglican Relief and Development Fund (whose Board also met during our days at Tallahassee) has also reached a new stage of growth and maturity.  The notion of objective philanthropy and measurable change has so caught on that we changed our bylaws to allow for an ARDF-Australia, an ARDF-Canada, and an ARDF-US.  10-10-10 stewardship has also grown significantly, as has extra-mile and founders fund giving.  More and more of our people are embracing the biblical tithe as their own personal basis for giving.  At the same time congregations are committing ten percent to their dioceses and an ever-increasing number of dioceses are making a ten percent gift to our Province. Congregations (like individuals) that have not been Anglican are also considering whether Anglicanism might be for them.  Our three streams – evangelical, catholic and pentecostal – like our three accountabilities – to the Word, to the Tradition and to the transformation of society – are proving an attractive blend of faithful Christian expression.  By the time of our annual meetings in June we may well have some “covenanted associations” to consider, with groups of congregations not heretofore identified as Anglican, coming especially from African-American and Latino cultures.  Our “first gathering of the whole Church since Bedford/Plano” (2009) will rally at Ridgecrest, North Carolina, June 7-9, 2012.  The themes for Assembly 2012 are “captivating disciples, multiplying churches, and transforming communities.”  The faithful will gather from all over the United States and Canada, and from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.  The task force laboring on the Prayer Book will have more work to share.  There will be great worship, inspiration, learning, fellowship and recreation.  Anglicans of every age will come together.  UP FROM EGYPT I return to the Lenten theme.  “It is often easier to take the people out of Egypt than it is to take Egypt out of the people.”  We have come a very long way, but it would be easy to fall back.  There are lots of stresses.  It would be easy for us to regress from the new life which is our call.  And we are sinners.  The best way to keep the Enemy from breaking in and sowing division or discouragement is to embrace what Lent has to offer us.  Remember our partners around the world who are suffering so much – in Northern Nigeria and Syria, in Sudan and Ethiopia and Myanmar, and here at home too.  Give thanks for all that God has done for us, and don’t fall back. Faithfully in Christ, +Robert Pittsburgh   1 Book of Common Prayer (1979), p.265. 2 Opening Address, Bedford/Plano, 2009

So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled with God.  [I Cor.5:20] 22nd February, A.D.2012 Ash Wednesday Rend your hearts and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.  [Joel 2:13] So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled with God.  [I Cor.5:20] TO ALL WHO SHARE IN THE LIFE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA: Beloved in the Lord, We have come again to the awesome season of Lent.  The name of the season comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning spring.  Our English word lengthen comes from the same root, for this is the season when days lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere.  This is the season when we, too, are lengthened or stretched because we are invited to get our relationship with our God and our relationships with each other restored and renewed.  Getting things right is hard work, often painful work, but from the effort comes the immense fruitfulness of an Easter and Pentecost – a summertime, if you will – of our souls.  Lent is when I must prune my roses – and when I need to allow my Lord to prune me – so that a riot of color and beauty and fragrance can occur in a couple months’ time. As I have said my prayers in recent days, I have had a very strong sense that it was time to write you again, both to invite you into the opportunity of Lenten discipline and devotion and to share with you the results of some of the corporate pruning our God has already been engaged in. HOLY LENT Self-examination and confession are foundational to the Christian life.  Whether it is the “sinner’s prayer” that invites the Lord Jesus in the very first time, or the penitential opening of daily morning and evening prayer, or the regular accountability of the sacrament of reconciliation, we cannot make progress without personal repentance and conversion.  Because we are sinners, the need to restore right relationship – with God, with our spouse, with our parents, our children, our friends, with our priest (or our people), with fellow-workers and fellow-worshippers, with neighbors, with the poor and needy – is as constant as our need to breathe and our need to give thanks.  “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a Holy Lent.”  Immersion in God’s Word and contemplation on the mighty acts of our Savior in his Incarnation, Passion and Death-on-the-Cross are also means by which our lives – both individually and corporately – are anchored in Christ.  There is no substitute for them, and there is no exercise more central to our discipleship than these twin enterprises.  CORPORATE BLESSINGS I wrote to the Church twice in December, once in preparation for Christmas and a few days later about the crisis in one of our founding jurisdictions, the Anglican Mission in the Americas.  Much hard work has been done with (and within) all three groups – the Province of Rwanda, P.E.A.R./North America, and the Anglican Mission – where relationships were fractured.  That work continues, but I can honestly say that there has been much progress.  As Archbishop, I, together with many other Anglican Church leaders and people, have poured much prayer and energy into healing of the wounds and the re-building of our future together.  Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council, has also poured himself into reconciliation and restoration of Communion order.  Many of us are now encouraged and hopeful.  I continue to find young people drawn to the Anglican Way, and particularly on college campuses and in urban settings.  Many will have seen the Christian Broadcasting Network’s six-minute story entitled “Anglican Fever: Youth Flock to New Denomination.”  I think there is a direct tie between our “joyful acceptance of the confiscation of our property” [Heb.10:34] and young people seeing in us those willing to follow Jesus whatever the cost.  It seems to me that what so many of us found to be painful pruning in the loss of properties and possessions has produced abundant new fruit in a generation looking for something (someone) worth living for.  What is more, among the generation that is experiencing the “loss,” I see very little bitterness or anger, but an abundance of the fruit of the spirit [Gal.5:22-23] and amazing hopefulness about the future. What is also worth commenting on in this season of legal losses is the David and Goliath story emerging from one of our smallest and poorest dioceses, Quincy: a “win” on summary judgment by those who characterized themselves as “hayseed lawyers, working on a shoestring.”  Whatever the general losses, it remains true that our God loves to show His power by lifting up the lowly. HALF-WAY The Executive Committee of the Province and the Archbishop’s Cabinet met together recently at St. Peter’s Church, Tallahassee.  (What a great company of Christian witness!)  On the minds of most were that we are now half-way through the first five-year term of an archbishop.  Once again there was extraordinary evidence of how far the Lord had brought us.  All the difficulties and challenges we have faced because of our stand for “the Faith once for all delivered to the saints,” have generated remarkable developments. Anglican 1000 has changed us profoundly.  We passed our 200th plant just before the Tallahassee meeting.  We have a long way to go, but church planting increases exponentially.  The catalytic work, led from Christ Church Plano, that turned an archbishop’s call into church-wide reality is first and foremost something for which we are thanking God.  The subject has changed.  We are not looking in the rearview mirror any more.  We are all about reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ through ever-increasing numbers of missionary congregations.  The Anglican Relief and Development Fund (whose Board also met during our days at Tallahassee) has also reached a new stage of growth and maturity.  The notion of objective philanthropy and measurable change has so caught on that we changed our bylaws to allow for an ARDF-Australia, an ARDF-Canada, and an ARDF-US.  10-10-10 stewardship has also grown significantly, as has extra-mile and founders fund giving.  More and more of our people are embracing the biblical tithe as their own personal basis for giving.  At the same time congregations are committing ten percent to their dioceses and an ever-increasing number of dioceses are making a ten percent gift to our Province. Congregations (like individuals) that have not been Anglican are also considering whether Anglicanism might be for them.  Our three streams – evangelical, catholic and pentecostal – like our three accountabilities – to the Word, to the Tradition and to the transformation of society – are proving an attractive blend of faithful Christian expression.  By the time of our annual meetings in June we may well have some “covenanted associations” to consider, with groups of congregations not heretofore identified as Anglican, coming especially from African-American and Latino cultures.  Our “first gathering of the whole Church since Bedford/Plano” (2009) will rally at Ridgecrest, North Carolina, June 7-9, 2012.  The themes for Assembly 2012 are “captivating disciples, multiplying churches, and transforming communities.”  The faithful will gather from all over the United States and Canada, and from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.  The task force laboring on the Prayer Book will have more work to share.  There will be great worship, inspiration, learning, fellowship and recreation.  Anglicans of every age will come together.  UP FROM EGYPT I return to the Lenten theme.  “It is often easier to take the people out of Egypt than it is to take Egypt out of the people.”  We have come a very long way, but it would be easy to fall back.  There are lots of stresses.  It would be easy for us to regress from the new life which is our call.  And we are sinners.  The best way to keep the Enemy from breaking in and sowing division or discouragement is to embrace what Lent has to offer us.  Remember our partners around the world who are suffering so much – in Northern Nigeria and Syria, in Sudan and Ethiopia and Myanmar, and here at home too.  Give thanks for all that God has done for us, and don’t fall back. Faithfully in Christ, +Robert Pittsburgh   1 Book of Common Prayer (1979), p.265. 2 Opening Address, Bedford/Plano, 2009

A Look Inside: Congo Community School Project As the Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) began looking at new projects for 2012, numerous factors came into play ranging from the long-term sustainability and the evangelism component to the risks and, importantly, where the need is most dire. Click here to read about new projects in need of funding for 2012.  That’s exactly why the Democratic Republic of Congo has been an area of focus in 2010-11. “The Archbishops who serve as our trustees pointed to Congo as an area of the most need; it’s where the least of the least are,” said Nancy Norton, executive director of ARDF. It’s also an area where ARDF has been able to work with great success. ARDF Results for the Glory of God: The Lwanwa Primary School Project One example is a community school project in the Anglican Diocese of Bukavu that ARDF embraced. Decades of conflict destroyed communities, families and infrastructure leaving a lack of educational facilities in the wake of the violence. Churches became key partners in the efforts to rebuild schools. The Diocese of Bukavu is credited with teaching Christian values to students in its 131 schools. While teachers are paid by the government, the Diocese is responsible for most of the operating expenses. A great need was put forth for the reconstruction of the Lwanwa Primary School in Walungu district (population of roughly 7,000), Bukavu. And with the blessing of its trustees, ARDF began fundraising just over $60,000 to meet the construction planning needs, which included building new permanent classrooms, water tanks and pit latrines. As stated by ARDF, the goal was to increase enrollment, help protect children, improve teacher retention and provide safe and clean facilities for classes, vaccinations, national examinations and a place to share God’s Word. The ARDF’s impact report on the project put the amazing results in perspective: The 18-month project has completely transformed the school - from temporary, grass-thatched classrooms to nine new permanent classrooms, a large 12,000 liter water tank and six new toilets (pit latrines). Student enrollment has tripled since the completion of school, from 212 students when the project began in 2008, to 459 a year later and a total of 630 students in 2010. Five additional teachers have been hired, bringing the total to nine full-time teachers. In addition, due to the infrastructure and facility funding ARDF provided, the school attracted another donor, the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP). “Due to the fact that we built the water wells and the latrines, that allowed the school to leverage those resources for the food aid, strengthening the children’s ability to learn,” said Norton. The UNWFP’s involvement resulted in a school feeding project, which has allowed children who are assured of one meal a day the opportunity to worry less about being hungry and concentrate more on their school work. The school director decided to diversify food menus by growing a variety of vegetables in an on-site garden. The six local women who were selected to help cook meals for the kids also receive a package of about 37 kg of food, which they can use to feed their own families or trade to meet their family’s needs. The utility of the school has now expanded far beyond education and is focal point for the entire community, offering everything from vaccinations to health and agricultural classes for adult residents. Get Involved ARDF is engaging in inspiring work like the Lwanwa School Project around the globe. The organization’s mission reflects “God’s call to go to the ends of the earth. He told us to take care of our brothers and sisters not just in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, or Florida, but all over the world,” said Norton. Individuals, churches and whole dioceses are invited to make world mission a part of their DNA through ARDF. For instance, one unique way congregations engaging in a building campaign can give is to designate a portion of their building fund for a bricks and mortar project in the Global South. Churches even have the ability to pick out specific elements of a project they’d like to fund, such as roofing. We urge you to prayerfully consider how you can support the work of ARDF as it strives to answer the call of Matthew 25:40: “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” To learn more about ARDF, visit www.AnglicanAid.net. To donate, click here. Photo captions (top to bottom): Students in a newly built and furnished classroom; Students gather for the dedication of the school; The expanded school made it possible for the school’s enrollment to triple; Women selected by the Teacher Parents Association help cook meals for the kids. Credit: Jacques Birugue