Dear brothers and sisters,

The Spirit-inspired writer of Ecclesiastes said it best, "For everything there is a season. There is ... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 1:1,4).

The last few months have included both seasons for us. We have wept and mourned the loss of my mother in May and the loss of Marcia's sister last month. Marcia and I have laughed on our fortieth anniversary trip to Ireland as we saw everything from Irish dance to a Celtic monastic ruin with its own herd of deer, as we survived driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

Recently Marcia and I rejoiced at the fiftieth anniversary celebration of FOCUS, the ministry that brought us both to the Lord. We also had the privilege of being the retreat speakers for the clergy of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the home diocese of our archbishop.

At the moment I am with the College of Bishops, and we have shared what the Lord has been doing around North America. Two things cause much joy. The numbers of parishes and members are increasing rapidly as new congregations are being planted or joining us. The best estimates are that the Anglican Church in North America and its ministry partner the Anglican Mission now have around one thousand congregations and one hundred thousand worshippers. As our Archbishop Robert Duncan has reflected, the Lord is showing us favor.

But equally important, we rejoice in the web of close relationships that the Lord is strengthening among our leadership around the U.S. and Canada. "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35).

In our own diocese we have had a remarkable summer. The highlight was certainly Camp Araminta, which has doubled in numbers in the last few years. Several campers made first-time commitments to Christ. And at least one new congregation was started this summer as well.

But the greatest blessings take place in the parishes, with examples of faithful worship and teaching, service and mission all too numerous to list. I am deeply grateful for the Lord's work among all of you.

Laughing and weeping, dancing and mourning. In the midst of it all is the Lord who shows His grace-filled faithfulness to us, those who have received his undeserved favor.

May the Lord bless each of you, no matter what season you are in.

In the love of Jesus the Messiah,

+Neil

WAIT!

Descipleship Journal by Marcia Lebhar 

There's something about having to wait that challenges each of us, and the way we wait tends to be pretty revealing. Neil seems to wait

Marcia Lebhar.

patiently for elevators. Why not? We can't make them come any faster. I tap my foot, turn in circles, and punch the button again and again. I multi-task in the kitchen. Why not? It is possible to do three things at once. Just watching Neil do kitchen chores slowly and sequentially drives me mad.

Kim Driscoll recently asked a group of disciples how well they waited. The question was intriguing to me. Uh-oh. Does it matter? She was reflecting on Abraham and Sarah and how deeply difficult it must have been to have to wait so long for God to fulfill his promise of a son. They did not wait well, as we all know, and Ishmael was the result. There just came a point when they had waited so much longer than they ever imagined they would have to, that taking matters into their own hands seemed the only way forward. And moving things along... doing something... forward motion... seemed the unquestioned necessity.

Since I flunked Kim's question quite badly, the idea of waiting has become a new lens for me as I look at the Scriptures. Where do people... and why do people... have to wait, and what tends to happen when they do? So far, I have one observation to offer. It seems to be that it is when God's people have to wait that they get into trouble. They turn to idolatry.

Think about the golden calf scene in Exodus 32. Why did they turn to idol building after all they had seen God do to free them from Egypt? Because Moses had been up on that mountain so long! They weren't expecting him to stay up there for forty days. They panicked. They couldn't stand waiting for him another day.

Once in the Land of Promise, it was when the rains they needed were delayed that the people turned quickly to idolatry, building asherah poles and sacrificing to other gods, just in case those gods might come through faster that the One true God who had brought them there.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus made the claim that all the Hebrew Scriptures spoke of him, so it is fair to ask what these stories teach us about being his disciples. What are you getting tired of waiting for? Where are you tempted to bail on waiting for God to come through?

Waiting accentuates our helplessness, and God seems committed to revealing just that. Only when we know ourselves to be helpless do we fully experience his grace and glory. We wait for it.

The people of Israel couldn't part the Red Sea. They couldn't bring water from the Rock. Joshua couldn't take Jericho without weapons. Gideon couldn't defeat thousands with just a few hundred men. They couldn't bring rain to the Land of Promise. The disciples of Jesus couldn't save themselves in a storm, or feed five thousand people with one boy's lunch. They couldn't bring their beloved Rabbi back from the dead. They were helpless, and then God put his glory on display.

Let me suggest that, as people whose hearts are inclined to wait badly, God has given us a way to practice the sort of helplessness which is helpful.

Sabbath. It is still one of the Ten Commandments. Right up there with the ones we consider the biggies, like not committing murder or adultery. Why do we give ourselves permission to completely ignore this one?

Sabbath is like an enforced helplessness. It is a rehearsal in the waiting God continues to require of us. It is a practiced alternative to taking things into our own hands. On the front end, it hurts. Leaving my to-do lists alone. Trusting the universe will continue its forward motion without my intervention. Demonstrating that it is God who sustains me and not my own efforts. Sabbath is like the scary free fall of faith, in microcosm. And it is good for our hearts to practice. It gets easier.

There is no legalism here. No one way to observe it. But Sabbath still matters. We need the challenge to impatience and idolatry it offers. We need the practiced dependence it requires. And we need rest! We need God! And most of the time we are moving to fast to answer his call to be with him. This is the silver lining of the Sabbath cloud... the profound security of his presence... stopping long enough to see the love in his eyes. These help us to wait in larger ways. 

COME,

BEHOLD THE WORKS OF THE LORD

Psalm 46:8a

by: Susan Morris, GAD Missionary to Uganda

Uganda. So beautiful that upon visiting the country Winston Churchill named it, "The Pearl of Africa." Uganda is a country of natural splendor: the source of the great Nile River, lakes and waterfalls, mountains and valleys, trees and plants of thousands of varieties, jungles and forests, and a bewildering assortment of wild animals-including the great mountain back gorillas. All that you might expect to see in Africa is present in Uganda. The beauty of God's creation is striking!

The people are so quick to return a smile, so willing to help one another, and so generous far beyond their means, which in most cases, is very, very little. Ugandans have big, big hearts.

Yet, Uganda has an ugly side - an ugliness as shocking as its natural beauty is stunning. Uganda suffers with the heart-breaking ugliness of extreme poverty.   Children with bellies swollen with intestinal parasites and no medicine to take to cure the condition. People with nothing but filthy rags to wear. Families torn apart by years of war in the north. Young people orphaned by the war and by HIV/Aids-many old before their time as they care for their younger siblings. Women and children filling dirty jerry cans with dirty water from dirty streams. Children of all ages dying from malaria, dysentery, Aids, starvation. The extreme poverty and need among the people of Uganda can blind one to the natural beauty of the country.

(Little girl helping her mother work; note her bloated tummy)

(Out of the bush to fetch water)

Yet, come! Behold the works of the Lord! Christ lives!! His love is being displayed through his Body, the Church, as its members, near and far, partner together to reach the lost, the suffering, the orphaned, and the widowed in this beautiful yet terribly impoverished country.

One such partnership God brought about is between the Church of Uganda and The Global Orphan Project, a ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri, whose focus is caring for orphaned and abandoned children. Oh, there are so many of those children right here in Uganda! James 1:27 captures the heart of The Global Orphan Project: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

The partnership centers around local U.S. church-based orphan care: churches in the United States recognize these young ones are God's children, belonging to the very same Heavenly Father, and therefore are, in fact, their own children. U.S. churches embrace the burden of caring for these children as family, while maintaining a heart to keep the children connected with any extended family within their village roots-something critically important to the children's sense of identity.

Within Uganda, the centers caring for the children are called The Father's House, referring to John 14:2, where Jesus says, "In my Father's house are many rooms..." One of the Father's Houses is located in Lira, a town located in northern Uganda-a vast area devastated by a 20-year-long war with LRA. (For more information, go to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/history-of-the-war). At the Lira Father's House, 49 destitute children's lives have been drastically changed.

Many of these children were orphaned by the 2004 massacre of 121 people by the LRA in nearby Barlonya; others were orphaned by HIV/Aids. When these children first came to The Father's House earlier this year, they were sick, malnourished, and wearing only torn rags. Now they are healthy and living in a home with a bed, mattress, and mosquito net. The children have house mamas, clean clothes, and school uniforms. They go to school with other children in the area. Most importantly, the orphaned children are happy now! And what are they most happy about? Not what you would expect to hear. Oh my, what hearts they have for God! What are they are they most happy about? Now they get to go to church! Every Sunday! Praise God for His miracles in these children's lives! Praise Him for American churches joyfully participating with The Global Orphan Project, for the Church of Uganda providing inspired direction in this important ministry, for the individuals giving dedicated leadership to The Global Orphan Project, and for the wonderful house mamas providing loving care for these precious ones! Behold the works of the Lord!

 (Children at The Father's House in Lira, singing a song of praise for guests and for God) 

, I will be helping to further develop and expand these mission partnerships.

What do these partnerships look like?   Primarily, they are relational. They are people-oriented as opposed to project-oriented. Additionally, they are mutually beneficial. They are a picture of brothers and sisters in Christ, serving together, cross-culturally, exchanging ideas, experiences, and resources, while reaching out to those in need, both spiritually and physically. Behold the works of the Lord!

What do the teams do when they come here? Members of U.S. congregations serve in a variety of ways, but always by partnering with the local Ugandan church as the body of Christ, bringing the Good News to lost and hurting souls. At the same time, the U.S. and local church partnerships work to equip people in need with the practical means to improve their lives and those of generations to come. Medical teams provide care and medicines as well as teach improved medical practices, disease prevention, and basic health and sanitation in remote villages. Other teams help develop ways for bringing clean water to those without-a huge step in preventing disease. Some teach improved livestock care as well as more effective agriculture and irrigation methods. Still others help install solar panels to provide electricity to medical clinics, schools, and churches. There is almost no end to the ways you can help as part of a congregational partnership.

What is the impact of these partnerships? That would take another article entirely! But consider this. Through these relationships, we see that the Gospel transcends cultures. And the Gospel works! No matter who we are, where we live, whatever our circumstances are, or what condition we're in. The Gospel WORKS! Lives are saved, lives are changed, widows and orphans are cared for in their distress, the hungry are fed, the thirsty are given living water, the naked are clothed, the sick are visited and treated and healed. The Kingdom is manifested in the actions and lives of His disciples. "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Mathew 25:40.

What an amazing and very humbling call the Lord has issued upon my life in Him. Truly, God uses broken, earthen vessels to accomplish His good and perfect will. I am trusting and believing that He does not call the equipped, but equips the called! To God be all glory!

Come, behold the works of the Lord!