| The Official eNewsletter of the Anglican Mission in the Americas
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Dear ,
With Winter Conference only two weeks away, our team is finalizing all the last-minute preparations for our annual Anglican Mission gathering. We look forward to welcoming some 1165
participants (and growing!) to Greensboro, North Carolina -- a wonderful way to kick-off the new year.
If you cannot be with us, please look for articles and updates on the Anglican Mission website. We also ask that you pray for those traveling, speaking and implementing all of the details. Our desire is that the Lord would use this time mightily to His glory!
It's not too late to register. Click here
Cynthia Brust
Director of Communications, Anglican Mission in the Americas
Why not forward Currents to an Anglican friend? Click below. 
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Rwanda's New Bishops
By Grace Mugabe
Archbishop Kolini prays during the laying on of hands at
the bishops' consecration service.
Two new bishops have been called to serve in the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. The Rt. Rev. Augustine Ahimana was consecrated on Sunday, December 21, 2008, as a new Bishop for Kivu Diocese, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. Addressing thousands of worshipers, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini exhorted the junior Bishop to work hard for the new Diocese by spreading God's word. He said that the new Diocese needs moral development and urged Bishop Ahimana to fulfill God's mission.
 On January 11, 2009, Bishop Nathan Gasatura was consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Butare, in the South Province of Rwanda. Archbishop Kolini charged the new bishop to ensure transformation in the Diocese for the sake of building the society. He advised him to work hard in an attempt to "lead saints to green pastures."
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Coming Full Circle -- A Space and Place for HopePointe
Coming full circle, the Rev. Clark Lowenfield of HopePointe Church in The Woodlands, Texas, is rejoicing in God's providence as the congregation settles into their new facility, the same campus where he pastored over 10 years ago. Now HopePointe is sharing their blessings with other ministries in the community that need a place to call home.  Their new location is ideally situated on ten acres in the geographic center of The Woodlands community where 80,000 cars drive by daily. Ten years ago it served as the campus of Trinity Episcopal and, most recently, Woodsedge Community Church. HopePointe "It is one of the most coveted sites in our area, and so we were stunned when the leaders at Woodsedge came to us sharing a word they felt was from God that they were to offer us the property and take one million dollars off the appraised value," says Lowenfield. "They told us that they prayed about it for three months before coming to us - so we prayed for three months before answering," he reports. Since accepting the offer, the church has witnessed an unprecedented outpouring from several Christ-honoring churches in the community who have been extremely supportive of their ministry. "They have given money toward our capital campaign and have donated numerous things for the interior. One church alone gave us tables valued at $10,000," Lowenfield says. The blessings are overflowing. Lowenfield's passion for Godly stewardship of facilities is foundational for "paying it forward," offering use of their facilities to three separate congregations on Sunday and a Spanish pre-school and Dutch middle/high school during the week. "We have been given so much that we have had the privilege of giving some away to other churches in desperate need," he notes with joy. "We now have a Korean church, a Chinese congregation and an emergent twenty-something group all meeting weekly on our campus," he laughs. "They have expressed a desire to do a corporate service on Ash Wednesday -- remarkable because that is a day that is not normally a part of the religious tradition of many of them." Seeing unbelievable waves of newcomers every Sunday since their first service in the new building on December 21, 2008, it is obvious that their new "space and place" have meaning to people and to God.
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Transforming a Yacht Club into Worship Space
After meeting for eleven months on Saturday evenings in church space donated by the First Baptist Church, Transformation Anglican Church in Garland, Texas, now meets in the dining room of the Yacht Club in nearby Rockwall for Sunday morning worship. Though their initial donated space provided a traditional setting, the Saturday evening time slot wasn't desirable for most people and left little room for growth.
Now parishioners greet as many as 22 new visitors on a Sunday morning.
Perhaps the picturesque backdrop and comfortable setting for Sunday morning attendees is making a difference; glass walls on three sides of the new meeting space provide a water view of yachts trolling in and out of the harbor. "People say that God creates custom artwork for us each week," jokes the Rev. Donald McLane.
"We are experiencing visitors from many religious backgrounds and recently had an 18-year-old college student whose mother is a Muslim and father a Christian make a decision to follow Christ," rejoices McLane.
On Sunday, December 14, 2008, ten people made a public profession of faith and joined the church. That makes a total of 18 new members since moving locations. "We are seeing people who want to give a public profession of their faith," explains McLane. "They are not ashamed of the Gospel, are sure about their commitment to Jesus Christ and want to be actively involved in this church."
While the Yacht Club dining room seats 200 people, the average weekly attendance at Transformation has jumped from 95 people one year ago to 130 today. McLane is projecting a move to two services in the near future, continuing their journey of "transforming" an attractive place to eat into one that satisfies spiritual hunger on Sunday.
Transformation Anglican's interior worship service; picturesque outdoors setting for Eucharist, above.
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Drive-in Lot for Jesus Making Headlines
Christ Church Anglican in Jacksonville, Florida, is breaking ground for a new facility in more ways than one. The congregation recently purchased a 13.5 acre property that is centrally located in the city, highly visible and, get this, used to be an X-rated drive-in movie theatre.
"We included the fire department in our property dedication because we symbolically burned cases of pornography that were found in closets," shares the Rev. Mark Eldredge, rector. "I blessed the water, and the firemen sprayed the entire property down."
"We got a lot of free publicity," muses Eldredge. On the following day, the local newspaper headline read, 'Local Church Burns Porn' and the story got national attention. "I got immediate calls from several major news networks, and we had 865 hits on our church website that day."
Reclaiming the land for God's use.
As parishioners make plans for new facilities, the creation of a free movie-night ministry is also underway, redeeming what people watch on the big screen to bless the community and build relationships with the unchurched.
The Saturday before Christmas, Christ Church had their first showing of The Nativity Story for 170 guests, 30-40 of which had zero previous connection with the church. People had the option to stay in their cars for viewing or gather outside and sit in lawn chairs to keep the event more people-interactive.
Christ Church member Jim Evans is overseeing the movie ministry with twenty years experience in movie theatre management. Jere Latimer is organizing parking needs based on past history directing parking for Florida State football games.
With purely evangelistic motives, there is no admission fee to watch a movie, and the concessions are economical for everyone's budget. The congregation already has one new member who represents "fruit" from the property acquisition. Eldredge notes, "Our hope is that if someone is seeking help, they will think of the nice people they met at the drive-in movie theatre and come and check us out at Christ Church."
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Caffeine-Fueled: Your Partnership Making a Difference
As many of our Anglican Mission churches continue to purchase and serve Rwandan coffee, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company would like to share the ways in which your participation has been a blessing to a generation of Rwandans last year. Here are the highlights:
- Purchases of over 13,000 bags of coffee make it possible for one hundred farmers to earn the equivalent of one year of average rural living wage and create funds for dozens of micro finance loans that enable widows and farmers to rebuild their lives.
- Forty Land of a Thousand Hills volunteers served 36,000 cups of coffee to 12,000 pastors and church members at the Catalyst Conference, inviting caffeine-loving Christians to enjoy a free cup of "righteous" coffee.
- Eighty-seven new churches partnered with Land of a Thousand Hills and purchased a "Drink Coffee. Do Good." Experience Kit making the commitment to brew and market Rwandan Coffee.
- Fifteen years after the genocide, over 150 farmers in Bukonya, Rwanda made the commitment to reconcile and work together for the sake of good coffee. Growing coffee has brought hope to the region and the opportunity for us to minister to hundreds of rural Rwandans.
- Over thirty-six "sustainable cycle coffee bikes" were purchased by Rwandan Coffee lovers, directly impacting the farmers of Bukonya, in North Rwanda. The Dymmel family of Virginia purchased fifteen of those bikes after their daughter baked cookies to raise nearly $4000.
Land of a Thousand Hills looks forward to continuing to partner with you in 2009 to engage redemption through the simple act of drinking a great cup of coffee!
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Winter Conference 2009
JANUARY 28-31 Greensboro, North Carolina
Please join us at this year's Winter Conference. There are just a few days left to make your plans to attend this important gathering.
Bishop Chuck Murphy
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Room reservations can be made by contacting the Greensboro Sheraton reservations desk directly at: 866-242-6556 (toll-free)
Hotel website
Winter Conference webpage
Online Conference Registration
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