| The Official eNewsletter of the Anglican Mission in the Americas
|
Dear ,
Look for the June edition of The Wave, our quarterly print magazine featuring compelling and inspirational stories of Anglican Mission congregations engaged in Kingdom work. If you'd like to receive The Wave, subscribe here. It's free!
May the Lord continue to bless all of us as we seek to be fueled by His love to serve others for His glory.
Cynthia Brust
Director of Communications, Anglican Mission in the Americas
Click below to send a copy of Currents to a friend. 
|
|
The following statement was issued by the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda's House of Bishops June 16, 2009.
A COMMUNIQUE´ FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF RWANDA
The House of Bishops of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda (PEAR) met in Kigali, Rwanda on the 13th June 2009. Acknowledging the significant growth of the missionary outreach initiated by PEAR in the USA, the House of Bishops considered nominations for additional missionary Bishops to further the work of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMIA). The House of Bishops elected three bishops and appointed them to serve in PEAR's missionary jurisdiction in North America committed to extending God's kingdom. The bishops -elect are: 
The Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter
The Rev. Canon Doc Loomis
The Rev. Silas TAK Yin Ng
The date for the consecrations has been set for September 2009.
|
Just announced: Theme for Winter Conference 2010
With a clear call, the Anglican Mission recently announced the theme for the 2010 annual event in January.
"Build Up the Highway," drawn from Isaiah's prophecy, encourages us to prepare the way for the Lord, keeping our eyes on Him as He continues to lead us in the way He has ordained for us to walk in. At Winter Conference we will re-commit to the Lord's urgency for mission, call on Him and trust Him to clear the way of stones and to raise His signal, or banner, over us as we seek to walk in radical obedience.
Mark your calendars now and make plans to join us January 27-30, 2010 when we gather once again in Greensboro, North Carolina, for Winter Conference. Don't miss this meaningful time in our life together as we recommit to the journey and celebrate our tenth anniversary. |
"Table Church" Engages Culture
For the Reverends Josh Wilton and Andy Withrow and
their families, ordinary life is a calling.
Church planters of the Table Church in Victoria, British Columbia, Josh and Andy have a vision to create effective multi-congregational places of worship rooted in neighborhoods and built around ordinary life. They use the image of a pomegranate to describe their innovative model - one fruit (the church) that contains many clusters (neighborhood 'table' groups). In their words, their church plant model is "a house church on steroids."
 The pair takes engaging the culture literally. Recently, Josh and Andy hit the streets to ask provocative questions and captured the unscripted results on video. What they learned is striking - view their experience here on their 40 Answers Video. In this follow-up video, the two leaders offer conclusions based on their research and ask for support for their ministry.
To learn more about the Table Church read this recent article written by Lloyd Mackey of BC Christian News. |
Keeping the Peace, Even in the Church
Conflict is everywhere! No one is immune to it. It happens in the home, workplace and yes, in the church. Many congregations have embraced a "culture of peace" through the invaluable resources of Peacemaker's Ministry.
In May, Prince of Peace Anglican Church in Melbourne, Florida, hosted a three-day event on Conflict, Coaching and Mediation. Forty-six people from numerous states and denominations came to learn how to approach conflict resolution from a biblical perspective.
 Prince of Peace has a team responsible for mediating conflict within their parish family and offering help to other congregations and groups in the community.
"If we can get into churches to deal with the early 'sparks' of conflict God's way, we can prevent forest fires from happening," explains Jim Sisserson, Chairman of the peacemaking team at Prince of Peace.
Founded 27 years ago, Peacemaker's Ministry has a successful track record of individuals applying proven principles, understanding that conflict is an opportunity, not an accident.
"I am a huge fan of this process, and now I feel confident to bring conflict resolution up as a matter of conversation. It has been helpful for me on a personal level and has allowed me to help others," said Mike Gent, who recently completed Peacemaker's mediation training. Click here to learn how to respond to conflict biblically and for more information on being a peacemaker in your community.
|
Christ Church Celebrates 24 Years with Project 24
Over 800 members and friends of Christ Church in Plano, Texas, celebrated 24 years of ministry on Saturday, May 16, by participating in Project 24, an outreach to the community through 24 service endeavors. Despite the rainy day, people of all ages gathered early to share breakfast and then donate the precious commodities of time and energy to help others.
"I think everyone experienced some special moments," noted Andy Fruhling, one of the coordinators of the food donation drive at a grocery store. "A lady stopped to talk while going into the [grocery]
store, and she explained that she had just lost her job on Friday. Later, she came out with a full bag of groceries to donate and a big hug for our greeter at the door."
 From picking up litter in a nearby park to painting houses for senior citizens, donating blood, to planting flowers at an elementary school, the outreach efforts not only benefited the recipients, but also made a lasting impression on those who were serving.
"I invited a friend who is going through a tough time and isn't going to church presently," shared Barbara Holmes, coordinator at the CITY House teen shelter. "He emailed me Monday morning to say, 'Thank you for the opportunity to feel good about what I did'."
"The positive outcome of Project 24 is people discovering that reaching out to others is a joyful experience and can make a tremendous difference in someone's life," says Marsha Kostus, Outreach Ministry Coordinator for Christ Church.
Project 24 was featured in the Dallas Morning News. Read the article here.
Click here for more information about Christ Church Plano. |
Beach Retreat for Post-Moderns
"Highly relational and low on program" is the goal of Ford Jordan, Assistant Pastor at Church of the Apostles in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Ford is second from the right on the back row.)
Eighteen people in their 20's and 30's from Apostles gathered at Atlantic Beach for a weekend retreat to cultivate community and dream about how to stay connected with other post-moderns. Ford is helping to foster relationships among these young adults, drawing references from Margaret Feinberg's talk at the 2009 Anglican Mission Winter Conference (watch full video).
"Margaret mentioned that the number one issue that post-moderns struggle with is loneliness, and we want to create a place of belonging at Apostles for those in this stage of life," shares Ford.
 Monthly dinners held in homes provide an opportunity for initial introductions, creating venues that are highly relational and low on program. As follow-up, many of the participants engage in spontaneous outings throughout the week.
Gathered at a beach house for the recent retreat, Ford cast a vision by sighting scriptural narratives that express the value of community with each other and with Christ, pointing out that loneliness is not God's plan for us.
"Mostly we just played together, spending time on the beach, cooking meals and staying up late to play games and talk. The retreat also provided a unique opportunity to hope, dream and pray together about future ways to create connectedness."
This summer, Apostles will host a weekly meal and Bible study for young adults and students that are home from college. For more information email Ford. You can learn more about Margaret Feinberg's ministry here.
|
Doing Church Differently in LA
It all started with a Spirit-dream to create a community that could connect with people who'd given up on church, or never had the opportunity to experience a faith community in the first place.
ReGeneration L.A. offers a new way of "doing church". Lead Pastor Jim Gray explains: "ReGeneration L.A. (or ReGen for short) is a Los Angeles based church committed to building a spiritual, faith-based community that allows people who are 'turned-off' by the typical way of 'doing church' to find their place in the Kingdom of God..."
Creativity and innovation is alive and well in the Anglican Mission. Click here to read the full article on our website.
Learn more about ReGen here. |
News From Around the Mission
One person can make a huge difference.
 Hilary King, Senior Warden at St. Simon's, North Vancouver and former North Shore community health organizer, is using her experience in the health field to start
the Healthy Mums Project, teaching mothers in Rwanda about keeping healthy during and after pregnancy. She is also leading the effort to cultivate the Anglican Mission's sister-to-sister partnership between St. Simon's and the Kigeme diocese.
Read this recent article in the North Shore News about Hilary and the Healthy Mums Project.
_____________________________________________________
Global Mission Matters 2009
 New Grace Church in Fleming Island, Florida, recently held a week-long event designed to prepare participants for mission around the world. Global Mission Matters 2009 held May 10-17 helped those attending to "think globally." Members of New Grace spent a week hosting missionaries from several continents and fostered new relationships with people in the community through a number of planned activities.
Read a full report of the event here.
_____________________________________________________
Acts of Kindness Team
 It started by sharing the love of Jesus Christ with others through simple, unselfish deeds, both planned and spontaneous. The Acts of Kindness Team (AOK) at Prince of Peace Anglican in Melbourne, Florida, grew to 90 members in less than a year. Their ministry was featured in a June Senior Life Magazine story describing one of their recent community outreaches.
Read the article written by Linda S. Humphrey about the AOK event here. (Click in the digital magazine's right lower corner to page 10.)
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
A CHRISTIAN 'ASHRAM' RETREAT
July 24-27
Summit Park, Abbotsford
BC Canada
Recharge your spiritual batteries!
The Rev. David Rich, one of our Anglican Mission clergy, along with the Rev. Rod Ellis, a well-known Bible teacher and Rector of Church of our Lord, Victoria, Canada, will lead this unique retreat.
While serving in India in 1930, Missionary Evangelist Stanley Jones adapted the 'ASHRAM' retreat format from the Indian practice of taking seekers "apart from" ("Ah") "hard work" ("Shram") for spiritual instruction and renewal.
Weekend registration includes three nights' accommodation and all meals.
For more details and a downloadable PDF
click here.
________________________
|
Churches for the Sake of Others:
A Western Initiative of the Anglican Mission
September 8-10
Mater Dolorosa
Retreat Center
Sierra Madre,
California
Do you share a passion or vision of churches that exist for the sake of others?
The Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter planned this gathering for participants to meet and connect with others who share a similar vision. It is geared specifically toward current C4SO church planters and those who are considering being part of this exciting movement.
Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini and Anglican Mission Chairman Bishop Chuck Murphy will join Todd, focusing on the C4SO story, its vision and "joining the journey."
Limited to 60 individuals, the event costs $250 which covers a two night stay and six meals.
For more information, visit these links:
C4SO retreat info
Retreat center website
| |
