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Handle with prayer!
News – ANiC and AEN
Welcome to ANiC’s first parish in Calgary
ANiC
now has a parish in Calgary. The congregation of about 80 families held
their first serviceMay 1 in rented premises,leaving behind their former
building. They will be taking some time to recalibrate their vision for
ministry in their community and consider a name for the church. For now,
they will be known as the ANiC Calgary Project and will meet at 1pm in the
facilities of New Life Community Church at 7642 22 Street SE, Calgary. On
May 6-8, Bishop Trevor Walters will be in Calgary to officially welcome the
congregation into ANiC. Then, on May 15, an 8:30am Book of Common Prayer
service will be added to the 1pm Eucharist.
Please
pray for this fledgling parish and especially for the special services this
coming weekend.
Welcome
to three new ANiC priests
Bishop
Donald Harvey has welcomed the Rev Jonathan Gibson (Calgary, AB), the Rev Ruth Lillington(Calgary, AB) and the Rev Jonathan Wong (Toronto, ON) as priests in ANiC. The Rev Gibson was the long-time rector of the Anglican
Church of Canada’s St Augustine (Calgary, AB) and is now rector of ANiC’s
newest congregation, the ANiC Calgary Project. Jonathan’s reasons for leaving
the Anglican Church of Canada and joining ANiC are posted to the
ANiC website. As is his first
sermon at the new ANiC parish.
The Rev Ruthy Lillington is
honourary assistant to the Rev Gibson in the new ANiC Calgary Project.
The Rev Jonathan Wong was
ordained and served in the Diocese of Singapore before coming to Toronto in 2009
to study at Wycliffe. He is active
in Christ The King Toronto.
Prayer requested
Bishop Charlie Masters has been
unwell and is taking time off to recuperate, returning to his duties as ANiC
national director and Suffragan Bishop for Central and Eastern Canada in June. Please pray for him and for Judy, his
wife. Also please uphold Bishop Don
Harvey who is temporarily assuming Bishop Charlie’s ecclesial duties and John MacDonald
who has taken on Bishop Charlie’s duties as national director until his return.
Parish intercession through out
the month of May would be appreciated.
St Aidan’s (Windsor, ON) will be
in court beginning May 9 in London. Please uphold in prayer Pastor Tom Carman, the parish leaders and the
congregation during this time. Pastor Tom says, “It is unfortunate that the
diocese was unwilling to wait for the outcome of the case currently under
consideration by the Supreme Court of Canada, avoiding this unnecessary expense.
But God is good and we are confident He will provide for all our needs.”
Discernment of Vocation Event (DOVE) – Please pray for the DOVE gathering ANiC is holding this weekend near Hamilton. The three-day event allows those who
believe God is calling them to ordination – either as a priest or deacon –
to meet with a group of assessors to test their call. Each candidate is
able to meet one-on-one with three different assessors to explore the validity
of their call and their readiness for ministry. The assessors then help
candidates determine if they are ready now, need training and development, or
should consider other career paths. There will be 14 candidates attending the DOVE
this weekend.
ANiC parishioners are reminded to
complete a survey
If you haven’t yet completed the ANiC survey, please do so as soon as
possible. The deadline is May 14. All ANiC
parishioners 18 and older are asked to participate in this short survey. The
information gathered will help ANiC’s development team
plan for ANiC’s growth and sustainability. For more information and to take the
survey now, please see the ANiC
website. Parishioners without Internet access can get paper copies
of the survey from their rector. Thanks so much!
Parish news
St Andrew’s Church (Delta,
BC) is seeking a part-time minister (16 hours per week). The job
description is posted on the St Andrew’s
website. May 31, 2011 is the deadline for applications.
Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Marlborough, MA) – On Saturday, May 21 Bishop Don intends to ordain Bruce
Alden Thayer as a Deacon (transitional) in the Church of God. Dr Thayer,
a retired surgeon who recently completed his theological studies at Trinity School
for Ministry, will be part of Archdeacon McKinnon's staff. Please pray
for him, his wife Susan, and their family.
St Timothy’s Anglican Bible Church (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC), on Montreal’s West Island, is holding
a “Great Garage Giveaway Sale” on Saturday, June 25 – following the
example of St Hilda’s (Oakville, ON) and other churches. The congregation is also
planning a youth barbeque possibly including a Christian band. Work is underway
to generate media coverage – in both French and English. Pray for good
contacts and opportunities to minister to community members.
Calendar of upcoming events –
for your interest and prayer support
May 7,
10am-4pm – St Matthias & St Luke’s (Vancouver) bazaar fundraiser
May 14,
6-9:30pm – St John’s (Vancouver) Malawi mission team fundraiser
May 21
– Holy Trinity (Marlborough, MA) – Ordination of Bruce Thayer to the diaconate
May 28–
Moncton, NB church planting workshop
June 6-20
– Asian Mission short-term
mission trip to Thailand and the Karan refugee camps
June 25
– St Timothy’s (Montreal, QC)
garage sale giveaway and youth barbeque
June 30
– July 14 – Asian Mission short-term
mission trip to China, working with disabled orphans
June (TBD)
– Marlborough, MA church planting workshop
July 22-24
– St Matthias &
St Luke’s church camp with Bishop Don
Nov 2 –
ANiC Clergy Day & laity spiritual life conference – both in Victoria,
BC
Nov 3-4
– ANiC synod,
Victoria, BC
On the front lines:Growing
and planting churches
Parish profile: All Saints’ Anglican
Church (Rutland, Vermont, USA)
All Saints’, a mission of Holy
Trinity Anglican Church, (Marlborough, MA), is a bright light in a dark and economically
challenged community. Begun just over two years ago, All Saints’ has an
average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 50 parishioners who gather in a small rented
Lutheran church building at 4pm on Sunday for a mass in the Anglo-Catholic
tradition. All Saints’ also offers
worship on most holy days.
Father
Deacon Dwight MacPherson, who gives spiritual leadership to the parish under
the oversight of Archdeacon Michael McKinnon, says the congregation is growing
and likely will grow much more when All Saints’ is able to move to Sunday
morning services in addition to the late afternoon service.
While
the congregation struggles financially, the deeply depressed local economy also
provides tremendous opportunity for ministry in faithfulness to God’s call. Many of All Saints’ ministries –
and there are many! – are undertaken in collaboration
with other Bible-believing churches in town, including the Salvation Army,
Lutheran, Methodist and Baptists. Some ministries are focused on feeding and
caring for the poor and homeless, while others minister to shut-ins, hospital
patients and nursing home residents.
An
annual summer Vacation Bible School is a highlight for the children, while
monthly men’s breakfasts attract many from outside the church. The men’s group
plans to become know as “Helping Hands”, offering handyman services to community
members in need. This summer, All Saints’ parishioners are planning a “Summer
Fling” community fair, followed by a fall outreach “Taste-of-Chocolate” event, featuring
a Celtic band.
But
All Saints’ isn’t just about doing good works. Every ministry is
evangelistic, tangibly demonstrating God’s love and earning the right to share
the Good News of forgiveness and acceptance into God’s family through Jesus
Christ. And community members are noticing. Referring to All
Saints’, a non-churched community leader recently told Father MacPherson that
he’d never seen such a little light shine so brightly.
Practical ideas for planting and
growing churches
Bishop Ron Ferris has developed
some very practical suggestions for those involved in planting and growing new
churches. You can access the
document on the ANiC website.
Upcoming conferences for church
planters and leaders of new churches
ANiC’s church planting working group has organized a series of regional
conferences this spring offering insights for both planting new churches and
growing existing congregations. Upcoming conferences include:
Moncton, NB May
28 Contact the
Rev Dan Endresen
Marlborough, MA June (TBD) Contact the
Ven Michael McKinnon
News – Anglican Church in
North America (ACNA)
New ACNA brochure
Our
province, the Anglican Church in North America, has developed a very
attractive brochure for the use of member congregations. It showcases the ACNA’s mission and
explains our core beliefs. ACNA churches are encouraged to download this tri-fold
brochure and get it professionally printed for use by parishioners and the
public.
Prayer for victims of tornados
You
are asked to pray for those affected by the devastating tornadoes that ripped
across southern US states recently, leaving 340 dead and thousands
injured. A statement
from the ACNA says, “The Anglican Church has 18
member congregations in the state [of Alabama, the worst hit] and while reports
from clergy and staff are still coming in, no injuries or fatalities within our
parishes have been reported. To our knowledge, none of our member churches in
the South was completely devastated, but several experienced property damage,
including torn off roofs and fallen trees… We humbly request your prayers for
all who have been affected and for our parishes as they not only discern what
must be done within their own bodies, but reach out to help the grieving and
assist in the relief efforts.”
New bishop for new ACNA diocese
Bishop Rogers Ames was installed as the first
bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes, a recently formed ACNA
diocese which includes 21 churches in Ohio, Indiana
and Michigan.
Our
Primate’s Easter message
In his Easter
message, Archbishop Robert Duncan contrasts the darkest night when
Jesus was in the tomb with the brightest day when he arose. Archbishop Bob writes:
We who gather here for worship on
this Easter near the beginning of the 21st century face a world of competing
ideologies and pagan savageries. The choice remains one of whether night will
follow day, or day will follow night… Jesus presents the choice. His cross and
empty tomb present a doorway into a very different future, the difference (and
the doorway) between night and day. Our call is to live in the day, both by
deed and by word. Our call is to the transformation of the world with the love
and light of Jesus. We can help one another to live abundantly in the day, and
we can help others to choose Jesus and the new day He offers. It is a matter of
life and death, of day and night… In thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for
us, let us be agents of the same Easter choice for others. We know that day
does follow night for those who make the Easter choice.
US legal update
Virginia – The legal case
involving seven ACNA parishes in Virginia began again last week and is expected to take six weeks.
Texas – The Episcopal
Church has launched another law suit against the parish, rector and three
trustees of ACNA’s St Francis (El Paso, TX) seeking up to $750,000 in punitive
damages from each of the defendants. Dr Felix Orji, formerly a priest at what is now ANiC’s St John’s Vancouver and newly elected bishop
in ACNA, is rector of St Francis.
News – Canada
Anglican
Church of Canada news
Diocese
of Moosonee contemplates dissolution – The Anglican
Journal reports that the future of the financially strapped Anglican
Church of Canada Diocese of Moosonee will be decided by its synod in June. One
option is to dissolve and transfer its 26 parishes to other dioceses. The
diocese covers part of northern Ontario and northern Quebec.
Canons
resign – The AEC blogs
notes that two priests have resigned as canons of the Chapter of
Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal due to their conviction that the
appointment of a Dean in a partnered same-sex relationship goes against clear
Scriptural teaching.
Toronto church authorized to
proceed with same-sex blessings – An email from St John’s West Toronto
announces that, “Effective immediately, St. John's Church West Toronto has been
designated by Archbishop Colin Johnson as the first Anglican parish in Toronto
permitted to celebrate Same Gender Blessings.”
Leadership
conference in BC
The
Anglican Coalition in Canada, one of ANiC’s partners, is holding a church
leadership conference featuring Dr Terry Walling. It will take place May 25-27 in Richmond, BC. For information see the ACiC website.
Traditional
Anglican congress in Victoria
A congress of traditional Anglicans will be held in Victoria, June 1-4, gathering parishioners from the Anglican
Catholic Church and the Anglican Province of Christ the King – both
rather small denominations. The
conference will focus on reaffirming the Affirmation of St Louis, which dates
back to 1977 when some congregations left the established North American
Anglican Churches when the ordination of female priests was at issue. While some
in these congregations are planning to join the Roman Catholic Church’s
Anglican Ordinariate once it is set up in North America, others including those
attending this conference, oppose this move. David Virtue provides more
detail.
More Canadian news
Church
of England Newspaper – April 29 2011 – Canadian ‘no’
to communion without baptism
News – United States
Links to more US news
Church of England Newspaper
– April 21 2011 – Covenant
anti-democratic and un-Anglican, Los Angeles says
News – International
New chairman of GAFCon Primates
Council elected
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, primate of the Anglican
Church of Kenya, and a former student at Wycliffe College (Toronto), has been
elected chairman of the GAFCon Primates Council at their meeting in Nairobi,
Kenya. He takes over from Bishop
Greg Venables who stepped down as Primate of the Southern Cone last fall. The
announcement from GAFCon asks for pray for the GAFCon Primates, that they
would be “faithful to God’s call”. It also reminds us that “GAFCON is made up of
Anglican archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity from around the world. We
include Provinces that contain the majority of the active membership of the
Anglican Communion. We joyfully acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
believe in the trustworthiness of God’s Word and the transforming power of
God’s Spirit.”
From around the Communion and the
world
Egypt – The Church Times
reports that Christians in Egypt are less secure since the popular
uprising in January. Fearing
increased radicalization of the Islamic majority, many are making plans to
immigrate to Canada and elsewhere.
Nigeria – The media report that over 500 are dead following post-election rioting by Muslims in northern
Nigeria. However, the Primate of
Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, has indicated that he believes the rioting was planned even prior to the vote – which international
observers said was relatively free and fair, a first for that
country. Thousands of Nigerians
have fled their homes in the wake of the violence. Compass Direct
News also reports that 200 churches were destroyed.
China – Quoting a ChinaAid document,
the Church Times
reports that known incidents of Chinese government persecution of
Christians has increased sharply. Many have been arrested, tortured and
imprisoned. Asking for prayer, the Evangelical
Fellowship of Canada reports that 169 Christians were arresting on
April 10 as they tried to attend an open-air church meeting in Beijing.
Solomon Islands – The Church of
England Newspaper reports that the earthquake-generated tsunami that
devastated northern Japan also caused considerable damage in the Solomon
Islands, 3700 miles to the south. A three metre wave washed inland destroying many homes
and damaging diocesan property, but thankfully no one was killed.
UK – The Archbishop of York endorsed Prince William’s choice to live with Kate Middleton prior to their recent
marriage, saying modern couples want to “test the milk before they buy the cow”.
More international news
Church of England Newspaper –
April 21 2011 – West
Jerusalem parish reborn
Church of England Newspaper
– April 29 2011 – Kampala
Cathedral selling shares
Church of England Newspaper
– April 29 2011 – Anglicans
kicked out of doors again… in Harare
Soul food
Of interest
Youth
website – Explore Fervr, an
award-winning Australian Christian youth website.
Cost of
discipleship – Dr Albert Mohler discusses
insights offered by research into why some churches grow, while
others decline. Several decades
ago, one researcher found that healthy churches tend to offer members
uncompromising, clear theology and demand high standards of behaviour and
belief.
Just for fun
A Sunday school teacher was
talking to her class of five and six year olds about going to heaven. She
asked, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all
my money to the church, would l get in to heaven?"
All the children answered, "NO!"
"If I cleaned the church
every day, mowed the yard and kept everything neat and tidy, would I get in to
heaven?"
Again their response was, ''NO!''
She then asked, “So, how can l
get to heaven?"
A five-year-old boy shouted,
"I know, I know. You gotta be dead!''
www.mikeysFunnies.com
Please pray...
For
our bishops and clergy and their
families – especially for restored health for Bishop Charlie
For ANiC projects, church plants and parishes,
and for their proclamation of the Good News to those in their communities who
desperately need new life in Christ– especially for the newly
formed ANiC Calgary Project and its special services this weekend
For
the four Vancouver-area ANiC parishes and their legal counsel as they await the
decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on their application for leave to
appeal
For
other ongoing legal challenges faced by ANiC parishes, especially the trial
involving St Aidan’s (Windsor) beginning on May 9 in London.
For all the congregations involved in court proceedings and disputes. Pray for a continued focus on, and
blessing upon, their ministry in the midst of this turmoil. Pray for
peace for the wardens and trustees who are on the front lines and bear the burden of risk and responsibility
For
the leaders and parishioners of the
ACoC dioceses pursuing
eviction of and legal costs against ANiC congregations, clergy and wardens
For
donations to the ANiC legal defense fund which supports
parishes involved in disputes with their former dioceses
For
the implementation by the Diocese of Maseno West (Kenya) of the malaria prevention project which ARDFC is sponsoring. May God use it to bless Kenyans with better health
– and bring many to Christ
For the people of Japan and Christchurch, NZ. May they turn to God and find comfort
and hope
For persecuted Christians especially in
China, North Korea, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and
other Muslim and Communist lands
For
countries in Africa and the Middle East where radical Muslims are seeking to leverage the political instability to gain
control
For
repentance and revival in our hearts
and in our nation, for a hunger for God and His Word
For
all those in positions of leadership and influence in the Anglican Communion, that they would
seek to honour and obey God above all else
And now a word from our sponsor
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands
be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all
around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him and burns up
his adversaries all around.
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his
righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make
their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!
Zion hears and is glad, and the
daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted
far above all gods.
you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his
saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.Light is sownfor
the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy
name!
Psalm 97
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