http://www.anglicanchurch.net/ en cbozell@crcpublicrelations.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-02T14:48:16+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/363 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/363#When:14:48:16Z Church Plant Leader Describes Bringing “Christ’s Light” to “Dark Side” of Texas Town Grace Anglican Church is an Anglican church plant, started by Christ Church Midland, TX, and is a member of the Anglican Church of North America and the Anglican Fellowship of the Southwest, a grouping of Anglican churches in Texas and New Mexico. Grace Anglican Church’s worship leader, The Rev. Craig Brown, describes the remarkable work this tiny church plant has accomplished in just one year and where they believe God is taking them in the year ahead. Take Me For A Ride God took us on quite a journey in 2011. We started the year as a small group worshiping in the Anglican way, but with no clear sense of what else God might have in mind for us. Was that the full extent of our purpose, the only reason God had called Grace Anglican into existence? We did not know. But we were willing to listen. Early in the year, I began to work with Fr. Tom Herrick, a church planting coach. Fr. Tom came to Lubbock and led us through an intensive “Church Plant Boot Camp”, designed to help us discover the identity and work God had for us. You know the saying – “be careful what you pray for, you just might get it.” God showed us that He had a big plan for us – far bigger than we could have imagined on our own. He was calling us to become a community of missionaries to the most broken people of Lubbock, a call that would require us to commit fully to a life of hard-core discipleship and hard-core ministry. He was calling us not to hide behind the walls of a sanctuary, but to dive in, to go right into the heart of Lubbock’s dark side, and bring Christ’s light – especially to children, so that God could raise up a new generation of men and women after His own heart. We’re On A Mission From God So, we began our work. Since the summer, we have: • Adopted a neighborhood in one of the hardest-hit areas of the city. One of our members has bought a home there and moved in, and we are holding worship services there on Sundays. We have engaged in prayer ministry throughout the neighborhood, offering prayer to anyone who desires it. • Taken two deeply broken families into our fold, befriending them, providing for housing and other material needs, joining them in the midst of numerous crises, and opening the way for God to transform their lives. • Started a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in the neighborhood’s middle school, which is also the roughest middle school in the city. This gives us the opportunity to connect with the very youth that are being recruited into gangs, drugs, and all sorts of other destructive behaviors. With nearly 33% of the school taking part in the club, it is the largest FCA in Lubbock. • Involved ourselves in the neighborhood’s elementary school, investing time weekly with children in multiple classes, again with the goal of building trusting, meaningful relationships that can open doors into broken homes. • Embedded ourselves in the Lubbock County Detention Center, teaching classes and reaching out to the inmates there, many of whom have helped create the destruction in the neighborhood to which we are called. • Built connections with individuals and service providers (from hospitals, police, and government officials to concerned citizens, activists, and other churches) that are already involved in the community to which we are called, with an eye for coordinating our efforts. • Engaged in intensive discipleship, with the realization that we live and minister not through our own strength, but through the strength of the One Who lives within us (Eph 3:20). • Worked to develop an internal organizational structure that can fully support the kind of life and ministry to which we are called, including developing a leadership culture that thinks, decides, and acts based on intensive prayer; and developing a “rule of life” suitable to a community of missionaries. Onward and Upward If last year was busy, this year looks to be even busier, as we move out from here and go to the next level. In 2012, we are: • Entering “phase 2” with the FCA, moving the large group into small groups and engaging in an eight-week discipleship program, focusing particularly in leadership formation, preparing them for mission in their neighborhood and in the world (we are planning an overseas mission trip this summer), developing a special “FCA Church” for those students who do not have a church home, and building relationships with the students’ parents. • Seeking to develop a team of men from across Lubbock who will strategically target the men of the community to which we are called, with the goal of redeeming the radically broken masculinity that is evident there. To make this possible, we are working with the leadership of Marked Men For Christ, a powerful and catalytic international men’s ministry, to establish that ministry here. • Seeking opportunities to connect with the vibrant college community here, recognizing that college students can be particularly powerful missionaries when God takes hold of their hearts. • Engaging in deeper discipleship practices, further developing a life of prayer, meditation, scripture study, spiritual formation, and accountable relationships with one another. To Wrap Up This is an exciting ministry, and an exciting season in this ministry. God has called, we have committed, and an amazing journey has begun. We are coming to know the heart of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit as never before. And “going to church” has never been more meaningful. Our challenges are two-fold. First, we have more opportunities than we have people. We are hoping that in this next year we will connect with more and more people who desire to grow deeply in discipleship and mission, and who will join us in community. As we grow, we will be able to be more and more impactful in the lives of the people to whom we are called. Your help through prayer, finances, or other means is much appreciated. If you would like more information about how to help Grace Anglican Church continue God’s work in its community, please contact Fr. Craig Brown at or (806) 283-6523. For more information on Grace Anglican Church, visit www.graceanglicanchurch.org Photo caption: Fr. Craig Brown (right) speaks to young members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. News & Events, Feature, Articles & Press Releases 2012-02-02T14:48:16+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/359 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/359#When:16:31:51Z Church of England General Synod Report Encourages “Open-Ended Engagement” The General Synod, the national assembly of the Church of England, released a report this week providing further clarity on its working relationship with the Anglican Church in North America, and encouraged an “open-ended engagement with ACNA on the part of the Church of England and the (Anglican) Communion.” “We are encouraged by the desire of the Church of England to continue to embrace the Anglican Church in North America and remain in solidarity with us as we proclaim the Gospel message and truth as revealed in Scripture in the way it has always been understood in Anglican formularies,” said Archbishop Duncan. The Church of England General Synod report can be viewed here. “As we have demonstrated successfully to the GAFCON primates, the Anglican Church in North America remains committed to our growing relationships with Anglican provinces outside of North America. Our biblical orthodoxy and ministries are strengthening our bond to our Anglican brothers and sisters around the globe. We are gratified that we are already in a relationship of full communion with many Anglican Provinces and look forward to expanding that circle.” “In that regard, we appreciate the work of the Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England, whose report and recommendations to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York form the basis of the document now released for General Synod, and whose content substantially advances the same ends with the Church of England,” concluded Archbishop Duncan. In July 2009, a resolution was brought forth to the Church of England’s General Synod to recognize its common faith and fellowship with the growing Anglican Church in North America. The following February, 2010, representatives and ecumenical friends of the Anglican Church in North America shared directly with the General Synod the vision of the church for reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.  At the 2010 meeting, the General Synod first affirmed the Anglican Church in North America’s desire “to remain within the Anglican family.” News & Events, Articles & Press Releases 2012-01-21T16:31:51+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/358 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/358#When:21:11:47Z Click to watch the video. News & Events, Feature 2012-01-20T21:11:47+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/354 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/354#When:00:10:44Z News & Events, Video 2012-01-19T00:10:44+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/353 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/353#When:23:52:33Z Event Will Highlight Models to Help Church Plants and Small Churches Reach Teens for Christ In response to the call to all of the Anglican Church in North America to renew crucial ministry to adolescents, the Young Anglicans Project was formed in April 2011 to reach teenagers for Christ. As part of that effort, the Young Anglicans Project is hosting a Church Plant and Small Church Youth Ministry Conference at Christ Church in Plano, Texas, on March 5-6, just prior to this year’s Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit. While traditional church youth ministry relies on large groups and paid youth ministry staff, this exciting conference will highlight alternative models for youth ministry that take advantage of the strengths of church plants and small churches to reach and disciple teenagers for Jesus Christ. There is no question that the models that work for large church youth ministry differ from the effective models for smaller churches. The cost for the conference is only $50, with a $20 discount for those registered for Anglican 1000 Summit. Registration can be completed by clicking here. This conference has already received wide interest from the various orthodox Anglican jurisdictions of North America. Sayward Elliott, coordinator for student ministries for the Anglican Mission in the Americas said, “This pre-conference [to the Anglican 1000 Summit] is critical for the future of our Anglican congregations. I highly recommend this for all church planters and small churches with no functioning youth ministry.” The Rt. Rev’d Dr. Felix Orji, Bishop in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, wrote, “In this time of transition, it’s vitally important that we not lose focus on reaching our teenagers. I highly recommend this conference to anyone concerned about youth ministry.” About the Young Anglicans Project The Young Anglicans Project began when a group of Anglican youth ministry professionals, practitioners and academics got together at All Saints’ Church in Dale City, Va. This group, hosted by the Rev. Daniel Morgan, rector of All Saints’, and led by the Rev. Dr. Jack Gabig, former director of the Children and Youth Initiative for the Anglican Communion Network, and the Rev. Steven Tighe, saw a need for an organization dedicated to making youth ministry thrive in Anglican churches in North America. The research about the need for youth ministry is clear: The average age of conversion to Christ is about 15-years-old. Close to 80% of the people in our pews today made the decision that put them there before the age of 21. Denominations that reach their teenagers grow; denominations that do not decline. Reaching adolescents is crucial, not only for the short-term health of our churches, but for the long-term health of biblical, orthodox Anglicanism in North America. Indeed, Archbishop Duncan identified ministry to the young as one of the critical emphases of the Anglican Church in North America. We hope you’ll support this effort by praying for the Young Anglican movement and joining us for the upcoming March conference. News & Events, Feature, Articles & Press Releases 2012-01-18T23:52:33+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/352 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/352#When:23:44:13Z Going Deeper: How to Plant and Grow Anglican Churches 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? Several Anglican leaders, including Archbishop Duncan, will be featured speakers at the event. Click here for more information or to register. An early registration discount is available through January 31. Learn more about the event by reading a Q&A with the Rev. Daniel Adkinson, executive director of Anglican 1000: 1. What is the theme and focus of this year’s Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit? The primary theme of this year’s Summit is going deeper. At the first two gatherings, we came together to encourage each other that we should really be doing this work of planting churches! This year, we’ll think much more about what it means to be planting and growing these Anglican churches. We think that new church plants, church replants and growing congregations should all share a common Anglican DNA. We’ll be exploring that together at Summit 2012. 2. In the past, attendees have been very encouraged by field reports. Will that be a part of this year’s Summit? Absolutely, we’ll hear from church planters from across North America! We’ll also be hearing from others involved in the work of church planting, including rectors whose congregations have birthed daughter congregations and leaders of some of the great partner organizations supporting Anglican church planting here in North America. 3. Is the event purely for church planters who are pastors or would lay people benefit as well? Many denominations adopt a church planting strategy that involves a church planting “arm” of the group. Rather than being an arm, we feel that we are called to be a church planting “body” here in North America with everyone being a part of the work of church planting. When our Archbishop called for the planting of 1,000 congregations, I was sitting on the front row at Christ Church Plano. He said this, “In the next five years, I want us to plant 1,000 new churches…we can do that and we can help each other do that…some will plant many, but there shouldn’t be any among us who aren’t trying to plant some.” This is a work we are doing together. We hope that all who are committed to this vision feel included and know they are invited to come be a part of Summit 2012! 4. What are you most looking forward to about the event? I always enjoy the fellowship, the worship and time to pray for one another and this vital work in the Anglican Church, but I’m most looking forward to seeing our church planters. It is so encouraging to hear about the work they are doing all around North America. 5. How is the Lord working through Anglican 1000 and how can the Anglican Church in North America continue to pray for the movement? The Lord is continuing to faithfully raise up new leaders and new congregations throughout North America. He has continued to use Anglican 1000 to serve and encourage all of this amazing work. However, we’re not the ones actually doing this work; the work is being done by the Anglican Church! Our bishops, clergy, and people are continuing to step out in faith to raise up new congregations to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ! We need to be praying for this missionary work—that it would become embedded in our DNA as Anglican Christians. News & Events, Feature, Articles & Press Releases 2012-01-18T23:44:13+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/351 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/351#When:23:34:08Z Call to World Mission Highlighted through Prayers, Testimonies, Stewardship and Education Again this year, the last Sunday after Epiphany (February 19) will be observed as World Mission Sunday in response to Archbishop Duncan’s call to set aside a special day to focus on mission as we work together to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. “On that day I am asking all Anglican Church in North America churches to highlight this call to world mission through prayers, testimonies, stewardship and education. In Acts 1:8, Jesus says, ‘And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.’ This is each Christian’s call to engage in mission at every geographical level, from local to global,” said Archbishop Duncan in a letter to congregations. Part of that call includes the ask that each congregation collect a special offering on February 19 to benefit the work of one of the Anglican Global Mission Partners (AGMP). From Five Talents to the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, AGMP is a network of over 30 non-profit Anglican entities committed to making disciples of all nations in the name of Jesus Christ. “Thank you for your partnership in proclaiming the Gospel with both word and deed throughout the world,” Archbishop Duncan concluded. Photo credit: Anglican Global Mission Partners News & Events, Articles & Press Releases 2012-01-18T23:34:08+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/349 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/349#When:18:51:16Z Leaders of Faith Communities Unite to Preserve Gift of Religious Freedom MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans Released January 11, 2012 Dear Friends: The promotion and protection of marriage—the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife—is a matter of the common good and serves the wellbeing of the couple, of children, of civil society and all people. The meaning and value of marriage precedes and transcends any particular society, government, or religious community. It is a universal good and the foundational institution of all societies. It is bound up with the nature of the human person as male and female, and with the essential task of bearing and nurturing children. More here. Left Chip, News & Events, Articles & Press Releases 2012-01-17T18:51:16+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/342 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/342#When:01:46:18Z “Recent events within the Anglican Mission in the Americas have challenged us all. The vision, however, that governs our fledgling Province remains unchanged: a Biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America.” 20th December, A.D. 2011 Eve of St. Thomas the Apostle TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA: Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Recent events within the Anglican Mission in the Americas have challenged us all. This letter is a brief report to you all about those events and about our efforts to find a path forward. The present reality is brokenness. The vision, however, that governs our fledgling Province remains unchanged: a Biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America. The resignation of nine Anglican Mission bishops, including the Bishop Chairman, from the House of Bishops of Rwanda, changed relationships with Rwanda, with fellow bishops and with the Anglican Church in North America. The resigned bishops lost their status in our College of Bishops as a result of their resignation from Rwanda. The Anglican Mission also lost its status as a Ministry Partner, since that status had been predicated on AMiA’s relationship with Rwanda. In addition, confusion and hurt has been created in Rwanda and in North America, and there is much serious work ahead of us. Representatives of the Anglican Church in North America and of the Pawleys Island leadership met today in Pittsburgh. For the Anglican Church in North America the starting point was the importance of our Provincial relationship with the Province of Rwanda (a sister GAFCON Province) and with His Grace Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, of our relationship with the North American Bishops Terrell Glenn and Thad Barnum and all the clergy licensed in Rwanda, and of our relationship to those represented by the Pawleys Island group with whom we were meeting. We, as the Anglican Church in North America, have been deeply connected to all three, and we can only move forward when issues and relationships have been adequately addressed and necessary transitions are in progress. The agreement from today’s meeting in Pittsburgh was that the Anglican Church in North America is prepared to enter into a process by which our relationship with those who will rally to the Pawleys’ vision and leadership (Anglican Mission in the Americas, Inc.) might be restored to a status like the one existing before the Ministry Partner decision of 2010. All those at the meeting today agreed “that there were no subjects that were not on the table.” For the Anglican Church in North America, these subjects must include leadership, relationships, and jurisdictional participation in a way that is fully Anglican. We made a partial beginning. Bishops Leonard Riches and Charlie Masters agreed to lead the negotiations from the Anglican Church in North America. Bishops Doc Loomis and TJ Johnston will lead from the AMiA side. There is much about what has happened that will have to be faced. The other part of this beginning will be to come alongside P.E.A.R. and their designated bishops (Barnum and Glenn), clergy, people and parishes in North America as they discern their next steps. The good news is that we know a God who has called us and who is able. [I Thess. 5:24] We are sure that He wants all the pieces back together in an ever-more dynamic, ever-more-submitted, ever-more transformed and transforming North American Church.  [John 17] Keep praying. With God nothing shall be impossible. [Luke 1:37] And besides that, He works all things together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. [Rom. 8:28] Blessed Christmas!  Faithfully in Christ, Archbishop and Primate   Anglican Church in North America News & Events, Articles & Press Releases 2011-12-21T01:46:18+00:00 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/341 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/341#When:17:44:05Z Church Planters to Benefit from Anglican Network in Canada Calendar The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) is combining liturgy, worship and art to highlight the church year and our Anglican tradition. The result is a beautiful liturgical calendar featuring original pieces of art crafted by artists within ANiC. The proceeds will benefit ANiC’s work to plant and build Biblically faithful churches in the Anglican tradition. Each month of the calendar features original artwork, everything from a depiction of the wise men to a crown of thorns titled “Majesty,” and a corresponding Bible verse. It notes the artist and his or her home church as well. Throughout the calendar, ANiC relies on talented artists who were eager to offer their gifts in service of the church community. ANiC was very deliberate in determining the focus of the calendar. Considering that many of its member churches have walked away from their buildings, it does not include a single depiction of a physical church structure, as most would expect from a church calendar. “The liturgical calendar points beyond itself to the revelation of God in human history and guides us into communion with our God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Using this on a regular basis helps us mark the church year as we observe the birth, life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and of His sending us the gift of the Holy Spirit. When this is combined with daily Bible reading and prayer, it can become a foundation for our Anglican spirituality,” said The Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey, bishop and moderator of ANiC. In fact, the concept for the calendar goes hand in hand with the theme of a recent Anglican 1000 conference on liturgy, formation, mission and art. The calendar’s cover artist, Ann Balch from Moncton, New Brunswick, has two works featured in the calendar (both April and October) and attended the Anglican 1000 event. She is thrilled about the growing recognition within the Anglican Church in North America of the role arts can play in the life and witness of the Church. In addition to the beautiful art, the calendar provides an explanation of the church year and discusses the use of liturgical colors to “give visual expression to the different moods and themes of the calendar.” It also contains information on the Anglican Network in Canada and the Anglican Church in North America. As a bonus, it includes the full Jerusalem Declaration, the doctrinal statement which emerged from the remarkable unity of spirit and purpose experienced when Anglicans from around the world gathered in Jerusalem at the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference. As Bishop Harvey noted, the calendar can “become a quiet form of evangelism as we share with others the wonderful heritage that has been enshrined in our Book of Common Prayer and other manuals.” The 8x10-inch calendar includes both Canadian and U.S. statutory holidays and is available for order online: http://anglicannetwork.ca/liturgical_calendar_2012.htm. News & Events, Articles & Press Releases 2011-12-19T17:44:05+00:00