The conference, which is organized by the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), calls together bishops and archbishops from 400 dioceses in Africa.  Invited guests from around the Anglican world are also present.

Archbishop Robert Duncan, Bishop Martyn Minns, Bishop John Guernsey and Bishop Bill Atwood are among the Anglican Church in North America leaders who are attending the event.  “The Anglican Church is expanding everywhere in Africa.  There are now some 400 dioceses spread across the continent.  As Archbishop I am here to learn and to stand in solidarity with this vigorous gospel mission,” said Archbishop Duncan.  As the leader of the Anglican Church in North America, Archbishop Duncan was included with the other Anglican primates (leaders of Anglican provinces) during the opening Eucharist, and shared in the distribution of communion, as did the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Archbishop Williams told the gathered bishops that the 21st Century may well be the “African Century.”

Archbishop Duncan, as well as Archbishop John Chew of Southeast Asia, have also been invited to sit with the primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) during their meetings.

To learn more about this important meeting, visit the conference website.

Photography courtesy of AnglicanTV.

As is the case in most disaster-relief work that ARDF undertakes, they will be partnering with an established and effective organization to quickly provide assistance to flood survivors.  To learn more and to help with this effort, visit www.anglicanaid.net.

During the meeting, the elected committee of 12 members (six clergy and six laity) that functions as a board of directors for the Anglican Church in North America, heard reports on the church’s mission, finances and organizational work, called for the formation of a task force on “Islam and interfaith engagement” and approved introduction of a yearly congregational report.

In calling for the creation of a task force on Islam and interfaith engagement, the Ven. Julian Dobbs, a member of the Executive Committee and archdeacon for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, said “we need to undertake a prayerful, sensitive and honest approach to the issues involved.”  Bishop John Guernsey agreed. “The Archbishop didn’t get the applause for his call to engage Islam that he got for the call he gave to plant 1,000 churches, but I know God was in it as well,” he explained, referring to Archbishop Robert Duncan’s address at his service of institution in June, 2009.  The Executive Committee unanimously endorsed the naming of the task force by Archbishop Duncan.  The task force will report to the Executive Committee at future meetings.

The Executive Committee also approved a draft congregational annual report, which, beginning this year, all congregations of the church will be asked to complete.  The yearly congregational report, which was proposed by the records committee, is intended to strike a balance between simplicity and gathering useful information about every church in the province that will allow leaders to understand and respond to what is happening in the church.  “The general requirement is to ask for as little information as you need,” said Archbishop Duncan.  This year, diocesan bishops will be able to make their reports in electronic format, with the goal to ultimately make it possible for every parish to enter their information online.

Mr. Brad Root, Chief Operating Officer for the provincial office, reported on the budget.  He noted that the provincial office finished its first fiscal year with a slight, $30,057 surplus, and has never had a month “in the red.”  Over the last year, giving to support the work of the provincial office has shifted significantly, from being primarily funded by individuals and parishes, to being largely carried by the regular contribution of tithes from the church’s dioceses, he added.  The shift, which is in line with the tithing model laid out in Canon 9, Section 1, does not mean that individual and parish support will not continue to be important and necessary, said Root.  In fact, to make sure that the provincial work of the church is firmly grounded, Root is working to raise $500,000 over the next four months to cover costs associated with the Anglican1000 church planting initiative, provincial communications, outreach to the Sioux Nation and Myanmar, and other provincial level projects.  The campaign, called the “Founders Fund,” is already seeing success, but much more needs to be done, said Root.  Root also called on the Executive Council to consider closely how they might lead the church in supporting and teaching the tithing model.  “People with whom I meet to talk about our needs, ask, almost without exception, what we are doing when it comes to teaching and encouraging the tithe,” he said.

Bishop Bill Atwood, of the International Diocese, reported on international relations in the Anglican Communion.  He particularly noted the gathering of the Anglican Bishops of Africa in Uganda August 23-31.  A number of Anglican Church in North America leaders, including Archbishop Duncan, have been invited to attend this gathering.  The Executive Committee has called for prayer and fasting during the meeting.

The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for February 10-11, 2011.  In discussing sites for future meetings, Archbishop Duncan said “Wherever we go, we need to ask: ‘Do we build up the church?’ and ‘do we see encouraging signs about what is happening in the church?’” 

Executive Committee members were elected from among the members of the provincial council that met June 7-11 in Amesbury, MA.  They serve as the Board of Directors for the Anglican Church in North America.  Members are Mr. Claus Lenk, Mrs. Diana Lopez, the Rev. Travis Boline, the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey, the Rev. Cn. Julian Dobbs, Dr. Michael Howell, Mrs. Nancy Norton, The Rev. Cn. Phil Ashey, the Rt. Rev. Royal Grote, the Rev. Russell Martin, Mr. Samuel Thomsen, and Mr. Tad Brenner.  The elected members of the Executive Committee come from California, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Ontario, Newfoundland, Arkansas, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. 

Officers of the Province are also included in Executive Committee meetings as appropriate.  Officers appointed by the Provincial Council under Canon 1, Section 5 of the Canons, are Mr. Hugo Blankinship, Esq., Chancellor and Deputy Chair; Mr. Scott Ward, Esq, Council to the Executive Committee; Mr. William Roemer, Treasurer; the Rev. Travis Boline, Secretary; and the Rev. Lynne Ashmead, Registrar. 

The duties and responsibilities of the Executive Committee, explained under Canon 1, Section 4 of the canons of the Anglican Church in North America, include guiding the province’s financial and property decisions and setting the agenda for the yearly provincial council.

The elected Executive Committee replaces a transitional arrangement, laid out in Article VII, Section 10, of the Anglican Church in North America’s Constitution, where the Common Cause Executive Committee also served as the Executive Committee for the Anglican Church in North America until elections could take place.  Under the bylaws of the Common Cause Partnership, the Common Cause Executive Committee was formed by bringing together the lead bishops of each of the member jurisdictions.

“This transition is an important milestone for the Anglican Church in North America, said Archbishop Duncan.  The Common Cause Partnership, which ultimately brought together 12 distinct jurisdictions and organizations and birthed our province, was truly a work of the Holy Spirit.  I know I am speaking for all of the leaders of the Anglican jurisdictions who served with me on the interim executive committee when I say we have long prayed for the day when we could hand over what Common Cause began to the elected leaders of our united Anglican Church.”

Though their formal work is complete, the members of the transitional executive committee will continue to function as a “cabinet” for Archbishop Duncan.  Their role will be that of a “council of advice,” not a governing body.  “We owe a great deal to the leadership of these bishops.  I am glad we will continue to benefit from their wisdom and advice in the future,” said Mr. Hugo Blankinship, Esq, chancellor and deputy chair of the Executive Committee.  Members of the cabinet are: the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, the Rt. Rev. David Anderson, the Rt. Rev. Bill Atwood, the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey, the Rt. Rev. Don Harvey, the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, the Rt. Rev. Charlie Masters, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, and the Most Rev. Leonard Riches.

“The Lambeth Conference of 1930 described the classic polity of Anglicanism as “episcopally led and synodically governed,” the emerging executive committee/cabinet system honors this distinction.  The Executive Committee carries forward the business, fundraising and operational life of the Province.  The challenges of global Anglican relations beyond the Province, the opportunities of the present ecumenical realignment alongside the Province, and the day-to-day mission of the church as believers confront secularism and Islam by presenting the good news of Jesus Christ within the Province are matters that exceed the mandate of the Executive Committee, yet constantly demand the attention of the Archbishop and the wisdom of the lead bishops in cabinet,” added Archbishop Duncan.

Patrick started last year by simply driving the several hours between Falls Church and Winchester early in the morning on his day off.  He met people in the community, and spent time praying about what might come next.  “Lord, if this is what you want, here I am,” said Patrick.

Slowly, he met families that were interested in being part of an Anglican Church.  The Wares moved to Winchester and began Winchester Anglican Church in July of 2009.  Initially, the church held its weekly worship services at the Wares’ home.  “We worshiped in my house for three months.  I had never preached or celebrated in my kitchen before, that was new,” said Patrick.

When Winchester Anglican began meeting, their community included about 15 people.  Now, worship services are regularly attended by 55-60.  Most of the church’s growth has come through word-of-mouth and relationship building, said Patrick.  For instance, particularly in the church’s first months, community meals played a big part in forming relationships between congregation members.  “I’m just surprised by how quickly the community has grown.  We have 75 chairs out now.  We started with 25,” said Patrick.

Winchester Anglican Church is also working hard to introduce itself to the broader Community.  On April 30, for instance, the congregation invited passers-bye to watch fireworks with them on the Wares’ lawn.  Congregation members invited their friends to bring their lawn chairs, eat a free meal, and to get know others in the church during the event.

Patrick is thankful for the training he received at The Falls Church.  The program, he said, taught him the skills he has needed for leading a congregation as well as helped him discover and refine a vision for ministry in Winchester.  “I feel confident that I have been equipped to lead people with a proficiency that I might not have developed in ten years on my own,” he said.

The Falls Church has developed more than 50 leaders who then went on to ordained ministry in Anglican Churches.  The four year old Timothy Program at The Falls Church has launched three new churches in the last three years (Alexandria, Arlington, and Winchester, Virginia) and currently plans to plant up to three more in the next three years. The three year program blends practical mentoring in all aspects of parish ministry with preparation for planting and growing new Anglican churches, particularly in the Washington D.C. Area.

“By planting new churches with trained pastors, the Timothy Program has been an effective way for our church to reach out to our neighboring communities, and Lord willing this outreach effort will grow in the future.  “The Falls Church is very pleased that ACNA is making church planting a priority,” said TFC Senior Associate Rector The Rev. Dr. Frederick Wright.

To learn more about the Timothy Program, visit the church’s website.

Today, there are more than 100 Anglican Church in North America chaplains, officially endorsed either through the CANA for the Anglican Church in North America, or through the Reformed Episcopal Church.  In recognition of the rapid growth of this ministry, the Anglican Church in North America’s annual council appointed the Rt. Rev. Derek Jones as the suffragan bishop for chaplaincy during its June meeting.  The Convocation’s chaplaincy office, under the leadership of Bishop Jones, is formulating a plan with the Reformed Episcopal Church’s Bishop Royal Grote for a church-wide endorsing office for chaplaincies.

Anglican Church chaplains hold posts in the armed services, in hospitals, with police, fire and other emergency responders and in a number of other settings, said Bishop Jones.  “Chaplaincy is its own distinct call with its own distinct set of ministry obligations and opportunities,” he continued.

Many chaplains serve in professional settings, such as with a military unit or at a hospital.

Army Chaplain (Captain) Rich West, who is with the 31st Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood, MI, first experienced a call to military chaplaincy while serving as a Marine.  Initially, Chaplain West resisted.  “But after September 11, I was really praying about where I was at the time, and my heart was really with the soldiers,” he said.  According to West, military chaplaincy involves a good deal of one-to-one counseling with soldiers, leading worship, and what the military calls a “ministry of presence.”  “When we are out with the soldiers, we end up earning the credibility that gives us permission to minister to them,” explained Chaplain West. 

Other chaplains have non-traditional ministries.  Tim Trombitas works as an actor at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  In between shows, he has developed a chaplaincy ministry to his co-workers.  “When you make yourself real to them, they want to become real to you.  Every heart is a broken heart,” said Trombitas.

According to Bishop Jones, it is hard to keep up with interest in Anglican chaplaincy, particularly among ministers coming from other traditions.  By his count, about half of the Anglican Church’s chaplains have come from other Christian groups.  Bishop Jones believes this trend is driven by the “unique convergence in the chaplain of the three historical streams of worship, sacramental and liturgical, evangelical, and charismatic.”  Anglicanism brings these streams together into a whole.

Beyond handling endorsements necessary to work in military or hospital settings, the chaplaincy office is also providing fellowship and continuing education to chaplains.  When chaplains meet together this July, said Bishop Jones, there will be sessions on everything from critical incident stress management to the pastoral challenge of migratory congregant.

For more information about chaplaincy in the Anglican Church in North America, visit
http://cana-chaplains.org/.

According to the Rev. Cn. Dr. Alison Barfoot, who serves as the Assistant to Archbishop Henry Orombi for International Relations, the bombings have had an affect on Uganda similar to that the September 11 terrorist attacks had on the United States.

When asked how North American Anglicans might pray for Uganda, Canon Barfoot made four specific requests:

1.  For the families of those innocent victims who are suffering from brutal deaths or injuries.

4.  For any other plots to be foiled and the plans of the enemy to be confused.

Canon Barfoot went on to say that Archbishop Orombi has called on the people of Uganda to focus on Psalm 46.1, “God is our refuge and our strength.”

Archbishop Orombi has also published a pastoral letter in response to the bombings.  It is available here.

In total, $263,500 has been earmarked for the Anglican1000 program.  Anglican1000 is the province-wide effort to train and support church planting work.  The budget also funds work among the Sioux Nation and with refugees from Myanmar.  Paying for this new work, much of which focuses directly on helping the province meet Archbishop Robert Duncan’s challenge to plant 1,000 new congregations by 2014, depends on generous giving by individual supporters of the mission and ministry of the Anglican Church, said Mr. Brad Root, Chief Operating Officer.

The budget also funds the province’s administrative hub in Ambridge, PA.  The office is responsible for offering services such as insurance and retirement programs to the entire church, supporting the office of the Archbishop, other church leaders and governing bodies and communicating about the work of the church.  The provincial office staff consists of four full-time employees and six part-time employees.

“We take seriously the commitment expressed in our Constitution to make the local parish the primary agency of mission. That means the Provincial office performs only those vital functions needed to make the parishes and dioceses effective. It’s a narrow but crucial role that we all depend on and should faithfully support,” said the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey, Bishop of the Diocese of the Holy Spirit and a member of the province’s finance committee.

In total, the 2010-2011 budget envisions just over $500,000 in expenses that are not expected to be funded by diocesan tithes or regular gifts from individual donors during the 2010-2011 budget year.  To close the gap and move forward with these new projects, the provincial office has launched the Founders’ Fund.  The fund, which aims to provide for the financial establishment of the province, is a major giving opportunity for individuals interested in making a donation of $10,000 or more toward the supporting of these new projects and, more generally, the founding of the Anglican Church.

“Since the very beginning, it has been individual donors and congregations who have played an indispensible role in creating and funding the renewal of Anglicanism in North America,” said Root.  For instance, the significant expenses related to the launch of the Anglican1000 movement were borne entirely by a single parish, Christ Church Plano.  The Founders Fund is aimed at building on that tradition of individual gifts during the Province’s first years, as well as making it possible to continue the work that others, such as Christ Church, have generously funded in past years.

“Support now, as we establish our provincial identity, makes it possible for us to pursue planting churches and forging relationships with the ecumenical and Anglican Christian world. It makes a real difference,” said Root.

A copy of the 2010-2011 budget is available here as a pdf document.  For more information about the Founders’ Fund, please contact Brad Root at (724) 266-9400 or brad.root@anglicanchurch.net.

Following the Provincial Council’s meeting, the ACNA’s College of Bishops elected the Rev. Dr. Foley Beach as the first bishop of the Diocese of the South.  Bishop-elect Beach, who had been nominated by the diocese’s inaugural Synod, is the Rector of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville, GA.  He is expected to be consecrated this Fall.  The College of Bishops also approved the election of Bishop Roger Ames as the first bishop of the Diocese of the Great Lakes.  Bishop Ames, who previously served as a suffragan bishop for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, is tentatively scheduled to be formally installed as the diocesan bishop this coming October.

“I am looking forward to working together with the clergy and the people of the Anglican Diocese of the South in sharing the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those in our communities who don’t know him,” said Bishop-elect Beach. “Our purpose as a diocese is not to become a bureaucracy, but to become an agent for empowering congregations to share the Gospel through discipleship, teaching, and starting new congregations.”

“We in the Diocese of the Great Lakes are working to build a diocese that will recruit younger people, set in place mentoring relationships, and pass on the historic faith,” said Bishop Ames.

The churches who are members and partners of the Anglican Diocese of the South are all within a four hour driving distance from Atlanta.  Churches in the Diocese of the Great Lakes are most numerous in Ohio, but also include congregations in Indiana and Michigan.

“At the ACNA’s inaugural assembly last summer, we set a goal of planting 1,000 churches in North America within the next five years,” said ACNA Archbishop Robert Duncan. “I am thankful that the new Diocese of the South and the Diocese of the Great Lakes are both committed to participating in that great work.”  Archbishop Duncan also thanked the Convocation of Anglicans in North America for their willingness to release a significant number of their congregations and clergy to participate in the formation of the new dioceses.

The Anglican Church in North America has 614 congregations in 20 dioceses.  More than 200 other congregations are ministry partners with the Anglican Church, including the congregations of The Anglican Mission.  The Anglican Church represents more than 100,000 Christians in North America.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5

The second annual Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America gathered 145 delegates and representatives of the jurisdictions and ministry partners of the ACNA. With the Provincial College of Bishops and Executive Committee, we were wonderfully hosted at All Saints Cathedral in Amesbury, MA from June 7-11, 2010. In our meeting we have been conscious of both the great joy and the great responsibility that has come to us through the transforming love of God in Jesus Christ. As the scripture from 1 Peter makes clear, our focus is on the hope that comes to us through the resurrection of Jesus. We are united in our resolve to share that redeeming love of Christ as faithful Anglicans and members by God’s grace in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ.

We were profoundly aware of struggles of others who are pressed by the global economic crisis or face devastation from the oil in the Gulf of Mexico. We prayed for these issues and for Christians who face terrible persecution.

The Council joyfully marked a series of significant landmarks as we celebrated the first anniversary of the launch of the new Province.

Archbishop’s Address: Mobilizing for Mission and Anglican1000.
We are grateful for the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst and for His encouragement through our worship, prayer, and meetings. We are thankful, too, for the faithful leadership of the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, our Archbishop, and his constant reminders of the pursuit of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In his Provincial address he said, “[W]e have been able to articulate a threefold accountability without which any congregation falls short of being reliably Anglican: accountable to the Holy Scriptures, accountable to the Great Tradition, accountable for the transformation of society. These understandings are, in themselves, remarkable achievements.”

Speaking of the commitment of the Province to plant 1,000 new congregations in the first five years of our life, the Archbishop said, “Anglican1000 is a symbol of who we are. A leader, David Roseberry, came forward after my investiture sermon fifty weeks ago, saying he would do whatever it takes to work with me to make the planting of 1000 new congregations in five years a reality.” That gave rise to Anglican1000 in which “everybody is imaging congregational multiplication: little parishes, big parishes, young people, old people, black people, white people, First Nation people, Asian people. It’s catalyzing our existing congregations. It’s catalyzing undergraduates on countless campuses. This is the Anglican Church in North America.”

The Archbishop reported that we have planted more than one hundred new congregations in our first year.

Council Landmarks
Decision making and accountability reports were carried out in the context of worship and Bible study. Particularly poignant was the identification of a cadre of new young Bible teachers who reinforced the call to plant the 1,000 congregations and taught on the compelling call to mission and the responsibility to extend the Kingdom of God through sharing the transforming love of Christ. The following actions and decisions were affirmed:

Formation of New Dioceses
The Council created the Anglican Diocese of the South and the Diocese of the Great Lakes. These new dioceses have exhibited tremendous energy and commitment to scriptural faith and to the vision of church planting and evangelism. The formation of two new dioceses in our first year is tangible evidence of the depth of the commitment across the ACNA to the vision of planting 1,000 churches in the first five years of our life. It brings the total number of dioceses in ACNA to twenty.

International Relations
The Provincial Council received reports of the welcome that the ACNA received at the Fourth Global South Encounter (GSE4) in Singapore. We were particularly heartened by the clear demonstration of full communion with our Province by the Global South Provinces gathered there, as exemplified in our Archbishop celebrating the Eucharist during the Encounter. Since Anglican relationships have been defined through Communion, this was particularly important.

It was noted that Archbishop Duncan has been seated on the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council, a further demonstration of the solid relationships that ACNA enjoys with the majority of the world’s active Anglicans.
Ecumenical Relations
The ACNA Ecumenical Task Force reported wonderful progress with ecumenical partners who have been clear that they will only have conversation with jurisdictions that are completely committed to Biblical orthodoxy. Our ecumenical progress has been substantial with the Orthodox Church in America and several groups of Lutherans (some of whom are interested in linking directly with us). We are also in conversation with groups of congregations of Messianic Jews who want to pursue closer relationships with our Province and have ongoing conversations with the Roman Catholic Church.

Mission Partners
The Provincial Council meeting provided a mechanism for celebrating relationships with Mission Partners who share the fundamental declarations of our Anglican faith and who are united with us in reaching out with Christ’s transforming love. Conversations over recent months made it clear that Mission Partner status provides the best structural mechanism for continued cooperation of the Anglican Mission, and that was approved by the Council. We share a passion to reach North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will continue to pursue that together.

The Council celebrated all these reports and actions as significant demonstrations of the work of the Kingdom of God and growth of our new Province.

College of Bishops
Meeting in the days immediately after the Provincial Council, the College of Bishops approved both the creation of a new Missionary Bishop position to pursue Christ’s mission among the Niobrara Sioux Native Americans and confirmed the selection of the Rev. Dr. Foley Beach as the first Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South. The Rt. Rev. Derek Jones was approved as suffragan bishop to oversee cooperatively an ever increasing number of military and institutional chaplains and chaplain candidates.

The College also engaged a panel which presented a range of views concerning women’s ordination to the priesthood. Thoughtful theological presentations were made on both sides of the issue, and conversations were characterized by conviction, but in an atmosphere of thoughtfulness. There was great encouragement from the ability to have substantive conversation with such grace.

Mission Activity
All through the gathering of the Executive Committee, the Provincial Council, and the College of Bishops, there were reports of transformed lives and new congregations coming to life all across North America. Though there are tremendous challenges, we have taken great encouragement from the astounding progress of our first year together. Without a doubt, “The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad indeed.” Psalm 126:3

Unless the Lord builds the House, their labor is in vain who build it.  [Ps 127.1]

It was fifty weeks ago that we gathered to constitute the Anglican Church in North America.

At that time we understood the mission God had for us:  “To reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.“  Knowing what you are sent to do is a great starting point, indeed, it is the necessary starting point for the Christian.

Fifty weeks ago we also understood that it was time for orthodox Anglicanism to come together in North America.  One hundred forty years of splintering and dividing – forty years in earnest – needed mending, for Christ’s sake, for the kingdom’s sake, and for our own souls’ sake.  The coming together formalized at Bedford, Texas, was no less than a sovereign act of God (done in a people who were willing) for which we ought continually to give thanks and for the strengthening of which we must continually labor.

Along the way other understandings have been clarified for us.  We have learned to describe our method for achieving this transformation in Christ Jesus as “converted individuals, in multiplying congregations, fueled by the Holy Spirit.”  Moreover, we have been able to articulate a threefold accountability without which any congregation falls short of being reliably Anglican: accountable to the Holy Scriptures, accountable to the Great Tradition, accountable for the transformation of society.  These understandings are, in themselves, remarkable achievements.

We did not do these things.  The Lord did them in a cooperating people.  The Lord has built this House.  It is marvelous in our eyes.

When we gathered at Bedford fifty weeks ago we were 17 dioceses (or dioceses in formation) plus representatives of the 22 networks of the Anglican Mission.  As we gather here in Amesbury we will, God willing, emerge as 20 dioceses, plus our Ministry Partners.  We totaled 703 congregations at Bedford.  We are 811 congregations at Amesbury, not yet including all the congregations of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas (a Ministry Partner) that are now requesting inclusion in our church data base and online Church Finder.  (Up to date information on our Average Sunday Attendance is not available for this meeting of Provincial Council but is promised by our Anglican Records Task Force for the next Annual Council.) 

Systems and relationships continue to “shake-out.”  The rosters and reports presented to this Annual Council point to a Church whose functions and life are developing appropriately.  The transition from the Common Cause (Lead Bishops) Executive Committee to the six clergy/six laity ACNA Executive Committee takes place with this meeting.  There are substantive reports on Prayer Book, Catechumenate, and Ecumenical Relations.  The presentation of a balanced budget and the confidence exhibited by our staff in raising the half-million dollars for our Founders Fund to match the nearly half-million dollars now flowing from our dioceses is another sign – a mighty sign – of the Lord’s favor.

The jurisdictional approach to the integration of the Anglican Mission (a missionary outreach of Rwanda) into the Anglican Church in North America has been found to be “a bridge too far” and this meeting sees the petition of the Anglican Mission to be a Ministry Partner as a more appropriate approach to our life together in this season.  At the same time this meeting heralds the ending of many important oversight relationships with foreign partners.  Not least among these is the conclusion of Recife’s episcopal role. We are delighted that Bp. Robinson Cavalcanti is with us to mark this change.  Here as elsewhere, oversight may end but our deep partnership in the gospel continues. 

As archbishop I have articulated four areas that I believe need to become our distinctives:
1) that we know ourselves to be the beloved of Jesus;
2) that we become a people committed to personal holiness
3) that we understand our work as fore-runners of Jesus; and
4) that we are those who sacrifice for the sake of others.
Among other things, such distinctives would form us into a different people than we presently are.  They would direct us in everything from our engagement with Islam to our embrace of the tithe.  Seeing these distinctives is a great beginning.  Embrace must follow.

The ordination of women to the presbyterate remains a matter that divides us.  Despite the deep theological and ecclesiological divide we have remained committed to each other, and have honored each other as our Constitution envisions.  The College of Bishops will have a morning (Friday) aimed at deeper understanding of the grounds of our divergent practice.  Moreover, the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council has agreed to appointment of a theological task force to consider both the theological and structural issues that not only divide us, but also them.  A healthy Church does not run away from its difficulties, nor does it act independently. 

Global relationships among Anglican Provinces have also seen increasing regularization.  The Anglican Church in North America is now recognized as the North American Province by the GAFCON/FCA Provinces and I, as archbishop and primate, am now seated on the Primates Council.  More broadly, the representatives of twenty Provinces of the Global South, meeting at Singapore, declared the Anglican Church in North America to be “a faithful expression of Anglicanism,” to be their “gospel partners,” and expressed the hope that “all provinces will be in full communion with the clergy and people of the ACNA and Communion Partners.”  The privilege of being celebrant of one of the eucharists of South-South Encounter IV was a sign of global affirmation of who we are and of the shared Faith and Order for which we have stood together.  Even the General Synod of the Church of England has considered right relationship.

Ecumenical recognitions and conversations have developed far beyond those first signs given to us at Bedford by Metropolitan Jonah and Pastor Rick Warren fifty weeks ago.  Our commitments to what Anglicans have always been committed to has translated into a general ecumenical assessment that we look like what Anglicans have always looked like, and doors are consequently opening everywhere.

All of this is the Lord’s work.  He has built this House.  We have cooperated, even in the hard things…perhaps especially in the hard things.  May His grace for this never be absent from us.

Two symbols of all that we are becoming are symbols with which I would draw this “State of the Church” address to a close.  These two symbols are also further evidence that it is the Lord who is building this House in these last fifty weeks.

One symbol is the place where we are meeting: All Saints Pro-Cathedral and Ministry Center, Amesbury, Massachusetts.  As is obvious to all who are here this is a former Roman Catholic campus: church, school, convent, rectory.  The old Episcopal parish lost its old Episcopal buildings, but this is so much bigger, and there is so much more possibility here.  The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston, like so many ecumenical allies, moved heaven and earth (as they say) to make this place available for homeless Anglicans.  Similarly, that the mayor came here to welcome us should be lost on no one.  The whole town is abuzz with what is happening at the new cathedral. This is also center for the Anglican Diocese in New England, not of New England.  There has just been a big laudatory spread in the Boston Globe.  Accountable to the Scriptures.  Accountable to the Tradition.  Accountable for Social Transformation.  Boundless vision.  All things new.  This is the Anglican Church in North America. 

The other symbol is Anglican 1000.  A leader, David Roseberry, came forward after my investiture sermon fifty weeks ago, saying he would do whatever it takes to work with me to make the planting of 1000 new congregations in five years a reality.  Christ Church Plano funded the first season of operation: website, conferences, administration, energy – more than $100,000 of investment by one congregation on behalf of all the rest of us.  The Founders Fund goal for the year ahead is for the Province to fund Anglican 1000 at three times that cost.  Vision, response, generosity, action. Anglican 1000 has turned out to be catalytic.  Everybody is imaging congregational multiplication: little parishes, big parishes, young people, old people, Black people, White People, First Nation People, Asian People.  It’s catalyzing our existing congregations.  It’s catalyzing undergraduates on countless campuses.  Fifty weeks ago I asked the Lord: “What should I say?”  He said “1000 congregations.”  The Lord is building the House.  It is marvelous in our eyes.  Let’s keep cooperating in His agenda.  I’ll do my part.  I know you will do yours.

Thanks for entrusting the mantle of leadership to me.  Please be ceaseless in prayer.