Both events coincide, respectively, with the March for Life in Washington D.C. and Walk for Life in San Francisco. Join fellow Anglicans in the manifestation of Christ’s love for the unborn and his Gospel of Life.
Read more from Anglicans for Life President Georgette Forney below and find resources for each event at the bottom of the page.
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It is hard to believe we are in the last month of 2017! It has been quite a year with almost daily occurrences of violence and division featured in the news. As our culture increasingly celebrates and embraces death, it feels, more than ever, like we are being besieged on every side. I do not know about you, but I need more than encouraging sentiment. I want to do something about all this, to see the Church fulfill its purpose as the voice of the voiceless, the unborn, the elderly, and the vulnerable.
The deepest desire of my heart is to see God’s people equipped and prepared for life ministry. And Anglicans for Life will be holding not one but two events to help you and your church do just that! We are excited to share that AFL will be hosting the 3rd annual Summit: Mobilizing the Church for Life on January 18th, 2018 in Falls Church, VA. Additionally, with the Lord’s provision and support from the dioceses, we are also hosting our first West Coast event, Life Symposium: Equipping the Church for Life on January 26th, 2018 in San Francisco, CA.
The vision of both events is the same. As we have seen in Scripture, God instructs us to protect and value Life. And I want to see Anglicans taking action in their churches and communities to fulfill this command! To help with this, Summit 2018 and the Life Symposium will seek to motivate life-ministry and will feature keynote speakers, workshops, and networking opportunities to provide both inspiration and practical action ideas. After both events, there will be an Anglican prayer service the following morning, after which we will join with hundreds of thousands of life-affirming people at the March for Life in DC or the Walk for Life in San Francisco.
In addition to yourself, I would encourage you to invite a friend and to share this invitation with others, especially if God has put it on your heart to start a life-affirming ministry. As with any calling, God intends us to act in and rely on community for support and prayer. Seeking partnership within your congregation can create a unique and necessary dynamic for ministry!
As well as serving a God who loves Life, we are grateful to work with priests, pastors, lay people, and churches in the ACNA, whose very statutes affirm the sacredness of Life. According to Title II, Canon 8, “God, and not man, is the creator of human life…. therefore, from conception to natural death all members and Clergy are called to protect and respect the sanctity of every human life.”
I am personally inviting you to come to our events, not because abortion and assisted suicide are important “hot-topic” issues and not to bemoan the state of our culture, but because my hope is that the words of this canon will be more than just a theological position. I want people who come to these events to be filled with a passion for Life and have a sense of how God is calling them to act. This year has been a year of violence and division but I pray 2018 will bring unity and partnership for the sake of the Gospel of Life. May these events prepare churches and individuals to protect, honor, and celebrate the gift of life given to us by our Creator and to mobilize the Anglican Church to action!
To learn more about our events and to register, please visit our website. Additional information about each event is listed below.
In Christ,
Deacon Georgette Forney
Resources
Summit 2018
January 18-19, 2018: Held in Falls Church, VA, followed by the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Please visit our website for details about our speakers and registration information www.anglicansforlife.org/summit-2018.
Learn about one of the Summit’s featured speakers, Stephanie Gray, here.
Life Symposium January 26-27, 2018: In conjunction with the Walk for Life in San Francisco, California. Additional information can be found on our website: www.anglicansforlife.org/symposium-2018.
