Archbishop Duncan Addresses the 5th Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America

Transcription

1 The TAC Times July 2013 Archbishop Duncan Addresses the 5th Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America On June 18, 2013 Archbishop Duncan delivered his State of the Church address to the Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, WI. The Provincial Council is the governing body of the ACNA comprised of delegates from member dioceses and ministry partners. Portions of his ADDRESS TO PROVINCIAL COUNCIL On the State of the Church are reprinted here: The opening of this 2013 Provincial Council marks the fourth anniversary of the constitution of the Anglican Church in North America. Following the Inaugural Assembly of 2009 which met at Bedford, Texas, Provincial Council first met at Toronto, Canada. Then we met at Amesbury, Massachusetts. Then we travelled to Long Beach, California. Next we gathered at Ridgecrest, North Carolina, in connection with Assembly Now we find ourselves at Nashotah, Wisconsin. What a journey it has been! It is my responsibility to make some comments on the journey and to help to focus us on the work we are called to do in the two days of this 5th Provincial Council. Because we understand so clearly that we are synodically governed and that we are episcopally led, I will also share some of the challenges and the joys before the College of Bishops in the work they will do in the two days that follow-on from this Provincial Council. There is a tremendous amount before us in these four days.

2 The volume of work is a sign of the immense favor God has granted us in these four short years. We must not forget that agreement in the Word of God ( biblical ), agreement about the mission to North America ( missionary ), and the will to be one despite our differences ( united ) are a huge part of the reason there has been such favor. It is also this fundamental agreement about Scripture and the mission, and this will to be one, that have enabled us to accomplish so much in such a short time. My prayer for this Church is that its founding vision a biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism in North America will always remain its vision and its commitment. Challenges The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing. So spoke the great American philosopher Yogi Berra. As we mature, it will be our main thing, too. God has given me the privilege of leading this movement for ten years. The tempest the storm, the cataclysm in which we were born motivated us with the help of countless international and ecumenical friends to put away lesser differences and band together to imagine and structure a future for a renewed and re-invigorated Anglicanism. I believe that a major part of what brought us together was not only the desire for refuge from the long-developing super-storms of 2002 (Canada) and 2003 (United States), but also a sovereign act of God to change and re-make our hearts. The trajectory of faithful Anglicans whether dated from the 1970 s (the Continuum) or the 1870 s (the Reformed Episcopal Church) was division and dis-integration. The foundation of the Anglican Church in North America was a change of direction for North American Anglicanism God s gift that went way beyond the content of our cries for help. English church historian Colin Podmore says of our foundation: This coming together was unusual in all of Church history. 1 Organizational development theorists speak of four stages of organizational life: forming, storming, norming, and performing. 2 Agreement characterizes the first stage. Then come the growing pains: the normal conflicts and legitimate disagreements over how to resolve important questions of organizational life. Storming is where we are as a Church. How shall we keep the main thing the main thing? How shall we resist reversion to the patterns we came out of? How shall we begin to establish the organizational norms that will make for healthy church life and the fulfillment of the course our God surely has in mind? Everyone here is responsible. To be a New Testament Church will require New Testament behaviors of every last one of us here, and of many, many others. God has done a wonderful new thing among us. Now the stewardship of the thing is ours. Things to Celebrate We continue to plant churches. We changed the subject. Everywhere you go, it is churchplanting that is being discussed. The statistics we do have tell us that there is at least one new congregation launched every week, something like 300 in four years. Will there be 1000 new congregations in five years? With the challenge put forth by Can. Alan Hawkins and his A1K team every congregation planting one new church in the next two years using one of three strategies it could still happen. Whether it does or not, I think we can reasonably say that church-planting is now fixed in the genetic code of this Province. What a triumph that is! To Be A Christian: An Anglican Catechism is close to publication as a Working Text. Not perfected but copyrighted and ready for use, this Catechism is an awesome achievement. Intended for adult converts, intended to be far more comprehensive than previous Anglican catechisms of the Christendom age, there is already global interest in this work of our

3 Catechesis Task Force, including requests to translate it into Chinese and Farsi. For a four-year old Province to have produced this is a sign of just how much of God s favor and of human giftedness are with us. Classical Anglican texts for worship are now also ready to be put into wide use. The Book and Liturgy Task Force wisely began with constructing a theological lens through which all efforts would be assessed. The Ordinal, Eucharistic Texts, and the Offices of Morning and Evening while still being subjected to Task Force assessment by feedback from their use are very nearly in the form that will serve our Province as standards for Divine Worship for years to come. The Anglican Church in North America continues to secure its place in global Anglican circles. The amazing work of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund is a huge part of the story: 134 development projects in 36 nations, alongside of millions of dollars of relief work in global disasters, has shown the Anglican world that we desire to be agents of the transforming love of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. In a different way, as a GAFCON/GFCA Province we are full partners with a majority of the world s Anglicans. Twice a year I participate in the GAFCON/GFCA Primates Council. An even larger constellation of Anglican Provinces the socalled Global South also always includes our leadership in their global gatherings. The Church of England continues to follow-through on the General Synod motion of 2010, a followthrough that, I am convinced, will lead to the recognition of our orders within another year or so. Recently I spent four and a half hours with the Archbishop of Canterbury, at his invitation. Last week I spent five hours of private time with the Primate of Nigeria, deepening our relationship and commitment to one another. The role of the Anglican Church in North America in GAFCON 2 in October in Nairobi some one-hundred-thirty-four of us will be an immensely significant one. Final Exhortation In Matthew s Gospel, Jesus instructs the twelve that they are to: Preach as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts [Matthew 10:7-9] As it turned out, few of us got to take any gold or silver or copper But our whole story has been that freely [we] have received. That s our story as a Province. We have attempted to preach the Word and do the Works, attended by the Worship and by the Wonders. The main thing is the kingdom of heaven, and, by God s grace it has come very near to us. We have received God s favor, not because we deserved it, but because God gave it. Our formation, and our early years, have been amazing. Let s not retreat. Let s not turn back. Let s not settle for less than the vision and the mission, and let s not compromise them. Freely we have received. Freely give. The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing. 1, Private interview, London, April, , Bruce W. Tuckman, Team Development> (1965)

4 OSL Corner By Sharon Parker We, the members of Transformation s Order of St. Luke Chapter, seek and covet your prayers for us; to cover us before, during and after our prayer ministry following Holy Communion on Sunday mornings. In fact, intercessory prayer for the OSL is very important to help us grow in the Spirit and to increase the healings and membership in the Order. It is very important that we be able to hear the Holy Spirit as He tells us how to pray for individuals. It takes spiritual power for healing to happen through prayer and to push away the darkness that does not want to see any of us healed and set free. Your prayer covering helps us be less susceptible to increased lethargy and decreased prayer ministry activity among our membership. God really does want to pour out even greater blessings upon the healing ministry of our OSL Chapter. When you are intentional with regular intercessory prayer that provides the protective covering for Transformation s Chapter, it gives us the freedom and capacity to receive more of the blessings our Father wants to give. Below is a prayer from one of the OSL conferences that we ask you to consider praying at least once a week for not only OSL, but for the other intercessory prayer teams. Abba, Father, we thank you that your Spirit teaches, leads, renews, and heals us. Open the flood gates of Heaven and rain down a river of your Holy Spirit upon us. Fill the Transformation Anglican Church of Rockwall, the OSL Chapter, and our other intercessory groups with your Glory to overflowing, a glory that flows into your churches and into the world. Come, Holy Spirit. Revive us and awaken us. Breathe new life into us and into our healing ministries. Direct us in the use of our gifts of healing for ministries that respond to special needs in our communities. Empower us to be God s Glory. Jesus, as we surrender everything to you, set our hearts on fire to proclaim your love and forgiveness to family, friend, and stranger alike. May Abba s will be done in Transformation as it is in heaven. Thank you, Lord. We bless you, we praise you. We love you. AMEN. The Order of St. Luke the Physician is an inter-denominational, international ministry for healing body, mind and spirit.

5 Austin Street Centre Ministry News By Sharon Parker On Wednesday, May 29, our team traveled down to Austin Street Center in Dallas to feed over 400 men, women, and one child who loves bananas. It was a busy Wednesday and there were a lot of people in the building because of gathering rain storms. It blew really hard for several minutes and the lights flickered, but never went out. Praise You, Lord!! If you have any questions concerning Austin Street Center and our ministry there, please get in touch with Sharon Parker, Susan Maupin or Sue Griffin. We can answer your questions. Because the month of July also has five Wednesdays in it, the 31 st will once again provide us with the opportunity to go back to feed them. We need your help with this ministry, not only in funds, but in baked cupcakes, boiled eggs/shell on, and even ZipLock sandwich bags (we use about 800 of these each time, but they have to be ZipLock as they are the easiest for us to open, load. and close). We will gather at the home of Susan and Larry Maupin about 3:30 to bag boiled eggs, prepare 800 sandwiches, load up the cars and head to Dallas by 5:45. Would you consider becoming part of this vital ministry to the Lord s poor and homeless? It will bless you in so many ways, even if you don t go down with us. But the biggest blessing is when we go down, hand out the food and speak with the clients there. They are grateful for the food that fills their stomachs to help them sleep more soundly and help strengthens their bodies. If we have any leftovers, and we usually do, the Center can use those to help feed them breakfast the next morning.

6 Jun 2013 ~ July 2013 ~ Aug 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :00 am Office Closed 7:30 am Men s Bible Study A Virgil/Trish Sunday :00 am Independence Day 11 A Mark/Melody Carr :30 am Men s Bible Study B John Shaver B Debbie Sharp B Jim Blevins B JoAnn Craddock 16 B Jim Watt 17 10:00 am :00 am B Bill Croll :00 am B Ben Craddock 18 A Don/Jane Brooks B Nathan Figueroa Notes: :30 am Men s Bible Study B Sharon Barnett B Val Atkins 27 7:30 am Men s Bible Study B Mary Kadane B Annie Samuel Austin Street Centre

7 July 7, 2013 PROPERS OT 2 Kings 5:1-14 Psalm 30 NT Galatians 5:16-25 Gospel Luke 10:1-11,16-20 July 14, 2013 PROPERS OT Amos 7:7-17 Psalm 82 NT Colossians 1:1-14 Gospel Luke 10:25-37 LAY SERVERS Capt/PS/CB... Myra Lenoir OT/CB... Christy Hopkins PP... Dawn Hall NT... Grace Mathews CB... Jimmy Seay CB... Mary Kadane LAY SERVERS Capt/NT/CB... Bill Thorogood OT/CB... Jim Blevins PS/CB... Ken Craddock PP... Dan Tillman CB... Terri Thompson ACOLYTES AA1 Benjamin Craddock AA2....Jean Howk ACOLYTES AA1...Pete Howk AA2 Daniel Mathews PRAYER MINISTRY Don Newman* Bill Croll Daymon Schulgen Debbie Sharp PRAYER MINISTRY Sharon Parker* Dawn Hall Sue Griffin JoAnn Craddock USHERS Arvo Mallay Will Parker USHERS Ed Figueroa Nathan Figueroa GUEST RECEPTION TEAM Set up.. Ed Figueroa Greeter...TBD Guest Hosts...Larry/Susan Maupin GUEST RECEPTION TEAM Set up...dick Davenport Greeter... TBD Guest Hosts... Dick/Nancy Davenport TELLER TEAM Bill Thorogood Jean Howk Sue Hesseltine TELLER TEAM Sharon Figueroa

8 July 21, 2013 PROPERS OT Amos 8:1-12 Psalm 52 NT Colossians 1:15-28 Gospel Luke 10:38-42 July 28, 2013 PROPERS OT Hosea 1:2-10 Psalm 85 NT Colossians 2:6-15,(16-19) Gospel Luke 11:1-13 LAY SERVERS Capt/ CB... Hal Hines OT/CB... Debbie Sharp PS/CB... Sara Maneval NT/CB... Marianne Gwinn PP... Tim Sharp LAY SERVERS Capt/NT/ CB... Don Newman OT/CB... Mark Dillow PS... Nathan Figueroa PP/CB... Sharon Barnett CB... Jim Messler ACOLYTES AA1 June Hines AA2 Trey Gwinn PRAYER MINISTRY Larry Maupin* Susan Maupin Ann Smith Holly Knickerbocker USHERS Rick Maneval TBD GUEST RECEPTION TEAM Set up... Don Newman Greeter... Donna Miller/Elaine Smith Guest Hosts... John/Francis Oliphant Hilda Blevins TELLER TEAM Marvel Gates ACOLYTES AA1..Nathan Figueroa AA2..Pete Howk PRAYER MINISTRY John Shaver* Barbara Shaver Donna Miller Jeannie Filson USHERS Arvo Mallay Will Parker GUEST RECEPTION TEAM Set up... John Shaver Greeter... Barbara Shaver Guest Hosts... TBD Rick Maneval TELLER TEAM Linda Celaya

9 Transformation Anglican Church Redeemed Inspired Transformed We are redeemed through faith, inspired with hope, and transformed in love. Office Location Address: 663 Justin Road, Rockwall, TX Phone: Website: Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday Heritage Christian Academy 1408 S. Goliad Street Rockwall, TX Worship Location Staff Don McLane, Pastor Matt Hill, Assisting Priest Gordon Schroeder, Assisting Priest Bill Schulgen, Deacon John Shaver, Executive Director of Ministries Randy Wills, Music Ministry Rachel Hall, Nursery Coordinator Anne Horan Rick Maneval Richard Mathews Larry Maupin Ken Craddock-Treasurer Advisory Council The deadline for each issue is the 10 th of each month to be published in the following newsletter. Please send your articles to john@transformationac.org. ALL ARTICLES ARE SUBJECT TO EDITING AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED.