Dispatches

Dispatches is a monthly update that seeks to keep you advised of news, developments, and resources that support our shared mission across the diocese.

new reawakening page

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our permanent Reawakening page on the ADNE website!

This new page brings together photo and video highlights from Reawakening 2025, capturing the worship, teaching, fellowship, and movement of God across New England this year.

You’ll also find a look ahead to Reawakening 2026, with updates and details to come as we prepare for another powerful gathering of believers across our region.

Whether you were there in person or are considering joining us next year, we invite you to explore the page, revisit the moments, and share in the hope and joy of what God is doing.

Advent and Invitation

Micah Thompson | micah.thompson@adne.org

As we enter the season of Advent, many of us are hoping to see our churches grow. We pray and plan through special events, special worship, and special elements of this season, in the hope of seeing new faces come through the doors, and the familiar faces reach new realizations in their lives with Jesus.

Because it is a season of hope and expectation, this is a great season to provide a growth environment for our church members. 

A few years ago at St. Timothy, we made a conscious decision to value potential over performance, and to celebrate personal growth when we see it. As a smaller congregation, there was some necessity in this decision, but it has produced a culture of engagement and growth among our church community. In turn, this culture has made us accessible and welcoming to visitors.

I’d like to share three elements that help to support a culture of growth and ownership. For church leaders, they may help to encourage engagement and personal growth within our congregations.

1) Meaningful Work

A lot of church leaders are overfunctioners. We like to be sure that everything gets done, and so we wear ourselves out making sure that nothing gets dropped. Ironically, we can end up communicating that there is nothing for anyone else to do. So we end up desperately wanting help, but never getting any.

We understand that plants require space to grow. Overcrowding creates competition for resources. It can be the same for people. Starting small, people are often willing to fill a leadership vacuum, especially if the work accomplishes something. Simple things like scripture reading or candle lighting help move the service along and demonstrate an important message to our visitors. Bringing a dish to a potluck or stepping on to mission team helps create fellowship spaces. As the vision catches, personal growth will allow for bigger tasks to be taken on.

Some things may need to stop for a time, or vision may need to go unfulfilled. Strategic leadership vacuums draw growth from our people that see the value of the work.

2) Safe Risk

If the work is meaningful, it will feel risky. I always make it a point to thank scripture readers that have a lot of biblical names to overcome, because I know they feel like they butcher it. The value of their offering is greater than the faults of their performance. Sometimes events don’t go to plan, vision doesn’t come through, or an expected “yes” turns out to be a “no.”

Our church members need to know that it’s ok to try new things. They won’t be condemned for lack of competence as they learn. We are celebrating personal growth, and even failures can be a source of tremendous growth if it is relationally safe to reflect on what could have gone better.

In part, this means that we, as leaders, need to structure safe risks. I have found that limiting timelines can be quite helpful. For example, we run small groups or new efforts in seasons, so that we have a built in gracious exit and opportunity for reflection. 

We also can bring people in when they are “ready enough.”  A few weeks ago, we had beginner piano student play the offertory. They did a great job, but it wouldn’t have been kind or encouraging to ask them to lead the whole service. It was a measured invitation to match their skill and stretch them a little bit - a safe risk.

3) An Invitation

In my first ministry job - a youth intern - I learned a phrase that has served me for a lot of years. “An invitation to everyone is an invitation to no one.” Blanket announcements for volunteer needs are rarely effective, and often a source of frustration.

Personal invitations are far more powerful, especially for leadership opportunities. A personal invitation will very often be welcomed when it is measured to a person’s ability, for meaningful work, and a safe level of risk. The act of invitation is a great chance for affirmation as well. To pick someone out, identify their gifts, and invite them to consider meaningful work is a great relationship builder. Even if they say no, they have been more deeply engaged and be built up in their connection to the body.

This Advent, as we hope and pray for the restoration of all things; we have an opportunity to invite the church to build itself up in love. By creating an environment that values personal growth, we are able to help the body of Christ to be a welcoming and inviting place, with all of the members functioning and growing in Christ, according to gifts and talents that He has placed in our churches.

Diocesan Annual Business Meeting

On Saturday, December 13, the diocese will meet for its annual business meeting. Delegates from each of our churches, as well as our clergy, will review and approve items like Diocesan Budget, previous meeting Minutes, and admit a new church of union with the Diocese. A full report will be in the December issue of Dispatches. Please be in prayer for this important gathering of the diocese.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE MINISTRIES AND PRIORITIES OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF NEW ENGLAND.

The Anglican Diocese in New England wants to be on mission together: every parishioner, every leader, and every church. As a family of churches reaching across the breadth of New England, God is calling us to serve in the reawakening of the Northeast. 

We can do so much more in God when we work together.