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

We’ve updated our priorities (more on that from Bishop Andrew below) so in 2024, those priorities are: Youth & Family Ministry, Leadership Development & Clergy Care, Global Mission, and the Reawakening of New England.

Renewed Vision and Values of the ADNE

– Bishop Andrew Williams

Thanks to your unrelenting faithfulness, prayerful perseverance and entrepreneurial missional drive,  2023 was undoubtedly our strongest year as a diocese since I was consecrated five years ago in 2019. 2023 was a year in which we saw the procurement of six new buildings and in which we have seen our churches grow in number and in confidence as they have reached out to the communities they serve through children’s programs, the arts, music, food scarcity initiatives and much more.

Diocesan and local church efforts saw more children’s and young people’s camps and retreats than any other year, including a farm camp in New Hampshire and an arts Camp in Long Island. Our church plants, adopted churches, missional communities, and regional renewal gatherings have witnessed growth in number and impact in outreach. Our clergy have access to a spiritual mentor who supports them in their spiritual, physical, emotional and familial lives. Our rectors also have access to a strategic coach to support them in taking God’s vision into action. One rector commented,  

“I have had the opportunity to serve in several different dioceses and have always noticed how difficult it is to catalyze and measure the growth of so many different parishes scattered across such a broad area with different contexts and different needs. The [ADNE] Missional Planning Summit provides…a clear method for [setting clear goals and] measuring progress...” 

Training days for wardens and vestries have also proved to be a highly effective and popular initiative.  

2023 also saw the installation of a desperately needed well serving over two thousand people in West Buganda, Uganda. Our mission trip to Uganda and Kenya in 2023 enabled us to identify strategic partnerships and we are currently mobilizing our churches in support of further water scarcity projects and other aid programs.

All of this has led us to re-evaluate and prayerfully allow for the Lord’s renewing of His Vision and values for the Anglican Diocese in New England.

1. ADNE RENEWED VISION STATEMENT

A vision statement looks forward and creates a prophetic portrait of the future that the Lord is leading us toward. His promised land. A vision statement should be a bold, inspirational and aspirational future that implicitly makes it clear that the only way we can walk into the promised land is by Jesus’ leading and in His strength. What is clearly impossible for us, becomes possible in our shared labors are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our renewed ADNE vision statement sets out this bold and prophetic promised land:  

An exhausted and divided world hears and experiences the relentless, inexhaustible love, grace, and mercy of God the Father for them in Jesus through the healing power of the Holy Spirit.

2. ADNE MISSION STATEMENT:

A mission statement is a concise explanation of an organization’s reason for existence and describes its purpose, intention and overall objectives. This renewed statement is principally for us the ADNE team as God’s servant to the diocese. The mission statement supports the vision of the diocese and serves to communicate purpose and direction to clergy and church communities. Our renewed ADNE Mission statement is as follows: 

Raising up and releasing clergy and Christians of all ages and vocations to share the transformative and empowering love of Jesus Christ through Spirit-led vision, support, and leadership development.

3. ADNE VALUES:

Our values represent core, underlying, Biblical principles that guide and direct our culture as a missional movement. Jesus is equally concerned with “how” we achieve His vision and mission. Our values create a Biblical compass for us all. Our renewed shared ADNE Values are as follows: 

We are: 

• Recipients:  We are rescued by the love and mercy of Jesus Christ and met daily by His grace in our pain and brokenness.

• Messengers:  We share the good news of the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to an exhausted and divided world.   

•  A Spiritual House: We are beloved daughters and sons of the living God, gathered together to build one another up in love, worshiping God in all that we say and do, and proclaiming the promise of redemption through baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

•  Missional Entrepreneurs: We are creative communities united in Holy Spirit-led strategy, who use our God-given gifts to reveal the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to the skeptic and the sufferer.

•  Servants:  We follow Jesus’ example by serving our leaders with resources for their growth and well-being, so that they can make His love known in the communities to which they have been called. 

Our diocesan priorities have largely remained unchanged save that church planting is now deliberately connected to our call to reawaken the Northeast. Whilst our Global Mission has long been an integral part of who we are as a diocese, the new work has enabled us to describe with renewed boldness and clarity.

4. RENEWED ADNE PRIORITIES: 

• Leadership Development – both in spiritual care and strategy and execution.

• Reawakening – now including church planting & theological formation.

• Youth & Family – including retreats, coaching, and equipping resources.

• Global Mission 

We have a shared calling from Maine to Connecticut (including communities in Albany, Long Island and Delaware) to make known the love, mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Thank you for all that you are doing that enables us to all keep in step with all that the Lord is calling us to. We are so much stronger together and our collective witness for Jesus Christ is reaching new heights and new hearts.  

In His great love, 
Bishop Drew 

Register now for the Vestry Day

The ADNE Vestry Day is an opportunity for us to provide some clarity on exactly what a Vestry’s role is, how the Rector leads the church, and how the Vestry can support the Rector in those endeavors. It’s an opportunity for Vestry Members to meet one another, help each other with challenges they may be facing, and unify the family of God here in the ADNE.

When: Saturday, March 9, 2024 (10am-4pm; check-in & coffee begins at 9am)

Where: All Saints Cathedral in Amesbury, MA

Who: For all non-clergy, currently serving vestry members in our churches

Cost: $25 per person, and includes lunch!

Rectors and other vestry members, please ensure your vestry members are notified of this event, and please share the date as part of the onboarding process for newly elected members as you enter 2024.

ADNE Begins year with New Rectors’ Huddle

On the evening of Wednesday, January 31, the rectors of ADNE churches gathered on zoom for the first of three Rector’s Huddles with Bishop Andrew scheduled for 2024. In addition to the Synod business meeting and the Missional Planning Summit, adding three zoom huddles in each of the first three quarters will help provide a stronger sense of shared mission among our leaders.

This last meeting was highly informational as Bishop Andrew shared updates to our diocesan vision and values and noted some new developments in the ADNE leadership team. In addition, 2024 Initiatives were presented, including:

1. Continuing to build a strong diocesan team capable of providing Spirit-led vision, support and leadership development

2. Floodgate Pilgrimage (see article below!)

3. Partnering with East Africa to put vision into Action

4. Refocusing on growing our diocese by adding faithful and bold leaders and church planters

5. Providing further opportunities for theological and pastoral formation/preaching

6. Delivering a balanced budget

Rectors will get an email next week with more information, but the two remaining huddle dates for 2024 will be May 8 and September 11.

Reawakening Conference 2024

October 18-19, 2024

The ADNE Reawakening Team has been hard at work already, and we can’t wait to announce our theme, guest speaker, and updated plans for you soon (It’s going to be good!) We want as many of our diocesan family as possible to join us for these powerful days of worship, teaching, connection, and celebration, so mark your calendar now.

Here’s what people have said in the past about Reawakening:

“[Reawakening Conferences] are the real deal: the topic and speaker, the worship, the fellowship, the prayers for the world’s pain, Bishop Andrew’s own warm hospitality… I leave feeling reset and recharged, reminded that, whatever I’m facing, there is a Love and a Larger Story buoying me.”

“It was such a blessing to get to know other clergy and leaders better and share in their lives! It is clear the Lord is moving in the ADNE. I am grateful to be a part of it!”

“I am going to try to impress upon some other church members that this is a meaningful conference to attend, and that you don't have to be clergy to benefit from it.”

“I was assured in a profound way that the Father loves me, and He truly delights in me.”

New to the ADNE? Read about last year’s Reawakening here

Middle School Spring Retreat

April 5-7, 2024 | Registration open until March 21st!

There is still time to register for our upcoming Middle School Retreat! Events like this are a great way for students to step outside of their regular routines and have an opportunity to hear the Gospel presented in an accessible way. If you have any questions about this retreat or would just like more information, please email family@adne.org.

Throughout the weekend, students will have the opportunity to participate in low ropes and high ropes while learning what it means to follow Jesus. We are thrilled to have the Revs. Sean and Kate Norris as our worship leaders and guest speaker for this weekend! The cost is $125 per person.

Kids Summer Camp

As families start to make plans for the summer, we encourage you to look into and share information about China Lake Camp (China, Maine) with families at your church! Kids Camp is July 14-19, 2024 and is open to ages 8-12.

You are invited to join us this summer for kids camp in China, Maine! This camp will include camp games, sports, crafts, and waterfront activities for ages 8-12. Rev. Canon Craig Vickerman will be the main speaker for the week and we would love to have families from around the diocese join in on the fun!

Family Lent Resource

As we look ahead to Lent, we want to equip families and churches to walk with young people during this season.

One great resource is Who is Jesus? 40 Pictures to Share with Your Family, which is available here. For forty days, you can read a passage of scripture and a reflection on it while also reflecting on a corresponding piece of artwork.

Pressing into Global mission in 2024

– An update by the Rev. Canon Leah Turner

This year, the ADNE identifies Global Mission as one of its 4 key priorities. This is exciting because mission is at the center of God’s heart. It is through mission that the Great Commandment (Matthew 25) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28) are fulfilled. It is through mission that the glory of God is made known to the people. Global Frontier Missions quotes John Piper as saying, “Mission exists because worship doesn’t.” As Paul writes in Ephesians, we are created to be the praise of God’s glory. If people do not know him, they cannot worship him or know the saving love of Jesus.

With this in mind, ADNE has embarked on a missions program that incorporates both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission – through water scarcity projects, community development projects, and mission trips that preach the gospel both with and without words.

This year we will begin raising funds for two water scarcity projects in Uganda that we hope to complete in one year, and a larger water scarcity project in Kenya that will launch in 2026. We are also raising money for medical equipment and supplies. These gifts, water, and basic medical care will transform the lives of the people and the surrounding regions.

We will also be supporting smaller community development projects. In the past we have raised funds for desks to be built for schools, bought sewing machines and tailoring supplies for women to learn a trade, and soccer uniforms and shoes for a village. Audrey Patra is gathering information on new community development projects for the upcoming year.

We have also decided to take two mission trips a year: a Bishop’s trip in August, and a team trip in February. The Bishop’s Trip will allow us to build new relationships and maintain current bonds with leaders from Uganda and Kenya, and other countries as God leads. This will be by invitation. The February trip will be a focused mission to a single location with team members from churches from around the diocese (stay tuned!) We hope in years to come that we will be sending multiple teams out in February, as mission leaders are raised up and trained from around the diocese!

Regular mission meetings will be held by Zoom for those churches and individuals who are interested in partnering with us more closely on this great adventure. If you would like to participate in the zoom meetings, please email me at revleaht@gmail.com. God has invited to be a part of His story. Come and join us!

The Floodgate Pilgrimage: A brand new Diocesan-wide Prayer Initiative for 2024

This year, up and down New England (and the greater parts of New England that include Delaware, Long Island and Albany) our churches will be coming together in a seven-month prayer pilgrimage that will culminate at the 2024 Reawakening Conference. Bishop Andrew commented, “I have a very strong conviction that the Lord is asking us to come together in a deeper way to join with Him in His ongoing prayers for the reawakening of the Northeast.”  

Elena Williams and Leah Maina will be working with our clergy and a team of intercessors from across the diocese to make this bold vision a reality. Bishop Andrew has commissioned the artist, woodworker and custom furniture designer, Mark Denison (worshipping with St. Timothy’s, Burlington, Vermont) to create a Cross that will pass from church to church in the next seven months. Elena Williams explained, “Rather like the Olympic torch – when the Floodgate Pilgrimage Cross reaches your church the invitation will be to participate in two things:

• The first, of course, is to plan a time of prayer for your church, your community and the reawakening of the Northeast of America as the Holy Spirit leads. We will be providing suggestions for intercessory topics and a liturgical framework, but we are also hoping each church will bring their own gifts and creativity to their prayer event.

• Secondly, as well as an intercessory time, each church will also be invited to reach out to their community with an act of service. That service project is entirely open to the church and their sense of God’s leading. The regional reawakening weekends have revealed tremendous creativity and fruitfulness in these planned outreaches. We will be pleased to provide help here in fashioning a plan.

We are currently working on a pilgrimage route that will allow the Cross to travel from church to church across all of the States in which we are situated, in a seven-month period! And as the Pilgrimage unfolds we will be posting testimony and photographs of both the intercessory time and outreach moment. Our hope is that as we move across the region, our collective prayers will cascade into one another as we listen together for common themes in the leading of the Holy Spirit.”

Leah Maina responded, “I am very excited at the genesis of the Floodgate Pilgrimage; it's beautiful! Why? Because I believe that it has pleased the Lord to give us, as the ADNE family, a grace for revival, [Joel 2:28-32]. The prophet Habakkuk, in his prayer, said, "Lord, I have heard of your speech, O Lord, revive your works in our days, in wrath remember mercy.” (Habk 3:2)

I am convinced with much joy in my spirit that these are the days, and God is reviving His works. Fulling that prophetic word. He is Calling the lost back to the love of the father, the blind to see, the lame to walk again, the discouraged to find hope in Christ, the abandoned to find a home in the church, the rejected to feel loved again! Like the prodigal son, there's is no judgment for a son or daughter that repents. Rather, His arms are open to receive them back. It is the time for the Church of Jesus Christ to experience the manifold love, mercy and grace of Jesus. I am already excited for the many who have and will receive power to be called sons of God through the saving work of Jesus. The clouds are heavy with rain for revival in our diocese! I had a taste of this beauty during the 40-hour lock in prayers that we held at Abbey of the Way in Worcester in December, and I can't wait to experience it again in our diocesan Floodgate prayer pilgrimage!”

The name “the ADNE Floodgate Pilgrimage” is a curious choice of title. Bishop Andrew explains the significance. “The vision for this prayer pilgrimage came during the forty-hour prayer and fasting time led by Rev. Eliud Mwangi and his wife, Leah, at ADNE’s Abbey of the Way. As we were praying we found the phrase, “Lord, open the floodgates” in our prayers. I was intrigued by this. In the story of Noah, “heaven’s floodgates” are opened (Genesis 7:11). The same word appears in the book of Malachi, where the Lord promises great blessing, “…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing.” (Mal.3:10) In Fanny Jane Crosby’s (1820-1915) great hymn, “To God be the Glory” we sing, “To God be the glory, great things He hath done, So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life our redemption to win, And opened the flood-gate (or in some hymn books “life-gate”) that all may go in.” The opening of a single flood gate has the capacity to cause a colossal effect notwithstanding the relatively modest nature of the aperture. It struck me that the forty-hour prayer and fasting event was such a floodgate. A relatively modest prayer gateway through which the Lord was doing more than we could possibly foresee or imagine. My prayerful conviction is that Jesus is exhorting us to open the floodgates of prayer across the Northeast; to see the spiritual climate radically changed in the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. This is the invitation that I believe Jesus has set before us.”

 A symbol of this movement of prayer will be the Floodgate Pilgrimage Cross that will be physically passed from church to church and will call each church community to prayer. Mark Denison (worshipping with St. Timothy’s, Burlington, Vermont) was commissioned to design and create this. Of his design, Mark commented, “I am personally moved by the Cross when I can see or feel Jesus's suffering and sacrifice on the tree and the brutal torture that He endured while hanging there. The weight and ruggedness of the wood for me expresses the weight of what He did for us. Processional crosses can often feel underwhelming once they rest in their bases and can be overpowered by the church buildings they stand in. My prayer is that the simplicity and scale of this Cross grounds Jesus's reign and power in whatever building it will be placed. The Floodgate Pilgrimage Cross has an austerity and feel of New England to me and the fortitude that it took those individuals to survive the voyage across the Atlantic and the hazards and hardships that awaited them on shore. The wood is weathered gray like the original settlement buildings that later became the look to most New England towns on the coast.” On a practical note, Mark added, “The Cross breaks down into three pieces that will travel well by car and assembly is easy and quick. It is very stable standing on its own.

Elena Williams and Leah Maina will be reaching out to Rectors and intercessors across the diocese as they discern the Lord’s strategy for mobilizing us in prayer. Lord, open the floodgates of heaven and pour out your Holy Spirit across the northeast. 

________________

About Mark Denison:

Mark has worked out of his wood shop in Jericho, Vermont for the past 26 years as a woodworker and primarily as a custom furniture maker. Before that he and his wife spent about 8 years in the Boston area where he did the same, unaware that the Lord would awaken me to His presence and love.

Describing himself as a poster boy for ADHD, Mark commented, “I always found it difficult to delve into the Lord's leading in prayer. I am a visual person and discerning His heart for me and everything and everyone around me became easier when I started making little objects or prayer closets that I could focus my gaze upon while in quiet commune with my Father.  Low light, organic shapes, with the addition of little crosses opened my heart to a much richer understanding of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit within us. They are like visual mantras that help me focus. Keys that unlock the door to the Holiest of Holies. Making simple things for the church and its followers has always brought me great joy and it is the clearest way that I can articulate my love for Christ.”

The Light of the Gospel Shines Bright There Too

– by Scott DeLong

Often those of us in ministry look to what is happening in the larger towns and cities around us; settings where dramatic work with exciting results is done by talented teams resourced by ample budgets… but last week Fr. Steve Hoskins of Imago Dei and I were discussing how the light of the Gospel still shines in the small, unexpected, unassuming - often rural or aging - corners of the world. This is good news for much of our New England territory. It is our Lord’s work to seek and save the lost wherever they are; it is His joyful commitment to ensure His sheep are fed in every place. While we know this kind of ministry is happening the length and breadth of the ADNE, here are just three short stories of how ADNE clergy are seeing the light of the Gospel shine in similar settings.

Story 1: A Gathered Remnant in Hartland, Maine | The Rev. Laura White

Take the town of Hartland, Maine for example. Located 42 miles west of Bangor, Hartland’s population is 756. But in Hartland, the light of the Gospel is shining in a block of senior apartments where the Rev. Laura White, assisting priest at Imago Dei in Bangor, celebrates the Lord’s Supper weekly - not just with some residents there, but with added friends and community members who are gathering around them.

Rev. Laura tells it this way:

About a year ago one of my former parishioners asked if I could bring Communion to her and her husband before he went for surgery on his toe.  This couple is near and dear to my heart, and Communion before surgery is always a good idea, so we set a time. Given the circumstances, it seemed fitting to invite some other members of the church where we had all met, and soon there was a gathering of 7 in their apartment. It was a Holy Spirit moment. As I looked around the room, none of the folks gathered there still worships at the nearby church where we all met.  We were the remnant.  We were scattered.  But in that moment, we were gathered.

After Communion everyone looked around the room until someone said, somewhat sheepishly, "Can we do this again?"  And that was the beginning.  We have moved out of the apartment and into the common room and we gather every week.  It is very informal and very wonderful all at the same time.  We have had some folks from the apartment join us, and some have left (I wouldn't give their dog Communion!).  The apartment complex is expanding (see below) so we'll see if we get more people when it is finished!  For the most part, we are the remnant, gathered now in a new place to worship and pray and share Communion.  The Holy Spirit leads people to us, even if just for a day or a month. The doors are always open for residents to come in.

Story 2: New Hope Ministry At Brandywine Assisted Living Facility | The Rev. Joseph Balducci

The Rev. Joseph Balducci pastors one of our Connecticut parishes: New Hope Anglican Church in Oakville. He shares a similar story of feeling a Spirit-led invitation to an assisted living facility:

Around March 2023, two of my long-time parishioners moved into an assisted living facility. As I was conducting a pastoral, Jini said that she felt that I should do a service at the facility. I prayed about it and next thing I knew I received a call from the facilities manager asking if I wanted to set up a time for the service. I felt that this was the Holy Spirit at work and agreed to a date and time.   

I quickly shortened the service that I do at New Hope Anglican and held my first communion service on Tuesday June 13th at Brandywine. It began as a once-a-month service and has now grown to twice a month. The people love it and attendance has grown from about 10-12 people to 17 people last week. 

I also felt like more was needed. So, I incorporated a time of prayer for the residents. This has been very well received. I have also had the opportunity to pray for the needs of some staff members. I always make an effort to check back with the people whom I have prayed for. One of the staff members asked that I pray over a new transport vehicle that they had purchased. I agreed to bless the vehicle.

Additionally, I have included a couple of people from New Hope so they can get a feel for working outside the confines of the church building. 

This has been a tremendous opportunity to bring the Light of Christ to some wonderful people. I believe that in the time I’ve been serving this community, I have started to build relationships with them. My hope is that the Holy Spirit will continue to reveal new ways that I can be of service to this community of believers.     

 

Story 3: Communion at the Pond Home | The Rev. Jack Potter

The Rev. Jack Potter oversees pastoral care at Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Norwood, MA. He shares how he and his vicar responded with prayer and thoughtfulness to the spiritual hunger of elderly residents, and how those gathered are finding ways to minister to one another.

Father Alan Bouffard, the vicar of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Norwood, received a call from a resident of the Pond Home in Wrentham. The resident, who is a cousin of a member of our parish and a Baptist Christian, asked Father Alan whether it would be possible to provide a protestant communion service for residents of the Pond Home. She said that Roman Catholic and Protestant clergy visit the Home, but no one offers communion for the protestant residents. Father Alan said that, if we were able to do it, it would be an Anglican service.

Father Alan knew Father Jack Potter had had experience in ministering in nursing homes, so he asked him if he would be interested in providing services at the Pond Home. As we talked about it, we were a little concerned as to whether the residents would be comfortable with an Anglican Eucharistic service. Service booklets were prepared with the Renewed Ancient Text. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide us as we ministered to the elderly folks at the Pond Home.

Father Jack’s wife, Gail, helps with the service. One resident plays the piano; this has enabled us to sing wonderful old hymns. We initially used prefilled communion cups with a host, but these were difficult for the residents, and we now use intinction. One of our parishioners has knit lap robes which will be offered to the residents at the next service. We believe the Holy Spirit has opened the hearts of all those who have received the Body and Blood of our Lord. The residents have been pleased and grateful for the communion services, even though they may be different than their own traditions.

From Bishop Andrew

This kind of ministry to rural settings and aging communities is incredibly important. As the years progress, seniors will be an increasing demographic in our society. In 1950 the average life expectancy was 45. In 2024 it is 73 and by 2050 the UN projects an average life expectancy of 82. I am, therefore, immensely grateful for all the work that is done across the diocese in caring for these communities - perhaps those isolated in rural settings who cannot drive distances to our larger parishes, and to the elderly who are cared for in homes. The plain truth is that every birthday we celebrate leads to old age. In all our business it is easy to be in denial of this, but eventually we will all reach seniority in age. The beautiful work described above is evidence of the Holy Spirit bringing us new opportunities and stirring us to join Jesus in His ongoing care to those who are so often are forgotten or worse neglected, and to care for them as the beloved sons and daughters they are.

 Spotlight on the ADNE

 – by the Rev. Sean Norris

Every year historic St. Michael’s Church in Charleston, SC hosts its weeklong Global Impact Celebration (GIC), which highlights its mission partners from around the globe.  They categorize their mission partners into three groups: 1. Holy City (Charleston’s nickname due to its skyline littered with church steeples) 2. Hurting Coast (The east coast of the U.S.) 3. Hungering World (with a specific focus on the 10/40 window).  This year St. Michael’s wanted to focus the spotlight on the ADNE and all of our efforts to minister to and reawaken the northeastern part of the Hurting Coast. 

This invitation was not out of the blue.  St. Michael’s has faithfully supported Dan and Carrie Wolf as they plant RISE Church in Portland as well as Kate and me in Dandelion Ministries on Long Island.  In addition, Bishop Andrew was their keynote speaker at their healing conference in early 2023 and has built a friendship with St. Michael’s rector, Al Zadig.  New England holds a special place in Rev. Zadig’s heart as he was born in Connecticut and lived in the area for the first part of his life.  It was a natural fit to highlight what the Lord is doing through the ADNE.

To that end they invited Dandelion Ministries to come and open the week for them by ministering to their young families.  As you have seen in this space in previous Dispatches, we love to use art, music, and creativity to create space for people to really engage with the grace of Jesus Christ.  Being that this was a celebration of mission around the world, Kate and I asked ourselves: How could we bless these families and a mission partner at the same time?  Claire Sullivan is a missionary to the Hungering World as she and her team minister to the women caught in the sex slave trade in Bangkok, Thailand.  She came to the U.S. for the GIC.  Drawing on some of our previous inner-city ministry experience we thought it might be a blessing if we made gifts for the women to whom Claire ministers.  Friendship bracelets seemed like a good idea (thanks Taylor Swift!)…that carried the message of the love of God to them.  Claire loved the idea!

Saturday afternoon the young families of St. Michael’s gathered together where Kate told them the story of the “woman of the city” washing Jesus’ feet from Luke 7.  Bishop Andrew played the part of Simon the Pharisee and some of the children were his party guests.  Kate was the woman, and I got to be Jesus…role of a lifetime!  It was a great connection for families to hear Jesus’ grace for them and then to think of the women living on the streets of Bangkok who are desperate for the Lord’s love and mercy…who would know what it meant to be forgiven much.  We invited the families to make bracelets with the word LOVE in gold letters on them for themselves and then to make at least one more for the women and their children (which Claire confirmed many of them have).  They jumped right in.  Many of the children made over 5 bracelets in addition to their own!

As we prayed for Claire and over the gift bracelets, she shared that not long after we concocted this plan some of her team members told her they thought it would be a good idea to try to make jewelry as gifts for the women they knew, and Claire laughed and said, “It’s already taken care of!”  The Lord was way ahead of them and she would be bringing dozens of bracelets back with her along with supplies to make more with the women.  It was beautiful to see the Lord move!

The following day Bishop Andrew officially kicked of the GIC as the guest preacher at their Sunday services.  Preaching a powerful message of how the Lord in his love, grace, and mercy moves us into mission…and the mission field is right outside the doors of our churches.  Here is an excerpt: “Because God so loves the world it follows that the centripetal force of His church will always be outward. The water flowed out from the Temple. The disciples were sent out. The Gospel is to be taken to the ends of the world. The gravitational pull of the flesh will invariably want to dig its heals in and pull up the drawbridge and yet, to be carried in the outward movement of the Holy Spirit will always bring us face to face, heart to heart, with Jesus. The Psalmist tells us, ‘God wraps around Him the mantle of the ungod-like for though the Lord is high he regards the lowly.’ (Psalm 138:6). Jesus remains The King who still appears to a hurting world under the guise of the last, the lost, the least and the little. In thin places thick with suffering, injustice, shame, brokenness and tears, He is present. His loving exhortation remains unchanged, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

After the service we gave a presentation on how the Lord has used the arts and creativity as evangelistic tools on Long Island and now around the ADNE to get past people’s defenses and go straight to the heart where they need to hear the love and forgiveness of Jesus.  Some of the highlights were the Regional Reawakenings where ADNE churches our using their creative gifts to reach out to their neighborhoods.

If that wasn’t enough, later in the week Dan and Carrie Wolf spoke to the church and visitors about all the Lord has been doing with them and RISE in Portland...their new building and growing congregation.  They also spoke and led a discussion on raising children in a post-Christian context…a topic of growing concern to the churches in the South as even they are feeling the spreading effects of post-Christendom.  Dan and Carrie were very well received and encouraged by their time with the church.

The encouragement went both ways, and I pass it along to you.  Be encouraged that the testimonies coming out of the ADNE blessed the people of St. Michael’s.  They were so happy to hear and see that the gospel still works!  As the ADNE we share the good news of the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to this exhausted and divided world…particularly the rocky soil of the northeast.  Each of our churches and ministries stand as evidence that the Lord is still at work calling people into his family, still growing his Kingdom.  As St. Paul encouraged the Philippians, “Therefore, my brothers [and sisters], whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved” (4:1).  Stand firm, ADNE!  And well done!

The Gospel is living and active

Bishop Drew shares his testimony of seeing the Holy Spirit move powerfully at a Men’s conference he was invited to speak and minister at in Georgia.

I have known Bishop Steve Wood (Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas and Rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina) since 2009. Back in 2009 I had freshly landed in the US from the UK, and we were both invited to a leadership retreat on Pawley’s Island. Over the years we have both been through many joys and challenges in ministry. In our intertwining narratives, Bishop Steve has remained uncompromising in his passion and zeal in sharing the Gospel and bringing many to a living, Spirit-filled faith in Jesus Christ. St. Andrew’s is a testament to this commitment as is the diocese he leads. It was, therefore, an honor and a privilege to join with him this weekend at St. Andrew’s Men’s Retreat as their guest speaker.

As the guest speaker, I always walk into any retreat weekend, clutching my notes, my best sense of discernment as to how the Lord would have me serve Him and all the time hoping and praying that I have heard the prompting of the Holy Spirit correctly and I don’t get in the way of His plan. And then, rather like the meager loaves and fishes that were set before Jesus, the Lord multiplies and surpasses all my expectations!

It was evident at this retreat that the Lord was not just interested in talking about the Gospel, He desire was to literally give it to His sons; to press it into their hearts afresh in a Spirit-filled impartation of His love, grace and mercy. After all, The Gospel is not an idea, or simply words on a page – it is alive and active. During the opening worship on Saturday morning, St. Andrew’s gifted and experienced worship leader, Dwight Huthwaite, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, worshipped the Lord by singing to Him and over us with the gift of tongues. It was a transparently beautiful and anointed moment of faithful praise. One of the younger men amongst the delegates was a little daunted. This was all new to him. Later he said that for a moment he debated leaving the room for some air. But instead, he stayed. He remained rooted to his place, and later gave witness that as he stood there, his ears became very hot. While he was trying to make sense of this unusual heat, he was aware that as Dwight sung in tongues, he was hearing clear English words. And what he heard in English could not have more perfectly fit the Gospel theme of the entire weekend in a manner that was unusually and profoundly specific. He had no idea that the word he nervously shared was such a gift. At the time he received the gift of interpretation, I had not yet even preached the principal theme for the weekend. There was an overwhelming sense of the Lord clearly going ahead of us, getting our wholehearted attention, and clearing the way for each man, to receive His living word and be blessed.

Elena, was praying for me and for the retreat back in New England and in the early hours of Saturday morning, she texted me with her prayerful sense of the Lord’s intention. The seed of God’s had been carefully planted Word in each man’s heart. The Lord had reminded her that in order to germinate and grow, a seed needs good soil, water, light, and warmth. Her prayerful sense was that these I men had the implanted seed of God within them, their hearts constituted good soil and they had been well watered. The Lord’s desire was to bring them the light of illumination and the warmth of the outpouring of His love. Elena could not have more perfectly anticipated the weekend. There were so many “a-ha” moments. One of the men left the room during the coffee break to say, “Look! This has been the missing piece in our understanding! As the men were given a renewed perspective on their relationship with Jesus they were palpably enfolded in His love.

On a weekend such as this, a walk across a parking lot back to your room is invariably holy ground. It is my habit to pray that the Lord will guide and direct my path and lead me to those who He would have me especially serve. He never fails to answer this prayer. A relatively short journey across the lot became an hour-long Spirit-led prayer walk. I was joined, one by one, by guys who were vulnerable enough to share the trials of their lives and their hearts. As the wind rocked the towering palm trees overhead, I had the privilege to stop and listen and then to pray for them as the Lord poured out His love over them. I was struck again with how much we are all carrying. Behind cheery smiles and brave faces – so many people (if not all of us) are carrying heavy burdens of grief, loss and pain. It always moves me that the Lord knows all of this. He knows by heart every soul and every ounce of suffering and every struggle. It was abundantly clear that the Lord was making space for these men to hand Him their burdens and receive His healing, hope and peace.

At the close of worship on Saturday night, I was giving thanks to God for how He had so graciously met us; at the same time, I was exhausted. A good friend of mine used to say, “You’re done! Stick a fork in it!” That was me. I walked across the same parking lot under cover of night, and I confess that my preference was for a shorter walk back to my room. The Lord, of course, had other plans and I was so pleased that He put before me another divine meeting. I shook hands with a man who told me that for the past ten years he had lost all sense of smell. However, that night, following the ministry of God’s Word and a time of anointing with oil for each man, he had walked back to his room with a friend. His friend commented on the wonderful aroma of woodfire that was blowing across the grounds of the retreat center from a nearby fire pit. I had seen the same fire with sparks rising high, against the inky night sky. He said that he was about to explain to his friend that he could see the sparks, but he could not smell anything but as the words came to mind, he was surprised to find that the aroma of the woodfire filled his senses. He said it was the best-smelling woodfire he ever remembers. He wondered if this might be just a one-off experience: perhaps a gracious temporary reprieve. At breakfast the next morning he was greeted with the unmistakable smell of bacon!

Jesus was also beautifully present in the way that He led the men to minister to one another. Across all ages, new believers and veteran followers of Jesus settled into small discussion groups and shared openly about the real challenges and pain in their lives. These were men from their late eighties to early twenties. This is one of those moments when you see the church of Jesus Christ at its absolute best. Here was a safe place of solace, vulnerability, transparency, accountability, encouragement and true fellowship in which Jesus always does His best work. It was a joy to see friendships grow deeper and at the same time wider, as new members of the men’s community were welcomed wholeheartedly into Spirit-led brotherhood.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once famously said,

“He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners…Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So, we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners! But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23.26).”

At this Men’s Retreat, I was blessed to witness the antithesis of Bonhoeffer’s tragic but sadly oftentimes accurate prognosis. In the midst of authentic fellowship, there were multiple Gospel breakthroughs. Isolation was undone as one man looked another in the eyes and said, “You too! I thought I was the only one!” And in all our incompleteness, we found ourselves in the presence of Jesus who loves us completely.

Finally, I was struck with the fact that for the second time this year, I had been invited to minister in the Carolinas. Both occasions were distinguished by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And on both occasions, the essence of what the Lord invited me to share had been forged and fashioned by the Holy Spirit’s work in me and in us in New England. The spiritual landscapes of the Carolinas and New England are not the same – and yet we both share a history of the Lord moving powerfully in our midst. In the Carolinas and in the Northeast, the Lord is moving. For all the challenges we face, we cannot deny that the Gospel of Jesus Christ still works. It still has the power to rescue, save, restore and heal. And it can only be by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are enabled to make any headway against a prevailing cultural wind that blows hard against us. What I am struck with is that as a diocese, we are just as much at the center of this Spirit-led movement of renewal. My teaching was peppered with stories of how the Lord has been working in our midst, stories of salvation healing, and outreach that you have shared with me. Make no mistake, what the Holy Spirit is forging in the Northeast is being taken by Jesus to catalyze His work of renewal more widely.

Feeding First Responders

– by the Rev. Jeff Dorn

The Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Norwood prays for its first responders on a regular basis. These prayers of support took on the nature of tangible support in November and December of 2023. The church partnered with their local Jersey Mike’s to provide lunch to the Police and Fire Department.

On Friday, November 17, the church delivered 84 Jersey Mike’s subs to the Norwood Police Department. The Chief of Police, William G. Brooks III,  wrote that they appreciate folks showing their support for the work they do.

“It was a wonderful experience delivering subs to the officers in Norwood,” stated Fr. Jeff Dorn. “We hope to do it again soon!”

Riding on the success of the feeding of the police department the church again partnered with Jersey Mike’s to provide subs for the Fire Department. On Friday, December 15, Fr. Jeff arrived at the Norwood Fire Department with subs for the 16 firefighters that were on duty that day.

“As I entered the firehouse,” said Fr. Jeff, “the men in the lobby were discussing what to have for lunch.” Fr. Jeff replied, “I think I can answer that question for you all!”

The men met him at the door of the garage and ushered him into the large firehouse garage. Firefighters Steve and Steve quickly showed him around. They are particularly proud of their new ladder truck.

Included with the sandwiches delivered to both the Police and Fire Department were invitations to the church and a promise that a special blessing would be prayed over all the first responders on that Sunday.

 “It was such a blessing to meet these men and women in person, look them in the eye and let them know they are loved and appreciated. As a church we felt it was important to show them tangibly that we support them,” said Fr. Jeff Dorn.

The church has plans to continue this ministry to the first responders.