News from the Diocese
Bishop Andrew recently visited Trinity North Shore in South Hamilton, MA, to preach, celebrate the eucharist, and confirm new members.
Bishop Andrew reflected on the visit, saying, "It is always a great joy to be with Canon Tim and the good folk of Trinity North Shore. It was wonderful to see the whole family represented, as folk at every age of life confirmed their faith in Jesus Christ, and their commitment to Jesus' ongoing mission to the North Shore through the worshipping life of Trinity."
The experience of Good Friday this year was deeply enriched by a new initiative at St. Timothy Anglican Church in Williston, VT. Our congregation spends the evening of Good Friday in worship with other churches in a collaborative effort, but this year we wanted to create a space for contemplation within our normal sanctuary space. We created a “Stations of the Cross” Art Open House to offer this space.
At the beginning of Lent, we invited any artists, of any level, from the congregation to choose one of the Scriptural Stations of the Cross…
The following is an excerpt of an article written by Ernie Didot from The Apostle Magazine, an official publication of the Anglican Church in North America
Katherine Lee Bates’ poem, “America The Beautiful,” is best known for being set to music and popularly performed at public sporting events in the United States. In it, she celebrates the grandeur of American geography and resources: “And crown thy good with brotherhood / From sea to shining sea.”
Two church parishes in the Anglican Church in North America, located in port cities on opposite coasts, richly blessed with the bounty of natural resources like salmon and lobster, have received unexpected blessings this past year in the form of church buildings and property…
On what was almost certainly, the last breath of a late summer, on a perfectly still day that reached 83 degrees – the sun shone through the golden fall foliage, surrounding All Saints Cathedral, and lit up a full church that had assembled to pray for and witness the diaconal ordination of Jeff Wojcicki and Jennifer Kiefer.
If I had to choose one word to describe Reawakening 2023 it would be generosity. There was a deep sense of generosity in every aspect of the weekend. This was felt almost instantly the moment the worship team began to play Goodness of God. The Spirit of the Lord was so generously present in that place…
Holy Trinity Auburn celebrated their first birthday on the 3rd of September. The celebrations began with a legendary Kenyan BBQ where a dozen or more grills filled the field adjacent to the church and kept everyone well fed with excellent Kenyan dishes – of course including goat, prepared and grilled to perfection. Sack races and other fun activities kept everyone entertained. Such was the crowd, some members of the church family had to rush out for extra celebratory blue t-shirts so that every member of this growing congregation could be properly attired!
“This year’s Missional Planning Summit felt like a mastermind session with church leaders from around the ADNE retreating for two days of dreaming and strategizing. The Lord knit the groups together in such a way that churches across the Diocese were able to dream, encourage, support, and equip one another. At the end of two days, each church left with a Spirit-filled plan that will make the transformative and empowering love of Jesus Christ known in their community.”
When Reverend Dan Wolf and his family first moved to Portland in July 2020, they sensed that Isaiah 61:3-4 was going to be a significant Scripture for them and the church they were called to plant. Dan recalls, “God was calling us to plant a church with roots deep in the Lord and in the heart of the city of Portland. But we had no idea how God would accomplish this, especially in the challenging post-Christian context in the middle of a pandemic. We set out on mission to build relationships with neighbors and co-workers and slowly built a team who wanted to learn how to follow Jesus on mission. As the newly minted “Rise Church”, we stepped out in faith and sought to make disciples, trusting that God would build his church...
On Sunday, June 4 Bishop Andrew Williams traveled to the southeastern shore of New England to formally install the Rev. Ben Guiffrida as rector of Church of the Apostles in Coventry, RI. Church of the Apostles is a parish that we’ve only just recently welcomed into the ADNE. Bishop Andrew spoke to the church’s journey as an experience of homecoming, saying, “This has been such a sovereignly ordained moment. The Lord has led the Church of the Apostles to take the place that He has prepared for them in the Anglican Diocese in New England. And as we have come together it really has been a wonderful family reunion. It has felt a little bit like discovering that you have a long-lost brother or sister that you were unaware of but rejoice to be reunited with. And in this glorious moment of restoration, we recognize all our shared family resemblances and heritage in Jesus.”
The Boston Fellows finished the year with our final Spiritual Formation Weekend in the woods at Gordon College. Studying God’s Word on aging and death, the age to come, the New Jerusalem with the Lamb as the light; sleeping in tents or on the ground or in a hammock; eating, laughing and enjoying conversation around picnic tables; toasting marshmallows over the grill, under a tent, in the pouring rain; and taking on the challenge of the high ropes course at the LaVida outdoor center. We truly ended on a high note, with people climbing telephone poles, navigating wires, or working together to climb up an obstacle course….
On April 30th, Bishop Andrew visited Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity in Auburn, led by Rev. Eliud and his wife Leah. During the service, five ladies were admitted into the Mother’s Union and sixteen men were admitted into the Men’s fellowship. Bishop Andrew remarked, “This is a wonderful and effective piece of leadership development bringing many people into the mission and values of the church and the ADNE.”
Bishop Trevor Walters led an outstanding one-day seminar on conflict resolution for ADNE Clergy, Wardens, and Vestries on Saturday, May 5th. Bishop Trevor is passionate about bringing peace to the Church through conflict mediation, and the engaging seminar covered a broad range of topics including early response strategies, conflict investigation, and multiple practical strategies for conflict resolution.
Rev. Art Peters, priest in charge at The Church of the Holy Spirit, in Granville, NY, will be leading a trip to Israel from February 12-22, 2024, to share with fellow believers this marvelous and beautiful country.
During his visit to St Timothy’s, Bishop Andrew enjoyed the exceptional hospitality of the 7th Seed Retreat Center, a learning and farming community in the heart of the Green Mountains of Vermont led by St. Timothy congregants, Sten and Amy Bowen. Launched in 2021, 7th Seed not only provides a perfect setting to retreat, restore and rejuvenate but is putting their faith into action through outreach to youth and those facing food-insecurity.
On April 1st, following the spring meetings of the Diocesan Discernment Committee, Bishop Andrew ordained Scott Purswell and Molly Holleran as vocational deacons at All Saints Cathedral... Deacon Scott will serve at All Saints Cathedral, where he has been a leader for 18 years. Deacon Molly will continue to serve at Brownsville Community Church in Brownsville VT, where she has been an active leader since 2020.
Sunday March 12th witnessed an extraordinary service of celebration, thanksgiving and an outpouring of love and unity as Venerable Michael Kafeero was installed as Archdeacon of ADNE’s thriving Ugandan Archdeaconry. St. Paul’s Waltham overflowed with worshippers as members of the ADNE East African community came together to celebrate this historic moment. (Still image taken from Jamo Productions)
On Saturday, March 11, Canon Ross, and Diocesan Coach, Josh Vanada, led an informative and empowering training session for the ADNE’s Senior and Junior Wardens. The inaugural event welcomed church leaders from all over the ADNE, from as far away as Delaware, to All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Amesbury, MA…
Bishop Andrew and Rev. Sean Norris were invited as the keynote speakers at the March Healing Conference at St. Michaels Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This was St. Michael’s 90th Healing Conference and Bishop Drew and Sean centered their teaching around the Lord’s desire to heal us of shame. Over the course of the day Bishop Andrew and Sean taught and ministered together in partnership with St. Michael’s experienced and anointed prayer ministry team.
Sunday, February 12th marked an historic moment in the life of the Anglican Diocese of New England when Bishop Andrew traveled to Delaware to install The Reverend Paul Thuo Githinji as Canon for East African Mission for the ADNE.
Bishop Andrew formally installed Christ the Redeemer’s new Rector, The Reverend Brian Chase, at a beautifully prepared Eucharistic service at Christ the Redeemer in Danvers on Sunday, February 5th.
This fall, high school students and their leaders from across the diocese went on a retreat held at Toah Nipi Retreat Center in New Hampshire. The theme of the weekend was “Emerge” with talks and workshops focused on how discipleship begins with the heart and moves out from there. Rev. Canon Craig Vickerman encouraged students to consider what it means to follow Jesus as a disciple: to spend time with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do what Jesus did…
In August 2022, a team from the Anglican Diocese in New England traveled to Uganda. Their primary mission was to serve with Love Unveiled Ministries, preaching and demonstrating the love of God among the people (and children) of Uganda, while also serving local clergy and parishes throughout the country. This trip was largely made possible by the work and connections of the Rev. Canon Leah Turner, head of the Every Tribe and Nation Network, and the leadership of Audrey Patra at Love Unveiled Ministries.
There is a movement happening in the Church in New England right now. The Lord is raising up everyday believers – farmers, tradesmen, engineers, retirees, business executives, stay-at-home moms, professors, and college students alike – to not merely fill pews or run programs, but to minister to others in the power of the Holy Spirit; to see bodies healed, emotions rightly ordered, captives set free, relationships restored, and lives transformed. The Kingdom of God is coming near.
This summer, ADNE’s student ministry partnered with Rise Church and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Portland, Maine to help lead an evangelistic sports camp for kids as a part of the ADNE summer mission trip. On an early July morning, students and adults start filling the bleachers and turf field of Portland Fitzpatrick Stadium eager to greet 100+ kids, and even more eager to play soccer, basketball, football, field hockey, and track and field…
Dozens of clergy and missional leaders gathered last month for the ADNE’s second annual Missional Planning Conference hosted by All Saints Cathedral.
This annual two-day conference is designed to help our leaders dream big, identify God’s vision for their parishes, and strategize how to mobilize their people to mission in their parish’s local contexts…
“God takes all these broken pieces of our lives and he puts them back together. It doesn’t look like what the fabric used to look like, but he puts the pieces together so our lives can become these beautiful works of art that reflect his beauty and his goodness.” While Jennifer has been quilting for 20 years, in the last five years she found a way to unite her artistic background and joy of quilting with a mission she is passionate about: she has personally made or funded 30 quilts donated to women and girls rescued from trafficking.
One of the ADNE’s recent clergy additions is preparing to minister to soldiers in the Middle East this year. The Rev. Greg Butler, chaplain in the New Hampshire Army National Guard, will be deployed to Jordan this month, and the ADNE is excited to support him in this ministry with our prayers and encouragement.
The Anglican Diocese in New England continues to grow each year, adding to our family new believers and those from other denominations. As Anglicans, we strongly encourage devotional practices that help Christians grow in their faith such as personal prayer and Bible reading. However, there are other practices that are perhaps lesser-known but of great importance to Christian formation nonetheless. Today we want to introduce you to one of those practices called spiritual direction and to the story of Rev. Cn. Dr. Susan “Susie” Skillen, our Canon for Spiritual Formation.
How do you internalize the truth that God loves you in Jesus? This was our mission on the ADNE Middle School 2024 Retreat: to help middle schoolers and their leaders internalize and believe that they are deeply loved by Jesus. We wanted them to come away with saving faith, which only the Spirit can give, that they are a beloved son and daughter of God. We wanted them to know the forgiving love of Jesus, that finds us at our most helpless, worst state, and brings us into his family, his love, and his healing. How do you come to believe that?
This is how the Lord did it on this retreat…