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 April 2010


Dear Friend:

What a joy to preside over our Diocesan Synod this past week! Sixty-seven clergy and lay delegates representing twenty-two churches joined together at the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, North Carolina, on the eve of the New Wineskins Missions Conference. 
 
• We celebrated the Eucharist and prayed for one another for healing (with two wonderful testimonies of God’s healing reported!).
• We heard about church planting from the Rev. George Beaven, our church planting director.
• We expeditiously handled the business matters (bylaws, budget, elections, insurance).
• And we were blessed to hear reports from every congregation interspersed throughout the agenda. 
 

 

I think we were all encouraged to hear of not only all the ministries and outreach efforts that we are engaged in, but also the desire of so many to go deeper in the Lord, seeking His will and guidance in all things. At the opening Eucharist, I preached from Acts 3, the account of Peter and John healing the lame man on their way to the temple. Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” While many of the churches in our movement find ourselves lacking in gold and silver, we are rich in the Spirit, and the reports on what the Lord is doing through you confirmed that.
 
The Synod passed an important resolution adopting the Ministry Safe program as the minimum standard for the protection of our children from possible abuse. I trust that every church will take the steps needed to ensure that our children are safe.
 
We also set the date for our next Synod: April 26-27, 2011 in Orlando, Florida, to piggyback on the amazing Exponential Church Planting conference (www.exponentialconference.org, to be held April 27-29, 2011). Those who can stay after the Synod will be able to join in with the many other Anglicans who attend that remarkable event. The starting and ending times of the Synod, as well as all the practical details, will need to be worked out and we’ll send out that information as soon as we have it.
 
By the time you receive this, I will have ordained the Rev. Craig Stephans to the priesthood and installed him as rector of Church of the Redeemer, Camden, North Carolina on April 12. This committed, prayerful and growing church has launched a new mission congregation, Good Shepherd Anglican Church at Nags Head on the Outer Banks. Vacationers, note!
 
I also had the joy of welcoming St. Andrew’s Church, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina into our diocese during Holy Week. This is one of the largest congregations in the country and known for its dynamic ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. They are host to a powerful annual conference in late June called “New Wine,” to which we are all invited. www.newwineusa.org.

Let me thank you once again for your prayers for me and for my parish, All Saints’ in Woodbridge, Virginia. In March we had a wonderful renewal weekend of teaching with Bishop Bill Atwood. It was an exciting time of worship, prayer and re-commitment to the Lord. That same weekend construction equipment arrived on our land. The bonds and permits have come through and construction has at long last begun on our new church!
 
Thank you for your prayers! It is a joy to be your bishop.

In Him,

+John
 
 
Enjoy photos from the Synod on the Diocese website:
 
 

Prayer Requests

  • I’ll be traveling to Singapore, April 16-24 for the Global South’s 4th “South to South Encounter.” Archbishop Duncan has asked me to accompany him, along with the Rev. Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council (and a priest of our diocese), and Mr. Hugo Blankingship, Chancellor of the Anglican Church in North America. Please keep this strategic event in your prayers.
  • April 27-May 2 Meg and I will be visiting All Saints’, Charlotte, NC; St. Andrew’s, Mount Pleasant, SC; and Resurrection, West Chicago, IL. Later in May, we’ll be at Christ Church, Midland, TX; Holy Spirit, Mobile, AL; Apostles, Daphne, AL; Christ Church, Plano, TX (doing an ordination on behalf of AMIA); and Nashotah House seminary.
Upcoming Events
  • Provincial Executive Committee, Council, and College of Bishops, Amesbury, MA, June 7-June 11, 2010.
  • New Wine USA, St. Andrew's, Mt. Pleasant, SC, June 24-27, 2010