Synod 2021: Approval of New Churches

Approval of New Churches:

Congregations: Christ Church, Accokeek, MD Church of the Ascension, Kearneysville, WV

Mission: Corpus Christi Anglican Church, Franconia-Springfield, VA

Synod 2021: Great Commission Committee Report

Great Commission Committee Report: The Rev. Canon Tuck Bartholomew, Canon for Church Planting

The Franconia-Springfield Mission has its first pre-launch Eucharist Service

by Morgan Reed

When Jesus builds the church, it is never closed, and His kingdom will never be stopped. This theme was preached last Sunday and was put on display in the turnout of people who came to worship at the very first pre-launch Eucharist service at the Franconia-Springfield Mission. I'm pretty sure they were smiling because of their eyes, but everyone was wearing masks when they arrived!

The day began when I parked near the top of the hill overlooking Lake Accotink and began to unload my traveling sacristy while joggers, walkers, and bicyclists stopped to use the restroom near the picnic shelter. They looked on in confusion as this guy in a clerical collar was carrying a table, tubs, linens, candle sticks, and more, to the large picnic area. The service began with one of our young acolytes processing in and continued with many of the beautiful ceremonies that compose Anglican worship (albeit if in seminal form): a credence table made from a metal picnic table, incense wafting through the air from a standing censer, a Missal made from a stylized binder and printout of the new ACNA altar book, sanctus bells repurposed from a common handbell, and pews consisting of lawn chairs and picnic benches. Despite the gloves I could never quite figure out how to put on reverently, the young children making their presence known, celebrating ad orientem without sound equipment and functionally yelling the Eucharistic prayers into a stylish mask, Lake Accotink that day felt like what the Celts would call a thin space, where the space between the heavenly realm and earthly realm is very thin.

Early in the service I noticed that two bicycles were parked, abandoned by a tree, just outside the shelter. The two bicyclists, to which these bikes belonged, were standing nearby, walking around and listening. Even though they never came up for the Eucharist and I never was able to meet them, I noticed that they stayed all the way through the homily. I am excited to continue to meet at this shelter where bikers, joggers, and walkers will all stop to use the restroom and look on at this thin space with curiosity and perhaps even longing. Seeing the joy in the saints who were present and the curiosity of those who looked up the hill at what was happening reminded me of why we plant churches.

People long for what is not of this world, for restoration, renewal, and community. This might be the encounter with the Kingdom of God that someone needed to put their faith in Jesus Christ. I am excited to see how God will continue to shape the DNA of this launch team and grow His Kingdom through our monthly Eucharist services together. We could not do this work without the prayers and generous gifts of God’s people: both from individuals and from our generous partner churches. Thank you for supporting God’s kingdom work in this new church plant. If you want to hear more about what we are doing, check out https://tfsmission.org and send me an email at morgan@tfsmission.org.

The Rev. Morgan Reed has been called to plant a church that will have real gospel impact in Franconia, Springfield, and Kingstowne, Virginia.

Archaeological Evidence for the Bible - New Creation Church Invites You

by Chad Gross

You are invited to: Archaeological Evidence for the Bible with Ted Wright

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020
10 am to 3 pm
New Creation Church
Hagerstown, MD

Ted Wright currently serves as the founder and Executive Director of EpicArchaeology.org. Epic Archaeology is dedicated to cutting edge research as well as bringing the wonder of archeology, historical investigation and discovery to the everyday person. 

Ted has also appeared on numerous television and radio programs including the History Channel’s TV miniseries – “Mankind: The Story of All of Us” (2012), “Mankind Decoded” (2013), and CNN’s miniseries on the historical Jesus, titled, “Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery” (2015). He has also appeared on ABR’s TV program “Digging for Truth.” He will be joining us to discuss the archaeological evidence for the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

Ted is a dynamic speaker that combines the experience of an archaeologist, the mind of a Christian apologist and the heart of a pastor. Please join us! Be sure to mark your calendars. This is a FREE EVENT!

The sign-up is here.

Chad A. Gross is Pastoral Associate & Outreach Coordinator at New Creation Church in Hagerstown, MD.

Race Relations in a Majority Black Town - Resurrection Emporia

by Harry K. Zeiders

What is it like to minister in a majority black town during the nation’s current plague of racial strife?  This is a town where the majority of residents live on welfare; a town some websites call the poorest town in Virginia; a town with high rates of social dysfunction, school truancy, and work absenteeism.  This is former slave plantation and Jim Crow country. This is a town where many local businesses still close on Wednesdays because that was the day the slave train pulled into town and the town closed shop so that everyone could go inspect the new wares on display.  More than Charlottesville, more than Richmond, perhaps more than any other place in Virginia, Emporia would appear on the surface to be a place ripe for violent protests.

But this is also a town where black and white pastors have been holding monthly prayer meetings with the white chief of police and the white county sheriff for the past five years.  This is also a town where the white ministers’ association finally integrated and voted in a black pastor as its vice president three years ago.  This is a town where black and white churches have been co-leading community revivals for the past three years.  This is a town where black and white pastors started founding a chaplaincy for the local police department and sheriff’s office a year ago.  Emporia is a town that God has been preparing for 2020.

As a result, when black and white pastors held a drive-in service on race relations earlier this month, it was peaceful and joyful and centered on the Word and work of the Triune God. The best part for me was getting to hear a fellow pastor share some reflections on what it was like to grow up as a young black man in Richmond.  The evening was so good, that at the end when one of the leaders announced we would hold another drive-in on race next month, everyone honked their horns.

The Rev. Harry K. Zeiders is the Rector at Resurrection Church in Emporia, VA.

Praying in the Harvest

Praying in the Harvest

By The Rev. Tim Howe, Executive Assistant to the Canon for Church Planting

In Luke 10:2, Jesus tells His disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

This verse has been one of the key components of the work of the Great Commission Committee from its inception in the early days of the Diocese of the MId-Atlantic.  The Committee is charged with supporting our congregations in the work of evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and congregational health and well-being.  It is a broad mandate that requires the input and work of a large number of volunteers from all across the diocese.

 At the heart of the Committee’s work lies this word from Jesus, to pray in the laborers to gather the harvest.  

Seven years ago, Bishop Guernsey asked me to develop an intercessory prayer ministry to cover the work of the Great Commission Committee, including this mandate from Jesus to pray in new laborers to gather the harvest. We had two mini-conferences on intercessory prayer very early on in this process from which we got a committed core of intercessors to get the ministry launched and running. Many of them are still praying with us to this day.

One of our goals has been to help provide intercessory prayer cover for our church planters who are already “out in the field,” as well as praying in new planters for the Diocese. So, as churches are planted, we develop an ongoing prayer relationship with the planters and the churches, praying for each one on a regular basis.

We currently have about 140 folks receiving the bi-weekly email prayer requests.  These folks are divided up into four teams so that we can get all of our church planters prayed for at least once a month and we can pray for new laborers to come and plant in the areas of the Diocese where we lack a church. 

Our goal is to pray in laborers who have a heart for the lost and who will succeed as church planters, establishing viable congregations for the long term.

In one sense, the ministry of intercessory prayer is very much a “behind the scenes” type of ministry.  You don’t always see the folks who are praying, but you can often tell when they are.  God’s hand becomes evident when people are lifting the effort to the throne of grace on a regular basis.  

We have seen a number of answers to our prayers.

We have prayed for Columbia, Maryland since we began.  Now, Trinity Anglican Fellowship, under the leadership of Galen Carey, is meeting regularly in Columbia.

We prayed for the Lord to launch a work in the panhandle of West Virginia for quite some time.  Now, in answer to those prayers, the Rev. Darryl Fitzwater and his crew have planted the Church of the Ascension in Kearneysville, WV. God heard our prayers, prepared Darryl and his wife Becki, and the church is growing. We continue to pray for Church of the Ascension now as one of the Diocese’s Mission Churches. 

At Diocesan Synod, 2019, Incarnation Anglican Church, Arlington, was admitted as a new, full congregation of the Diocese. During the proceedings at Synod, the Rev. Liz Gray, rector of the church, asked everyone to stand up who had supported their effort through prayer. Scores of people stood up all across the room. Many of them were our intercessors who have been praying regularly for Liz and the new church. 

These are just a small sample of God at work through our intercessions.

One of the things we have seen is that the work of intercession for these efforts is a vital, if unseen, component of the success of our church planters. By interceding, we help clear the way for God to work in and through our church planters to reach new communities with the vital message of Christ’s gospel. 

And, by praying in obedience to Jesus’ words in Luke 10:2, we have seen Him raise up new laborers and the resources they need to become successful church planters.

If you might be interested in joining us in this effort, please contact me at the email address I use to administer this prayer program: domaprays@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you and have you join us as we pray down God’s blessings on His church and pray in the laborers needed to gather in the harvest all over the Diocese.

What Do You See?

Photos taken at Ascension before COVID-19

What Do You See? 

Now that’s a striking question that God asked the prophet Jeremiah (1.11). In his case, it was an almond branch, and again later, it was a spilled pot. In both cases, those simple things plainly visible to Jeremiah’s eyes were indicators of what the Lord was doing and preparing. It does us well to set our own hearts to the Lord, with His question in our own ears. We look, and we listen. 

Palm Sunday marked the two-year anniversary since Church of the Ascension began public worship here in the panhandle of West Virginia. In the past two years, there have been many things we have “seen,” but to name just a few: marriages restored and new ones created, missionaries sent around the globe, faith renewed and lives reconciled, week-long evangelistic campaigns held at the county fair, and a new generation of disciple-making disciples formed and sent by the Lord. 

We’ve become something of a house for other ministries: international missionary care, care for people in need, regional intercessors, and state ministry networks. Our congregation is composed of 25 or so families and has 70 people involved in monthly ministries. Those are not the “giant” numbers the Lord quickly gives some churches, yet He asks, “What do you see?”  

†           I “see” that He has made a church unlike anything else in our four-state region. There was never a Charismatic renewal here. Indeed, I still am asked what an “Angeli-can” is, and since I’m often dressed in clerics, there is a bit of shock in Pentecostals who see a Priest laying hands for prayer, blessing, or deliverance. 

†            I “see” both the “now” and the “not yet.” I’ve been working on a 2050 vision that creates a mid-Appalachian network of churches, missions, and ministers who embody the whole of the Tradition. That is the “not yet,” but right now, there are a few churches and ministers across West Virginia using the 2019 BCP in their independent churches, praying the Morning and Evening office, and more. 

†           Right now we are seeing that Ascension is a caring for those in physical need through Renewed Life Ministry, and for missionaries across the globe through Forget-Me-Not-Ministries. We see now marriages put back together. We are about to have our fourth infant born in the church. We see growth in new families attending, families growing, and people receiving things they thought impossible. 

†           Right now, one person has been recommended for Holy Orders, one more is beginning local discernment, and another is preparing for seminary. 

†           Right now, we have seen a multi-media presence develop online so that we have 125 subscribers on YouTube. Thousands of people weekly view our page, stream our services, and join us for Morning and Evening Prayer on Facebook. We even got a call-out twice from Anglican Ink! 

†           Right now, a family found our website and online ministry clips from Tennessee. They had lunch with me a few months ago because they are selling their home and moving this way, but they wanted to find a good church before they moved, and they picked our new congregation! They’re charismatic Presbyterians. They closed on their new home here two weeks ago. 

It’s difficult to stop sharing the “now” for one reason – there are so many good testimonies! It is far too easy to only look at our inability to gather as a new congregation for our regular events. While it is on a much smaller scale, we did just finish renovating our sanctuary space to seat 100 people – new floor, monitors, chairs, Holy Table – and we’ve only been able to meet in the space once. However, in this difficult time, I’ve watched something that every Pastor hopes to see among the people: love for one another. The care and concern members of this congregation are giving and receiving one to another during the pandemic is a witness to me of their shared hope in Christ. 

We are only celebrating two years. Yet we are truly celebrating two years. Many of your churches and ministries have similar testimonies and praise reports. The Lord is at work in our midst, as His people. Jesus is still standing among the lampstands, holding the stars in His right hand, speaking that two-edged sword. If you think about this western DOMA outpost, pray for us. Thank the Lord for the “now,” and ask Him to keep moving us into His “not yet.” Ask Him to open our eyes to see as He does. We will pray the same for you. 

Fond Farewell from Tom Herrick

With a great deal of mixed feelings, I’d like to announce that I’ll be retiring at the end of this year as Canon for Church Planting. It’s been a great privilege for me to serve Bp John and all of you in this role. When I began five and a half years ago, the Great Commission Committee and I sensed God’s leading to cast the vision of becoming a church planting diocese. It’s a bold vision that needs all of us working together to fulfill it. We began by creating a church planting infrastructure with 7 essential systems: assessment, coaching, training, leadership pipeline, planter care, oversight, and funding.

Having these systems in place would greatly expand our capacity and enable us to move from planting a church every so often to planting multiple churches every year. Now that the Vision for 50 Fund has been established and is helping to fund our newest church plants, all seven system are up and running. We still have a lot of work to do, but my sense from the Lord was that my particular assignment had been completed.

As this ministry has grown, it became evident that the current part-time position was not sufficient for us to plant 50 churches by the end of the decade. Bp. John and the Great Commission Committee decided it was time to make this a full-time job. Working together with the Finance Committee, the budget was revised in such a way that would not impact the diocesan budget. A search committee has now been convened under the leadership of the Rev. Rick Wright and the position will be posted later this month. I wanted to share this news with you myself and ask your prayers for God to send us the person he has selected. Please join us in spreading the word and recommending this position to those you know who may be interested.

I also ask your prayers for me as I approach this milestone in my life and begin the process of leaving a job I have loved and about which I have been passionate for a very long time. I plan to continue my teaching at Gordon-Conwell, as well as my coaching and consulting after stepping down as your canon. I’m not sure how easy it will be for me to make this transition, but, as Paul said to the Philippians, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

The Rev. Dr. Tom Herrick is the Canon for Church Planting

Starting a New Church During a Pandemic

The Welcome Brunch was our very first meeting together as The Franconia-Springfield Mission, so when the pandemic became bad enough that all public gatherings were required to have less than ten people at 6 feet apart, we were not thrilled with the prospect of canceling it. What ultimately kept us from canceling was recognizing the need that people have for human interaction — even if virtual is the best we can do. One of our core values at TFS Mission is hospitality and in this world of virtual conversation we wanted to create a virtual table for everyone to gather around. One difficulty with Zoom is that it does not facilitate good large group communication patterns. What started as a 'get-to-know-one-another' event became a 'get-to-know-the-plan-for-this-new-church' event, which changed a gathering that would have been primarily a conversation into primarily a presentation. Going through a presentation about this new church was a helpful start, but using Zoom that morning forced me to think about how to virtually facilitate the kinds of conversation we want to have in larger groups.

Different types of services need different types of virtual media, or at least different settings within one medium (i.e., livestream, conference call, etc). If I want to turn a presentation back into conversation then I need to think about how to manufacture it. We are going to have a Bible Study together once per month where we discuss the occasions where Jesus describes what it means to be his disciples. There will be food, discussion, and prayer; and yet, it will all be virtual. We will take this larger group and break it down into small discussion groups by using Zoom breakout rooms and see how that works. 

We have begun doing Compline together on Wednesday nights through Zoom and the presentation format works well in this instance (I also pray the responses, but invite others to join me). This need arose from conversations about how unstructured a day feels for people. The service is simple, quiet, contemplative, and where there would normally be a reflection I lead us through an examen. Several have told me they appreciate the discipline of building in silence and reflection into their day. (See all events on the Facebook page or website.)

The database we use is Planning Center Online and one of the many reasons I have appreciated this database is its ability to create forms. Security is a concern when we do things virtually, but one solution I am trying is asking people to RSVP for a virtual event. The Database form will filter out any bots and if I see a name I do not recognize, this provides me an opportunity to follow up with that person. The automatic response to someone's RSVP has the Zoom information.

The Rev. Morgan Reed has been called to plant a church that will have real gospel impact in Franconia, Springfield, and Kingstowne, Virginia.

Welcome Brunch for the Franconia-Springfield Mission

We are having the first ever welcome brunch for the Franconia-Springfield Mission! Come enjoy good food, community, and discover more about the vision for this new church. The brunch is potluck style, so bring a brunch favorite, but if you cannot bring anything please come anyway!

RSVP here for the address.

Contact Morgan+ if you have any questions at morgan.d.reed@gmail.com or text at (707) 318-4934.

Sweet 16

SWEET 16? OR IS THAT 21?

By Liz Gray

Actually, on Feb 9, 2020 Incarnation turned 17 months from public launch… but that doesn’t have quite the same ring!

But, oh what a sweet 17 months it has been! Incarnation soft launched from our wise and wonderful mother church, Restoration Anglican in May 2018, initially meeting in my sitting room - so I guess that could make us 21 months old now? We moved into Greenbrier Baptist on Sept 9, 2018 where we enjoyed 14 months of public worship as we began to learn how to be a new community of Jesus followers in a South Arlington context, sharing the space with our wonderful Baptist friends.

And then, as 2019 drew to a close we had the opportunity to move into a space owned by the Arlington United Methodist Church which we could call home - a chapel, two rooms for our kids, two offices (even our own little half-bath!). What more could we need or want? The space needed a bit of a spring clean so our Saturdays in November were full of paint and scrubbing brushes…. getting us ready for Advent.

"So, now - how’s it going?" I hear you ask.

Honestly? It’s lovely.

• We are just two blocks from Columbia Pike - where they say 100 languages are spoken. Part of our dream is to be a place of welcome for people with any heart language - which is why every Sunday we include singing, or praying, or Bible reading in a mix of languages in our worship time.

• We share the complex with three other churches and two pre-schools, a clothing bank and a jobs program, though the chapel and offices are our own. On Sundays we hear singing in Amharic, Spanish and English echoing around the halls. When we are working in our offices during the week we meet people who are in the building for so many different reasons, who often want to pause and chat. We’d love to have more of those conversations in the days ahead.

• Our Incarnation neighbors are  - literally - our neighbors. We love welcoming the people whose homes are next to our homes into our extended community. The people who see how we live every day. We love it when they come and visit our services or come to a ‘common table’ event. This Shrove Tuesday we are encouraging everyone in our community to invite their neighbours to pancake suppers in their homes wherever they live. And so the numbers in our community are gradually increasing as we welcome people in; most Sundays around 60-70 people worship with us, and we are delighted to welcome both those who are used to our liturgy and those who have never heard the word ‘liturgy’. People coming and belonging.

Worship. Wonder. Welcome. These are the words that frame our choices and decisions. We are having such fun learning what wide and deep and joyous words they are.

And, so, as I look back over these last 17/21 months I am consistently reminded of how grateful we are for God’s hand on our community, and to so many people who have helped to shape and form us: ‘mom’ Restoration Anglican Church and David Hanke, the Great Commission Committee with Tom Herrick and our favorite Bishop, John Guernsey, and of course the team that have done so much of the heavy lifting and without whom Incarnation would not be what it is: Beth DeRiggi, Josie Ortega, Morgan Reed, Amy Rowe. Not to mention, in addition, the hundreds of people who have prayed, given, loved, encouraged and delighted in all God is doing. And, as a Mid-Atlantic Messenger reader, thank YOU for the part you have played in helping this little church plant to find its feet and begin to flourish. We are very, very grateful.

The Rev. Liz Gray is the Rector of Incarnation Anglican Church