Reflections from Delegates to Provincial Assembly 2023
The Provincial Council is the annual business meeting of the ACNA for elected delegates that also includes international speakers and guests, as well as public worship services. This year Provincial Council was held here in the at the Provincial Pro-Cathedral, Christ Church Plano outside of Dallas, Texas. Bishop Warner reflected on Provincial here. The Province shares a recap here. Below are reflections from our Diocesan delegates.
DOMA Delegation: Nancy Sung, The Rt. Rev. Chris Warner, Bassem Youssef
It’s always a distinct honor, blessing and a treat to gather with God’s people at the Provincial level, whether it be at the assembly or the council, for fellowship.
This year’s Provincial Council was special for the DOMA delegates because we were joined by our our new Bishop Chris.
This year Archbishop Foley and Bishop Julian publicly asked for and were granted forgiveness from one another. This was a model of humility and a great discipling moment for the entire province to witness.
We also received a very encouraging summary of the GAFCON IV gathering in Kigali, Rwanda earlier this year from Archbishop Foley Beach, Archbishop Ben Kwashi and Bishop Alan Hawkins.
We heard the wonderful testimony of Katrina Cakste Wilson, who is the granddaughter of the first president of Latvia. She shared the story of her father’s death in a concentration camp and how the Lord made His presence known to her is a special way. She also shared excerpts from her book “A MEMOIR - WAR, LOVE & REDEMPTION” that was published this year.
Welcoming the Bishop of the Diocese of all nations-Nigeria back into the ACNA fellowship was also a highlight and a confirmation of our Lord’s love and favor for ACNA.
The two-day teaching, by Paul Donison, Rector of Christ Church, Plano on the importance of Koinonia and grace was an important and timely lesson for God’s people.
Coming together for Evensong after a day of Provincial business was a blessing and a treat.
On the final day of the Council, we heard what our Lord is doing through initiatives such as “iBible,” the Global Mission Initiative (GMI) and the Matthew 25 initiative. It was very encouraging to hear about how our Lord’s Kingdom is advancing through initiatives of the Province.
~Bassem Youssef
A powerful, centering start to the meeting was Archbishop Kwashi’s message that the Gospel we carry is transformative and that we must see people with the compassionate heart of Jesus. This theme was then amplified in the teaching from the book of Philemon, with the reminder that we must receive all those whom Jesus transforms. We were challenged to trust that through this sometimes messy transformation process, we (the ‘insiders’) will also be stretched and further shaped into Jesus’ likeness. I was heartened to hear these top-line messages. As the ACNA looks to its future, will we emulate Jesus’ generous, surprising welcome, receiving all even while Christ’s work of transformation is still in progress? I hope and pray that we will.
Beyond this, what stood out to me in the business part of the meeting was the Council’s adoption of a canonical amendment proposed unanimously by the Council of Bishops, to ensure that Provincial-level investigations of misconduct cannot be easily derailed before they start. It is complicated; but Bishop Chris helpfully summarized it here. To me it was very important to see progress on this issue, and it was a privilege to have a vote on behalf of DOMA in this consequential Provincial Council meeting.
Faithfully,
Nancy Sung
