ACNA and Diocese of Cascadia Endorsed Outreach Ministries

Bishop Kevin Allen has encouraged the people and congregations of the Diocese of Cascadia to prayerfully consider choosing one or more of the following Anglican ministries to be the main focus of their international outreach. This report is an informational resource about four ACNA outreach ministries and the four principal Diocese of Cascadia outreach ministries to assist each Cascadia parish missions team to pray, search, analyze and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in deciding their own outreach priorities. Our combined participation and support of these basic outreach programs of our province (ACNA) and Diocese makes a much more significant impact in our greater Anglican family than dispersing our resources through the hundreds of other outreach agencies today. This leaves Missions Teams free to seek God's will for possible additional outreach, especially in a local community, and possibly regional or national. We should remain mindful of these already established priorities so that we do not attempt to compete with them with like ministry but rather find something unique to possibly add to these priorities for us.

Cascadia

Careful reading of this report will indicate that all of the Cascadia endorsed and recommended outreach possibilities are intertwined as to the ministries and many of the people involved.

Companion Diocese of Recifé (Al Lansdowne)

The relationship with the Anglican Diocese of Recifé began in 2004 when St. Charles Episcopal Church in Poulsbo and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Oak Harbor (now Grace by the Sea) officially acknowledged that the Episcopal Church's abandonment of Holy Scripture and the Biblically stated person of Jesus Christ constituted departure from these two orthodox Northwest churches, i.e. the Episcopal Church left us!

In order to maintain Episcopal structure (i.e. authority and oversight of an orthodox Anglican bishop), these churches were assigned to Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti and the Diocese of Recifé.

Bishop Robinson was an active bishop and visited these churches at least once per year and encouraged raising up clergy and church planting. He was simultaneously being persecuted by the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (a client church of The Episcopal Church, USA). He left that church and his diocese grew by double in the next few years. When St. Brendan's was formed in Bellingham, Bishop Robinson installed then Fr. Kevin Allen as the rector and the relationship spread.

Meetings among these three parish groups at the Olive Garden in Lynwood began the challenge of creating a Northwest Diocese. These meetings occurred just before it was learned that ACNA was to be birthed in late 2008. We asked Bishop Richard Boyce of the Reformed Episcopal Church, Diocese of the West, to be our Vicar General until we could get established and elect our own bishop. Thus, the churches that started Cascadia all had a close and working relationship with the Diocese of Recifé that supported us in many ways. Many trips occurred both ways between the Northwest and Recifé. Over the years of the relationship, Bishop Cavalcanti ordained five priests from the three founding Northwest churches. At the establishment of the ACNA in Bedford, TX in 2009, Bishop Cavalcanti graciously turned over his churches to the ACNA and the Vicar General, Bishop Richard Boyce. The Diocese of Cascadia immediately petitioned the ACNA for diocesan status and was made a "diocese in formation" (awaiting a total of 12 churches or communities and 1000 attendees) Cascadia was the second among all the dioceses in ACNA to submit a completed application for this status.

Bishop Cavalcanti continued to visit the Northwest and meet with the clergy. He and Bishop Boyce were very good friends and the Northwest parishes continued to financially send support to Recifé. Tragically, in 2012 Bishop Cavalcanti and his wife were murdered in their home in Recifé. Bishop Miguel Uchoa became Bishop of Recifé and Bishop Kevin was one of the consecrating bishops. Many among the Northwest parishes that had the oversight of Recifé also knew Fr. Miguel since 2005. Seamlessly, Bishop Miguel became our beloved brother and the relationship has continued, expanding to other Cascadia churches by means of our Companion Diocese relationship. Bishop Miguel has also visited many times to both the Northwest and provincial gatherings where he mostly hangs out with Cascadians. He was a teacher at the 2014 Synod in Edmonds.

Briefly, a Companion Diocese is descriptive of a closer relationship than a Sister Diocese. In a Companion Diocese all clergy from both dioceses are approved and accepted to celebrate and/or preach in the other diocese. In other relationships, this takes bishop's approval in each case.

Companion Diocese of Yangon, Province of Myanmar (Anne Ni)

Church of the Province of Myanmar (CPM) is one of the 38 Provinces in the World Wide Anglican Communion. CPM is one of the Anglican Provinces in the Anglican Communion that immediately recognized the Anglican Church in North America upon its formation.

CPM conducts evangelism with in the Anglican context modeled by the Church of England who brought the Gospel through Anglicanism to the country. In that context, the British Anglican Missionaries built schools and hospitals right next to the churches they built to meet the needs of the people as they spread the good news of Jesus Christ during Myanmar colonial days. I am the fruit of British Anglican Evangelism. My great grandfather came to know Jesus through a British Missionary and went to Anglican mission school to become an Anglican Deacon. His descendants are now serving the Lord not only in Myanmar but also in different parts of the world. My mother was sponsored by the Anglican Mission Aid while studying medicine in Yangon and later served at the Anglican Mission Hospital in Mandalay.

After the military government took over Myanmar in 1963, they nationalized all mission hospitals and schools, and the British Missionaries had to eventually leave the country. The only school left was the School for the Hearing Impaired which is known as Deaf and Dumb School in Yangon. The Myanmar government doesn't know how to run that school, so it is still run by CPM to this day. The school serves everyone with hearing and speech affliction regardless of their faith and it has been the only school in the country for many decades. CPM now also has a ministry to the blind in Yangon. The Myanmar Church continued its call to the Great Commission despite the loss of its school and hospital ministries to the government.

Myanmar Anglican Church started using a four-pillar model to build up the church. The pillars are Sunday school (Children Ministries), Anglican Young People Association (AYPA) - A Youth and Young Adult Ministry, The Mothers' Union (Women Ministries) and Men's Association (Men Ministries). This model is used from parish level through provincial level to carry out the Great Commission locally, nationally, and internationally.

Using this model, Yangon Diocese runs an annual Sunday School Camp in the month of April. The annual attendance ranges from 150 - 200 each year with children ages between 8 and 12 from parishes in the Diocese. It is also a great tool for the outreach as children brings their non-believer friends. The Sunday School camp is like a bedding to plant the seed for the future servant leaders who will carry on the works of the Kingdom for Myanmar. Archbishop Stephen, the secretary of Yangon Diocese Mothers Union, and I are among the children at Yangon's first Sunday school camp in the 70's. Yangon Sunday School children will appreciate greetings and prayers from Cascadia Sunday School children at their next annual camp in 2016.

Yangon's AYPA is also active in joining the vision of the Diocese. All youth and young adults in the Diocese come together to produce a three hours stage drama using different main Biblical or non-Biblical characters each year with the theme focusing on Jesus Christ. The drama runs for three nights in early December and annually draws not only the Christian communities from different denominations in Yangon but also the non-believers. It is free but they collect a free will offerings during the interval. Funds collected are used to support the mission and evangelism work in different parts of the Diocese. Yangon also sends their youth to participate in the Provincial Annual Monsoon Youth Camp.

Yangon Mother's Union supports the Diocese's mission and vision through their activities. They organize savings groups and micro loan programs for women in the villages. They encourage women to raise their children in Christian values and support them with domestic industries to become self-sufficient. The Yangon Mother's Union also provides preschool and day care services as outreach to the community.

The Men's Association is involved in the relief and development works of the Diocese. The men are the ones who went down to the affected areas of the Diocese during the recent flooding in Myanmar. All four pillars come together as one body to carry out the Great Commission in the Diocese.

At its second Annual Synod in 2011, the Diocese of Cascadia adopted the resolution to become a Companion Diocese with Diocese of Yangon to partner in Kingdom work. In May 2012, Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo, Archbishop of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon visited the Diocese of Cascadia. That same year in July, Bishop Kevin and the Diocese of Cascadia team visited Yangon to affirm the companionship relationship between the two Dioceses.

In July 2014, the Diocese of Cascadia sent its first youth mission team to Myanmar to participate in the Provincial Annual Monsoon Youth Camp. The presence of Cascadia youth not only encouraged the Myanmar youth, but also strengthened their faith in the Lord. Cascadia youth also visited Pyay Deanery in Yangon Diocese. Rev. Clement Sun Oo who visited Diocese of Cascadia during the Holy Week in 2014, is in charge of Pyay Deanery. Pyay is one of the three Deaneries in Yangon Diocese where evangelism is strong and church growth through conversions is emphasized. Yangon promoted Pyay to Archdeaconry in February 2015 due to their growth and targeted it to become a new diocese in 2017. Pyay Deanery was very encouraged by the visit from Cascadia. When they learned Cascadia is only a five year old diocese, it gave them much hope to become a diocese in the next few years.

CPM is also trying to become self-reliant through economic empowerment and encourages all of its dioceses to capture that vision. In 2011 and 2012 Cavin Philbin and Anne Ni from the Diocese of Cascadia participated in Business as Mission with Five Talents, International to help CPM raised up Christian Entrepreneurs through Biblical business principles. The Mothers Union's savings groups and micro loan projects are also a great contribution toward CPM's self-sufficiency. Cascadia is in the process of forming a Women's Fellowship and is looking forward to partner with the Yangon Mother's Union.

There are many ministry opportunities in which Cascadia can partner with its companion Diocese of Yangon. There are also the possibility of much reciprocal learning to be shared between the two Dioceses with mutual benefit. May the Lord's Name be glorified and His Kingdom come on earth as Cascadia partners with Yangon to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord.

The Rev. Canon Daryl Fenton - The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ)

Note (Al Lansdowne): The Rev. Canon Daryl Fenton is presently Director of CMJ-USA, a position he has been called to many times and he finally accepted. I first met Daryl in 2005 when he was Chief Operating Officer of the newly formed Anglican Communion Network (ACN). At then Bishop Bob Duncan's request he lent to St. Charles and St. Stephen's Churches $35,000 to produce a video about the situation among Anglicans and Episcopalians in the USA. The video ultimately cost $62,000 to produce and the two Northwest churches paid the rest. We were given complete freedom to do the film as we saw fit. All they did was recommend several possible witnesses, many of which we used in the video and many we enlisted ourselves. The video is Choose This Day (Joshua 14:14) and the title came from a painting hanging on the wall of an Episcopalian couple we interviewed and filmed in Dallas for the video. They owned the painting outright and released it to us to use as the DVD label. The film premiered at the Hope and a Future Conference held in Pittsburgh in November, 2005. 17,000 copies were made and it received over 50,000 hits online.

Since that time, we, and many other Cascadians have become very close friends with Daryl. We often kid about this effort because there has never been a time since where either the ACN or ACNA ever had an extra $35,000 for a video.

Canon Daryl became Canon Missioner for Archbishop Duncan when the province was formed in 2009. He has visited us several times and was an instrumental liaison when there were spiritual and civil attacks toward the Diocese of Recifé. He is a very close personal friend and generally stays at our home when he visits the Northwest which is usually at least once per year. Recently, Daryl conducted the Seder Celebration for Holy Trinity and will likely return this year.

His most significant contribution to us, however, is his assistance and encouragement in forming Cascadia. In fact, Daryl named the diocese. He was with us here in the Northwest and partnered with us throughout the process of becoming a diocese. Daryl is possibly the best friend we have outside of Cascadia. He was the Gospeler and Deacon of the Mass at Bishop Kevin's consecration in 2011. He was offered the Directorship of CMJ while serving as Archbishop Duncan's right hand man. This is not a job one leaves during the term of the office. Archbishop Duncan encouraged Daryl to take the Directorship of CMJ.

Daryl also has a long history of supporting Yangon and Myanmar. He was doing ministry there long before Cascadia came into existence. He also personally supports Myanmar and Archbishop Stephen with time talent and treasure.

So, it is easy to see that our establishment as a diocese, our companion diocese relationships and our support of CMJ and Canon Daryl are greatly interwoven.

 

CMJ

CMJ-The Anglican Church's Ministry Among Jewish People is the oldest gospel ministry to the Jewish people in the world. Founded in 1809 with William Wilberforce in a key leadership role and the Clapham Sect providing credibility, the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews (LSCJ) established chapters in all the Jewish population centers in Great Britain. From their missionary training center, workers were sent to the great Jewish population centers of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa over the next decades. Later, the name was changed to (and remains) The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ).

In those early days, CMJ's calling was to reignite a witness to the Jewish population of what was then the Ottoman territory of Palestine. An additional calling was to assist the Jewish people in returning to the land of Israel, helping them to return was considered a biblical mandate for CMJ. CMJ established its Israel work there in 1833, followed in 1841 by planting Christ Church Jerusalem, the first evangelical church to be built in Israel. It continues its witness inside Jerusalem's Old City to this day.

Now a mission society of the Anglican Church (worldwide), and an ACNA affiliate, CMJ USA works in Canada and the USA, where it is well placed to share the good news of Jesus the Jewish Messiah with the45% of the world's Jewish population who reside in North America, and supports the work of CMJ Israel.

Today, CMJ operates branches in seven countries around the world,each reflecting a three-fold emphasis that has been at the core of CMJ's identity for decades.

CMJ in the USlives out the same three-fold ministry. Our calling is to equip the church. We visit parishes that desire to know better their Jewish roots. Our primary mission is through the church. We see out local congregations in or near Jewish neighborhoods that understand their calling to reach the Jewish people who surround. We equip them, through a three year training program, to share Messiah Jesus with their Jewish friends and neighbors. We are especially committed to Anglican parishes that are located in or near Jewish neighborhoods and desire more effective outreach. We have outreach partnerships with congregations in five cities, and plans are underway to add another four.

CMJ Israel maintains its Anglican witness in Jerusalem and throughout Israel, with 145 staff members working in ten ministries, including several schools, guest houses and Shoresh study tours. At least 20,000 Israelis (both Jew and Arab) visit the CMJ compound in the Old City each year with remarkable curiosity. It is our sacred privilege to tell them about Yeshua the Jewish Messiah, and invest in the spiritual rebirth of Jewish people.

To learn more about CMJ and how you can share its mission, contact:

USA: The Rev. Cn. Daryl Fenton, CMJ-USA, P.O. Box 443, Ambridge, PA 15003; Info@cmj-usa.org 

 

Five Talents

Five Talents fights poverty, creates jobs and transforms lives by empowering the poor in developing countries through innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development.

For those fighting poverty in countries impacted by natural disasters, ravaged economies, or broken political systems, understanding a country's historical context goes a long way in restoring dignity to its citizens.  Why does restoring dignity matter in fighting on behalf of the poor?  Dignity provides a sense that an individual, a family, a community, are worth preserving and sustaining, regardless of circumstances.  Dignity sustains the poor while defeating the circumstances of poverty.

Creating jobs is one of many important steps in defeating these circumstances.  The jobs that Five Talents creates are undergirded by sound business training, funded by microloans and sustained by innovative savings programs.  These jobs quickly become small businesses--all started with small amounts of money that go a long way in developing countries.

True, as a Five Talents entrepreneur grows her business, she increases her children's access to healthier protein-rich meals, clean water, education, healthcare, and, ultimately, a sustainable community in which to grow up. But that's not all. Five Talents offers its entrepreneurs the consistent spiritual support necessary for transformed lives.  Each entrepreneur learns about God's love, intention, and desire to transform her and her community.

Myanmar and the Mother's Union

Five Talents is working with several partners, especially the Mothers Union to spark micro-enterprise development in what, until recently, has been one of the most closed societies in the world. Recent reforms offer hope that Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is opening up.

The Five Talents program, launched in 2011, aims to strengthen pre-existing savings groups and help expand their growth outward into other impoverished communities, while also providing business skills training and spiritual development opportunities in partnership with the local church and other community-based organizations.

Careful reading of this report will definitely indicate that all of the endorsed and recommended outreach possibilities of Cascadia are intertwined.

 

 

ACNA

American Anglican Council

americananglican.org

Mission Statement

The American Anglican Council is a network of individuals, parishes, dioceses and ministries who affirm biblical authority and Christian orthodoxy within the Anglican Communion. By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, the mission of the American Anglican Council is to build up and defend Great Commission Anglican churches in North America and worldwide through advocacy and counsel, leadership development and equipping the local church.

Priorities

*     Build up and defend orthodox biblical Anglicans worldwide

*     Develop faithful leaders

*     Equip the local church to fulfill the Great Commission

*     Counsel and defend Anglicans in distress

*     Forge and maintain a working consensus among orthodox Anglicans in North America based on Anglican essentials Plan

*     Complete a needs assessment survey of ACNA churches and develop resources based on the identified needs.

*     Establish our "Sure Foundation" congregational development group, a program for congregational growth that includes teaching, discussion and coaching on leadership, vision, evangelism, discipleship, every member ministry, healing, and gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit. The goal is to        help churches establish a missional DNA that is every-member based, Spirit-filled, biblically driven and outwardly focused.

*     Present our Clergy Leadership Training Institute (CLTI) for rectors and other clergy leaders that will provide ongoing formation of leadership skills for mission, good governance, conflict resolution, congregational planning and development. Ongoing formation will include pastoral care, peer coaching and continuing education through small groups and individual coaching.

Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF)

http://anglicanaid.net/
 
Purpose

The Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) is the official relief and development arm of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) . The Anglican Church in North America unites 112,000 Anglicans in nearly 1,000 congregations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico into a single Church. 

Mission

Inspired by God's radical grace, ARDF exists to empower Anglicans in the developing world to show the love of Christ to those in need in their own communities: Clean water for the thirsty. Jobs for the poor. Education for children. Food for the hungry. Hope for those without hope.

New Wineskins

http://www.newwineskins.org/
 

Purpose

New Wineskins Missionary Network helps Anglicans in the USA and Canada to be more knowledgeable, active, and effective in fulfilling our Lord's Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. New Wineskins:

History

New Wineskins Missionary Network (formerly the Episcopal Church Missionary Community) was founded by the Rev. Walter and Louise Hannum in 1974 in Pasadena, CA, where it was a founding member of the U.S. Center for World Mission. In 1990 Trinity School for Ministry asked New Wineskins to move to Ambridge, PA, to help the seminary establish a department of missions and the Stanway Institute for World Mission and Evangelism, and we continue raising mission vision among each new generation of seminarians. Sharon Stockdale Steinmiller became the Director in 1994. New Wineskins Missionary Network is a member of Anglican Global Mission Partners.

Activities

Anglican Global Missions Partners (AGMP)

http://www.agmp-na.org/
 

AGMP is a network of non-profit Anglican organizations such as mission agencies, dioceses, missionaries, individuals, institutions, and jurisdictions in North America and is a voluntary partnership.

Our vision is to see an Anglican Church in North America that is passionately committed to preach the Gospel and to make disciples of all nations in the name of Jesus Christ. Our mission is to collaborate with Anglican bodies in cross-cultural mission through exhorting, equipping, sending and receiving in ways that increase the impact of one another's ministries and the entire Body of Christ. It is our prayer that this site enables you and your parish to fulfill your calling in the Great Commission. Our calling as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ is into relationship with Him and with each other, working and living together, spreading the Good News of salvation available only through Jesus Christ.