acna apostle fall2016 web - anglican church in north america · 8 | the apostle · late pentecost...

Late Pentecost & Advent 2016

apostlethe

Reaching North America with the Transforming Love of Jesus Christ

+ Global South 2016

+ Uncommon Grounds

+ Zimmermans on the Road

... and more

www.anglicanchurch.net

2 | the APOSTLE · Late Pentecost & Advent 2016 the APOSTLE · Late Pentecost & Advent 2016 | 3

There are no shortage of creative ministry opportunities in North America, and each story is unique. In this issue, you’ll hear from a powerlifter from Quebec, a café in Pennsylvania, youth serving in the inner city of Houston, and a road tripping bishop. Please continue to pray for the Church to be built up in each corner of our continent, and for our global relationships to con-tinue to be strengthened.

The Rev. Canon Andrew Gross, Editor

c o n t e n t :

e d i t o r ’ s n o t e :

8 ........ Why Megan cares about Jesus: Summer mission trips in Anglican youth groups

10...... Development: An Update by The Rev. Canon Alan J. Hawkins

14...... Moving Hearts in the Mountains of Nepal: ARDF Ministry Update

16...... A Church Planter’s Journey: Holy Trinity Edmonds, Washington

18...... Matthew Court – Champion Power Lifter: Husband, Father, Teacher, Lay Pastor

f e a t u r e d s t o r i e s :

Zimmermans on the Road in the Southwest

Global South 2016A Refl ection on the Conference

20Uncommon GroundsMatthew 25 Initiative

apostlethe

6 12

Contents

from aShepherd’s Heart

There are not too many times when we are able to gather as a Province in one place for fellowship, wor-ship, and teaching. Next June we will have such a gathering in Wheaton, Illinois, and I am inviting you to come and be there. While a small part of the week is designated for diocesan representatives to conduct busi-ness at the meetings of the Provincial Council and Pro-vincial Assembly, the majority of the time is designed for us to be together as the Body of Christ: learning, praying, and edifying one another in the Faith.

The Theme of our time together will be “Mission on our Doorstep.” Every member, every parish, every con-vocation, every diocese, every bishop, every priest, every deacon, and every seminarian has a God-presented op-portunity to make a difference for Christ right outside our front doors. We have been given God’s message for all humanity in the Good News of Jesus Christ, and North America is in need of His Word.

It is my hope that rectors will invite their parishes; that youth groups will make it part of their summer plans; that ministries like Caminemos Juntos who usually have summer meetings will tie their meetings into the Provincial Assembly; and that clergy and laity from ev-ery stream and tribe in the Anglican Church in North America will make it a priority to join Anglican leaders from around the world and be present with us. SO SAVE THE DATE! Put it on your calendar now – June 28-30 in Wheaton, IL. And as we say in Georgia “Ya’ll come!”

The Most Rev. Dr. Foley BeachArchbishop and PrimateAnglican Church in North America

Late Pentecost & Advent 2016


J A N T E R M 2 0 1 7 : J an u ar y 9 - 2 0 Come visit us this January for Christian formation in

community--completing your degree program, continuing education or personal enrichment.

tsm.edu/intensives

tsm.edu

TrinitySchool for Ministry

an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition

CE L EBRAT I NG

40 YEARSof forming Christian leaders

Trinity School for Ministry is an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition. In this fractured world, we desire to be a global center for Christian formation, producing outstanding leaders who can plant, renew, and grow churches that make

disciples of Jesus Christ.

XXXIV ANNUAL SOLEMN MASS OF SAINT CHARLES, K.M.

11 am, Saturday, 28 January 2017 S. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia, PA

SOCIETY OF

KING CHARLES

THE MARTYR

Preacher: The Rt Rev’d Rodney Michel, DD Music: Coronation Mass, W. A. Mozart, with orchestra;

O Lord, Grant the King a Long Life, Weelkes; Te Deum in B-Flat, Stanford

Buffet Luncheon reservations: $20 by 21 January; checks to “S. Clement’s” - memo “SKCM” Send to church at 2013 Appletree Street,

Philadelphia PA 19103 Contact: 215-563-1876 or [email protected]

SOCIETY INFORMATION Founded 1894 – incorporated in U.S. 2008 An Oxford Movement devotional society Serving members in Canada & the U.S. email to [email protected];

web www.skcm-usa.org Join our growing devotional society via our website; click on “Join or contribute”

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Contents

www.anglicanaid.net

http://anglicansforlife.org/Summit-2017/

www.tsm.edu/intensives/

http://www.skcm-usa.org


Herb is the Ministry Director of Un-common Grounds Cafe in Aliquippa, an outreach that serves a diverse community through food, the arts, and community development. Many of the people Herb serves struggle with addiction. He worked as an Arts and Assimilation Pastor in Nashville until he heard the call from God in November of 2013 to come be part of the ministry at Un-common Grounds Café. Herb and his wife, Angel, have three daughters, all of which are artists in their own respects. Herb and Angel bring to bear the call to be “agents of reconciliation” in all of their interactions with those both inside and outside of the café.

A MATTHEW 25 MINISTRY STORY

HERB BAILEY

Contents

The more I listened, the more I heard his heart. His heart was for his children, and he wanted to be a good father.

He didn’t have a great role model growing up, and he wanted to do better for them.

He and I met weekly for a couple of months, and at one point, he asked if he could borrow some money to keep his lights from being turned off. It is my policy not to give out money to people, but to refer them to other agencies in the city that. This time it was different. I heard the Lord say “Yes”. So I said, “Yes”.

What happened next shocked me, too. He offered to pay me back! Instead, I asked him to do a service project for the neigh-bor with his kids on Saturday and send me a picture. That would be payment enough.

A month later, I was driving down the street and I saw my friend, sharply dressed, working for the local funeral home, with a huge smile on his face. He is now taking his children to church, spending time with them, and showing them the value of an honest career. He offered his life to the Lord, and offered his children what he had received by God’s grace: hope.

Impacting peoples’ lives in this way through Christ is what the ministry of the Uncommon Grounds Café and Church Army USA is all about. To God be the glory!

Uncommon Grounds Café is part of the Matthew 25 Ministry initiative of The Anglican Church in North America..

One day a man came into Uncommon Grounds looking for someone to listen, and to understand “his side” of the story. Frustrated with his ex-girlfriend, he had chosen to be more forceful than he knew was right and had been put on proba-tion. Part of his probation was to go to 12 step meetings and anger management classes, some of which are hosted at Uncommon Grounds Cafe. In talking to me, he seemed at fi rst to be agitated, but then eventually calmed down. We are all sinners, I assured him. I thought of Romans 3:23. I didn’t quote the scripture, but it did begin to play in the back of my mind, as I fought the desire to judge him unworthy.

Uncommon Grounds is a café in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. In the heart of the former steel town, the café is a place of sanctuary and Christian outreach and care. People come in to fi nd a warm meal and a listening ear and sometimes, hope and a fresh start.

By Herb Bailey

UNCOMMONGROUNDS


Summer mission trips in Anglican youth groups

Steven Tighe is the interim youth director at the Church of St. Cle-ments in El Paso, Texas. He also runs a school for youth ministry as the di-rector of La Frontera YME and serves as the Anglican Church in North America’s Canon for Youth Ministry.

Adam Drake is a youth ministry student working with the youth group of the Church of St. Clement, and is majoring in vocal performance at the University of Texas at El Paso.

It was such a blessing for Megan and the rest of our group to see that there is far more to church than just coming on Sundays.

We led a VBS at an apartment com-plex that a local Christian couple had purchased as a ministry. In the year before they bought it, there were six shootings on the property. They had committed themselves to the people in the complex and worked hard to improve the lives of the families living there. Our VBS was the result of one of their projects: to recruit teams to come in and do summer programs for the myriad of small children in the complex. Megan loved it, and the children loved her.

But the Lord wasn’t only working through us, He was working in us. One night, when Megan and the rest of the team were being prayed for to receive the Holy Spirit, Megan was over-whelmed. She understood, for the fi rst time, God’s love and care for her; that He wanted good for her and wanted to work through her to help others. She cried for what seemed like hours. She told me afterwards that she understood now that He forgave her. She’d heard the words all her life, but some-how when she heard God say them, she fi nally understood. It was good crying.

A few weeks after we returned, one of our leaders got a text from Megan’s mom. She wanted to know what had happened to her daughter on the trip because ever since she got home Megan was different.

Megan’s experience isn’t unique. Anglican youth groups from all over the country went on mission trips this summer, and Megan wasn’t the only teenager who started a relationship with Jesus. It turns out that most of us, those of us that attend church today (about 80-90% of us, according to the stud-ies), started our personal relationship with God when we were about Megan’s age – before our 21st birthday. Psychologists and sociologists who study this stuff say that is because people are more open to the Gospel before they reach full adulthood than they will be at any other point in their lives. The teenage years are a crucial time in the lives of Christians, and we thank God for all the youth leaders, volunteers, and clergy that are taking the time to introduce our teenagers to a life in Jesus while they’re still open to understanding!

There are great ways to reach and involve teenagers. We can show you how! For help or more information, contact Young Anglicans Project at younganglicansproject.com, or email us at [email protected].

caresabout

WHY MEGAN

By Steven Tighe & Adam Drake

Megan has been attending our youth group for a while. Let’s be honest, she comes because her parents make her, but for some reason, she decided to come on our summer mission trip. (Why? Maybe time away from mom and dad? Who knows.) Our mission trips are always life-changing, but this summer we decided to go with the “Summer of Service and Training”(SST), hosted by Youth With a Mission in Tyler, Texas. SST is a two-week program that introduces teenagers to the Lord in ways that they haven’t seen before and then sends them out into ministry. It was a great opportunity for Megan and the rest of our group to explore their views of God, grow in their faith, and walk out that faith in practical ministry in an urban environment.

The fi rst week was “Jesus University.” It was a week of powerful Bible teaching about things that are crucial to walk-ing and growing with the Lord: intercession, hearing the voice of God, recognizing idols in our lives, daily time with God, team building and confl ict resolution. The powerful times of worship in liturgy and music, and the thoughtful discussions in small groups led Megan to question the state of her faith and wonder if there was more. Could it be that her parents were right?

In the second week, all that teaching was put into practice: a week of ministry in inner city Houston. We did several differ-ent types of ministry, from park evangelism to Bible studies to Vacation Bible School.

The Lord led us to people who were in trouble, and who were ready for a God who loved them and showed Himself by acting miraculously through the prayers.

The opportunity to work with several churches that minis-tered to homeless people was challenging. Talking to homeless people as our group passed out water and food was stretching for every-one. But some of the conversations led to intense times of prayer with new acquaintances. The Lord led us to people who were in trouble, and who were ready for a God who loved them and showed Himself by acting miraculously through the prayers.

caresaboutaboutJesus

www.younganglicansproject.com


We need your help to raise our side of the matching fund. Would you give $50? That will have the strength of $185! Will you give $5000? That has the force of $18,500! Small gifts and larger gifts are treated the same: matched once, and then matched a second time for grassroots ministry.

And give generously this month. This is such a signifi cant opportunity that I would be happy to hear from anyone who might have questions about this. (See below for my email ad-dress; I’d love to hear from you.)

But in any case, let’s do this. Use the envelope in the magazine to send a check in. Or go to http://www.anglicanchurch.net/index.php/main/donate/ to make an online donation. Please don’t hesitate to call or ask if I can be of any help.

In Christ Jesus,

The Rev. Canon Alan HawkinsCanon for Development

Development +

Contents

June 28-30, 2017On the campus of Wheaton College (Chicago, IL)Check the Provincial website for updates: www.anglicanchurch.net

Worship, teaching , Youth, Caminemos Juntos! (Hispanic ministry), Church Planting, Multiethnic Ministries, Worship Arts, Prayer Ministry and much, much more!

“YOU’RE INVITED!”

+

=

$50

$170

$185

MATCHGIVE

IMPACT

$85

Grassroots Ministry

$85

Matthew 25 MATCH FUND

$50

$15 church planting,

catechesis, administrative

support, etc.

$100

AN UPDATE FROM THE REV. CANON ALAN J. HAWKINS

Dear Friends,

I am so thankful for the thousands of people whose prayers and gifts have made an incredible impact on our ability to “reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.” What a year we have had!

I have great news to tell you.

You may remember that the Matthew 25 Initiative started with a vision from Archbishop Foley to use a generous grant to help churches reach the poor and needy in their communities. It is working. As one example, in this issue you can read about Matthew 25 grant recipient Uncommon Grounds Cafe in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania (see page 6). It is a touching example of how a father and his children have come to faith. This is one of nearly 40 new ministries that are using matching funds that have already been given and distributed.

But now we are at a game-changing moment in the Anglican Church in North America. Here’s why:

Archbishop Beach has secured a dollar for dollar matching gift of up to $1,000,000 if our Province can raise $1,000,000! That’s $2,000,000 that could be available for ministry in the next few months.

15% of these funds are earmarked for essential programs (ex. church planting, catechesis, administrative support, etc.) and 85% will be directed to Anglican congregations and grassroots ministries for their own Matthew 25 effort.

Do you see what I mean by ‘game-changing moment’?

We can make a signifi cant difference in the future of the Anglican Church in North America right now. Whatever is given now will be matched. 15% will strengthen the current ministries administered by the Provincial Offi ce, and 85% will be made available as grants to be matched a second time for grassroots ministries that show the love of Christ, and become the hands and heart and feet of our Lord.

www.anglicanchurch.net/?/donate


By Mary Ailes

Contents

and I lost my computer, my bishop’s ring and cross, and even my miter. I learned to back up my computer and take valuables with me in a backpack.

What have you been learning in your own personal walk with Christ?

I spend my time on the road in prayer and working on sermons. Sometimes I am simply praying that the Lord will watch over me until I get to my destination. I have learned that it is important to take time to look around and thank God for the incredible beauty of his creation. I am blessed to live in “the Land of Enchantment” and see vistas that many may only dream about.

What has surprised you during the trip?

We were surprised as we drove across the country by a lot of noise and bouncing. It turns out that the New Mexico sun was not kind to our tires. They had dry rotted. The good Lord watched out for us and got us safely across the country until I could take the van to a tire shop I had used in the past. They took one look and said we shouldn’t drive another mile. After replacing all four tires, it was as if we had a new vehicle. The van is now a pleasure to drive and much, much quieter.

What made visiting churches this way different from the traditional way? What was the reac-tion from churches you visited?

Because of the distances, I have found that I often stay overnight with my clergy. I can say that this has been a great blessing. I can only pray that they have enjoyed the time as much as I do. Staying longer in one location allows me to get to know people better and visit some of the folks that can’t get to church. I have also been able to help in various missions of some of the parishes.

Your diocese covers not just a wide area, but also two countries. What was it like crossing the border to visit the churches in Mexico? What did you learn from those visitations about the church in Mexico?

My visits to Mexico have been a great joy. They sing and worship with great enthu-siasm. Please pray for the church in Mexico. We are soon to have a Mexi-can Marriage Encounter with a tre-mendous help from the Anglican Church in Chile. Pray that many lives are changed and families fi nd new love for each other and the Lord.

Speaking of prayer, how else may we pray for the ministry of the Diocese of the Southwest?

Please pray that the Lord will help us raise up a new generation of pastors to help us plant churches, reach young people, and reach the Latino community. Pray that one day the Anglican Church in North America congregations in Mexico will be strong enough to form their own diocese. Pray that God would pour out his life-giving abundant Spirit on the Anglican congregations throughout the West and Southwest.

You were consecrated bishop of the Diocese of the Southwest in 2014. How did the idea for this roadtrip come about?

The Diocese of the Southwest encompasses all of New Mexico, a big part of West Texas, one church in Colorado, and a few congregations in central Mexico. The churches of the diocese wanted me to visit more frequently than just my annual visit.

My wife, Cindy, and I thought we would be able to spend more time together and less time traveling if we had a small camper. We called some friends who had just what we were looking for to see if they might be interested in selling. They were, and so we bought it.

What were your goals in going on the road?

I wanted to spend more time in my distant communities and less time behind the wheel. I hope to use the camper through-out my time as a bishop, and when I retire Cindy and I will use it to see the many National Parks that we have not yet seen.

What have you enjoyed, and what have you learned?

We save on hotels, don’t have to rent a car, and have the free-dom to stop when we get tired. We learned that it is not good to leave valuables in the van. When we were visiting the Alamo on a visit to my churches in Texas, the van was broken into

Bishop Mark Zimmermann is the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Southwest. This past summer, he and his wife Cindy went on the road with their 1998 Roadtrek 190 camper to visit their diocese. We caught up with him and asked him about this unique journey.

WITH B ISHOP MARK AND CINDY ZIMMERMANN

On the Road COLORADO

NEW MEXICO

TEXAS

MEXICO


ARDF MISSION TRIPWould you like to see the global Anglican Communion in action? In February 2017, The Rev. Bill Haley, ARDF US Trustee and Executive Director of Coracle, will lead a trip to Nepal. Here are Rev. Haley’s thoughts:

“While members of the Anglican Church in North America have been so generous with fi nancial support for various projects around the world, we want to provide a way for people to see the Anglican church in action in such a way that those who go have a power-ful, even transforming, spiritual experience, something like a ‘mission pilgrimage’. We’re calling this mission pilgrimage ‘Let Christ move your heart in these mountains.”

Anyone is welcome to join this transformational vision trip. If Nepal sounds intriguing to you, please be in prayer asking God if he is calling you to come along. To learn more about the details of this trip or of any of ARDF’s relationships around the globe, contact Chris-tine Jones, Director of Mobilization at [email protected] or visit the ARDF website: www.ardf.org.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.” (Psalm 84.5)

Moving Hearts CHRISTINE N. JONES

Christine N. Jones is the Director of Mobilization for the Anglican Relief and Development Fund where she enjoys helping Anglicans in North America connect with Anglicans across the globe. With her husband, Andrew, she has lived in South America and East Africa and has a heart for cross cultural ministry. Christine now lives in Virginia and is a member of Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington.

Pastor Daniel

Contents

IN THEMOUNTAINS OF NEPAL

Moving Hearts Moving Hearts Moving Hearts Moving Hearts Moving Hearts Moving Hearts IN THE

Moving Hearts Moving Hearts

By Christine N. Jones

Nepal is not an easy country in which to live and worship Je-sus. Less than 5% of the population is Christian and the Hin-du and Buddhist religions dominate the cultural landscape. In 2015, a series of devastating earthquakes struck the country. Over 8,900 people were killed, more than 200,000 injured, and over 3 million displaced. This destruction hit Anglicans

in the country especially hard. In the areas where the Anglican Church is strongest, 95 – 100% of the villages were destroyed, leaving little protection from aftershocks, extreme monsoon conditions, and the brutally cold Himalayan winter. The Anglican Deanery of Nepal lost 30 of its 58 church buildings! However, three men are faithfully following Jesus, and responding to the needs of their people.

Pastor Daniel has a passion for the poor. He came to the Jagaran slum in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in 2007. Nine years later, 40% of the people in Jagaran are Christians. Pastor Daniel’s Anglican church has an attached school and training facilities where tangible hope is spread through the love of Christ.

“Daniel’s warm heart for the poorest of the poor radiated throughout the people I met in the facility,“ remembers ARDF Executive Director Canon Bill Deiss, who visited Daniel last April. “True caring and love for each other was evident everywhere. Daniel’s church has a 3-4 room school for all ages. There is a large room that serves as a community center, they provide food for the students and there is a church room with lots of Scripture verses on the walls. It is a truly holy place in a very poor city.”

Pushkan Shresthra has a passion for prayer. ARDF US Trustee and Executive Director of Coracle, The Rev. Bill Haley, was in Nepal with Canon Deiss, and saw this fi rst hand when he attended a prayer service with Pushkar on the one-year an-niversary of the massive earthquake. “This is a praying church, and a fasting church. In fact, all the folks had been fasting in preparation for this specifi c service,” Haley reports. And yet this prayer and fasting was not only in response to the anni-versary. Pushkar and his fl ock regularly fast and pray for their nation, their church and their non-Christian families. “They pray powerfully, and long, and a lot.

Meanwhile, The Rev. Rinzi Lama has a passion for evangelism. After planting 50 churches, Lama is the one (along with The Rev. Shyam Nepali) who discerned in 1999 that the Anglican tradition could bring some order to their network of churches. They are now part of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore of the Province of Southeast Asia. This church is evangelistic like no other. Since the 2015 earthquake, the Anglican church has grown from 9,000 to 12,000 people. In November, Archbish-op Beach will travel to Nepal with The Rt. Rev. Rennis Pon-niah, the Bishop of Singapore, to confi rm nearly 400 Nepalis!

When asked what his hope was for the country of Nepal and the church here, Rev. Lama answered both questions with one hope. He said “I hope that the darkness of Nepal will be cleansed by the blood of Christ.”

www.ardf.org


Each church plant has a unique story and history, specifi c to the community it serves

and the people called to lead within it. Holy Trinity Edmonds, Washington, led by Father

Ryan Brotherton, recently celebrated their two year anniversary. With a focus on serving

the community of Edmonds, Holy Trinity was planted out of a Baptist Church in partnership

with two Anglican Church in North America dioceses.

Father Ryan Brotherton

Edmonds

a

Contents

by Matthew Swab

a

by Matthew Swab

Church Planter’s Journey

We asked Ryan to share some of his journey with us:

Can you tell us about your personal history with regard to faith and the town of Edmonds?

I have been a part of a church since I was born. I was baptized at 10 years old in a local Foursquare church. I was born and raised in Edmonds, WA. Went to school here. Got my fi rst job here. And love this city deeply.

How were you called to plant a church?

About six years ago, I began to sense the call to plant in Edmonds. It was something the Holy Spirit was cultivating in me. At the time, I was on staff at a large church, but knew I

would soon be moving on. I was introduced to the pastor of North Sound Church (NSC), part of Converge Worldwide (formerly known as the General Baptist Convention), by a friend and pastor. NSC was six years old at the time and look-ing to plant another church out of their congregation. At the time we didn’t know if another Edmonds plant would work, but we both started the process.

NSC sent my wife and me to a church planter’s assessment. We spent four days being assessed alongside six other couples interested in church planting. We left with confi rmation of our call and some specifi c things to address before we moved on to plant a church.

We spent the next four years with NSC in preparation for church planting. During this time, I went back to school,

read about church planting, met with dozens of planters, received coaching and mentoring, and helped with assessments of other potential church planters. I also began to learn more about the history and ancient practices of the Church as well as the teaching of the Church fathers. I began to appreciate liturgy, and to engage in liturgical rhythms in my personal life. I didn’t realize it at fi rst, but I was being drawn toward the Anglican Tradition.

Ultimately, how did you go about planting Holy Trinity Edmonds?

When we planted Holy Trinity Edmonds we worked with the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others and Bishop Todd Hunter as well as the Diocese of Cascadia and Bishop Kevin Allen. Todd was my ordaining Bishop and I was canonically resident in C4SO for the fi rst year of the church. After a year, we all felt that as a church we were healthy, so we transitioned into canonical residence in the Diocese of Cascadia.

Are you still involved with North Sound Church?

North Sound Church hosts us for worship and provides my offi ce space. Additionally, they helped us fi nancially in our launch phase. We join together once or twice a year for community events. We also have joint services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Relationally, we are very con-nected. Since I am in their building, I interact daily with their pastoral team, we learn from each other, and encourage each other in ministry.

As you approach your two year anniversary, what has surprised you most?

Many things have surprised me! One being the number of young families that have joined our community. We typically have a ratio of one kid to every two adults. Along with young families, I have been surprised by the generational diversity we have experienced.

God has been so faithful to me per-sonally (not a surprise, but pretty awesome). He sent me a priest who has great strengths in areas of my weaknesses. Fr. Steve is on staff with me part-time and com-pleted holy orders as a part of our church. In moving from another tradition, he brings years of church planting, academic, and pastoral experience and wisdom that has served myself and our church very well.

What excites you about the future?

I am excited to see many people catechized and discipled within the context of a Gospel centered, sacramental, Spirit fi lled, Anglican church. I believe that this will continue to hap-pen at Holy Trinity Edmonds but also look forward to helping plant many new churches in the Northwest.

Holy Trinity Edmonds recently began work to plant another Anglican church thirty minutes north in partnership with C4SO, Cascadia, and a local Baptist church. NSC and Holy Trinity will both play a major role in this new church as well. Please pray for Fr. Kevin Craik and his family who recently moved to begin the work and, Lord willing, plant a church in Easter 2017!

Matthew serves as the communications consultant for Always Forward. He and his wife, Katie, live in Pittsburgh, PA with their two daughters, Charlotte and Madeleine. They worship with their church

family at Church of the Ascension.

Matthew Swab


Matthew Court

By Mary Ailes

Contents

Matthew Court grew up in the town of Fleurant Point on the Gaspé Coast in Quebec, Canada. After going to Champlain College and Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, he became a teacher. Along the way, he also became a champion powerlifter. He currently serves as Lay Pastor at St. James Anglican Church in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

How did you become a Christian?

I came to Christ through a summer camp ministry called Fair Haven Bible Camp. It’s still there. I was about ten years old. The summer camp was funded through a small Brethren chapel that made it their priority to run an affordable camp so that kids of all ages could come and learn about the gospel.

It was due to the faithfulness of that little chapel that I and some of my friends got to know Christ, and experience the hope and assurance that only He can offer.

You have a background as a champion power lifter. How did you get into that sport and how has it impacted your life?

As a kid I was always interested in athletics and my passion for sports eventually led me to playing college and university football.

At best, I was a mediocre football player and I think the only reason why I survived in the sport was because of my physical strength. It became evident to me that the only thing enjoyable about playing football was the weight training. So I thought, “Well I should just do that instead.” And that’s what I did.

I grew up in a rural community and had always been inspired by the stories of the feats of strength of my uncles and neigh-bors. I could say that lifting heavy things was ingrained in me from an early age.

I competed in powerlifting, and it impacted my life tremen-dously. I made lifelong friends, and I had some success. I learned the value of hard work.

What did powerlifting teach you?

Powerlifting taught me resilience. In powerlifting I learned to press on through exhaustion and fear. I say fear because there was a point for me where the weight got ridiculously heavy and the mere thought of attempting a lift was frightening.

You write, “Jesus has carried me through the hardest times of my life. Through sorrow, strug-gle, and loss – it is my hope that others may fi nd the same peace that he has given me.” How have you found peace in your life?

I lost my mother to suicide in 2009. She was a beautiful per-son and had struggled with depression for years. It is a heavy burden to try and understand why a loved one would choose death over life.

When I talk about peace, I am talking about the peace that God gives me in terms of the situation with my mother: Peace with her loss – and peace with my failures as her son.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has given me hope for people like my mother who have struggled through life –and have lost battles. I rest in the fact that God loves my mother more than I do. He knows her best, He is more just than I am, and He has more compassion than I do.

I have learned that I can’t change anyone, no matter how hard I try. I leave that one with God too. I think because I wanted people to be happy that for a long time in my life I tried to be all things to all people. I found that this was a weight that I could not carry – but it is one that God can.

I do believe that God calls us to work hard for people: to walk with them, cry with them, pray with them – and feed and clothe them too. Following God is not for spectators. We can live big lives and do big things, but we must remember that victory belongs to God.

What brought you along the “Canterbury Trail” and to the Anglican Church?

I don’t think I could have guessed that I would end up worshipping with my family in an Anglican Church. I think it may have had something to do with the leaders here at St. James. Jess and Erica Cantelon (now serving at Christ Church, Atlanta) are amazing church planters who modeled real faith to the congregation of St. James.

We are here to stay and I thank God for his leading us here.

You are a lay pastor of a church in the Angli-can Network in Canada. How did you become a lay pastor and how has your background impacted your ministry?

For some reason I have always felt a pull towards pastoral ministry. I was attending St James and volunteered to help out when I could. I helped fi ll in from time to time with the preaching. I occasionally led a Bible Study, and met with the pastor to study and discuss the Bible together.

I eventually became the People’s Warden (Junior Warden), and when it came time for Jess to leave I was asked to take his place. And so I did.

How may we pray for you and the people of St. James?

The more people I meet the more I realize that everyone – that every household is fi ghting some kind of a battle. Pray that we as a congregation can win our personal and collective battles so that we can better serve God, walk together in freedom under Christ, reach the lost, and help those in need without any hindrance.

HUSBAND FATHER TEACHER LAY PASTOR—AND CHAMPION POWER LIFTER

Matthew Court

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xu4w4Fvl64

20 | the APOSTLE · Late Pentecost & Advent 2016 the APOSTLE · Late Pentecost & Advent 2016 | 21Global South the Global South the APOSTLEGlobal South APOSTLE

“After this I looked, and behold,

a great multitude that no one

could number, from every na-

tion, from all tribes and peoples

and languages, standing before

the throne and before the Lamb,

clothed in white robes, with palm

branches in their hands.”

Revelation 7:9

Contents

Close your eyes. Picture the reality of this verse. Now, picture what this would look like, feel like, and sound like if it were reality on this pre-eschatological earth. Welcome to the Global South Conference of 2016!

During one of our services, we were asked to pray the Lord’s Prayer in our native language. What a beautiful sound of people from 16 different provinces praying the Lord’s Prayer together, but in numerous different tongues.

Each day of the conference I engaged with someone from a new country. Each day I left thinking these are the Lord’s people, these are MY people. Anglican Church in North America, these are OUR people.

We in the orthodox Anglican Communion share in some-thing special: We have brothers and sisters around the world with whom we immediately share a part of our culture. Even more extraordinary is that in the last few decades it has been necessary for us to work together in a common defense of the Gospel, not just remain distant brothers and sisters. Now, we share an innate familial bond.

Relationship As one of the few youth – which in Africa means young adults – I had a unique experience. I immediately caught the attention of many non-Western delegations which ultimately opened the door for me to engage with delegates from all over the world.

Imagine 4 lunches, 5 dinners, 4 coffee breaks, a whole af-ternoon and evening of touring together, and breakfasts and breaks at the hotel to spend getting to know different people. Literally, every meal and every break was spent meeting, greet-ing, and engaging others from different countries and provinc-es. I now have over 40 new friends, really brothers and sisters, from around the globe.

The Nigerians are my people. The Ugandans are my people. The Singaporeans and South East Asians are my people. It didn’t matter where they came from, the bond was there and the bond was real. Our time together was more than superfi -cial chit-chat that you fi nd at conferences in North America. Rather, it was bonding, growing together, and living life together even in just those few short days. How incredible!

HumilityThe most awe-inspiring experi-ence of the Holy Spirit through the week was the humility of the leaders. Like many of you, I have spent years following the happen-ings of the Anglican communion, watching and listening to the Primates from around the world stand up for the Gospel, and for us in the Anglican Church in North America. I grew to admire these leaders from afar. They are infl uential leaders in their countries. Many of them have a certain governmental infl uence and certainly a social infl uence. These are the “celebrities” of the Anglican communion and even the Church. Yet, they are extraor-dinarily humble.

That Archbishop Ntagali of Uganda (who, after returning home from his stance at Canterbury last January was met by a crowd of cheering Ugandans with signs like he were an NFL team arriving home from a big win) would have several differ-ent conversations with me and greet me every time I passed by, incredible. That Bishop Jwan Zhumbes of Nigeria would sit and talk with me like a friend for over an hour, special. That Archbishop Okoh of Nigeria would joke with me, unique. That Bishop Ponniah of Singapore would be so genuinely interested to know me and engage with me, inspiring. And that Archbishop Beach would pray over me as I left for my year-long mission in the Philippines, encouraging.

This may not seem unusual, but when you understand the sphere of infl uence these men have, how incredibly busy they were throughout the week, and how long I’ve admired them from afar, I was amazed and inspired by their gentle, kind, humble spirits, oozing with the Holy Spirit. I mean, who am I but a young lay person from America who most don’t even know. Why should they care? Because they recognize we are family in Christ – that is special! May we all be encouraged by their humility and love – this is after all, our leadership and those speaking on our behalf!

A REFLECTION ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH CONFERENCE, 2016

by Rachel ThebeauRachel Thebeauby Rachel Thebeau

PeopPeoPeoOurTHESE ARE

pOurOurOurOurOurle


Opening Eucharist in Cairo Meeting with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, president of Egypt

Contents

TeachingsThe focus of the plenary sessions was how the Church and, specifi cally, the Anglican Communion were shaped by North Africa. As a non-seminarian, I learned just how much Thomas Cranmer, the fi rst Archbishop of Canterbury and our church father, derived his writings, teachings, and liturgies after Augustine of North Africa. I knew generalities, but not specif-ics. It may be no coincidence that the largest contingent of Anglicans today is in Africa.

The PyramidsLet us not fool ourselves, we all know you want to know about the touristy things, too! We visited the Pyramids and the Sphinx then went on to the antiquities museum. What an incredible sight the pyramids were. But even more fun was watching as bishops and archbishops were gleefully taking in the sights – wandering around, laughing, and taking pictures like children on the last day of school. The joy and laughter on the tour was my favorite part. I loved when the tour guides would run around calling out to the bishops specifi cally that it was time to go – they enjoyed it so much! Exhortation

to the YouthAs noted, being a youth delegate was a unique experience. It was quite clear from our discussions that the leadership has a heart for and interest in the youth of today. They are inter-ested in the youth perspective and how to reach the younger generations for the Lord. To the youth: let’s be encouraged to get involved and work with our leadership to increase mission to our generation and raise up the leaders of the future. We are the ones these leaders will pass the torch to, the ones who will stand publicly for the Gospel and against culture in coming years. Let us be faithful to follow the Lord’s lead in the role He would have us play.

Be encouraged that both Archbishop Okoh and Archbishop Ntagali personally sent with me their greetings to the youth!

The CommuniqueThe Holy Spirit moved. On the night of the fi rst reading, things seemed chaotic and unsettled, but as Bishop Ponniah read the fi nal copy on Fri-day morning, something beautiful had happened. His tone combined with the words of the document were powerful, smooth, and seem-ingly perfect. The transformation was notable to me. I looked back at where we had come from, the mess of the fi rst draft, to the beauty of what we shared later in the week. The document proclaims that while there is still work to be done on the issues at hand, we must not be distracted. Our mission must move forward. Something in the way the Communique discussions played out gave me chills. It was a refl ection of the beautiful transformation that is work-ing in our Communion. That was the Holy Spirit.

It was an absolute honor, privilege, and blessing to represent you all at the Global South Conference in Cairo, Egypt. My heart is to serve the Anglican Church in North America and the global communion through relationship building with our brothers and sisters from other provinces. Thank you for allowing me to do that, and know that if I am connected with them, you are connected with them – for the Glory of God. May we seek to have that taste of the Heavenly Kingdom now, sharing in true relationship and communion with those of every nation, tribe, people, and language. Amen!

800 Maplewood AvenuePO Box 447Ambridge, PA 15003-0447

Contents

Follow Archbishop Beach at:

Visit him on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArchbishopFoleyBeach

Follow him on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ArchbishopFoley

Please visit us online and fi nd more at:


Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheAnglicanChurch

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/The_ACNA

Follow us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/AnglicanChurchNA

Reaching North America with the Transforming Love of Jesus Christ



www.facebook.com/TheAnglicanChurch

www.twitter.com/The_ACNA

www.youtube.com/AnglicanChurchNA

www.facebook.com/ArchbishopFoleyBeach

www.twitter.com/ArchbishopFoley

acna apostle fall2016 web - anglican church in north america · 8 | the apostle · late pentecost...

Documents