An atmosphere of celebration and joy permeated the Sheraton Hotel ballroom as nearly 1,000 worshipers gathered for the opening service of the Anglican Mission in The Americas’s Winter Conference in Birmingham. The three-hour service featured the presence and participation of nine Global South Anglican Primates in a format that took on an African flair of open sharing and encouragement as the Primates celebrated with conference participants.

The service opened a week of worship, plenary sessions and workshops designed to strengthen and encourage attendees in their local church ministries. The initial session set the tone for positive, forward looking and mission-focused work that lies at the heart of the Anglican Mission’s church planting efforts. Begun five years ago as a missionary outreach of the Province of Rwanda, the AMiA has grown to 87 congregations and numerous fellowship groups across the Untied States.

The preacher for the event was Archbishop Yong Ping Chung of SE Asia, who will retire as Primate next month, but will remain active in his association with the Mission. Yong recalled the meeting in Amsterdam in the summer of 2000 during which the Anglican Mission was formed. “I remember with gratitude to God that meeting. It was clearly the call of God to be a ‘fisher of men’ that drew me in. We were like the early disciples in the upper room, with fear and trembling. We began not a new church, but a missionary movement,” reflected the Archbishop. “Would I do again? Yes!”

Archbishop Yong, in invoking the conference theme of "Pressing on Toward the Goal", emphasized that the same call on him to evangelize is on every Christian. “We must press on—press on—until we all get pressed in.” He also asserted that this is a ‘kairos’ moment for the Anglican Mission to continue its forward momentum as it focuses on the 130 million un-churched in the United States.

Following the sermon and a time of prayer, Bishop Chuck Murphy, Chairman of the Anglican Mission, honoured Archbishops Yong and Kolini for their tireless dedication and courage in establishing and leading the movement that has often been under fire for its prophetic role in the ongoing realignment of the global Anglican Church. Both Archbishops, who have together provided guidance and covering for the AMiA since its founding, asserted that they have no regrets in their actions, and that they would do so again. Their courage and bold leadership were clearly appreciated by conference attendees, expressed in numerous standing ovations of gratitude.

Worshipers had the unique opportunity to hear directly from nine Primates, or top leaders, of the Anglican Communion, as each of them brought greetings and encouragement from their home regions. Each of these men also participated in prayer teams at the end of the evening as people sought and offered prayer for themselves and others. “I was extremely grateful for the Archbishop’s prayers and deeply touched,” shared a woman from Illinois who received prayer from one of the Primates. “He gave me a word from Scripture, then prayed. I was blessed by his humility, but also by the tremendous reality of my connection to the church around the world. It was made very real to me in that moment.”

The total number of participants also included 105 priests and deacons  that serve in the Mission, and 20 more bishops and archbishops from the AMiA and the Anglican Communion.  Anglican Mission clergy, as part of the opening worship, pledged their ongoing faithfulness and loyalty to God, the Scriptures and the call on their lives, as found in the 'Solemn Declaration' that each pastor and congregation must make.

Winter Conference continues into day 2 with Bishop Murphy’s “Chairman’s Address”; Rev. Graham Tomlin, Bishop TJ Johnston, and numerous workshops.

--Read front page story in the Birmingham News

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