Our Story
TheAM Beginnings...
From a bold beginning in Singapore, the Anglican Mission was born when key leaders of the Anglican Church in Africa and Asia responded to a crisis of faith and leadership in the western church, establishing the Anglican Mission as a groundbreaking intervention.
Since 2000, theAM has broken into new territory through planting churches as well as receiving existing congregations. Currently, dozens of emerging works are in some stage of development. TheAM is sponsoring specific initiatives to reach Hispanic and Asian communities and concentrating efforts throughout the West and among urban populations to reach the 130 million un-churched and spiritually disconnected people in North America.
As a missionary outreach of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, theAM enjoys the oversight of Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda and the Rwandan House of Bishops. This global connection is a close partnership of mission and ministry fueled by a shared passion and vision for reaching those outside the church in the US and Canada.
"The church is the only society in the world that exists for the benefit of those who are not yet our members." - William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-44)
Enlarging the tent...
In 2007, the Anglican Mission expanded its structure at the request of Archbishop Kolini by creating the Anglican Mission in the Americas. This umbrella organization includes the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), the Anglican Coalition of Canada (ACiC) and the Anglican Coalition in America (ACiA). This structure embraces two countries (the U.S. and Canada) as well as two positions on the ordination of women. Both the ACiC and the ACiA ordain women to the priesthood, as does the Province of Rwanda, while the AMiA maintains its policy of ordaining women only to the diaconate. The Anglican Mission in the Americas provides a way to maintain the integrity, and honor the consciences, of those with differing positions and policies on women's ordination.
New Partnerships...
In 2009, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was officially constituted in its inaugural assembly in Bedford, Texas, and the Anglican Mission played a significant role in establishing this province. As a founding member of both the Common Cause Partnership (precursor to the new province) and the emerging province, the Mission continues to fully participate in the ACNA while remaining a missionary outreach of the Province of Rwanda. This allows theAM to enjoy dual citizenship, a both/and membership reality.
The ACNA's Constitutions and Canons were designed to be "generous and flexible" in order to enable membership by two countries and several jurisdictions, demonstrating flexibility for the various jurisdictions.
Relevant Links
Read more of the Anglican Mission history
Learn more about our Rwandan Connection
