New Around the Mission

By: Ronda Perry

Although they stand center stage, their hearts maintain a humble focus. Twelve worship leaders assembled under the leadership of Andy Piercy, Director of Worship Development for theAM, begin their work long before the Conference begins. He chooses this team not only for their musical talent but also because they have a heart for worship and then carefully selects music for the conference, including new songs written by worship leaders within the Mission.

Weeks before the conference, music charts, mp3 files and a multitude of emails unite a team known as the Winter Conference Worship Band. Many people have asked if this is “Andy’s band from his home church,” but actually they are Worship Leaders in their own right from across theAM. They set aside a week from their local church to travel to Winter Conference and enjoy the privilege of leading attendees into a deeper place of intimacy with the Father.

“It’s a lot of work and time, but always worth it – honored to serve,” says Richard Bierman, Worship Pastor at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama. “I’m always blessed by God’s presence in the fellowship, prayers and worship.”

It does take a lot of hard work and time. Everyone on the worship team arrives two days before the conference begins. Instruments, technical equipment and boxes have been hand carried, checked through or shipped and loaded into the hotel rehearsal room where set up begins. As each member arrives, even though it might have been a full year or more since they have actually seen each other, there are hugs and genuine “good to see ya’s”. No uneasiness, no awkwardness; just one continuous conversation catching up on life and good-natured teasing.

"I am always so thankful and humbled to be worshiping and playing with Andy and the band,” shares Chris Sieggen, Worship Director at Cambridge Church in Overland Park, Kansas. “It’s such a wonderful way to serve together and be renewed each year. This year in particular, I felt humbled and privileged to be there and to hopefully be a small source of encouragement and stability for the Anglican Mission."

Tucked away in a hotel meeting room and arranged in a circle for practice, the music begins. The days are long and tedious as the team works on each song perfecting each arrangement. Andy teaches a delicate balance between being as competent as you can be so that each member of the congregation can enter into worship without distraction, but still remain anonymous so the focus is on Jesus – not the band. It seems these twelve understand this nuanced distinction as they move from the rehearsal room onto the stage for Wednesday night’s opening service. Throughout the week, the band provides worship opportunities during soaking prayer, power ministry and each plenary session.

“The presence of God was so powerful at the Conference,” says Satoya Foster, a Worship Leader at The Mission Chattanooga in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “It was a privilege for me to worship with such a talented group of people.”

By the end of the Conference, exhausted and exhilarated, these worship leaders, songwriters, musicians and vocalists pack up their equipment, and amidst tears and hugs, go back to their home ministries. Empowered by the Spirit, they have helped create a space and place where those at Winter Conference have truly worshipped and given glory to God.

Winter Conference 2012 Worship Team:
Andy Piercy, acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Director of Worship Development for theAM
Richard Bierman, pipe organ, Worship Pastor, St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Birmingham, Alabama
Michael Brymer, vocalist, Worship Pastor, St. Andrew’s Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
Jason Foster, bass, Worship Leader, The Mission Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Satoya Foster, vocals, Worship Leader, The Mission Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
David Mander, projection, Worship Pastor, New Covenant Anglican Church, Winter Springs, Florida
Judy Piercy, vocalist, Worship Team, St. Peter’s Church, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
Patrick Schlabs, dobro and lap steel, Worship Pastor, St. Peter’s Church, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
Jennifer Reardon, vocals, Worship Team, Trinity Anglican Mission, Atlanta, Georgia
Marty Reardon, acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Worship Pastor, Trinity Anglican Mission, Atlanta, Georgia
Chris Sieggen, electric guitar, Worship Director, Cambridge Church, Overland Park, Kansas
Andy Lee, percussion, Worship Team, Trinity Anglican, Atlanta, Georgia
Eric Speece, synthesizer, Director of Music & the Arts, Church of the Good Shepherd, Davidson, North Carolina
Jay Wright, keys and accordion, Assistant Pastor & Worship Leader, All Saints, Dallas, Texas

On a Sunday night when they could have been doing homework, Christmas shopping or watching TV, a group of high school students at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois, gathered to make a difference in the lives of those often forgotten—hospice patients. Students used markers and colored pencils to design simple greeting cards that would deliver Christ’s love to patients lacking crucial support and companionship.

“Many hospice patients are lonely and have no family connections,” says Deacon and Hospice Chaplain the Rev. Philip Kenyon, who suggested the card making and provided paper for the cards. “Sometimes there are two patients to a room, and one wall will have photos and cards while the other side will be very stark with hardly anything. It’s important for those people to have a birthday card, a Christmas card, a Hanukkah card.”

Resurrection’s artistic endeavor was one in a series of Sunday night service projects that Youth Minister Brett Crull calls “Work It.” As the students hunched over their project, brightly colored butterflies, crosses, cakes, balloons and gifts soon decorated the stacks of plain white cards. Messages ranged from “Remember God loves you” to “Today is a gift” to “God bless you, I love you.”

At the end of the night, Philip gathered the cards and gave them to nurses and social workers for distribution in the weeks to come. He hopes hospice patients feel loved when they hold the cards. In fact, Philip believes card making is an easy way for any church with a hospice in the area to show love. Just contact the volunteer coordinator and offer your services.

“As Christians, we’re not there to evangelize, but to be there with the patients and serve them,” he says. “ Making cards has always been a well-known practice for hospices. I’d like to see Christians get more and more involved in it and return hospice care to its Christian heritage.”

Though students at Church of the Resurrection won’t meet the recipients of their cards, they can remember and pray for them throughout the Christmas season.

“A card may seem simple to the students, but it means a lot to people who are alone,” Philip says.

Learn more at ChurchRez.

Without family nearby, three friends gathered in an apartment to celebrate a meal together on the first Sunday of Advent in 2008. They had all come from the streets or were trying to get sober—and each had recently begun attending Wellspring Church in Englewood, Colorado. Unbeknownst to them, their simple meal, laughter and conversation would grow into Fishes ‘n’ Loaves, Wellspring’s outreach to the underserved transient population in Englewood.

“Each week it doubled in size and we continued meeting after Advent,” recalls Jeri Kalb, one of the three founding members and leader of Fishes ‘n’ Loaves. “It developed into a regular dinner and Bible study that rotated from house to house and our lives were changing—God was drawing us to Him, and to each other and the church.”

By spring, the group had outgrown all available spaces and moved to a nearby park, where they now meet for a barbecue every Sunday from April to September. A Core Team of 10, many formerly homeless themselves, puts out a spread of hot dogs, hamburgers and potluck dishes and, most importantly, offers all attendees unconditional love. Several donors provide funds, and leaders buy food at a discount supplier and cook it themselves. Sometimes local church groups volunteer to pay for the food, cook and serve for a week, and volunteers from Wellspring often serve alongside the Core Team.

For those quietly living a transient lifestyle, the Sunday barbecues are a weekly highlight. Fishes ‘n’ Loaves started out serving nine people and this summer served up to 120. Among them are Angel and Nick, a couple with three children who had run out of money and were living in their minivan. Nick made no secret of the fact that had turned his back on God because he felt God had turned his back on him. But when they showed up in the park, they were accepted and loved.

“They kept coming back every Sunday,” Jeri says. “Now the family lives in the apartment in the basement of the church, and Nick does jobs around the church to repay the kindness. He just graduated from our Jobs for Life program. He and his wife and the kids are in church every Sunday and recently joined the Core Team. And Angel is redesigning the Fishes ‘n’ Loaves Web site.”

During these cold winter months, the group meets indoors for a light meal and Bible study, currently taking a “Journey With Jesus” through the Book of Matthew. Numbers are down so the Core Team focuses on strengthening and deepening their own faith.

“It’s more about preparing for the next summer. The focus shifts from ‘What would Jesus do?’ to ‘What did Jesus do?’” Jeri says.

Over time, Fishes ‘n’ Loaves seeks to help people take baby steps into a relationship with God after experiencing Him through their friends in the park. Leaders describe Fishes ‘n’ Loaves as a “five-year” ministry, as it takes approximately five years for someone to take those baby steps. That’s OK with Mike, a member of the Core Team since the first summer.

“There is a place where anyone can come and eat and be accepted just as they are, where they are,” he says. “You get arrested this week at the park, you’re still welcome when you get bailed out. If you want help, we’ll help. If you want to pray, we’ll pray with you and for you. But if you don’t, that’s OK, too. We’ll wait. We’re in year three. It’ll be interesting to see what God does in the years ahead.”

Learn more at Fishes N Loaves.

From snowflakes to sugarplums, a full-spectrum Christmas experience awaited children on Dec. 3 at Christ the Redeemer in Norfolk, Virginia. “Camp Christmas” welcomed children for several hours of holiday fun, including the Christmas story, Christmas carols, elf games, cookie decorating and crafts while parents ran holiday errands or stayed to play. Children’s ministry workers Candace Sherrill and Kim Johnson oversaw the event, and approximately 10 volunteers shared their time and talents with the children.

Volunteer Angela Copeland put her artistic passion to use manning the crafts area, where several hands-on stations kept young children occupied.

“We decorated popsicle sticks, made Christmas cards, made a reindeer and an angel,” Angela says. “The kids were so excited at every station. They would take supplies from the reindeer table and mix them with something from the Christmas tree table, making it their own. We let them do it the way they wanted and provided loving direction too.”

Angela also saw the joy the simple crafts brought to parents who stayed to make them with their children.

“Adults often have a fear of art if they think they’re not good at it,” she says. “But you encourage them that they can be creative—everyone doesn’t have to be Picasso, but being creative is another way we are like God. I love to see people feel free to express their creativity.”

From creative to silly to serious, each of the various Camp Christmas activities ushered children into an aspect of the Christmas celebration—and included families from outside the church who were unfamiliar with Anglicanism or had no Christmas traditions of their own.

“One family was from Argentina and were excited about learning American Christmas traditions,” Angela says. “They were very engaged with their kids as they made each thing. We also had an exchange student from South Korea who came with her English conversation partner to learn about American Christmas. After Camp Christmas, she asked about attending our Christmas service.”

Redeemer’s rector, the Rev. Brian Campbell, played a key role in supporting the unique outreach idea. And keeping the kids moving, short and simple activities and a fluid schedule all contributed to Camp Christmas running smoothly. But Angela says God’s blessing made the event a real success.

“It was neat to see God move in so many directions in people’s lives,” she says. “I’m excited to see what Camp Christmas will be next year.”

Learn more at Christ the Redeemer.

For many children at St. Patrick’s Church in Lexington, Kentucky, crayons and sheets of paper are tools that unlock the mysteries of the Advent season. For the past two years, Minister to Children and Youth Amy Olson has engaged the children in preparation for Christ’s birth with weekly take-home Creative Coloring Sheets (CCS) that give parents the opportunity to read the Bible with their children and encourage them to think about what it means, then use their imaginations in response.

Unlike the pages of a regular coloring book, each sheet has an Advent scene border with an Advent Bible verse written on the bottom of the page, leaving the rest of the page blank. Children can then draw their own impressions, thoughts and feelings generated by the Advent scripture readings. Often the drawings will prompt spiritual questions or spark family dialogue. When talking with children about what they’ve drawn, Amy says asking the right questions can keep the conversation flowing.

“Make sure to use open-ended questions: ‘What can you tell me about what you have drawn here?’ instead of ‘Is that a cow?’” she suggests. “Say, ‘Why did you choose that color?’ rather than ‘That’s a lot of blue.’”

The idea of CSSs sprang from several of Amy’s favorite artists and illustrators who’ve created “process” coloring books and artwork. Process art emphasizes the experience of making art while product art focuses on the deliverable or end product.

“I’m a big advocate of process art,” she says. “CCSs promote self awareness, self confidence, self expression and independent thinking, allowing children to be creative and use their imagination as well as their critical thinking skills. They are not just coloring inside the predetermined lines.”
Amy asked friend and graphic designer Jeana Clark to create the sheets based on Amy’s suggestions. Jeana also makes complementary bookmarks for adults containing the biblical passage and a similar graphic for each week.

“Thus, the entire church is participating in a similar theme each week of Advent,” Amy says.

Families using the sheets have responded with positive and encouraging feedback, and Amy is pleased to invite other churches in theAM to use St. Patrick’s sheets with their own children’s ministries this year.

“Hopefully these Creative Coloring Sheets will be a useful venue for parents to communicate with their children, have fun and celebrate God’s love for us during this Advent season,” she says.

Download the Creative Coloring Sheets at Saint Patrick's Church.

On November 27, the first Sunday of Advent, members of St. Peter’s Place Anglican Church in Roswell, Georgia, gathered in their senior warden’s home to begin the season of preparation by making Advent wreaths. The annual tradition allows each family to make and take home an Advent wreath to help them reflect on Christ’s coming.

“Advent is something we take seriously,” says Eric Seidel, Administrative Pastor. “We want to increase the presence of God and Christ in our lives. So several years ago, we thought, why not put wreaths together that families can light every Sunday during Advent?”

Constructing the wreaths helps parishioners build excitement and anticipation for Christmas, a time when God always moves in their small church. This year, they are preparing to move into a new temporary space until they acquire their own land.

“It never fails that God uses this time of year to bring blessings upon us,” Eric says.

Each Advent wreath is an artistic, sweet-smelling medley of evergreen branches, poinsettas and holly centered around four candles—three purple candles to represent hope, peace and joy, and a pink candle to represent love. Parishioners use shears to snip the greenery to the desired length and arrange it on a plate. Before the wreath making, attendees also enjoy a potluck where they share their home-cooked Thanksgiving leftovers.

“The biggest thing about this day is being able to celebrate Advent and the coming of Christ together in community,” Eric says. “We gather around some food and the idea that Christ is present with us. It’s the New Year for the church and we’re all excited to be able to bring it in with our community of faith, turning our eyes toward Christmas.”

Learn more at St. Peter's Place.

On October 9, the Rev. Shane Copeland of St. George’s Anglican Community in Phoenix, Arizona, got a chance to answer the question, “What is an Anglican?” on a live radio program. Every Sunday night, “Backpack Radio” offers “street-level apologetics” to Phoenix listeners at 1360 KPXQ AM. Shortly before Reformation Day, in honor of related topics, the hosts enlisted Shane to explain to the basics of Anglicanism to their listening audience.

Backpack Radio Hosts (L to R):
Pastor Bob, Vocab Malone & Vermon Pierre

“It was crazy, chaotic, mostly ‘off the cuff’ and a whole lot of fun,” Shane says. “I did my best to try and articulate some of what it means to be an Anglican.”

Listen to Shane’s interview that starts several minutes into the program.