New Around the Mission

We have been discussing the concept of developing a mission society earnestly since May of last year. Our hope and vision for a multi-jurisdictional society has now become a reality. During meetings in London last week with a number of leaders from the Anglican Mission and around the globe, a group of Anglican Communion primates issued a decree for establishing a "society of mission" that will continue the Anglican Mission's legacy of "advancing apostolic works and ministry." Archbishop Henri Isingoma, of the Congo, and Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council and Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, joined our founding Archbishops Emmanuel Kolini, Moses Tay and Yong Ping Chung in issuing the decree. All five men will serve on the society's College of Consultors, its overseeing body which was constituted on April 25. I am more than grateful to these five bold and courageous pioneers for their support and desire to serve on the College of Consultors as "guardians and overseers" of the Mission.

The decree is based upon a petition reviewed by the archbishops along with discussions of a constitution and statutes that will order our common life together. As I announced in my last message to you, we will engage in a process of discussing how we will shape the society - putting flesh on bones - by reviewing those documents. The latest developments in London allow us to move up our time frame considerably, and we now expect to complete the process and have a mission society up and running within 40 days. Key stakeholders including the Council of Bishops and Network leaders will study the draft constitution and statutes, after which we plan to host a convocation on June 4 for clergy and lay representatives from Anglican Mission congregations. During the gathering, participants will have the opportunity to review, discuss, amend, improve and ultimately ratify the final constitution and statutes.

I am extremely thankful to Archbishop Isingoma for offering ongoing canonical residence to our bishops and clergy, and I look forward with anticipation to a long-term relationship with him, a desire he expressed in London as well. In the near future, I expect other jurisdictions will also invite clergy to be canonically resident in their provinces, mirroring the Anglican Mission's original model of oversight and connection to the Global South through the provinces of South East Asia and Rwanda. In addition, I am pleased that an agreement has been reached allowing Bishop TJ Johnston and Bishop John Miller to be received temporarily into the Anglican Church of North America and to serve as assisting bishops within two dioceses. These bishops will continue to oversee Anglican Mission congregations with written permission from their bishops, Neil Lebhar and Foley Beach. This decision demonstrates our commitment to being a multi-jurisdictional entity. Bishops Johnston and Miller will also continue their conversations with Bishops Riches and Masters regarding a future connection with the Anglican Church in North America. There is no need for parishes to make any choice about jurisdictional relationships. Congregations will, of course, remain in the Anglican Mission unless they choose to disaffiliate and join with some other group or entity.

As we move through the next 40 days together, I encourage you to pray for the Anglican Mission, thanking God for His remarkable provision and for His Spirit to guide our steps and empower this new and exciting phase of our life and work together. I rejoice that we can now turn toward the call that has driven us from our beginning - evangelism through planting and nurturing churches in North America.

In Christ,

The Rt. Rev Charles H. Murphy, III

Download the text of the Decree for the Establishment of a Society of Mission.

Dear Friends,

At the close of this year’s Winter Conference, we issued a Communiqué expressing the mind of the gathering. One of the key components and goals of that Communiqué, as well as subsequent communications from our Council of Bishops, was to “diligently seek appropriate jurisdictional connections” with an authentic and orthodox Anglican Communion province. As we continue to celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection during this Easter season, it is a particular joy to report the good news that our goal has now been realized. This week, I received an official letter from Archbishop Henri Isingoma of the Anglican Church of the Congo, receiving me as a Bishop of the House of Bishops in his Province and offering us a new canonical residence. In response to a recent letter from Archbishop Rwaje asking our bishops to translate to another Anglican jurisdiction by the end of this month, I had earlier requested that he send my letters dimissory to the Province of the Congo.

This transfer follows a process of relational reconciliation with Rwanda facilitated by Archbishop Eliud Wabukala. These conversations culminated in our meeting in Johannesburg and the Communiqué in which Archbishop Rwaje agreed to release theAM to develop other jurisdictional relationships. Under our accord with the Province of the Congo, we are now secure and validly attached to the global Anglican Communion. Rooted in the East African Revival, the Province of the Congo [formerly Zaire] was originally joined together as one larger province, which also included Rwanda and Burundi. In 1992, all three were subsequently established as separate provinces. The Anglican Mission’s connection with the Congo began at Winter Conference 2012 when Bishop William Bahemuka Mugenyi generously made provision for scheduled ordinations to go forward.

We are very grateful to Archbishop Henri for his warm welcome to the Province. As we continue to transition toward a Mission Society with oversight provided by a College of Consultors, we remain committed to the multi-jurisdictional model that launched the Anglican Mission in Singapore (the Provinces of Southeast Asia and Rwanda). Toward that end, conversations with other jurisdictions including the Anglican Church in North America will continue.

Now that a new canonical residence provides for our bishops and clergy to transfer from Rwanda to the Congo, I have been asked to facilitate the transition and therefore, requests for transfers should be sent to the Mission Center.

We look forward with great anticipation to the multi-layered process of developing a Mission Society designed to encase our values and facilitate our desire to be a mission, nothing more and nothing less. While we continue our consistent focus on planting churches in North America, our process will include careful consideration of our present structures including the roles of bishops, the Mission Center and its staff, and our Networks as we prepare to develop the constitution and statutes that will ultimately order our common life. We are scheduling several meetings in which we will discuss and seek input from clergy and leaders throughout the Mission to assist us in designing and vetting the shape and specific details of our proposed Mission Society. We expect to complete these conversations by mid-October.

The Council of Bishops and our leadership team are united in a vision to further develop and carry forth an Apostolic/missionary (sodality) call to reach those outside the faith in effective, creative and entrepreneurial ways. This journey is well underway, and we invite and encourage you to celebrate and press on with us.

In Christ,

The Rt. Rev Charles H. Murphy, III

With a significant number of new works in process, leadership development is a key ingredient for mission momentum that extends across theAM. Paul Sorensen is not only leading theAM’s new Initiative for Leadership Advancement, he is also working with Saint Paul’s Theological Centre (SPTC) in London to help advance a vision and strategic plan for bringing theology back to the heart of the church. A group of leaders from a number of US church groups and networks including theAM recently gathered in Charleston, South Carolina to brainstorm next steps to make this vision a reality. Paul is busy on the ground working with congregations interested in developing hubs for theological education. This plan will offer a unique new resource of leadership development.

The Anglican Mission currently has some 28 candidates approved for ordination with many more in some stage of the ordination process. Bishop Murphy will ordain at least four individuals on Pentecost Sunday in Ocala, Florida, and other ordinations will be scheduled over the next several months.

Recent financial gifts to theAM encourage the forward momentum for church planting and leadership development. The first donation of $250,000 was given in December 2011 followed by another $250,000 in March. A second donor gave over $570,000 this month.

“These donors believe in what theAM is doing, and we are grateful that we continue to have the financial stability necessary to ensure that our mission and ministry go forward,” notes Bishop Chuck Murphy. “With numerous new churches in the works, identifying and training leaders are essential components to take this Mission to the next level.”

On Tuesday, March 13, 2012, Anglican Mission leaders met in Johannesburg, South Africa with Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya and Chairman of GAFCON, as well as representatives of the Province of Rwanda. This gathering was a follow-up to a meeting Archbishop Wabukala hosted in Nairobi earlier this year to facilitate relational reconciliation between the Anglican Mission and Rwanda. Bishop Chuck Murphy, Archbishops Emmanuel Kolini, Moses Tay and Yong Ping Chung, Bishop John Miller and Canon Mike Murphy represented the Anglican Mission, and Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje and Bishop Laurent Mbanda attended on behalf of the House of Bishops of Rwanda. The group produced a Communiqué released today outlining an agreement to mutually bless both theAM and Rwanda, allowing each entity to move forward in their mission and ministry, fulfilling God’s call on their lives.

Bishop Murphy expressed deep gratitude to Archbishop Wabukala for his leadership and thanksgiving for this new beginning for the Anglican Mission.

Read the Johannesburg Communiqué here.

TheAM’s Leadership Development Department recently launched a new initiative to complement its existing programs dedicated to personal growth and formation of leaders, managing clergy credentialing, coaching, and theological education for lay leaders and those on the ordination track. The Initiative for Leadership Advancement is designed to match theAM’s leadership supply to demand, as well as develop and multiply church and Network-based leadership pipelines that preserve and propel the ethos and growth of theAM.

This new endeavor is headed by the Rev. Paul Sorensen, who previously served as founding Executive Director at Greenwich Center for Hope and Renewal, a leading faith-based counseling and resource center in New England. He holds a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary. In his position as Initiative Leader, Paul will seek to bring theological and leadership training to the heart of the church in the context of community, worship and mission, and will play a significant role in helping create a sustainable movement through an effective system of leadership conduits in regional hubs. Thus, the Mission will grow and multiply new leaders for future church planting initiatives, rather than simply attracting new leaders.

“The Anglican Mission draws brilliant catalytic leaders,” Paul says. “I want to organically grow and launch leaders from within by developing multilevel strategic pipelines and learning centers.”

Paul will also look outside theAM to build Kingdom partnerships based on similar values that will increase theAM’s influence, resources and gospel community.

“While others address the question of how we can support and resource our leaders, I will be asking how we can multiply and leverage anointed leadership,” Paul continues. “How can we create better collaboration for similar work?”

The Initiative for Leadership Advancement is being funded by a special gift, and the Rt. Rev. TJ Johnston and the Rev. Canon Dr. Tony Baron are serving as special advisers.