Anglican District of the Northeast
Retirement, Sort Of
By Bishop Dave Bena
Well, I am sort of retiring, Brothers and Sisters. What I thought was to be complete retirement this October 31 has turned out to be semi-retirement. Let me explain.
As you are probably aware, I serve as the Contact Bishop for the Anglican District of Virginia, a group of 35 parishes. I also serve as your Contact Bishop, the Anglican District of the Northeast, which includes ten parishes and a new start-up in New Hampshire. And I serve as contact bishop for parishes in Washington State, Texas, and Florida. Bishop Minns has directed that, instead of retiring from all oversight, that I concentrate my oversight at the place of greatest need, the Anglican District of Virginia. So on October 31, I will cease being the Contact Bishop of the Anglican District of the Northeast, as well as other parishes across the country. I will serve only as the Contact Bishop of the Anglican District of Virginia.
We are now praying and coordinating to make sure each parish has a bishops oversight. Bishop Minns will make more frequent visitations to ADN parishes and will rely on Father Ron Gauss to administer the District. Next week, Bishop Minns will elevate Fr. Gauss to the status of Archdeacon of the Anglican District of the Northeast. A job description is being worked on now, but Ron will serve as the pastor to the pastors, and will coordinate ADN events. He will also make some visitations to parishes. I will still be available by email or phone in assisting Ron as best I can. The ADN should soon begin to see more parishes added to its ranks as it proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the rocky spiritual soil of the Northeast. Please be in prayer about this.
In line with this, I am now officially calling for our Second Annual Synod meeting of the Anglican District of the Northeast. It will be Sunday afternoon, October 10 to Monday afternoon, October 11. We have reserved the Christ the King Spiritual Life Center in Greenwich, NY. Some of you were there last year and know what a beautiful place it is. And Nigel Mumford has agreed to be our featured speaker! He will lead a service of healing on Sunday night and do a teaching on The Healing Ministry in Your Life and Parish on Monday morning. You wont want to miss it. All clergy are delegates, and according to our Constitution, each parish designates one or more lay people to be delegates. In addition, all members of ADN are invited! The more, the better. Lets make this event a District reunion. Well be sending out publicity later this month. Right now, please put the date on your calendar and prepare to sign up!
May your time be blessed as you magnify Jesus Christ.
Bishop Dave Bena
Previous letters from the bishop
THE WEDDING IS OVER; THE MARRIAGE BEGINS
Well, it happened. Our youngest daughter, Sarah, was married this past Saturday to a fine young Christian gentleman, Matthew Unright. I was privileged to officiate at their wedding. And a beautiful wedding it was. Since Sarah is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan College where MANY of her friends were music majors, and since Matt used to play lead guitar in a band, we had LOADS of special music at both the wedding and the reception. It was truly beautiful. On Saturday night when it was all over, Mary Ellen and I sat on the couch reflecting on what a great day it had been and what a nice married couple Matt and Sarah made. Almost offhandedly, I commented, "Well the wedding is over and now the marriage begins."
I've been thinking about that statement since Saturday night. This young and innocent couple will now begin to learn what it really means to be fully committed to a spouse. They'll learn that along with the pleasure and fun of being lovers and friends, they will also learn the meaning of sacrificing for another. It won't always be easy or fun. And sometimes it will be downright burdensome. But those two are in it for the long haul and have invited Jesus to be the center of their marriage. They'll make it fine.
Which leads me to think about our relationship with Christ and His Church. In a sense we were all wedded to Jesus when we received Him into our hearts. And now we are living out the marriage in the context of our parish families. The sense of excitement of being in a relationship with the Creator of all there is; the sense of acceptance by our brothers and sisters in the parish these will carry us a long way through our earthly pilgrimage. But there are so many bumps in the road, arent there? When I seriously received Jesus at the age of twenty-four, I walked around as if I was in a protective bubble with my friend Jesus (this in the middle of dropping bombs on trucks and having mortars dropping on me!). Nothing would separate us. I felt that same closeness with my parish brothers and sisters when I returned from the war. We were united in Christ.
It was only later that I realized that I was romanticizing the whole thing. Jesus was walking beside me alright. BUT HE WALKED AWFULLY FAST. And I had a hard time keeping in step with His way. Too many bad habits and selfish desires kept creeping in and suffocating the relationship. I also found that the parish was not all I had fantasized. Those people had feelings and they hurt each others feelings. And they argued about things like candles and turf and the lousy pastor. Every so often, a few would try a power play and end up leaving the parish, taking as many people with them as they could. I asked myself, Do I really want to be ordained with all this junk going on?
Eventually I learned that sin still exists, even in a parish community, even in me! And the life I lived, walking beside Jesus, caring for His people, was going to take sacrifice, sacrificing my own time and feelings. I learned that ministry with Jesus and for Jesus does not work when I see it as a ministry of convenience, as in I'll get to it when I have done everything else I want to do. I am learning about what it means to be married to Jesus, and to live out that marriage in the Christian community.
Which brings me to the Anglican District of the Northeast. We are ten parishes working together in mission and ministry, praying for one another, getting to know one another as extended family. As we move together along the Way with Jesus, lets enjoy the excitement of starting something new (the ADN), but lets recognize the sacrifice we will have to make as we move together introducing people to Jesus and our parishes and our District.
Sarah and Matt get home from their honeymoon Saturday. Sunday, they'll start the marriage, centered in Jesus. They'll do fine. So will the Anglican District of the Northeast, centered in Jesus. We'll do fine.
Happy Easter ADN! By Bishop David Bena
Ever wonder why its Happy Easter but its Merry Christmas? Thats beyond me. Email me if you know the answer. But the fact is that Easter IS meant to be a happy day and season. The quick definition of the word happy is delighted, joyous, contented. Isnt that how we feel about Easter, the Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead? God took the form of man, died for our sins, and then defeated the devil, who was in a cosmic struggle with God for control of planet earth. Satans one weapon was death. Satan thought he had beaten God by having His Son crucified. But God had the last word. Jesus rose from the dead, taking away Satans weapon over humankind! And by so doing, Jesus gave us the gift that was meant for us before the fall of Adam eternal life.
When you and I close our peepers for the last time on Planet Earth, through Christ we will wake up gazing into the eyes of Christ the Redeemer! Thats why we shout alleluia at the Easter Vigil and on Eastern Morn. Praise ye the Lord!
The priest begins the service with Alleluia. Christ is risen. And the congregation responds, The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. We are happy! Our bodies will decay or be burned. But our spirits, the real us, will be with our Lord forever.
I cannot put all that info into a test tube and come up with a scientific explanation. But I believe it because God has said it in His Word, and our spiritual forbears have graciously clued us in as to what happens after we die: HAPPINESS.
So enjoy Easter Day. Forget about politics and controversial new laws. Forget about problems at work or church or even in your heart. Wear happy clothes. Maybe even wear an Easter bonnet. Visit with family and friends. Marvel at the God who created all there is and loves us all so much that He wants to be with us FOREVER. HAPPY EASTER!
Bishop Bena's Lenten Message
In a world where events and dates are flying by us, its often hard for Western Christians to seriously contemplate the Lenten Season. We like to reason that when Lent was invented, we lived in an agricultural society where life was much slower and more geared toward the changing of the seasons. Today, we say, life is fast; we simply don't have time for all that spiritual breathing and stuff like that. Maybe for you and me, it will be different this year. Is there a chance that even in this breakneck speed world, we might slow down spiritually and find time to observe a holy Lent?
So, lets s-l-o-w down a minute and review just what Lent is. It is a church season of preparation, a time to prepare for the liturgical remembrance of the double colossal events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The name Lent is from the German long or length, the time of year when the days are lengthening. SO, I give you LENT. Many years ago, our Christian forebears determined that the number 40 was an important one, since Moses and his troops were in the Sinai 40 years, it rained 40 days and 40 nights while Noah bounced around in the ark, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness 40 days, etc, etc. So, they determined, the preparation season of Lent would be 40 days, PLUS six Sundays. The Sundays, being mini-resurrection observances, would not be fast days but would be celebration days. Count back 40 days and six Sundays and you arrive at a Wednesday which is called Ash Wednesday.
All right. We've got the name. And we've got the inclusive days. Now what do we do with them? Four practices are suggested for us in order that we might do the proper holy preparation for Jesus sacrificial death and mighty victory: Prayer, Penitence, Self-denial, and Giving. YUK! That doesn't sound like much fun, does it? But as my mother used to say, It doesn't have to be fun to be good for you. Special prayer and bible reading bring us closer to our Lord, something we always need to do but especially if we are to understand what Jesus went through FOR US. Penitence is important in that by being sorry for our sins of omission and commission and confessing them to God, we clear out the junk on the runway which keeps us from taking off. Self-denial is really important in that it helps us walk with Jesus in His major self-denial of the cross and passion. And special giving is important in our materially-oriented society so that we can take the focus off what we have and focus in on what Jesus gave for our souls rather than for our portfolios.
Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent) this year is Wednesday, February 17. Let's all try to go to church that day or night. Let's dedicate ourselves to drawing close to Jesus this Lent. Let's slow down spiritually each day and walk with Jesus in those last days of his earthly life, a life given for you and me, a life which reconciles us to our Father God and opens for us the door to eternal life.
Why I am an Anglican by Rev. Greg Ventura, Deacon
I was baptized at an Episcopal Church, but I only went to Sunday school long enough to get my first year pin. After that I went to several other churches in different denominations. I am not sure why we moved around so much? The first one we went to was a Presbyterian Church in Eatontown, which sadly no longer exists. My best friend at the time went to that church and I think I went because he went. We did not stay there more than a year or two. Then we moved on to Wayside Methodist Church in Ocean NJ. I remember that a different friend and I would have a weekly contest to see who could turn the picture of the church into the coolest looking haunted house. At some point we stopped going to church entirely, although my mother made us watch the Reverend Robert Schuler's Hour of Power. I grew to dislike church at this point. My mother tried, God bless her, but when I went to college I turned my back on God and the church.
My sister invited me to go to a service at St. Michael's Chapel on Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ. This is an Episcopal Chapel, but I attended the Catholic Mass there. My sister was thinking of converting to the Roman Catholic Church, so she invited me to join a group of college students who met regularly with two Dominican priests. The younger of the two priests, Fr. Joe Guido (honestly that is his name) was really cool and helped me to realize that my Old Testament view of God was wrong. When my sister pressed me to join the Roman Catholic Church, I declined. I needed to understand what it meant to be an Anglican before deciding to change.
Later, I went to St. James (Episcopal) in Eatontown and was confirmed there. I grew to understand the liturgy and became involved in the church. Years later, Sharon and I were looking for a church to go to and found St. James (Episcopal) in Edison. It was there that my faith really began to grow.
Why did I stay in the Episcopal and now the Anglican Church? Maybe the better question is why did I stay a Christian? The United States has been changing and not always for the better. I looked into other faiths, but never out of a desire to join them, but rather in attempt to understand them in light of my own faith. In addition, I found myself having to defend my faith and the Episcopal Church. I remember that first words out of a co-workers mouth when I told him was, 'oh that's the church that ordains gay people.' Theology is not my strong point, but I found that I needed to understand more clearly what I believed.
Finally I began to realize that I would never be able to escape from this battle. I could run to some other denomination, but we have seen that many denominations are having the same conflict. Just look at the Lutherans who are going through similar turmoil and the conservatives are looking for a place they can call their own. So if I left, it would not be long before the fight found me. Plus I think that God has put me here. This is my station, my post. I cannot abandon it. I will just be handing something that happened on my watch to someone else. I also think that the Anglican Church is in a good position to handle this problem. Having a hierarchy of bishops, priest and deacons creates a certain amount of accountability that other denominations do not have. Now we can see that this process does not work really well in the Episcopal Church, but I still think we have the best chance of surviving.
So in the end I am an Anglican and will continue to be one for as long as I can. Go has a plan for us, what it is exactly, I do not know, but I am sure that if we wait, the door will open for us.
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Why I am an Anglican by Rev. M. Anthony Seel, Jr.
I was baptized as an infant in St. Stephens Church, Millburn, New Jersey, my mothers family church. I was confirmed at age twelve at Trinity Church, Matawan, New Jersey, our family church, by the Bishop of New Jersey. I was an Anglican because my mother and her family were Anglicans.
Worshiping and attending Sunday School in the Episcopal Church prepared my heart to receive Christ as a teenager, but it was not through the church that I personally received Christ as my Savior and Lord. It was through a high school acquaintance leading me through the Four Spiritual Laws that I committed my life to Jesus Christ.
After my Army training I sought out a church near where I was stationed where I could receive the faithful teaching of the Scriptures and I became a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia. It was through that church and two other Presbyterian churches that I received a thorough grounding in the Bible. However, when an evangelical priest was assigned to be the Episcopal Chaplain for the University of Florida my wife Mary and I joined with him at the Chapel of the Incarnation.
Why did I return to my religious roots? For many of the same reasons that many become Anglicans as adults the richness of the liturgy, the sacraments, and the worldwide Anglican Communion. We are part of an ancient church that at its best is rooted in the gospel and longstanding church traditions, and is empowered by the Holy Spirit. At its best Anglicanism has the strengths of the evangelical, catholic and charismatic approaches to the Christian life. The reformed Catholicism of Anglicanism establishes a comprehension for the sake of truth that is not bettered anywhere else in Christendom, and this is why I am an Anglican.
Why I am an Anglican by Fr. Ron Gauss
Not to be flippant, but one reason that I am an Anglican is that I am not a Roman Catholic. One day, listening to one of our Orthodox Bishops, I discovered what I really was. I am a Catholic (not Roman), Evangelical, Charismatic, Jew who believes in Jesus. Since I come out of a liturgical background. Synagogue worship is liturgical it was quite comfortable to fall into the worship of the Episcopal Church.
My first experience with the Episcopal Church was at the University of Illinois. I was a pledge at a Fraternity and Red Grange, of football fame wanted to go to Church, but didnt want to go alone, so two pledges were assigned to go with him. I was one of those who went to what we called St. Johns the unfinished. It was a church under construction (for a long time). The Priest said the service so fast that we thought he was chanting it in latin. I found out later that it was in English. Well... I started attending regularly.
Early on in my walk with the Lord and after moving to Connecticut, I sang for a Choir master who had a choir in the Synagogue on Friday/Saturday, and also played and had the choir at an Episcopal Church on Sundays. I was a member of his paid choir at the Synagogue on Friday/Saturday and also on Sunday. As I sang in the Episcopal Church, I started to read and study more about the Church, and found that they had a Theology and Scholarly understanding of the Bible that would fit very well with my Jewish learning and understanding. (Remember this was over 50 years ago!) TEC has since changed....A LOT.
Strange enough, I met a young woman who also had become an Anglican (Episcopalian) while in college. As my background was Presbyterian because of their Jewish Ministries, her background was Southern Methodist. While dating we would go to church together, and ultimately were married in the Episcopal Church, went off to the Military, and I actually got confirmed in the Episcopal Church. I have always known that God wanted me to enter the ordained ministry..even on my first date with JoAnne (my wife), I told her that she might have to be married to a clergyman someday, and that didn't scare her away. By joining the Episcopal Church (Again remember how long ago that was), I knew that I had found a home. Theologically, Liturgically, Organizationally, I had come home. This Church was Catholic, Evangelical enough to provide me the space to grow in Jesus. Later even, as the Charismatic movement advanced in the Episcopal Church, I was at the first meetings in Dallas, Texas of the Episcopal Charismatic Fellowship.
I am an Anglican today because it is an Orthodox, Evangelical, Charismatic fellowship broad enough to hold Jesus close, free enough to allow Jesus to reign, Liturgical enough to allow Jesus to be Messiah and open enough to allow Jesus to invite the world to supper with him. I am wise enough to know that the Anglican Church is not the way, the truth and the life, but that they worship, hold up, and believe and know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the life, and that NO MAN can come unto the Father except through HIM JESUS.
Why I am an Anglican By Fr. Bill Guerard
My earliest memory of church was worship. It was the sound of hymns, reciting the Psalms, confessing our sins, and going forward to the altar rail for a blessing, and later, to receive communion. It was being part of a family, and knowing there was something about this family that was so much bigger and stronger than the world of a little child.
I've been an Anglican all my life, but only recently have I been required to do much thinking about why. What has become extremely important to me is found in the Articles of Religion. Article XX says, it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to Gods Word written, and in Article XXI it says of church councils, they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God.
What I have always liked about our church, when it is at its best and honoring its heritage, is the attitude of humility and obedience combined with a strong doctrine of grace. We stand in a tradition that looks always upward, respecting God's authority and resting on His mercy. Its quite a contrast to the modern day fascination with looking outward in horror at a world spinning out of control, and then looking inward, assuming we can save ourselves.
We have been through a time of great testing in regard to these statements. It is sad that people look at the Articles of Religion as outdated and irrelevant when they have never even read them. They see the heading historical documents and they read no further. If they did, they would find a very good description of how a church receives its authority from God and applies it to ministry.
In 27 years of ministry I have learned that it all belongs to God. The strength of the Anglican way is to downplay the institution of the church and lift up the kingdom of God. I think we have a tradition of taking God's kingdom much more seriously than we take ourselves and our manmade structures and traditions.
At a recent Christian unity service one of our members got into a conversation with a Roman Catholic. She told the woman she was a former Roman Catholic herself, but had become an Anglican some years ago. She said she respected the Pope and thought he was a good man, but could not accept the idea of his absolute, infallible authority over the church. The Catholic woman responded, You've lost your faith! Not at all. Our faith was never meant to be in ourselves, but in God alone. I think Anglicanism at its best has had a great clarity about that.
How do we use authority in the Church? Jesus warned us about lording it over each other. He taught the disciples that the most faithful way to lead was by serving, by humbling yourself before God, and showing others how to do the same. When we are called to correct, rebuke or discipline one another, let it always be done in love and grounded in God's word.
The greatest danger to the church is when it looks to itself for its mission, or becomes focused on preserving itself rather than spending itself for the sake of saving the lost. As a former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple once said, the church is the only institution that exists solely for the benefit of those who are not yet its members. Well said!
As Anglicans we have an important ministry to the world, and an important voice in the church. God is not finished with us yet.
Why I Am An Anglican by Fr. Gus Calvo
In his book Bondage Breakers, Neil Anderson made an incredible statement. He writes that one of the biggest challenges Christendom faces is a self-identity crisis. Many folks do not know who they are in Christ (identity) because they do not know who Christ is in the them (the source and basis of identity). The understanding of this statement needs to be first seen in the light of who Christ is in us - without this, we struggle with finding our identity. While Jesus is Lord and Savior, once we have acknowledged His Lordship, what next?
The next step for me was building relationships with other faith-based, Scripture-driven brothers and sisters. For me, this journey began over 25 years ago when I gave my life to Christ, since then, it has been about discovering the identity Christ wants me to have in Him.
From liturgical churches to non-liturgical churches, my hunger and desire to understand the ways of God took me to explore various churches; however, my first and foremost, I was born into a sacramental/liturgical church. The evangelical understanding of gospel presentation appealed to me and one day it dawned on me, "What a wonderful balance Word and Sacrament."
This balance is what drew me into finding my identity in Christ through Anglican expression of faith as a Christian. The traditions of the historical church, church creeds, church councils, apostolic succession, and the harmonious arrangement of the liturgy as conduit for worship in giving style as well as structure, was wonderful. All of this was engaging in providing individual and corporate worship both in the physical and heavenly realm. The ethos of the Anglican form of expression of faith and identity, with its style and form allowed the freedom for the receiving of the Holy Spirit, interacting with the Holy Spirit and transcending the earthly to the spiritual, enacting a place where the visible things are carried by the invisible grace of our Lord into the heart of worship. This transcendence speaks to the sacramental ways which the Lord utilizes to communicate with us, His instruments and servants of grace. The experience is highlighted by the richness in the revelation our Lord gave to us within this contextual form of worship. It is not a form of a restrictive nature as much as a liberating one.
Whether from the intimate details given for building the Ark of the Covenant, or the intricacy inside the measurements for building the Tabernacle, instructions given to the priests for worship and attire and reaching into the church period and apostolic age, so much heritage has been passed unto us - so much of all of this is reflected in who we are in Christ Jesus. This is not a nostalgic historical appeal for the faith, it is sound heritage worth celebrating and conforming our manner of being to.
More than this friends, the Anglican way of identity in Christ provides the foundation upon which we relate to Gods creation - not worshiping creation, worshiping the Creator in our manner of being.
Faith and worship are about relating to the ways of God and the things of God - of meaning and substance, carrying with it, fruitfulness intended not restrictively for enjoyment as much as engagement. The identity found within Anglican tradition is form for interlocking flesh and spirit, tangibly incarnational, revealing an identity entrenched contained within Scriptural custom.
Historian Will Durant once said that the "biggest challenge facing the 20th century was not communism versus individuality; not east verus west; the biggest challenge facing mankind is whether or not we can exist without God."
While many in the post-modern world have made that decision and gained an identity as a result, as Christians, we are to contend for the faith through an identity reflecting our choice of who we are in Christ from who He is in us.
The Lordship of Jesus Christ is a matter of primacy - the nature of our identity is secondary to it as we discover who we are to be in Him. Being an Anglican is the way I express my love for Jesus and is the vehicle through which I can, by Gods grace strive to live out the gospel life through the scope of tradition and communion.
By His Grace Alone,
Gus Calvo +
07/29/2010-New Photos, update on congregations page, updated clergy prayer list
07/14/2010-New message from Bishop Bena!
07/02/2010-New Why I am an Anglican!
07/01/2010-New clergy prayer list (Click here!)
06/23/2010-New Meditations section!
05/05/2010-New photos from Christ Anglican Church. Arrows hopefully ease navigation through photos.
04/10/2010-New page has COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE PRIMATES COUNCIL OF GAFCON/FCA
03/26/2010-News page has installation of Archbishop Nicholas Okoh!
02/05/2010-New: ordination photos, Why I am an Anglican, article on Archbishop Annis.
12/16/2009 - Ultimate Treasure Hunt (Click here)
11/21/2009-Website launched!
August 1, 2009, CANA approves formation of the Anglican District of the Northeast.
Last Update: 12/01/2009
A FEW WORDS about US
The Anglican District of the Northeast is a group of churches from the Northeast part of the United States. Most of the congregations are members of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). We are also therefore members of the
Anglican Church of North America.
Talking at the Welcome Center at Christ The King Spiritual Center
Eating and talking at the Welcome Center at Christ The King Spiritual Center
Holy Communion in the Oratory Chapel at Christ The King Spiritual Center
Bible Study in Barry Hous at Christ The King Spiritual Center
Group photo of all the delegates in the Oratory Chapel at Christ The King Spiritual Center
Dinner in Barry House at Christ The King Spiritual Center
Bishop Minn's recent visit to Holy Trinity on November 29th. His visit was to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of two Holy Trinity couples, Rick and Nancy Gonneville and Fr. Don and Fran Helmandollar. Bishop Minns renewed their vows. Both couples were married on November 21, 1959.
Chaplain Ordination
New Photos-Okechukwu Sunday's Son
The Rt. Rev. David J. Bena, Suffragan Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America and Contact Bishop for the Anglican District of the Northeast, retired from his position as Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Albany in 2007. After serving as a parish priest and armed forces chaplain for 27 years, he was consecrated a bishop for Albany in 2000, where he assisted Bishop Dan Herzog in helping to make the Albany Diocese one of the largest and most active dioceses in the nation.
Bishop Bena stated recently, "I have sensed Gods call to minister to disenfranchised Anglicans around America who are in need of Episcopal oversight. I feel extremely privileged to have been asked to take on this ministry."
He and his wife Mary Ellen have been married for 42 years. They have three grown children and are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren.
Members of the Synod Council
Three year term:
Fr. Tony Seel- St. Andrews, Vestal NY (elected 10/09)
Bill Ritter-St. Andrews Vestal, NY (elected 10/09)
Torrey Morse-Christ Church, East Haven, CT (elected 10/09)
Two Year Term:
Fr. Emeka Nwigwe-Pentecost Church, Manhattan, NY
(elected 10/09)
Bill Ennis-Good Shepherd Anglican, Harrisburg, PA
Clement Okika-Pentecost, Manhattan, NY (elected 10/09)
One Year Term
Fr. Don Helmandollar-Holy Trinity, Bristol, CT (elected 10/09)
Ron Stanton-Anglican Community Church, Batavia, NY (elected 10/09)
Wayne Stretch-Holy Trinity, Bristol, CT (elected 10/09)
Vicar General
Fr. Ron Gauss (appointed October 2009)
Chancellor
Raymond J. Dague, Esq. (appointed October 2009)
Secretary
Patricia L. Dague (elected October 2009)
Bishop Seabury Church in Groton, Conn -www.bishopseaburychurch.org
Christ Anglican Church in East Haven, Conn - www.ctcca.net
Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Bristol, Conn - www.holytrinityanglican.net
St. Georges Anglican Church in Helmetta, N.J. - www.stgeorgeshelmetta.org
St. Andrews Church in Vestal, N.Y. - www.standrewsvestal.org
Holy Trinity Church in Syracuse, N.Y. - www.holytrinitysyracuse.org
Anglican Community Church in Batavia, N.Y. - www.anglicancommunitychurch.com
Anglican Church of the Pentecost International, New York City
Good Shepherd Anglican, Harrisburg, PA - http://goodshepherdanglican.net
CONTACT US
Bishop
The Rt. Rev. David Bena
53C Ray Linsky Lane
Mechanicville, NY 12118
(518) 791 5108
Bishop.bena_canaconvocation.org
Fr. Ron Gauss
256 North Road
Groton, CT 06340
860-445-9423 phone
FRGAUSS_aol.com
Raymond J. Dague, Esq.
620 Empire Building
472 South Salina Street
Syracuse, New York 13202
Phone (315) 422-2052
Raymond_DagueLaw.com
Webmaster
Deacon Greg Ventura
106 John E. Busch Ave.
Somerset, NJ 08873
gwventura_gmail.com
News
This section contains recent news of interest to the ADN.
Archbishop Akinoloa's GS4 Opening Sermon
COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE PRIMATES COUNCIL OF GAFCON/FCA April 10, 2010
Grateful for the gracious guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the leadership of the Most Reverend Peter J. Akinola, the Primates Council of the Fellowship
of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON/FCA) met in Bermuda from April 5 through 9, 2010.
The Primates Council consists of Primates (Senior Archbishops) of Anglican Provinces who met together in Jerusalem in June 2008 as part of the
Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). Their determination to give witness to the life transforming gospel of Jesus Christ and the trustworthiness of the Bible led to the establishment of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA).
FCA is a movement defined by theology that delivers spiritual and practical outcomes to faithful Anglican Christians around the world. Together the
Primates Council represents over thirty four million Anglicans more than half of the active membership of the Anglican Communion.
In faithful obedience to the Great Commission the Primates Council devoted much of their meeting ensuring that those provinces presently members of the FCA would be strengthened in their witness to the whole Gospel through engagement in various development projects, the production of critical
theological resources and participation in multi-national mission initiatives.
We gave thanks for the visionary and sacrificial leadership of our founding chairman, Archbishop Peter J. Akinola, retired Primate, Church of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion). We are also grateful for his courageous stand for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints and his leadership both of
the Church of Nigeria and also within the wider Anglican Communion.
We elected the Most Revd Gregory Venables, Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, as the Chairman and the Most Revd Emmanuel Kolini, Church of Rwanda, and the Most Revd Eliud Wabukala, Anglican Church of Kenya as the Vice-Chairmen. The Most Revd Peter Jensen, Diocese of Sydney, Anglican Church of Australia, continues as General Secretary.
We acknowledged that the issues that divide our beloved Communion are far from settled and that the election of the Reverend Mary Glasspool, a
partnered lesbian, as a Bishop in Los Angeles in The Episcopal Church (TEC), makes clear to all that the American Episcopal Church leadership has
formally committed itself to a pattern of life which is contrary to Scripture.
This action also makes clear that any pretence that there has been a season of gracious restraint in the Communion has come to an end. Now is the time for all orthodox biblical Anglicans, both in the USA and around the world, to demonstrate a clear and unambiguous stand for the historic faith and
their refusal to participate in the direction and unbiblical practice and agenda of TEC.
We recognise that the current strategy in the Anglican Communion to strengthen structures by committee and commission has proved ineffective.
Indeed we believe that the current structures have lost integrity and relevance. We believe that it is only by a theologically grounded, biblically shaped reformation such as the one called for by the Jerusalem Declaration that God¹s Kingdom will advance. The Anglican Communion will only be able to fulfill its gospel mandate if it understands itself to be a community gathered around a confession of faith rather than an organisation that has its primary focus on institutional loyalty.
We committed ourselves once more to the Mission of Christ working collaboratively both with our friends in the Global South and throughout the
Communion and look forward with anticipation to the FOURTH GLOBAL SOUTH TO SOUTH ENCOUNTER to be held later this month at St Andrews Cathedral, Singapore.
We are also aware of the challenges that many of our sisters and brothers face in different parts of the world. In particular we are mindful of those
who live with the threat of violence because of their Christian faith, such as Nigeria, Iraq and Sudan and those who live in places of deprivation and
disaster such as Haiti and Chile. We also observe that there are a growing number of nations, such as Kenya, Uganda and now the United Kingdom where Christian views are marginalized or ignored. We stand with all those in such circumstances and assure them of our continued prayers.
Finally:
The Primates Council expressed its profound appreciation for the gracious hospitality shown it by the people of Bermuda and the faithful witness of
Christians in this land for almost four hundred years. We are aware of some of their current concerns and tensions and are praying for Gods guidance
and wisdom for the leaders of both the churches and the government.
To God be the glory!
Present in Bermuda were:
The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Most Revd Justice Akrofi, Archbishop, Anglican Province of West Africa
The Most Revd Robert Duncan, Archbishop, Anglican Church in North America
The Most Revd Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Rwanda
The Most Revd Valentino Mokiwa, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Tanzania
The Most Revd Gregory Venables, Presiding Bishop, Province of the Southern Cone
The Most Revd Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Kenya
The Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, Archbishop, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Most Revd Henry L. Orombi, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Uganda, represented by Bishop Nathan Kyamanywa
The Most Revd Peter Jensen, Archbishop, Diocese of Sydney
http://www.gafcon.org/news/communique_from_the_primates_council_of_gafcon_fca/
The Manhattan Declaration - http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/
Proposed Covenant - Draft
07/22-24: CANA Annual Council: Epiphany Church, Herndon, VA (You'll need lay delegates to join you).
10/10-11: ADN Annual Synod (clergy & lay delegates): Oct 10 (evening) to Oct 11 (afternoon); Christ the King Center.
06/23/2010
No Stone Thowing by Vicki Manfredi
Today I took my coffee to a local dock in town, a place where I can be still ... know that He is God! I was needing a word, a sign, you know how it goes, you seek Him out in the last place you thought you heard Him. Others were in their cars and I wondered for a few seconds if we were all waiting. The water was calm, some ripples here and there and gulls trying to spot breakfast. A few locals talking boat stuff. A man paddled by standing on what looked like a board. He was standing on it by some amazing feat and I smiled thinking about how Jesus just walked....
I looked out, adjusted my sunglasses and visor, waited. I read a passage from Proverbs about wisdom and pursuing it and confessed that I hadn't really done that. Hot tears rolled down my face that seemed to come from a moment of profound grief and sorrow. Then flowed into my conscious thoughts of all those things the Holy Spirit wanted to bring forth in the tears. I knew why I was there. I beat myself up better than Sylvester Stallone could have done. I thought I'd feel better, but I didn't.
Wiping off my glasses for another go around, I saw a sign right in front of me. Heck, I could read it without my glasses. It said, "No Stone Throwing Permitted." The local kids chuck stones into the harbor so a sign stands here to tell them not to. I began to laugh and then cry. Well, it was a step up from just crying I guess. Then, a peace fell over this sorry heart of mine. A deep peace penetrated my angry hand that was throwing stones at myself. I picked up the Word of God instead and read from:
John 8:7: But when they continued asking Him, he lifted himself up and said unto them, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."
Well scripture says and they went out one by one.....
No one was on this dock today, no angry people waiting to hurl at me, just me trying to throw stones at myself. I realized that inflicting my own punishment took away from the grace that was flooding my senses, my own effort drowning out God's presence to heal and forgive.
I put my stones down, the radio was playing a song, and the words were, "Behold the lamb, God Himself ... the Lamb. I knew I was being visited, my advocate was beside me, actually He was kneeling down in the sand right in front of me and He was writing something in it. I could actually make out the writing, No stone throwing permitted, Love, Jesus.
I wanted to shout out, "Hey everybody put your stones down, embrace the grace!"
Maybe today is your day of grace so amazing that it is......
