In this blog, clergy and lay leaders share helpful resources, ideas, and reflections. The topics range from soul care, to effectiveness, to practical solutions for common issues we are facing. If you have something you would like to submit to be included, please email it to Jessica Jones. We hope these articles are a blessing to you in your ministry.
This is often the time of year that many churches have their Annual Parish Meetings, approve budgets, hold Vestry Retreats, and generally think about and cast vision for the church moving forward. As this is a good time of year to be reflecting on these matters, may I suggest that, as you do, part of your vision and goal setting include focusing on how to get and/or keep your church healthy? The church is the living body of Christ, and living things (if healthy) naturally grow as God designed them to. How can you focus on being healthy this year? By focusing on simply doing the things Jesus instructed the church to do. And, what did he tell the church to do? Although you can find the answers to that question throughout the Bible, like in the description of the first local church in Acts 2:42-47, Jesus was kind enough to summarize it for us in two key scriptures: The Great Commandment and The Great Commission....
Be the one. See the one. Share the ONE. The Gulf Atlantic Diocese, under the leadership of Bishop Alex, is poised to raise up and deploy missionaries to our neighborhoods and to the nations....
Tallahassee, FL (August 27, 2022) - Today at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, FL, friends and members of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America gathered to witness the consecration of the Rt. Rev. Alex Farmer as the second bishop of the Diocese....
The Gulf Atlantic Diocese held its 17th annual summer camp, Camp Araminta, in July. It was an incredible gathering of over 250 students and leaders at Lake Swan Camp in Melrose, FL. Camp Araminta was created to provide an intense discipleship experience in community. We welcome students from 4th-12th grade and focus our time on fellowship, outdoor activities, skits, games and crafts, worship, teaching, and healthy rhythms of discipleship such as morning prayer and compline....
After serving for six years at Grace Anglican in Fleming Island, FL, Dan and Carrie Wolf made a radical move to Portland, Maine, the second most post-Christian city in America, in order to plant Rise Church Anglican. The church plant has been a collaborative effort between the Gulf Atlantic Diocese and the Anglican Diocese of New England. Dan has said the question people ask in Portland is not “What church should I go to?” but “Why would I go to church?” Many people don’t know anything about the Bible or God....
Petra is a diocesan ministry founded and led by young adults to serve young adults. Built to meet the need for an organized ministry to connect young adults across the Gulf Atlantic, its centerpiece is the Petra retreat, an annual summer event incorporating Biblical teaching and corporate recreation. This year’s retreat, held from May 19 through 22, was based on Ephesians 6:13: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Scripture teaches that humanity is involved in a spiritual war of cosmic proportions in which every soul is at stake. To stand, Christians must arm themselves with the armament God has provided them in Christ....
On Monday, June 13, 2022, the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America consented to the elections of the Rev. Alex Farmer, the Rev. Willy J. Hill Jr., and the Rev. Alex Cameron as bishops for the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, the Diocese of the Southeast (REC), and the Diocese of Pittsburgh respectively....
Volunteering with CMJ Israel may well be the most rewarding thing you have ever done - after all, you will become part of Israel's present and future with what you do and achieve! Volunteering may (at times) be hard work, but it will also be part of a wonderful adventure, filled with prayer and new experiences right in the heart of Israel - a place where God Himself has placed so much focus, and the very land where Jesus lived and walked....
Nick Audas spent ten years ministering on college campuses with CRU (Campus Crusade), and more recently, serving on staff at a church plant in New York City. Now he is embarking on a new mission—planting an Anglican church in the heart of Orlando with the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. Bishop Neil and I recently traveled to Orlando to meet and celebrate Holy Communion with about fifteen members of this budding church plant, called The Common Table Church, and the presence of the Lord was tangible in our midst....
by Rebecca McCallister These are dark times, aren't they? Most of us haven't experienced anything like this coronavirus and the complete upheaval it's causing in our lifetimes. And beyond the inconveniences of sheltering in place or not finding toilet paper, there is serious fear and uncertainty, real suffering, devastation, loss, and death. There are many things we coul...
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by Lenny Konschewitz, Church Planter, Grace Anglican Church My family and I moved from Europe to Fleming Island, Florida, this past January to help Grace Anglican plant a church in St. Johns County. Just like the rest of the world we have been caught up in this Covid-19 storm. Our church planting efforts have moved online and we are finding ourselves in uncharted waters. ...
Keep ReadingVery few people adapt to change easily. For most of us, change is uncomfortable and "doing things the way we've always done them" is easier. This pandemic has caused all of us to change and it hasn't been easy. But with change, comes the opportunity for innovation and improvement. Sometimes change brings surprising blessings, as well. We wanted to encourage you by sharing ...
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by Rev. Dr. Jessica H. Jones This season in ministry has forced churches everywhere to move to an online environment, exploring video conferencing, live streaming, pre-recording and video editing segments for their website, and trying to navigate pastoral care for those not connected, as well as those already saturated with online content. Someone joked last week on our c...
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by Rev. Taylor IshiiChurch of the Apostles, Eastern Shore One principle of good communication is to know your audience. I remember once teaching in a youth group setting and using 9/11 as an example of a moment where time seemed to stand still. I then asked the students if they remembered where they were on 9/11. I got nods from the adults in the room, but blank stares fr...
Keep ReadingContributors: Dr. Sarah Hall, Rev. Ben Jefferies, Rev. Dr. Jessica Jones, Rev. Carrie Klukas, The Very Rev. Andrew Rowell In God's grand narrative we see the power of prayer over and over. God's people cry out to him, primarily because he is the only one who can do anything! Now is the time to teach children and youth about prayer, if we haven't done so already. In the m...
Keep ReadingContributors: Dr. Julia Marie Halderman, Rev. Dr. Jessica Jones "This is the day the Lord has made, let us go forth and deal with it," said my son years ago when he was about 6 years old, after a particularly hard week. He did not want to rejoice and be glad in it. I reminded him that rejoicing was a choice and we serve a good God. This week he reminded me of the sam...
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byRev. Mark Eldredge, Canon for Congregational Health When the first ever church was formed in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost the believers basically did five things. We can read about this in Acts 2:42-47: They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and...
Keep Reading by Rev. Dr. Jessica Jones As God's people, are we struggling with what to say during this time? Times like this have a way of disabling my speech, even sometimes to God. But expressing our emotions to God, all of our emotions, is exactly what he asks of us. The Psalms provide an outline for expressing our emotions to God, even during difficult seasons such as this. The...
Keep Reading by Rev. Dr. Jessica Jones,Canon for Next Generation Discipleship, Gulf Atlantic Diocese Director of Family Ministry, ACNA Next Generation Leadership Initiative byRev. Aaron Buttery,Associate for NextGen Leadership, C4SO Diocese Due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, we are in the beginning of a new season of ministry with young people. This season of challenges p...
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