I have had an absolutely hectic time during my first week and weekend in the Midwest. There have been ups and downs, but God has been good and faithful during these hectic days, and he's getting all the glory from me and from others!
My time in Chicago last week and this weekend was well spent. I had a wonderful meeting with Fr. George Kacena, the rector of Church of the Great Shepherd (Wheaton), and with the Revs. George Koch and Rebecca Ann Teguns of Resurrection Anglican Church (West Chicago), and I look forward to cultivating a vibrant and growing relationship with them and with other churches in the emerging deanery and possibly diocese-in-formation.
This past Sunday, I had the great pleasure of worshiping with St. Andrew's Anglican Church (Tinley Park), an historic congregation in Reformed Episcopal Church led by the Rev. Frank Levi. It was a tremendous time of traditional Anglican worship with a warm and welcoming congregation. That afternoon I was able to worship with an emerging Anglican congregation of young people meeting in the heart of Chicago, Redeemer Anglican Church. It became quickly apparent that Redeemer is a community of vibrant college and post-college Christians with a heart to serve faithfully God in counter-commitments to vocation and serious prayer. I will be treasuring the relationships that I formed with so many of them! Finally, that evening I was able to visit the Anglican college ministry's on-campus worship service at Northwestern University, and was heartened by their love for the Lord and interest in the mission. All told, it was an exhausting day, but I left encouraged and with the distinct impression that this is what missionary deputation is all about.
Monday I headed down to Indianapolis where, despite some housing snafus, I will be meeting with church leaders but staying in neighboring town of Richmond. The majority of Anglican congregations in the Indianapolis area associated with the Midwest AMiA led by Rev. Tom Tirman, but I have been unable to get in touch with them so far. Despite this, the headline events for this week are a meeting with former missionaries in Buenos Aires (25 years with the C&MA), a meeting with Bishop Amos Fagbamiye of the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, and a visit to Trinity Anglican Church to preach and share about the mission. Please remember all of these events in your prayers.
This may feel like a lot of detail densely packed into an almost short blog post: if it does, it gives you a taste of life recently. May the Lord bless you all and give you grace to follow him in service for the fulfillment of his counsels and the glory of his Name!
