After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10

This picture from Revelation portrays a wonderful vision of all nations and people gathered around the throne of God, worshiping and praising Him. It is the culmination of the promise made to Abraham that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him.

A few weeks ago, I had the joy and privilege of attending the New Wineskins for Global Mission conference. It was, as always, wonderfully uplifting and inspiring. The first night set the tone for the conference, with the Rt. Rev. Derek Eaton, Assistant Bishop of Egypt, speaking on “Our God is a Missionary God.” He shared these startling statistics: every day there are 8,000 new Anglican believers and 90,000 new Christians of all traditions. Four hundred new Anglican churches are planted each week.

These are staggering statistics, especially in light of the figures for North America, where the Episcopal Church has lost a third of its members since the 1960s and now has less than 800,000 worshipers in church on Sunday. But how exciting and encouraging to see what the Lord can do through biblically faithful, mission-focused Anglicanism!

Throughout the conference we heard powerful testimonies from people on the front lines of mission work and were challenged to obey the Great Commission at home and abroad.

The theme of this newsletter is to share what the churches of our Convocation are doing in short-term missions. The great response to our request for information is so encouraging. If we have missed any, please send us the information (newsletter@acn-mac.org) and we will include them in next month’s newsletter. We will also look forward to your reports when you return. Let us keep these mission trips in our prayers.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1Thessalonians 5:11

Church of the Messiah has been ministering in Honduras for the last 8 years.  They have established a relationship with “His Love in Action School,” a school for deaf children in the capital of Tegucigalpa, and Casa Corazon, a home for children with HIV/AIDS in San Pedro Sula.  The school for the deaf has just purchased a new piece of property, which will enable them to double the number of students to whom they  minister. (See photos.)

The Rev. Mark Brown will be participating in a SOMA (see section titled "Did You Know?") mission trip to Jos, Nigeria, the diocese of Bishop Ben Kwashi, the Director of SOMA International. The team will be attending the Synod of the diocese of Jos and the two brand-new dioceses that were carved out of the parent diocese of Jos. In addition to building relationships, they will be leading a clergy conference on stewardship for th e priests of the three dioceses.  Mark will also be preaching during Sunday services in Jos.

Parishioners at All Saints’ will again travel to Pass Christian, MS to help build houses for those who lost theirs to Hurricane Katrina. This year they will be working with  “Randy’s Rangers," a missionary outreach of the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky.  T his group has been working in Pass Christian since a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit. They are well established there now and have built several houses. See photo on left.

Two mission trips provide youth opportunities for service. Middle school students and Good Samaritan adults take part in the Pittsburgh Project, serving low-income families and enjoying training, worship, and fun in the Projects camp atmosphere. High school students, with a group of Good Samaritan adults, partner with youth and adults from St. John’s to provide a week of outreach and Bible study to children in Kensington.

Over the course of the year, we will be contacting all parishes requesting information about any ministry you would like highlighted in the MAC newsletter.   However, if you have a time-sensitive ministry you would like for us to include in an upcoming newsletter, please contact Heather Adams at hadams@acn-mac.org .   

Did You Know?

An introduction to SOMA: Sharing of Ministries Abroad

From June 29-July 21, 2007, SOMA will lead a series of emotional healing seminars in the Rift Valley region of Tanzania.  The vision for this project is healing through prayer from hurts in life. The goal for this project is to teach, train, and nurture soul-healing prayer ministry in Africa—first to Tanzania, then to East Africa and beyond. The teams conduct seminars, train leaders from the culture, and provide materials in the language of the people to enable the ministry to continue under local leadership once the SOMA missions are complete. Since 2003 SOMA-USA has conducted 17 seminars/training sessions in East Africa, 15 in Tanzania and two in Kenya. SOMA has raised the funds to publish 7000 copies of the Kiswahili Emotionally Free text. 

Enjoy Praise and Thanksgiving. Hear Testimonies of God’s Healing Power. Receive Prayer for Healing with Anointing of Holy Oil. Partake of Holy Communion, one of God’s Healing Sacraments. If you or someone you know has overcome or is in the process of overcoming cancer, plan on coming! Contact All Saints’ Church for more details: 703-670-0093.