The Most Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan

The Anglican Church in North America came together at Bedford, Texas, when its Constitution and Canons were adopted in June 2009.  Now, in 2011, we are 22 dioceses stretching from Arctic Canada to the Rio Grande, and from Newfoundland to California.  There are many evidences of God’s favor toward us, not because we deserve it, but because we continue to work so hard to align ourselves with His will.

Two years ago we were 706 congregations.  The annual parochial and diocesan reports for 2010 – the first year for which we have a system of statistical reporting in place (another provincial milestone) – identify 952 congregations as part of the dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America and its ministry partners.  Statistically this represents a 34 percent growth in congregations at the end of the first 18 months of Church life.

We focus on the centrality of local congregations as the “chief agency” of our mission in the Anglican Church in North America.   If we are to “reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ” the principal way we will do this is through the local congregation. We say that every Anglican Church congregation is “accountable to the Holy Scriptures, accountable to the Tradition, and accountable for the transformation of society.” 

At my investiture as Archbishop, I called for the people, the congregations and the dioceses of our Province to plant 1000 new churches in our first five years.  This call has captured the imagination, the prayers and the energies of the Province.  We can point to nearly 150 new plants since June 24th, 2009.  Their stories are told on the Anglican 1000 website.  Given that there are three ways we go about planting – jurisdictions planting, congregations planting, and indigenous groups planting – and given that church multiplication is geometrical in its effects – the goal remains entirely possible.  It will be God who gives the growth. 

According to the data submitted in the Annual Parochial Reports there were, in the year 2010, 987 baptisms of adults over thirty, 424 baptisms of young people aged sixteen to thirty, and 1647 baptisms of children in the ACNA dioceses, not including the congregations of our Ministry Partners.  What is so stunning about this data is that the number of baptisms of those 16 and older is almost equal to the number of children baptized.  What this says is that we are reaching adolescents and adults who have never known Christ, never been part of a church.  This is to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ, one sign among many that something quite extraordinary is unfolding.  To God be the Glory!

Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing;
From age to age my mouth will declare you faithfulness.
[Psalm 89:1]

Archbishop Duncan is the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America and Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi

The foundation for the Church of Uganda has always been the Word of God.  When the missionaries came in 1877, they brought to us the transforming Word of God that changed our lives, families, and communities in so many ways.  The martyrs of Uganda preferred to die rather than disobey the Word of God. The East African Revival made the Word of God very practical in daily living, thus bringing peace and reconciliation to traditional enemies, freeing women from oppressive superstitions, and infusing people with hope for a better future. Equipped only with the Bible, Ugandan evangelists set out on foot to share the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the country and beyond, thus laying the foundation for the second largest Province today in the Anglican Communion.

The American Anglican Council represents these same convictions, and we are very grateful for their practical ministry in America and their service to the wider Communion.  For the more than 50 congregations that appealed to me to come under the ecclesiastical oversight of the Church of Uganda, I am aware of significant support provided to them from the AAC. Thank you!

I am sure the AAC worked tirelessly with the leaders of the new Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) to see that the new Province was ready to be born, and ready to receive our American congregations.  Our oversight of churches in America was only a temporary measure until the church in America was stable enough for us to repatriate our congregations back to their home country. Thank you!

The AAC was a tremendous source of support for the GAFCON Primates in helping us realize our dream of a Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem in June 2008. There were only six months from conception to reality for the conference, and it was only possible because of people like the AAC who worked with us to make our dream come true. We are very grateful for the AAC's role and support in helping to make GAFCON not just a dream, but a reality.

Finally, may I thank the AAC for their quick response to our recent appeal for famine support. They have used their communications network to make our need known, received funds on our behalf, and forwarded them to us in a timely fashion. Their ministry has literally saved lives!  It is a practical ministry and one which demonstrates that faith without works is dead.

For all these reasons, and more, I commend the work of the American Anglican Council, its leaders and staff, for your prayers and generous support.

Archbishop Orombi is the leader of the Anglican Church of Uganda, one of the Anglican Communion's largest provinces.