We were blessed by the worship at Assembly 2017, which culminated at the final Holy Communion at Wheaton’s Edman Chapel on Friday morning, June 30. The music, the liturgy, and the preaching by Archbishop Okoh of Nigeria, all came together in an awe-inspiring service. This included the historic consecration of the first GAFCON missionary bishop since Bishops Atwood, Guernsey, and myself, who were consecrated in August 2007 by the world-wide communion for the launch of the ACNA. Bishop Andrew Lines was consecrated as missionary bishop to Scotland, and the wives of the ACNA bishops laid hands on and prayed for Mandy Lines, his wife. The moment’s intensity, love, and sense of support were so strong that there was hardly a dry eye in the sanctuary.
During Assembly we also hosted the Most Rev Jackson Ole Sapit, Archbishop of Kenya, in Wheaton, after which we hosted him here in Massachusetts, as he presided over our Kenyan Archdeaconry’s Kenyan festival at Grace Anglican Church of Bridgewater. At this event, the Kenyan Archdeaconry, led by Archdeacon Peter Gachathi, witnessed the gathering of many Kenyan Clergy currently not in the ADNE. We confirmed twelve, welcomed twelve ladies into the Mothers Union of the ACNA, and we had a first: the establishment of the North American Anglican Men’s Association, inducting twelve men into this new organization. After the service and luncheon, Archbishop Sapit and I met with Kenyan and ADNE clergy, the outcome of which was planning for a week-long visit from him in 2018 to establish the structures and membership of a much larger Kenyan Archdeaconry here in the ADNE.