May 1, 2025

Feast of St. Philip & St. James

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Oh, that they would therefore praise the LORD for his goodness and declare

the wonders that he does for the children of men! That they would offer unto him

the sacrifice of thanksgiving and tell of his works with gladness!

Psalm 107:21-22

Scripture records that at the conclusion of St. Paul and St. Barnabas’ first missionary journey, they returned to Antioch “and when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27) While the current context is a bit different, the principle is the same as I tell you that I have observed God at work across the ADGL.

In my travels over the past four months, I have witnessed God at work in

• Calling and raising up a new generation of servants in Holy Orders at our Spring Vocational Formation Retreat, one Diaconal ordination, and two Presbyteral Ordinations;

• Equipping and encouraging our Diocesan clergy at two regional clergy retreats;

• Bringing numerous new believers into the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism, especially at Easter Vigil;

• Strengthening many disciples through Confirmations, Receptions and Reaffirmations;

• Worship with two new Church planting missions: Christ Our Hope Anglican Fellowship in Midland, MI and Columbus (OH) Anglican Fellowship;

• Blessing faithful clergy and congregations in weekly preaching the pure Word of God and faithfully administering the sacraments.

While all of this points to God’s faithfulness in empowering the mission of the ADGL, none of this would be possible without the courageous, risk-taking faith and whole-hearted obedience of the founding generation of the ADGL/ACNA.

That is why we are gathering on June 6th at Christ Church Westshore in Avon Lake, OH to celebrate our 15th Anniversary. While there are still a good number of clergy and laity among us who comprise the founding generation of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes of the Anglican Church in North America, there are also many of us who have come more recently to worship and minister in the ADGL building on the foundation that they have laid. We are reaping the benefits of their faithfulness. It is vitally important that we gather together to thank God for His faithfulness, goodness, and miraculous works and their sacrificial obedience.

Our special guests that evening will include

• the first ACNA Archbishop, The Most Rev. Robert Duncan who presided over the Provincial Assembly that recognized the founding of the ADGL in June 2020;

• the ADGL’s Founding Bishop, The Right Rev. Roger Ames;

• The Rt. Rev. Frank Lyons who gave episcopal oversight as Diocesan Bishop of Bolivia to those early founding congregations;

•  The Rt. Rev. Bill Murdoch and the Rt. Rev. John Miller, both in the founding generation of ACNA bishops, who served the ADGL as mentoring bishop and Temporary Bishop respectively.

Dear brothers and sisters, just as we remember the faithful witness of St. Philip and Saint James that their example might strengthen our witness, so we remember the faithful witness of our founding generation. We stand on the shoulders of giants of the faith, both clergy and lay, who, in faithful obedience to the Lord, have given sacrificial service so that we can experience the Lord’s gracious enabling as we carry on the mission of the ADGL. Please make it a priority to participate in this anniversary celebration as we give thanks to God and hear faithful, firsthand testimonies of the challenges faced and the victories won in forming the ADGL/ACNA.

You can learn more about and reserve your place at the celebration before May 20th here.

In closing, I bid your prayers for Terri and me as we travel May 3-10 along with Archbishop Steve Wood, Bishop Drew Williams, and Bishop Chris Warner to minister on the Holy Spirit to the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya in Nairobi.

Please pray with me.

“Almighty God, you gave to your apostles Philip and James the grace and strength

to bear witness to Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life: Grant that we,

being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death

the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”

Your servant for Jesus’ sake,

+Mark

ORDINATIONS - REV. SAMUEL HOOD AND REV. MICHAEL JORGENSEN

ADGL RECEIVES $1.2 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING FOR CHILDREN OF THE LITURGY PROGRAM

SUPPORT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Throughout the diocese there are various Christian schools who, like The Garden Christian Academy from last month’s Voices of Lively Faith, are seeking to care for and equip our children and the children of our communities with Christ centered educations.  For many of those schools, obtaining financial support is a major key to being able to continue caring for their students.  

One way of supporting Christian education in Ohio is to make use of the recent tax law which allows you to fund scholarships for those schools using taxes you owe.  The State of Ohio has established a method where your tax money, dollar for dollar, can be used to establish scholarships for the Christian school of your choice through the Ohio Christian Education Network.

You can watch a 2 minute overview video about this program here. You can also visit the website of the Ohio Christian Education Network.

Please find out if there are children from your parish who are attending a local Christian school and talk to their parents about this program.  If the school is already a member of the Ohio Christian Education Network, you can help fund scholarships for the children of that school right now as part of your 2024 tax filing process!

If you don’t have a school in your local area or they aren’t a member of the Ohio Christian Education Network, please consider supporting The Garden Christian Academy (GCA) this year by funding scholarships with you tax money as they serve the children of their neighborhood!

Enrollment priority at GCA is given to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. While most families pay a small, affordable fee based on household income, the vast majority of operating costs are supplied by a combination of state dollars and the generosity of the school’s partner-donors. The tax credit described above is an unprecedented opportunity to financially sustain the mission of the school for years to come while making eternal investments in the lives of Cleveland’s children. 

GCA has established a very thorough website to walk scholarship donors through the giving process which you can visit here.

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