Connect with the Every tribe and nation initiative
Greetings everyone! We look back with thankfulness on the year 2023 for all that God did throughout the Diocese of Christ Our Hope. As he continues to build his church, we are thankful to be a part of what he is doing in various ways. In particular, I would like to give you a quick overview of some highlights in specific things that happened within our diocese throughout 2023 as it pertains to ministries related to the Every Tribe and Nation Initiative.
The goal of ETNI as it relates to our diocese is to see the Diocese of Christ Our Hope be one that welcomes in and reflects the growing diversity of people groups in our midst. America has always been a melting pot of cultures, even though churches and denominations do not always reflect this diversity. As the world grows smaller and people groups from all over the world settle in our midst, some more Christian than others, our churches must adapt to be places that welcome in those who historically look, speak, and think differently than us because of their cultural background. We know that every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship before God’s throne one day together, but we do not want for that day to come to start living out this reality now in ways that are possible to our congregations. Would the churches of Christ our Hope be churches growing in ethnic diversity and complexity while continuing to stay true to our long Anglican tradition which has already been such a gift to so many places throughout the world!
Here are just a few things God has been doing in our midst towards this vision:
- In July, the East African service at Church of the Redeemer led by The Rev. Jonathan Munyakazi was able to host six Kinyarwanda and Swahili speaking congregations from throughout the Greensboro region for an East African Revival. Members of the English speaking services were able to volunteer in various capacities throughout the weekend event. For the revival, Jonathan’s spiritual mentor Pastor Gabriel Masomo was able to fly in from Michigan to preach at the revival as well as lead a seminar on biblical principles for marriage and family.
- In the Fall of 2023, The Rev Sergio Sapunar was able to step into a new role within the diocese as Canon for Ethics and Safeguarding. He also had the chance to travel throughout the ACNA and speak at multiple events as a leader for the Spanish language Caminemos Juntos, the Hispanic ministry initiative of the ACNA. Within his volunteer capacity at Church of the Redeemer, he continues to discern what his next steps are at the local level.
- In October, the Diocese of Christ our Hope partnered with Bishop Andudu and the Sudanese Diocese of Kadugli to ordain Yousif Koly to the diaconate. He has served as a volunteer leader for a few years within the Sudanese service in Greensboro under The Rev Jeff Weber and is now serving as the pastoral leader of the Sudanese service at Church of the Redeemer. Many Sudanese congregations from throughout the country were in attendance including the Sudanese congregations from within our diocese.
- In December, The Rev Lawrence Mbugua from Emmanuel Anglican Church in Raleigh was made a Canon Missioner for the diocese with the goal of helping to plant more churches throughout the diocese. The plan is for him to be a catalyst for mission expansion to various people groups within the regional influence of Christ Our Hope. As he steps more and more into this traveling role, The Rev George Kinuthia will be taking over day to day responsibilities of the parish.
- Grace Anglican in Louisville has been partnering with Refuge International for the last 5 years walking alongside of five refugee families who have resettled in Louisville. This December they hosted an all-ages women’s dinner where they were able to package welcome baskets for new arrival refugee families in their area.
- The Rev Jeff Weber’s ministry – The Wilberforce Center – which works to provide legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers continues to grow, having added multiple staff positions with the help of a significant grant and has assisted in resettling and advocating for many families including clergy in our diocese dealing with the complexity of US immigration law.
These are just a few of the highlights from 2023 that we are aware of. However, many churches throughout our diocese are engaging in work that often goes unnoticed outside of the local parish. If there is any highlight you would like to showcase from your church which relates to
We look forward to all the work God is going to do in 2024!
God bless,
The Rev Jared Wensyel
ETNI Leader for The Diocese of Christ Our Hope
Book Corner:
Are you interested in exploring how to live out the vision of ETNI more concretely on a local level, but looking for some resources? As we gather helpful resources for our churches, here is a particularly helpful book to highlight this month:
Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World (Youth, Family, and Culture) by David Livermore
