Dear brothers and sisters,
What a meaningful and anointed year to us, the Anglican Mission in Canada!
We give thanks to the Lord for Rev. Kathy King's 16 years of blessed ministries as Rector of Light of Christ Anglican Church, Nanaimo who retired in May this year and went back to Wisconsin to be with her family. Praise the Lord that we have Rev. Francis Awando to take up the baton from Rev. Kathy to be the new Rector in June to continue the good work with his wife Georgia and with the help of Rev. Bill Poppy, a deacon from the Anglican Church of Canada who joined Light of Christ Anglican Church last year.
Praise the Lord that we had a joyful and blessed Clergy Retreat and Summit in September with our Chairman of the College of Consultors, Archbishop Masimango, to be with us. And, we had Bishop Ric Thrope and Rev. H Miller to be the guest speakers of a Zoom workshop in the Clergy Retreat sharing with us of their church planting experiences and strategies. Bishop Ric is the Bishop of Islington and the first bishop of Church Plant in the Church of England and Rev. H Miller, Chief of Staff for Bishop Ric's ministry and previous Vicar General of AMiA. The most important and wonderful thing that happens each year in our Cleary Retreat and Summit is that it is always such a joy to have a time with our clergy and leaders to be together as a family for a week's time.
Following the successful endeavor of Bishop Peter Klenner and his leaders to purchase a property for All Saints Community Church White Rock (allsaintswhiterock.com) Project Oikos II last April, Richmond Emmanuel Church - 聖公會以馬內利堂 also successfully purchased a property in July this year. The new church site is a 5,800 sq. ft. on the third floor of President Plaza in the centre and heart of Richmond. With twenty years of waiting and planning, we are having a "church in a Mall".
While I am writing this Christmas letter in the afternoon of December 22, I received painful news this morning that our dearest Archbishop Yong Ping Chung passed away this morning at a hospital in Sabah.
We give thanks to the Lord for Archbishop Yong's anointed apostolic ministries worldwide to bring numerous people to believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviours. We give thanks to the Lord for how miraculously the Lord appointed Archbishop Yong to be one of our three founders of the Anglican Mission in 2000.
I give thanks to the Lord for giving me a precious opportunity to visit Archbishop Yong and Julia just two months ago with Archbishop Kolini, Freda, and my wife Michelle. And, I had an opportunity to have several important videos for Archbishop Yong including his born-again testimony, and his story of how God used him and other faithful servants of Christ to establish the Anglican Mission. May the life of our dearest Archbishop Yong give us encouragement and strength to follow his model to enhance God's mighty Kingdom.
Bishop Silas, Archbishop Kolini, Freda, Julia, Archbishop Yong , and Michelle having dinner in Sabah
May you and your family have a joyful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
In Christ,
+ Silas