Article Archives
Learning to Grow as a Church: 201
On April 21st, 2007, Fr. Jerry Cimjiotti came to Christ Church Anglican to teach the congregation growing strong in the Christian Faith as the next step to planting and building Christ Church Anglican. Fr. Jerry spoke on the importance of spiritual growth as a part of being a mature Christian. His central message was from Colossians 1:9 - 19: "And so, from the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understand, 10 to lead a life worth of the Lord." Mature Christians must be fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Fr. Jerry spoke on the necessity of denying ourselves to be in line with God's Will for our lives, abiding in his Word to bear good fruit, and using the pattern of Jesus' prayer to develop an intimacy with the Almighty to increase our knowledge of Him. Small group discussions followed every section and we were blessed by his teaching and insight.On Sunday, CCA was blessed to have a full Eucharistic service with Fr. Jerry, though our Youth members and team were at Regeneration at Abundant Life. The Cooks, Kelly, Cindy, and Jim provided music and William Cook provided an offertory on his violin. Afterwards, there was a brunch and fellowship. Thanks to Christ the King in Spokane for lending us their priest for the weekend! Be sure to check out their website at spokaneanglican.com
Statement from Archbishop Orombi Regarding the Primates Meeting in Tanzania
Since the dramatic and unbiblical decision of TEC in 2003, a number of congregations in America have appealed to the Church of Uganda to provide a safe place of refuge for them. Ten of our Bishops are now providing ecclesiastical oversight to more than 20 congregations in America. I want to assure our Bishops here and our congregations in America that we stand with you. You are safe and secure in the Church of Uganda. We will not abandon you or repatriate you until there is truly a safe and Biblically faithful ecclesial entity in America. That has been our promise, and we stand by it.Click Here to View the Entire Letter
Reflections on Uganda
These past few months have been wonderful months for those of us at Christ Church Anglican. Even though we have only been in existence since August, we have been very blessed to have visits from several Anglican congregations in our area, as well as sponsorship from our sister church in Kansas, and oversight from the Diocese of Uganda. In August we did not have so much as a prayer book to call our own, today we have a building, a community, and outstanding leadership from Christians brothers and sisters close to home and 13,000 miles away.Last Thursday marked the our first official visit from the Diocese of Uganda. Rev. Alison Barfoot, the Assistant for International Relations for Archbishop Henry Orombi, took time out of her already full schedule to visit our small parish here in Butte, MT. Canon Barfoot was warm, encouraging, and helped us understand the people and mission of Uganda. Fr. Smart and Anne Smart continued to encourage our fellowship with their presence and wisdom. All of us who were able to attend the worship on Thursday, the seminar on Friday, or Eucharist Friday night felt greatly blessed.
Canon Barfoot spoke on the mission of Uganda and its continuing priority to draw people into right relationship with Christ. "The Christan Church in Uganda is build on the blood of martyrs." she said, and told the story of the Ugandan martyrs in Mwanga's court, the martyrdom of the Anglican Bishop James Hannington, and the persecution of Christians under Idi Amin. Alison stated that the sacrifices of those who stood for the Truth enabled Christianity in Uganda to flourish and grow. Today, the Diocese of Uganda is the 2nd largest in the Anglican Communion - comprising over 9 million members. Alison spoke on Friday about the mission work of her diocese and the people who work to spread the message of the gospel to others in their communities in Uganda. Her example, and the examples of our brothers and sisters in Faith in Uganda encouraged us to share the gospel in our own community of Butte.
Thanks to Canon Barfoot and Fr. Smart for making this visit possible. Also, great thanks to our new parish council for arranging and overseeing the events of the past week.
September 10th: Fr. Jerry Cimijotti at Christ Church
On Saturday, Sept 9th, 2006 Christ Church was privileged to hold a church planning seminar with Fr. Jerry Cimijotti. Father Jerry encouraged us to look at the mission of the church, survey our health as a spiritual body, and develop guidelines for church participation and membership. The day began with a look at the four major missions of the church: worship, instruction, fellowship, and evangelism. Fr. Jerry encouraged us to make sure that all our congregation understands the purpose of gathering together. He went on to discuss the elements of healthy congregations and of personal spirituality. Lastly, Fr. Jerry discussed the elements of a healthy Anglican church - that we need to make sure our Anglicanism is accessible, we strive for unity in essentials and diversity in nonessentials, that we practice passionate spirituality, focus on gift-oriented spirituality, empower our leadership, strive for excellence, use functional structures and make sure we look beyond our own borders. For most of us, it was either a good reminder of principles we learned in the past or a chance to look at these concepts in an entirely new light. On Sunday, about 80 of us gathered to celebrate Eucharist with Fr. Jerry at our new church. He spoke on how we need to take Christ to those around us and let Christ permeate our lives and everything we do. Chesa Sullivan and Marilyn Fisher provided great hymns of praise and traditional music. The nursery was put in effect for the first time and Fr. Jerry blessed the facility. Those of us who attended came away from the weekend with a heart full of joy and a new commitment to follow Christ and bring His Light to others. We want to thank Christ the King Spokane for their prayers, support, and the gift of Fr. Jerry for the weekend.
Over 100 Worship with D.O. Smart, Dean of the ACN Mid-Continental Convocation July 9, 2006
On July 9th, Fr. D.O. Smart and his wife Anne visited Butte, Montana while they were vacationing in Big Sky. D.O. and Anne were taking time to visit Anne's family in Montana. They had offered to come and visit us here in Butte and we gladly accepted the offer since most of us had joined the Anglican Communion Network last April, but had not yet been able to meet with anyone connected with the A.C.N.
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