It’s hard to believe St. George’s Anglican Community has been worshipping on Sunday nights for 2 years. On one hand it seems as if we just started yesterday, and on the other hand, it seems as if we’ve been together for much longer. It’s funny how life seems to be like that in so many areas.

On Sunday night I used Mark 4:26-29 as my text. It reads:

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (ESV)

I believe this is gives a good picture of who we are and what we are doing. We’re farmers! That is, we’re working the ground, planting seed and at the end of the day, getting some hard earned sleep. But all the farming we are do, doesn’t make the seeds grow, that is a miracle of God. We are called to farm, God is the life-giver.

Looking ahead, I am excited and encouraged about a new work called the “Anglican Mission Urban Initiative.” Bishop Doc Loomis is spearheading this. If you look at this map below, you’ll find St. George’s already represented. Doc is bringing together similar Urban works across North America for what he calls FUNC. Please read his words about what is going on:

Dear fellow laborers                                                                                         03.01.2010

Greetings in Christ to you all!

You’re receiving this email as a follow-up to our recent break-out session at theAM winter conference. First, let me say thank you for being with us at our Urban Initiative session. Shane, Dale, and Ben did a fantastic job helping us to get a taste of what urban ministry feels like. I really appreciate these urban heroes.

I had hoped to be corresponding with you a few weeks back, but it has taken me this long to get some ducks in a row. I know we all want to start getting connected and supported soon, but before we get too far along, let me remind you that the Urban Initiative (which, incidentally, we’re calling U&I) has four main goals. Together, we call these goals FUNC: Mainly because it’s easy to remember.

Almost as soon as our AM church planters started moving into the cities they recognized that there just wasn’t enough FUNC.

What were they missing? Funding, Understanding, Networking and Coaching…FUNC.

Our goal is to put the FUNC back into urban ministry by working with missionaries to raise money, increase understanding among kingdom partners, develop networks of likeminded missionaries, and get connected with the very best urban ministry coaches.

So, let me tell you what we’re up to on this end:

1.    We’ve built a BETA website with basic information about U&I. You can find it at http://UandIAM.com (or just click any link on the menu bar of this email)

We’ll fill this out a good bit more in the coming weeks. Right now we’re looking for a real web pro to take it to the next level of design and accessibility. If you know someone, or want to take on the task, please let me know. This site will then be linked to the Anglican 1000 church plant website as well as theAM site as a resource. Love to link to a few more blogs too. If you are blogging urban, send me a link and a photo and we’ll get you added to our blog page.

We’ve also added a Facebook group to allow conversations among planters to begin quickly. Our new website will host its own community one day. For now, Facebook is at: http://tinyurl.com/ylh4qpf

There is another Facebook group called Anglican Urban Initiative…that is something else (but good to see so many are interested, eh?

2.    I’ve been meeting with professional fundraising and business strategists in CHI since winter conference. I’m encouraged by their interest and support for this work. In the next month, we hope to launch a long-term fundraising campaign designed to put some serious money into our bank account.

3.      We’re in conversation with some major urban ministries and are in hot pursuit of a champion-style leader for U&I. If you would like to recommend someone, drop me a line. While I am an enthusiastic cheerleader for urban ministry, my schedule will not allow me to manage the day-to-day interests of a missionary movement. We’re also interviewing coaches with urban experience to join our team.

4.      We’re connected with theAM intercessors now, and will be greatly blessed to have their support as we begin and grow.

5.      Finally, we’ll be scheduling a full-blown Urban Mini Conference just ahead of next January’s AM winter conference. The conference dates are Feb 9-12, 2011. We will meet on the 8^th beginning at noon and conclude by 2PM on the 9^th. There should not be any charge for this pre-conference event. (exception, lodging)

Once again, thank you for your interest in and support of our urban initiative. Needless to say, you’re in on the ground floor…and we’ve nowhere to go but up. So turn those heads upward and ask God to bless us all.

Praying for you and your ministry,

Doc Loomis

Missionary Bishop, AMiA

As you can see, God is still alive and well, doing what He does in growing His kingdom. We just to stay focused on keeping the plow in the ground.

Shane+