Pastoral Letter: Where do we go from here?
Thinking back…
The final chapter of Exodus gives me great hope as a church planter. God cares deeply that his people are formed in worship, and yet His glory fills the tabernacle which is constantly on the move. He cares about detail and reverence, and less about permanence. There have been several places where I feel like we’ve lifted up the tabernacle and moved to the next spot in the short history of our church. Corpus Christi Anglican Church has come a long way since our first in-person meeting in 2020 (we were then called the Franconia-Springfield Mission). I find it helpful to think back on the ways that God has been so faithful to us in building this church.
From monthly prayer meetings in parks we went to holding monthly Eucharist at Lake Accotink. As the weather got colder God provided a place for us grow at Green Spring Gardens in the Lincolnia area where we could worship indoors together. For a few months we worshiped in our backyard (remember the cicadas?!) and in June 2021 we began weekly Eucharist back at Green Spring Gardens. Green Spring Gardens gave us a space to have a temporary home to worship with weekly Eucharist and nursery space for our littlest children.
Preparation for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd was underway for children and we quickly realized that this phase of growth warranted new space. Through conversations with Rev. Woodson at the Springfield United Methodist Church, and through your prayers, we discerned that the Springfield UMC would be the place for CCAC to grow in her next season of life. And we have grown! We have done prayer walks, baptized children and adults, begun holding both nursery and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, started regular Formation Groups and our attendance has nearly doubled since last October. This has been a wonderful place to grow.
It is now time to start looking for a new space that can accommodate us in the next stage of life. As we begin to dream and pray about what is next, it is a goal of ours to find something by January.
Moving Forward
Begin to dream and pray about what is next. The search is being spearheaded by a team of four (including me). We have set up an email so that if you run across a property and want to share it with us, send an email to buildingsearch@ccanglicanchurch.org. In a few weeks a survey will be sent inviting you to share your specific desires for the next space. Your feedback will be insightful as enter a discernment for a worship space. There are some things I’m excited for when I think about a new space: our new location could be near new schools, neighborhoods, coffee shops, and pubs. Begin to pray for our church to have an impact on a new place. Moving will allow us to incorporate elements of worship we have not been able to add. We hope that the new space will feel more like “our space” to utilize as we see fit. There will be a lot to look forward to, and it will be hard work to get there, so please keep this whole process in your prayers. As we narrow the choices down, we’ll schedule some prayer walks and listen to the Holy Spirit together.
Thank you for praying, participating in this process, and serving the Lord so well at CCAC. God is blessing your efforts and answering our prayers. I’m grateful for the ways we’ve been able to partner with SUMC and for the ways they have been gracious to host us. We pray that God would continue to bless them. As we move to a new location, may God continue to build Corpus Christi Anglican Church for his glory that we might become a common people in common prayer for uncommon transformation.
In Christ,
Morgan+