“There are a lot of young families moving in, and our people are excited by the opportunities for ministry here,” said the Rev. Christian Ruch, the church's mew priest and pastor. “The opportunity for a church ‘plant’ to have its own building is unusual, but when it became available and we saw that we could actually put something together, we knew that it would be foolish not to go forward.”

The Church of the Cross recently closed on the property, a move that will save the church from having to rent space in a school, theatre, or off-hours in other church buildings.

The Church of the Cross began its journey last year when Christian, his wife Molly, and their children moved to Minneapolis to pull together a core team—a process that resulted in 30 energetic and gifted leaders stepping up to the plate.

The call to plant a church came while Christian was part of a dynamic congregation in the Chicago area pastored by his brother, Stewart—Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton. “We came to a sense that we had to do this, and as we moved forward, God has provided,” Christian stated. “Church of the Resurrection has made it possible for us to do this, and we have tremendous support from the Anglican Mission, as well.”

The Ruchs and other members of the new church’s core team place a high value on community, with an expectation that open generosity and hospitality will attract those who are not believers. “As an Anglican congregation, our ancient traditions are a draw for people. There is a rootedness and authenticity that so many long to find,” noted Rev. Ruch. “There is excitement about reaching the un-churched, and that’s why people are getting involved.”

The new Minneapolis congregation will shortly take possession of the property and begin
needed interior work, including the re-introduction of Christian symbols. They are mindful, however, that a church is not a building. "We have a strong sense that buying this building is not ultimately about us obtaining a permanent worship space,” reflected Pastor Ruch, “it’s about being equipped to reach the harvest of souls God has called us to reach.”

The Anglican Mission in America has also added two new churches recently, one in Nashville and the other in Ohio. The Church of the Redeemer in Nashville, TN, is comprised, to a large degree, of former members of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (St. B's). The Rev. Thomas McKenzie, interim rector of St. Bartholomew's, will serve as priest of the new congregation, which drew some 150 interested participants to its July 1 information meeting.

The core team of Church of the Redeemer had been meeting and praying together since April when the Rev. McKenzie realized that God was calling him out of the Episcopal Church (ECUSA). "Many in our group have known of the AMiA for some time through our long time relationship with Bishop Chuck Murphy and his family," observed one of the new church's members (Bishop Murphy's father had once served as Rector at St. B's).

"Nevertheless, we undertook an investigation of all the options for affiliation that might be open to us. The study concluded that the Anglican Mission was our choice. Church of the Redeemer, Nashville, desires to 'proclaim Christ's redemption, to liberate people from bondage, to recreate them from the inside out, to give them a loving relationship with Himself, to place them in Christian community, and to mold them into proclaimers of liberation to others through the power of the Holy Spirit" (from the church's mission
statement)," said McKenzie.

Regular worship services began Sunday August 8th at Otter Creek Church, 5253 Granny White Pike, Nashville.

The AMiA's third new congregation also has roots in the Episcopal Church. Hudson Anglican Fellowship (Ohio) is a plant by some former members of Christ Episcopal Church in Hudson, who were deeply troubled by the unscriptural direction that their church and diocese began to take, most evidenced in the process to select a new Bishop of Ohio, more than a year ago.

Hudson Anglican Fellowship was birthed and began a process of discerning its direction, in terms of affiliation. The Rev. David "Doc" Loomis helped to give direction to the group in its early stages, and was ultimately invited to serve as rector in early December of 2003. Since then the church has grown to almost 100 members. It sought a home for its Anglican vision and mission, and found in the Anglican Mission in America.

The Hudson Anglican Fellowship is also home for a broader regional effort, the Great Lakes Anglican Renewal, which seeks to plant and re-plant Anglican congregations in the Great Lakes region of northern Ohio. GLAR works directly with disenfranchised Episcopalians abandoned by revisionist decisions within ECUSA in order to help them deal with their hurt and anger, "ultimately placing them in safe parishes with Godly leadership and oversight that will carry on the work of the Gospel in America said Greener.

"Not all churches under GLAR will automatically affiliate with the AMiA, but they will be encouraged to find the best fit in the 'American Anglican fabric'.

The Anglican Mission in America is a growing missionary outreach of the Anglican Province of Rwanda, focusing on the 130 million un-churched in the U.S. www.theamia.org

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