13
February 2007
Dear New Wineskins endorsing congregations:
What a great convocation we had in Orlando! I
felt the presence of God so strongly. What made
me assured it was the Triune God and not my own
intuitions? The still, small voice. There was
a peace that pervaded our assembly. A holy quiet
that sometimes fell. There was a great unity of
Spirit and a calm certainty as we took our votes.
It made me weak in the knees!
What did we do? We worshipped. And in worship,
we prayed. We heard beautiful testimonies to the
power and leading of God fromSignal Mountain,
TN to Cairo, Egypt. We endorsed the work of our
strategy team. The 352-page report was miraculously
put together in five months. It is rich in facts,
depth of analysis and strategy and practical helps.
The first printing of this Strategy Report is
sold out, but you may download
it free in book format. Hard copies may also
be ordered by sending $15 payable to “New
Wineskins” and requesting a copy of Tom
Edwards, New Wineskins Association of Churches,
7435 E. Oxford Court, Wichita, KS 67226. Please
allow 3-weeks for printing and delivery.
What Got Approved?
Here is the substance of what we approved, “The
NWAC recognizes that realigning and remaining
are faithful options for our churches and therefore
affirms and endorses Recommendations 1-5 of the
Strategy Team Report.” The motion carried
unanimously. In short, while we acknowledged that
many of our Wineskins churches may feel called
to remain as faithful witnesses within the PC
(USA), many others yearn to be loosed to pursue
a “new thing.” That new thing is a
realignment with the Evangelical Presbyterian
Church. Our convocation petitioned the EPC to
create, at their June General Assembly, a transitional
presbytery for us. Over the following five years,
NWAC and the EPC will work together to see what
God calls us to become together.
We also approved inviting our endorsing congregations
to share their identity with one another. You
can do that by replying to this email with your
contact information. We approved the Leadership
Team organizing a new team to encourage the Wineskins
churches that will stay in the PC(USA) and “to
affirm and outline” the Biblical basis for
women’s leadership for those looking toward
a future with the EPC.
What’s Next?
Lots!
- Continue to pray for the
Lord’s leading in your setting. Contact
Kay
George with specific prayer requests or
to become part of those praying for New Wineskins.
- Ask your session to study
the two options endorsed by our convocation
and to seek discernment of what God is directing
and leading you to do.
- Live the New Wineskins reality!
Meet with fellow Wineskins churches and EPC
churches in your region. (Making the identity
of New Wineskins congregations “public”
is important to this process. So, please reply
to this email and let us know that we can share
the identity of your congregation with other
New Wineskins affiliated churches.)
- Plan to attend our fall convocation
at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Sacramento,
CA, Oct. 29-30, 2007.
- Invite others to consider
the vision of New Wineskins. Remember to express
the compelling vision of being part of an Evangelical
Missional Presbyterianism.
- Support NWAC financially
so we can keep up this effort.
- Work diligently in your presbytery
to bring about a new reality marked by shared
essentials, missional polity, and effective
structures. Affirm both faithful options by
working to transform the presbytery of which
you are a part and by assisting those congregations
who feel called to re-align by allowing them
to leave your presbytery without penalty and
with their property.
The Leadership Team, Executive Directors and
Strategy Team are here to help you. Please contact
us if you need prayer, a listening ear, a personal
visit or something that we have not thought of
yet!
Sincerely,
Gerrit Dawson
Co-Moderator
New Wineskins Association of Churches
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