The joy was palpable as the mostly former Episcopalians worshipped,
drawing energy from a hundred voice choir, raising holy hands, invoking
an orthodox Trinity to bless the fruit of their labors, as the 4th
annual winter conference got underway.

"Who is the Lord of your life, cried the Rev. Mike Hesse, Destin area
rector of Immanuel Anglican Church, an AMIA parish.

"JESUS" roared the crowd.

A Shofar sounded as an instrument of warfare and pending victory. The
AMIA-ites sang, "we will follow ancient paths and discover future
faith, we'll embrace Christ's mystery that will set the people free. HE
will set his people free."

This theme seemed to echo the freedom many now found no longer being
associated with the Episcopal Church.

Those gathered here included African Archbishops Bernard Malango
(Central Africa), Emmanuel Kolini (Rwanda), and Balufuga Dirokpa
(Congo) while Archbishop Metelemele (Tanzania) sent Archdeacon Npiruka
as his official representative and the Primate of India J. K. Samuels
met with Bishop Murphy and gave his endorsement. Also present was a
Nigerian bishop John Rucyahana, Bishop of Shiyra, Rwanda and from South
East Asia, Archbishop Yong Ping Chung. There was also two ECUSA bishops
and more than 100 AMIA priests and several ECUSA priests weighing their
options as they consider their future outside ECUSA.

They sang "we must stand against the tide...and keep your Word," a
reminder that the church they had left no longer applied or was
relevant to their spiritual needs.

In his opening sermon Primate Yong Ping Chung told the assembled crowd
that they were gathered to testify to the great works God has doing in
their lives as individuals and as a mission, only 4 years old. "There
has been renewal and revival taking place in our AMIA churches."

The theme of the conference is "Rediscovering the Ancient/Future
Faith."

"The hope of Christianity is being challenged and attacked, Christian
people need to rediscover the truth about God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, and the world in which we live. Our actions must be judged by
the Word of God and not let our interpretation rule our lives. Jesus
Christ and his word is the ultimate authority for our churches."

"We have allowed the temptations of our cultures and secular human
desire, worldly philosophies together with canons and constitutions of
the church to blind us to the faith that was once entrusted to the
saints."

"Today we are here to rediscover the truth and essence of out faith, to
rediscover our ancient/future faith and truth that will set out people
free. Our God is greater than any other, our God is sovereign and he
alone is God."

The world has camouflaged our faith, people have added their own
opinion, the invasion of the contemporary culture and eagerness of the
church to accommodate the culture has altered the essence of our faith.
Elements are added because they thought that was what Christianity
needed. "They have distorted the scriptures, they have changed the
grace of God into license about immorality and denied Jesus Christ's
own sovereignty and Lord."

"We need to go back to our roots and ancient faith, and discover once
again the essence of our faith, to see God in his entire splendor and
his glory. We need to go back to the beginning. Before the world was
created God was there. Our faith begins with God...in the beginning
God.

We need to strip of the fluff of worldly euphemisms and acknowledge our
sin. God is very specific and clear, and calls sin by its true
name...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, he
said.

His command to us is "go and make disciples of all nations...baptizing
them in the name of the Trinity. The Anglican Communion needs Jesus,
the AMIA needs Jesus; We all need Jesus. We need Jesus to set us free
from the bondage of sin."

The archbishop said the AMIA should reach out to the lost 130 million
in the US who do not yet know Jesus. We desire to win lost souls for
Jesus, it is the desire of our hearts and life to bring Good News to
all those around us. Let us make it our commitment, he concluded.

END