Our Time in Latrobe

A brief reflection and report from Bishop Dan on the Bishops' Conclave and Provincial Assembly 2024.

Dear friends in Christ,

I wanted to write to you and share a little about the last few weeks, as our province of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) gathered in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. First, it was a great blessing to be part of the bishops’ conclave in which we elected a new archbishop. And then it was a great encouragement to participate in the ACNA Provincial Assembly. 

The Conclave

The archbishop’s election took place with the ACNA bishops in conclave over the course of three days and was a very prayerful process. I was impressed with the wise and godly way in which Steve Wood was chosen to be our next archbishop. It is a very important role, as he represents our province of twenty-nine dioceses. His role is to be a pastor of the bishops and to communicate a clear vision for the mission of the Gospel of Jesus within North America and across all our dioceses.


Bp. Charlie, Bp. Mike, Archbishop Steve, Bp. Dan, Bp. Stephen, Bp. Trevor after the election

Steve will be a wonderfully faithful archbishop and he is well known in ANiC by many who attended the Clergy and Spouses retreat near Vancouver in 2023, where he was the keynote speaker. Please pray for Archbishop Steve and his family as he begins this new role. You can find more about him and his wife through this interview which took place during the Assembly last week:

Assembly

The Provincial Assembly was a very encouraging time. Nine hundred delegates from all the diocese of the ACNA came together for worship services, teaching and meetings. We were taught in a series of excellent bible expositions by Bishop Rennis Ponniah of Singapore and heard testimony of vibrant gospel ministry in a wide variety of contexts throughout the ACNA. The finances of the province are in excellent shape and it was very encouraging to hear that the Sunday attendance throughout the ACNA is growing and has surpassed pre-COVID numbers this year. We are thankful to God that our own diocese reflects this growth as well. 

 

ANiC was well represented at the Assembly by our delegates. Here are those who made the trip to Latrobe, Pennsylvania: 

 

  • Bishop Dan and Cathryn Gifford

  • Bishop Stephen and Nona Leung

  • Bishop Mike and Marianne Stewart

  • Bishop Trevor Walters

  • Bishop Charlie Masters 

  • Bishop Grant and Wendy LeMarquand

  • Canon Howard and Cathy Edwards

  • Archdeacon Darrell Critch

  • Rev. Alvin and Jenny Ng (representing AMMIC)

  • Evan Baker (representing Packer College)

  • Mike and Monica Tweedle (representing ARDFC)

 

Some of our delegates and spouses gathered together.

 

On behalf of our diocese I heartily thank these delegates for participating in the Assembly and contributing to it in marvellous ways. It was so good that Bishop Charlie was able to make the drive down to Latrobe along with Cathryn and myself, and to participate in the election and the Assembly. We will be sharing an update letter from him on his health with you all soon.

 

We were all very encouraged by what God is doing throughout the ACNA and I invite your prayers for our province. Pray with us for a continued deep faithfulness to the mission of Jesus within our diocese and in our Gospel-partnership with the ACNA, all for the sake of His glory in North America.

 

Faithfully in our Lord Jesus,

+Dan

The Right Reverend Dan Gifford
Diocesan Bishop

Scott Hunt