A Pentecost Letter from Archbishop Foley Beach
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings to you in the Name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
In this, my final letter to the Province, Allison and I are extremely grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and ministry in Christ Jesus’s name during these past 10 years. We sincerely want to say thank you; I simply cannot believe how fast our time in this office has moved.
As we walk into this Season of Pentecost, celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and approaching the conclusion of my tenure as Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America this June, I want to direct our hearts and minds to the billions of people on the earth who have yet to come into a relationship with Jesus. As members of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, we are the ones whom Christ not only commissioned but also empowered with his own Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the ends of the earth!
In Matthew 5:13-14, Jesus tells his disciples that they are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” We are sent into this dark world to bring his saving gospel message to a lost, hurting, and corrupt generation, but how can we effectively do that in practical ways? Over my last 10 years in leadership, I have championed the good work of five key initiatives that have helped us as Anglicans to be salt and light both here in the U.S. and all over the world. These initiatives are: The Global Mission Initiative (GMI), Always Forward, Matthew 25, Every Tribe and Nation Initiative, and Next Generation Leadership Initiative. It is my sincere hope that each of these missional priorities will be lived out incarnationally by every member of the Anglican Church in North America.
We are coming into a time of transition in leadership as we elect our third archbishop, but not a transition of mission and purpose. First, Jesus gave us his Great Commission to go and make disciples, and we are not at liberty to change that command. Then, he sent his Holy Spirit to enable his followers to carry on his mission on the earth. Pentecost was an incredibly powerful time of transition as Jesus birthed the Church and gave instructions as to how to carry on his mission until all have heard!
I have called for a time of fasting and prayer as we choose our next archbishop. We welcome intercession for this next transition for the Anglican Church in North America and our place within the global Anglican Communion. I want to now call for a time of generous giving to support the work of these five faithful initiatives, not only to finish my tenure strong, but also to solidify the foundational priorities of global mission, church planting, justice and mercy, multicultural integration, and raising up godly leaders as we walk into the future God has for us together.
We need to raise $77,000 by June 30 to finish our fiscal year strong and support the ongoing work of our initiatives through our leadership transition. As God pours out his Spirit on us again this Pentecost, may he also release a spirit of generosity to fan the flames of mission and outreach so that we can be the salt and light he calls us to be.
You can click here to give online or send a check to Anglican Church in North America, P.O. Box 447, Ambridge, PA 15003-0447. We are so grateful for your partnership and prayers! It has been a great privilege to serve as your archbishop over the past decade. Let me close with the Prayer for Mission that we pray each week:
And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do,
to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To him,
to you, and to the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
In Christ,
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church in North America
