Sean in concert with leading Dandelion, Sean is also the Canon for Reawakening in the Anglican Diocese in New England. This year, he worked hard to put together a Gospel powerhouse for the Northeast and beyond. Here is the recap:
October 23-24 over 400 people from all around the northeast descended upon Lexington, MA to attend the 6th annual Reawakening Conference. It was the biggest and best Reawakening yet! Bishop Andrew welcomed everyone with an impassioned introduction saying, “So often, the church has operated like a spiritual sweatshop—a performance-driven deal where God is treated like a celestial bureaucrat running a performance review, demanding we work harder on the factory floor of religion to buy our way into His good graces. In the name of Jesus, we are closing down the sweatshop! Hear the Good News:
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the POWER of God for salvation to everyone who believes!“ (Romans 1:16)
We celebrated the diversity of our diocese, enhanced by the many African, South American, and Caribbean immigrants in our midst. The Venerable Michael Kafeero, Archdeacon of our Ugandan congregations in the ADNE, con-celebrate with Bishop Andrew. Assisted by Bishops Bill and Trevor, Ven. Michael and Bp. Andrew took turns leading their liturgy in their native tongues…English and Luganda, which brought a new profundity to the liturgy.
When Ven. Michael prayed the Prayer of Consecration in Luganda, Bishop Andrew asked the congregation to pray the Lord’s prayer all in our native tongues. At least 7 languages joined together in the words that the Lord Jesus had taught us. It was a powerful illustration of the global reach of the gospel and a glimpse of the promise from Revelation 7:9, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…”
That afternoon Old Testament scholar, Chad Bird, delivered his first talk on “Unloving our Ex-Sins.” He shared honestly about his journey from being an accomplished seminary professor to driving 18 wheelers hauling waste water from oil drills in the Texas panhandle. It was a beautiful opening that served to level the playing field for all of us. He was vulnerable and gave us all permission to be the broken needy people that we are. The Holy Spirit lovingly brings us to our rock bottom, to come to grips with our sin, in order to resurrect us to new life—far better than what we had before. This is how the Spirit makes you a Christian but also a pattern in a Christian’s life. Chad testified to how life giving the life of the cross is.
Erick Sorensen from 1517.org joined us this year as well. He was the support team on the Gospel Integration Panel Discussion where he, Chad, and Bp. Andrew looked at the story of Judah and Tamar from Genesis 38. This narrative is one of the most scandalous and seemingly misplaced in Scripture, so it was illuminating to hear the panel unpack how God was advancing his plan of redemption by bringing Jesus through Judah’s line. This panel was a teaser for our Gospel Integration Webinar series that “leans into the hardest parts of our modern reality, bringing the healing lens of the Gospel to the most complex and sensitive issues of our time.”
Please join us online for the next one January 27! Erick Sorenson will unpack forgiveness in the parables of Jesus.
Friday evening brought balance to the conference beginning with art show and dessert reception. Kate curated the show which featured artists from all around the diocese meditating on forgiveness in their work. The featured painting, “The Conversion of Paul,” created by the Rev. Dan Sylvia stood on the stage and provided the visual theme for the whole conference. The art show was the perfect segue into Dr. Winfield Bevins, founder of CreoArts.org, speaking on the renaissance of art in the church and how the Lord is sending missionaries of beauty to open the way for sharing the gospel with the world. You are a missionary in your own creative way. Art slows us down, returns us to our humanity. When you create in response to Jesus’ love for you, you want to share it. Winfield painted a practical picture of how to do that. Join Kate and Winfield as they co-lead the Anglican Arts in Mission network! The next webinar is December 7 – would love you to come.
Chad Bird took the stage again with his second talk: “Being Repented” during which he walked us through the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Building off his first talk he revealed that repentance is not just turning away from sin, but rather is actually being given faith…believing in the grace and forgiveness of the Father through Jesus. Repentance is something that happens to us when all of our attempts at self-justification are interrupted and silenced by the Father’s persistent, always-seeking mercy.
The middle of the day was full of workshops. There were 9 this year led by Bishops, Canons, leaders from our diocese and outside experts in their fields. They worked with the theme of the Freedom of Forgiveness and showed its implications on topics ranging from Deliverance ministry to Immigration law. It was incredibly rich.
The final plenary session opened with the blessing of the youth glowing under black lights. We all got to see and celebrate the other half of the conference that was going on simultaneously in other parts of the building. A record number of almost 80 elementary, middle, and high school students attended the conference this year! Kate and her army of youth volunteers had created special tracks for each group throughout the day Saturday. One of the rectors in our diocese shared this: “Please extend my thanks to Kate and her team regarding the children’s and youth ministries. My kids appreciate being able to connect with other kids from around the diocese. They have people they look forward to seeing every year.” All the reports said the kids had a blast.
Then Chad led us in his final talk: “Stewarding Our Scars.” Working with the story of Jacob wrestling with the Lord, Chad brought it all home telling us that our scars, those places where we have fought with God…where we have been wounded as a result of our sin…become our testimony. Our scars carry the story of Jesus’ work in our lives to bring new life out of death. Like he did with Jacob, Jesus chose to lose so that we could win. He died so that we might have life. Lest we think of this only metaphorically, Chad drove home our great hope in the physical resurrection…the true result of the freedom of forgiveness. Death has been defeated for us in Christ. It is a promise he and his wife, Stacy, cling to in the loss of one of their sons. It is a promise for all of us as we contend with death in this world.
The presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable as He made it a worship service that lived up to the name “reawakening.” It set the tone for the whole conference. Chad Bird had this to say:
“The weekend made an indelible impact upon me. I found out they had been praying for us for months prior to the event. Person after person stopped to encourage us, pray for us, and leave me notes. Worship was simply heaven on earth. Bishop Drew and his wife Elena could not have been more welcoming and hospitable, as were the entire crew responsible for the event.”
Reawakening 2026 was, as Erick and Erica Sorensen said, “Supernatural.”
Join us next year where Erick Sorenson will be our plenary speaker. Save the date: October 22-23, 2027!
a tiny glimpse of Dan Sylvia’s painting on the left :)
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