Building an Anglican Community in Fredericksburg🌱

It began on a warm August, Friday evening in our backyard. Long plastic tables lined with lawn chairs ran down the length of our yard, lit by overhead string lights and the setting sun. People across age groups sat shoulder to shoulder, eating a diverse smattering of potlucked plates, chatting with all of the slight awkwardness of first-meetings and "getting to know you’s." Once we all ate our fill, the tables were cleared and the prayer books came out. The air once filled with chatting and chuckles was replaced by the steady, slightly sing-song rhythm of voices joining together in the call and response of the collective reading of Psalms and prayers.

While the sunset illuminated our gathering, we began praying together the ancient hymn of Phos Hilaron: "Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light.”As we waved off mosquitos around our ankles, we ended with the work of Christian community in praying with each other and for each other, for our needs and for the needs of those not with us. We concluded praying the Evening Prayer of the Daily Office together in peace, ready to see what the new weekend would bring.

Once the colder weather began to come in we began to change locations to living rooms in other houses and extra spaces in local college ministry buildings. We've gotten to meet new faces, hear new stories, and grow more familiar with those in our gathering. We've grown from the inital awkwardness of all being new to meeting each other; and now our meetings are filled with "life catch-ups" from people we are happy to see again. Quarterly, we've been blessed with the ability to celebrate together a proper Holy Communion service led by the Rev. Eric Hornbuckle, the rector at St. Thomas Anglican Church in Gainesville, VA. These communion services have grown from a spare room in a college ministry building to a beautiful sanctuary so generously lent to us by Fairview Baptist Church in downtown Fredericksburg.

We're coming up on our one year anniversary of our monthly prayer gatherings and quarterly communion services, and we are grateful for all God has done in just one year’s time. Our Lord has continued to connect our gathering with others in the area: some who are already followers of Christ comfortable in the Anglican tradition, those who are "Anglo-curious", and some who are intrigued about what it means to follow Christ. We continue to pray that our gatherings be a time of prayerful communal worship, fellowship, and growth. All of us here are looking forward to what the future of our gathering looks like! Please continue to pray for us as we seek guidance on church planting efforts, healthy community building, and as we seek God's plan for our group in our beloved city.

- Gordon Wiss, Fredericksburg Anglican Fellowship

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Did you know the Diocese supports nine church plants, with many more planned? This 🌱 plant icon 🌱 indicates this is an article about one of our church plants. Read about how these plants are breaking new ground for the gospel, and help them grow through your prayers and gifts!