An Eastertide Invitation - 50 Blogs in 50 Days
Easter Sunday is the pinnacle of the Christian calendar, a day filled with joy, celebration, and the proclamation that Christ is risen. However, in the Church, celebrating Easter is more than a day, it is a season of celebration called Eastertide. Eastertide begins Easter Sunday and lasts fifty days until Pentecost.
Eastertide reminds us that the resurrection is much more than an event. It is a time of hope, renewal, mission and witness. The risen Christ continues to work among His people, calling, sending, and transforming lives across the globe.
During this Eastertide, New Wineskins Missions Network is intentionally setting aside time to celebrate God’s ongoing work in global missions by sharing 50 blogs in 50 days. We are highlighting the faithfulness and fruitfulness of our New Wineskins Anglican Partners, from our Global Mission Advocates who represent dioceses across the ACNA to our agency partners, such as Anglican Frontier Missions (AFM) and Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS), as well as our New Wineskins Networks that are equipping the church in specific areas of mission.
God is on the move throughout the Anglican Communion, and we have so much to celebrate. We are seeing the fruit of faithful investment through our three Rolecall apprentices who were commissioned and sent out from the Hope for the Nations Conference this past September. These apprentices are now wrapping up a nine-month cross-cultural program, serving in three different countries and stepping boldly into God’s call on their lives.
We continue to hear powerful stories emerging from our Hope for the Nations Conference of divine appointments, answered prayers, and new ministries being born. Partnerships are forming, doors are opening, and the gospel is being proclaimed in word and deed. What began as a calling is becoming a testimony and you will be able to read about these during Eastertide.
Did you know that every diocese in ACNA has a Global Mission Advocate who helps further global mission efforts within their diocese? You will hear stories of how their dioceses are serving, partnering and networking with ministries, churches and other diocese throughout the Anglican Communion. Through the work of mission-sending agencies and the collaboration among churches and networks, we are witnessing the resurrection power of Jesus at work in real and tangible ways.
In a world often filled with negative headlines and discouraging news, Eastertide offers us a different perspective. It calls us to fix our eyes on the good news, the reality that Jesus is alive and still at work among His people. There is much to celebrate. That is why, beginning today, Easter Sunday, and continuing through Pentecost, we will be publishing a daily blog highlighting the amazing things God is doing through global missions. Each story is an invitation to rejoice, to give thanks, and to be encouraged.
We invite you to journey with us this Eastertide. Read these stories. Share them with others. Celebrate God’s faithfulness and the work He is doing around the world.
Christ is risen and His mission is alive.
Let us rejoice together!
Canon Shelly Sorem serves as Assistant Director of New Wineskins Missions Network and is a deacon in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She serves on the Women’s Leadership Network within the Anglican Church in North America’s Provincial Leadership Network, on her diocesan women’s ministry team, and holds the role of Canon for Global Missions in her diocese. In addition, Canon Sorem serves as Vice President on the Provincial Council for the Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Trinity Anglican Seminary. She is deeply committed to advancing global missions and is passionate about seeing the name of Jesus proclaimed to the ends of the earth. She regularly leads women’s conferences and retreats both nationally and internationally and is dedicated to fostering collaboration among Anglican organizations to further the Kingdom of God. Shelly and her husband, Bill, have been married for 34 years. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandchildren.