November 2013
‘Advent Conspiracy’ Calls Church to Focus on Others
The St. Andrew’s Mission Committee is busy this month as they lead the way in the parish’s involvement in the Advent Conspiracy – an international movement stressing compassion instead of consumption in our approach to Christmas. One of the movement’s main thrusts is to encourage people to direct more of their Christmas spending to help those who are truly needy. To that
end, the mission committee is involved in several special events.
The committee recently kicked off parish involvement in Operation Christmas Child, a ministry to needy children. Parishioners
are asked to fill shoeboxes with small gifts for children, and the shoeboxes are distributed to kids around the world. If you haven’t
picked up or filled your shoebox yet, it isn’t too late. Boxes and packing information can be found in the fellowship hall. Filled shoeboxes are due back at the church by Sunday, Nov. 17.
The committee is also involved in our first Getting Ready for CHRISTmas fair, which will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday,
Nov. 9. The fair will offer the chance to browse for unusual gifts that benefit others and support missions. Threads of Hope textiles,
for example, will be selling colorful Peruvian ornaments, purses and tapestries.
Other options to consider will be gifts of school supplies, farm animals, etc., which can be given to needy families around the
world in honor of friends and family here at home. These gifts are available through World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, relief organizations which will have catalogs full of options on hand. In addition, the men of the parish will be preparing and serving breakfast at the fair, with proceeds going to the church’s Family in Crisis fund.
The mission committee is also urging everyone to be on hand for Focus on Missions Sunday, Nov. 24. That day Bethany
Tennant, recently back from the mission field in Tanzania, will be sharing news about her ministry. (Read more about Bethany
below.) Come also to learn about the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, the missions arm of the Anglican Church in North
America, with which St. Andrew’s is affiliated.
For news of other missionaries St. Andrew’s has supported, please see the updates in the pages that follow. Please also remember these people in your prayers, perhaps using this prayer from our 11:15 a.m. worship service:
Eternal Father, your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, stretched out his arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone
might come within the reach of your saving embrace; So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. We especially pray for
Mark and Tommie Bruner, Timo and Laura Harkonen, Cindy Larsen, Chris Peterson, Ken and Martha Shirkey and
Bethany Tennent as they share your Gospel in this and other lands.
Missionary Friends Share Updates on Their Work
Bethany Tennent with Africa Inland Mission
For the past three years, I have been on a church-planting team with Africa
Inland Mission seeking to reach the Alagwa people of Northern Tanzania for Christ.
They are an unreached people group, which means they have had no access to the
gospel in their language before, no churches or Christians among their people, and
no Bibles in their language. We have been living among them to learn their language
and culture, develop strong relationships, share Christ, and disciple new believers so
the church will grow strong.
I am currently back in Wilmore on home assignment, which is an eight-month
period to reconnect with family and friends, report to supporters and home churches,
raise support for my next term, and be renewed spiritually. God willing, around June
I will be returning to the Alagwa with my team to continue the church-planting work
we have begun there.
Please pray for the Holy Spirit’s work among the Alagwa to convict their hearts
and draw them to himself. Pray for me also that I would be able to raise the support
I need to return and that I would be a faithful witness to the gospel of grace in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
See more missionary updates inside
Missionary Updates
Page 2
Laura and Timo Harkonen with Mission Aviation Fellowship
Hello from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We were
moved up here from Southeastern Congo at the last minute because of the greater need here. But even Mission Aviation Fellowship has a hard time keeping families up here due to the difficult conditions. So please pray that we can “make it.”
I, Laura, was just officially cleared to fly by myself on some of
the routes this month. It is hard to describe briefly the flying side
of things here. We fly lots of local pastors, missionaries and people working directly on reconciliation and trauma recovery (like
in areas where the Lord’s Resistance Army terrorized). There are
very few foreign missionaries here. They left with the conflicts
and haven’t come back. We also do humanitarian flying for
groups like Doctors Without Borders.
The spiritual state is difficult to describe or even evaluate. As I
mentioned, we fly local pastors and missionaries, which is good,
but it seems that much of the teaching and biblical education is
not all that one would hope. We have yet to hear a really biblically
sound sermon in any of the churches we have attended. A generation was pretty much lost, in that those with whom the missionaries had worked are now mostly gone. Due to all the conflict in this
country, they had no resources with which to educate well the
next generation.
At the same time, many of this next generation are passionate
about sharing the gospel because they realize it is the only thing
that is going to truly save this country. Timo is working to develop a plan with the churches to find a way to disciple and train
people better.
Our children, Janey and Richard, love it here. In spite of having to live behind walls and razor wire, they haven’t been slowed
down in making friends. They are already heavily involved in the
ministry with street boys, and Janey is trying to get something for
the street girls. So please pray about that, too!
Our current prayer requests:
 Our safety – for Laura as she is flying and for the family.
 For the continued building of relationships and trust with the
pastors and wisdom as to how to proceed.
 For our kids as they work with street kids and for the street
kids.
 For a teacher for our kids.
 Our health – it is a bit tricky to maintain good health here.
 For stability – there have been issues as close as seven miles
away.
Ken and Martha Shirkey with Gateway Center for World Mission
This has been an intense yet wonderful year for us. We were
able to minister to missionaries in Brazil’s Amazon region. New
doors have opened to women’s ministry and accelerated discipleship/intercession in Haiti and Uganda. Those we have
trained are planting new churches in Haiti and in BunyoroKitara, Uganda; and spiritual grandchildren are birthed through
their outreach to Kenya. New staff, who focus on economic development training, are preparing to teach business in the areas
we serve.
This coming year looks to be one of explosive expansion. Our
new staff will be introduced to our partners in Brazil and
Uganda. They will be expanding their reach in business while
we expand ours in discipleship and prayer. We also hope to take
a practical helps team to Brazil to repair a church roof and to
have a women’s conference in the Reformed Anglican Church
near Sao Paulo. The need for larger training space here in Lexington has brought us into partnership with a couple of
churches, and we are looking to share space with them.
Prayer requests are:
 More fundraising is required for these giant steps ahead.
Because we are self-funded, we have sole responsibility as
fundraisers for Gateway Center. Ask the Lord to help us be
bold and courageous as we ask and to prepare the hearts of
those to be asked.
 The Lord’s wisdom and favor to direct this expanding ministry and anointing and to care for and disciple new people he
brings to us.
 Protection for our health and lots of energy for family and
work.
 Discernment to use the authority God has given us to bring
victory in the increased spiritual warfare that has come
against us, our family and those with whom we work, which
can come only from the Lord through your prayers.
Page 3
St. Andrew’s Calendar
Sun
Mon
Tue
November 2013
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 All Saints’
Day
Office Closed
2
Choir 9-11 a.m.
8
Friday Flicks
“Cloudy With
a Chance of
Meatballs”
7 p.m.
9
Getting Ready for
CHRISTmas Fair
10-1 p.m
Christian Classics
Book Club
“Introduction to the
Devout Life”
Sheffler Home 6 p.m.
Chancel Reset and
Pizza Dinner 5 p.m.
3 All Saints’ Sunday
DST Ends
Parish Briefing
Community Lunch
12:30 p.m.
Chancel emptied
to prepare for renovation
4
Sanctuary
Renovation
Begins
Women’s Bible
Study 6:30 p.m.
5
Avanza 3-5 p.m.
Lyons Men’s Group
7 p.m.
6
Morning Prayer 7 a.m.
Personal Prayer 5 p.m.
BYO Dinner 6 p.m.
Philippians Study 6:30 p.m.
Unsilenced Study 6:30 p.m.
7
Staff Meeting 10:30 a.m.
Women’s Lunch and
Bible Study 11:30 a.m.
Evening Prayer 6:30 p.m.
Choir 7 p.m.
Wilmore Women’s
Group 7 p.m.
10
Adult Ed—Triune God:
God the Holy Spirit
Joe Dongell
Youth Group 5 p.m.
Young Adults 6 p.m.
11
Versailles
Baptist Church’s
50+ Group, Noon,
Fellowship Hall
Women’s Bible
Study 6:30 p.m.
12
Avanza 3-5 p.m.
Lyons Men’s Group
7 p.m.
13
Morning Prayer 7 a.m.
Personal Prayer 5 p.m.
BYO Dinner 6 p.m.
Philippians Study 6:30 p.m.
Unsilenced Study 6:30 p.m.
Band Practice 6:30 p.m.
14
15
Staff Meeting 10:30 a.m.
Women’s Lunch and
Bible Study 11:30 a.m.
Evening Prayer 6:30 p.m.
Choir 7 p.m.
Wilmore Group 7 p.m.
16
Quiet Day
Sheffler Home
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
(Child care available
at the church)
17
Adult Ed—Triune God:
God the Holy Spirit
Joe Dongell
Youth Group 5 p.m.
Young Adults 6 p.m.
18
Women’s Bible
Study 6:30 p.m.
19
Avanza 3-5 p.m.
Vestry 6:30 p.m.
Lyons Men’s Group
7 p.m.
20
Morning Prayer 7 a.m.
Personal Prayer 5 p.m.
BYO Dinner 6 p.m.
Philippians Study 6:30 p.m.
Unsilenced Study 6:30 p.m.
Band Practice 6:30 p.m.
21
22
Staff Meeting 10:30 a.m.
Women’s Lunch and
Bible Study 11:30 a.m.
Evening Prayer 6:30 p.m.
Choir 7 p.m.
Wilmore Group 7 p.m.
23
24 Christ the King Sunday
Adult Ed—Focus on
Missions: Bethany
Tennent and ARDF
Youth Group 5 p.m.
Young Adults 6 p.m.
25
Women’s Bible
Study 6:30 p.m.
26
27
Avanza 3-5 p.m.
Morning Prayer 7 a.m.
Lyons Men’s Group Band Practice 6:30 p.m.
7 p.m.
28 Thanksgiving
Office Closed
30
29
Office Closed
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The Compass of St. Andrew’s is a publication of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church.
115 Paddock Drive, Versailles, Kentucky 40383
859-873-3321 * www.StAndrewsKy.org
Missionary Updates
Page 4
The Rev. Chris Peterson with St. Barnabas Anglican Church
Thank you so much for your prayers and love. Your support for St. Barnabas
Church’s ministry here in Covington, Ky., has been a blessing to the whole church.
This year has been good for St. B’s.
Our deacon was ordained a priest and moved to Indianapolis to begin the
process of planting a new church there We’ve also seen several new families join
the church, and four couples are having babies this year! Fortunately, our children’s ministry team is newly headed up by a gifted, motivated woman who has
been joined by three additional volunteers. Our women’s Bible study and men’s
group are now lay-led, and a vestry is forming. This lay leadership is crucial since
I began permanent, part-time work as a hospice chaplain in May.
St. B’s growth has led to some challenges … namely space. Currently we worship in the upstairs of an old row house on Covington’s Main Street. Finding a
place in Covington that is the right size and price has been difficult. Recently,
however, we discovered a chapel in a former Catholic school that is now U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development housing. This would be the
right size at the right price with an opening for mission built in. Please pray that
God would work through us and provide for St. B.’s needs.
The Rev. Cindy Larsen, Bunyoro-Kitara
Diocesan Theological College
The Rev. Cindy Larsen is principal of the Diocesan Theological College (DTC) in the
Diocese of Bunyoro-Kitara, Uganda. This is the diocese with which St. Andrew’s was
affiliated for its first several years.
The DTC trains lay leaders—called lay pastors or lay readers—to serve in Uganda
because there are not enough priests there to minister to the large and growing church.
Those enrolled in the DTC’s two-year program focus on practical education and field
work before being commissioned for ministry.
The college depends heavily upon the generosity of donors. Students contribute to the
cost of their education and also work in the college gardens to help provide for the operation of the school. The college facilities are modest, and there is a chronic shortage of
books, but students make the most of all that’s available to them.
Mark and Tommie Bruner in the Czech Republic
Mark and Tommie Bruner are American missionaries currently serving
in the Czech Republic. Mark is the senior pastor at New Hope Church in
the city of Olomouc. Mark is also an accomplished musician who worked
as a music instructor in Oklahoma before he and Tommie went overseas
almost 20 years ago.
Together Mark and Tommie operate a bed-and-breakfast restaurant,
Podskali, that doubles as a ministry headquarters, especially for youth
and youth group music. On summer weekends various local groups play
mixtures of country, jazz and pop music in an outdoor band area, with
Mark sharing the gospel in Czech and English during the bands’ break
times.
Mark has visited St. Andrew’s several times to share news of his
ministry. His connection to St. Andrew’s is through Fred and Carol
Ruppel, who met the Bruners in 2004 while living in Slovakia for the
academic year with their two younger children, Eric and Rachel.
Fred and Carol return to the Czech Republic each summer for Mark’s
annual English Sport Camp, which hosts 40-50 kids for music, English
lessons, Scripture teaching and various outdoor activities. Carol refers to
this camp as “Vacation Bible School on steroids.” This past summer Molly
McLaughlin, another St. Andrew’s parishioner, joined them, and she is
looking forward to returning next year or the year after. Others at
St. Andrew’s are encouraged to join Mark, Tommie, Molly and the
Ruppels for this exciting ministry opportunity.