Category: history
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SOMA USA, part II
I am continuing to read through Dr. John Maiden’s paper Renewing the Body of Christ: Sharing of Ministries Abroad (SOMA) USA and Transnational Charismatic Anglicanism, 1978-1998. He writes: After the decision to establish SOMA USA in 1985, the American national body maintained close links with SOMA International but was also able to operate unilaterally, with…
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Sharing of Ministries Abroad (SOMA) USA
Dr. John Maiden traces the history of SOMA in a paper titled Renewing the Body of Christ: Sharing of Ministries Abroad (SOMA) USA and Transnational Charismatic Anglicanism, 1978-1998. He writes: In April 1985 leaders of the Episcopal charismatic renewal movement gathered in the flagship charismatic evangelical Truro Church in Fairfax, Virginia to discuss the formation…
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VI.6 AMiA Collapse
According to Thad Barnum, Chuck Murphy had decided that the AMiA should leave Rwanda and had met with retired Archbishops about the future of AMiA outside of Rwanda. Now he returned to Rwanda for the September 2011 House of Bishops (HOB) meeting along with Kevin Donlon and Susan Grayson, his Chief of Staff. If the…
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VI.5 AMiA Collapse
Bishop Barnum says that in the mid-summer of 2011, “…our Chairman met in London with AMIA’s retired and founding archbishops (It was Archbishops Kolini, Yong, and Tay). It was here, as I understand it, that the concept of a new AMIA Missionary Society took shape out of a perceived concern that AMIA was suddenly vulnerable…
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VI.4 AMiA Collapse
Years after the events of 2011, Bishop John Rodgers summarized how the AMiA viewed the change in their oversight from Rwanda when Archbishop Kolini was replaced by Archbishop Rwaje: “They wanted literally to manage us, whereas we thought of them as giving us cover.” The June 2011 meeting of Rwanda’s House of Bishops is where…
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IV.1 AMiA Bishop Doug Weiss
As I read through various Anglican books attempting to piece together a timeline of the realignment, I came to June 24, 2001, where four men were consecrated as bishops in Denver Colorado. Three of them I knew very well by name: Thad Barnum, Sandy Greene, and T.J. Johnston. The fourth I had never heard of:…
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VI.3 AMiA Collapse
The questions that Bishop Alexis raised in his May 31st letter were numerous. He was asking for financial transparency, for accountability, and was emphasizing that this was in line with the old East African Revival slogan of “walking in the light.” The best-case scenario would have been poor bookkeeping, but what Bishop Alexis’ questions imply…
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VI.2 AMiA Collapse
Events were heating up in the Spring of 2011. Rwandan Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo was pushing for financial accountability, Jon Shuler was asking to be made a Rwandan bishop. Alexis pushed harder for some transparency, and a source close to him told me that “when Apb. Kolini left office he took all the office computers, not…
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VI.1 AMiA Collapse
A new Archbishop was in place in Rwanda and shots had been fired internally about alleged missing money from the Kolini era. As I revisit these materials in 2025 there are a jumble of pieces to put together, but the next major event in the timeline seems to be the Rwandan House of Bishops meeting…
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V. AMiA Collapse
(Picking back up my Recent Anglican History series.) As with any series of events my perspective on the collapse of AMiA is limited. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is anyone else out there who is digging into the sources, interviewing people, and creating a cohesive narrative, so my limitations are all I have. And really,…