AFP 16th Annual International Conference to be Held in Minneapolis
Diocesan Press Service. February 14, 1974 [74048]
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Prayer and Evangelism are today two of the most vital concerns of the Episcopal Church.
" Prayer and Evangelism " will be the theme of the 16th annual international conference of the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer scheduled for May 2 -4, 1974 in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Anglican Fellowship of Prayer is a spearhead of the movement which brought spiritual renewal to large numbers of people in the Church.
Founded in the early days of World War II, in another "time of troubles," the "AFP" has for almost 30 years engaged in a great spiritual mission. They were times when the power of prayer and even the supernatural basis of the Faith was seriously questioned. AFP worked to return these to the Church.
A fellowship of prayer should have eroded away, but this one did not. God appeared to be calling the Church to return to the heart of her work -- a life of union with God in prayer, worship, and surrender.
Now the mission of the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer has been vindicated. A remarkable change has come about in the Episcopal Church and in Christian life everywhere. Prayer and the power of the Risen Christ are at the center of a great hunger for renewal. What the Fellowship has always offered is now eagerly sought.
Founder and Director of AFP is Mrs. Helen S. Shoemaker. Mrs. Alexander Wiley is Co-Director. The Rev. Donald M. Hultstrand, rector of St. Paul's Church, Duluth, is Chairman of the AFP Board of Trustees. There are Field Representatives all over the USA and in Canada, England, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Korea, Taiwan, Polynesia, and Melanesia.
Previous annual conferences have been held in Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Ontario, Missouri, New York, Florida. Minnesota will be a fitting scene for the 1974 conference.
The Rt. Rev. Philip F. McNairy, Bishop of Minnesota, says, " The vitality of the spiritual experience is now being felt in the witness of our people. An increasing number of people are coming forward asking for greater involvement than simply pew-sitting in church.
"The Church is ' we. ' I believe that we are on the threshold of Mission as a major emphasis in our diocesan life. "
Minnesota also has many active prayer groups, cursillistas, and charismatic fellowships, and they will be commending the conference to God's gracious love and empowerment.
In a sense the 1974 conference will be "homecoming" for several participants. The leader of the conference will be the Rt. Rev. Charles T. Gaskell, Bishop of Milwaukee, who once served parishes in Minnesota. The banquet speaker, the Rt. Rev. Austin Pardue, retired Bishop of Pittsburgh, was once rector of Gethsemane Church, scene of the 1974 Conference.
Bishop Gaskell, one of the newest bishops in the Church, became Diocesan of Milwaukee in January 1974. Immediately before his election he served as Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida where he was host to the 1973 AFP Conference.
He has said, "The rude frontiers of earlier days, bursting with missionary potential, have been replaced by sophisticated, urbanized culture. Yet this very culture marks a new frontier of missionary opportunities in fields white to the harvest."
Bishop Pardue is a happy choice for the banquet speaker. He was one of the founding fathers of the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer and is one of its leading lights. He is widely known for his nationwide radio talks, for his numerous books, and as an articulate man of prayer.
The conference will be held at Gethsemane Church and at the Leamington Hotel which is one block from the church. It will feature addresses by Bishop Gaskell and Bishop Pardue as well as workshops on Personal Discipline in Prayer, Roadblocks to Prayer, the Priest and the Prayer Group, Prayer Unites Those Who Differ, Prayer and Response, Prayer and Healing, Prayer and Evangelism, and a workshop for young people.
The Hospitality Committee is arranging tours of the Twin City area. Minneapolis is known for its museums, libraries, colleges and universities, and its symphony orchestra.
For further information and registration materials, write Mrs. Helen S. Shoemaker, The Anglican Fellowship of Prayer, Stevenson, Maryland 21153.