by the Rev. Victor Schreffler of Sacramento Valley Deanery and Trinity Anglican Church as told to Andrea Bailey Willits

In a nutshell

“Resurrection Anglican Church is a plant of the Sacramento Valley Deanery. Trinity is our mother church, but it’s truly a plant of the deanery. The Rev. Josh Lickter of Incarnation Anglican Church in Roseville, California, and I have been mentoring Denise Siino, our local church planter, and traveling frequently to lead services for a core group of 15-20 people.

“On Friday, Sept 9, we held our first preview service at Solid Rock Faith Center, the Assemblies of God church where we meet, letting people know we are here. Our special guest speakers were the Rev. Keith Hartsell and Alex Wilgus, both of The Greenhouse Movement. We held a potluck and hosted the congregation of the Assemblies of God church. At least 70 people filled the room—20 – 25 from our host church—and about 60 people attended the Eucharistic healing service afterward. Some were Anglicans, some not, some from Assemblies of God. It was amazing and God-saturated. We had healing, ministry, anointing with oil, and prayer.”

Memorable moment

“May Gere is 89 and the oldest church planter in the ACNA. She is friends with Archbishop Bob Duncan and Canon Mary Hayes, and she leads a small congregation that meets in a retirement center nearby. She was there at our service, and was just beaming because of what was happening. She is one of the reasons that Josh and I came to this area, so it was really special to have her there.”

Where we are in the launch process

“Late last year, Denise reached out to Josh Lickter and asked if there was an Anglican church in her area, as her faith journey had led her to the Anglican tradition. When Josh and I had lunch with her, after only a few minutes we began wondering if she could be our local planter in Placerville. She told us that about seven years ago, she got a call to plant a church, but as she was serving in a tradition that didn’t allow women in leadership, she put it on the back burner. We told her, ‘We would love to help you do this.’ So Denise began praying about it. About the same time, we got a call from a woman named Deb Brannon in Denver. She said, ‘I’m with an Anglican church in Denver, and I feel like God’s calling me to move to Placerville.’ I hooked her up with Denise, and they began praying together. In January, we began having the occasional gathering, when Josh or I would come meet with them. Since May, we have been having an under-the-radar service the first and third Saturdays of the month.”

Where we meet

“We first met in a home, then a restaurant, and have been meeting in a church building since late April. It’s a God-thing how we got our building. I went to a clergy gathering of non-Anglican area pastors and said, ‘Lord, if it would please you, have one of these pastors approach me about renting a space cheaply.’ At the meeting, I shared what we were doing, and afterward, I was sitting in my car, reminding God of my request, when a pastor walked up from an Assemblies of God church. He said, ‘We’ve got 17,000 square feet of space, and I’m sure we could make room for you.’ When Denise toured the warehouse where they meet, she said, ‘This is great; what kind of rent are you thinking?’ The pastor, Don Pritchard, replied, ‘We don’t want anything right now. We just want to bless what you’re doing.’”

Current challenges

“Continuing to form our identity is a big challenge, as well as transitioning from having one preview service to more regular worship. We also want to move beyond our core group and attract the larger community.”

What’s next for us

“I would like to have weekly services by Christmas.”

How you can pray for us

“That God will send us someone who can manage our web presence; that we’ll continue to form as a team; and that our vision and faith for reaching the community will be inspired by God.”