One of the joys of summer is fresh produce after a long winter. If you have a garden patch of your own, you’ll be enjoying this radical transformation in your own backyard: small sprouts becoming large, leafy, mature vines with the promise of a summer of fruitfulness. This is as true in ministry training as it is in agriculture, and for us June has borne wonderful evidence of growth.

Ordination, June 2, 2024

Right from the start, we were able to witness two significant ordinations: Jacob Vandiver (2024 grad) was ordained as a deacon, Will Gray (2023 grad) was ordained as a priest. Anglican ordination represents a very sturdy and formal commitment to a life of ministry in the church. It is wonderful to see Artizo apprentices embrace this calling to Word and Sacrament as the way they will vocationally honour and serve Christ with their lives. We are eager to see how their gifts and training will help build the church.

Ordinations are community events, and it’s an ongoing joy for Artizo supporters to see long-term fruit across the Anglican Network in Canada. In the group photo of local clergy who attended the ordination service, more than 35% of the clergy are Artizo graduates.

Graduation, June 23, 2024

Beyond the ordination, we were also able to celebrate the graduation of three apprentices from St. John’s Vancouver this year. It was wonderful to celebrate, pray for, and commission our three newest Artizo graduates at the St. John’s Vancouver morning service.

Andrew Hochhalter, Ryan Spear, and Jacob Vandiver have finished the Artizo program and are moving into new ministry roles. Ryan and Jacob will each be serving a one-year curacy at St. John’s Vancouver, while Andrew will be moving with his family to Vancouver, Washington to pursue further training in hospital chaplaincy.

I am incredibly proud of these graduates, who have given themselves whole-heartedly to their training the last two years. It isn’t easy to dedicate so much time to training without a clear destination – discernment is a difficult process! But as a result of their faithfulness their capabilities have grown, the church has been blessed by their ministry among us, and a path forward has become clear. Please pray that God will continue to strengthen them, guide them, and provide for their needs as they move into new seasons of service.

Please pray for Artizo as well. Even as farmers celebrate a good harvest, they are always planning for the year to come. Over the summer we’ll be interviewing new potential apprentices and working with our four training churches to find the next generation of those God is preparing for ministry.

coming up…