The Newsletter of
SOMA USA

June 2001     Volume 16, Number 2

Be Repentant, Not Combative             By Mrs. Edwina Thomas
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In March, a joint SOMA team conducted a retreat for the bishops of the Church of South India (CSI). It was truly a time of needed refreshment and drawing near to the presence of the Lord. Many of the bishops expressed that the retreat would have a far-reaching effect on their ministries.

The SOMA team was warmly welcomed by the Church of South India for the bishops and wives retreat.

We met with nineteen of the twenty-one CSI bishops in the small village of Kodaikanal, a beautiful venue high in the mountains about four hours from Madurai in southern India. Moderator K. J. Samuel, Primate of the CSI, welcomed us with open arms and encouraged the bishops to take seriously the message of the Holy Spirit that we shared.

Although the retreat was a very fruitful mission, it was not always clear that would be the case. After an anointed first evening, the next day brought difficulty upon difficulty. Our delivery style and some mannerisms offended the bishops; we did not adapt the message well to the experience of the audience; and we failed to include enough interactive opportunities. Several bishops expressed their anger.

At our evening meal, we acknowledged our discouragement and anxiety. During our prayer together, however, the team recognized the brewing spiritual warfare and agreed with the Word the Lord gave, "Be repentant, not combative." God clearly directed us to respond in the opposite spirit-humility. We prayed for forgiveness of our pride.

That evening, our team leader, the Rev. Don Brewin, apologized for the specific things that we had done and left undone. Because he "bowed low" on behalf of the SOMA team, there was no "target" left for the enemy's arrows to hit. This led to a tangible change in the spiritual atmosphere of the retreat. Forgiveness reigned. The bishops became extremely warm and agreeable. The Holy Spirit brought us back together in a wonderful way.

God astounded the team with His leading through dreams, scriptures and words. From the beginning, He took care to reveal the "next steps." I saw a release of the prophetic dimension on this mission as never before. Looking back, all of us wished that our presentations had been more polished, prepared and well received. However, I am personally convinced that God is glad and not sad! I think that in the spiritual realm, perhaps our most effective achievement was to minister in humility. It was just painful "getting there." Perhaps from God's point of view, more, much more, may be achieved following our "face on the floor" experience than would ever be accomplished otherwise.

Not only are we to emulate Jesus in the proclamation of the gospel and in the demonstration of the Kingdom, but we are to be the Kingdom. Living out the Kingdom principles, which we teach, is incarnation, and that is perhaps the most powerful message of all.

Team list (in photo above, l-r): Mrs. Edwina Thomas, SOMA USA; the Rev. Don Brewin, Team Leader, SOMA UK; the Rt. Rev. Eddie Marsh, retired Bishop of the Diocese of Central Newfoundland, and Mrs. Emma Marsh; Mr. Phil Leber, US missionary serving in Uganda; Mrs. Gerry Griffin, and the Rev. Niall Griffin, SOMA Ireland.

Preparing For God's Visitation of Transformation
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The Rev. Elizabeth Kamau is an ordained Anglican deacon whose primary ministry is with renewal and evangelism teams in East Africa, the UK, and the USA. She is becoming a leader of intercessors in Africa and travels the whole nation of Kenya, raising up schools of prayer and training leaders in intercession and spiritual warfare.

In June, Church of the Apostles in Fairfax, Virginia, and SOMA jointly sponsored a conference on prayer and spiritual warfare. The Rev. Elizabeth Kamau of the Anglican Church of Kenya led the plenary sessions.

Asking "What kind of legacy will we give our children?" she taught extensively about spiritual mapping [discerning places with strong spiritual activity, both good and bad] and the effect previous generations have on the present spiritual life of a church and the community. Elizabeth's talks were replete with personal experience, giving unmistakable authenticity to the lessons. They were also amply laced with Scriptural illustrations and truths.

Mrs. Edwina Thomas, SOMA USA National Director, and the Rev. John Guernsey, Rector, All Saints', Dale City, VA, and SOMA USA Chairman of the Board, join Elizabeth after a Sunday service.

Elizabeth explained that God gives His people a burden for intercession, not an anointing, and prayed for groups of people who were carrying a burden for their families, the Episcopal Church, their communities, the nation and the world.

Episcopal congregations and churches of other denominations appreciated Elizabeth's vision and ministry. God also used this anointed teacher and intercessor to bring spiritual and physical healing to many persons. She was most gracious and willing to pray for others to receive an impartation of the anointing that she carries for teaching and healing and faith.

Team List (L to R): The Rev. Don Brewin, team leader, Mrs. Edwina Thomas, Mrs. Emma Marsh, and the Rt. Rev. Eddie Marsh.

The clergy of the Diocese of Vellore in India gathered each day under the deep shade of a mature mango grove on the grounds of a demonstration farm. The SOMA team ministered in response to Bishop Mahamai Rufus's invitation to help his clergy explore ways the Body of Christ could work to transform their community. We addressed the work of the Holy Spirit and asked the question, "What can help bring about God's purposes for their community?"

As one exercise, the clergy sat in small groups and discussed the spiritual history and current condition of their community. They discovered some things that astounded them. They looked at local beliefs in light of God's Kingdom, such as, "We have a river without water." In response, they prayed, "Give us a river of living water flowing through our city, and bless us with more physical water so that we have enough." Bishop Eddie Marsh presented a series of Bible studies on leadership that were important and meaningful.

The overwhelming majority of Christians of this Diocese come from a part of Indian society considered "no people" (the Dalits, or "untouchables"). In response to the pain of that stigma, God spoke prophetically from a large portion of Isaiah 43, which includes "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." The team rejoiced as we built personal relationships with these pastors and called them into a deeper sense of God's love.

Five team members held a two-day retreat for about 20 sisters of the Church of South India in the chapel of their mother house in Bangalore. Our time was precious, really sweet. None of us will forget the time of ministry one evening when the nuns prayed for each other. Don Brewin and a group of three or four ended up face down on the floor. Two sisters and I were draped around each other, and other little groups were praying or just sitting together in God's presence.

The sisters gathered around Bishop Marsh for the Bible study.

Some comments the sisters wrote:

"I was able to feel the presence of the Lord … comforting, strengthening and encouraging during the worship time. The whole sessions were encouraging to face challenges that stand before us with the assurance of God's leading and guiding even in our weakness and unworthiness."

"The Lord helped me to empty an unwanted thing in me."

"The Lord put a greater burden and a stronger conviction and hope that the desert life of people could blossom through God's compassion in us and our prayers."

"The Retreat [made] me examine myself before God and renew my spiritual life."

"I experienced closer fellowship with the Sisters and was soaked in God's presence through the Retreat. I came expecting God to give me a greater love for Him and for others, a deeper love and revival among all the Sisters. This our Lord wonderfully fulfilled through your ministry - praise the Lord!"

Team list: The Rev. Don Brewin, SOMA UK, team leader; Mrs. Edwina Thomas, SOMA USA; the Rt. Rev. Eddie Marsh, and Mrs. Emma Marsh, Newfoundland, Canada; and the Rev. Justus Solomon, CSI, retired.

Edwina Thomas, Director

   Immediately after General Convention last year, I went away to meet with God. "God, where are you? I am so tired and weary. What would you say to me? Where are you leading me and leading SOMA?" Yes, there was a little desperation, lots of weeping and not many answers. Almost a year has passed, and I want to share more of my journey.

My pain last year came from seeing my brothers and sisters adapting God's word and truth to fit and undergird the "experience" and "social reality" of our modern culture. In the intervening year, God began to show me how I have done the same thing. My prayer has become, "Lord, I don't want to make the Word line up with my experience; I want my experience to line up with the Word."

Do I really believe what God says in His Word? Do I function that way? Yes, but… the gulf is wide and I grieve.

Our world is not fine. Our lives are not fine. Our churches are not fine. When we look at the "not fine," do we shrug our shoulders and say, "Well, that is the way it is." Perhaps, like me, you have been working hard for the Kingdom. But working hard isn't producing results that change much within our world. Can we live with the status quo? Does God want us to?

I recently stood in a crowd of several thousand people as we corporately prayed for God to move among the nations. I became aware that SOMA possibly has more opportunity to change the world for Jesus than most. I burst into tears, not because of pride, but because surely God wants us to be more effective and have a greater impact than we have even believed possible.

I think the answer lies not in doing more, but in being more aligned with His love and compassion for the world and His willingness and joy to release the power of the Holy Spirit through us. Maybe He is waiting for me/us to "close the gulf" between the unbelief of my experience and real faith in God as the world's only answer.

So, I cry out for greater faith, for the gift of faith. I want more of God. I want to experience more of what it means to abide. I am passionate about this. I desperately seek His manifest presence, His presence in which all things are possible.