Read about Day One of Rehydrate here.

FRIDAY MORNING: HUMILITY AND FULLNESS

Friday morning opened at 8:30 a.m. with gathering worship, orienting the assembly once again around Scripture and song before moving into Session Two, “Stay Humble,” delivered by the Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Barnum.

Bishop Barnum situated his remarks within the history of awakening movements that have marked the Church across generations, referencing figures such as George Whitefield and John Wycliffe, as well as the East African Revival of the 1930s. Yet his concern was not merely how awakenings begin, but also how they fade. Drawing from the Gospel accounts of Jesus healing lepers, he offered a vivid metaphor. Leprosy attacks the nerves, which are the body’s warning system. When sensation is lost, wounds go unnoticed and infection spreads as communication between the body and the head is disrupted. The image was pointed: the Church is the body and Christ is the head. When spiritual sensitivity dulls, deeper damage follows.

In Luke 17, ten lepers are healed, yet only one returns to give thanks. Awakenings flourish where humility and gratitude endure, but they decline when a blessing is received but not returned back to God in thanksgiving or to others in love. Referencing Romans 5:5, along with the rich Old Testament word hesed, Bishop Barnum reminded the assembly that God’s covenant love cannot be grasped and possessed. Like manna hoarded overnight in Israel’s wilderness wandering, grace is sometimes “clutched” rather than shared with others.

The session concluded with a sobering reminder: humility sustains awakening. Without it, even genuine movements of God can quietly fade from history. In this spirit, after Bishop Barnum was finished, the Rev. Clancy Nixon led the congregation in a litany of repentance, where people not only prayed the prayers together but publicly confessed the ways that they and the Church have sinned and fallen short in the past pursuits of God’s spiritual gifting.

If Barnum’s message diagnosed the conditions that extinguish awakening, the next plenary talk by the Rev. Clancy pointed the conference toward how fullness is sustained. He began with a sober assessment: many believers feel deeply inadequate, yet inadequacy is often the soil in which dependence grows. The Christian life, he emphasized, is not lived by extraordinary personalities but by ordinary obedience to the Word of God. “Normal” Christianity, he suggested, is biblical Christianity. The Book of Acts should not feel exceptional; it should shape expectation.

Nixon called the Church to pursue the gifts of the Spirit earnestly, drawing from passages such as 1 Corinthians 14 and 2 Timothy 3:17. Spiritual gifts are not personal trophies but tools entrusted for the building up of the Body. They are given, developed, and stewarded. Where God calls, He equips, and where He equips, He expects obedience.

He urged leaders to ask God to search their hearts, to cultivate encouragement and exhortation within local congregations, and to resist the impulse to grasp at spiritual authority for personal glory. Gifts are confirmed in community, strengthened through prayer, and matured through faithful use. “When He calls, He equips,” Nixon repeated in various forms, pointing to examples from both Old and New Testaments.

Taken together, the two sessions offered a cohesive appeal: humility guards awakening, and fullness flows from obedience. Renewal is neither spectacle nor self-assertion; it’s sustained gratitude that’s rooted in Scripture, expressed through love, and stewarded faithfully within the Body of Christ.

BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS: RENEWAL IN PRACTICE

Following the morning plenaries, participants dispersed into two rounds of breakout workshops, each offering three concurrent sessions. The structure allowed attendees to move from theological reflection into practical application, reinforcing the conference’s emphasis on lived renewal rather than abstract discussion.

The first round of workshops focused largely on evangelism, worship, and the Spirit-filled life. The Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge led a session on “Holy Spirit Powered Evangelism,” exploring how Jesus demonstrated and proclaimed the Gospel, and how the Church today might recover that integrated model. Rather than reducing evangelism to technique, the workshop emphasized dependence upon the Spirit in both word and deed. The Rev. Clancy Nixon addressed the often delicate question of renewal within established Anglican worship. His session, “Ways to Move in the Spirit in Sunday Worship (Without Being Weird),” considered how clergy and laity alike can cultivate prayerful openness before, during, and after Sunday services without abandoning Anglican liturgical identity. The emphasis was not on disruption, but on faithful integration. Mr. Kyle Spradley’s workshop examined what follows the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, encouraging participants to discern spiritual gifts with integrity and maturity. His session also acknowledged the reality of spiritual resistance, underscoring the need for wisdom in spiritual warfare.

The second round of workshops broadened the lens. The Rev. Canon Christopher Jones reflected on the next generation, arguing that authentic encounter with the Holy Spirit, rather than religious performance, forms durable Christian identity. Bishop Darryl Fitzwater explored the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Church’s sacramental life, reminding participants that renewal is not opposed to order but animated through it. Bishop Marcio Meira concluded the offerings by connecting the fullness of the Spirit to the steady practice of spiritual disciplines.

Taken together, the workshops made clear that renewal at Rehydrate is not confined to moments of prayer, but extends into evangelism, sacramental theology, intergenerational ministry, and daily obedience.

FRIDAY MORNING: DRINKING DEEPLY

The evening plenary began at 7:00 p.m. with worship, followed by Session Four, “Drink Deeply,” delivered by the Rt. Rev. Marcio Meira of Brazil. If the morning sessions had emphasized humility and obedience, Bishop Meira’s message pressed further into the question of holiness, using a powerful visual image. On stage beside him stood a small cocktail table holding a large pitcher of water and two clear glasses. One glass was empty; the other was filled to the brim with stones. Throughout his message, Bishop Meira returned repeatedly to the table. Each time, he added a small splash of water to an empty glass, prompting the congregation to say aloud, “Holy Spirit, more.” With gentle humor, he remarked that perhaps the Holy Spirit would not come unless the room asked.

Before long, the first glass was filled. The symbolism was clear: believers come to gatherings like Rehydrate longing to be filled anew. Then he lifted the second glass filled with stones. “This,” he said in effect, “is more like our lives.” The stones represented impurity, distraction, and sin. A verse projected behind him warned against sexual immorality, but Bishop Meira widened the lens. He spoke of idolatry, including the subtle idolatry of religious pride. He named patterns of compromise and self-protection. As he listed specific sins, he removed stones one by one from the glass. His point was direct. A life cluttered with unrepented sin cannot hold much of the Spirit’s fullness. One may cry, “Fill me, Holy Spirit,” yet if the vessel is crowded, there is little room for living water.

Eventually, the stones were gone, and he filled the second glass with water. It appeared full, but it was still cloudy. Holding it up, he asked the congregation whether they would willingly drink from the second, cloudy cup. The answer was hesitant at best. The residue from the stones remained, bringing home the point that filling alone wasn’t enough. Purification was also necessary.

Bishop Meira then shifted the posture of the room. When asking for “more,” he observed, hands are typically lifted upward, faces turned heavenward in expectation. Yet perhaps the posture required first is different: being on one’s knees, face down, praying not for more power but for a deep spiritual cleansing. He poured fresh water into the cloudy glass, swirled it, and poured it out. Again and again the congregation repeated its prayer, and again and again the water was poured out, until finally the glass was clear. Only then did he fill it fully once more.

The visual was simple but difficult to dismiss: renewal requires both filling and cleansing. One without the other leaves the vessel compromised. The session concluded with ministry time, inviting participants to respond not merely with desire for more of the Spirit’s power, but with surrender to His refining work. If Thursday night asked whether the Church was thirsty, and Friday morning asked whether she was humble and obedient, Friday evening pressed the question further: is she willing to be purified?

Taken together, Friday’s sessions traced a deliberate movement: humility guards awakening, obedience sustains it, and holiness deepens it. From Bishop Barnum’s warning that revival fades when gratitude disappears, to the Rev. Clancy Nixon’s call to steward spiritual gifts faithfully, to Bishop Meira’s visual reminder that filling must be joined to cleansing, the day pressed beyond enthusiasm toward maturity.

Rehydrate isn’t merely asking whether the Church desires more of the Holy Spirit. It’s asking whether she’s willing to be formed by Him. As the conference moves into its final day, the question is no longer theoretical. Renewal has been defined. The only remaining question is whether we are willing to respond.

Read about Day One of Rehydrate here.