From the Field
Weekly News & Events of the Diocese of Georgia
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Diocesan Staff Events
Teen's Perspective on New Beginnings
Episcopal Campus Ministries
Youth Events
The Loose Canon
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Convention 2011
The Diocese of Georgia will meet in convention February 10-12, 2011, at the Lowndes-Valdosta Convention Center. 
The convention 
website is now online here:

Snow Day in Kingsland

King of Peace, Kingsland, Gets an Early Snow

Kids at King of Peace Episcopal Day School in Kingsland had to go to school in the snow on December 7. But they were excited to be there, because their preschool was the only place in town with the white stuff. Preschool parent and King of Peace church member Mike Helton provided the snow blown in from a machine the night before. The kids enjoyed playing in the winter wonderland on the church lawn.

Send Us Your Stories
Let us know what is going on in your corner of the mission field so that we can share the good news in future issues of From the Field. Send words and photos to [email protected] and some items will be shared here and others in the 10-issues-per-year Church in Georgia. 


Bishop Benhase speaking at the recent Deacon's Conference (see article below).

Diocesan Staff Events

Bishop Benhase will have a lunch meeting with the Albany Convocation Lunch Meeting at St. Anne's, Tifton this Friday at noon. The following noon, he will meet with Integrity at St. Anne's, where he is also making his annual visitation on Sunday morning. That afternoon, the Bishop will visit with St. Matthew's, Fitzgerald, preaching and celebrating at 4 p.m. This will complete his visitatoons for 2011.

 

Canon Leigh Hall is leading Winterblast this weekend at Honey Creek.

 

All of the diocesan staff is working on plans and preparations for Convention 2011.

Diocesan Family News

The prayers of the Diocese are with two clergy families this week:

 

Robbie Crook, an active communicant in the Diocese of Georgia and the wife of The Rev. Jerry Crook, died Saturday, December 11.  She had been struggling with a very lengthy illness, which started back in August 2008.  The funeral was held today (December 14) at St. George's Episcopal Church, Germantown, Tennessee with The Rev. Scotty Brock of St. Michael's and All Angels, Savannah, presiding.  All memorials are to be sent to St. George's Episcopal Church.

 

Dr. Michael Arthur Lucas, husband of Deacon Wanda Lucas, passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack Friday, December 10, 2010. He lived a life of service and ministry. In 1985, after practicing veterinary medicine for many years throughout the Mid-West, he and Wanda relocated from Staples, Minnesota to Savannah. Beginning in 1991, he and Wanda began fostering children from around the county. Through the years, they fostered approximately 25 children. In 1994, at age 60, he and Wanda decided to adopt two of the children they were fostering. In 1998, they again adopted three additional foster children, raising the total of adopted children to 7. Mike and Wanda had two additional biological children.A Memorial Service and reception will be held at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, December 15, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Skidaway Island. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Skidaway Island, 3 West Ridge Rd., Savannah, GA 31411 or St. Francis of the Islands Episcopal Church, Wilmington Island, 590 Walthour Rd., Savannah, GA 31410.
 
Please hold Jerry, Wanda and their families in your prayers.

St. Mark's Church, Brunswick as captured by a volunteer photographer.

Every Church in the Diocese Photographed

That goal, announced in an early edition of From the Field, has been met and they are all now online here: Churches in the Diocese of Georgia. Dozens of clergy and lay people sent in photos of the churches. Then several volunteers travelled the Diocese to add the remaining churches so that every congregation is now represented with one exterior and one interior photo.  

The large volunteer project involved not just photographers, but many others who helped schedule pictures or met a photographer to show him or her around the church.

 

The photo album is not intended to remain static. Better photos are possible and any church is encouraged to send in a new photo as it becomes available using the [email protected] email address. The photos are already being used to showcase a different church each week on the welcome screen at the Diocese of Georgia website. A poster will be printed for Convention 2011 where images of every church will also be among those projected during breaks in convention business. Any revisions to pictures in the file must be in place by a December 31 deadline for the photo to be printed in the poster.

 

It is usually only our bishops who see every single church in the Diocese. Now we all can enjoy the rich variety of these sacred spaces, in which many prayers and much worship has been offered to God. Try it now with the online slideshow.

 


St. Andrews' Church, Darien photographed by a volunteer photographer.

Youth and Young Adults

Winterblast 2010: Waiting for the Blessed Hope
Winterblast Starburst
Dec. 17th - 19th | Honeycreek | 9th-12th grades
Our focus at this year's Winterblast will be on Advent preparation and expectation. We will contemplate the true gift we have in Jesus and our call to share that gift with others through mission and good deeds.

Late registration ends tomorrow, December 15th.

To register online for Winterblast, click here.
To download a PDF of the registration form to fax, click here. (Fax to 912.236.2007.)

Call for Adult Volunteers! We need YOU!
Seriously. We need you.
Our diocesan feasibility study listed youth and young adult ministries as THE top priority for the diocese - by twice over! Show your commitment to these crucial ministries by volunteering at a youth event weekend. We have a diocese full of bright, compassionate, and energetic young people who would love to meet you! Contact Canon Hall to express your interest in being an adult volunteer.

Happening #86 - January 28-30th, 2011, Honeycreek for 10th - 12th grades. Now is the time to register! You may do so online via this link. Hard copies of the registration form are available at www.edogy.org.

Youth & Young Adult 2011 and 2012 Calendars are up!
Click here to see all the exciting things we have in store for 2011 and 2012!

For more information on on these or other Youth and Young Adult Events, please visit www.edogy.org, or email Canon Leigh at [email protected].
The Loose Canon
How Is Your Christmas Welcome Mat?
People in your community who do not typically attend church are looking for a Christmas service. How will they find yours?
Have you updated your answering machine to include the Christ Mass schedule? Is your website up to date with the Christ Mass services clearly listed on the home page to be seen by any first time visitors at your site? Are there photos there to give them a feel for Christmas at your church? Have you used every free and low cost means to get out your service times for Christmas, such as community bulletin boards, a church page listing in the paper, and a notice in nearby community association newsletters? A small (real estate size) sign or larger banner visible to cars passing by can also let those who drive by your church know what time your services will be.

 As mentioned recently, Christmas is a great time to invite friends, family and coworkers to church. But beyond this invitation, there are others who will be looking for a Christmas service. Now is the time to make it easy for them to find yours. The Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Practices website offers some great suggestions at Prepare the Way...for visitors.
 
Once you have put out the welcome mat for the Christ Mass, remember to make it easy for them to find out more. On Christmas Eve, have the most recent newsletter or a brochure where a first time visitor will easily find them. Have your best greeters on duty in larger number than usual to make sure that all who God sends to your door this Christmas are greeted as Christ. This is not something we do just to grow a congregation. We do this as hospitality is part of who we are to be as Christians.
 
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon for Congregational Ministries

The Loose Canon blog stores these brief notes found in
From the Field
together with other information on congregational development: loosecanon.georgiaepiscopal.org
Church in Georgia Deadlines
Submit your reports to convention for publication in the first online edition of CIGA by December 21st.

Deadline for publication in the January 2011 issue is December 30th.

All other monthly deadlines will fall on the 30th of the month for publication on or around the 15th of the following month.

Deacons Conference
Servant Ministers Gather to Share and Learn 
Deacons gathered at Honey Creek on December 3 for their annual conference. That evening Bishop Benhase spent time with the Deacons, sharing a theology of diaconal ordination from the ordination service and answering questions.

The next morning, Canon Frank Logue shared the scriptural support undergirding Tending Toward Growth, the theme for Convention 2011 and how that theme applied to the Deacons ministries. He then taught the Deacons how to use the Percept Group demographic data in their ministries.

Deacon Sandy Reinke gave a thought-provoking presentation on ministry to military families. As a retired Air Force officer she knew from experience what it is like to be deployed. She also shared from recent research and provide a number of proven resources for churches wanting to reach out to their military families. The talk included details on PTSD, brain injuries and more in a way that brought the problems of military men and women home to our Diocese.

The conference concluded with a Eucharist celebrated by the Rev. Tony Powell with a sermon by Deacon Chad Chaffee.

Send your news and events to [email protected],
so we can feature them in upcoming issues
of From the Field.

Sincerely,
 
Diocesan Staff
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia