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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 online here:
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| Church in Georgia |  |
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Convention 2011
Deadlines for Rooms and Registration
The 190th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia meets February 10-12 at the Valdosta-Lowndes Convention Center. Two key deadlines are approaching. January 31 is the last day to get special convention rates for rooms at Valdosta area hotels. Then February 3 is the final day to register for the convention itself.
Complete information is available online at the convention website:
http://convention.georgiaepiscopal.org |
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EYCS Chairman Nancy Meyer and Bishop Benhase at the Episcopal Youth and Children Services annual meeting st St. Francis of the Islands, Savannah, on January 20.
Diocesan Staff Events
The diocesan staff is hard at work on the diocesan convention from creating convention booklets and multimedia to preparing for the lock-in and and going over details with The Very Rev. Denise Ronn who is overseeing onsite work and The Rev. Peter Ingeman who is the liturgist for the convention.
 Bishop Benhase will meet with the Augusta Convocation clergy at Holy Comforter this Friday at noon and will keep a number of appointments in the Augusta area Friday and Saturday, including his usual practice of meeting with the vestries of Sunday's visitations on Saturday.
Saturday evening, he will ordain Carolyn Murdoch to the sacred order of deacons. This Sunday, he will visit Our Savior, Martinez (pictured above), in the morning and St. Augustine's, Augusta, in the afternoon.
This weekend, Canon Hall will be Spiritual Director at Happening #86.
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The Rev. Frederick Buechner 30 Years as Priest
 On Thursday, January 27, the Diocese of Georgia celebrates 30 years of ordained ministry of The Rev. Frederick Buechner.
He has served his entire ministry in the Diocese of Georgia beginning as a curate working with The Rev. Bill Ralston at St. John's, Savannah. He is the rector of All Saints, Thomasville and recently served on the search committee for the 10th Bishop of Georgia. The Diocese gives thanks for the long, faithful service of this beloved priest and look forward to more years of his ministry.
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Iané Sastre Ordained to Priesthood  Iané Sastre was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests at a iturgy at King of Peace, Kingsland, on the evening of January 15. The preacher was The Rev. Dr. William F. Brosend II, professor of Homiletics at the University of the South's School of Theology in Sewanee, TN, where Iané is a graduate.
Iané works as a Hospice chaplain and is currently an interim assistant at King of Peace during its search for a second rector. Iané is also doing exploratory work, knocking on doors and meeting Hispanic families in the area, aimed toward discovering if a spanish language liturgy would be helpful to Latinos in Camden County. Born in Uraguay, Iané moved to America following revolution in his country. He taught mathematics at college level for many years, including teaching at the College of Coastal Georgia in Kingsland.
More photos of the ordination are online here: Sastre Ordination
Clergy join Bishop Benhase in laying hands on Iané as he is ordained. |
Youth and Young Adults
Convention Lock-in
February 11-12, 2011
9th grade - College
Christ Episcopal Church, Valdosta
Register online for Convention Lock-in.
*For online registrants: permission form/medical release.
Access a hard copy of the registration form.
Download a flier for your information table or narthex.
New Beginnings #39
March 4-6, 2011
7th - 9th grades
Honeycreek
Apply online for TEAM for New Beginnings #39.
Deadline to apply for team is February 4th.
Register online as a PARTICIPANT for New Beginnings.
Access a hardcopy of the PARTICIPANT registration form.
The deadline to register as a participant for New Beginnings is February 22nd.
Vocare #20
February 25-27, 2011
Ages 19 to 30
Rock Eagle
Access a hard copy of the Vocare registration form.
In a time when young adults face many decisions that set the direction for their lives, Vocare provides an opportunity for them to nourish and renew their spirituality in fellowship with other Christians. Vocare means "to call" in Latin, and the Vocare weekend includes a series of talks and discussions balanced with laid-back activities (and some free time!) that are all designed to help young adults explore how God is calling them in their lives. The weekend is not a pressure-filled, forced-sharing experience, but rather a fun, empowering, once-in-a-lifetime experience where participants can feel comfortable with their peers as the church supports the exploration of their faith, identity and vocational calling.
Vocare is open to any young adult who is searching for God's plan for his/her life. The traditional age range for those attending is 19-30. Although Vocare is a ministry of the Episcopal Church, participants from all denominations are welcome.
Upcoming Events
Convention Lock-in: February 11-12, Christ Church, Valdosta
Vocare: February 29-30, Rock Eagle
New Beginnings: March 4-6, Honey Creek
Acolyte Festival: March 19-20, St. Paul's, Augusta
Hometown Missions: April 1-3, St. Paul's, Savannah
For complete Youth & Young Adult 2011 and 2012 calendars, click here.
For more information on on these or other Youth and Young Adult Events, please visit www.edogy.org, or email Canon Leigh at lhall@gaepiscopal.org.
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Clergy Connections at Convention on Thursday
At the fall clergy conference, six groups of clergy who will support one another. Thursday afternoon at the convention center, there will be time for these groups to get together. If you are interested, send an email to the contact priest (using the email links below) to find out where and when to meet:
Interim Ministry - The Rev. Will Carter is the contact for this group for those in this valuable ministry.
Multi-Staff Parishes - The Rev. Sam Buice is the contact for this group who share the benefits and challenges of working with a larger staff. Newly Ordained Clergy - The Rev. Tony Powell is pulling together this group which will seek to better support newly ordained clergy. Rookie Rectors - The Rev. Jason Haddox is the contact for this group that is seeking to find mutual support for those making the leap to being a rector of a parish.
Small Town Ministry - The Rev. Jim Shumard is the contact for this group serving in smaller towns around the Diocese. The group will meet at 3 p.m. on Thursday at the diocesan convention.
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"The North American church is suffering
from severe missionary amnesia.
It has forgotten why it exists.
The church was created to be the people of God to join him
in his redemptive mission in the world.
The church was never intended to exist for itself."
~Reggie McNeal
Diocese of Georgia Clergy
Missional Church Meeting with Reggie McNeal
 A group of clergy from the Diocese of Georgia has gone together with a group from the Diocese of Western North Carolina to create a gathering with Reggie McNeal on February 7 and 8 in Columbia, SC. McNeal is a missional leadership specialist and nationally known speaker whose book The Present Future has helped Good Shepherd, Augusta, with its renewal program (below in Loose Canon) which is reinvigorating a sense of mission in that congregation and led to this meeting. This also springs boards off last spring's clergy conference where The Rev. Randy Ferebee presented on the topic of being the church in the 21st century.
The meeting place is the Church of St Simon and St Jude adjacent to a Hyatt Place Hotel on I-26 in Irmo (a surburb of Columbia). The group has a rate of $75. They will gather by Dinner on February 7th and go through the late afternoon on February 8th. Meals are dutch.
For those who made pledges to make this possible ($100 suggested) please send your checks payable to
EPIPHANY INSTITUTE
127 42ND AVENUE DRIVE NW
HICKORY, NC 29601. Those with further questions, may speak with The Rev. Robert Fain, Rector, Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta. |
The Loose CanonSharing Best Practices Among Congregations  A favorite past-time of churches is re-inventing the wheel. Its not intentional, but each congregation sets about solving a local issue and in so doing follows the path of others who have faced the same issue. While there are significant differences in our varying contexts, there is much we can learn from one another.
Here are some examples of some practices shared in this space, (and elsewhere in the Diocese) followed by a call for more ideas. Tell me what has worked in your congregation and community so that others can read about it and decide if it will work for them:
Vestry Meetings in Tifton
The Rev. Lonnie Lacy shared an idea for a better agenda for vestry meetings which follow the pattern of Formation, Information, Discussion and Decision. I have heard positive feedback from clergy who have tried this change of agenda. More info is online here: Build a Better Vestry Meeting.
Replenish an Renewal Exercises in Augusta
The Rev. Robert Fain shared an ongoing project at Good Shepherd, Augusta in which that parish has been reassessing its mission and ministry. This has sparked interest around the Diocese and some concrete progress in our congregations toward looking anew at how we are the church. More info is online here: Replenish and Renewal at Good Shepherd and also at a blog for the project: Beneath the Cross of Jesus.
Community Blessing of the Animals in Kingsland
 This idea is first being shared in this space now, but conversation in Pooler has already sparked a new event for St. Patrick's this fall. King of Peace, Kingsland, did a stand alone Blessing of the Animals for a couple of years and had good participation from the congregation. 7 years ago, the congregation approached the Humane Society of Camden County about doing the Blessing at the shelter. That raised the profile of the event. Then it was moved to the annual Rock Shrimp Festival in St. Marys and was done together with Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, which had been blessing animals with a greyhound rescue group in previous years. The new public blessing sponsored by the Humane Society at a city festival made the animal blessing a true community event. St. Patrick's, Pooler, learned of this and has arranged to hold its Blessing of the Animals at a city festival there this October.
What Are You Doing That Needs to be Shared?
Around the Diocese, there are great ideas that need to be shared. We have From the Field just to share what you are doing and The Loose Canon can share ideas that are not events, but best practices for vestry, newcomer assimilation or whatever else you think others should hear. Do not be shy. It is not self promotion to share, but promoting the building up of the Body of Christ. Write to me at the diocese by clicking on my name below and letting me know what''s working in your congregation.
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so we can feature them in upcoming issues
of From the Field.
Sincerely,
Diocesan Staff
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia |
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