FROM  THE  FIELD
News & Events of the Church in Georgia

From the Field

is a weekly eNewsletter of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia sent out each Tuesday.

 

Scroll down to the bottom for links to change your email address, forward this email to others, or unsubscribe from this newsletter.

In This Issue
Diocesan Staff Events
Honey Creek Update
Safeguarding God's Children
Clergy Updates
1Book1Diocese
Youth and Young Adults
The Loose Canon
Quick Links
to From the Field
 



 

Fall Clergy Conference

The Episcopal Preaching Foundation will bring the program for this fall's Clergy Conference

October 2-5 at Honey Creek. The conference will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday evening October 2 with dinner and the Bishop's time for informal sharing. The conference program begins Monday morning and continues through lunch on Wednesday, October 5.

 

The conference program begins Monday morning and continues through lunch Wednesday, October 5. The conference rate is $250, which is a double occupancy rate (based on two persons in the room), $380 for single, and $160 for commuters. The fees cover all costs of the conference including program, lodging, and meals.

 

Register Online:

Clergy Conference Online Registration

Clergy  Spouse
 Conference

The Clergy Spouse Support Group of the Diocese of Georgia will hold a retreat November 11-12 at Honey Creek.  

 

Fees: lodge rooms, single occupancy with meals for Friday evening and Saturday breakfast and lunch is $98.06 ~ without meals $65.99. Double occupancy with meals is $87.06 ~ without meals is $54.99. Hunt and Chaplin Cottages are also available at this time. This would be an economical way to attend the conference and a great way to spend time with friends.

 

Call Honey Creek directly to make your reservation. Carolyn is available to take your reservation during week day office hours by call (912)265-9218.

Call either Leslie Parker (912)232-2893 or Geri Nelson (office) 912 355-3110 if you have any questions, requests, suggestions.

Spirituality Retreat

Full information for the Grounded in God spirituality retreat to be held at Honey Creek October 28-29 is now online here:

Grounded in God Brochure

Honey Creek
Continued Bond Sales Needed

Honey Creek LogoWith more than $1 million raised, the bond sale has restructured all of our conference center's debt, took care of some smaller needs and purchased new air conditioning units for Stuart Hall, the Dining Hall and Bishops Hall. But with all that accomplished, the money received to date has been spent. While bids are in hand for roofs, septic system work and other capital improvements, no work can continue until more funds are received. In addition to these capital needs, the bond sale is also to provide a financial cushion for lean months. With the slow down post Thanksgiving to New Year's in view, there is no cushion in place to absorb the shock. Just as parishes typically need reserves to get them through the summer months, knowing that fall and year-end giving will rebuild the cushion, Honey Creek too is dependent on such funds.

 

The bond sale continues. As previously announced the Diocese of Georgia is offering a $2 million issue of non SEC-registered, non-secured bonds having a 10-year maturity and a per annum return of 5%. It is expected the Bonds will pay semi-annual interest only, with the principal payable in a balloon payment at maturity. More complete information is online here: Honey Creek Bond Sale.

Diocesan Office Update

Bishop Benhase and the Canons will be at St. Luke's, Hawkinsville this Friday and Saturday meeting with the Diocesan Council.

 

Bishop Benhase will make visitations this Sunday to St. Luke's, Hawkinsville in the morning and to Christ Church, Dublin, (pictured above) in the evening.

 

Canon Willoughby is working on the 2012 budget while also handling current year administration.

 

This Wednesday, Canon Hall visits St. Anne's, Tifton. This weekend, she will lead a young adult retreat at Honey Creek. 

 

Canon Logue will celebrate and preach at St. Thomas, Thomasville this Sunday.

 

Our new Administrative Intern, Rudy Reyes, was trained last week by Canon Logue on website creation and updates, From the Field, and conducting background checks for congregations. This week, he is working with Canon Willoughby on working with diocesan finances in accordance with his job description.

HC wedding Maxwell-Shuler
 
James Shuler and Meredith Maxwell were married at the Honey Creek chapel this past Saturday. The wedding party filled room Friday and Saturday nights and enjoyed a rehearsal dinner in the dining hall Friday and a reception on the lawn under tents Saturday evening (below).

Dancing at the wedding

This Weekend at Honey Creek  
 
9/9-9/11: Young Adult & College Retreat

 

Coming soon to Honey Creek    

9/16-9/18: Daughters Of The King

10/2-5: Fall Clergy Conference 
            (with Episcopal Preaching Foundation)

10/7-10/9: Fall Gathering - Diocesan Youth Event 

 

10/28-29: Grounded in God Spirituality Retreat
11/4-11/6: New Beginnings 
11/11-12: Clergy Spouses Conference

Safeguarding God's Children 

Volunteers Give Time to Vital Diocesan Ministry 

Though Safeguarding God's Children (SGC) is now available in an online format as Safeguarding Online (SGOL), some congregations may opt to have a trainer conduct a live, "in-person" training of SGC on site.  

 

Through the years, the diocese has been blessed to have many trainers engage in this important ministry, including Catherine Henderson of St. Peter's, Savannah, and Charlie Hough of St. Patrick's, Albany.  To schedule a live, "in-person" training of SGC, you can email Cathy or Charlie directly, or you can email Canon Hall.  

 

It is important to note that, should your congregation elect to have a SGC trainer conduct the live training, your church must submit the names of those trained to the diocesan office. Otherwise, those names will not be added to the diocesan Safeguarding database. 

 

Those who are trainers in SGC are encouraged to contact Canon Hall so that she can update the diocesan roster of SGC trainers.  

 

For more information on SGC or SGOL, please consult "Safeguarding FAQs" on the  Youth and Young Adults Website: www.edogy.org. (Hover over the "Safeguarding Online" tab at the top of the page. Then click on "Safeguarding FAQs.") 

Clergy and Lay Leader Updates

 

The Rev. Bill Hesse started this week as the rector of King of Peace Kingsland, following The Rev. Jeffrey Reichmann as Interim.

 

The Rev. Dr. Stan Christian is named Priest-in-Charge of St. Matthew's, Fitzgerald in acknowledgement of his existing ministry with that congregation.

 

Bishop Benhase appointed The Rev. Bob Polglase as Vicar of Christ Church, Augusta.

 

Bishop Benhase named Hannah Addington to the Honey Creek Commission.

 

Bishop Benhase appointed The Rev. Deacon Geri Nelson to the Commission on Ministry. He also recently appointed The Rev. Jason Haddox as the Examining Chaplain for Liturgy and The Rev. Remington Slone as the Examining Chaplain for Scripture. The Rev. Lonnie Lacy has become the Examining Chaplain for the Theory and Practice of Ministry.

1Book1Diocese for Advent and Lent

The emphasis this year at  the diocesan level is in the spiritual practices we know nurture our relationship with God. In support of this journey inward (which should always be paired with a journey outward in service), Bishop Benhase has selected a book for study in both Advent and Lent. The book is In Your Holy Spirit: Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today's Christian Life by Michelle Heyne (Ascension Press, 2011). An earlier Loose Canon article on this book is online here: Practical Steps for Making Disciples. The Parsonage Bookstore in Augusta is working on getting the books at a special rate as they did in Lent. That deal will be announced here in From the Field next week.

 

Praying Morning and Evening Prayer in Advent

In Advent, we will only read together the third chapter of the book, which is devoted to praying the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. This practice is the norm for all clergy and is common among many lay people in our diocese and across the Anglican Communion. We are lifting up this practice of twice daily prayers and scripture reading for the season of Advent. The remainder of the book will be read in the 1Book1Diocese for Lent as we continue looking at the spiritual practices proven to make a positive difference in the lives of Christians.

 

Your Photos and Reflections Needed

For Advent, the Diocese will offer the 1Book1Diocese website as a resource to parishes and individuals as we did this past Lent with the daily readings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The most important element is that we want as many photos as we can gather in digital files of where you pray Morning and Evening Prayer. Clergy and lay people alike are asked to participate. Please email [email protected] with two things:

 

1) either a photo of you praying in the space or just the place where you pray. Do not pretty it up for a picture. Just show us where you spend time in prayer each day. (Victoria Logue's Morning Prayer place on a porch is pictured above).

 

2) Send a short statement of your experience, good and bad in praying the offices both in community and on your own.

 

Through this, we want to make visible that which is already real-our seemingly separate prayers in our individual worship are also corporate, as many others around the world are always praying alongside us no matter when we pray.

Youth and Young Adults
Registration Now Open for Fall Gathering 2011
FranMckendreeThumbnail
Join us for Fall Gathering 2011, October 7 - 9, 2011 at Honey Creek, where musician, songwriter, and producer Fran McKendree will lead us in worship, workshops, and a special concert on Saturday evening.

Ages: 6th grade - 12th grade
Cost: $110
Deadline to register: September 30, 2011
Click here to download a PDF of the application.
Click here to register online

 

Coming Next Week

Online registration for New Beginnings, which will take place November 4 - 6, 2011. For 7th - 9th graders.


The Loose Canon

Best Practices: Stewardship

summer givingA steward takes care of something on behalf of the owner. As all that we have and all that we are belongs to God, we are stewards. In this understanding, money is part of stewardship, but so is our time and so are the abilities God has given us. Terry Parsons has a helpful definition of stewardship as "Using the gifts God has given us to do the work He is calling us to do."
At its best, your congregation's stewardship program provides a conversion opportunity. This is the most important goal and is an act of the Holy Spirit for which one can only provide plant the seeds. This conversion of heart and mind around how one uses the gift of time and money will most likely involve a confrontation with or comparison of the messages of the culture versus the invitations from the Kingdom of God. For someone to go from "paying dues" to having a real theological understanding of giving back to God is a gift to that person. This is life changing in ways beyond what the church will receive.

Basic Assumptions
  • Stewardship is about joyous acts of thanksgiving in response to all that God has given us. Therefore, stewardship is not about making people feel guilty.
  • Stewardship is about changing hearts, minds and lives, which is a work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, stewardship is not about cohersion.
  • Stewardship is deeply involved in our relationship with God. Therefore, if you're not talking about Jesus, it probably isn't stewardship, but might be engaged in something more akin to collecting club dues.

Some Best Practices

  • Connect all stewardship materials to the vision, mission, and plan for your congregation. What is the vision? What will you do with the funds to further the mission? What will you accomplish when even more money comes in?
  • Design your own pledge cards. Canned materials can not fit your congregation as well as what you create.
  • Look for specific skills needed when recruiting a stewardship committee, then ask the people with those skills. 
  • Have lay people in the church talk to other lay people about their own giving, either through newsletter articles or speaking briefly during announcements in church.
  • Change up the stewardship campaign each year, so that you are teaching new things, and using new ways of asking for and gathering pledges.
Next week, I will discuss four patterns for a stewardship campaign. Please share with me what your congregation is doing for stewardship so that I can share it here with the Diocese.

 

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue

Canon to the Ordinary 

 

The Loose Canon is a regular column in From the Field whose content is gathered together with other items of interest to those concerned with congregational development at loosecanon.georgiaepiscopal.org

St. John and St. Mark, Albany

Sharing the Faith Workshop in Albany

The workshop created by Bishop Benhase to help 

to enhance lay leaders' comfort level for sharing their faith is coming to Albany. The workshop for any lay person in the Diocese will be held at St. John and St. Mark in the Radium Springs area on September 17. The workshop will meet in from 9 am until 3 pm. It includes four spiritual exercises that will be conducted in small groups.
 

1. Experiencing separation from God

2. How we have run away from God

3. God's love and acceptance of us

4. Telling how our personal story connects with God's story

 

The total time for the workshop is approximately six hours. Each spiritual exercise will take about one hour with a 5-minute break. We plan to begin at 9 a.m. with introductions of the participants, a brief overview of the workshop by the leaders, and then an abbreviated form of Morning Prayer to set the spiritual tone of the workshop. The workshop will conclude at 3:00 p.m. with the preceding half hour being given over to feedback and brief evaluation of the experience from participants.
 

The desired outcome of this workshop is to help participants gain greater competence in keeping their baptismal vows of sharing the Good News of God in Christ. A flyer is online here: Sharing the Faith Flyer

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light

Greening Your Congregation

A Province IV meeting for The Episcopal Church will bring the

2011 Creation Keepers Workshop - Greening your Congregation to St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 10am - 3:30pm.

 

Leeann Culbreath of St. Anne's, Tifton, has registered and is hoping to be joined by others from the Diocese of Georgia. For more information is online here: Greening Your Congregation. To register to attend please go to the registration page. Registration is $20, which includes lunch. Registration for students is $10.

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