From the Field
News & Events of the Church in Georgia
September 18, 2012Volume 3, Number 5
In This Issue
St. Luke's, Hawkinsville
Fall Gathering
Questioning Your Faith
The Loose Canon
New Altar Dedicated
New Beginnings
Gospel Reflection
Web Links
 
 
 
September 23
Readings
A Field Guide to the Diocese
At its meeting in Tifton this past Friday and Saturday, members of Diocesan Council reviewed the first draft of a document giving an overview of every congregation in the Diocese. Given the fiduciary role of the council, which acts as the diocesan convention in recess, there is a good deal of objective data which would not typically be found in descriptions of churches. In addition, there was information on Signature Ministries and Signature Events for those congregations who responded to a survey advertised here in From the Field and sent by direct email to clergy of the Diocese. You can view the guide online in PDF format: A Field Guide to the Diocese of Georgia
 
There is still time to make the next edition of this guide. The priest and vestry can decide who should submit what information to be included in the guide. Each congregation is limited to a single page in the guide. Add new information using this survey: Signature Events and Signature Ministries

Diocesan Office Update

Bishop Benhase will make his annual visitation to Christ Church, Valdosta, in the morning, and Good Shepherd, Pennick, in the afternoon.

 

Canon Logue is on vacation.

St. Anne's Tifton 
Bishop's Visitation 
Bishop Benhase made his annual visitation to St. Anne's Tifton on September 16. During the Sunday liturgy Bishop Benhase confirmed five teens (Keri Lee Futch, Laken Guess, Jordan Hill, Meghan Scott, and John Tucker) and received four adults (Linda Oliver, Peter Pinnow, Pamela Sheppard, and Mari Smith). Fr. Lacy also baptized one infant (Wes Haswell). Photo courtesy of Shine Rankin.
 
Companion Diocese
High School Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic
 This coming summer, the Diocese of Georgia will offer a week-long mission experience in our Companion Diocese of the Dominican Republic for students who have completed 9-12 grade. The Revs. Joshua Varner and Loren Lasch are leading the trip. Additional aduolt volunteers are also needed and encouraged to apply.
 
The group will take part in leading a Vacation Bible School and may also do some light construction work (such as painting). Spanish language skills are not required for the trip, though they are always a bonus.
 
 The specific site for the visit is being determined and will be announced following pre-site visits by Varner this October.

The trip is anticipated to cost no more than $1,500, with the airfare being the greatest variable. The cost for the trip includes a mandatory weekend event in the spring to prepare the group to work as a team once in the Dominican Republic.
 
Look for information in an upcoming From the Field which will offer dates and locations for three informational meetings to be held around the Diocese this October and November.

Deacons Seek Nominations for Lay Servants

Deacon's Award

Deacon Becky Rowell accepting the Deacon's Award from Deacon John Warner on behalf of Susan Shipman of Christ Church, St. Simons Island. 

At the 2013 Diocese of Georgia Coventionat St. Anne's, Tifton the deacons of the Diocese will award a layperson their Excellence in Servanthood Award for the fourth year in a row
. This award is funded and sponsored by the Deacons of the Diocese of Georgia. Please know that:

 

  • This award is to be conferred upon a member of the laity;
  • You must obtain the permission of the layperson you wish to nominate;
  • Nominations must be postmarked between September 1st and November 15th, and must include all of the requirements listed above;
  • The Selection Committee, comprised of members of The Deacon's Formation Council, will not consider any application postmarked later than November 15th or which does not contain all required paperwork.

Please prayerfully consider the lay people you know to decide whose service as a servant to others the deacons should consider when making their selection.

The full application is online here:  Excellence in Servanthood Award Application

Questioning Your Faith
A Retreat for Those with Questions of Faith
Jesus Loves Me This I Know is wonderful to hear, but sometimes life sends some shock waves your way. Has your Sunday School faith only gotten you so far. Do you have questions of faith and no safe place to ask them? An Advent Retreat at Honey Creek this December 14-15 will directly take on such topics as Why Does God Allow Suffering? and What Is the Meaning of Life? while dealing with such concerns as other religions and apparent conflicts between science and Christianity. There will also be a time to tackle questions brought by retreat participants.
  
? Canon Frank and Victoria Logue are putting on this retreat together with the Revs. Cynthia Taylor and Bill Stewart. This will be a time not for being handed pat answers, but for learning how Christian scripture and tradition speak to these concerns and giving us all more to think about and  discuss as we wrestle with these questions.
  
This overnight Advent retreat offers an opportunity to engage with serious questions in a safe environment. The meeting will begin with dinner on Friday evening December 14 at 5:30 p.m. and will continue through lunch Saturday December 15 ending at 2 p.m.

The cost, inclusive of meals and all retreat costs is $96.99 per person (based on double room occupancy), $75 per person to stay in a cottage (with minimum of five person occupancy), and $68.99 for commuters. Single rooms are available for $136.99.
To register, do not call Honey Creek, but register online here:
The Loose Canon
Friday Night Lights and Sunday Morning Worship

 For the second year in a row, St. Anne's Tifton has leveraged a small amount of advertising money to create an ad campaign that reaches deep into the heart of life in Tift County. The church has a color inside back cover ad in the football program for Tift County High School. Despite the apparent conflict of interest of having a church cheer for a team is called "The Blue Devils", there is genius in this approach. The church plays off the tradition of Friday night football to promote Sunday morning church.Then the QR code in the top left takes those with a smart phone to a YouTube video created just for this ad campaign (posted below) to get a simple message connecting the text of the advertisement to an invitation to a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. The whole advertising campaign with video tie in cost a mere $250. The benefits my well be priceless, and eternal.

 

 At left, the Lacy family is ready to go cheer for the Blue Devils. Has your congregation found an innovative way to reach its community? Let me know so that I can share it here.

 

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
Traditions That Matter
Traditions That Matter

 
The Loose Canon columns are archived online at loosecanon.georgiaepiscopal.org
 
Christ Church, Savannah
New Expanasion to Altar Dedicated

 Members of Christ Church Savannah, dedicated their newly renovated altar and the first expansion of the altar since the 1800's on Sunday, September 9th at 10:30 a.m.
The church was faced with a challenge. The original altar, the center of all worship, was badly damaged. The marble floor was broken, the foundation under the floor was unstable and disintegrating and, over the years, the surface of the altar had been badly gouged, broken and stained.
 

 After a detailed study, it was determined that the current altar would be carefully restored to its original glory and an addition would be built to the original altar to allow the priest to face forward.
 

"For us at Christ Church, the simple act of having the clergy face the congregation during communion prayers more fully embodies our understanding of Episcopalian ideals of open arms and all are welcome," The Reverend Michael S. White, rector of Christ Church, said. As the current altar has been cherished by generations of Episcopalians, it was important that the new addition be true to the original design. 

 

 The completed altar project was dedicated at the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, September 9th. A special blessing was said by Bishop Loutitt, Ninth Bishop of Georgia. White added, "worship is the primary focus of who we are as a Church and the Eucharist is our central act of worship. At this altar worshippers will be united together in love and service with Christ and with one another for generations to come."

Register 7-9 Graders for New Beginnings
 New Beginnings #41 will take place during the weekend of November 2-4, 2012 at Honey Creek. The cost to attend as a participant is $110. New Beginnings is a weekend retreat for teenagers in grades 7-9 led by a team of mostly teenagers, with a few adults, and two c;ergy spiritual directors. The weekend takes participants through a discovery about ourselves, our friends, our families, our faith, and how to live out our faith in our daily lives.

 

How might this discovery happen?
Through making new friends and sharing with old ones, through singing, skits, talks given by teens, videos, games, worship, and conversation with each other! You are encouraged to bring friends from your church and an adult who will stay through the weekend. Everyone will take an active part in the program. You can go to New Beginnings as many times as you'd like...as long as you're in grades 7-9. We know once you go, you will want to go back. There is even an opportunity to serve on the team...you'll hear more about that at the weekend.

 

Participant Application for New Beginnings #41
Click here to apply to be a participant for New Beginnings #41

  

Team Applications for New Beginnings #41
Click here to apply to be on team for New Beginnings #41.

St. Matthew's, Savannah

Worship in Jazz!

Join St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Savannah as they celebrate the end of our 156th Yearand the beginning of our 157th!

St. Matthew's, Savannah

 

End of Patronal Year Revival  Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 7pm

Guest Preacher: The Rev. Del Barksdale, Savannah Church of God

 

157th Anniversary Service, Worship In Jazz! 

Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 3 pm

Guest Preacher: The Rev. Frazier Green, Brunswick, Georgia

Featuring: The Eric Jones Trio

 

1401 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard,

Savannah, Georgia 31415  (912) 233-5965

The Rev. Cheryl A.E. Parris, Rector

 

Celebrating our 157 Years of Black Church Presence in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia 

Vestry Workshop in Darien 

 Canons Willoughby and Logue will again offer a workshop specifically designed for church wardens and treasurers on September 29 at St. Andrew's, Darien. This will be the fourth time the workshop has been offered in the past year. Workshops have been held already in Statesboro, Savannah and Albany. While designed for wardens and treasurers, any vestry member is encouraged to attend. The workshop content covers the nuts and bolts of the work of the vestry. Included will be the basics of Episcopal Church business with time for questions from participants and sharing best practices from church to church. The workshop will meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost of this meeting is $10. Lunch will be provided. To register online, please follow this link: Register now for Wardens and Treasurers' Workshop in Darien

Fall Clergy Spouse Conference

Honey Creek Clergy Spouse Connections continues! The Fall Clergy Spouse Conference is scheduled for Nov 2-4, 2012 at Honey Creek. Last year we heard several of you say that you would like to have a full weekend conference, so we did it. The conference will start Friday afternoon with registration from 4:00 to 5:30. Dinner will served be at 5:45. **If you can come earlier on Friday, say 2:00 p.m., you just might be able to get in on a disc golf game, or a nature walk, or time with friends.** We will conclude Sunday after lunch. On Sunday we will worship with the congregation of Our Savior in the chapel at Honey Creek. Other events planned include time for spiritual nourishment, a bon fire, Bottles and Brushes-(nothing to do with babies!) a business session with a diocesan office staff member, a "service project" as an offering to Honey Creek, yoga, and a few surprises.

 

Clergy Spouse Conference The cost for the weekend is as follows: a single room is $211.98 and a double is $141.98. Please call or send an email to Carolyn at Honey Creek to book your reservation. Speak to other clergy spouses, make sure they know about this event and encourage them to attend. If finance is the issue that would prevent you from coming, there may be some financial assistance available. Please contact the Bishop directly via email or by phone at the Diocesan office and speak to him directly....the sooner the better. 

Now get busy. Call your clergy spouse friends, contact Carolyn at HC today, put it on your calendar, and make your plans to come. It will to be a fabulous weekend if you're there ...I promise!!! 

Here are some suggestions on items to bring: flashlight, umbrella, folding chair, your journal (if you "journal"), camera, comfortable shoes, old clothes that you would might getting a little dirty, a yoga mat.

Contact Leslie Parker if you have any questions at (912) 232-2893 or email  at [email protected]
Savannah Convocation 
St. Thomas Daughters of the King Spiritual Renewal

DOKSavannah Convocation Daughters of the King are cordially invited to attend a morning of spiritual renewal on Saturday September 29, 2012 at 9:30 am in the Parish Hall at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Isle of Hope.  Deacon Geri Lee Nelson will lead the discussion on "Creating Sabbath": setting aside time for spiritual growth in our busy lives.

 

A service of Holy Communion will be celebrated by the Reverend Richard Nelson in the historic St. Thomas Chapel at the conclusion of the presentation after which lunch will be served in the Parish Hall.  A donation of $5.00 is requested, and reservations may be made by calling Sue Tengg at 352-9252 or Ellen Bradley at 349-7626.  This invitation is extended not only to active Daughters of the King but also to all women in the Savannah Convocation wishing to deepen their spiritual life.

Messiah?  Peter Eventually "got" it. How about Us?


A Reflection on Last Sunday's Gospel in the season of 911
 
by the Rev. David Somerville

"...Turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." ...From Mark 8, the Gospel for 16 September 2013, the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost.

 

...Nineteenth century Scottish preacher, poet, and storyteller, George MacDonald had a reverie in which he conversed with God. "I said, 'Let me walk in the fields'.

 

In reply, God said, 'No, walk in the city'.

I said, 'But there are no flowers there.'

 

 I write this while the AMTRAK southbound runs through the night bringing Sherry and me back to the flowers around the Jesup station - now being restored. It was a good several days, including Tuesday, the eleventh of this month in that gritty place of asphalt, steel, and the noise that is New York City. Since last Spring, I had been looking forward to this anniversary trip to do volunteer work at Saint Paul's Chapel by Ground Zero (pictured here soon after the attacks of September 11), where George Washington worshipped a long time ago. More recently in our nation's history, Saint Paul's became a respite center for the fire fighters, sanitation workers, police, and the ministers of all the faith communities in the neighborhood. It was a busy week of ceremonies, quiet listening to returning visitors, and fellowship with Ann Douglas, a communicant of another Saint Paul's, our Episcopal community in Jesup. She and her family members were with us again for the third time. We were honored to support Ann's daughter, Suzanne, in the place where the towers once stood to read the name of her brother, Freddie Cox, a South Tower bond trader.

  

Continue reading online here: Messiah?  Peter Eventually Got It.

 Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord

Acolyte's at St. Anne's Tifton lead the procession back out into the world at the conclusion of the Sunday liturgy, which this week included Bishop Benhase's annual visitation.
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Sincerely,                                      
            

Diocesan Staff                                
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia