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From the Field
News & Events of the Church in Georgia |
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| November 20, 2012 | Volume 3, Number 14 |
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November 25
Readings |
or
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 93
and
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37 |
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Countdown to Convention 2013
Between now and the end of January, a number of deadlines will pass for the diocesan convention in Tifton February 7-9, 2013:
November 30-Deadline for the Deacons' Award.
The full applicationis online here: Excellence in Servanthood Award Application
December 6-This is the deadline to submit convention resolutions to the Registrar/Secretary of Convention at 611 East Bay St. Savannah, GA 31401
December 9-Nominations for Convention Elections are posted on Convention elections page are to be in by this date to Jody Grant, the Nominations Chair. While nominations are open until closed on the floor of convention, this deadline allows time for us to get photos and bios on nominees and then to publish them in advance of convention.
December 31-Registration is now open on the convention Website, register by December 31 for a $5 discount.
January 15, 2013-Deadline with convention hotels to obtain the special group rate. The blocks of rooms may fill up sooner and waiting until this deadline is not advised. Full information is on the Convention Accommodatons page.
January 30, 2013-Final Registration deadline.
Please note that the greatest amount of complaints we have received from previous conventions is the time it takes to register delegations. As the bulk of this time is taken up with checking on payments or making payments, each deputation registering itself online in full will be the best step each congregation can take to streamline the convention experience. Register soon. We can change names of the actual delegates up to January 31 with little trouble compared to processing on site payments. |
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Bishop's Visitation
Bishop Benhase speaks with confirmands before the liturgy during his visitation to the Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta, this past Sunday. The Bishop made his annual visitation to Episcopal Day School this morning. |
| Campaign for Congregational Development - Teaching Parishes |
Campaign Will Establish Teaching Parishes
Each week in From the Field, one of the nine priorities will be highlighted, accompanied by a video of Bishop
Benhase discussing the details of the priority and its importance to the future of the Diocese. Above is a 3 minute video clip in which Bishop Benhase tells why the Peer Coaching Initiative is an important part of the campaign talks about the strategy of creating six teaching parishes.
The priority areas for the Campaign for Congregational Development were generated through listening sessions across the Diocese. Within those areas- Congregational Development, Clergy and Lay Leader Development, and Youth and Young Adults, there are nine sub-priorities; in addition, investments are planned for Honey Creek as a strategic asset. For a complete listing of the priority areas, see A New Era Of Mission. |
Youth and Young Adults
 Winterblast 2012:
God's Superheroes
Superheroes, assemble!! Join us at Honey Creek from December 7-9 for Winterblast 2012, coordinated by the Rev. Loren Lasch. We'll talk about some of God's most awesome superheroes, and discover how we have the ability to use their superpowers in our own lives. It'll be a weekend full of fun, worship, relaxation...and maybe some superhero capes. We hope you will join us!
$110 per participant in grade 6-12. Starts Friday evening at 7 p.m. and concludes Sunday at 11 a.m.
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Convocation Councils Upcoming
Each year, Convocation Councils are held to review the diocesan budget in advance of the diocesan convention and to elect a representative to Diocesan Council. The following meetings are upcoming:
The Augusta Convocation Council Annual Meeting is scheduled each year for the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2012 at 4pm at St. Alban's.
The Southeast Convocation Council will be held on Sunday, December 2nd, at 4pm at St. Mark's in Brunswick.
The Central Convocation will have its annual Convocation Council Meeting on Sunday, December 9, at 3pm at Christ Church in Dublin. |
Christ Church, Frederica
Giving the Gift of Thanksgiving
 | | CCF EYC Thanksgiving Outreach 2012 |
The Rev. Leigh Hall, Interim Assistant, offers a behind the scenes look as volunteers at one of our founding congregations prepare Thanksgiving outreach for needy Glynn County families. |
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Grace, Waycross
Chamber of Commerce Rise and Shine
Grace, Waycross hosted the November Rise and Shine. The Ware County Chamber of Commerce holds these monthly events at various member's locations. Barbara and Rob Lykens, Brandy Holland, Carol and Henry Clarke, Sharon Callaway and Kit Brinson provided the breakfast items. Grace is a member of the chamber and has been for quite some time. Grace also opens up the parish hall for community meetings during the week. Senior Warden Dave Callaway is also the 2012 chairman of the chamber. |
"Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words."
-- Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
An Update from the Coopers' Mission Work in Peru
Twice in the last 6 weeks I have been faced with the following question: "Do you get a chance to share the Gospel with patients as you see them?" My answer was: "What do you think we are doing?" (by caring for the physical needs of the less fortunate). For us there is little distinction between physical and spiritual care. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Truth is the Truth.
 As God brings people into our scope of ministry, we do everything we can to embrace them in the all-encompassing message of Jesus. It is notlimited by compartmentalization or categorization between "word" and "deed." God is bigger than that, and so is His love for His people. As people are cared for by the church, they learn little by little who Jesus is, what He is like, how He cares for His people, and what it means to follow Him.
Usually, if we have a new person that we are caring for, they naturally become part of the faith community as the ministry reaches out to them. Many times they have been brought to the church or to the medical campaign by a member of the congregation who is already demonstrating and living the love of Christ by caring for their neighbor. Soon we find them in church and participating in the life of the congregation. We treat them as a member from the very beginning, because that is what they are as one of God's children. It is up to their hearts to realize this as they are living in the middle of Gospel proclamation. And they do.
Lima is huge, and there is a lot of ground to cover; a lot of God's children live here! Right now we are expanding the ministry to train health "ambassadors" to reach into the remote parts of the communities and be a presence on a regular basis.  After all, God is always there, not just every once in a while when He can be, so we want to shape the presence of the medical ministry the same way. God has provided several wonderful people who have a heart for Christ and a heart for health, and each of them is taking responsibility for a separate geographic region of Lima. As we train the ambassadors, we will continue to rotate among the different parts of the city, but now with an increasingly well trained team to provide the structure in which we can offer help. We are also in the early stages of a companion project with another organization (Health Bridges International) to offer more to the most medically fragile children in the region. This will take several months to implement, but with prayer we feel it will bear much fruit.
 In our last letter we spoke of challenges, and they remain, but God is providing resources to answer. He has provided the health ambassadors for us to train, each uniquely gifted to minister in their regions. He has provided our partnership with HBI to answer the needs of the medically fragile children. He has provided people in the church with which we work who have been touched by the love of Christ and are caring for their neighbors. He has provided your support, without which the ministry would be impossible.
And above all He has given us His message, His Word, His Son Jesus Christ.
Thanks to all of you,
The Coopers
Townsend and Dawn Cooper and their daughters Lily and Lucie are parishioners of St. Mark's, Brunswick, working as Episcopal missionaries in Peru. Townsend, a pediatrician, focuses on treatment of children and health education. Dawn focuses on logistical support and coordination of short-term mission teams. One may send support for the Cooper Family to: SAMS, P.O. Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003 Checks made payable to SAMS with "Cooper Family" in the memo line. |
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Legacy Society
Upcoming Seminar in Augusta
 The Legacy Society of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia is bringing nationally known speaker, Charles V. Douglas, to Augusta on Tuesday November 27. The meetings are not an appeal for money, but an inspirational talk on how 'true wealth' requires the harmonic blend of both financial capital and spiritual capital. Please come, visit with Charlie and listen as he shares his thoughts on how to put together a 'principled legacy', a true prescription to prosperity, one that's good for the soul.
Good Shepherd, Augusta November 27
5:30-6 pm light refreshments
6-7 pm discussion  | | 1.5-minute video clip from the seminar |
Charlie Douglas has published numerous articles on the subject in NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, CCH Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Wealth and Retirement Planner, NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning WealthCounsel, and others. Charlie's book titled Rich Where it Counts addresses the importance of understanding one's real wealth with an eye on abundance, not scarcity and thus empowering 'real wealth' transfer. For any questions, please contact the diocesan office on 912-236-4279. If you plan to attend RSVP tolegacysociety@gaepiscopal.org |
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The Loose Canon
How and Why to Pray for an Support Your Vestry
Vestry elections are coming up for all our churches between first Advent and the end of January, which is the time set aside for annual meetings of a parish. This makes this the perfect time to consider vestries, what they are for and how to support them in their work. Last week I wrote What's a Vestry to do? on the role of vestries. in The Episcopal Church. This week, I want to consider your role as a church member as concerns the vestry.
The Ministry of Lay Persons
The catechism lays out the ministry of lay persons as, "The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church."
As a church member, you are to take your place in the governance as well as the life and worship of your church. Obviously, not every member can serve on the vestry, but that doesn't let you off the hook from discerning whether this is something God has for you and if not for you, than who should you encourage to stand for election?
Discerning Who Should Run for Vestry
Every congregation needs new persons to step forward to stand for election. This is particularly true with younger members. Our canons permit vestry members to be as young as 18, but seldom does a vestry have anyone under 30, and more often the bulk of vestry are retirees. Each congregation needs a variety of people and perspectives working faithfully in leadership alongside their priest to make decisions which impact both the business and spiritual side of church life. You should prayerfully consider the mix of gifts and experience which would make your vestry most representative and productive. As a congregation will have difficulty in being better than its vestry and so who is selected matters more than first meets the eye.
Since you are a person who cares about the church (I know this because you've read this far in an article on vestries in a diocesan newsletter), you should feel accountable to God for praying about and for your church's vestry. This should include praying for who to nominate in an election, and being willing to say "yes" if that discernment leads to the fact that it is you who should stand for election. Then the election itself is not a popularity contest, but another time for prayerful discernment about the mix of people and perspectives needed for this vital role. This role of prayer also means praying for the rector, wardens and vestry in their decision making on behalf of the congregation.
The Priests and Vestry We Deserve
We get the priests and vestries we deserve in that if we pray for and support them, the priest and vestry will be better able to do the work to which they are called. If we undermine or ignore them and then complain about the results, we'll also get what we deserve. I encourage prayer and support as well as discernment about who to call, not just because it makes for a healthy congregation life, but because prayerful, encouraging people is who we are called to be as Christians. This is just how that plays itself out in the governance of our congregtations.
Bishop Benhase has offered a useful Vestry Job Description which I commend to your reading and then to your prayers and discernment. This file is also available as a Word document to be tailored by your vestry to its particular situation: vestryjobdescription.doc
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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UGA Accidentals at Tuesday Music Live in Augusta
The 25th Anniversary season of Tuesday's Music Live, America's largest luncheon concert series, features two free concerts by the University of Georgia "Accidentals" on Tuesdays, December 4, 2012 at 11 a.m. and 12 Noon. Lunch, $10 per person and catered by Crum's on Central , will be available only after the noon concert. Lunch reservations can be made online at www.TuesdaysMusicLive.com or by calling the Box Office, 706-722-3463.
Both of these concerts have been an Augusta tradition for the past 25 years and are standing-room-only events attracting more than a 1,000 people from around the CSRA. A picture of the Accidentals is attached and further info is available at
www.facebook.com/ugaaccidentals |
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Camellias in the Church Yard
An angel in the cemetary of Christ Church Fredrica on St. Simons Island is adorned with Camellias picked from nearby bushes.
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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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