From the Field
News & Events of the Church in Georgia
May 7, 2013Volume 3, Number 37
In This Issue
Diocesan Office Update
ECM House Purchased
St. John's Bainbridge
Bible Reading Marathon
EYCS
Columba House
Loose Canon
Transition Handbook
Web Links
 
 
 
May 12th
Readings
Seventh Sunday of Easter

Clergy Consider the Challenge of Welcome

Priests and deacons from across the Diocese are gathered at Honey Creek for the final day of the Spring clergy conference. The group is working with our presenter,  the Rev. George Hunter (pictured at right), to consider the challenge of welcoming newcomers to church. We have looked at the image of the church as grammar and so thought through how we acquire language might relate to the way those not familiar with them come to understand the symbols of the church. How might we practice church (as attorneys and doctors practice their professions) so it speaks this language while we also teach the meaning of the signs and symbols mean as we go through the church year? We have rich resources in our tradition which speak to a deep need common in humanity. We speak from our common story of Jesus who hungers and thirsts for that relationship with us in community. As we consider these questions, the clergy have spent a good bit of time in small group discussions to think this through together.

 

As the conference comes to a close today, we will move our thoughts toward the church door and then out into the community as we pack our toolboxes to be present, and a present for others. 

Diocesan Office Update  

Bishop Benhase and Canon Logue are gathered with the clergy of the Diocese at Honey Creek for the Spring Clergy Conference, which ends this late afternoon.  
 
On Wednesday, Bishop will make his visitation to St. Margaret's, Moultrie. On Thursday, Bishop Benhase will be at St. Paul's, Albany for the Albany Convocational Confirmation. 
 
Bishop Benhase will be on retreat the week of May 13th.  
 

Canon Logue will be meeting at the Cathedral in Miami, Florida, with fellow canons from around the southeast United States from Saturday through Tuesday.

  
Convocational Confirmations in Eastertide    
Albany | May 9th | St. Paul's | Albany | 7 p.m.

Diocese Purchases Campus Ministry House

On Monday, the Diocese of Georgia purchased a house in Statesboro to secure the future of our Episcopal Campus Ministry to Georgia Southern University. The opportunity presented itself first as a challenge when we learned our landlord for the property was in bankruptcy. Turning this potential loss of excellent location into a potential gain for the ministry, the diocesan staff worked with volunteers from Trinity Statesboro to study whether the purchase was the best use of diocesan resources. 
 
The Board of the Corporation of the Diocese made the purchase in order for us to finance our own loan, which will be paid back through the budgeted rent payments for the house. In making this decision, the Standing Committee oversaw due diligence as we had an inspection of the property and compared it to other available options in Statesboro. Both the Board and the Standing Committee concurred that this deal is truly a win-win as a sound investment which assures we have the location needed for this vital ministry to the university.
 
Canon Mary Willoughby said of the deal, "The careful attention and rapid response of our Standing Committee and Board of the Corporation with support from Attorney Laura Wheaton, a member of Trinity Church, Statesboro, made it  possible to secure this key resource for Campus Ministry. It is inspiring to work with such dedicated lay leaders in the Diocese."
St. John's Bainbridge

Bainbridge Episcopalians Share Liturgy in Ecumenical Gathering at The Still Waters Shelter
More than 50 Christians representing a variety of Bainbridge churches, from the Church of God in Christ to the United Methodist Church, participated in the Celebration of a Home for The Still Waters Shelter, a just-opened facility for homeless women and for their children.
 
The inspiration for the house blessing came to St. John's Episcopal member Cathy Stevens during the April 14 open house for the newly renovated facility. Its renovation, furnishings and decorations are the work of members of many churches, including St. John's. During the open house, Ms. Stevens spoke about the house blessing idea with Still Waters' CEO Missy Rollins and the Rev. Marcia McRae, who is supplying at St. John's. Both immediately embraced the idea and started coordinating with shelter board members and St. John's parishioners.
 

For most of the 55 persons at the April 28 House Blessing with Holy Communion, this was their first such experience. For a majority, it was their first Episcopal liturgy. Many said how deeply moved they were by the service, including several of the Episcopalians. Some said they wished their church had such a service. Shelter Director Joyce Williams said that she had felt at peace about the facility and her work, but now has a deeper peace because of the service.
 
She led the procession to each room, carrying a lighted candle to represent the Light of Christ. Shelter board members read antiphons for the rooms. Before returning to the porch for Communion, they processed to the Prayer Garden for its blessing.
 
Ms. Williams and Ms. Rollins presented the wine and the bread, which John McRae had baked with dough shaped into the Icthys symbol on top. With sensitivity for the ecumenical occasion, the wine was Fr� brand from which alcohol is removed.
 

On behalf of St. John's, Clayton Penhallegon, who served as Lay Eucharistic Minister with Leslie Dellenbarger, presented the shelter a Book of Common Prayer for its library (pictured at right).

Trinity, Cochran

Episcopalians take part

in Bible Reading Marathon

Bleckley County churches held a Bible Reading Marathon starting on April 28 and concluding on May 2, the National Day of Prayer. Trinity Episcopal Church contributed in this reading on Sunday April 27, reading from the second book of Samuel, Chapters 8-21. The readers from Trinity were Marge Ahearn, Kathy Jones, Dale Jones, Harry Pasto, and the Revs. Joy Fisher and George Porter. Above, Dale Jones holds an umbrella as his wife Kathy reads. Dale reads in the picture at left.

Episcopal Youth and Children Services 

College Scholarship Applications Due May 15

Episcopal Youth and Children's Services is an organization within the Diocese of Georgia that offers needs-based college scholarships.  Funds to provide these scholarships are raised each year through the annual Thanksgiving Appeal - the "gold envelopes".  If you know a graduating high school senior or currently enrolled college student who might be interested, please encourage them to go to www.eycs.georgiaepiscopal.org to download the application, which is due May 15.  All applicants must be an Episcopalian, 22 years of age or under, and legal residents of and members in good standing within the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.

Columba House

Young Adult Internship Opportunity 

 Columba House is a young adult internship program of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. Columba House's mission is to mobilize young adult leaders in partnership with congregations to build spiritual community, grow disciples, and cultivate future leaders. Columba House's program philosophy is built upon the four pillars of intentional community, vocational discernment, spirituality, and relational evangelism.

 

Columba HouseThe Columba House is a ten month internship with interns serving from August to June. Columba House interns will live in intentional community and journey together through prayer, reflection, and common meals. All interns will engage in 30-32 hours of ministry service in a congregation and community settings and participate in 8 hours of formation and training a week. In addition, Columba House interns will participate in retreats throughout the program. Columba House interns will be given a small stipend for food and travel. In addition, they will be provided with housing, health insurance and training.

 

Columba House is seeking young adults, who are college graduates with an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for the Gospel. Columba House is a great opportunity for those discerning their vocation and those who want to take a year of service before applying to graduate school or entering the workforce.

 

Columba House is accepting applications for the 2013-2014 program year. The next priority deadline is May 31st. For more information, please visit www.columbahouse.org and click on  the "internship" tab. You can also find a helpful FAQ section of the website. Contact Program Manager Rudy Reyes at [email protected] or at (912)236-4279. 

The Loose Canon

State of the Clergy Report - Part II

Last week, I began with Part I of a two-part look at the implications of the Episcopal Church State of the Clergy Report 2012. I noted how the we have been ordaining more priests and deacons than many dioceses and how we have also ordained younger clergy. This week, I need to turn to how the State of the Clergy Report does show a challenge we face here. That full report is online here: State of the Clergy 2012

 

Priest Compensation

While we have made significant progress in recent years, many priests in the Diocese of Georgia still  make less money than those in similar parishes in other dioceses, including our neighboring dioceses of Upper South Carolina and Alabama.

 

The challenge simply put is this: the Episcopal Church does not place priests in congregations and as priests have choice, we have to work to attract priests that congregations want to call to ministry in this Diocese. Part of this is the diocesan culture and priests decide whether they want to be in a Diocese. Part of this is the location of the church and whether this is a fit for the clergy spouse and family. And a large part of this is that our compensation has to be competitive with other options the priests have in other dioceses.

 

We have lost priests over the years for not have compensation that could keep them and not gained others for not having salaries that could attract them. This is not to say that priests are not interested in following where God leads them, but that answering a call begins with a search process where the compensation is known and advertised and so priests are not likely to even consider churches which will mean a cut in pay.

 

Comparing to the Community

To make sure that we are taking the local community into account, we also look for the salary and benefits of a teacher's with a master's degree and similar years of service and, depending on the complexity of the church administration, we look to assistant principle and principle salaries. These are people in the same community with similar benefits.

 

The Future of Calling Clergy

As The Episcopal Church is ordaining far fewer people than are retiring, we will continue to face a situation where we are seeking to call priests who have other options open to them. The picture is not bleak. We have been good at raising up great priests and we are improving the compensation of clergy in the Diocese. We need not be pessimistic, but I write this in order to be realistic about the challenges we face.


The Rev. Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary

 

The Loose Canon is archived online at http://loosecanon.georgiaepiscopal.org

Updated Transition Handbook Available
The handbook has been updated which assists vestries and search committees in working through the transition from one Rector or Vicar to another. The revised handbook does not contain any changes to the policies and practices of a clergy search. Instead, the revision works to clarify and add to the information in the previous edition based on the experiences of search committees who have used this as a guide to their work. The 23-page handbook is available as a PDF in the Reference Library section of the diocesan website, where it is posted together with a number of documents parish leaders need in their ministries. Click on the picture of the handbook above to download the PDF file.
Interim Thanks    
Parishioners and guests applaud at a goodbye event for the Rev. Stephen McWhorter as he finished his work as Interim Rector of Christ Church, Frederica on St. Simons Island. The new rector, the Rev. Tom Purdy, begins his ministry this Sunday.
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Sincerely,                                      
            

Diocesan Staff                                
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia