Diocesan Office Update  

On Friday and Saturday, Bishop Benhase and Canon Logue will meet with the Diocesan Council at Grace, Waycross.

 

On Sunday, Bishop Benhase will make his visitation to Grace, Waycross, in the morning and to St. Paul's, Jesup, in the afternoon.  

 

On Sunday, Canon Logue is presiding and preaching at St. Michael & All Angels, Savannah.

 

Bishop Benhase will be on retreat the week of May 13th.  

 

Canon Logue is meeting today at the Cathedral in Miami, Florida, with fellow canons from around the southeast United States. They are working on common issues in clergy transitions. He will return tonight.

Barry Barbee is confirmed during the Albany Convocation Confirmation Service at St. Paul's Albany on May 9.

St. Paul's Albany Hosted Area Confirmations

The congregation of St. Paul's, Albany, hosted the last of the convocation confirmation services for this Eastertide. Pictured below are the confirmands and clergy from St. Anne's Tifton, St. John & St. Mark's Albany, St. Patrick's Albany, and St. Paul's Albany.

  

 

  

At left, incense hangs in the air and at right Bishop Benhase preaches at the confirmation service held on Ascension Day.

Columba House

Internship Application Deadline Nears

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.

 

Click on image for a video on Columba House

The 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 rreyes@gaepiscopal.org or at (912)236-4279. 

Our Diocesan Council functions much as a vestry does for a congregation. And as a vestry should each year consider anew its goals, so does Council. Diocesan Council meets this Friday and Saturday at Grace, Waycross (pictured above) to do that work. An example of this is that the Council decided last year to look anew at the diocesan convention. A task force discussed various options and decided to move the convention to November so that the budget could be considered by convention prior to its going into effect.

In addition to setting goals, the Diocesan Council will receive and review financial reports from the Treasurer, and hear reports from the Bishop, the Canon to the Ordinary and Honey Creek. In this way, they will provide oversight for the ongoing work of the Diocese.

With the 2014 Convention moved to November, Council will also consider possible changes to the diocesan budget process and look at how best to elect Deputies to the 2015 General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

Christ Church, Valdosta's EYC met this week at the Rev. Jim and Susan Elliott's house and everyone enjoyed Susan's now famous Mexican Fiesta. They had a short prayer and healing service. The group then had a discussion of the lectionary readings for Easter 7 as Andrew Greneker prepares to preach at the Youth Sunday service at Christ Church this week. The evening finale was the blessing of the EYC fleet during which all of the automobiles of the teens were blessed and prayers were said for safe travel.

Online Logo and Image Library

The Diocese of Georgia website contains a number of resources for congregations. One of these worth highlighting is the page with images to use in your congregation. If you need the diocesan coat of arms or the Episcopal shield for your website or a print publication, you will find them in a variety of sizes on this page. You can also find photos of Bishop Benhase to use in your newsletter or the local paper in advance of a visitation. There are even pictures of all 10 Bishops of Georgia suitable for printing and framing. You find it all online here: Logo and Image Library

Diocesan Photo Album

Beyond this, the Diocese of Georgia Photo Album is filled with pictures of diocesan events and pictures of every church in the Diocese, and much more. All of these come with permission for any church in the Diocese to use as needed with no additional permission needed. This album, curated by Julius and Julia Ariail of Christ Church, Valdosta, is online here: Diocese of Georgia Online Photo Album

Teaching the Language of Jesus

During last week's Clergy Conference our presenter, the Rev. George H. Martin (at right), led a session on "The Church as Grammar." He was working from theologian George Lindbeck's framework in the book, "The Nature of Doctrine." Now so far all of this must seem rather esoteric, but there was an important truth of which I needed reminding and I appreciated George sharing it.

The basic idea is that like a language or a culture, our faith is a framework that gives form and substance to our thoughts and experiences and so shapes our lives. As Lindbeck puts it in writing of religious poetry, music, art and rituals, "It is through these that the basic patterns of religion are interiorized, exhibited and transmitted."

How does one learn the language?

If our presenter and this theologian are on to something important, and I my own experience in working with newcomers to church suggests that they are, then our work in welcoming people to church must include helping them learn the language of Jesus. In assisting people to understand more of how the signs and symbols of our tradition speak to deep truths, we can enrich their vocabulary and broaden their experience of worship.

Therefore, in welcoming those with little or no church background (or perhaps no liturgical church experience) to an Episcopal Church means that we provide ways for people to learn about the rich symbols which surround them.

As a church planter, I created a number of printed materials which I could share with people curious about our practices (see King of Peace's Resources page ). These included an Annotated Eucharist which surrounded the text of a Rite II Eucharist with Eucharistic Prayer A with additional notes to add to their understanding of the rite. I also created materials on infant baptism, the seasons Advent and Lent, and more. To this I added notes in the bulletin and newsletter which opened up some portion of the liturgy and gave additional background. I even used a newsletter posted in the bathrooms to help newcomers learn more about this new cultural and linguistic framework of the Church (a sample issue is online here: The Toilet Paper: Epiphany )

The best way to learn language

Yet we all know that nothing beats the more holistic approach of immersion in a culture to learn the language. No book or pamphlet on Christianity will teach us much as a living, breathing, flawed, but loving community of people putting their faith into practice.

The sad fact is that so many people have trouble discovering the grace, love, repentance, forgiveness and redemption which are at the compassionate heart of the language of Jesus, because they hear these words spoken by people who don't seem to be saying it "not only with our lips, but in our lives." There can be grace in this disappointment as well. For in Christian community we don't find perfect people, but folks like us struggling to live into the love God has shown in Jesus. When the Gospel is authentically lived out by a group of people who are also working to teach something of this language and culture to newcomers, something wonderful happens--new followers come to speak that language of God's love in word and deed. We need not be perfect for this transformation to occur, but we must seek to be faithful and then remain honest and open when we fall short (and we will).

How should we respond?

How might your congregation need to respond to this idea that newcomers don't always share the language and culture of our faith and so need assistance to better understand? What tools might you need to help them learn the language and culture not simply of The Episcopal Church, but of the Kingdom of God?

The Rev. Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary

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

Good Shepherd, Augusta

What the Masters can teach us about serving THE Master

The photo above is from Church of the Atonement, Augusta, and their 2012 Vacation Bible School. Below is a picture from St. Thomas, Thomasville.

Share Your Congregation's VBS Experience

The season for Vacation Bible School's is rolling around once more and we want to share your congregation's experiences with the diocesan community. Want to get inspired? The 2012 Vacation Bible School Album remains online here: 2012 VBS Photos