The four deacons ordained this past Saturday (shown at left) have been assigned to congregations: Deacon Michael Chaney to St. Paul the Apostle, Savannah; Deacon Larry Jesion to Christ Church, Augusta; Deacon Mollie Roberts to St. Paul's, Albany, and Deacon Carlene Taylor to King of Peace, Kingsland. Jesion and Taylor are vocational deacons, meaning they have been called to the full, separate order of deacons and will remain in this servant ministry of taking the church into the world and bringing the needs of the world to the church. Chaney and Robert are transitional deacons, meaning that they are called to the priesthood and in keeping with church tradition and canons will serve a period of no less than six months and then, with the approval of the Bishop and Standing Committee, be ordained to the priesthood. Chaney will serve in a bi-vocational role, continuing full-time in his work as a film professor at Savannah College of Art and Design.  Roberts is the assistant at St. Paul's and will remain in that full-time call.

Bishop Benhase and the Rev. Helen White with confirmands. 

• Strengthen the bonds between the various campus ministries
• Support the transition from youth to young adult ministry
• Recruit for Vocare in Georgia ministry
• Plan, implement, and lead a yearly young adult retreat
• Grow parish based young adult ministry
• Facilitate community amongst young adults in the diocese

Sara Lowery is headed to Hong King for a year of mission work. She is the oldest daughter of St. Paul's Albany Rector, the Rev. Lee Lowery and his wife Linda. Sara graduated this spring from the University of the South (Sewanee) with a bachelor's degree in International and Global Studies and a minor in Women's and Gender Studies, leaves in August for a year-long mission in Hong Kong-and she needs some help; but first, Sara's story:

 

"I have been called to the Young Adult Service Corps of the Episcopal Church, and I am about to embark on a year-long mission to Hong Kong. YASC is a division of Global Partnerships with the national Episcopal Church and focuses on connecting people through the Anglican Communion by sending young people to serve as missionaries in foreign dioceses.

 

"Mission in the Episcopal Church means 'to be sent out' and is rooted in building transnational relationships and learning from one another. I have been fortunate enough to be placed at the Mission for Migrant Workers (MfMW), a ministry of the Diocese of Hong Kong, which works with migrant women from the Philippines and Indonesia who work as Foreign Domestic Workers (maids) in Hong Kong. The group provides both a physical shelter and legal advocacy for women who, after leaving their families behind to give them a better life, often face legal, sexual, and financial abus-es. I feel particularly called to this ministry be-cause of my passion for women's advocacy, and I know that I am being called to the right place at the right time," Sara said.

 

  In order to do this, Sara needs an enormous amount of emotional, financial, and spiritual support. The cost of a YASC year is around $22,000; the Global Mission Service asks that each YASCer raise $10,000 to support their mission. This helps cover training, airfare, visas, housing, medical insurance, and a food stipend. While the amount may seem high, it breaks down to around $30 a day-or 334 donations of $30, or 200 donations of $50, or 100 donations of $100.

 

The Diocese of Georgia has given a small gift through the Bishop's Fund from diocesan visitations, but we wish to support the Diocese of Alabama who is collecting funds in support of Sara's work. Checks can be made out to Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and mailed-ATTN: Rob Morpeth, 521 N. 20th St., Birmingham, AL 35203. Please note that the gift is for Sara Lowery.

 

You can keep up with Sara during this year through her blog for this YASC mission  http://forjusticeandpeace.blogspot.com

Hometown Missions 2013 work day is Saturday July 20 at Columba House, and is open to 6th through 12th graders. There is no cost associated with this Hometown Missions work day. Food will be provided. 

 

Hometown Missions is helping prepare Columba House for the young adult Interns, who will be living as a intentional community and begin their year of service this August.

 

Hometown Missions is a event that allows participants to engage in small-scale, mission-focused projects in and around a selected church in the diocese. Participants are divided into work groups according to ability/age. 

 

For more information on Hometown Missions 2013, please email Liz Williams at lizmaywilliams@gmail.com.

 

Click here to register online for this event.

Our team from Youth Programs of the Diocese of Georgia is now on the ground in the Dominican Republic for our Summer 2013 Mission Trip. They will be traveling to Mao, a town in the mountains, to work with the local church by providing materials and energy for a Vacation Bible School. They will also be working on the church buildings and grounds. The group returns July 1. Please remember the team in your prayers.

The team from St. Mark's Brunswick that visited with the Cooper Family to support their mission work has just returned. While in Peru, the group assisted in setting up Townsend's office and doing other work in support of the Cooper family. The Coopers are St.. Mark's members deployed as missionaries through SAMS, an Anglican missionary sending organization working in South America. The Cooper Family web page is www.coopers4christ.org

  

The Summer Camp season is in full swing at Honey Creek with the counselors trained last week and the High School Camp taking place this week. The remaining camp sessions still have some limited spaces available:

 

  

  

 
Scholarship Assistance Available

Thanks to generous donations from our diocesan community, including Episcopal Youth and children Services (EYCS), we have a healthy pool of scholarship assistance available. If you have or know kids who would enjoy the summer camp experience, but who might not be able to afford to go, please encourage them to apply. Generally, the Diocese expects even when a scholarship is granted that a third of the fee will come from the family, a third from the church and a third from the Diocese. But because of the generosity of others we can, in some cases award first come, first serve scholarships even in cases where the need is greater. 

 

Full information is online here: Honey Creek Summer Camp  With any additional questions, contact Summer Camp Director, Elizabeth Burns by email at  elizabeth@honeycreek.org   

  

The photos will be added to a VBS album and used at the diocesan website. You can visit this summer's VBS album online. Some of the photos will be shared here in From the Field. If you create a Facebook or other online album, you may also just send a link to that album to the address above and our online photo gallery curator, Julius Arial, will copy the photos to the diocesan album.

Send your news and events to newsandevents@gaepiscopal.org,

so we can feature them in upcoming issues of From the Field.

 

Sincerely,                                      

            

Diocesan Staff                                
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia