Diocesan Office Update  

Diocesan Community Update

St. Anne's, Tifton

Bishop's Visitation 

Those newly baptized and received, along with godparents, sponsors & presenters. A photo album of the visitation is online here: Bishop's visitation 

Guice Hall Dedication Planned at Honey Creek 

Register for Special Convention

The special one day convention will be held at The Dubose Porter Center in Dublin, Georgia on November 16.

The meeting will be for the purpose of electing deputies and alternates to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church and for voting on the 2014 Budget for the Diocese. As a called convention, no business may be considered other than that announced in the call for a special convention.

For this special convention, delegates are the same as those for the annual convention held this past February in Tifton unless replaced by alternates or otherwise as provided. The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. and is anticipated to complete its actions by 2 p.m.

You can register online here: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e86ah8uaf4cd1417&oseq=&c=&ch= 

Diocesan Council Receives Audit, Approves Grant 

The Diocesan Council heard a lot of good news in its meeting this past Friday and Saturday in Tifton. Most of the blessings were from excellent financial reports from auditors, the financial strength of Honey Creek and a solid 2014 budget process underway for 2014. The news is that we are using our very limited financial resources well.
 
Beyond this, Council unanimously approved a nearly $250,000 request from the Episcopal Agency of Thomasville (EDAT) to be funded through the Campaign for Congregational Development. The funds are not available at present as Campaign money raised to date is already committed to projects underway. But the Council pre-authorized the funds to add its seal of approval to the project so that potential donors know the multi-church community development work being done by the three Thomasville Episcopal Churches-All Saints, Good Shepherd, and St. Thomas-is endorsed by Council.
 
Saturday's Council meeting concluded with the group working with stakeholders in our diocesan youth programs as the Youth Summit (reported on above) got underway. During that time, Council Members heard moving testimony from parents, teens and youth ministers about the benefits of our youth ministry. They also heard clear concerns about how the program can be improved. As the Youth Summit continued its detailed work, Council adjourned. 

St. Paul's, Augusta  

Bishop of Jerusalem to Visit Augusta  

The Rt. Rev'd Suheil Dawani, fourteenth Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem will visit St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 605 Reynolds St., Augusta on Sunday, September 22. Bishop Dawani will speak to the Adult Forum at 10 a.m. speaking on the ministries of the Diocese throughout the Middle East. He will preach at the 11 a.m. worship service. Following the 11 service, there will be a reception to welcome the Bishop.

Bishop Dawani became the 14th Bishop of Jerusalem on April 15, 2007. Born in Nablus, West Bank in 1951, Bishop Dawani has served at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem, St. Andrew's in Ramallah and St. Peter's, Bir Zeit, the West Bank. Throughout his ministry the Bishop has been involved in ecumenical work. He has helped organize summer camps for Muslim and Christian children. As Diocesan Bishop, Bishop Dawani is the Chief Pastor of the 27 parishes spread throughout the five political regions of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.   He is also Chairman of the Board of each of more than thirty institutions of education and healthcare.   The diocesan schools, hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation and vocational training centers provided the best possible services while reaching out to assist those who cannot afford to pay for services and strengthening the Christian presence in the region.

In a multicultural, multi-faith, multi-ethnic diocese spread across five countries, the Rt. Rev'd Suheil Dawani is a strong advocate for peace and reconciliation. One of the thirteen recognized Heads of Churches in Israel, Bishop Dawani faithfully encourages leaders of the Churches to make every effort to strengthen the Christian Presence as a moderate and mediating Body in a region torn by anxiety and unrest.

Church "Program Year" Kicks Off 

Like it or not, church life settles down a bit each summer and then gets kick started again in the fall. Below are a few photos from around the Diocese as the program year gets underway:

Deacon Matthew Lewis speaks with youth of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta, meeting for their first class in the cottage.  

  Teachers and students give God the glory in a Sunday School class and Susan Tutan Gonzalez leads Children's Church in the undercroft, both at Christ Church Episcopal, Savannah.   

The Rev. Richard Nelson blesses students and teachers at St. Thomas Isle of Hope, Savannah.    

Thanksgiving at the Creek

Diocesan Youth Programs 

Fall Gathering This Weekend

Diocesan Youth Ministry

New Beginnings

Fall Clergy Conference

Register for Fall Clergy Conference

Nationally known speaker, the Rev. Dr. Rob Voyle, will lead the Fall Clergy Conference at Honey Creek. Known for his work with Appreciative Inquiry, Voyle will guide us through Discerning Core Purpose, Creating Change and more. He designs all the elements of his programs from the opening comments to the final evaluations to reflect, model, and be consistent with the appreciative way. Voyle uses a mix of didactic presentations, experiential exercises, demonstrations and real plays in our training programs.  He will also provide opportunity for reflection, personal synthesis and integration so that those things we learn in our minds can be experienced in our hearts and lived from the core of our souls. A schedule for the conference is found online here:

http://gaepiscopal.org/docs/Fall2013ClergyConference.pdf