During the Ordination of a Deacon, the Bishop says "At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ's people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself."  Good words for all of us.

The times when I can greet and talk to someone, hold someone's hand, give someone a smile, or look into the eyes of another are the times I enjoy the most. Those are the times when one person connects with another person. Those are the times when barriers fall and we, all of us, see that we are all God's children and He loves us all.  In my ministry as a director with the Department of Family and Children Services, I have the opportunity to serve the helpless daily.

Helping with the community garden being developed by Episcopal Development Agency of Thomasville (EDAT) is also a ministry I enjoy (getting my hands dirty digging in the soil). It is a joint ministry of all three Thomasville Episcopal Churches and is another ministry that feeds people by showing them how to grow their own food and, to go along with this, EDAT will soon provide community enrichment programs.

As the deacon at St. Thomas, Thomasville, I work with Saturday Lunch Thomasville, which is a program to provide a hot meal at noon on Saturdays in Thomasville to those who come to us.  It is made up of different churches, each taking a turn on a designated Saturday.

One Saturday, several families came with children, not a rare occurrence. One little boy I checked on had finished his meal and wanted one more apple to eat. He left with his pockets full of apples. Others too were giving the children all the apples they wanted. I saw the appreciation in the eyes of the mothers and I knew that Christ was there. They were fed, and so were we.

Deacon Scott Mithen has been ordained for four years, is married to Beth Mithen, and has two married children and four grandchildren. He is a County Director with Mitchell, Baker and Grady Department of Family and Children Services. 

He is also a member of the Deacon Formation Council and an Examining Chaplain for the Deacon School of Ministry.  

Here are three short videos shared with us this past week:

The St. John's Quartet at St. John's, Bainbridge. 

I'll Fly Away Christ Church, Frederica - Worship at Honey Creek

The Rev. Loren Lasch opening the U.S. House of Representatives in Prayer. Loren is a priest of this diocese who is currently serving as an Associate Rector at St. Patrick's in Washington DC while her husband, Ian, studies at Virginia Theological Seminary. 

The Interfaith Fellowship in Augusta recently showcased Sounds of Faith at St. Augustine's, Augusta. Four members of the Hindu Temple Society of Augusta demonstrated the types of hymns and chants typical of their worship. Members of the Sikh community from the Guru Singh Sabha Temple and the sisters from the Order of St. Helena also demonstrated their own chants and hymns as part of the event.

The two-part series will continue in the fall with presentations by the Jewish, Muslim and congregational Christian traditions. "This came about from a number of conversations with other members of the Interfaith Fellowship," said the Rev. Jason Haddox, Rector of St. Augustine's. The group meets monthly to discuss civic issues and ways to share their faith traditions with one another and the community at large. "Someone said, 'Well, we all have this tradition of singing in worship called chanting, whether it's in a group or by oneself. What if we came together and shared those traditions?' " he said.

Surinderjit Singh, of the Guru Singh Sabha temple, said the chants that were chosen to represent the Sikh tradition were hymns in which stanzas are repeated and represent the belief that people are all from one God.

Sister Ellen Francis said the chants shared by the sisters of the Order of St. Helena were a simplified version of the ones sung daily in the convent. "We didn't have to practice because that's what we do every day," she said. The sisters attend chapel services five times a day and chant during at least two of them for 45 minutes. "We chant the entire 150 psalms every two weeks," she said.

Ellen Francis, also a member of the Interfaith Fellowship, said she hoped music would draw more people to their mission of understanding and fellowship with people of other faiths. "We'd just love for the wider community to know that these different traditions exist and they are a part of the work and life of Augusta," she said.

Lorraine Barlett, a member at First Baptist Church of Augusta, said she found the demonstrations peaceful and contemplative. "I just thought it was a very nice experience to have other types of cultures outside my usual Christian experience," she said of Thursday's presentation.

-The Augusta Chronicle

The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) want to hear from men and women alike across the church by June 30. At its Triennial Meeting in 2012, Episcopal Church Women (ECW) delegates adopted a resolution that called for the research and review of the present function and structure of the Episcopal Church Women National Board and the mission and purpose of our ECW as a whole.

As part of that process, the ECW is asking Episcopal women and men to take a short online survey about the ministry of the ECW will have a continuing role and impact on the Episcopal Church. The survey will be reviewed by an ad hoc ECW committee and inform their work in preparation for the Triennial Meeting 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah, which will be held in conjunction with General Convention.

We want to share your Vacation Bible School with the Diocese in photo album collecting pictures of our kid-friendly catechesis taking place around the Diocese this summer. Send your congregation's photo to newsandevents@gaepiscopal.org.

The photos will be added to a VBS album and used at the diocesan website. You can visit last 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 we will copy a selection of photos to the diocesan album. Pictured above the headline is last year's VBS at Christ Church Frederica and alongside the text is a photo from last year's VBS at St. Michael & All Angels, Savannah.

Christ Church, Valdosta, is currently accepting applications for the position of Children and Youth Ministries Director. Qualified applicants will have Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university in a related field as well as experience in effectively leading a youth and/or children's group, an ability to effectively relate and interact across age and diversity groups, and a working knowledge of the Episcopal tradition or a willingness to learn about the Episcopal Church. The position description is online here. Apply by sending a cover letter and resumé by July 1, 2014.

The Vocare Alumni are getting together for our official Annual Reunion! Join us for an overnight beach trip at All Saints' Episcopal Church on Tybee Island on June 21-22. There is a lot of fun and community to be had! A sit down meeting will kick things off, which includes elections for the Vocare Steering Committee and a breakdown of the community's direction. Fellowship on the beach immediately follows.

Who: Vocare Alumni
What: Overnight Beach Trip and Annual Reunion
When: June 21 at 1:00pm - June 22nd whenever you have to leave (preferably after church)
Where: All Saints' Episcopal Church, 804 Jones Ave, Tybee Island, GA 31328
Why: Because we like each other