Amidst a sea of Pentecost red, St. Anne's Tifton broke ground last Sunday on a new two-story Ministry Center to be built on their campus. The 10,658 square foot facility will house multipurpose classrooms for all ages, an enlarged nursery, dedicated youth space, an expanded office suite, and facilities for the church's growing outreach programs. 

"We have experienced tremendous growth over the past five years," said Senior Warden Bettie Sue McDonald, "and space has become a significant factor in carrying out the ministries to which we believe God now calls us." The focus of St. Anne's Ministry Center, however, will be both outward as well as inward. "Our hope," said the Rev. Lonnie Lacy, "is that this facility will serve as a true spiritual center in which disciples of all generations are formed in their faith, and from which the healing love of God will be carried into our community, our diocese, and the world." 

St. Anne's Ministry Center will replace a small office and classroom building, expanding the heart of the campus with a tree lined green space and a new state-of-the-art playground. Completion on the facility is anticipated within the next nine months.    

The mission team sponsored by Christ Church, Valdosta, is at work in the Dominican Republic once again. The team arrived on June 7, and will return to the US on June 14. The sixteen missioners represent churches in seven dioceses of the Episcopal Church: Alabama, Atlanta, Central Florida, Central Gulf Coast, Dominican Republic, Georgia, and North Carolina. They will be staying at the Dominican diocese's equivalent of our Honey Creek camp and conference center. Their projects include continuing the knitting and crocheting classes which have been a signature ministry of this team for the past 10 years, building a playground for the Episcopal K-8 school in the village next to the camp, and re-building a house for a local family using concrete blocks for the exterior and interior walls instead of wooden planks and particle boards. The two construction projects will be conducted in coordination with another mission team from the Diocese of Nebraska that arrives later in June. Depending on Internet availability, daily trip updates and photographs will be available on Christ Church's Facebook page.

This mission trip represents the fifth trip to the Dominican Republic sponsored by the Diocese of Georgia in 2014. Earlier trips had teams from the Southeastern Convocation, working in El Carreton; St. Anne's (Tifton), working in Las Carreras; St. Peter's (Savannah), working in San Pedro de Macor�s, and St, Patrick's (Albany) working in Las Carreras and Azua. Information about these earlier trips as well as an overview of our diocese's companion relationship with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic are available here: http://georgia.anglican.org/?page_id=19

Pictured above are team members leading the school children in a song and dance routine and the mission team at morning prayer on Monday June 9.

Children in Episcopal K-8 school (on left) watch members of mission team starting work on a playground structure for the school.

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

At left, the Rev. Mollie Roberts with children at St. Paul's, Albany, and the Rev. Lonnie Lacey at St. Anne's, Tifton.

 St. Michael & All Angels' worshiped in Daffin Park for Pentecost. The large public park is across the street from the church in the Ardsley Park section of Savannah.

Pentecost processions at King of Peace, Kingsland.

 A baptism at St. Thomas, Thomasville.

 The Rev. Tom Arledge gathered with the family following a baptism.

The Rev. Sierra Wilkinson Reyes prays the concluding collect to the Prayers of the People at Christ Church, Savannah. 

The Rev. Richard Nelson at St. Thomas Isle of Hope. 

Christ Church, St. Marys

Fans for Pentecost at Grace, Waycross.

 Pentecost Pool Party at St. Luke's, Rincon

Christ Church, Valdosta

 St. John's, Bainbridge

St. Paul's, Augusta.

For the past 25 years the choir of St. Paul's, Augusta, has taken trips to sing at some of the great cathedrals in the Anglican Communion. The choir raised funds for its travels by operating "Paulmart," a thrift store that produced enough income during ten years of operation that the store could eventually be closed and income from investments could continue to provide financial support. The choir trips have always been open to anyone interested in participating and the next trip will be to Canada and New England where the choir will sing at the Anglican cathedral in Quebec City and Old North Church (Christ Church Episcopal) in Boston. The dates are 12-21 June, 2015, and a feature of the trip is a week-long cruise on Holland America Line's MS Maasdam sailing from Montreal, to various points on Nova Scotia, to Bar Harbor, Maine, and ending in Boston. Sixty-five people are already signed up and the tour plans to include ninety. You may find more information on St. Paul's Canada and New England trip here. Pictured above is St. Paul's choir at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, on a previous trip. 

Anyone wishing additional information should contact Keith Shafer, Director of Music, St. Paul's, Augusta at [email protected] or 706-724-2485 x215 (Music Office). 

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 [email protected].

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. 

 The VBS now underway at Holy Comforter, Martinez.

A collage of photos from the VBS underway this week at St. Paul's, Albany.

 VBS this week at Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta.

The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) want to hear from men and women alike across the church by June 30. 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. Click here to take the survey online in English or Spanish by June 30.