The Prayers of the Diocese go out to the family of the Rev. Dawson Teague, who died last week. The graveside funeral service will be held on July 9th at 10 a.m. at Augusta's Summerville Cemetery. The Rev. Robert Fain will officiate. A reception will follow at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Teague was a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd where the Rev. Alan Clarkson helped him discern his call to the priesthood. He was graduated from Richmond Academy and the University of Georgia before going to Virginia Theological Seminary from which he was graduated in 1956. He did additional work at General Theological Seminary while working at the Seaman's Church Institute. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1959 by Bishop Albert Rhett Stuart and was married to the former Elizabeth "Betsy" Cutler Peters later that same year.

He first served as the Deacon in Charge of St. George's Mission in the Windsor Forest area of Savannah. Teague was ordained to the priesthood on May 14, 1960 at Christ Church, Savannah, by Bishop Stuart. In  the 1960s, he served for a time in Athens at the Episcopal Center. He then served as the Vicar of Good Shepherd, Swainsboro, at the time they built their present building and took the lead in the racial integration of that congregation. He also served as interim rector at both Christ Church and Saint John's Church in Savannah, and later served as interim rector for churches in Greensboro, Monroe and Winder. While in Savannah, he was instrumental in the reorganization of the Savannah Port Society and the building of the International Seamen's House. Ministry to seafarers was work Teague continued later in his career. He served aboard the international hospital ship HOPE as Protestant Chaplain twice in the early 70s on her missions in Brazil; from 1973-76 he was a member of the clergy staff of the Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) in New York City, helping with the outreach mission of the large maritime service agency from its headquarters in lower Manhattan.  His service to the church also included ministries in the Caribbean and the French Riviera, where he served at a chapel with the author Somerset Maugham as a worshiper in the congregation. 

Teague's work then led him to the Diocese of New York, where, in addition to working with SCI he was an Assistant Rector at Grace Church of New York City and Christ Church, Tarrytown, 1976-77 and Rector of Zion Church, Dobbs Ferry from 1977-87. He is remembered at Zion for initiating a program to provide hats, coats and food to the homeless in New York City. He then returned to the Diocese of Georgia the following year and served at Grace, Sandersville. Since discontinuing his ministry at Grace Church in 2008, Teague has been back attending his home parish of Good Shepherd, Augusta, where he served as a chaplain to the men's group as well as regularly taking part in Wednesday suppers and Sunday breakfasts.

A frequent contributor to the Church in Georgia, Teague was a member of the Academy of American Poets and a long time member of the Augusta Authors Club. He is survived by his children Douglas Teague of Decatur, Georgia and his daughter Elizabeth Teague of Manteo, North Carolina, her husband Stephen Thompson, and their children Matthieu, Turner, and Katherine Thompson. 

On June 13, Lodge 1 and Stuart Hall suffered significant damage due to septic blockage and flooding. The "black water" damaged eleven Lodge rooms & bathrooms, the two public bathrooms, utility room and kitchen adjacent to Stuart Hall, as well as Stuart Hall proper were also damaged. The problem was not caused by routine plumbing use, but inappropriate items being flushed. 

The bad news is that the damage is classified as a category 3 (water containing harmful substances, diseases, pathogens, and dangerous bacteria). Our Executive Director, Dade Brantley, brought in an emergency clean up crew to remove and sanitize all furniture which was placed in the unaffected area of Stuart Hall for storage during clean up and restoration. The good news is that our camp and conference center are well insured and we were able to immediately begin tearing out the floors and the bottom four feet of wall boards. Also, prior to this damage, four rooms in that lodge had been completely renovated. These were not in the area flooded.

The Opportunity

Our Conference Center Board was already working on a plan toward renovating lodge rooms. With this flood, much of that work is being paid for by insurance. The gap will be just $50,000 to bring every room in Lodge 1 up to the new standard. This means that we can finish upgrading Lodge 1 for a fraction of the cost and any money donated will go much further.

Honey Creek is now seeking donations to close the gap so that the renovation work can be completed while work is underway. This will keep the cost down and maximize how far donations go. Any individual or group of donors giving $9,000 may name a room in honor of a person or Congregation. Interested donors should contact Dade Brantley at (912) 265-9218 or dade@honeycreek.org 

• This award is to be conferred upon a member of the laity;
• You must obtain the permission of the layperson you wish to nominate;
• Nominations must be postmarked between July 1 and September 1, and must include all of the requirements listed above;
• The Selection Committee, comprised of members of The Deacon's Formation Council, will not consider any application postmarked later than September 1, 2014 or which does not contain all required paperwork.

Please prayerfully consider the lay people you know to decide whose service as a servant to others the deacons should consider when making their selection.

The full application is online here: 2014 Servanthood Nominations

Christ Church Frederica called Brad Hamil to serve as the congregation's Youth Missioner.  Hamil has more than 8 years of experience in professional Youth Ministry, having served parishes in Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, and Georgia, where he currently serves a congregation in Macon.  Hamil wrote to the congregation in advance of his coming on board on June 27, "My passion for seeing students through their ups and downs, maturing as young adults, and growing in their spirituality and faith, is what keeps me persevering in what can be a challenging vocation alongside my roles as a husband and father."     

Hamil grew up in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in the small town of Loudon, Tennessee.  He is a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville as a Religion Major where he met his wife Kristi.  Kristi and Brad have three children, Jackson (10), Kerrigan (8), and baby Harrison. In addition to serving in ministry with young people, Hamil enjoys spending time with his family, playing music with friends, songwriting and the great outdoors. 

Christ Episcopal Church recently presented three Dennis Reddick Memorial Scholarships for 2014 in a special service.  Shown in the photo are scholarship recipients Matthew Wright, Cody Swint, and Ken Ellenburg with the Rev. Tom Arledge.  The recipients and their families were honored with a reception at the church following the service.

Sixteen people from St. Paul's, Albany, enjoyed a day trip June 25 to Andersonville National Historic Site, which has three main features: the National Prisoner of War Museum, the Prison Site, and Andersonville National Cemetery-all 12 miles northeast of Americus in Southwest Georgia. 

Camp Sumter military prison, commonly called Andersonville, was an unfinished, undersupplied prison pen when the first Union prisoners arrived in February 1864.  Intended to hold 10,000 men, the 16 ½-acre pen was expanded to 26 ½ acres in June.  By August, over 32,000 struggled to survive in what the men called "hell on earth."  Andersonville National Cemetery, established July 26, 1865, is a resting place for deceased veterans.  The first interments, in February 1864, were soldiers who died in the prison.  Today, the cemetery contains over 19,000 interments in 18 sections. 

While the summer camp staff enjoyed a week off, our camp and conference center remained busy. Families are encouraged to come to camp together during the week of the Fourth of July. Here are some photos of the fun from this year's family gathering. Contact Honey Creek's Executive Director, Dade Brantley, for more information. 

We want to share your Vacation Bible School or other camps 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 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 we will copy a selection of photos to the diocesan album.