Here are a few photos from the Diocese of Georgia's Bishop, youth and chaperons who attended the Episcopal Youth Event last week.

Melissa Smith, Claire Duncan, and Rebecca Westgate represented the Diocese of Georgia at the National Happening Leadership Conference this summer. They joined Jody Grant, who is serving as the VP/Secretary for the Happening National Committee, in Oklahoma for this biennial conference. During the conference, Melissa and Claire were chosen to serve on the Happening National Committee for the next two years to plan NHLC 2016. The following was written by Claire.

The National Happening Leadership Conference is a weekend experience for youth and adults from all Happening programs around the nation to come together and share their ideas and love for God. This years NHLC was held in Oklahoma on the campus of University of Central Oklahoma. During the four days we attended workshops about songs, technology, worship, caritas, and many more key factors to a Happening weekend. We met some of the most amazing people who all shared God's love through singing, caritas making, and fun events like the talent show. It was really amazing to have the opportunity to witness how Happening still touches so many other people's lives all over the country even though they're all slightly different in their own ways. I can't wait to bring all of our new ideas back home to our diocese to make Happening even more amazing. 

Trinity, Cochran, plays in the Cochran/Bleckley Church Coed Softball League. The picture at right was taken after their first and only win so far. The team consists of players 12 to 76 years old. Each game begins with a prayer by the visiting team and ends with a prayer by the home team. The game is played with a softer ball similar to those used in T-Ball. The ball has a lot of bounce in it so this seems to even the playing ability of all. There must be a certain number of youth, women, and seniors that play during the game. Trinity member Kathy Jones says, "We are not a power house as far as the game goes but we have had a lot of success with developing a closer relationships and an increase in church attendance."

Trinity's Senior Warden John Pasto and his wife Suzy Pasto are shown here reading books to children at the Cochran/Bleckley Summer Reading Program. Trinity-Cochran volunteered to read each Wednesday morning during the months of July and August at the Cochran/Bleckley Public Library. The Bleckley County Retired Teachers Organization reads during the school months. Trinity decided to fill the void left during the summer months.

The Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, will preach at Christ Church Savannah on July 20. The Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori last visited Christ Church in 2008 as a part of her visitation to the Diocese of Georgia. At that time, the congregation met on Sunday evenings at St. Michael and All Angels, Savannah.  

She is the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, serving as the chief pastor to the Episcopal Church's 2.1 million members in 17 countries and 109 dioceses, ecumenical officer, and primate, joining leaders of the other 38 Anglican Provinces in consultation for global good and reconciliation. Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori was elected at the 75th General Convention on June 18, 2006, and invested at Washington National Cathedral on November 4, 2006.

A rainbow points to the Parish Hall under construction at St. Margaret of Scotland in Moultrie.

• 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

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.     

 VBS at Atonement, Augusta 

 Pictured above is St. Paul's, Savannah's VBS.