March 10, 2015Volume 5, Number 28
In This Issue
 
 

 



This Sunday's Lections
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Join Our Mailing List

Register for the 2015 Spring Clergy Conference

Registration is now open for the April 26-28 Clergy Conference at Honey Creek. Our main presenter will be the Rev. Church DeGroat whose latest book is Toughest People to Love. DeGroat is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Western Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids Michigan and a Senior Fellow at the Newbigin House of Studies. While the book does focus on caring for the most difficult people clergy leaders encounter in the parish, a central point is to recognize that sometimes those most difficult people happen to be us. A good part of the work will then be on our own self care, for we can't care for the difficult people we encounter without first caring for ourselves. You are encouraged to read the book prior to the conference: Toughest People to Love at Amazon


 

Cost for the meeting including the conference presentations, room and board are Lodge Room Double for $158, Lodge Room Single for $240, Shared cottage (or Dorm) for $118 and Tent Camping and Commuters for $100. 

 

Click here to Register online for the Conference 


 Then call Honey Creek at 9120265-9218 at your convenience

to confirm your rooming preferences.

Diocesan Office Update    
Bishop Benhase will be attending the House of Bishop's Spring Meeting at the Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina later this week through next week. 

Canon Logue, and his wife, Victoria are on the Episcopal Migration Ministries Pilgrimage to Kenya and Rwanda. Read the article below about their learnings from the struggles of refugees. They will return on March 14. 

Diocesan House will be closed on Tuesday March 17 as Diocesan House is along the parade route and so the parking lot is inaccessible on St. Patrick's Day.
Bishop's Visitation 

St. Elizabeth's, Richmond Hill 

 
St. Thomas, Thomasville
Call for Part-Time Communication and Events Specialist
The Canon for Administration is requesting applications for the new open position for a part-time Communications and Events Specialist. For inquiries and the position description please email Canon Willoughby at [email protected]. All interested parties, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 reference no later than Monday, March 16th by close of business.  


Youth Programs 
A Reflection on New Beginnings #46  
Hi, my name is Dylan Armstrong and I was the Lead Teen for New Beginnings number 46, with the theme of Star Wars. Thank you to every one who supports the youth programs in our diocese and beyond. I can not stress enough how much it matters that we as a diocese support our youth. Our youth will always need help, and as one I can confirm it. As a youth transitioning to adult hood my own role in the diocese and youth programs has started to change. I have received countless help to make this transition. So, once again thank you all and May The Force Be With You. (Pictured below is Dylan Armstrong and other graduating seniors that staffed New Beginnings)

 
 
Episcopal Migration Ministries
Three from Georgia Learning the Struggles of Refugees   

Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) is one of just nine voluntary agencies the Federal government works with in the task of resettling refugees in our country. This year alone EMM will help almost 5,000 persons fleeing persecution to build new lives in 30 communities across the United States. Canon Frank & Victoria Logue and Spencer Cantrell, who grew up at St. Michael and All Angel's, Savannah, are currently with EMM on a two-week Pilgrimage to Kenya and Rwanda.

 

In the past week, the group of eight Pilgrims together with EMM staff traveled to Gihembe Refugee Camp in Rwanda. There they visited with sixth grade students in the camp's 3,000-student school, took part in an English as a Second Language Class for a group soon to be resettled in America, visited with a women's farming cooperative, visited with refugees in their homes, and spoke with more than a hundred refugees in a lively town hall style question and answer session, and more. The group also visited the Genocide Memorial in Kigali which tells the story of the 1994 mass killings in that country and is the burial site for a quarter of the estimated one million victims.


The Pilgrims have also spent a  lot of time with the workers at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, Church World Service's Resettlement Service Center, and others who know the joys and challenges of this work which aids vulnerable persons who have and continue to face persecution in their home countries.


You can read some of their reflections at the Diocese of Georgia's Facebook page including Spencer's reflection on meeting a clergy spouse whose own work on peace has been nationally recognized and Canon Logue's reflection on the genocide and how we can work in small ways to redeem great tragedies. More of their writings will follow. The Pilgrims return on Friday


St. Anne's missioners at the Episcopal Cathedral of the Epiphany in Santo Domingo. With the missioners are the Very Rev. Canon Ashton Brooks (vested), the Dean of the Cathedral and of the Episcopal seminary for the Diocese of the Dominican Republic; and Juan Carlos Adames (brown t-shirt), a Dominican college student who has joined the team as a translator.

Companion Diocese
Mission Team in the Dominican Republic   

Seven missioners from St. Anne's (Tifton) are now at work on the construction site for Iglesia Episcopal Esp�ritu Santo (The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit) in the village of Las Carreras near the city of Azua in the Dominican Republic (shown on the map on the right). They arrived on March 7 and are scheduled to return home on March 14. The Episcopal congregation in Las Carreras has been meeting and worshiping for many years in the home or the back yard of the congregation's senior warden, and the church that St. Anne's has been building over the past few years in partnership with St. Patrick's (Albany) and Grace Church (Charleston SC) will be their first permanent building. After landing on March 7 and spending the night in a hotel in Santo Domingo, the team attended Sunday morning worship services at the Episcopal Cathedral in Santo Domingo before proceeding by chartered bus to Azua for another worship service Sunday evening at the Church of the Reconciliation in Azua. They began work on Monday morning, and their first job will be to remove rubble and to grade the dirt floor of the church building (pictured below). After that grading is done, then the second job for the St. Anne's team will be to mix and pour the concrete for the church floor.


This team from St. Anne's is the third mission team sponsored by the Diocese of Georgia to work in the Dominican Republic in 2015. For an overview of the our Companion Diocese relationship with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, check here. Two other trips are scheduled for this year, with a third trip a possibility. 

 

 

Take Advantage of Valuable Resource to Know Your Community  
At Christ Church Savannah's August 2014 Vestry Retreat, we began to look lay out a framework for what would be (and now has been) a year of strategic planning. Our chosen theme for our planning process was a paraphrase of Christ Church's third rector, John Wesley, "The World is our Parish." In September, the Vestry appointed a Strategic Planning Committee. This group was intentionally made up of individuals with different life experiences and people who have been part of Christ Church for various lengths of time - from long time to brand new members. Along with a parish survey, a few "question and answer sessions", general ongoing conversation with the committee members and Vestry, we have also found that a realistic assessment of the community in which we worship and serve is an essential part of planning for the future.

 

The Episcopal Church has made available MissionInsite demographic profiles based on a 3-mile radius around every congregation. These community profiles include 2010 Census data, demographic estimates through 2014, and projections through 2019. You can access your congregation's profile through this link: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/studying-your-congregation-and-communityThe very useful information available includes: population and household trends, racial and ethnic trends, age trends, school aged children trends, household income trends, household and children trends, marital status trends, adult educational attainment, employment and occupation information, mosaic household types, charitable giving practices, religious program and ministry preferences.

 

If we are truly seeking God's direction to lead us into a future of worship and mission with the hope of expanding the work and ministry of the Church, we clearly need to be aware of the current realities of the communities we serve. I hope and pray that all of the congregations of the Diocese of Georgia will take advantage of this valuable resource and allow God to lead us "to seek and serve Christ in all persons" especially in the specific locations in which we are called to live out our Christian witness in worship and service.

 

Michael White

Rector

Christ Church, Savannah

ECW Annual Meeting

 

Join us for a spirit filled weekend for the ECW Annual Meeting on April 24th and 25th.

 

Speakers & Workshops

 

Bishop Benhase

Gabriella Caballero

Prayer Workshop with Rev. Helen White

ECW ABC's & 123's with Beth Mithen

Brushes with Fate "interactive prayer and painting" with Roger Speer


 

Registration forms can be found online in two locations: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwY61XccAK4JNmxwbUdhUGRja00/view

https://www.facebook.com/ecwgeorgia?ref=hl 


 

Accomodations:

Room stay should be booked and paid for directly to the hotel: $174.00 includes breakfast & parking. Our rate of 174.00 is for single and double occupancy. Hampton Inn and Suites Midtown 912-721-2305. Code: ECW

Summer Camp
Camp Nurses Needed 

Trained medical professionals (those who have certification by an accredited agency or association) are needed to serve on a volunteer basis as camp nurses during Honey Creek Summer Camp. Primary responsibilities would include first aid administration and medication distribution during the one-week camp sessions. Below is a list of some of the medical professionals who might qualify.  Those interested in serving the diocese in this way should contact Elizabeth Burns, at [email protected].  

  • Certified First Responder (CFR)
  • Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
  • Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
  • Nurse Practitioner (NP) 
  • Paramedic  
  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • Wilderness First Responder (WFR)  
Hometown Missions
Youth to Serve in Thomasville & Augusta
Hometown Mission's 2015 will be hosted on April 17-19, 2015.  This year we will host one event taking place in two locations, with one in Augusta and one in Thomasville.  The work will take place at Christ Church in Augusta and Good Shepherd in Thomasville. Participant's will engage in projects including gardening, painting, food ministry, working in both Churches and in the local community.  The cost for the week is $50, all inclusive.  Financial Aid Available.  This is a weekend the teens will never forget!

Register Here


For more information go online to youth.georgiaepiscopal.org. You will also find a bulletin insert for your congregation online here: Hometown Missions Bulletin    

Ultimate 

Cornerstone - Augusta Convocational Youth's Ultimate Frisbee Tournament! Over 75 kids plus 12 adults were part of the big game! A great time in fellowship and friendly competition!
 

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Sincerely,                                       
            
Diocesan Staff                             
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia