This week three Columba House Residents, Gabriella Caballero, Emmy Baird, and Mark Mizelle begin their year of service (August to June). Columba House is an Episcopal intentional community where young people can explore spirituality through dialogue, prayer, and service to our neighbors.

Caballero is a returning Columba House Resident. Caballero graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a BS in Communication with a focus on Journalism and Electronic Media. Her freshman year, she was invited to film a service and dinner at Tyson House, the Episcopal-Lutheran campus ministry at UT. This experience led her to return to Tyson House, where she would become an Episcopalian and an active student leader. Last year, she interned with St. George's, Savannah. She taken on a leadership role as a member of the Vocare Steering Committee for Vocare in Georgia that serves both the Diocese of Georgia and the Diocese of Atlanta. (Pictured above are Columba House Missioners Guillermo Arboleda and Kelly Steele with Gabriella as the three visited a Diocese of Tennessee ministry while en route to the General Convention this summer)

Baird is from Satellite Beach in sunny Florida. She studied biology at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida before moving to Savannah to pursue her real dream of studying Fashion. Emmy is currently a senior at Savannah College of Art and Design studying Fashion Design. She loves to paint and go to the beach. Emmy was a camp counselor for 6 years, a lifeguard, and avid camp guitar player.

Mizelle is a Savannah native and new to the welcoming "Body of Christ" known as the Episcopal Church. He currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Kennesaw State University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Armstrong State University. Mark is starting his 2nd year at the STEM Academy @ Bartlett where he teaches Geographic Information Systems. It was during a visit to St. Paul's, Savannah in October 2014 (and through God's unending grace) that Mark decided to become "Protestant, yet Catholic" and joined the very church where his father was raised. Mark is an avid runner and feels called to work closely with young minds in the local community. He hopes to deepen/enhance his faith by "living in community" with others who feel called to serve God and his children.

The current residents are part-time Fellows who work or study full-time, live in intentional community at Columba House, and engage the young adult community in Savannah.

Columba House Savannah is now in its third year. This intentional community is one of the strategies of the Campaign for Congregational Development designed to foster youth and young adult leadership. A location for Columba House Augusta has been secured and interviews are underway for a missioner for that house, which will begin serving as a hub for young adult ministry in that city.

Diocesan Office Update

Bishop Benhase will be on vacation through August 22. This Sunday, he will make his visitation to Grace, Sandersville.

Canon Logue met last evening with the Search Committee at Calvary Americus. This Sunday, he will preach at St. John's, Savannah.

Diocesan Community Update

The prayers of the Diocese are requested for the Rev. George Bowers who recently suffered a stroke. Bowers, a long-time active communicant and then priest of the Diocese, is now retired and living in McIntosh County. He is currently in the hospital in Savannah.

1Book1Diocese

Join in Diocesan-Wide Studies this Advent and Lent

This Advent, you are encouraged to join with Episcopalians across the Diocese in reading Rowan William's Being Christian. This work, written by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is based on talks given at Canterbury Cathedral as part of a series of open lectures in 2013. In it he shares insights into baptism, Eucharist, reading the Bible, and praying. While the work is brief, the view Williams' offers is deeply Anglican, immanently accessible, and bracingly profound.

How to Take Part

While congregations are encouraged to form study groups to share their thoughts face to face each week in Advent, you can also participate with the rest of the Diocese online. First, each week in Advent read the selected portion of the 96-page book or listen to the corresponding part of the 2 hour and 25 minute audio version. Then each Sunday in Advent, we will add a reflection on the section for the week to the website 1book1diocese.georgiaepiscopal.org where you can also take part by adding your comments on that reflection as well as your thoughts on the questions Williams poses at the end of the chapter. Selections to read will be shared at the 1Book1Diocese website, here in From the Field, and at the diocesan Facebook page.

Plan Now for Lent 2016

For Lent 2016, we will offer a similar study using Rachael Held Evans' thoughtful Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church. In this memoir of the messiness of community and the power of grace, the New York Times bestselling author centers her memoir of leaving the church and returning again around the seven sacraments. By turns funny and heartbreaking and always honest, Searching for Sunday is about overcoming cynicism to find hope and, somewhere in between, Church. This book is also available both as a 288-page paperback from Thomas Nelson Publishers and a 7 hour, 28 minute audio book, which is read by the author.

Remembering an Episcopal Martyr 50 Years Later

On August 15, Episcopalians from St. Patrick's, Albany, joined a large group of pilgrims taking part in the annual Jonathan Daniels & Martyrs of Alabama Pilgrimage in Lowndes County, Alabama. This is the fiftieth year since Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Myrick Daniels (1939-1965) was amurdered in Hayneville, Alabama while in the act of saving a young woman civil rights activist. They both were working in the Civil Rights Movement in Lowndes County. Daniels' death generated further support for the Civil Rights Movement.

The annual pilgrimage began at the Lowndes County Courthouse Square in Hayneville. This year pilgrims took part in the blessing for a new historical marker at the site of the now-torn-down grocery store where Daniels was murdered. The pilgrims then return to the courthouse to celebrate Eucharist in the courtroom where Coleman was acquitted. The judge's bench served as the altar. Presiding Bishop-elect Michael Curry preached (pictured here at right). A video of the sermon is online here: Bishop Curry's sermon

The Rev. Jay Weldon said of the pilgrimage, "It was a powerful day of remembering and making holy the awful things that happened fifty years ago." The Rector of St. Patrick's, Albany, went on to say, "To me, the most powerful portion of the day was the Eucharist celebration in the court room where Daniel's killer was acquitted, where we proclaimed together- defiantly, really- in that place, 'Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.'"

For those interested in learning more about the martyred seminarian, an article from Episcopal News Service details Daniels' life and Christian witness: Remembering Jonathan Daniels 50 Years after his Martyrdom.

Pictured from left are the Rev. Jay Weldon, Deacon Jim Purks, and Jim Kempf.

The day Jesus asked me for a drink of water

Nursing home ministry was the farthest thing from my mind when I thought about something useful I could do in the community. But clearly, God had other ideas.

More than 20 years ago now, I went into a nursing home to see if I could be useful. At the end of the day, it was clear to me that I didn't have what it took to be there. On my way out of the building I glanced in one of the rooms and saw a frail old woman struggling to reach a glass of water on her bedside table. So I turned and went in and held the glass for her while she drank. She lay back on the pillow and said, "Thank you!"I had gotten all the way to my car before I realized Jesus had just asked me for a drink of water. And so I have been at it for almost 20 years now.

After completing Kerygma, EFM, The Virginia Institute for Spiritual Direction, and the North Carolina Deacon Formation Program, I was ordained a vocational deacon in 1999 and served for 6 years as Archdeacon in Southern Virginia.

Presently, I serve as part-time Chaplain at Riverview Health and Rehab in Savannah, a 200-bed non-profit facility in Savannah. While most of my time is spent making pastoral visits, I also maintain a clothing closet for residents in need, and host a monthly Eucharist, celebrated by visiting convocation clergy.

About a year ago we began our own service project with what we call The Emmaus Project. Each month, the residents pack up about 100 bags of donated personal-size toiletries for the homeless clients of Emmaus House downtown. The residents clearly enjoy being able to engage in useful ministry themselves, though illness and injury have changed so many other things. It's an idea that continues to grow, as the residents now want to pack care packages for soldiers and Christmas Child shoe boxes!

Deacon Patti Davis serves at Christ Church, Savannah. While in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, she served on the Commission on Ministry, the Commission on Aging, and the diocesan clergy association board, and she taught homiletics for the School for Ministry Formation. She is a published poet, finding that writing gives her a way to process her experiences. She is author of What Child is This? and co-author of Searching the Heart of God: Deacon and Priest in Conversation. In 2006, she received the John Hines Preaching Award from Virginia Theological Seminary.

Young Adult and Campus Ministry

Register for Vocare #25

Vocare #25 will be held October 2-4, 2015 at Camp Mikell in Toccoa, GA. Vocare in Georgia is an Episcopal young adult ministry serving both the Diocese of Georgia and Diocese of Atlanta. Through weekend retreats and community building, Vocare in Georgia provides opportunities for self discovery and the beginnings of spiritual discernment. God is calling each one of us into deepened faithfulness and more clearly defined ministries. The weekend is filled with fun and games, serious reflection and discussion, and familiar, relaxed worship.

The cost of the weekend is $100. Scholarships are available.

The Pilgrim registration form can be accessed via the link below.

Vocare #25 Pilgrim Registration Form

The staff application can be accessed via the link below.

Vocare #25 Staff Application

For more information, visit Vocare in Georgia's website or contact Program Manager Rudy Reyes at rreyes@gaepiscopal.org.

St. Patrick's, Albany

Children and Youth Director Sought

Beginning September 1st, St. Patrick's and the Lutherna Church of Our Savior are looking for a part-time children and youth director. The position will require six to eight hours each week on average. The ideal candidate enjoys working with children and youth in a church setting, is of mature and grounded faith, communicates well with children and teenagers, and is familiar with the Episcopal / Lutheran tradition (or willing to learn). Must pass a background check, have a valid driver's license and transportation, be certified in Safeguarding God's Children. Receiving applications through Aug 15, 2015. E-mail to office@stpatricksalbany.org.

Full information is found online here: Children and Youth Director. St. Patrick's Rector, the Rev. Jay Weldon is pictured above teaching children about Ash Wednesday.

Blessing of Backpacks at Christ Church, Savannah.

Blessings for Backpacks, Students, and Teachers

With students headed back to school, churches in the Diocese have been blessing the students and teachers with a Blessing of the Backpacks as a part of their Sunday liturgy. No set form has been established. Here is one blessing adapted from the Collect for Young Persons in the Book of Common Prayer:

God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; Bless them in their studies, bless their teachers, aides and all of the school staff, and bless O Lord these backpacks that travel with them day by day as a sign of your steady presence in their lives in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pictured above at right in those who came forward for a blessing at Trinity, Cochran on August 9.

The Rev. Tom Arledge and Deacon Aaron Brewer are pictured above at St. Luke's, Hwinkinsville's blessing.

The Rev. Lisa Barrowclough blesses the students and their packs at Good Shepherd, Augusta.

Asking God's blessing for students, teachers, and backpacks at St. Annes, Tifton.

Four Upcoming Retreats for Adults

Looking for a way to deepen your spiritual life? Honey Creek offers retreats that give room for recharging as well as learning more. Here are four upcoming offerings:

Cursillo - October 8-11

Pronounced 'kur-see-yo', this a short course in Christianity taken from the Spanish word meaning 'little' or 'short course'. Cursillo developed after World War II with Roman Catholic men. The short course has now been given to men and women around the world and in the process has assisted generations of Christians to more faithfully follow Jesus in their daily lives. Cursillo begins on a Thursday evening and ends the following Sunday evening. During those three days the participants engage in listening to talks given by priests and lay people, and small table discussion, while worshiping and playing together. The next Cursillo weekend will be October 8-11, 2015, at Honey Creek. You can find out more and register to attend at cursillo.georgiaepiscopal.org

Women's Retreat - October 16-18

St. Elizabeth's, Richmond Hill will again host a Women's Retreat at Honey Creek. The retreat meets October 16-18. With the theme "Deeper Into the Heart of God: Place of Freedom" the weekend is dedicated to bringing participants into an ever-deepening love relationship with Jesus. For more information or to register, contact Emily Hubbard at (912) 856-7902 or email her at emchub@aol.com

Advent Retreat - December 11-12

In December, the Revs. Dwayne Varas and Lonnie Lacy will lead an Advent Retreat at Honey Creek on following Jesus in the way of St. Ignatius. This retreat will be held December 11 from 5 p.m. until 5 p.m. on December 12th. Click here for a brochure on this retreat.

The rates for the conference including three meals are: Lodge 1 Single $144, Lodge 1 Double $99.50, Lodge 2 Single $133, Lodge 2 Double $94, Cottage $90, and Campers and Commuters $64. Registration information will follow.

Lenten Retreat - February 19-20, 2016

In Lent, the Revs. Liam Collins and Frank Logue will offer a retreat at Honey Creek. The retreat will explore reconciliation, making room for real changes to take place in the lives of retreat participants during the weekend itself. This 2016 Lenten Retreat will meet February 19 at 5 p.m. and conclude by 2 p.m. on the 20th. The costs will be identical to those for the Advent Retreat above.

Prayers for Weekly Liturgies

Our one-year prayer cycle combines prayers for every congregation in the Diocese of Georgia with prayers for our ecumenical partners and for our Companion Diocese of The Dominican Republic. The 52 weekly prayers are available in one document: http://gaepiscopal.org/docs/oneyearprayercycle.pdf

Prayers for August 16-22

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Sandersville, Grace Church. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Sandersville, especially St. William Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in San Francisco de Macor�s, especially The Good Samartian (El Buen Samaritano) and Jesus the Nazarene (Jes�s Nazareno).

Prayers for August 23-29

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Savannah, especially Christ Church, the Mother Church of Georgia. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Savannah, especially the Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and Ascension Lutheran Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the Church of St. Paul and St. Luke (San Pablo y San Lucas) in San Isidro.

Juggling Responsibilities

The Exchange Club of Effingham County shared this photo of the Rev. David Rose on their Facebook page saying the "Pastor of St Luke's Episcopal Church in Rincon, demonstrated his talent at juggling. He spoke to the Effingham Exchange Club about how we all tend to juggle things in our life. He said we all need to focus on one thing but that's supported by something else. That's how life is - when it's in balance. Fr. Rose emphasized that if God is at the center of your life, everything else will fall in place."

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Sincerely,

Diocesan Staff

The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia