March 2, 2016Volume 6, Number 27
In This Issue
Diocesan Office Update
St. Luke's, Rincon.
1Book1Diocese
Spring Clergy Conference
Creation Care Commission
Connecting Young People to Campus Ministries.
Confirmation Retreat
Loose Canon
Prayers
Food Team
Send us your news
Web Links
 
 




This Sunday's Lections
Fourth Sunday in Lent
 
Join Our Mailing List
Seven Ordinations Set for May 
With the approval of the Standing Committee of the Diocese, Bishop Benhase has set seven ordinations for May. 

Four Deacons on May 14
God willing and the people consenting, Bishop Benhase will ordain Donald Holland of Grace Church Waycross, Ian Lasch of St. Augustine's Augusta, Tommy Townsend of St. Mark's Brunswick, Ray Whiting of St. Alban's Augusta to the Sacred Order of Deacons at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 in St. Paul the Apostle, Savannah. 

Three Priests on May 21
Bishop Benhase will ordain Guillermo Arboleda, Dale Jones, and Kelly Steele to the Sacred Order of Priests at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 21 in Christ Church, Savannah. Arboleda and Steele are both missioners at Columba House Savannah. Arboleda also serves at St. George's, Savannah, while Steele also serves at St. Michael and All Angels, Savannah. Jones is part of the Team Ministry at Trinity, Cochran. 

Bi-Vocational Priest Formation
Holland, Jones, and Townsend prepared for ordination through our new bi-vocational ordination track using local formation together with study at Sewanee. Each student participates in four modules per year for two years, with learning taking place in both residential and online formats. During the residency, students will be introduced to the requirements of the course and immediately begin working with the course content. Time for personal consultation with the faculty will be provided in addition to regular opportunities for prayer and worship, fellowship and conversation, and personal study time. Regular online work designed uniquely for each module follows between times on campus. In addition, the Diocese offers work in the parish as well as study weekends on preaching, liturgy, and the practice of ministry.
Diocesan Office Update    
On Sunday, Bishop Benhase will make his visitation to St. Peter's, Savannah.

Canon Logue will work this weekend, together with the Rev. Joshua Varner, as Spiritual Director for New Beginnings at Honey Creek.
Bishop's Visitation 

St. Luke's, Rincon  

Candidates and sponsors at St. Luke's this past Sunday.
1Book1Diocese
Lent Discussion Considers Communion this Week
As the Lent 1Book1Diocese continues to read Rachel Held Evans's Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church, Brenda Kellar, offers her reflections on Communion at our website. Her reflection is part of our diocesan engagement with the book as each Wednesday in Lent, we add a reflection on the section for the week to the 1book1diocese website. You can take part by adding your comments on that reflection as well as your thoughts on the questions posed there and on anything you want to share on reading Searching for Sunday. 

Next week we will discuss the chapter on Confirmation, and next Wednesday we will post a reflection from Luke Wetzel, to the 1Book1Diocese website.
   
Register Now for the Spring Clergy Conference  
During the Spring Clergy Conference, the priests and deacons will hear from the Rev. Dr. Eric Law who will present the models, theology, and skill sets he has developed to unlock sustainability in outward focused congregations.  The May 1-3 conference will focus on Law's Holy Currencies which offers a holistic model for stewardship and congregational vitality, moving beyond "time, talent, and treasure" to create missional and sustainable ministries.  Law defines a missional church as a community of people who look outward and are able to connect with others who are not already of any church organization.

Parishioners as well as clergy are encouraged to read the Rev. Dr. Eric Law's book Holy Currencies: 6 Blessings for Sustainable Missional Ministries. Law will present to the Spring Clergy Conference the models, theology, and skill sets he has developed to unlock sustainability in outward focused congregations. Law finds that the face-to-face work in a short conference like ours goes much further in producing positive change when this is not the first encounter with the concepts.

His model with its processes, enables church leaders to understand, develop, and utilize five other kinds of currencies besides money that are essential for creating sustainable missional ministries.

Law is an Episcopal priest who with the support of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, founded the Kaleidoscope Institute in 2006 to provide resources to equip church leaders to create sustainable churches and communities.

St. John's, Savannah
A Lecture on the Beaufort Revival of 1831
John McCardell, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South, will speak on: "The Beaufort Revival of 1831 And Its Far-reaching Consequences" - which included, among other things, the vocation of Stephen Elliott, first Bishop of Georgia, first Rector of St. John's, and a founder of Sewanee,  to the ordained ministry. Bishop Elliott is pictured at left.
 
In the Ralston Room of Cranmer Hall
at St. John's Church in Savannah

Thursday, March 10th at 7 p.m.

RSVP Church Office 923 232-1251 or email WCorbin@stjohnssav.org. 

St. John's Church is located on Bull Street at Madison Square, just south of Liberty Street. The Church parking lot is on the west side of Whitaker Street, one block south of Liberty Street. Cranmer Hall is at the south-east corner of Whitaker and West Charlton, immediately to the south of the Church itself. 
Gunn Marks 50th Ordination Anniversary
This Feast of the Annunciation, the Rev. Reginald Gunn will marks the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Of his March 15, 1966 ordination, Gunn recalls, "I was ordained on a Bright sunny Saturday in Saint Luke's Church, Hawkinsville. Interestingly enough, the Master of Ceremonies for the day was one Harry W. Shipps, and Henry I Louttit, Jr was also one of the presbyters present."
 
As the Feast of the Annunciation falls on Good Friday this year, the Golden Jubilee celebration will be in St James' Church in Clayton, Georgia on Sunday April 3rd.  Gunn says, "That is 'Low Sunday' to keep me appropriately humble. The liturgy will include his daughter Heather Haskell playing the bagpipes for the day, and a catered reception afterward.

The Rev. Jay Weldon plans for Gunn's former parish, St Patrick's Albany, to have a celebration in the southwest area of the state.  That celebration will be Sunday, May 1, 2016 in St Patrick's Church, Albany.

Gunn notes, "All of this is contingent, Deus volentus, on my successful recovery from major surgery in Atlanta on Tuesday March 1st.  I am on the Diocesan prayer list, and I would appreciate your prayers. In this surgery, whether I live or die, I win.  It's the stuff I've preached about for 50 years and can witness to my eternal belief God's promise of Everlasting Life." His surgery was successful and he is recovering now and planning for these two celebrations of a Golden Jubilee.
Creation Care Commission
Congregation Demonstrates Recycling Mettle
One Diocese of Georgia congregation proved its recycling mettle with ... metal! When faced with the loss of an ongoing metal recycling fundraiser, St. John's in Bainbridge developed a creative solution. Read about their successful project below in a report from St. John's parishioner, Sally Miller. Congregations wishing to develop a similar project can contact local and regional metal recyclers and ask if they provide metal recycling dumpster service. They can usually be found through a Google search or in the phone book. Congratulations to St. John's - you deserve a MEDAL!

After our local recycling plant closed, we had to take our aluminum and tin cans to another collection center - a 22-mile trip - one way. But since metal recycling was a long-standing program at St John's, which benefitted our priest's discretionary fund and thereby our community's needy, we certainly didn't want to "throw in the towel."

We learned from the new collection center that we could get a dumpster delivered to our church on a temporary basis - for just three days. We just had to fill it! And we did! Our parishioners all got together on this project. One of our Vestry members drove around town looking for metal. He filled his pick-up truck five times!

In just one weekend, we saved a lot of objects from ending up in the local landfill. We helped our community become cleaner, and we raised over $85.00 for our priest to help neighbors in need!


St. John's vestry member Paul Fryer and his trusty helpers collected metal all over town for recycling. Proceeds supported the vicar's discretionary fund. 
Young Adult and Campus Ministry 
Connecting Young People to Campus Ministries  
As high school seniors and those who have graduated look towards the beginning of college in the fall, let us connect them to campus ministries in their area. If you are already in college and would like to connect with a campus ministry you may also fill out the 2016 Campus Connector form. The information collected here is used only to connect young people to a campus ministry.


For more information check out the young adult and campus ministry website at youngadult.georgiaepiscopal.org or contact Program Manager Rudy Reyes at rreyes@gaepiscopal.org. 
What is the Confirmation Retreat? 
Whether you are preparing for Confirmation or simply want to deepen your understanding of the Episcopal Church, we hope that you will join us for this exciting weekend! The Confirmation Retreat this year is open to youth preparing for their confirmation. It will be held at Honey Creek from April 1-3, 2016. Topics covered will include Scripture, Creeds, Sacraments, Prayer, Church History, and an Instructed Eucharist.
 
Scholarships are available upon request. If you would like to apply for a scholarship to attend, please contact Rebekah Stewart atrstewart@gaepiscopal.org


The Loose Canon
Prepare Now to Advertise Your Easter Liturgies
The Easter Sunday liturgies not only represent the pinnacle of our faith in Jesus Christ, that Sunday is also the best opportunity of the year for inviting your community to worship with you. We know that many people only want to be asked and they will say yes to coming to your church. The best way to ask is for parishioners to personally invite their friends, co-workers, and family members. You can prepare the way for this by advertising on Facebook where many of these connections already are linked.

I partnered with friends around the church (including our Presiding Bishop who added his voice to kick off the English language video) to create videos in English, Spanish, and many of the other languages in which Episcopalians worship. The video is free for you to share as your congregation's own in order to advertise your Easter liturgies. The video is online here: Your Free Easter Invitation Video. You can also see our still rather anecdotal evidence suggesting increased attendance at churches that used the Ash Wednesday Ad: 7 Lessons from the Ash Wednesday Facebook Video Experiment. 

Creating an Inexpensive Ad on Facebook
To support parishioners in asking their friends, try a Facebook ad starting either March 13 or Palm Sunday, March 20. We have found targeting Friends of those who like your congregation's Facebook page who also live within the area of your church is a very effective group. The following tutorial is provided to walk you through the process of downloading the video from this post, uploading it to Facebook, and creating a Facebook ad:
How to Create a Facebook Ad for Your Church
How to Create a Facebook Ad for Your Church

Then after Easter, share your experiences (good or bad) with trying this means of advertising.

peace, Frank
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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 February 28-March 5
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Blakely, Holy Trinity, and for our ecumenical partners in Blakely, especially Holy Family Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Cornelius (San Cornelio) in Cabarette.

Prayers for February 6-12
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Brunswick, Good Shepherd, St. Athanasius', and St. Mark's. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Brunswick, especially St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and St. James Lutheran Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Anthony of Padua (San Antonio de Padua) in Carreton.
Food Team 

King of Peace, Kingsland served Sunday supper to adults and children on site at Missions for Camden. Several dinners were boxed and delivered to others who were unable to make it to the Missions for Camden location. 
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Sincerely,                                       
            
Diocesan Staff                             
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia