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June 1, 2016
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This Sunday's Lections
Third Sunday after Pentecost
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Track 1
Psalm 146
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Track Two
Psalm 30
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Convention 2016
Nominations Now Open
The 195th Convention of the Diocese of Georgia will elect persons to serve on the Board of the Corporation, Church Disciplinary Board, Diocesan Council, General Convention Deputies and Alternates, the Standing Committee, and a Trustee for the University of the South.
BOARD of OFFICERS of THE CORPORATION 1 lay person
The Board of Officers is charged with the oversight of the investments and disbursements of those funds entrusted to it through wills, deeds, and other trust instruments. The board meets quarterly. The person elected at Convention 2016 will serve through the Convention in 2023.
CHURCH DISCIPLINARY BOARD 1 lay person & 2 clergy
Previously known as "The Ecclesiastical Trial Court," the Disciplinary Board of the Diocese of Georgia is vested with jurisdiction to hear and determine all proceedings in which a priest or deacon has been charged with one or more offense specified in the canons of the Episcopal Church. It meets only when necessary. 1 lay person and 2 clergy for a term of three years through Convention 2019.
DIOCESAN COUNCIL - 1 lay person or clergy
Council's responsibilities are to carry out the policies, programs and directions of Convention; to deal with contingencies as they arise; and to assist the bishop in developing the ministry of the diocese. It carries out the duties of Convention between Conventions. Council generally has four overnight meetings a year in various parts of the diocese. Person elected at 2013 Diocesan Convention will serve through Convention of 2019.
GENERAL CONVENTION DEPUTIES & ALTERNATES
4 lay deputies, 4 clergy deputies
4 lay alternates, 4 clergy alternates The General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church that meets every three years. The next session of the General Convention will be in Austin, Texas, in 2018. All eight deputies and the first alternates both lay and ordained travel to the convention. Additional alternates are elected in case deputies find they are unable to attend prior to the convention's start.
The Province IV Synod is comprised of the General Convention Deputies of the twenty dioceses in nine Southeastern states. Those elected to serve as deputies or alternates must be able to travel to Kanuga each spring for the Province IV Synod.
STANDING COMMITTEE - 1 layperson & 1 priest
The Standing Committee is the bishop's Council of Advice. In the absence of a bishop, the Standing Committee would act as the Ecclesiastical Authority for those purposes declared by General Convention. The Standing Committee must approve all ordinations and any financial indebtedness of parishes. It usually meets four times a year at the same time as the Commission on Ministry and in various locations throughout the diocese. Persons elected will serve a four-year term through Convention 2020.
TRUSTEE of the UNIVERSITY of the SOUTH 1 layperson
The board meets in Sewanee, TN, early in October each year. The two laypersons and one priest who serve on the board from the Diocese of Georgia are to represent the university to the diocese. One lay person will be elected for a three-year term to serve through Convention 2019.
This information will remain posted online at:
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Diocesan Office Update
Yesterday, you received a draft copy of this email which went to the whole list by accident. Sorry that we are sending it twice, but we do want you to have this week's full issue of From the Field.
Bishop Benhase is on Sabbatical.
Canon Willoughby is in Baltimore this week for training on our ACS database.
Canon Logue is in Dallas, Texas today and tomorrow as part of a team working on advance work for the Episcopal Church Evangelism Conference meeting there November 18-19. More information is online here: Episcopal Evangelism Conference |
St. Paul's, Augusta
Celebrating a Partnership with Craig-Houghton School
 This Sunday, June 5, St. Paul's Augusta will celebrate the students, teachers, support staff, and volunteers of the Craig-Houghton School where the church has a mentorship program. A partnership between the congregation and school began in 2007 with three tutors spending an hour a week. Now ten parishioners regularly tutor recommended students in math, English, and other subjects. They also coach the students in test-taking, ethics, and getting along with others through role-playing games and group discussions. This year, students in the tutoring program swept the schools awards day earning honors in track, music, citizenship, conduct, and most improved in math, science, and English language arts.  Beyond the tutoring program, Craig students have become the focus of Saint Paul's Angel Tree Christmas program and annual school supply and coat drives. Also St. Paul's Outreach Committee used funds raised at Mardi Gras to purchase uniforms for the Craig-Houghton Tigers track team (pictured at left in the new uniforms). The Craig Tigers won or placed in several citywide events and sent two of their own to the State Class A Championship meet.
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All Saints, Tybee Island
Compline on the Beach through Labor Day
 Our congregation on Tybee Island invites their fellow Episcopalians to join them for Compline on the Beach. The liturgy meets Wednesdays, 6:30 pm from June 1 through August 31. Compline will meet on the beach at the 8th Street Crossover Take route 80 to Tybee, continue past two stoplights, past the sharp right curve, to 8th and Butler. Turn left on 8th. Park, cross to the beach and look for the All Saints banner. The service lasts about 15 minutes. Bring a chair if you wish. In case of rain, compline will be held inside the church at 804 Jones (Three blocks off the beach on Jones, between 8th and 9th).
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Summer Intern Serving at St. Luke's, Rincon
St. Luke's, Rincon, and Columba House Savannah are pleased to announce their new summer seminary intern, Tyler Whitten. Tyler will spend the majority of his time serving St. Luke's parish as a verger, acolyte, preacher, teacher, youth minister, and more. Tyler is also living in Columba House Savannah, and participating in the community rule of life there throughout the summer.
Tyler Whitten was born and raised in Texas and is currently working toward a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) at Duke Divinity School. This summer he is testing a vocation to ordained ministry through his work at St. Luke's in Rincon, GA, and community life at Columba House Savannah. He enjoys playing music, reading, playing board games, and watching Netflix. Most of all he looks forward to serving the church in his time in our Diocese this summer.
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Former Savannah Rector Named National Cathedral Dean
 Washington National Cathedral named the Rev. Randolph "Randy" Marshall Hollerith, as the 11th dean of Washington National Cathedral. For the past 16 years, Hollerith has served as rector of St. James's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to serving in Virginia, Randy was the Rector of St. Peter's, Savannah.
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There is Still Time to Register for Summer Camp
 At Camp Honey Creek, we believe that both faith and the natural world go together, hand in hand. Sort of like peas and carrots, only way better. Respect for creation and developing life-long relationships are key in a young person's life. We have multiple camp sessions to choose from, because we know how busy you are saving the world and stuff. Find a session (or two...live large) that you like, and register...
Spots fill up fast, and by fast we mean pretty quick...or more like a brisk walking pace. If you have any camp questions, contact our Summer Camp Director, Thomas Greneker ([email protected]). And the next time you have peas and carrots, you'll think of Camp Honey Creek, which is pretty cool.
- Thomas Greneker, Summer Camp Director
2016 Summer Camp Schedule
(with Registration Links for Individual Camps)
completed grades 9-12, not yet started college
completed grades 6-8
completed grades 3-5
completed grades 3-5
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Upcoming Gospel
For Dead Hope to Rise - A Reflection on the Gospel
by the Rev. David Somerville
Eighteenth century political philosopher, Edmund Burke, once made the remark that the best societies are the ones "that really know how to mourn the dead". Well that's interesting. Next Sunday's Gospel leads us to see Burke's point from a resurrection perspective. The lesson is clearly about a mourner. So is there something about the grief that happened long ago in the village of Nain that God is calling us to incorporate with our living in Christ? I believe there is.
Some of us may be wondering, though, if this incredible story could really be true. And then also, how might this incident, if it is true, be related to the question of what we can do for those who, like the widow, mourn? Is there, for instance, a ministry that leads mourners to do their grief work in a way that is a journey with a positive destination, rather than a defeated wandering until the mourner in isolation fades to nothingness? In other words, what are we to do as believers to make the mourning experience of our neighbors, and our own as well, by the way, do-able with a destination that ends in blessedness?
Let's, then, answer one question and get it out of the way...because it is a question of lesser importance. And that is this: Could a twenty-first century mind believe that the resurrection in Nain really happened as it was described? I believe now that the answer is yes!
But in my youth, I would have secretly thought that the answer was No, and then go on to hide my feelings by saying something like "....Uh ... Maybe this miracle is a just a good story to make a point - like the way Jesus' parables make points. Then being uncomfortable, I would move the conversation along so that I would not give the impression that I was skeptical about anything in the Bible. After all, the Bible is the Bible! And appearing to be skeptical about that could affect my career! Yes, in those days I worried about my career. I wanted to be successful and enjoy its prestige.
As the baptized members of the community of faith, we collect memories as our lives move forward in time. They add to our spiritual maturity, and they change the way we deal with things. So my reaction to the Miracle at Nain is a little different now, and, I hope, just a bit more grace-filled than it was when I worried about my career. Here is my experience that brought some hopeful light to the story of that day when Jesus stopped a funeral procession. I made a retreat to a monastic friary almost forty years ago. One of the most remarkable members of that community was a man called "Brother Francis". I was surprised to learn that he was not always the thoughtful saint as I knew him. I had assumed that he was born that way.
But, no... like the Apostle Paul, this man had a pre-conversion life that was quite different. He once hated hated organized religion in any form - especially Christianity. But that subject never came up while I was on retreat with him. He never talked about himself. Francis spent hours with me while he gently listened to my thoughts, doubts, and feelings about the people, places, and things that affected my life - both good and bad.
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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 May 28-June 4 In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Kingsland, King of Peace. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Folkston. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Martha's Church (Santa Marta) in Los Cocos.
Prayers for June 5-11 In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Louisville, St. Mary Magdalene. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Louisville, especially St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St Peter's Church (San Pedro) in Los Conucos.
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so we can feature them in upcoming issues of From the Field.
Sincerely,
Diocesan Staff
The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia
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