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September 18, 2019
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Volume 10, No. 4
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From the Transition Committee
What is the Walkabout?
The Walkabout provides a chance for everyone in the Diocese of Georgia to meet the five candidates for the XI Bishop as they travel through our diocese October 22-25. There will be five stops during the week, all of which have the same format. (See timeline above for locations, times, days and dates.)
At each location, we (the Transition Committee) will register all attendees and provide them with a name tag that indicates a break-out location.
We will start with a plenary session during which the five candidates will be introduced and respond to a question presented to them beforehand. After we have heard from all five, we will quickly move the attendees into pre-assigned breakout rooms for smaller sessions with each candidate. The candidates will rotate through each room over the course of the event. Diocesan attendees will be able to ask candidates whatever questions they would like. Each breakout room will have a facilitator to keep the conversation moving, and to ensure that everyone gets a chance to be heard. There will be a Spanish-language breakout room at St. Thomas Isle of Hope. We hope to have Facebook Live streaming from St. Thomas, Isle of Hope and Christ Church, Frederica.
Each of the sessions will be about three hours from start to finish to allow enough time for attendees to have at least 20 minutes with each candidate. Please come prepared with questions you might like to ask at the Walkabout sessions!
If you haven't done so already, find out about the five candidates nominated by the Search Committee and mark your calendar to attend a session of the Walkabout. Information on all can be found
here.
To download an updated PDF version of the timeline suitable for posting, go
here.
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This Sunday's Lections
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY
after
PENTECOST
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Track 1
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Psalm 79:1-9
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13
Track 2
Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13
Go
here for the full text.
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It's hoped that Episcopalians and other followers of Jesus will fill this space on May 31, 2020!
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SAVE THE DATE!
Presiding Bishop to Preach
in Forsyth Park, Savannah
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will preach in an open air Eucharist in Savannah's Forsyth Park on Sunday, May 31, 2020. The Diocese reserved the band shell in the park for the liturgy. The newly consecrated 11th Bishop of Georgia will officiate.
The Eucharist will take place at 11 AM on the Sunday morning following the consecration of the bishop. Put the date on your calendars now! More information will be forthcoming after November's Diocesan Convention.
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Episcopal Relief & Development Grant Making a Difference
Funded by an Episcopal Relief and Development (ER&D) grant of $50,000, the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia; the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and the Giving Kitchen have partnered to create the Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund and offer financial assistance to food service workers experiencing hardship due to Hurricane Dorian in Coastal Georgia and Coastal South Carolina. Stats on the latest distribution can be found below:
Grantees: 88
Funds Awarded Episcopal Diocese of Georgia: $17,800
Funds Awarded Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina: $11,550
Requests for assistance: ~700
Submitted applications: 140
In progress applications: 250
How it Works
Giving Kitchen's
online application requires food service workers impacted by Hurricane Dorian to provide proof of current employment in the commercial food service industry as well as financial need in order to qualify for the Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund. Approved applicants will receive grocery store gift cards in amounts ranging from $50 to $500 based on current need.
One-time funds are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Food service workers may apply for assistance from the Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund from now through September 30, 2019. To access the Hurricane Dorian Hurricane Relief Fund application, go here:
Hurricane Dorian Relief
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From the Canon Missioner for Children and Youth
Diocesan Convention as Christian Formation
Grades 6-12
Friday Morning, November 15 - Saturday Noon, November 16, 2019
Cost: $10 through November 3 ($20 after November 3)
Many of the Diocesan events that our young people participate in are called, collectively, "youth events." As such, they are geared specifically for teens and tweens and they are an incredible way that our young people's faith is nurtured. But young people also have an important part to play in the wider councils of the church. Often when they encounter the wider church (including us adults!) they find themselves that they have both things to learn and things to teach. This mutual encounter can lead them to new insights about themselves, about their relationship with God, and about the Church.
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Youth wait for the start of the 2018 Diocesan Convention Eucharist at St. Paul's Albany.
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According to the canons of the Diocese of Georgia, anyone who is 16 years of age or older, and a confirmed communicant in good standing is eligible to serve as a delegate to Convention. This is one of the deepest ways to empower young people, by literally giving them a vote at the table. However, if your delegates have already been selected, your young people can still participate. They can register for the Youth Presence at Convention, which begins Friday morning, November 15, and lasts through the conclusion of Convention on Saturday, November 16. Our youth will be part of the Convention Eucharist, and will assist with the logistics of Convention, by serving as pages, ushers, message bearers, ballot collectors, and more. They will be also part of small group discussions, and, of course, this year they will get a chance to be present for the election of the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia!
On Friday evening, our youth will eat together and will spend the night at Trinity Church, Statesboro. This time of play and reflection is often one of the most fruitful moments in the weekend and youth share with one another their impressions of the first day of Convention. Then on Saturday morning they will return to Convention to lead morning worship, and participate for the rest of the day. Youth can be picked up at the conclusion of Convention by parents or (by pre-arrangement) by other adults from their congregation.
Attending Diocesan Convention is a powerful way in which young people continue their growth in the Christian faith, as they have a chance to see how we make decisions that affect all of us, and especially how we, as adults, seek to do so by listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit among us and within us. And quite often, their presence makes it easier for us adults to hear that still small voice.
The Rev. Canon Joshua Varner
Canon for Children and Youth
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Youth from across the Diocese lead morning songs during the 2018 Convention.
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The 198th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia will be held at the Nessmith-Lane Building on the campus of Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, from 2 PM Thursday, November 14 through 11 AM Saturday, November 16th. This convention will serve as an electing convention for the 11th Bishop of Georgia, while also conducting the usual business of the annual meeting including approving budgets and electing persons to diocesan offices.
Run for Office
In addition to electing the 11th Bishop of Georgia, the 198th Convention of the Diocese of Georgia is charged with electing persons to serve on the Board of the Corporation, Diocesan Council (at large), Disciplinary Board, Sewanee Trustee, Standing Committee, and delegates and alternates to the 2021 General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
Liz Williams of All Saints Thomasville is the Nominations Chair and will oversee the nominations for the offices up for election other than diocesan bishop.
Nominations so far include:
For Sewanee Trustee, Lay Person
Ned Murray, Good Shepherd, Augusta
For General Convention Delegate, Lay Person
Molly Stevenson, Christ Church Valdosta
Elizabeth Williams, St. Thomas Thomasville
Jody Grant, Our Savior Martinez
Cissy Bowden, Good Shepherd, Augusta
For General Convention Delegate, Deacon or Priest
The Rev. Kelly Steele, St. Peter's Savannah
For Standing Committee, Priest
The Rev. David Lemburg, St. George's Savannah
While nominations for all offices other than bishop remain open, by the canons of the Diocese, until the floor of convention, submitting a nomination as soon as possible will assist the Diocese in publicizing the nominees in advance of the meeting. Go
here
to read more about specific offices and to submit a nominee or nominator's form.
Early registration ended on August 15, the cost to register now is $85 until October 31 after which registration is $95. The registration fee covers the cost of audio-visual and print production; excellent coffee along with breakfast on Friday and Saturday morning; a catered lunch on Friday, and more. Go here to register:
http://bit.ly/Registerfor198thConvention
Attendees are also encouraged to car pool to GSU from hotels or area churches.
The exhibit area is a popular destination for convention-goers each year. Are you planning to have an exhibit at the 198th Convention? Fill out this
form and send it in to the Diocesan Offices before October 25th.
Find a Hotel
There are 14 rooms for Thursday night at Springhill Suites remaining of the three blocks of rooms the Diocese of Georgia reserved. Registration opened earlier than usual this year to encourage those who require hotel accommodations to make reservations as soon as possible, as several other events are being held on the college's campus, including a home football game.
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The Rev. Galen Mirate called to St. John's and St. Mark's, Albany
 The vestry of St. John's and St. Mark's, Albany, called the Rev. Galen Mirate as their Priest in Charge. Born in Charleston, SC, Mirate's first career was in law. She earned a BS from Emory University in 1977 and a JD from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1981. Mirate worked as an attorney who specialized in appellate court cases. She was a parishioner at Christ the King, Valdosta, when called to the ordination process as a bi-vocational priest. Following studies at Sewanee, Bishop Louttit ordained her a deacon at the 2006 diocesan convention in Savannah and to the priesthood that August. Mirate served as an Associate at Christ the King, Valdosta, and as the Vicar of St. Margaret of Scotland in Moultrie. In recent years, she has assisted the diocese with shorter calls that came at important times for congregations in transition including St. Patrick's, Albany; Calvary, Americus; and St. Paul's, Albany. Married since 1992 to Donald Mirate, they have one grown son, Milo. Don, an ophthalmologist, has accepted a part-time position at Eye Center South in Albany. |
The Bishop Knocks at the Door
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St. Anne's current sanctuary and, at right, the historic, original church built by the Tift brothers.
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"Worship is the heartbeat of our life together at St. Anne's," says the Rev. Lonnie Lacy, Rector of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Tifton. "Everything we do, everything we are, flows from our worship of the living God."
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Members of St. Anne's rejoice with their sister congregation in the Dominican Republic.
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St. Anne's began in 1898 after Bishop C.K. Nelson met brothers Henry and Edmund Tift, founders of Tifton. The two Episcopalians had moved to south Georgia from Connecticut and desired to pull together a worshiping congregation. The shipbuilders under their employment built St. Anne's original carpenter Gothic church downtown, which was later moved to the current property in 1985 when the congregation began construction of their new, larger sanctuary.
"Through our 121 years as a congregation, worship has been the golden thread," Lacy says. "It was the desire to worship that brought the first Episcopalians together in Tift County, and it's that same desire to worship that continues to form us to this day. Through worship, God grounds us, connects us, reshapes us, and sends us."
Out of that worship has emerged a community of joyful disciples diverse in age and background, ready to serve near and far. St. Anne's food pantry quietly feeds dozens of families a month, the only pantry in town specializing in low sodium, low sugar foodstuffs for those with special dietary needs. A bread guild provides fresh bread and birthday cakes for local shelters. A knitting ministry sends prayer shawls and baby blankets to the sick. An adopt-a-mile group meets monthly to keep Tift County clean. And far from Tifton, the church holds a long-term relationship with a sister congregation in the Dominican Republic, through which they recently helped Espíritu Santo complete their sanctuary after 50 years of meeting for worship in the open air.
"All of it," says Lacy, "is an extension of the love, healing, forgiveness, and grace God generously pours into our lives, week after week."
Confirmands with their presenters and families: Confirmed: Jackson Beckham, Thomas Coogle, Brooks Cross, Tristan Crow, Abbi Hendrix, Mary Grace Lacy, Tucker Lamb; Received: Chris Burchell, Darlene Fike, Gregg Grimsley, Sandra Grimsley, Melissa Roberts, Donna-Claire, Schwekendiek; Reaffirmed: Michael Housel, Kathy Kent
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Around the Diocese
Healing Racism supper, discussion, and Compline were held last Friday at All Saints Episcopal Church Tybee Island. Brief clips of the video "The Long Shadow" were shown followed by table discussion. Future programs will feature another video, "Slavery by another name" plus local stories. Ron Christopher, director of the King Tisdall Institute will be the featured speaker Nov 8th. The program begins 5:30 every 2nd Friday of the month through May except for April, when it will be held on the third Friday. Contemplative singing of the Taize and Compline end the program.
Holy Nativity and Christ Church Frederica, St. Simons Island are among the sponsors of a benefit for hurricane relief in the Bahamas at the island's lighthouse starting at 3:30 PM.
Giving Back, Island to Island
, will kick off with music by Roy Gentry & Hired Guns at 4 PM, followed by The Island Kings at 6 PM, then touring favorites The Sensational Sounds of Motown (above) will take the main stage at 7 PM.
St. John's Savannah fall youth and children's ministry kickoff, hosted by the Hewson family, included a Southern-style dinner complete with hayride.
Three priests from the Diocese of Georgia in the Sewanee Ministry Collaborative joined the seminary community for Eucharist and lunch! Pictured, from left: the Rev. Charles Todd, the Rev. Terri Degenhardt, the Rev. Larry Jesion, Gabriel Perkins-Lawrence (Seminarian), Casey Perkins-Lawrence, Ranie Neislar (Seminarian).
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The Rev. Billy Alford addresses the Augusta Chapter of the American Guild of Organists at its annual Organist and Pastor Dinner held at St. Alban's this past Monday. The subject of Alford's talk was the use of liturgical music in small congregations without a choir, just organ and congregations. Judith F. Ruffin, organist at St. Alban's was the event's host.
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The Rev. Dr. Reggie McNeal on Get a (Kingdom) Life!
The guest preacher at Holy Comforter Martinez this Sunday will be the Rev. Dr. Reggie McNeal, who was instrumental in starting some of the congregation's outreach ministries. A Baptist preacher, teacher, writer and iconoclast, McNeal has facilitated vestry conferences for several of our parishes at Kanuga.
"Reggie . . .challenges us to live, love and serve in ways that mirror the authentic, life changing, world changing Jesus," said the Rev. Cynthia Taylor, Rector at Holy Comforter.
For more information, go to
www.reggiemcneal.org.
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Know Your Delegate Count for 198th Convention
From the Standing Committee
Regarding Delegates to the Diocesan Convention
and Election of the XI Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia:
T
his is a reminder that the new Article III, Sec. 2 of the Canons of the Diocese of Georgia will be in effect at the upcoming Convention and Bishop Election of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia on November 14-16, 2019. This Article states that the calculation of each congregation's READ MORE
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Diocesan Office Update and News
T
he Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase,
10th Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia, is at the House of Bishops Fall Meeting in Minneapolis through Saturday. He will make his annual visitation to St. Francis of the Islands at 10:15 AM, Sunday, September 22. The Bishop's full schedule can be found
here.
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue and Director of Communications Anna Iredale will be at Good Shepherd, Pennick, this Sunday for the Feast Day of St. Anna Alexander (Deaconess).
The Rev. Kelly Steele, Associate Rector of St. Peter's, Savannah, will officiate at the Thursday, noon service at Saint Anna Alexander Chapel, Diocesan House.
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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
found here.
September 15-21
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Savannah, especially St. Peter's. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Savannah, especially Messiah Lutheran Church and St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Matthew (San Matías) in Santana.
September 22-28
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Savannah, especially St. Paul the Apostle and St. Bartholomew's Chapel. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Savannah, especially the Catholic congregations of St. Frances Cabrini and Saints Peter and Paul as well as St. Paul's Lutheran Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Christ the Savior (
Cristo Salvador) in Santiago.
Additional Prayer Cycles
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Hilde-garden Party
The Rev. Amy K Bradley shared this photo on Instagram with the following caption:
"Sometimes you just need to throw a party for Hildegard of Bingen. In a garden. A Hilde-garden Party, if you will. Huge thanks to everyone from St. Augustine's and Church of Our Savior who helped put on this event for Canterbury Club. And thanks to Hildegard for her life, witness, and amazing cookie recipe."
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Events
The DOK Fall Assembly
Honey Creek Retreat Center
For an agenda, go
here.
To register, download this
form
.
Fall Clergy Conference
Monday, September 30 to Wednesday October 2
Honey Creek Retreat Center
Register
here.
Cursillo #126
October 17-20
Honey Creek
Go
here for more information.
Walkabout with Candidates for the XI Bishop
6 PM Tuesday, October 22: Good Shepherd, Augusta
6 PM Wednesday, October 23: St. Thomas, Isle of Hope (with live Spanish interpretation)
11 AM Thursday, October 24: Christ Church, Frederica
6 PM Thursday, October 24: Christ Church, Valdosta
6 PM Friday, October 25: Calvary, Americus
198th Convention of the Diocese of Georgia
November 14-16
Georgia Southern University
Diocesan Convention Youth Presence (for grades 6 to 12)
November 15 (all day) through November 16
Hosted by Trinity Church, Statesboro
Register
here.
Winter Youth Retreat
January 10-12, 2020
Honey Creek
For students in grades 6 to 12
Happening #103
Thursday, February 20 (for staff, participants arrive Friday) to Sunday, February 23, 2020
Honey Creek
For students in grades 10 to 12
Consecration of the XI Bishop, Diocese of Georgia
11 AM Saturday, May 30
Johnny Mercer Theater
Savannah, Georgia
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Preaches in Forsyth Park
11 AM Sunday, May 31
The Bandshell, Forsyth Park
Savannah, Georgia
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