December 9, 2020
Volume 11, No. 14
IN THIS ISSUE
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Join the Diocese for Christmas Eve
As we plan for our Christmas Eve services, we'd love for you and your family to participate! We're offering a couple different opportunities to be part of our virtual Christmas Eve.

Baby Ezra Lasch in his first performance 
as one of the Magi.
The Christmas Pageant
We would love your help as we put together our Diocesan Christmas Pageant!  We will be providing the narration, but we need YOU to make it the most delightful Christmas pageant ever. Send us a video clip (30 seconds or less) of your family as your favorite pageant participants: sheep, shepherds, angels, Magi, or friendly beasts (lobsters welcome). Professional level costumes not needed, just use whatever you have around the house! Please submit clips to the Rev. Canon Loren Lasch by Monday, December 14: llasch@gaepiscopal.org  




Joy to the World Virtual Choir
In order to sing this hymn, all you need is a pair of earbuds, a computer, and a smartphone that can record video. You will download the appropriate guide track and then sing along with the guide track in your earbuds while you video yourself using your phone. We need your submission no later than Monday, December 14, in order to incorporate it into the final choir.

In order to participate, you need the full instructions, which can be found here: https://bit.ly/JoytotheWorldChoir. The instructions include links to written music, guide tracks for melody, harmony, and descant (if desired) and instructions on how to submit your video once you're done. Many thanks to Kathleen Turner, Organist and Choirmaster at Christ Church, Frederica, for creating these tracks.

Please read the instructions carefully before you record anything! Contact Canon Varner at  jvarner@gaepiscopal.org with your questions.

Please note that while singers sometimes feel like they are singing a solo during this process, and therefore choose not to participate, your offering will be mixed with others, creating the sound of many voices singing together through the miracle of technology. So go ahead and sing and submit your music. Your song will join with everyone else's offerings to create something glorious!

We appreciate your help in sharing the joy of the Incarnation with the Diocese of Georgia!

Advent Zoom Compline
Since March our Diocesan Youth have been gathering on Zoom for Compline. Our worship services include music, common prayer, and a chance to offer personal prayers and reflections. Since August we have had individuals, both lay people and clergy, offer brief meditations as well! For those who attended Compline during our recent Diocesan Convention, this service is very similar.

During the season of Advent these Compline services will be held on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. They will be led by youth each time, with music that is commonly sung during our traditional youth events. However, all are welcome to attend!

The Zoom Meeting ID is 476 108 815. In order to obtain the passcode, please reach out to our Canon Joshua Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org. Alternatively, you may sign up for our Remind Text group to receive a reminder text before the service, along with occasional other messages. In order to sign up, please follow this link: https://www.remind.com/join/diogayouth

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Advent!

Clean up day for our ministry with homeless persons

The Community of St. Joseph looks forward to hosting a breakfast and morning worship for Savannah's homeless residents once more starting on Sunday, December 13. In preparation, volunteers are needed this Saturday, December 12, from 2-4 pm to assist in clan up of Camp 2. 

Interested volunteers can contact Casey Lavin at (912) 580-0342.

At left, the Rev. Michael Chaney celebrates the Eucharist in the field alongside Camp 2 in Savannah where the Community of St. Joseph meets for worship. 

The Rev. Ranie Neislar to be Ordained in Huntsville Today


God willing and the people consenting, the Rev. Ranie Neislar will be ordained this evening to the Sacred Order of Priests at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Huntsville, AL. The Rt. Rev. Glenda Curry, Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Alabama will preside and Bishop Frank Logue will preach.

The service will be streamed live at 6:00pm Central time from the St. Thomas Facebook page.



Only a Few Spots Left!
Spots are almost filled for the Honey Creek Open for December 12, 2020! Honey Creek joined forces with Innova and Camden Disc Golf to provide an excellent event that will also serve as a fundraiser for Honey Creek and Camden Disc Golf's club. To kick off the event, on Friday, December 11, you'll get to enjoy Glow Disc Golf! 

For more information about the event and how to participate, contact Executive Director Dade Brantley at dade@honeycreek.org. If you'd like lodging information, contact Georgeanne Younger at georgeanne@honeycreek.org.

For the event flyer, click here.

Across the Diocese    
Members of the St. Anne's, Tifton's PreYC Children's Program received Advent craft boxes and cookies
 for some at-home fun.


Families at St. Thomas, Isle of Hope got to put together gingerbread houses for the Feast of St. Nicholas (left), and members of St. John and St. Mark, Albany collected food items for Neighbors in Need, a local food program (right).


The Revs. Galen Mirate and Ri Lamb get ready for the first outdoor service at St. John and St. Mark, Albany.

Worship with the Diocese of Georgia in Darien on Sunday

This third Advent Sunday, we will stream Morning Prayer at 
10 a.m. from St. Andrew's, Darien with Bishop Logue preaching and Canon Lasch officiating.




Find Livestream Worship 
There are a lot of options each day for Episcopalians in the Diocese of Georgia to worship online and now they are listed in one place. The Livestream Services calendar tells the time, location, and which liturgy the congregation offers for the whole Diocese. Click the image above or this link: Livestream Services Calendar

Have you adjusted your livestream schedule? Let us know! We have a running calendar that you can find here. Check to see if your schedule is correct, and if there are any changes, email Administrator Assistant Daniel Garrick at dgarrick@gaepiscopal.org.

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 2020 one year prayer cycle is now online here: 2020 Prayer Cycle

December 6 -12
In our diocesan cy
cle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Woodbine, St. Mark's. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially the Catholic congregations of Holy Family in Metter and St. Bernadette in Millen. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in Santo Domingo, especially Holy Trinity (Santísma Trinidad).

December 13 - 19
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for Diocesan Youth Programs and our Episcopal Campus Ministries at Augusta, Valdosta State, and Georgia Southern Universities. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially those in Springfield
-St. Paul's Lutheran Church and St. Boniface Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Jesus the Teacher (Jesús Maestro) in Tamboril.

Additional Prayer Cycles (Updated on November 29, 2020)
We also offer 30-day prayer cycles for those who wish to pray daily for the clergy and clergy spouses: Diocesan Prayer Cycle and Clergy Spouses Prayer Cycle.

Diocesan Office Update and News

Bishop Logue will travel to Huntsville, AL today to preach at the ordination of the Rev. Ranie Neislar to the Sacred Order of Priests.

This Sunday, Canon Varner will tell the story of The Light of the Shepherds from Godly Play, Canon Lasch will officiate, and Bishop Logue will preach Morning Prayer from St. Andrew's, Darien offered online at 10 a.m. To find the service, visit the Diocese of Georgia Facebook Page or the Diocese of Georgia YouTube page.

Throughout the remainder of 2020 Bishop Logue will continue to record Diocesan worship from different congregations across the Diocese. To see the calendar for the remainder of 2020, click here.

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Diocesan staff are not all in the office at the same time with some working remotely. Email will be the quickest way to get in touch with the staff, although you are still welcome to call us on the phone! If we miss your call, please leave a voicemail with a detailed message. Staff e-mails can be found here.

Let Us Know!

What are you doing to keep community right now? Are you gathering for virtual coffee hours, delivering groceries to your neighbors - let us know! Send any updates or photos to our Communications Manager Liz Williams at lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org. We want to hear from you!

Diocesan Office Has A Beautiful Griswold Christmas Tree
The newest Canon for Hospitality Intern, Murphy Easterlin, learns that being the Canon for Hospitality 
involves a lot of modeling. Thank you to St. Michael and All Angels for our office tree!
Bishop Logue is also grateful to St. George's, Savannah, for a live tree for his home.

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