Presiding Bishop Michael Curry approved the selection of the Rev. J. Sierra Reyes as the preacher for the planned May 30 ordination and consecration of the 11th Bishop of Georgia. In choosing the preacher for the event, Bishop-elect Frank Logue said the choice was an easy one. "I have known Sierra since she was 14 and heard her preach her first sermon at King of Peace, Kingsland. I served as a Spiritual Director when she was Rector for Happening #71 and then served alongside her when we were Spiritual Directors for Happening #89 years later. I enjoyed moving from being something of a mentor to serving alongside Sierra as a colleague. I know her to be a prayerful and thoughtful preacher." He also noted that he preached Sierra's ordinations as both a deacon and priest as well as her wedding. "Sierra placed trust in me to speak on these important occasions in her life," he said, "so putting that same trust in her is fitting and right."

The Revs. J. Sierra Reyes and Frank Logue are pictured above at Christ Church, Savannah, in 2012 after serving together as the Masters of Ceremonies for diocesan ordinations.

Please note that all plans for the event are by necessity tentative as the canons of the Episcopal Church call for a consent process which will begin shortly.  The required next steps are in process. The medical and psychological examinations have taken place and when the physicians submit their reports to the Presiding Bishop's staff, the consent process will begin. Any person elected by a diocese to serve as bishop must obtain the consent of the majority of Standing Committees of the Episcopal Church and, in a separate step, also obtain the consent of more than half of the Bishops exercising jurisdiction in the Episcopal Church. While these consents have only very rarely been withheld, the step is a critical one as this process is how the 11th Bishop of Georgia becomes a bishop for the whole church.  The consent process can take up to 120 days. When the majority of consents are in, we can move from Save the Date announcements and tentative plans to formal invitations and set plans for the May 30 consecration. 

This coming Summer, current high school students are invited to be part of the Diocese of Georgia's delegation to the Episcopal Youth Event (E.Y.E.). This gathering of youth from across The Episcopal Church takes place once every three years. E.Y.E. 2020 will take place at the University of Maryland, in College Park MD, and is hosted by the National Church and the Diocese of Washington. 

Our Diocesan journey will begin the day before E.Y.E. and will last several days afterward, as we take part in mission work with other youth from the Episcopal Dioceses in the Southeast. If you have questions about this event, please contact the Rev. Canon Joshua Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org. To register, visit http://bit.ly/EYE2020Reg.

Please note that the National Church's website lists January 6 as the date registration opens. This is the earliest day that the Diocese of Georgia can register its delegation together. Diocesan Registration is currently open.

Bishop Jeff Lee of the Diocese of Texas ordained the Rev. Kyle Carswell to the Sacred Order of Priests on December 5 at St. James the Apostle Episcopal Church in Conroe, Texas. Carswell served as an intern at Columba House Savannah while working with our new church start, Epiphany, Savannah. He is a graduate of the Duke Divinity School and is currently serving a curacy in the Diocese of Texas. 

Parishioners were climbing all around the buildings and grounds of St. Anne's, Tifton, this week for their Greening of the Grounds.