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October 3, 2019
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Volume 10, No. 6
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Clergy Apply Coach Skills Approach to Ministry
 The clergy of the Diocese of Georgia honed their skills for being fully present with the person we are in conversation with during the Fall Clergy Conference which ended today. The Revs. Walter Hobgood and Chris Holmes,
at right, led the training on using a coach approach to ministry. The coaching stance is to use deep listening and powerful questions to assist someone in moving forward toward their own goals. They added dimensions on how to adapt the approach to working with groups or teams as well as preaching and pastoring.
"Clergy conference offers priests and deacons to renew friendship, meet new clergy, and occasionally bid someone farewell," said the Rev. Becky Rowell, Associate Rector, Christ Church Frederica.
As in all clergy conferences the gathering included a Bishop's Time to hear about what is going on around the Diocese and to ask questions and share. The schedule also included the fullness of the Daily Offices with Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline each including a reflection from a deacon or priest.
 Bishop Benhase, left, preached the closing Eucharist just before lunch on Wednesday morning. The Bishop spoke of how Benedictine commitments to stability, obedience, and conversion of life have been transformational for him in his ministry.
On Tuesday evening, a Variety Show allowed room to be together in a fun, playful way in addition to training and worship. "We learn from our presenters, we worship together, and we grow closer to God," Rowell added.
The Rev. Jose Vilar, Priest in Charge of St. Philip's Hinesville attended the conference for his first time and he said, "I most like the camaraderie among the clergy and the way they reach out to each other in love."
Archdeacon Yvette Owens and the Revs. Guillermo Arboleda and José Vilar discussing the coach approach in a break out session at this year's Fall Clergy Conference.
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This Sunday's Lections
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY
after
PENTECOST
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Track 1
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
I Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
Track 2
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Psalm 146
I Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
Go
here for the full text.
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Leaflets Help Get the Word on Walkabout Out!
Help get the word out on the Diocese of Georgia's search for the 11th Bishop with these leaflets designed to be used either as an insert for 5.5 by 8.5 inch bulletins or as individual flyers to keep on hand for distribution before and after services, at events and whenever two or three are gathered in your church.
The Search and Transition Committees encourage all to attend a session of the Walkabout, a handy schedule with locations is included in this handy PDF as well as information and photos of the five candidates!
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St. Athanasius' Brunswick Unveils Historical Marker
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Congregants, visitors and guests gather around the new sign at St. Athanasius' Church, Brunswick.
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St. Athanasius, a church with a rich legacy and history that transcends the border of Brunswick and the Golden Isles, dedicated a new sign highlighting how St. A's, as its affectionately called by its congregants, has been the hands and feet of Christ in the community.
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Brunswick Mayor Cornell Harvey was one of the speakers at the unveiling of the new sign.
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Anchored on the corner of Monch and Albany street for over 134 years, St. A's has ministered to the community in a multitude of ways. Serving as the first center of education where African American students could matriculate in Brunswick to the present day where in connection with numerous volunteers, the congregation helps to feed and clothe over 100 families; volunteer at the Boys and Girls club right up the street, and at Glynn Villa assisting with the literacy program.
"Our new sign serves as a reminder that we are more than a stately edifice with beautiful stain glass windows that pay homage to the Civil Rights movement," said congregant Brandi Lyde Whitfield. "It reminds us that St. Athanasius has and will continue to serve as a beacon of hope and light in our community."
Those present at the dedication included the Rev. Tom Purdy, Rector of Christ Church, SSI, Brunswick Mayor Cornell Harvey, City Commissioner Julie Martin, and Leslie Faulkenberry who through her research and time made the sign a reality.
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What is Cursillo?
 "Cursillo" is a Spanish word that harkens back to the beginnings of Cursillo as a laity-led spiritual movement in the Spanish Catholic Church in the aftermath of World War II. It translates literally as "short course". In our case, a short course in Christianity.
Cursillo is more than a three-day school, more than a camp, more than a conference. It is a 'weekend away' at our Diocese's Honey Creek Camp and Conference Center offering a break from the warp speed, frenetic lives we all seem to lead. Cursillo is an opportunity to slow down, recharge, and see life again as you once did, or as you never have before. Cursillo offers a vibrant vision of Christian life in a community: learning, sharing, living, and worshiping in an environment of loving encouragement experienced in the beauty of God's holiness.
During a Cursillo weekend, you will meet parishioners and clergy from our Diocese while forming new friendships, experiencing a deepening of faith and developing a new appreciation of Episcopal Church's traditions. You will study, work, laugh, and maybe even cry together. Expect to leave Honey Creek renewed, strengthened, and inspired to share the spirit of renewal with a joy that comes from the love of God poured over you during the weekend.
Bill Swan
Cursillo #126 Lay Rector
Cursillo in the Diocese of Georgia is a ministry sanctioned by and under the leadership of the Bishop of Georgia.
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From the Director of Communications
The Last Coffee Hour at My Home Church
 October 13th. That's when the good people of Church of Our Saviour, Jenkintown, in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania will hold their last coffee hour in the Common Room, a grand space in the parish house with 12-foot high ceilings, a working fireplace and large windows.
The people who bought the property would like to be able to use the parish house for a Halloween event. Church offices will move to the choir room--a Frank Furness designed addition to the church--and the last service in the sanctuary will be on Christmas Eve.
The last service will be on Christmas Eve. Just typing those words makes my heart clench.
I know that we are dust, and to dust we must return, and of course that includes the buildings, the furnishings, the plaques given in memory of parishioners long gone--all dusty to begin with--and the bell in the tower, but...
The bell: that's one of the best origin stories for a congregation I've heard. A wealthy man and his daughter were traveling by train when there was a terrible accident and his daughter was severely injured. The man prayed to God and asked that his daughter's life be spared. If it was, he vowed that he would build a church to the glory of God. She recovered, he built the church and the bell from the wrecked train hangs in the tower. But that's the problem with quid pro quo prayers: they often turn out to have a limited shelf life.
Because that's what humans see. I know I do: my home church is closing, full stop, the end, close the doors and I'll take my memories with me: pot luck suppers, singing in the choir, coffee hours and confirmations, fall festivals and funerals, Junior and Senior Youth Groups and the years of Sunday School with its annual picnics and pins for good attendance.
It's enough to shake one's faith--or strengthen it. I feel a deep sadness that these buildings will no longer be a church. But particularly after working in the Diocese of Georgia with all sorts and conditions of congregations, it's clear to me that the "church" is fluid, ever changing, and hopeful. I have realized that God and my religion are not just one church or the succession of churches I have belonged to in my lifetime.
I do wonder what God has in store for us.
To find out, I'll continue to pray in a new way, listening and seeking God's will. Because my quid pro quo prayers don't heal the sick, keep people from dying, and could not keep one church open.
Anna Iredale
Director of Communications
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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.
Workshops
Presenters: Creation Care Commission, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL), Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University
Location: Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University, 1503 Bland Avenue, Statesboro. The workshop will begin at 2 PM at the Heritage Pavilion and will be mostly outdoors. Arrive early to explore the gardens; admission is free!
One of the best ways to heal and restore God's creation is to plant trees. This hands-on workshop will explore how trees heal creation and teach successful tree planting and tending techniques. Experts from the Botanic Garden will demonstrate tree planting, and participants will go home with a tree to plant on church grounds or in their community. The workshop will conclude with a brief prayer service and refreshments. Sign up for
Planting Trees to Heal Creation
here.
Godly Play is one of several Montessori-based ways to approach Christian formation. Godly Play assumes as its starting point that children have their own spirituality, defined as "an initially natural capacity for the awareness of the sacred quality to life experiences" (Rebecca Nye, Children's Spirituality: What it is and Why it Matters. Church House Publishing, 2009, p. 6). The task of adults and children together, then is not to implant spirituality, but to enable that spirituality to grow and develop, in both children and adults, by learning to experience and use "classical, Christian language" (Berryman, Jerome, The Spiritual Guidance of Children. Morehouse Publishing, 2013, p. 1). Godly Play approaches this challenge through the medium of story, play, and wonder. Godly Play stories come from the Bible, from Christian history, and from our liturgical tradition.
In this workshop, participants will hear and reflect upon a Godly Play story together and as individuals. They will then have the opportunity to discuss both the theological underpinnings of Godly Play and some practical aspects of working with Godly Play in individual contexts. Come to hear a story, to listen for the Spirit, and to find out more about this particular approach to Christian Formation.
Canon Varner has been working with Godly Play since 2006, and has attended both Core and Advanced Trainings offered by the Godly Play foundation. He has experience with Godly Play in both large and small congregations, and has had success using Godly Play stories and methodology outside of congregational settings.
Sign up for Godly Play in the Congregation by going
here.
Opportunity to learn about the structure of the Board of the Corporation and current investments through Private Bank (formally USTrust). The session will include highlights on administrative components, sub fund accounting,and the Private Bank's investment practices.
Led by : Canon Katie Easterlin and Private Bank Representatives
Church Communications 101
Don't let the size of your congregation prevent you from getting the message out about your church!
Often it is a matter of figuring out your audience and the best way(s) to reach them. We'll briefly cover the basics of church communication, including social media, bulletins, websites, and media outreach and help determine which tools belong in your church's toolbox. It is hoped that participants will leave inspired and enthusiastic about this important ministry!
Led by: Director of Communications Anna Iredale
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 Board of the Corporation
Edward Field, St. Peter's Savannah
For Diocesan Council at Large, Lay Person, Priest or Deacon
The Rev. Ashton Williston, Christ Church, St. Simon's Island
For Sewanee Trustee, Lay Person
Ned Murray, Good Shepherd, Augusta
For General Convention Deputy, 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 Deputy, Deacon or Priest
The Rev. Ted Clarkson, St. Andrew's and St. Cyprian's Darien
The Rev. David Rose, St. Luke's Rincon
The Rev. Kelly Steele, St. Peter's Savannah
The Rev. Nicholas Roosevelt, St. Patrick's Albany
The Rev. Cynthia Taylor, Holy Comforter Martinez
The Very Rev. William Willoughby III, Collegiate Church of St. Paul the Apostle Savannah
For Standing Committee, Priest
The Very Rev. Tar Drazdowski, Christ Church Cordele
The Rev. David Lemburg, St. George's Savannah
The Rev. David Rose, St. Luke's Rincon
The Rev. Jim Said, St. Augustine's of Canterbury Augusta
The Rev. Kelly Steele, St. Peter's Savannah
For Standing Committee, Lay Person
Pat Leslie, 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. If you are a nominee and have not submitted your bio and photograph to Anna Iredale, please do so. 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.
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ECW (Episcopal Church Women) Luncheon gathering at St. Mark's Brunswick.
Cooking the star attractions at St. Thomas' Isle of Hope's Holy Crab Fest.
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The Island to Island Benefit held on St. Simons Island and sponsored in part by Christ Church Frederica and Holy Nativity, raised more than $40,000 in aid for the Bahamas.
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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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Register for Coastal Green Team Summit
Georgia Interfaith Power & Light's Second Annual Coastal Green Team Summit will be held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Savannah, 8 AM to 2 PM Saturday, October 19. All Creation Care champions and environmental stewards from congregations across the state are invited to join GIPL for this interfaith celebration featuring inspiring keynote address, educational workshops, and a sustainably-sourced lunch.
The keynote speaker this year is Dr. Matthew Sleeth, a former atheist and chief of hospital medical staff, turned eco-activist. Together with his wife and two children, he began to bring his lifestyle in line with his values, cutting back on their fossil fuel by two thirds and electricity use by nine tenths. Following a new calling, Dr. Sleeth resigned from his position as chief of the medical staff and director of the ER to teach, preach, and write about faith and the environment throughout the country.
Dr. Sleeth is the executive director of Blessed Earth. Recognized by
Newsweek as one of the nation's most influential evangelical leaders, he has spoken about the biblical call to be good stewards of the earth at more than 1,000 events, campuses, and churches, including the Washington National Cathedral. He is the acclaimed author of
Serve God, Save the Planet and the introduction to
The Green Bible. Dr. Sleeth will talk about his research, work, and his latest book,
Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About The Nature of God And His Love For Us.
This will be a great opportunity to network with other people of faith committed to the shared work of caring for the Earth. Best practices for engaging congregations back home will be shared too!
Join with people of faith engaging in bold acts of stewardship and sustainability for all of Creation!
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Rooted in Jesus Conference
Attend the Rooted in Jesus Conference, January 21-24 in Atlanta, Georgia where a diverse group of presenters will speak on discipleship. This is a collaborative effort of the Episcopal Church Foundation, Missional Voices, Forma, Episcopal Evangelism Society, Forward Movement, Episcopal Preaching Foundation, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, Evangelism Matters, and The Episcopal Church.
Featured speakers include the Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union; the Rev. Dr. William Barber II, President, Repairers of the Breach; the Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, and Lisa Kimball, Ph.D., Virginia Theological Seminary Associate, Dean of Lifelong Learning and the James Maxwell Professor for Lifelong Christian Formation.
Tracks reflecting the various aspects of discipleship will be offered: formation, mission, stewardship, evangelism, preaching, leadership, and communications, or chart your own course from a long list of workshops, panels, and plenaries.
Group discounts are available! For more information, please visit:
rootedinjesus.church.
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Diocesan Office Update and News
T
he Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase,
10th Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia, will make his annual visitation to King of Peace Kingsland on Sunday, October 6th. He will attend the Convocation at Virginia Theological Seminary on Tuesday, October 8 and the Sewanee Board of Trustees Meeting on Thursday, October 10.
Canon Katie Easterlin is attending the Episcopal Business Administration Conference in New York City this week and will be out of the office until Tuesday, October 8.
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue will preside and preach on Sunday at St. Elizabeth's, Richmond Hill.
The Rev. Canon Joshua Varner will preside and preach at Christ Church Dublin this Sunday and lead the Blessing of the Animals in the afternoon.
The Rev. David Lemburg, Priest in Charge at St. George'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 29-October 5
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Swainsboro, Good Shepherd. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Swainsboro, especially Holy Trinity Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Emmanuel (
Emmanuel) in Santiago.
October 6-12
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Statesboro, Trinity. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Statesboro, especially St. Matthew's Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for The Annunciation (La Annunciación) in Santiago.
Additional Prayer Cycles
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#SMS2019
 The Rev. Kit Brinson of Grace, Waycross was visibly moved by social media on Social Media Sunday.
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Events
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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