Chaplains to Retired Clergy and Spouses are appointed by the Bishop to assist him in offering a ministry of friendship and information to the more than 200 of these retirees who live in our diocese or who live elsewhere but are canonically resident here after having served here. Of this number, over 140 of these retired folks live within our diocese, including three bishops, six deacons, and 70 priests. Among the 61 spouses, 20 are widows or widowers of clergy.

A key challenge for most, if not all, retiring clergy is discerning how their vocation continues when their career changes radically. Our clergy are ordained to serve in a gathered Eucharistic community - to serve in the pulpit and at the altar. Retirement changes the place and community of ministry, but the vocation - the “calling” - abides - for clergy and for spouses.

Chaplains do not take the place of the Bishop who is chief pastor to clergy nor the place of local parish clergy in the congregations where retirees worship and serve. Chaplains offer reminders to retirees that they are still vital members of our diocesan family.

The United Thank Offering Board will be offering a series of webinars to provide information regarding the 2022 granting cycle. 

Those interested in submitting a grant application should first contact the diocesan office before proceeding.

We are a diocesan member of TENS, The Episcopal Network for Stewardship. With our membership comes the ability for all of our churches to use the materials advertised by TENS. They include all the printable materials and resources for an eight-week giving campaign. 

In addition to their recorded programs, there is an upcoming webinar on September 11, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT.

CANCELLED September 17-19 at Beckwith

The 40th Annual Men's Conference, scheduled for September 17-19, has been canceled.

UPDATE - Moved to virtual Saturday, September 18, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT

Join us for a workshop that will provide insights into the causes and effects of racism. We explore unconscious bias, prejudice, white privilege, and ways to work together to Become the Beloved Community. This offering is required for those in

parish leadership (such as vestries) and at the diocesan level (including serving on commissions, committees, agencies, or boards). It also qualified for eight hours of clergy training/education for those who complete the full-cay course. There is no fee to participate, but it requires the commitment to be engaged the full day. Limited to not more than 30 participants.

BayLights is the annual diocesan homecoming weekend filled with fun, fellowship and fundraising for our beloved camp and conference center.

Even if you can't make it to BayLights in person, don't forget you can still purchase a Draw Down ticket. The winner is the last ticket drawn: The prize is one week stay in Tuscany, Italy or Antigua for two or four people. There are two trips to give away this year!

October 22-24 Women's Retreat: From Grief to Grace

October 29-31 Getaway by the Bay

November 12-14 Enneagram Retreat presented by Joseph Howell, Ph.D

Registration is now open for the annual Clergy Conference. An email with details went out to all clergy in the diocese (active, retired, canonical, non-canonical) on 9/2: https://conta.cc/3BzZ5MX. 

Looking Ahead (details and registration available soon)

October 16 Racial Reconciliation Sacred Conversations Workshop

November 6 Pilgrimage to Whitney Plantation

November 13 Adventurous Aging: How to Stay Young at Heart Workshop

November 13 Racial Reconciliation Sacred Conversations Workshop

Outdoor concert series. You are welcome to bring your own beverages and food, but food will also be available from a food truck and St. Christopher's concession. Follow the link for band and food truck schedule.

Come out for St. Peter's Bon Secour yearly fish fry, held every first Thursday during the months of June through October!

St. Simon's on the Sound, Fort Walton Beach, is seeking Children and Youth Ministries Director. DETAILS

[Sept. 8, 2021] As followers of Jesus, and with our siblings in other faith traditions, we place great value on the act of remembrance. As we reflect on the solemn anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, we remember many loved ones lost and first responders who put their lives at risk, modeling the sacrificial love of Jesus, who said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

While 20 years have passed, I also want us to pause and remember the days that followed these tragic events. There was a moment in the aftermath when people came together. We were praying, grieving, and also working together. Because in that moment, however fleeting it was, we knew with immediacy and vulnerability that we need God, and we need each other. 

Memories of that tender cooperation—of love for each other as neighbors—serve as guiding lights for the present. Amidst the ongoing pandemic and natural disasters that have taken so many lives and pushed first responders to their limits, and amidst a worldwide reckoning with the sin of racism, we are called to become the Beloved Community whose way of life is the way of Jesus and his way of love. 

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will deliver a blessing and sermon on Sept. 11 and 12 as part of A Time and Space of Remembrance and Healing at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York, which served as a relief mission for recovery workers at Ground Zero for nearly a year after the buildings fell. Tune in online at trinitywallstreet.org/september-11.

[Sept. 7, 2021] For the first time, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion have jointly warned of the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on poverty, and the importance of global cooperation.

Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Justin Welby urge everyone to play their part in “choosing life” for the future of the planet.  

In a joint statement, the Christian leaders have called on people to pray, in this Christian season of creation, for world leaders ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November. The statement reads: “We call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to endeavor to listen to the cry of the earth and of people who are poor, examining their behavior and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the earth which God has given us.”

The Season of Creation, September 1 through October 4, is celebrated by Christians around the world as a time for renewing, repairing and restoring our relationship to God, one another, and all of creation. The Episcopal Church joins this international effort for prayer and action for climate justice and an end to environmental racism and ecological destruction. This year’s theme is A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God, and the Season of Creation 2021 Celebration Guide is now available with event ideas, prayers, resources, and more!

The Season of Creation may be a great opportunity to hold an outdoor worship service, ministry or advocacy gathering, or other creative events! For more ideas, visit our Season of Creation and St. Francis Day Resource Page.

2021 cycles of prayer are available on our website at www.diocgc.org/cycle-of-prayer.

Coastline is a publication of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, published on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month.

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