February 1, 2023 | Volume 13, No. 5

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Eat chocolate for Lent

Three weeks from today, we begin the Season of Preparation for Easter on Ash Wednesday. For centuries, the 40 days of Lent have been observed as a time of self examination and penitence. The communal worship of the church also takes on a simpler tone, appropriate to this season.


The custom developed to mark the season by giving up some things and taking on others. Some examples of things people give up for Lent include sweets, meat for all or some meals, and alcohol. Some things added during Lent are daily Bible reading, fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, times of prayer, or taking a course of study related in some way to spirituality.


Reward yourself for lasting change

As your bishop, I want to encourage you to make one small, sustained change to your life starting this Lent. It is a modest goal. But if you want to change your life in some way, even small changes makes a difference over time. For example, setting aside routine times to pray either daily Morning or Evening Prayer can take just fifteen minutes a day yet this will have a huge impact over time. Or you could read a chapter of Luke's Gospel each day and then move on to John.


Whatever practice you take on, also add a reward for keeping the discipline. I suggest this as the science behind creating new habits shows that we need a cue, a routine, and a reward. For example:


The cue: A set time of day.

The habit: Pray the Daily Office.

The reward: Eat a piece of dark chocolate.

Of course, the reward does not have to be a piece of chocolate, but I am trying to be playful in showing how you can give yourself a treat for making a helpful change. This reward is my take on an old tradition in Judaism, that said when teaching a child to read the Torah, have them enjoy a taste of honey after the time of study to connect what they are learning to the sweetness of God's Word.


Abnegation is also helpful

This is not to speak against self-denial. There is nothing wrong with giving up something for Lent as it will remind you of the season and keep you focused on self-reflection. But know that none of this, adding or taking away something, is to earn the favor of the Holy Trinity. You were already fully known and fully loved when you were born and every day since. God asks for faith. This doesn’t mean that everything you do is good. Far from it. God loves you as you are. But like a loving parent who sees their child making self-defeating choices that just lead to more pain, God loves you and wants better for you. Lent offers time and space for us to take stock of our lives as we prepare to celebrate the joy of Easter, and that is sweet indeed.


pax et bonum,

+Frank


The Rt. Rev. Frank S. Logue, Bishop of Georgia

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2022 Parochial Report online filing now open

The Episcopal Church has launched parochial reports for 2022 data. They are due by March 1st, 2023. The report is one of two mandatory reports due annually, including audits in September. 

 

The Parochial Report is completed online at: https://reports.dfms.orgBeginning in January 2023, everyone will login into this site with a unique login (usually a church or individuals’ email) and password. Diocesan office can reset the login information for a congregation if needed. Reach out to Maggie Lyons or Daniel Garrick for support as needed (mlyons@gaepiscopal.org and dgarrick@gaepiscopal.org). 

 

You’ll need to gather attendance, membership, and financial information to complete the report. If you are unfamiliar with the process of completing the parochial report, please visit the detailed website here.

 

There is a helpful video available here: https://www.generalconvention.org/pr-workbook-and-instructions


You may also find a walk through of how to file here: https://www.generalconvention.org/pr-screencast-for-parish-users


Please know that there have been changes to this year's report, which may mean more time will be needed to fill it out appropriately.

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RJGA to host discussion in February

In honor of Black History Month, Racial Justice Georgia will be hosting a 4-part discussion series of Dante Stewart's Shoutin' in the Fire: An American Epistle (https://www.dantecstewart.com/book).


A powerful meditation on being young, Black, and Christian in the early 21st century US, the book has received wide acclaim since its publication in October 2021. Beginning Monday, February 6 at 7pm and continuing each Monday of the month, RJGA members will host Zoom discussions as we read our way through the book.


Please join us! Email RJGA chairs Karen Cote (kdcote61@gmail.com) or John Hayes (truthdrifter@gmail.com) for the Zoom link. The book is published by Penguin Random House and can be purchased through Amazon or in your local bookstore.

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Georgia Cursillo to host Grand Ultreya

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Update your parish information

The Diocese is requesting that each parish fill out the form linked below with updated information on those in leadership roles at the church. The staff uses this information to make sure that critical communications are directed to the correct person in each parish.


To fill out the form, click here.

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Upcoming Youth Events

New Beginnings #59


  • When: February 24-26, 2023
  • Who: Youth in Grades 7-9
  • Where: Honey Creek!
  • Cost: $145 per person


Participant Registration is available here: https://bit.ly/NBParticipants.


The Lead Teen for New Beginnings #59 is Jackson Beckham from St. Anne's in Tifton. More information is available at https://gaepiscopal.org/youth-ministries/.

Happening #107


  • When: March 24-26, 2023
  • Who: Youth in Grades 9-12
  • Where: Honey Creek
  • Cost: $145 per person


Registration for Candidates is available here: https://bit.ly/HappeningParticipants.


The Rector for Happening #107 is Adair Weston, form the Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta. More information is also on the Georgia Happening Website: www.georgiahappening.com.

Episcopal Youth Event


  • When: July 4-July 8, 2023
  • Who: Youth currently in Grades 9-12
  • Where: University of Maryland,

College Park, MD

  • Cost: $800 per person


Cost should never be prohibitive to participate in diocesan youth events. Contact Canon Varner for any questions regarding the event fee.


Registration Instructions: Registration for EYE is now open through the Diocese. Once youth and adult advisors are registered, Canon Varner will take their information register and register the group with the Episcopal Church.


To register, visit https://bit.ly/GeorgiaEYERegistration.

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Bishop Harry W. Shipps

As we approach the bicentennial of our founding in 2023, we are sharing the story of the Diocese of Georgia. The series of articles will end on February 22. This week we remember the Eighth Bishop of Georgia, the Rt. Rev. Harry Woolston Shipps.

A former US Navy and US Maritime officer took the helm of the Diocese of Georgia in 1985. Harry Woolston Shipps was born in 1926 in Bordentown, New Jersey. Married in 1953, he and his wife Louise have four children. He attended Bordentown High School, Bordentown Military Institute, and the New York State Maritime Academy. In 1946, he was commissioned an officer in the US Navy and the US Maritime Service. He sailed on a troop ship, then with Grace Line Steamship Company until called to active duty in the Navy in 1953 during the Korean War. On discharge, he attended the School of Theology at the University of the South as a postulant from the Diocese of Georgia being a parishioner of St. Paul’s Church in Savannah. Ordained a deacon in May 1958 and a priest the following January, he first served as Vicar of St. Mark’s in Albany. From 1963 until 1970 Bishop Shipps served Holy Apostles, Savannah, then St. Alban’s, Augusta until 1983, when elected Bishop Coadjutor. 

He was consecrated bishop at Christ Church in Savannah on the Feast of the Epiphany in 1984. Bishop Shipps served as coadjutor to Bishop Reeves. Early in his episcopate, Bishop Shipps called the Rev. J. Robert Carter, Vicar of Trinity in Statesboro to serve as Canon to the Ordinary.



Bishop Shipps attended the 1988 Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England, reporting to Diocesan Convention of 1989 that the experience was an exceptional educational experience making him deeply aware of the size and variety of cultures in the worldwide communion of 70 million people.


Bishop Shipps was active in the House of Bishops. He was a founding bishop of The Irenaeus Fellowship of Bishops, representing a moderate-conservative position in the House of Bishops. Meeting regularly, the group consisted of 64 members of the House of Bishops. A strong supporter of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, he was Chair of the House of Bishops Prayer Book and Worship Committee at the 1994 General Convention. He served twelve years on the Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, where he served as Chair of the Theological Committee. 

Bishop Shipps and The Most Rev. Raymond W. Lessard, Roman Catholic Bishop of Savannah, held several joint clergy conferences with noted speakers from both Churches. This led to a Covenant between the two dioceses calling for a number of programs and responsibilities on the part of each.

 

In 1994 the diocesan budget was $1,350,211. The Georgia Episcopal Conference Center (Honey Creek) showed an operating surplus of $9,017. The Corporation of the Diocese reported a balance of $5,232,721. In 1994 the diocese reported 17,197 baptized persons. The bishop reported in his Convention Address that the Diocese of Georgia had the second highest average Sunday attendance of all 99 dioceses in the country and that our stewardship average per Sunday was also second highest in the Church.


Noting that the Diocese of Georgia is one of few Episcopal Church dioceses without a cathedral, In 1993 Bishop Shipps designated St Paul the Apostle in Savannah as his personal or Pro Cathedral, signing a document to this effect at a liturgical event in St. Paul’s. Bishop Shipps’ retirement Eucharist was celebrated in St. Paul’s in January 1995, on the eve of Bishop Louttit’s consecration. Bishop Shipps died on November 17, 2016 and is buried at St. Paul’s in Savannah.


Note: This article was edited from one written by Bishop Shipps. The full text is online here: Bishop Shipps' Episcopacy.



Pictured: (top) Bishop Harry Shipps is pictured during his consecration on January 6, 1984, and (bottom) Bishop Shipps is shown with the Most Rev. Raymond Lessard, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah.

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Across the Diocese

Congratulations to Norma Baumstimler from St. Luke's in Rincon who was named Rotary Club of Effingham County volunteer of the year from Manna House.

What do you do with a room full of camp directors when you're snowed in? Arts & crafts, of course!

Dade Brantley joined his colleagues in Oklahoma for the annual Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers conference last week.

The St. Thomas Thrift Store in Savannah held it's annual grants party. The thrift store gave $50,000 to local charities in 2022.

Volunteers from Saint Paul's in Augusta packed food boxes for the Manna Pantry.

The St. Anne's vestry met for a day long retreat, complete with homemade cinnamon rolls from the Rev. Leeann Culbreath!

The Coble Family returned for the 3rd year to Honey Creek to build another new gathering deck, a tradition they began to honor their late son and brother, Daniel.

The staff for Happening #107 met at Church of the Good Shepherd for its staff lock in over the weekend.

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We want to hear from you!

If you would like to have your submission considered for From the Field, it needs to be sent to Communications Manager Liz Williams (lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org) by noon on Tuesday.

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Prayer 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 2023 one year prayer cycle is online here: 2023 Prayer Cycle. 


February 5 - 11

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Bainbridge, St. John’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Bainbridge, especially St. Joseph Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in Bonao, especially Pentecost (Pentecostes) and St. Joseph of Arimathea (San José de Arimatea).


February 12 - 18

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Baxley, St. Thomas Aquinas and for our ecumenical partners in Baxley at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in Bonao, especially St. John the Baptist (San Juan Bautista), and St. Nicodemus (San Nicodemo).


Newly Revised 31-Day Prayer Cycles

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. (Updated 11/30/2022)

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Diocesan Office Update and News

On Sunday, Bishop Logue will make his visitation to Christ Church in Savannah.


To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. (Updated for 2023 - 1/2/2023)


Picture: Bishop Logue with the altar party at St. Augustine of Canterbury on Sunday.



Canon Katie Easterlin remains on maternity leave.


The best way to reach a staff member is via email as we will always get back with you promptly in many cases and in 24-72 hours when working on more pressing matters. Staff e-mails can be found here with a list of responsibilities so you know who to contact for what.


You may also reach diocesan staff by phone at (912) 236-4279.

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Let's walk together

The staff of Happening #107 were given the opportunity to walk the labyrinth at Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta on Saturday night.

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