May 3, 2023 | Volume 13, No. 18

Include Summer Camp in your summer plans!

Honey Creek Summer Camp is back again! Karen Bell, of Christ Church, Valdosta, returns as Summer Camp Director, together with a great staff of new and returning counselors. We’ve been working on plans and preparations, and now we need YOU to come join us! The dates for our High School, Middle School, and Elementary School Camps, which all take place in June, are listed below. Note that while vaccination for Covid is still encouraged, it is no longer required in order to attend summer camp at Honey Creek.

Early registration helps the staff and Spiritual Directors plan more effectively for a great session, so go ahead and sign up now! If cost is a concern, please contact the Canon Joshua Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org. For other questions regarding camp contact either Canon Varner or Director Karen Bell at karenmackenziebell@gmail.com. 

In addition, we are once again offering a Family Camp weekend, which will take place July 14-16. Family Camp is for families of all types, grandparents and children, friends coming back to camp together, individuals coming on their own, or any other combinations! Unlike regular camp, at Family Camp families stay together in Honey Creek’s lodge rooms, which allows a greater flexibility of schedule to accommodate nap times for everyone as needed.

Our updated Summer Camp Schedule is below. Regular camp registrations are live at www.honeycreek.org/camps.  

• High School Camp (completed grades 9-12): June 4-10
• Camp St. Peter (completed grades 6-8): June 11-17
• Camp St. Joseph & Mary (completed grades 3-5): June 18-24 
• Family Camp: July 14-16 - Registration coming next week!

Episcopal Communicators Conference provides networking and learning opportunities

The annual Episcopal Communicators Conference is a time for communicators across the Church to gather together to learn and build relationships with colleagues. This year the conference was held at Camp Allen in Texas, with over 100 participants attending in person or virtual. Keynoters the Rev. Callie Swanlund and the Rev. Charles Graves spoke to the group about finding our spark and how 60 seconds can make a huge impact in our ministry.

Workshops included a sneak peek into the new The Episcopal Church style guide, intergenerational communications, content calendars, professional development, and more. Each evening included optional structured activities for additional camaraderie like trivia night and story time around a campfire. The conference includes the annual meeting of Episcopal Communicators, which is where the announcement of the election of new board members takes place. Communications Manager Liz Williams was one of four elected to the board. She will fulfill the remaining one year of a previous term, with the option to run for a full 3 year term next year. The conference culminates with the Polly Bond Awards banquet where the community celebrates the work of their colleagues from the past year.

As the chair of the conference planning and site selection committee for the 2023 conference, Williams was excited for the participants to experience the hard work the committee put into planning this year's conference. "The committee works with the board in providing the content of the conference, and it was an incredible year working with this great team of people to pull off an engaging and informative conference for our colleagues," said Williams. She continued, "I'm honored to continue serving our communicators community with further engagement as a new member of the Episcopal Communicators board."

If you're interested in learning more about Episcopal Communicators, contact Liz Williams or visit the Episcopal Communicators website. The 2024 conference will be held April 16-19 in Portland, ME.

Pictured: The new Episcopal Communicators Board members (top); three of the four newly elected members of the Board, Ashley Eastham from Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans, LA, Dustin Jesudason from Palmer Episcopal Church in Houston, TX, and Liz Williams (bottom). Not pictured: GJ Gordy from the Episcopal Church in Navajoland.

Employee Retention Credit is still

available for filing

The Living Church published an article late last year highlighting the complexity and availability of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Program for churches from the pandemic assistance funding. Previously, those who applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) could only select one program over the other, and you could not apply to both. However, given that so few organizations opted for the ERC program, they expanded the rules to allow you to apply for both. 

The application would look at 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021. It only applies to lay employees and cannot be used for FICA-exempt clerics. Payroll for most of our congregations is for clergy; therefore, this program is only applicable to our congregations/organizations that have lay staff. 

The calculation and process to apply for the ERC are immensely complex, and the rules were updated three times. Many companies offer to submit applications on behalf of organizations while taking a percentage cut of the final credit amount. We caution against engaging in this type of company because there have been notices of many scams and opportunities for error and risk when leveraging these companies. The Diocese is recommending that if a church qualifies and applies for the ERC, they work with a reputable CPA firm that has experience submitting for its clients. Some payroll services also offer support and can be a good option, given that they handle essential, necessary documentation like Form 941-X. The deadline for applications is July 31, 2023.

To read the article, please visit https://livingchurch.org/2022/10/13/want-more-pandemic-money-its-complicated/. Also, you can contact Canon Easterlin with any questions.

Safe Church Training for Summer Activites

As summer approaches, many congregations are planning for Vacation Bible School and other volunteer-intensive summer activities for children. These events are often transformative for children and adults. They allow for an intentional time of formation, play, and prayer for congregational communities.

As part of VBS preparations, please remember that all volunteers who will be on site with children (including teenagers) should comply with the Diocesan Policies for the protection of children and youth.

This includes both completing background checks for adults who do not have one on file from the past three years and ensuring that adults and teenage volunteers complete the online Safe Church Safe Communities training modules that are required based on their role in the congregation. To find the Diocesan policies you can visit the Diocesan website or follow this link: https://bit.ly/GASafeChurch. Appendix D has a table of roles in the congregation and the different modules required for training for each of them.

In order to begin the process for running background checks, please contact Maggie Lyons, Executive Assistant to the Bishop at mlyons@gaepiscopal.org. For general questions please contact Canon Joshua Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org. 

Time to apply for EYCS Education Scholarship

Educational Scholarships are available annually through the Episcopal Youth and Children's Services. College-bound Episcopal youth are encouraged to submit an application by going to www.eycs.georgiaepiscopal.org and selecting the Educational Scholarships tab at the top of the page. All applicants must be Episcopalian, 22 years of age or under, and legal residents of and members in good standing within the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. Funds are only available for undergraduate (not graduate) study and are awarded based on family need. Applicant must be, or intend to become, a full-time undergraduate student taking and passing at least 12 credit hours per grading period. Education scholarships are approved for one school year only. Applicants may reapply in successive years (for a maximum of 4 years). Completed applications should be submitted and/or postmarked by May 31^st. No exceptions.

New form for Administrators

Administrators: please see the updated CPG New Employee Information Form. This will replace the various intake forms we currently use, to collect the necessary information required to enroll lay and clergy persons into our benefits system.

You can also find it on the diocesan website in the Resource Library under "Various Documents."

Across the Diocese

King of Peace in Kingsland held their annual Scout Sunday.

St. Thomas Isle of Hope in Savannah held their centennial celebration with a 1920s themed party.

The Rev. Susan Gage with the vestry of St. Barnabas in Valdosta work on a mission statement.

Christ Church in Dublin served as a host for the Atlanta 2 Miami Bicycle Ride and Fundraiser. The group rode 50 miles that day and made their way to Waycross next in their 755 mile ride.

The Rev. Rick Buechner baptizes his grandson Charles Ireland at All Saints' in Thomasville,

Christ Church Frederica on St. Simons Island hosted staff and faculty from Burroughs Molette Elementary, who benefits from the Backpack Buddies ministry at Christ Church.

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.

Upcoming Events

Clergy Spouse & Family Retreat

Rediscovering Joy with

Dr. Bertice Berry

Where: Honey Creek

Who: Clergy Spouses & Family

When: May 5-6, 2023

Contact the Rev. Helen White

for more information at helen.white@ccesavannah.org. Scholarship assistance is available.

SWGA Clergy Spouse Gathering

Spouses of clergy in the Southwest Convocation will meet for lunch on Saturday, May 20 at noon at the home of John and Rev Marcia McRae at 2701 Green Meadow Dr Valdosta 31602, spouses from other convocations are more than welcome to join. Lunch will be provided. This is meet and greet for new spouses to the convocation.

Please RSVP to John McRae at jhmcrae@bellsouth.net or 229-220-5619.

Clergy Conference

Fall Clergy Conference: October 2-4

The Fall Conference will be a deep dive into the Gospel of Matthew with the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, a New Testament scholar who is Dean and President of the Seminary of the Southwest. This is to prepare us for preaching Year B of the lectionary, with its readings from Mark's Gospel. Both conferences will be held at Honey Creek.

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.

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. 

May 7 - 13

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Hinesville, St. Philip’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Hinesville, especially St. Stephen’s Catholic Church . In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Matthew (San Mateo) in Jalonga. 

May 14 - 20

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Jesup, St. Paul’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Jesup, especially St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Mount of the Transfiguration (Monte de la Transfiguración) in Jarabacoa. 

31-Day Prayer Cycles - Revised February 28, 2023

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 2/28/2023)

Bishop Logue returns to Savannah this evening. He has been in Baltimore since Monday, chairing a meeting of the Episcopal Church's Advisory Group on Church Planting and Revitalization. On Sunday he will make his visitation to St. Patrick's in Albany.

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

Picture: Bishop Logue with members of the altar party at All Saints' in Thomasville.

Canon Varner will celebrate and preach at St. Anne's in Tifton on Sunday for their Youth Sunday service.

Assistant Administrator Daniel Garrick is at Camp Allen in Texas next week for the CPG Benefits Partnership Conference.

Canon Lasch is on sabbatical and will return on May 4. Canons Katie Easterlin and Joshua Varner are working with Bishop Logue to cover her areas of responsibility.

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.

Baby Charles with mom Caroline trying out Bishop Logue's crozier for size.