June 21, 2022 | Volume 12, No. 25

Have you ever wanted to go back to summer camp at Honey Creek? Now is your chance! Our Family Camp weekend begins in just over two weeks. This weekend is intended to offer a chance to experience camp over the course of a weekend together. Families of all shapes and sizes are encouraged to come and play games, worship together, enjoy pool time and singing time, and of course share meals together. Families who consist of one individual, or grandparents and grandchildren, or extended families, or any other combination are all welcome to come be part of Family Camp!

During Family Camp families stay together in Lodge Rooms, and guardians remain responsible for their children throughout the weekend. Older children are able to go to different activities on their own, with their guardians’ permission. Every event is optional, so if your family most needs time to rest and recharge, it’s easy to take that time away.

Cost for Family Camp varies depending on how many people are attending and how many Lodge Rooms are needed. We recommend no more than three people per room, although four have occasionally squeezed into a room in the past, especially if some of them are small! When you enter the registration process, you will be able to select a number of participants and a number of rooms.

As with all Diocesan events that involve youth, we require that participants who are eligible be vaccinated, and that everyone wear masks while indoors. We also ask each participant to take an at-home covid test within 48 hours of arrival.

Arrival begins at 4 p.m. on Friday, and the event concludes after lunch on Sunday. Please contact Canon Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org or Camp Director, Karen Bell at karenmackenziebell@gmail.com with your questions. 

The Registration Link is at www.honeycreek.org/camps. Scroll down the page to find the Family Camp link. If you prefer, the direct link is https://bit.ly/2022FamilyCamp.  

The people of the Diocese of Georgia mourn the death of the Rev. R.V. Cate, Deacon at Holy Nativity on St. Simons Island. Born and raised in downtown Brunswick, Georgia, he married his high school sweetheart, Dee Dee. The two have one son, Dylan, and two grandchildren.

Bishop Logue said, “Deacon RV embodied the servant ministry of a deacon with a contagious joy that drew others toward the Jesus he knew and loved,” He added, “His steadfast faith through years of heart issues was a witness to our sure and certain hope in Christ.”

Sometimes referring to himself as the Prodigal Drummer, Cate found a band looking for a drummer while he was working in a music store in high school. He played for more than a dozen groups over the years as he spent time in the music scenes in Atlanta and Nashville. Among his bands was Savannah, who had songs that charted in the top 100 on the Country Music Billboard.

He found his way to Holy Nativity Church when his mother-in-law played the organ there, after Cate returned to Glynn County to work in wholesale beverages. He was confirmed and married DeeDee at that time. Their son Dylan was born and the family later moved to St. Mark’s in Brunswick when DeeDee's mother served as their organist. A Cursillo weekend proved transformative. He served on Cursillo and Happening Teams and assisted with some New Beginnings retreats.

In 2002, R.V. and Dee Dee opened Daddy Cate’s Coffees in downtown Brunswick, a labor of love that provides community and gives to those in need. Serving in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, as an Education for Ministry (EfM) mentor and leading book study groups led to his being the Lay Eucharistic Visitor that connected those watching worship online at St. Mark’s Towers to the worship in a tangible way. Answering the call as a deacon fit the life of servanthood R.V. already embodied. Bishop Scott Benhase ordained him at St. Mark’s on January 21, 2018. Assigned to Holy Nativity, the new deacon worked alongside the Rev. Tommy Townsend and assisted in the growth of the congregation where he was confirmed decades earlier. Last month, the vestry of Holy Nativity named the Parish Hall as Cate Hall in his honor.

The Requiem Eucharist will be at St. Mark’s in Brunswick on July 16 at 2:30 pm. Clergy not in the altar party will vest in cassock, surplice, and white stole.

Deliver your servant, R.V., O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all evil, and set him free from every bond; that he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations; where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

At its May meeting, Diocesan Council met at Annunciation, Vidalia, for their first in-person meeting during Bishop Logue’s episcopacy. In addition to the usual Council business, members voted on the following important items of new business:

Minimum Compensation for Priests

The Diocese of Georgia has worked hard over the last decade to bring our minimum compensation for priests in line with the rest of the Episcopal Church. In 2003 we moved our baseline minimum from $20,000, which was far less than other dioceses, to $39,000. Since then, it has been Diocesan Council’s practice to keep that as our baseline minimum and adjust according to inflation rates. In 2020 and 2021, Council decided not to change the rates, as our congregations were unsure of how their finances would fare throughout the pandemic. However, inflation has continued, and our current minimum compensation is now 11.5% lower than it should be in order to maintain our practice of keeping the minimum at the equivalent of $39,000 in today’s dollars.

Diocesan Council voted to increase the minimum compensation levels by the full 11.5%, effective January 1, 2023. The updated numbers are found here. We understand that this is a large jump and may prove difficult for some of our congregations. If you feel that making this change all at once will prove impossible for your parish, please contact Canon Loren Lasch to work on a plan to reach the new minimum compensation levels.

Mileage Reimbursement Rate

For many years Diocesan Council has approved a set mileage reimbursement rate of 50 cents per mile. This amount has applied to diocesan employees, supply clergy, and anyone traveling for diocesan related business. Many congregations have chosen to use the Council approved rate for their employee mileage reimbursements as well. 

With continued inflation and rising gas prices this rate has become much less than needed to offset the costs for travel, particularly for our supply clergy, many of whom travel across the diocese on a regular basis to serve parishes in need of clergy. Diocesan Council voted to do away with a set rate and instead use the mileage rate set by the IRS each year, beginning in 2023. The IRS rate is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile and is set each January. For informational purposes, the rate for 2022 is 58.5 cents per mile. The IRS usually releases the new rate some time in December.

Paid Family Leave

While the Diocese of Georgia has had parity for clergy and lay for some time, the amount of paid family leave required by diocesan policy is no longer up to a standard being met by much of the Church. 

Diocesan Council approved a new paid family leave policy, effective 2023. This new policy increases the amount of leave for clergy and lay employees after the birth or adoption of a child from 8 to 12 weeks for the “primary child-care parent” and from 2 to 4 week for the “non-primary-care parent.” The full updated policy can be found here, and includes information about short-term disability coverage during paid family leave.

Further Conversation

Diocesan Council serves as the Diocesan Convention in recess. We are very grateful to the members of Diocesan Council for their prayerful consideration of these important changes, which enable us to continue to provide equitable compensation and leave for clergy and lay employees across the Diocese. 

Should you have any questions or concerns about any of these changes, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our contact information is below.

In Christ, 

Canon Katie Easterlin, Canon for Administration

keasterlin@gaepiscopal.org

Canon Loren Lasch, Canon to the Ordinary

llasch@gaepiscopal.org

A diocese without a bishop of its own

As we approach the bicentennial of our founding in 2023, we will share the story of the Diocese of Georgia. This week we remember the years the Diocese went without a bishop before electing its first bishop in 1841.

From its founding in 1823 until 1841, the Diocese of Georgia was without its own bishop. There was some oversight provided by the Bishop of South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Robert Smith. From 1798 until his death in the fall of 1801, Bishop Smith kept in touch with the churches in Georgia by correspondence.

Connection with the larger church had already led to changes in Georgia as it kept up with changes elsewhere. For example, the Vestry of Christ Church, Savannah, at its December, 1793, meeting resolved “That the ‘Book of Common Prayer’ of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, ratified by a convention of the said Church and made of force on the 1st October, 1790, be adopted for the present by this Church...”

In 1811, the Rev. John V. Bartow, rector of Christ Church, Savannah, went to the General Convention meeting at Trinity Church in New Haven, Connecticut. He offered a certificate of his appointment to attend the Convention signed by the wardens and vestry. The Convention passed a resolution stating that the “Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of Georgia, not being organized, and not having, in Convention, acceded to the constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the Rev. Mr. Bartow cannot be admitted a member of this House, but he be allowed the privilege of an honorary seat.”

On April 26, 1815, Georgia finally received its first episcopal visit when the second Bishop of South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Theodore Dehon, consecrated Christ Church, Savannah’s second building and confirmed a class of about fifty. The growth in each of the existing congregations created an optimism for how the Episcopal church would prosper in other towns where other Christian denominations were already thriving. In his sermon for the 7th convention meeting in Macon in 1829, the Rev. Hugh Smith, Rector of Saint Paul’s in Augusta, said, “Let us not miss the golden season of opportunity: Let us not be outdone, by so many, who, at least in our estimation, cannot boast so ancient an origin—so sublime a worship—so well ordered a polity.” 

The third bishop of South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, also assisted the Diocese of Georgia until the year before his death in 1838. Bishop Bowen confirmed hundreds, chaired diocesan conventions when possible, and ordained Georgia’s candidates to holy orders. The Missionary Bishop Jackson Kemper visited Georgia in 1838, to consecrate Christ Church in Macon and Trinity Church in Columbus. 

Several efforts were made to solve the episcopal problem of the diocese including uniting with the Dioceses of Florida and Alabama to call one bishop for the three states. The plans all failed until the Diocese of Georgia elected its first bishop in 1840. Georgia’s bishop then took the Episcopal churches in Florida under his wing in the same way that South Carolina had cared for Georgia. The Bishop of Georgia made Episcopal visits in that state until they elected their own bishop.

Pictured above: the Rev. John V. Bartow and the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Bowen

Summer Camp has kicked off! And now you can be part of the camp experience! By purchasing camp supplies from our Honey Creek Camp Wish List on Amazon, you can help our counselors have the materials they need for everything from Archery and Arts & Crafts to Pool Time, Music, Worship, and more. 

Many of the items on our list are clearly intended for a specific purpose, but some are more general purpose, such as computer adapters that allow the projection of song words in Bishops’ Hall or flashlights and extra batteries for our counselors. Whether or not youth from your family or your congregation are coming, please take the time to support Summer Camp to the best of your ability! Click the link above or here to access our wish list: https://amzn.to/3LCCS5u. You can also scan this QR Code if you would prefer.

If you haven’t had time to sign up for summer camp yet, do so now! Remember that scholarship is always available. Financial concerns should never keep any of our young people from attending camp. Please contact Canon Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org with questions about scholarship. For all other camp questions, contact our Camp Director, Karen Bell at karenmackenziebell@gmail.com. 

Our Summer Camp Schedule is below. All registrations are at www.honeycreek.org/camps 

• Camp St. Joseph & Mary (completed grades 3-5): June 26-July 2
• Family Camp (families of all types and sizes): July 8-10

Please note : the deadline to submit your your amendment will be August 15.

During the 2021 Diocesan Convention that met in November, delegates considered a package of changes to the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese. After passing two amendments and postponing a third, the Convention passed the resolution on a first reading. The proposed changes will come before the Convention this November.

Bishop Logue is appointing a Task Group to shepherd the process this year, allowing time for due consideration and a a way to propose additional amendments. The Constitution and Canons as voted on by Convention in 2021 can be viewed here.

The Constitution and Canons as voted on by Convention in 2021, with all changes tracked from the previous version, can be viewed here.

Propose amendments online

The Diocese will use a Google Form to facilitate the collection of proposed amendments to the Canons. Any member of the clergy or delegate to Convention (2021 delegates remain in effect until a congregation names new delegates) may propose an amendment using this form: Proposed Amendments to Canons.

If you have any questions, please contact Canon Loren Lasch at llasch@gaepiscopal.org.

Convention will be held November 10-12, 2022 in Savannah.

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.

Hurricane season officially begins on June 1, and the diocese will once again use AlertMedia to stay in contact with parishes who may be affected by natural disasters. 

Send your updated information of Clergy, Senior, and Junior Wardens to Liz Williams at lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org.

Congratulations to the newest graduates from Education for Ministry (EfM) at King of Peace in Kingsland! EfM is a four year program dedicated to reading the Bible, learning church history, and discussing theology in a small group setting.

St. Anne's in Tifton sends the Lacy family off with a blessing on their last Sunday. The Lacys have been at St. Anne's for 13 years and will be moving to Tallahassee, FL to serve at St. John's Episcopal Church.

The three Episcopal churches in Valdosta came together to provide a meal to the Emory Medical Farmworkers Project members during their stay in Valdosta. The program had been on pause because of the pandemic, but restarted this summer. The churches fed about 80 volunteers with enough food that the workers were able to take the rest to share with the migrant farmworkers the medical team would visit later that day.

Summer break means youth are able to assist with the Ladles of Love ministry at St. Paul's in Albany. Sisters G.G. and Alice Aderhold joined Ladles Directors Deborah Johnson and Patti Woodall assemble and distribute 85 lunches for neighbors in need.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Darien is seeking a part-time organist for Sunday worship and special occasion services. Hymns and service music are typically from the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal. There is also a Tuesday evening rehearsal requirement with the choir, all to total approximately 3-4 hours per week. Candidates should be familiar with an organ with 2 manuals and a pedal clavier, be music literate, and be willing to work collaboratively with the Rector and Music Director. Pay will be commensurate with experience. Interested parties should email their resume to standrew@darientel.net.

The Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta is searching for a Director of Student Ministries. A resource size parish with a pre-pandemic ASA of 500, The Church of the Good Shepherd is seeking a full-time youth minister. The DSM has responsibility for all aspects of youth ministry and Christian formation for parish youth from middle school through high school, which includes Sunday School, Youth Group, mission trips, and other youth activities. A detailed job description can be found here. For further information, please contact the Rev. Ted H. Clarkson, Interim Rector at tclarkson@goodshepherd-augusta.org or call (912)230-9388.

St. Augustine of Canterbury in Augusta is looking for a Parish Administrator. For more information, contact the Rev. Jim Said at jim@st-augustines.org.

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 2022 one year prayer cycle is online here: 2022 Prayer Cycle.   

June 19 - June 25

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Quitman, St. James. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially St. Jude Catholic Church in Glennville. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the St. Peter the Apostle (San Pedro Apostól) in Los Conucos. 

June 26 - July 2

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Pooler, St. Patrick’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Garden City and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Port Wentworth. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Mary, Full of Grace (Santa María Llena de Gracia) in Mao. 

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 3/1/2022)

Please note that diocesan staff members will be traveling this summer for both work and personal time. Those updates will be noted in this section, along with the corresponding staff member to contact if there is a need.

Bishop Logue is on vacation this week at the Saluda Clergy Cottage and visiting family, returning to the office on June 27. Contact Canon Lasch at llasch@gaepiscopal.org for any inquiries while the Bishop is out.

To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. (Updated for 2023 - 5/4/2022)

Pictured: The clergy cottage in Saluda.

Canon Lasch will be celebrating and preaching at St. Anne's in Tifton on Sunday.

Canon Varner will be at Honey Creek during the month of June to assist Camp Director Karen Bell with summer camp.

Maggie Lyons will be on vacation June 22-24.

The office will begin the summer hours of operation, which will mean that the office will be closed on Fridays at noon.



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.

High School campers created a stained glass effect at the chapel last week.