August 2, 2023 | Volume 13, No. 31

The 202nd Convention of the Diocese of Georgia

"Kindle our hearts and awaken hope" is the theme for our diocesan convention this November 9-11 in Augusta. During our time together, we will focus on God's action in our midst as the fruit of a faithful congregation extends well beyond the red doors of a church.

"Where we place our focus matters," Bishop Logue says of this theme, "for if we focus on the survival of our churches and what we have to do to turn the tide, we will miss not only how God is acting now but also where the Holy Spirit is leading us next."

The theme comes from a collect in Evening Prayer (shown below) which emphasizes God as the one who kindles light in the darkness and awakens hope when all seems lost. If we pray, read and reflect on scripture, and serve others as if serving Christ while we wait in joyful anticipation, what might God kindle and awaken?

A Collect for the Presence of Christ

Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.

Registration for Convention 2023 now open

Registration for the 202nd Convention of the Diocese of Georgia is now open!

Convention will be held at the Episcopal Day School at Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta, GA on November 9-11, 2023.

To see a list of convention hotels, click here.

To register as a delegate, guest, clergy spouse, or vendor, click here.

Episcopal Campus Ministries available to

college students

Episcopal Campus Ministry at Georgia Southern

If your parish is sending students to Statesboro, Georgia in the fall the Episcopal Campus Ministry at Geogia Southern would love to welcome them and become their church home away from home, or conveniently available pastoral care as needed. Many Episcopal, Presbyterian, ELCA, Orthodox, and others have found a home with ECM over the years. All are welcome!

ECM is hosting a cookout on August 11 at 6:00 p.m. where new students can connect with one another and current Georgia Southern students and ministry staff. RSVP or refer students by emailing charles@trinitystatesboro.org.

Help build the faithful bridge from parish to campus; help your college students find their spiritual home!

*ECM at Georgia Southern partners with UKirk Georgia Southern, Trinity Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church Statesboro.

Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Georgia

Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Georgia, operating out of The Wright House, offers weekly gatherings for students to express and explore their faith. Katie Grant from Church of the Good Shepherd, will serve at the Senior Warden for the 2023-24 school year, and reflects on her experience as an active member of the ministry:

"Walking onto campus as an incoming freshman can be a very intimidating feeling, but one place that I was able to walk into and find a home was the Episcopal Campus Ministry at UGA. I was immediately able to jump into activities and routines with people who made me feel comfortable and welcome in a completely new environment. My experience has been so amazing that I have decided to stick around for a fifth year to finish grad school and am privileged to be serving as the Senior Warden at this amazing ministry! We meet regularly at the newly constructed Wright House, located in the heart of campus, for easy access to all students. Our chaplain, Clayton Harrington, also lives on-site and serves at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens for anyone who is looking for a church community to get involved with while off at school. I have grown so much through the Diocese of Georgia as a youth participant and am grateful to have continued growing in my faith while at UGA and getting to become connected to the Diocese of Atlanta as well! I am happy to be a resource for anyone who will be coming to UGA or has any questions about ECM at UGA! Feel free to reach out to me at kegrant2001@comcast.net."

Conflict Transformation Workshop for Clergy

The Conflict Transformation Workshop for Clergy offers practical skills in dealing with low to mid-level conflict in congregations of all sizes. Participants will learn their preferred conflict response style and ways to effectively use other response styles. They will be provided opportunities to practice active listening skills, neutral ways of speaking, and collaborative skills in a variety of learning formats. The reasons for conflict in churches, disruptive behaviors, and feelings of powerlessness will be explored. Each participant is asked to bring a conflict he/she is dealing with for group discussion purposes. Time is devoted to developing an action plan for addressing the conflict. The workshop is based on training developed by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center and is facilitated by the Revs. Walter Hobgood, Melanie Lemburg, and Becky Rowell.

Held at the Diocese of Georgia Retreat Center at Honey Creek, Waverly GA, the workshop begins on Monday, September 25 at 1 pm and ends Friday, September 29 at noon. Tuition for clergy in the Diocese is underwritten by the Diocese. Tuition for out-of-diocese participants is $1000 per person. All participants are responsible for room and meals, which will be provided on-site.

To register, click here: https://bit.ly/ConflictTrans. Once you have registered for the program, you will receive a confirmation email that includes a link to then register for meals and lodging. You must complete both registrations in order to be fully registered for this event.

For more information, contact the Rev. Becky Rowell at browell221@gmail.com.

Project Resource opportunity for Fall 2023

Beginning on Sunday, September 10 through October 8, Project Resource will offer Zoom sessions for those interested in engaging in this stewardship program.

Project Resource teaches culture and systems change around financial development in the worldwide Episcopal Church. Project Resource provides teaching, focus, and adaptable resources to equip clergy and lay leaders to develop their year-round annual stewardship campaigns and plan, ask for, and receive major gifts.

Project Resource:

• helps church teams to gather the best resources to transform all areas of stewardship and explore internal narratives of money while addressing societal shifts, organizational change, and leadership challenges.
• assists teams in interpreting the training curriculum, session by session, relative to their cultural and regional context.
• empowers participants to leave the conference with a working plan and measurable objectives tailored specifically for their own congregation.

Church Teams:

Project Resource trainings equip stewardship teams to plan and develop year-round stewardship ministries that can be replicated and adapted for years to come. An ideal church team would consist of at least 3 members including the clergyperson, stewardship ministry chair, and other committed lay leaders.

Church teams will complete the course with:

• A comprehensive stewardship calendar for year-round planning
• A detailed roadmap for launching their annual campaigns
• Practical training on crafting personalized invitations
• Insight into generational and individual donor motivations 

The course fee is $450 for a team of three members, with an additional cost of $125 per extra team member. 

For further details and registration, please visit https://project-resource.org/fall2023. You may also contact Canon Easterlin at keasterlin@gaepiscopal.org with any additional questions about the program.

Icon Workshop returning to St. Simons Island

The Annual Christ Church Frederica Icon Writing Workshop will be held Sunday, September 10 - Friday, September 15 in the Parish Hall. The event will begin late Sunday afternoon to get each workstation and materials set up. Each day participants will work from 9:00am to 4:00pm Monday through Thursday, and finish early afternoon on Friday. The cost will be $450 and includes all materials and instruction. The instructor will again be the amazing Kara Nelson. 

The icon participants will be writing is known as the Greek Wedding Icon because it is a traditional Greek wedding gift. The icon is two hinged 5×7 panels featuring Mary on the left and Jesus on the right (see photo). Each participant will have the option of doing both faces or simply one. If choosing one, participants may pick Mary or Jesus. There will be a small reduction in the fee for only doing one. 

The workshop is open to people of all skill levels. No prior artistic training or ability required. For more info, contact the Rev. Becky Rowell at Becky@ccfssi.org or 912-222-6724.  

Staff applications for Happening #108 due TOMORROW

Applications for staff and registration for candidates (participants) for Happening #108 are now open! To be a member of staff, you are required to attend the staff training lock-in on Saturday, October 7-Sunday, October 8 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Thomasville. Candidates must currently be in 9th-12th grade to attend as a participant. The retreat weekend will be held at Honey Creek November 17-19, 2023.

The rector (lead teen) of Happening #108 is Evan Ariail, from St. Thomas in Thomasville. For any questions, contact Canon Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org or Liz Williams at lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org.

To apply for staff, click here.

To register at a candidate, click here.

Free Choral Music at Christ Church Savannah

The music office at Christ Church Savannah is paring down its choral music library, and has a number of choral scores which are available for anyone to come take and add to their own libraries. This Google spreadsheet lists the current remaining inventory, as well as details such as number of copies available. Please email Director of Music George Fergus at george.fergus@ccesavannah.org to check availabilities of scores that you might be interested in, or to coordinate a time to visit the music office and pick up copies. Any scores left unclaimed by September 5 will be recycled.

Job Openings

Christ Church in Valdosta is searching for a Director of Christian Education. Resumes and applications will be accepted until Friday, August 4th. Please call (229)242-5115 or email office@christchurchvaldosta.org for the application. To read the full job description, click here.

Across the Diocese

The Rev. Aaron Brewer at King of Peace in Kingsland offers a Blessing of the Backpacks.

St. Cyprian's in Darien held a free pop up back to school store for families in the community (left); Members of Saint Paul's in Augusta helped kick off the new school year at a local elementary school with breakfast and treat bags for the teachers and staff (right).

Christ Church in Valdosta held a month long school supplies drive to be distributed to the church's preschool program, college interns, and local schools.

The Rev. Charles Todd at Trinity in Statesboro offers a back to school blessing for students and educators.

The Rev. Steve Larson offers a backpack blessing to the students at Good Shepherd in Swainsboro.

Upcoming Events

Funeral for the Rev. Judy Jones Keith

August 5 at 11 a.m.

Bishop Frank Logue will officiate and preach the funeral for the Rev. Judy Jones Keith at St. Thomas in Thomasville. Clergy are encouraged to to vest in cassock, surplice, and white stoles.

Cursillo #127

When: September 7-10

Where: Honey Creek

Participant Registration

Team Application

New Beginnings #60

When: October 20-22, 2023

Where: Honey Creek

Participant registration here

Happening #108

When: November 17-19, 2023

Where: Honey Creek

Staff applications here

Candidate registration here

Clergy Conference

Fall Clergy Conference: October 2-4

The Fall Conference will be a deep dive into the Gospel of Mark 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. The conference will be held at Honey Creek.

Diocesan Convention

November 9-11, 2023

To register, click here.

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.   

August 6 - 12

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Sandersville, Grace Church. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Sandersville, especially St. William Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Divine Providence (Divina Providencia) in San Antonio de Guerra. 

August 13 - 19

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Savannah, especially Christ Church, the Mother Church of Georgia. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Savannah, especially the Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and Ascension Lutheran Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Barthlomew (San Bartolomé) in San Cristobal. 

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 will officiate and preach on Saturday for the funeral of the Rev. Judy Jones Keith at St. Thomas in Thomasville. He will make his visitation to St. Patrick's in Pooler on Sunday.



Photo: The Logues with their daughter, Dr. Griffin Schaefer, in her new office at Aztec Animal Clinic in Albuquerque, NM.

To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. (Updated for 2024 - 6/20/2023)

Canon Lasch will be celebrating and preaching at All Saints', Tybee on Sunday.

The office is still in summer office hours of closing at noon on Fridays.

Executive Assistant to the Bishop Maggie Lyons will be on vacation August 7-11.

Executive Director of Honey Creek Dade Brantley will be on vacation August 7-11.

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.

Bingo night at St. George's in Savannah offers a chance for community to knit together outside of worship. Here, two parishioners enjoy being together for the fun on a Friday night at their church.