O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-The Book of Common Prayer, page 839

We've planned all year! We've made adjustments all year! Now we finally get to celebrate! Join us for the final events that will close out our 50th anniversary year and lead us into the next fifty years.

Join us December 3-5, for our 50th Jubilee Celebration events. Click the video and let Bishop Russell tell you all about this exciting time. Or visit our website at www.diocgc.org/just-mercy-just-jesus.

By the Rev. Deacon Clelia Garrity

As I write this update on our work in Zambia, my heart is heavy. I so long to visit my friends and to be present at the Mariska Health Project as community members come for help with their myriad medical problems and their desire to learn more about ways to prevent illnesses such as malaria, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, etc. I miss the vibrancy of this beloved community, and despite the fact that I am thousands of miles away from them, the memory of the love that they showed me during my visit 18 months ago still fills my heart with joy and puts a smile on my face.

Victor Chimfwembe, the health project's community leader/pastor, has once again astounded me with his creative ideas and extremely hard work. The 5000 bricks that he and others made last fall have now been used in the building of a toilet stall and a medical clinic. A Medical Clinic!!! Can you believe it? A functional building that includes a small, locked area that houses a refrigerator and freezer, run by solar power, for medications. All this built in one short year - from the making of bricks to the raising of the roof. (Funds for the roof were supported by our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Russell Kendrick – I call it the Bishop's roof).

We will again be participating in the 2021 Good Book Club, January 1 – February 16. Bishop Russell will be sharing weekly reflections on the Gospel of Mark. The readings can be found at www.goodbookclub.org. Video reflections will be released the Thursday prior to the following week’s readings and available on our website here. Videos are suitable for individual or group study. Questions on how to host a Good Book Club at your church, contact Sally Crenshaw at crenshs@cox.net.

Registration is open. Visit Beckwith's website for information on dates, rates and tiered pricing system. Applications for Camp Staff are also being accepted.

50 Day Countdown to Jubilee Daily Devotional. Read the devotionals HERE.

50th Jubilee Celebration Events with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Bryan Stevenson. Read the announcement HERE.

New and updated Advent and Christmas resources for congregations, dioceses, and communities of faith are available, with additional resources coming soon. Available now: Preparing to Become the Beloved Community Advent curriculum; Way of Love Digital Invitation Kit; updated Journeying the Way of Love Advent calendar and curriculum; AdventWord 2020; Episcopal Migration Ministries Refugee Prayer Vigil. And be sure to sign up for daily Advent and Christmas emails. Find Advent and Christmas resources from The Episcopal Church here.

New for Advent 2020 is a five-session podcast series, Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community, hosted by the Rev. Isaiah “Shaneequa” Brokenleg, Episcopal Church staff officer for Racial Reconciliation. Prophetic Voices explores where that dialogue intersects with faith. Join Brokenleg and invited guests as they share prophetic voices and explore the readings for each week of Advent and Christmas Day through the lens of social justice. Learn more about this podcast here.

November 14, 10am & 1:30pm, November 15, 1:30pm CST

Addressing the "-isms." Where does the prejudice come from? The Commission Racial Justice & Reconciliation are sponsoring an online seminar featuring the Rev. Dr. Tommie Watkins, Jr. to discuss the institutionalized racial caste system in the United States of America, which will feature a dialogue to racial conciliation, addressing certain systemic "-isms" such as racism, sexism, heterosexism. Dr. Watkins is the rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Birmingham, and graduate professor of social work at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

This is a free virtual event, but registration is required.

LINK TO REGISTRATION | DOWNLOAD FLYER

November 21, 9am - 10:45am CST

The Commission on Spirituality and the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama present a pre-Advent reflection day with Rev. Julia Gatta. Mother Gatta is a professor at the School of Theology at Sewanee. Many people in Education for Ministry are familiar with Mother Gatta and her latest book, Life in Christ.

This will be a virtual event. Cost is $10, registration required.

LINK TO REGISTER | DOWNLOAD FLYER

Now - February 25

Start logging your miles! We are taking a virtual trip around the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast! Engage your mind, soul and body, and learn about our diocese and our beloved Camp Beckwith. Our mission takes us about 540 miles from Beckwith and back, highlighting each of our 62 churches along the way.

The mission runs now until Diocesan Convention. There's still time to register.

FULL DETAILS AND REGISTRATION | DOWNLOAD FAQ FLYER

Church and School Choral Music Director | Full-time

The Choral Music Director at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and School is a collaborative/joint position combining leadership and oversight of the choral music programs at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and St. Luke’s Episcopal School. The St. Luke’s Choral Music Director will report directly to both the Rector of the Church and the Headmaster of the School. 

The St. Luke’s Choral Music Director must be able to work effectively with adults, teens, and children and is required to be able to read music, be conversant in choral, vocal, and conducting techniques, and have familiarity with musical instruments (i.e. piano/organ).

Contact: The Rev. Jamie McElroy, jamie@stlukesmobile.org.

Coastline is a biweekly publication of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE - deadlines are 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month

SUBMIT AN EVENT - posted on our website each Friday

Direct questions to communications@diocgc.org