October 4, 2021 | Volume 11, No. 57

From September 27-29, fifty deacons, priests, and a bishop gathered at Honey Creek for time apart spent in worship, prayer, and fellowship together. Clergy Conference worship was shaped by preparing for the season of Advent, with beautiful music and phenomenal sermons for the four Sundays of Advent and a glorious celebration of the Feast of the Nativity. Formation offerings, which can be used in parishes across the diocese, were shared, and the gathered clergy had deep discussions about their faith (punctuated by many moments of joy and laughter). It was truly a gift to spend this time together, in the largest gathering of clergy since Bishop Logue’s consecration in May of 2020.

Above photo: Clergy gathered at Honey Creek

Clergy together for the first group session in Stuart Hall.

The conference centered around Advent, which meant multiple services during the retreat.

Each week we will have a submission from a deacon that will explore topics like what a deacon is, what they do, their history, and other stories.

Hospital Chaplaincy providing much needed comfort

The Venerable Yvette Owns, wears many hats, but one includes serving on a team of hospital chaplains in Valdosta at South Georgia Medical Center.

Rev. Owens was ordained on June 28, 2006 and serves at Christ the King, Valdosta. As Archdeacon for the Diocese of Georgia, she serves as leader and liaison for the body of Deacons. In addition she works as

Administrative Assistant to the 823^rd Base Squadron Defense Commander of the Air Force, in which she is an Equal Opportunity Counselor, Trained Mediator, Master Resilience Trainer and Sexual Assault and Suicide Prevention Implementer. Amid all those duties, she also serves as a Chaplain at South Georgia Medical Center, work made particularly more difficult by the Covid pandemic.

In an article in the Valdosta Daily Times, Archdeacon Owens speaks about her experience as a hospital chaplain in the midst of COVID, "It’s sad and disheartening because you really want them to be in the room … just for the family member to touch them, touch their hand, stroke their hair and kiss them on the cheek,” she said. “As a chaplain, you really want that interaction and for them to be able to do that, and you have to stay steadfast on your knees even though you’re standing up praying for the family, for some type of relief, even though it might not come. Sometimes, they might go home, and sometimes, they don’t.”

Owens started as a volunteer in 2006, and is now a part-time employee of the hospital. She added that her job as a chaplain isn't just for the patients, but also to minister to those who are the caregivers, the medical staff who are dealing with multiple patients a day. And the best way for Owens to take care of others is to also take care of herself, "That’s my job is to make sure that they’re doing good, and then to start praying for myself, start trying to heal myself, so that I can go to the next person. It’s not easy all the time, but it’s something that as a chaplain, we took up when we said yes, we want that call.”

To read the full article in the Valdosta Daily Times, click here.

The diocese mourns the death of Roland Bourie Williams, who served as the Chancellor of the Diocese of Georgia for 13 years.

Born in Macon, Georgia, he graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia Law School. He married and moved to Savannah and was a law clerk for U.S District Judge A.A. Lawrence and finally joined Hunter Maclean Exley & Dunn, becoming a partner there.

He was a member of St. John’s Church in Savannah where he was senior warden twice. He was appointed Chancellor of The Diocese of Georgia by the Rt. Rev. Harry W. Shipps.

There was a small family service on Saturday, October 2, 2021.

• When: January 7-9, 2022
• Who: Youth in Grades 7-9
• Where: Honey Creek!
• Cost: $125 per person

New Beginnings, a retreat for youth currently in Grades 7-9, is open for registration. This event is led by older youth, with adult support. In a time of increased anxiety and uncertainty, New Beginnings offers young people a chance to gather at Honey Creek offers young people a chance to step back from their daily lives and reflect on some of the big issues of life, such as Family, Peer Pressure, Friends, and how the Love God has for all of us is unconditional and everlasting. Participant Registration is available here: https://bit.ly/NBParticipants. 

Applications to serve on New Beginnings Staff are also available! Any youth who has attended either New Beginnings or Happening is eligible to serve on staff. Serving on staff includes a commitment to attend the entire weekend, and to attend the staff lock-in, which is scheduled for December 4-5, 2021. The staff application is here: https://bit.ly/NBStaff. 

Even though it had to be delayed, Happening #104 is still scheduled to be IN PERSON at Honey Creek. The new dates are November 19-21, 2021, and we are so excited!

Happening a retreat led by youth for youth in grades 10-12 and offers a participants (called candidates) a chance to explore their faith together, and address deep questions of piety, prayer, grace, reality, and more. The Rector for Happening #104 is Ellie Copeland, from Christ Church, Valdosta.

Candidate registration is open! In order to meet in person with reduced risk, we will adhere to the updated Diocesan policies regarding vaccination and testing for Covid for all participants and staff. In addition, to allow for some spacing, we are limiting the total number of Candidates and Staff to fifty people. 

The Georgia Happening website, georgiahappening.com, is updated and will continue to be updated as we move closer to our Happening date! 

Remember the BEST is yet to come!

To register as a Candidate, click here.

To view the new guidelines for overnight youth events, click here.

Our diocesan convention will be an

in-person event at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. The diocesan staff has set new guidelines for the event in order to mitigate the risk of spreading

COVID-19 during convention. 

Planned Precautions

• All persons attending in person will need to be fully vaccinated.
• Masks will be required when indoors at the convention center and when in your seat for worship at Honey Creek.
• Our tables and chairs will permit distancing.

Our convention will be the only group in the large convention center. We will have sufficient tables to have only 4-5 people at a table which typically seats eight. We will not assign seating so that people traveling together can sit together and not add to their risk. The planned convention Eucharist will be outdoors, which already mitigates risk. As we sit in close proximity and sing in worship, we will stay masked for that liturgy, other than readers and the preacher. Masks are not otherwise required while on the grounds at Honey Creek. 

What about the unvaccinated?

The Diocese will offer a way to participate online for those who can not get or have decided not to receive a vaccination as well as those whose concern for safety will not permit them to be present. Online participation is intended to be the exception rather than the norm as there is much benefit in our being together in person.

It is important to be together

We are better together, and the large convention center and Honey Creek provide a setting to mitigate risk while meeting in person. We look forward to seeing all your smiling eyes on Jekyll!

October 13 - November 3

Start making a plan today for any changes or additions.

For those with health insurance through the Diocese of Georgia, please find the details for Annual Enrollment below on prices and resources. You may review plans on the Diocesan website here. Premiums increased 4.4-5.5% across all available plans. The national average increase for 2022 is 6.5%. Note that 86% of our rates are 0-9% below the Medical Trust average. The Diocese of Georgia is in line with national increases due to participation and usage of CDHP health insurance plans, however, we could see improvement on the use of preventative health care visits across our enrollees. The Diocese receives data on health trends for our participants and we continue to track at lower costs for common diagnoses, meaning our folks are going to the doctor when needed and getting earlier care.

If you are enrolled, or need to enroll, read the details in entirety and make your changes by November 3. If you do not desire to change your existing coverage, you are not required to take action and your plan will roll over into the coming year.

If you are turning 65 in 2022 you will become eligible for the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Plans. It is recommended that you make the shift into the corresponding PPO plan to speed up the transition to the corresponding MSP plan. However, this is not required. Further guidance on the MSP plans is below. Please be in contact with Canon Easterlin for any questions at keasterlin@gaepiscopal.org.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Members will access the Annual Enrollment website with the same credentials (username and password) they created to access their benefits information on MyCPG Accounts. It is important for all members to create an account on MyCPG Accounts prior to Annual Enrollment, if they have not already done so. For assistance, employees may contact CPG Client Services at (800) 480-9967, Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM ET, or email mtcustserv@cpg.org.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with Cigna Behavioral Health  

In addition to the health plans, we offer a stand-alone EAP with Cigna Behavioral Health that you and your related entities may offer to employees who opt out of medical coverage. (Employees who enroll in Medical Trust health coverage are automatically enrolled in Cigna EAP benefits.) 

Note: If the Cigna EAP is offered on a stand-alone basis, the employer must pay for the EAP-only coverage. Requiring employees to contribute toward the cost of EAP-only coverage would violate the Affordable Care Act, and the employer could be subject to significant penalties. Eligibility for the stand-alone EAP is limited to qualified non-members (e.g., an employee who is on a spousal plan and has opted out of Medical Trust coverage). Since these employees will not have the ability to select the EAP on a stand-alone basis [during Annual Enrollment], enrollments must be completed by the group administrator with MLPS access.

Enrolling for the First Time?

Eligible employees and dependents who are not currently enrolled in a Medical Trust plan may enroll during Annual Enrollment for the 2022 plan year. Please submit an enrollment form to me as this process must be handled by the plan administrator.

For any questions please reach out Canon Easterlin (keasterlin@gaepiscopal.org) or Daniel Garrick (dgarrick@gaepiscopal.org).

Registration

Register Individually

Each delegate must register individually. This is important step will assist us to populate our new ACS Realm DataBase and is a necessary step with that system to use a separate email address for each person registered.

To register for Convention, click here.

Please note that registration is needed for each individual instead of a group registration.

To fill out the vendor application, click here. All exhibit requests are subject to approval by the Bishop's office. Applications are due no later than October 1, 2021. Vendor applications must be approved before registering for convention.

Convocation Council Meetings

Sunday, October 10:

2pm - Southeastern Convocation

5pm - Albany Convocation

Saturday, October 16:

10am - Central Convocation

Sunday October 17:

2pm - Savannah Convocation

5pm - Augusta Convocation

For more information, contact Canon Loren Lasch at llasch@gaepiscopal.org.

Nominees

The following have accepted a nomination to run for a position in the Diocese. To be included in the printed convention booklet, nominations must be submitted by September 24. Nominations are open until they are closed on the floor of convention and will continue to be updated in From the Field and online until November 1.



BOARD of OFFICERS of THE CORPORATION - 1 lay person

Leslie Lambert

CHURCH DISCIPLINARY BOARD - 3 clergy persons & 2 lay persons

Lay

Sam Colville

Clergy

The Rev. Geri Nelson, Deacon

DIOCESAN COUNCIL - 1 lay person or clergy person

STANDING COMMITTEE - 1 lay person & 1 priest

Lay

Skip Jennings

Elise Miller

TRUSTEE of the UNIVERSITY of the SOUTH - 1 lay person

Val Crumpton

Cam Mathis

To view all nominees and their bios, click here.

To submit a nomination, click here.

Once nominated, the nominee will need to fill out this form.

The Rev. Karyl Miller, Deacon (left) with the Rev. Tar Drazdowski at St. Barnabas in Valdosta.

The Rev. Melanie Lemburg is excitedly greeted at St. Thomas Isle of Hope in Savannah.

The Rev. Larry Jesion of St. Michael's in Waynesboro hands a treat to an expectant

four-legged parishioner.

The Rev. Charles Todd at Trinity in Statesboro blesses a little friend (left), but also gets upstaged by the glorious spiderweb (right).

The Rev. Aaron Brewer at King of Peace in Kingsland has quite the attentive congregation!

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 2021 one year prayer cycle is online here: 2021 Prayer Cycle

October 10 - 16

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Thomasville, All Saints, Good Shepherd, and St. Thomas and for their work at the Oak Street Episcopal Mission. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Thomasville, especially St. Augustine’s Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Luke (San Lucas) in Santiago. 

October 17 - 23

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Thomson, Holy Cross, and for our ecumenical partners in Thomson, especially Zion Lutheran Church in Guyton and Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Lakeland. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in Santo Domingo, especially the Cathedral of the Epiphany (La Catedral de la Epifanía).

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 Diocesan Prayer Cycle Cycle and Clergy Clergy Spouses Prayer Cycle Prayer Cycle. (Updated 9/25/2021)

Bishop Logue has his monthly meeting with 15 other bishops from around the world on Thursday morning via Zoom as part of meetings in advance of next year's Lambeth Conference for all of the bishops in the Anglican Communion. Then he will attend the Sewanee Trustees meeting online starting later on Thursday and continuing Friday. On Sunday, he will preach at St. John's in Savannah.

To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. (Updated 9/8/2021)

You may reach diocesan staff by phone at (912) 236-4279. Given staff schedules of meetings and travel, 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.

Bishop Logue processing in for Saturday's consecration of the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley.

On Saturday evening, Bishop Logue celebrated Christmas with the Clergy Spouses at their retreat at Honey Creek.

Sunday morning rounded out the Bishop's weekend as he played, er, celebrated at St. Francis of the Islands in Savannah. Here he is with Ezra, the son of the Rev. Ian Lasch and the Rev. Canon Loren Lasch.