September 30, 2020
Volume 10, No. 56
IN THIS ISSUE
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Happening Reunion Group Online
November 13-14, 2020 

Happening, for youth in grades 10-12, is one of the Diocese of Georgia's most successful and long-running youth programs. Many adults in this Diocese and beyond its borders have been deeply impacted by their experiences of Happening weekends. Often groups of youth who are from the same area have formed Reunion Groups for renewal, to touch base, and to support future weekends.

As with all other Diocesan youth programs this fall, Happening has had to pause in-person gatherings. While we are sad that Happening #104 will not take place in November, several of the staff of Happening #104 are coming together to offer an online Happening Reunion Group that weekend. The virtue of being online, in this case, is that all Happeners (i.e. - those who have attended a Happening as a Candidate), regardless of their age or physical location, are able to join! 

This event will take place over November 13-14, and will offer a chance for groups to pray, sing, share their own experiences of Happening, and more. We also hope that out of this event will come a group who will offer a "taste" of Happening later in the year for those high school youth who have not yet attended Happening but may do so when we can gather again in person.

While there is no cost for the Happening Reunion, registration will be required. This lets the staff know approximately how many participants to expect and what ages. Registration opens early next week!

Celebrate All Saints' Day with a Diocesan Choir
All Saints' Day is one of the Principal Feasts of the Church. On this day we remember all the saints, known and unknown, and we are reminded of our own participation in the Communion of Saints. 

This year, we will be celebrating our connections with all the saints through music. As we did for Bishop Logue's Ordination, we will be creating a Virtual Choir. This time we  will sing Hymn 287, "For All the Saints." This hymn has options to sing harmony on some of the verses but all are welcome to sing melody for the entire song if preferred.

In order to sing in this choir, all you need is a pair of earbuds, a computer, and a smartphone that can record video. You will download the appropriate guide track and then sing along with the guide track in your earbuds while you video yourself using your phone. We need your submission no later than Sunday night, October 18 in order to incorporate it into the final choir.

In order to participate, you need the full instructions, which can be found here: http://bit.ly/ForAllTheSaintsChoir. The instructions include links to guide tracks, rehearsal tracks, an example video, and instructions on how to submit your video once you're done. Many thanks to Kathleen Turner, Organist and Choirmaster at Christ Church, Frederica, for creating these tracks.

Please read the instructions carefully before you record anything! Contact Canon Varner at  jvarner@gaepiscopal.org with your questions.

Please note that while singers sometimes feel like they are singing a solo during this process, and therefore choose not to participate, your offering will be mixed with others, creating the sound of many voices singing together through the miracle of technology. So go ahead and sing and submit your music. Your song will join with everyone else's offerings to create something glorious!

Nominations for Diocesan Convention

The following have been nominated and are up for election at Diocesan Convention. Full biographies and photos will be in tomorrow's Thriving in the Vine newsletter.

To nominate yourself or someone else, click here.
If you have been nominated, fill out your information here.

Board of Officers of the Corporation (1 lay person)
None

Church Disciplinary Board (1 clergy & 2 lay persons)
Phillip Davies
Bill Bruce
The Rev. David Lemburg

Diocesan Council ( 1 lay person or clergy)
None

Standing Committee (1 layperson & 1 priest)
The Rev. David Rose
The Rev. David Lemburg

Trustee of the University of the South (1 priest)
The Rev. Tom Purdy


The Rev. Thomas Barron to serve part-time at 
St. Augustine of Canterbury, Augusta


The Rev. Thomas Barron has been called to serve at St. Augustine's, Augusta as the part-time Priest Associate in addition to his current duties as the Missioner for the Grovetown Episcopal-Lutheran Mission. He will assist with the pastoral care of children, families, and adults through Christian Formation programming, Youth Leadership, connecting children and youth to the ministries of the church, and ensure leadership for children and youth activities are well-trained and prepared. He will also assist Augusta State Campus Missioner Shelley Martin. 

He will begin his call on October 1.

Diocesan Online Godly Play on Zoom this Sunday
Godly Play is a Montessori-based curriculum that focuses on telling stories using physical materials and allowing participants to play and work with the stories at their own level. 

This coming Sunday, October 4, Canon Joshua Varner host a Zoom call during which children (and their associated adults) can gather to hear the story of The Great Family and reflect on it together, sharing their ideas, and wonderings. This story was first shared last Sunday on the Diocesan Facebook Page and remains available there as one of the videos, if you would like to see the story in advance! These sessions are appropriate for young people of all ages, and many adults find that the Godly Play method allows them to think about stories they have known for a long time in new and different ways.

The link to the Zoom Call is here, and will also be placed be on the Diocese of Georgia Facebook Page on Sunday morning. Please contact Canon Varner at  jvarner@gaepiscopal.org with your questions.

Open Enrollment to Begin October 12

Annual Enrollment for Health Insurance is open October 12 - October 30! Start making a plan today for any changes or additions.

Please find the details for Annual Enrollment below on prices and resources to review plans on the Diocesan website here

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

Cursillo Virtual Event This Sunday

Whether you have been to a Cursillo Retreat or not, the Cursillo Community of the Diocese of Georgia wants to strengthen your faith even while gathering in person is not possible. Cursillo is hosting an online gathering on Sunday, October 4, at 1 p.m. 

The Cursillo leadership team says they know that there is not a safe way to have a Cursillo weekend during Phase 1 restrictions on gatherings.  The group prayed and talked and God led them to offer a fun time of music, fellowship and encouragement. An Ultreya, a Spanish word, derived from the original Latin, meaning Onward, is the name given in Cursillo to gathering together groups from a particular region and this Grand Ultreya is offered to the whole Diocese of Georgia community.

To view the invitation, click here.

The Rev. Rita Spalding ordained a deacon
On Saturday, September 26, the Rt. Rev. Frank Logue ordained the Rev. Rita Spalding to the Sacred Order of Deacons at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Brunswick with the Rev. Alan Akridge preaching.











Thriving in the Vine Deadlines


Ministry reports are due tomorrow, October 1 to Liz Williams (lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org).

Registration deadline for delegates is October 21.

Registration for the 199th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, Thriving in the Vine, is now open. Due to safety concerns for large public gatherings, the 199th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia will meet online on the evening of November 6th and the morning of the November 7th.

Registration and additional information will be available online at http://convention.georgiaepiscopal.org and through the Thursday convention newsletter. 

Churches finding ways to safely worship and serve
We've seen how creative our parishes have gotten during the pandemic, and rejoice in that creativity!
      Georgia Southern Episcopal Campus Ministry had their first in-person outdoor gathering.


Christ Church, Frederica held their first outdoor worship.
 

The Creation Care Commission having some fun before their meeting after Down to the Park to Pray.

Worship with the Diocese of Georgia in Savannah on Sunday
This Sunday, we will stream Morning Prayer at 10 a.m. from St. Francis of the Islands in Savannah with Bishop Logue officiating and preaching Morning Prayer.


Find Livestream Worship 
There are a lot of options each day for Episcopalians in the Diocese of Georgia to worship online and now they are listed in one place. The Livestream Services calendar tells the time, location, and which liturgy the congregation offers for the whole Diocese. Click the image above or this link: Livestream Services Calendar

Have you adjusted your livestream schedule? Let us know! We have a running calendar that you can find here. Check to see if your schedule is correct, and if there are any changes, email Administrator Assistant Daniel Garrick at dgarrick@gaepiscopal.org.

Prayers for Weekly Liturgies
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 2020 one year prayer cycle is now online here: 2020 Prayer Cycle

September 27 - October 3
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Swainsboro, Good Shepherd. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Swainsboro, especially Holy Trinity Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Emmanuel (
Emmanuel) in Santiago.

October 4 - 10
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Statesboro, Trinity. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Statesboro, especially St. Matthew
's Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for The Annunciation (La AnnunciacioĢn) in Santiago.

Additional 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.

Diocesan Office Update and News

Sunday, Bishop Logue will officiate and preach Morning Prayer from St. Francis of the Islands, Savannah, offered online at 10 a.m. To find the service, visit the Diocesan Facebook page or the Diocese of Georgia YouTube page.

Throughout the remainder of 2020 Bishop Logue will continue to record Diocesan worship from different congregations across the Diocese. To see the calendar for the remainder of 2020, click here.

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Diocesan staff are not all in the office at the same time with some working remotely. Email will be the quickest way to get in touch with the staff, although you are still welcome to call us on the phone! If we miss your call, please leave a voicemail with a detailed message. Staff e-mails can be found here.

Let Us Know!

What are you doing to keep community right now? Are you gathering for virtual coffee hours, delivering groceries to your neighbors - let us know! Send any updates or photos to our Communications Manager Liz Williams at lwilliams@gaepiscopal.org. We want to hear from you!

Fist Bump Seals the Deal
The Rev. Rita Spalding receives the official fist bump from Bishop Logue.

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