May 4, 2022 | Volume 12, No. 18

Last week some of the members of the Diocese of Georgia deputation to General Convention met at Camp McDowell for the Province IV Synod meeting. This is a regional meeting for the 20 dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the Southeast United States in advance of this summer's General Convention, which meets in Baltimore in July. During the Synod, bishops and deputies have an opportunity to hear a presentation of the budget convention will consider, vote for a provincial representative to the Executive Council, and consider any resolutions offered to go to the convention from the province. 

The Diocese of Georgia presented three resolutions for Synod to pass, and all three were passed unanimously. The full test of the resolutions related to detention for asylum seekers, maternity leave, and creating an endowment for evangelism and church planting are online here. These resolutions will make their way to General Convention to be voted on this summer. A fourth resolution calling for additional funding for provinces from the budget of the church failed to pass. 

Your lay deputies are Cissy Bowden, Molly Stevenson, Jody Grant, and Liz Williams. Lay alternates are Katie Easterlin and Sarah Riggle. 

Your clergy deputies are Kelly Steele, Ted Clarkson, David Rose, and Tom Purdy. The clergy alternate is Leeann Culbreath.

Pictured: a portion of the deputation at Synod last week at Camp McDowell in Alabama and the Rev. Kelly Steele reads the text of the endowment resolution she presented as bishops and deputies follow along looking at the text on their computers and phones. 

The Idealistic James Edward Oglethorpe

As we approach the bicentennial of our founding in 2023, we will share the story of the Diocese of Georgia. This week we remember James Oglethorpe.

Growing up in the house next door to King George’s Whitehall Palace, James Edward Oglethorpe was the youngest of ten children born to a prominent English family. Inheriting a family estate at 26, the up-and-coming Oglethorpe ran for the House of Commons. Reports say soon after the election, Oglethorpe was already drunk when he wandered into a tavern at six o’clock in the morning. He got into a heated exchange over politics with a lamplighter and killed the man in the fight that followed. A powerful friend intervened to get Oglethorpe freed from jail.

The pugilistic politician emerged as a powerful reformer after landing a seat on the committee working with problems in debtor prisons. There he met the charismatic Sir Thomas Bray, a priest of the Church of England with a heart for the underprivileged. In five years, Oglethorpe would serve on numerous committees working to relieve problems that plagued England’s poor. He managed to secure the release of 10,000 imprisoned for their debts. Concerned that the debtors were free, but without work, Oglethorpe began raising interest in a debtor colony even as he collected funds to found it. In June of 1732, King George II signed the Charter of the Colony of Georgia.

The Anne set sail with the first colonists in late 1732, arriving in Charlestown, South Carolina, in early 1733. With a small scouting party, Oglethorpe found a trading post run by Mary and John Musgrove at the Yamacraw village on a high bluff of the Savannah River. The local chief, Tomo-chi-chi, agreed to the settlement plan and by all accounts, he and Ogelthorpe became good friends. The two later traveled together to England. Though he only ever held the title of a trustee of the colony, Oglethorpe’s role amounted to being its founding governor, a role he maintained for Georgia’s first decade. His ambitious city plan remains the design of Savannah. A devoted Anglican, he placed Christ Church on a prominent square. He also made provision for Jews, Lutheran Salzburgers, and other persecuted religious minorities to settle.

Oglethorpe was a civilian with limited military experience at the time of the colony’s founding. During a return trip to England in 1737, he was appointed to the rank of Colonel and sent back with a regiment of soldiers. In 1743, Oglethorpe was advanced to the rank of General. He successfully pushed back the Spanish in the War of Jenkins’ Ear. 

Living into the motto of Georgia’s Trustees—Non sibi sed aliis (Not for self, but for others)—Oglethorpe remained a tireless idealist. He wholly opposed slavery in Georgia and kept an enlightened approach in relations with the indigenous population. (The painting above shows Tomochichi and other Yamacraw visitors, being presented to the Georgia Trustees in London by James Edward Oglethorpe in 1734.)

Back in England in 1744, he married Elizabeth Wright, a Baroness. He remained in England while continuing to serve on the Board of Trustees of Georgia. Over his strong opposition, the Trustees relaxed prohibitions against owning large tracts of land, enslaving persons, and other rules intended to reflect his Christian idealism. By 1750 he was no longer involved with what was then a royal colony. The founder lived to see the colonies gain independence. He met the U.S. ambassador, John Adams, on the future president’s first trip to England. Oglethorpe died later the same month on June 30, 1785.

40 years of ministry for Emmaus House in Savannah

United Ministries of Savannah was founded in 1982 by surrounding churches who saw the need for services to those experiencing homelessness in the area and is the umbrella organization of Emmaus House. Susan Harrison, the first female Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, heard a small voice telling her to "feed my sheep." She met with local leaders and organized what became United Ministries. Emmaus House began serving meals at First Baptist Church and moved to Christ Church in 1983 after outgrowing the space at First Baptist. 

In 2020, Emmaus House served 25,000 hot meals, 777 load of laundry, and provided 937 showers. This Sunday there will be a celebration of 40 years of service at Christ Church in Savannah. 

For more information about Emmaus House and how to help, visit unitedministriessavannah.org.

Apply for Happening Staff!

Staff applications for Happening #106 are now live!

Youth must have attended one previous Happening as a candidate in order to apply for staff.

There is a required staff lock in for all those who will serve on the weekend.

To apply, click here.

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light Resources

Canon Easterlin recently met with Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL) specifically about new programs, and how our congregations can use GIPL as a resource.

If your parish has a Green Team or would like to start a Green Team, register with both GIPL and our own Creation Care Commission! By registering with both groups, parishes are able to stay connected and and receive updates from both GIPL and the diocesan Creation Care Commission. To register with GIPL, fill out this form. To register with the diocesan commission, email them at creationcarecommission@gmail.com.

GIPL is also looking for a Coastal and Environmental Justice Organizer. To view the job description, click here.

Are you passionate about climate change and elections? Join GIPL's Get Out the Vote campaign. The Faith Climate Justice Campaign is focused on engaging and mobilizing faith voters to communicate their values of caring for our common home and loving our neighbors through voting.

To download the full information sheet seen above, click the image.

Deadline for EYCS scholarships May 31

Register for New Beginnings #57!

• When: May 6-8, 2022
• Who: Youth in Grades 7-9
• Where: Honey Creek!
• Cost: $125 per person

New Beginnings #57, 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/NB57Participants. 

The Lead Teen for New Beginnings #57 is Jake Diamond, of Christ Church, Valdosta.



Registration now open for Family Camp!

After a two-year break, we are thrilled to have Summer Camp back! And we're so excited to offer Family Camp again!

Last year’s weekend sessions were quite popular, and so during the weekend of July 8-10, we will offer Family Camp for families of all types, grandparents and children, friends coming back to camp together, individuals coming on their own, or any other combinations! 

Our updated Summer Camp Schedule is below:

• High School Camp (completed grades 9-12): June 12-18 - Register here: https://bit.ly/HCHighSchoolCamp
• Camp St. Peter (completed grades 6-8): June 19-25 - Register here: ​​https://bit.ly/HCStPeter1Camp
• Camp St. Joseph & Mary (completed grades 3-5): June 26-July 2 - Register here: https://bit.ly/HCJandM1Camp 
• Family Camp: July 8-10 - Register here: https://bit.ly/2022FamilyCamp



The Project Smile dental mission team from Christ Church in Savannah was back in Belize City, Belize as they have been since 1992 when Belize was our companion diocese. Find out more about Project Smile  online here.

Last Saturday, parishioners of Our Savior in Martinez prepared a community meal and fed 68 people at Christ Episcopal Church in Augusta.

Parishioners of King of Peace in Kingsland provided food for neighbors in need through the Ravens of Elijah ministry in Camden County.

Parishioners of St. John's in Savannah are providing new bedding and towels for this summer’s campers at Fresh Air Home on Tybee Island. The camp is an outgrowth of ministry begun by one of their parishioners, Nina Pape, in 1897. Find out more online here.

The Rev. Galen Mirate was installed as Rector at St. Paul's in Albany on Saturday. She is pictured in the center with Archdeacon Yvette Owen, Bishop Logue, and the Rev. Geri Nelson, Deacon.

Bishop Logue with members of Trinity in Cochran after his visitation on Sunday.

On Monday, Bishop Logue offered the invocation for Justice Unites Savannah Together, and the Rev. Guillermo Arboleda from St. Matthew's, Savannah participating as a speaker.

Bishop Logue took an "ussie" on Tuesday when greeting the Episcopal Communicators after giving the sermon for their Eucharist at Christ Church in Savannah. More than 100 communications professionals from around to the country are in town for their annual conference. 

If your parish has a graduate who will be attending Georgia Southern in the fall, please have them contact the Rev. Charles Todd, the Episcopal Missioner at Georgia Southern. 

There are also three rooms available for rent at the ECM house! Rent is reasonable and residents are expected to assist with weekly programming and building the campus ministry community.

For more information, contact the Rev. Charles Todd at charles@trinitystatesboro.org. 

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.

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.  

May 1 - 7

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Hawkinsville,

St. Luke’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Eastman. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for Jesus the Messiah (Jesús Mesías) in Imbert. 

May 8 - 14

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Hinesville, St. Philip’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Hinesville, especially St. Stephen’s Catholic Church . In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Matthew (San Mateo) in Jalonga. 

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)

Bishop Logue will preside and preach this evening at 5:30 pm at St. Peter's in Savannah, for the Celebration of New Ministry marking the Rev. Kelly Steele becoming their rector. He will be off Thursday through Saturday.

Bishop Logue will make his visitation to St. Paul's in Savannah on Sunday. He will be at Clergy Conference next Monday through Wednesday.

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

Pictured: Bishop Logue with the altar party for the Rev. Galen Mirate's installation at St. Paul's in Albany.

Canon Varner will be at New Beginnings #57 this weekend and Clergy Conference at Honey Creek next week.

Canon Lasch will celebrate and preach at St. Michael and All Angels in Savannah on Sunday. She will be at Clergy Conference at Honey Creek next week.

Liz Williams will be attending the Episcopal Communicators Conference this week.

Canon Easterlin and Daniel Garrick will be at Camp Allen in Texas next week for the Church Pension Group Benefits Partnership Conference.



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.

Liz Williams, the Revs. Kelly Steele and David Rose enjoy a light hearted moment at Synod last week.