January 26, 2022 | Volume 12, No. 4

As each day gets a little bit longer, our thoughts turn toward summer, even while it’s still cold. And this coming summer we are planning to return to our traditional Summer Camp Season! Registration will open in February, but for now, please mark these dates down on your calendar!

High School Camp (Completed Grades 9-12, includes graduated seniors): June 12-18

Camp St. Peter I (Completed Grades 6-8): June 19-25

Camp St. Joseph & Mary I (Completed Grades 3-5): June 26-July 2

Camp St. Joseph & Mary II (Completed Grades 3-5): July 10-16

Camp St. Peter II (Completed Grades 6-8): July 17-23

We are actively recruiting college students and others who have completed high school to serve as Summer Camp Counselors. If you are or someone you know are interested in a summer experience that can be life-changing both for yourself and for the campers, apply now!  The Staff Application is available online here: https://bit.ly/HoneyCreekSummerStaffApp

Have questions about camp? About serving as a counselor? Contact Summer Camp Director Karen Bell at karenmackenziebell@gmail.com or Canon Joshua Varner at jvarner@gaepiscopal.org.

The Episcopal Church has launched parochial reports for 2021 data. They are due by March 1^st, 2022. The report is one of two mandatory reports due annually, including audits in September. 

The Parochial Report is completed online at: https://reports.dfms.org. Beginning in January 2022, everyone will login into this site with a unique login (usually a church or individuals’ email) and password. Diocesan office can reset the login information for a congregation if needed. Reach out to Maggie Lyons or Daniel Garrick for support as needed (mlyons@gaepiscopal.org and dgarrick@gaepiscopal.org). 

You’ll need to gather attendance, membership, and financial information to complete the report. If you are unfamiliar with the process of completing the parochial report, please visit the detailed website here.

There is a helpful webcast available here: https://www.generalconvention.org/pr-screencast-for-parish-users

The 1Book1Diocese for Lent is Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans.

The author, who died in 2019, wrote of this book when it was published "Perhaps more than any other book I’ve written, Inspired is intended to be read, wrestled with, discussed, debated, and creatively engaged with in the context of community. And that’s precisely because the Bible invites us to do the same."

Bishop Logue said, "Rachel was a thoughtful Christian whose books remain as a testament to the deep, authentic faith of a woman who had a way with God’s word offering a healing balm to those who most needed Jesus’ love." He added, "I have heard her called the C.S. Lewis for the post Baby Boom generations and I find that not hyperbole, but naming rightly the importance of her work."

Many Lenten studies start on the week after Ash Wednesday and conclude in Holy Week to fit an every Wednesday pattern for meetings. As Inspired is divided into eight sections, the Diocese of Georgia's 1Book1Diocese read will start the week of Ash Wednesday and conclude in Easter Week. The reading guide for the Diocese of Georgia can be found here.

Happening #105 is on the schedule for March 4-6, 2022 at Honey Creek! This event, led by youth for youth in grades 9-12 and offers participants (called candidates) a chance to explore their faith together, and address deep questions of piety, prayer, grace, reality, and more. It is open to any young person in Grades 9-12 who has not yet attended a Happening. Registration for Candidates is available here: http://bit.ly/Happening105Candidates. The event begins on Friday evening and ends with a Closing Eucharist on Sunday afternoon.

Staff applications for those who have previously attended Happening are also open now, and are available here. More information is also on the Georgia Happening Website: www.georgiahappening.com. The deadline for Staff Applications is Tuesday, January 25.

As with all Diocesan Youth Events, we will adhere to the Diocesan policies requiring Covid-19 vaccination and testing in the week prior to the event 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 apply for Staff, click here

Registration is now open for Invite Welcome Connect Digital Gathering for 2022. The online gathering will focus on two topics:

• How do we Welcome and Connect those who are on our congregation's Digital Front Porch, those whose initial contacts are online and invisible?
• How do we Re-Connect with parishioners who are no longer as active as they were in their pre-pandemic faith communities?

The panelists, made up of both clergy and lay leaders, will discuss creative solutions and ways to address to these questions in your congregation.

To register and learn more, visit the Invite Welcome Connect website.

Registration is now open for the Diocese of Georgia's new diocesan training school called Leading With Grace. Please sign up to participate by Feb 1, 2022. To register, click here.

A complete year will be four weekends, each of which will begin on Friday evening at 5 PM and will finish at 3 PM on Saturday, interspersed with prayer, small and large group discussion and practice. LWG will take place in one year cycles in four different regional centers around the diocese. It will culminate with a combined weekend at Honey Creek on August 19-20, 2022. 

• Augusta (St. Augustine’s)
• Feb 11-12, 2022
• March 18-19 or 25-26, 2022
• May 13-14, 2022
• Savannah (St. Peter’s)
• Feb 11-12, 2022
• March 18-19, 2022
• May 13-14, 2022
• Honey Creek (Waverly, GA)
• Feb 11-12, 2022
• March 18-19, 2022
• May 13-14, 2022
• Western Side of the Diocese 
• St. Paul's Albany on Feb 25-26, 2022
• St. Annes Tifton on Mar 25-26, 2022
• Christ Church Valdosta on May 20-21, 2022

The cost per parish team is:

For a team of four the fee is $ 225              

For a team of three the fee is $ 200                  

For a team of two the fee is $ 175                     

For an individual the fee is $125

Those individuals that started CDI and finished only 2 weekends will be given first priority at registration and will owe 50% of the fees above.

All fees are due upon registration.

Please sign up to participate by Feb 1, 2022. To register, click here.

We’ll consider together, “What does faithful leadership look like

at this moment in the life of the church?”

Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa's Confessor

February 6, 2022 at 4:00pm

A conversation with author the Rev. Dr. Michael Battle, Director of the Desmond Tutu Center

Drawing upon the three-fold stages of Christian mysticism, Dr. Battle’s talk will explore these three mystical stages of purgation, illumination and union for insights both into the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and our life today in the church. Tutu’s spiritual legacy is important because in his vision there is a need to redefine new models for being human that go beyond our conflicts today. Tutu’s spirituality moves beyond our culture wars and in so doing guards against the manipulation of religion.

This will be a one hour session via Zoom.

To register for this event, click here.

Christ Episcopal Church in Savannah is seeking a Administrative Assistant. This will be 12-16 hours per week, and includes the following:

• helping to develop and coordinate docents and the docent program
• Coordinate, train, and supervise the bulletin assembly team
• Meet parishioners or workers in the church as needed
• Assist with other administrative tasks as needed

This position will report to the Director of Administration. For more information, contact Catherine Gussler at cmgussler@gmail.com.

St. Peter's in Savannah is seeking NurseryAttendants. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is a group of Christians enthusiastic about making a difference for others on Skidaway Island, in Savannah and abroad, which you can read about at www.saintpeterssav.org. We are hiring Nursery Attendants to bolster our ministries once more among children and families. Our nursery hours are Sunday mornings from 10:00 AM - 11:45 AM. The nursery attendants usually care for approximately 0 to 5 children, ages birth to 4 years. The nursery has not been open since the pandemic started so this would be a restart of this program that will take passion and patience. On special Sundays, such as Easter, there may be more children present. The nursery is located in the Education Wing of the campus, in a building adjacent to the worship spaces and parking. Our nursery will compliment and work in tandem with our restart of our children’s music and ministry offerings as well. We only employ proactive individuals who have demonstrated responsible work habits in past employment (e.g. timeliness, communication, professionalism) and have experience and passion for working with young children. We require background checks, references and online training certification in what is called “Safeguarding God’s Children” and CPR. These Attendants will report to a volunteer Nursery Coordinator and, by extension, the Priest-In-Charge. We require no more than two unplanned missed days per calendar year. We pay $50 per “trip” to the church, for the indivisible time period on Sundays. More “trips” or working hours may be requested for special events at the same trip rate. We hope to hire a team of four or five individuals. Together, we will plan the yearly schedule around each person’s availability. If you are interested, please submit a resume and cover letter to The Rev. Kelly Steele, Priest-In-Charge at St. Peter’s at ksteele@saintpeterssav.org or 912-598-7242.

The Rev. Kit Brinson from Grace Episcopal Church in Waycross blows bubbles during the annual MLK parade in Waycross.

Chad Simpson, owner of a local coffee shop in Darien, invites his employees and customers to participate in the annual Epiphany blessing at the shop given by the Rev. Tommy Townsend.

The Ladles of Love ministry at St. Paul's in Albany continues to feed 75-125 community

members each week.

The board of Episcopal Youth and Children's Services met over Zoom for an induction of new members and a Eucharist with Bishop Logue.

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.

January 23 – January 29

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Augusta, especially, Good Shepherd and St. Alban’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Augusta, especially the Catholic Churches of St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Joseph, and St. Mary on the Hill. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in Barahona — Jesus the Pilgrim (Jesús Peregrino), Redemption (La Redención), and Lamb of God (Cordero de Dios).

January 30 – February 5

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Augusta, especially, St. Augustine’s, St. Mary’s, and St. Paul’s. We also pray for our ecumenical partners St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Adel, and St. Ann Catholic Church in Alapaha. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in Boca Chica —Grace (De la Gracia), Mount Zion (Monte de Sión), and St. Joseph (San José).

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 9/25/2021)

Bishop Logue will make his visitation to St. Anne's in Tifton on Sunday.

To view Bishop Logue's full visitation calendar, click here. (Updated 1/25/2022)

Executive Director of Honey Creek Dade Brantley is attending the Episcopal Camps and Conference Center Conference this week.

Bishop Logue and Canons Lasch, Varner, and Easterlin will meet with Diocesan Council on Saturday.

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.

Bishop Logue enjoys some fun with the children's choir and their director, Margit Miller, of All Saints' in Thomasville after his visitation on Sunday.