Together, we are the body of Christ ~ transforming people from members into disciples, moving more deeply into God's call to life and ministry, and extending our mission beyond the status quo.

Celebrate Wilmer Hall Sunday on July 28

Join us in honoring the long-standing mission and ministry of Wilmer Hall Children's Home, an agency of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. Each year on the last Sunday of July, we take this opportunity to celebrate this organization that has served the Church and its communities since 1864.

Please consider including the below Wilmer Hall prayer, written in 2018 by Fr. Albert Kennington, in your Prayers of the People on July 28.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus welcomed and blessed children with love: We give you thanks and praise for this Children’s Home, for the founders, for all who have served and supported this Home through the years, and for all who have found love and family in this Home. In the faith of our founders, we spread before you our prayers for all who live within the care of Wilmer Hall and for those who will do so in years beyond us. Raise up, we pray, in every generation, faithful people to support and sustain this Home following the way of our Savior Jesus Christ with whom we are bound in the best of bonds.  Amen.

The mission of Wilmer Hall Children’s Home is to provide a safe home and educational resources for children and young adults in need due to poverty, abuse, neglect, and homelessness. We serve all children and young adults without regard to race, ethnicity, or religion.

Wilmer Hall extends warm and nurturing care to every child and young adult in its care, ensuring they are surrounded by people who love and support them. Our goal is to help young people succeed in four areas: physical health, emotional stability, academic achievement, and spiritual maturity.

Wilmer Hall serves children and young adults through five programs: the Residential Living Program, the Transitional Living Program, the Transitional Family Program, the on-campus Education Program, and the Community-Based Education Program.

Please consider Wilmer Hall in your giving. Donations to Wilmer Hall and its programs can be made online at www.wilmerhall.org or sent to Wilmer Hall Children’s Home, 3811 Old Shell Rd, Mobile, AL 36608. Thank you.

Resources for Season of Creation

The Season of Creation, September 1st through October 4th, is celebrated by Christians around the world as a time for renewing, repairing and restoring our relationship to God, one another, and all of creation. The Episcopal Church joins this international effort for prayer and action for climate justice and an end to environmental racism and ecological destruction. The 2024 theme is To hope and act with Creation. In celebrating the Season, we are invited to consider anew our ecological, economic, and political ways of living.

The Season of Creation may be a great opportunity to hold an outdoor worship service or ministry event. If you share about your Season of Creation activities on social media, please use the hashtags #Episcopal #SeasonofCreation. Bishop Russell has authorized the use of the liturgical resources curated by The Episcopal Church.

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Fan the Flames of Pentecost - What does it mean to be a disciple?

During the summer, the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast is launching a campaign to invite and encourage each of its members into a deeper discernment about your specific call to ministry. Presentations will be given on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. on each of the five lay tracks offered by the Lay School for Ministry. We hope you will join us for one of the five options as we consider how to grow more fully into our call to follow Christ as his disciples during ordinary time, a season for growth. The specific dates, times, and locations are:  

June 12, 6 p.m. - Trinity, Mobile (1900 Dauphin St., 36606)

June 26, 6 p.m. - St. Christopher's, Pensacola (3200 N 12th Ave., 32503)

July 10, 6 p.m. - St. Paul's, Daphne (28788 N Main St., 36526)

TONIGHT! July 24, 6 p.m. - Nativity, Dothan (205 Holly Ln., 36301)

August 14, 6 p.m. - St. Andrew's, Panama City (1608 Baker Ct., 32401)

MORE DETAILS AND RSVP LINK

Philadelphia Eleven Screening

Monday, July 29, 6 p.m.

Christ Church Cathedral, 115 S Conception St, Mobile

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church, Christ Church Cathedral will host a screening of the documentary film The Philadelphia Eleven. The screening will be followed by a time for discussion and reflection with some of our local women clergy. The screening will take place on the date of the anniversary, Monday July 29, 2024 at 6:00 pm at the Cathedral Chapter House, 115 S. Conception Street, Mobile, AL 36602.

Free and open to the public.

For more information on the film visit www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com.

Jonathan Daniels and Alabama Martyrs Pilgrimage

Saturday, August 10, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Hayneville

Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama

Everyone will gather in the courthouse square in Hayneville, Alabama, and begin the pilgrimage procession at 11 a.m. The procession will travel from the square to the old County Jail where Daniels was among those detained for a week after being arrested in Fort Deposit for picketing white-only businesses. The procession continues to the site of the old Varner’s Cash Store, where Daniels was killed. The procession ends in the Lowndes County Courthouse, where a service of Holy Communion will be celebrated in the courtroom where the man who shot Daniels had been tried and acquitted by an all-white jury.

For carpooling details organized by the Commission on Racial Justice and Reconciliation, CLICK HERE.

FULL DETAILS

The Jonathan Daniels Youth Pilgrimage is a weekend of service and remembrance for youth grades 9th-12th grade. The youth event will take place August 9-11, 2024.

Jill Showers Chow of Christ Church Cathedral, Mobile will serve as chaperone for any diocesan youth wanting to make the youth pilgrimage. Please contact Jill at jshowers@southalabama.edu and complete the registration form at https://bit.ly/JDYouth. $25 fee - scholarships are available.

For more information about the Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage and the youth pilgrimage please contact Breanna Carter, Missioner for Racial Healing and Pilgrimage, bcarter@dioala.org.

Diocesan Choir Festival

Saturday, August 17, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Christ Church Cathedral, 115 S Conception St, Mobile

The 2024 Choral Festival at Christ Church Cathedral serves as an opportunity for enthusiastic choir members and directors across the region to gather together to sing, learn, and worship. Under the direction of guest clinical Kyle Ritter, Canon for Music at All Souls Cathedral in Asheville, NC, this Festival encompasses rehearsals of Anglican classics, fellowship, and workshops for choir directors. It concludes in a communal worship service. All denominations are welcome to participate.

While there is no registration cost for those attending the Choir Festival, a gift to the Cathedral Foundation would be appreciated and will be acknowledged. Suggested donation amount is $30 per person.

There will also be a Music Swap open all day. Bring choral octavos, organ/piano sheet music, and anything else you would like to contribute.

DETAILS & REGISTRATION - Please register by August 1 

Cursillo #171

September 12-15

Beckwith, 10400 Beckwith Ln, Fairhope

Applications for the next Cursillo are open. The Lay Rector is Necie Borroni of St. Paul's, Daphne.

Cursillo (“Cur see yo”) is a three-day weekend that introduces people to simple methods for nurturing and growing their relationships with Christ. It provides an experience of living in a Christian community centered in worship, prayer, study of scripture, and interaction with other Christians. Its mission is to build up our parish churches by encouraging and empowering its members to prepare for doing the work of the church- the spreading of the Gospel.

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Happening #62

September 20-22

Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 7979 N 9th Ave, Pensacola

The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast presents Happening #62 for all 10th-12th grade students! Happening is a Christian experience presented BY teens FOR teens. Through videos, skits, talks, and more, you'll see how God and faith fit in with the flow of high school life. Happening is designed to help youth feel the love of God through community. We hope, at the end of the weekend, you'll go home knowing how to continue growing a relationship with God. It’s a weekend full of fun, games, sharing, surprises, and most of all, spiritual renewal and empowerment. To learn more about Happening, visit www.diocgc.org/happening.

REGISTER HERE

SAVE-THE-DATE Presiding Bishop-elect Rowe's Installation Service

Save the date for Presiding Bishop-elect Rowe’s installation service

As announced at the close of the 81st General Convention, the installation of Presiding Bishop-elect Sean Rowe will be a simpler, scaled-down event this fall with a view toward reducing carbon footprint and increasing virtual engagement and participation. 

The installation service will take place on November 2 at the Chapel of Christ the Lord in The Episcopal Church Center in New York City with a prelude beginning at 10 a.m. ET and the service starting at 11 a.m. ET. There will be an extensive livestream production to support churchwide access and participation.

READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE

*The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast is in the process of planning convocational watch parties. Stay tuned for more details!*

Vote Faithfully Election Engagement Resources

The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations has created a toolkit to help congregations and members navigate involvement in the 2024 election season. There are a lot of resources, ideas, and ways to act provided.

VISIT RESOURCES