August 9, 2017
Volume 7, Number 50

More than 500 people have registered for Revival: Fearless Faith, Boundless Love! 

Have you? There is still plenty of room in the tent. 

Go here to find out all about it and to register: 

Additional Bus to the Revival from Tifton
Due to limited parking at Honey Creek, St. Anne's chartered a 56 passenger bus with seats available to the members of St. Anne's and the other congregations of the Albany Convocation and diocese. That bus is now full and a second has been chartered. 

The cost is $35 a head, which includes $27 for the bus and the $8 registration fee (St. Anne's will register those on their buses with the Diocese so one need not register twice). A snack will be provided en route. Payment is required at the time of reservation and is non-refundable.  Buses will leave St. Anne's parking lot at  11:30  and leave Honey Creek at  5:00 p.m. Details and sign-up links for our buses to the Revival are at www.stannestifton.com/revival.
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This Sunday's Lections
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Go  here 
for the full text.

Register Now for Happening
Registration is open for Happening, a Christian experience presented by teenagers for teenagers. Designed for youth in grades 10 - 12, Happening is a cornerstone of diocesan youth programs and an experience not to miss. Ben Sandbach is the teen serving as Rector for Happening #99, which meets Friday, September 22-24 at Honey Creek.

Most young people have serious questions about Jesus and the Church. Happening is designed to address these questions. During a  Happening weekend, participants experience the love of Christ as shown through prayer, worship, and the ministry of peers, clergy, and lay adults. The Happeners are encouraged to make their renewed faith a part of their everyday lives. Happening shows how Christianity can keep pace with the many changes in our lives and our world.

For more information, go to 


Diocese Seeks Office Administrator
The Diocese of Georgia seeks a motivated individual to serve as its office administrator. This position requires a courteous and competent individual with strong communication skills, experience managing office and IT operations, events, and databases, and the ability to thrive in a self-directed environment.

Located on Bay Street in Savannah, the Diocese supports over 68 congregations and ministries across the state. Given the fast-paced nature of our work, the Diocese is looking for an individual that can help continue to advance and improve our work and ministry to our community. 

For a full job description, please go  here.

Please direct any questions or applications to 
Canon Katie Willoughby at   
A Game Changing Summer Camp Season
For 89 years the Diocese of Georgia has sustained a summer camp program as a decidedly Episcopal camp experience.  Honey Creek has been a place where campers have come to develop lifelong friendships, explore nature, and just be together, but worship also forms the core of the camp sessions with daily morning and evening prayer times as well as priests, deacons, and lay persons teaching about our faith in Jesus as a part of the camp day. 

Summer Camp Director Thomas Greneker said, "This summer was a 
phenomenal success." Getting at the difference, he added, "I have worked on a lot of staffs in different capacities, but I have never worked with a unit that works so cohesively. I attribute all of that success to the spiritual formation that brought the camp staff together before the summer began."

During the staff training week prior to the first session, the Rev. Lonnie Lacy worked with the counselors to help them understand the spiritual work of serving on the camp staff.

Honey Creek Executive Director Dade Brantley also noticed the impact of that spiritual grounding, " We added the Rev. Lonnie Lacy as a Spiritual Director for the camp staff and that was a game changer. He worked with them for  a week in advance of the season and checked back in during the year. The staff focused in each of their team meetings on where they had seen Christ during the day." Photo above, the Rev. Michael Chaney working with campers.

This summer, 204 campers enjoyed a week of Honey Creek Summer Camp. Five parents and six children also took part in the parent and child camp which runs from Sunday to Tuesday the week of the camp for 3-5 graders.   The feedback from campers and parents has been consistently positive this year. 

Brantley added, "I don't like to talk in absolutes, but in every aspect this has been the best Summer Camp during my tenure."

  
At left, the Rev. Lonnie Lacy and the camp staff are pictured at the dock during their liturgy blessing the camp grounds and the dorms. At right, is the camp staff.

The Rev. Ashton Williston Ordained to Priesthood
Bishop Dabney Smith, the Rev. Ashton Williston, and Bishop Benhase.
Historic Christ Church Frederica on St. Simons Island echoed with praise and thanks to God on Saturday morning as priests gathered to join together with Bishop Benhase in ordaining the Rev. Ashton Williston to the Sacred Order of Priests. Williston's father, the Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith preached the homily. Smith is the bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Florida.  She becomes the fourth generation in her family to serve as an Episcopal priest. 

A graduate of the University of the South School of Theology, she serves as a Curate at Christ Church. For the eight years before she began her studies at Sewanee, Ashton served as Director of Family Ministry at St. James Episcopal Church and School in Ormond Beach, Florida. Before that she served as Director of Youth Ministry at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Melbourne, Florida.  Williston and her husband, Joe, have two daughters, Isabella (9) and Abigail (8). 
On Sunday, August 6 students and teachers at Trinity Cochran had their book bags blessed for the upcoming school year. Above, Lay Eucharistic Minister Lindsay Holloway passes out the blessed home made wooden crosses to each participant.

Congregations Aid the Back to School Transition

   
Deacon Joy Davis of St. Patrick's/Lutheran Church of Our Savior, Albany, reports on how they assisted needy students in their community, "We had an enormous amount of new book bags and school supplies of every kind donated. On top of that I made a last minute plea on Sunday and collected $700 additional dollars! That enabled us to supply the children of three families of tornado victims with uniforms, shoes, and other necessities to start back to school. They were all delighted. Marion White and Fran Kempf headed up most of this worthy project." 


The Rev. Melanie Lemburg blessing backpacks and students on her first Sunday as rector of St. Thomas Isle of Hope, Savannah.


The Rev. Lonnie Lacy blesses backpacks, students, and educators at St. Anne's, Tifton.


The Rev. Al Crumpton,   Mary Jane Harrison-Brooks,   June Maxwell,   Jim Harrison, Don Mossman, and   JoAnn White greet parents and students with chicken biscuits and coffee on the first day of the new school year for King of Peace Episcopal Day School.
Loose Canon
Invite to worship people who meet at your church 
Does your church host Boy Scouts or other groups made up of many people who do not attend your church? People who come into your church for another meeting will still want an invitation to attend. Worse still, if not asked, they may feel unwanted or uninvited. 

This is easily remedied. A parishioner who is part of the scout troop or other group, a member of the vestry, or even the priest, can request a few minutes at a meeting to make a personal invitation. Let everyone know how glad your congregation is to host the group. Then encourage those who do not have a church home to come for a visit. 

Nothing is more effective than a personal invitation. This is why it is best for someone from the congregation already connected with the group to make the ask if possible. In any case, don't miss the chance to encourage them to join you for worship as it is the most important part of the ongoing life of the congregation.

Use this free invitation video on social media

The 1-minute video I worked with others in the Acts 8 Movement to create last fall remains available for free online. To make the most of the opportunity, we also encourage you to review the Hospitality Checklist offered by Invite-Welcome-Connect to get ready for those newcomers. 

Find out more and download the video in English and Spanish here: Your Church's Free Welcome Video for Fall.

Pax et Bonum (Peace and All Good),
Frank

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary
Finishing Touches

Parishioners at Christ Church Valdosta assist in putting everything back in order after renovations to the sanctuary.  Above, they are reupholstering chairs. Below at left, Christ Church's rector, the Rev. Dave Johnson, works with parishioners to put furniture back in place. Below at right, the Rev. Peter Ingeman looks on as the cross over the altar is dusted.

 
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 52 weekly prayers are available in one document  found here. 

August 6-12
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation on Jekyll Island, St. Richard of Chichester. We also pray for our ecumenical partners on the island, especially Jekyll Island Methodist Church and St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Bartholomew (San Bartolomé) in San Cristóbal.

August 13-19
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Sandersville, Grace Church. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Sandersville, especially St. William Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregations in San Francisco de Macorís, especially The Good Samartian (El Buen Samaritano) and Jesus the Nazarene (Jesús Nazareno).
Diocesan Office Update and News  

Bishop Benhase's schedule is available  here.

Canon Willoughby meets this morning with the Finance Committee.

Canon Logue will preside at the Eucharist this Sunday at St. Peter's Savannah.

Anna Iredale, Director of Communications, is away on vacation through the end of this week. Please use the From the Field email address: newsandevents@gaepiscopal.org to send articles and photos to From the Field and they will still get in next week's edition .

The Rev. Michael White will officiate at the 12 noon Thursday service in the Chapel of St. George at Diocesan House.
Share your news in From the Field
Send your news, events and photos to   so we can feature them in upcoming issues of From the Field. Deadline for submissions each week is Monday at 4:30 PM.  
They have taken my Lord
Workers carefully removed the Ascension Window at Christ Church Savannah this week for restoration. Dedicated to the first Bishop of Georgia, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, the massive window over the altar had not received any work since its 1897 installation. A photo reproduction of the window now hangs in place of the stained glass, which will take 4-6 months to restore and install anew.
Events

Finance Committee Meeting
Wednesday, August 9, 10 AM
Diocesan House

Deacons School
3 PM Friday, August 25 to Saturday, August 26 at 1 PM
Honey Creek
Go here to register

Stewardship Training with Bishop Benhase

August 26, 9:30 AM to noon
Annunciation, Vidalia
Register  
here
 

Retirement Party for Vicki Schuster
September 1 from 4:30-7 PM
The Charles H. Morris Center, 10 E Broad St, Savannah, GA 31401
Click here to register, so that we have a head count for the event

Stewardship Training with Bishop Benhase
September 9, 9:30 AM to noon
St. George's, Savannah
Register  here.
 
Revival: Boundless Love Fearless Faith
September 17
10 AM Service at Good Shepherd Pennick
3 PM Revival at Honey Creek with Fellowship beginning at 2 PM
For more information, go here: www.EpiscopalRevivalinGeorgia2017.org
 
Fall Clergy Conference
September 17-19
Honey Creek Retreat Center
Cursillo #123
October 12-15
Honey Creek Retreat Center
For more information, go here.

Stewardship Training with Bishop Benhase

October 21, 9:30 AM to noon
Holy Comforter Martinez
Register  here.

Stewardship Training with Bishop Benhase
October 28, 9:30 AM to noon
St. Paul's, Albany
Register 
here.
 

Commission on Ministry and Standing Committee Meeting
1:30 PM Friday, November 3 until noon Saturday, November 4
Trinity Church, Statesboro

Diocesan Convention
November 9-11
Christ the King Church, Valdosta

Stewardship Training with Bishop Benhase
January 20, 9:30 AM to noon
St. Mark's, Brunswick 
Register here.

Stewardship Training with Bishop Benhase
February 3, 9:30 AM to noon
Christ Church, Valdosta
Register here.
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