Listening Sessions for XI Bishop Search  

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, 21 Feb	7 PM at All Saints', Thomasville (Southwest)
Saturday, 2 March Thursday, 26 Feb	10 AM at Annunciation, Vidalia (Central) 1 PM at Diocesan House (Staff)
Sunday, 10 March	2:30 PM at St. Mark's, Brunswick (Southeast)
	2:30 PM at Good Shepherd, Augusta (Augusta)
Saturday, 23 March	Time TBA at Honey Creek, (Youth)
Sunday, 24 March	3 PM at St. Patrick's, Albany (Albany)
Tuesday, 26 March	10 AM at St. Anne's, Tifton (Clergy)
Sunday, 31 March	3 PM at St. Paul's, Savannah (Savannah)

If you are unable to make the session in your own convocation, the Search Committee hopes that you will attend another in a neighboring convocation.

The Honey Creek Commission determined that, due to low enrollment, CreekFEST is cancelled this year.

The Bishop Knocks on the Door

St. George's Church, Savannah

Saint George's Episcopal Church has been drawing neighbors in Savannah's Southside to its sanctuary since the early 1960's. It's a neighborhood parish, according to the Rev. David Lemburg, Priest-in-Charge, "drawing worshipers who have an appreciation for liturgy that is in more of a higher Anglican tradition, but it's approachable," he said.

"We have the usual Men's Club and Children and Youth Programs but a truly unique ministry here is the St. Mary's Guild," said Lemburg. Members knit or crochet caps for premature infants and cancer patients. On Sunday the Bishop blessed the burial gowns crafted by parishioner Debby Thomas from the wedding gown of another parishioner, Debbie Shumans.

"Our members are gifted at using their skills and talents to help the individual," said Lemburg. "They are also gifted at fellowship and caring for each other. There are things that we do well and will continue to do: our new wine skins may be new ministries but there is a sense of excitement around what's next for St. George's."

I began my journey of life in Utica, New York. My mother, a Roman Catholic and my father, an American Baptist, met and married while in nursing school. At seven months old, I was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. When I was four years old, my father enlisted into the Army and we began our travels to several bases in the United States and finally to Paris, France. 

After leaving France, we settled in Port Charlotte, Florida where I lived for 40 years. When we first arrived in Port Charlotte, my mother began attending St. James Episcopal Church where I was confirmed at 11. My two brothers became acolytes (girls were not allowed to be acolytes yet) and I joined the youth choir. We were part of the youth group spending many fun filled hours at church after school and on the weekends. Back then, Port Charlotte was small town and we could ride our bikes all over the area and even walk to the beach. 

After receiving my BA from the University of South Florida, in Tampa, I met and married my husband, Roy. Three years later, my daughter Lacy was born. While my daughter was growing up, I owned and operated a small business with several employees for 18 years. In my mid-30's, I attended a Cursillo weekend that helped to launch my journey toward ordination in June of 1997 to the Vocational Diaconate in the Diocese of Southwest Florida. Over the next eight years, I served as a vocational deacon in three congregations. I was also a member of the Diocesan Commission on Liturgy and Music for ten years and chair of our Companion Diocese relationship to the Dominican Republic for two years. In 2005, I left for Austin, TX to attend the Seminary of the Southwest, graduating in 2008 with my Masters of Divinity. 

 
In February of 2009, I was ordained a priest at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Austin, TX where I was on staff as priest in charge of outreach and pastoral care. In May of 2010, I became the first woman rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Chillicothe, Missouri. While in the Diocese of West Missouri, I was appointed by Bishop Fields to serve as a member of the "Futuring Group," a group of clergy and laity working with the bishop to cast a vision for the future of the diocese. I also served on the Commission on Ministry and as a chaplain for St. Luke's Home Care and Hospice. In November of 2015, I became the first woman rector of the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation in Vidalia. It has been a privilege and a joy to serve at Annunciation and as a member of the Convocational Discernment Committee for the Central Convocation. In my spare time, I enjoy working outdoors, reading, and spending time with my four grandchildren who live in Charleston, SC.

From the Canon Commissioner for Children and Youth

Hey, everyone! I'm Gracie Swan and I'm giving the World Talk.

I've always thought of this talk as "what next." We have spent an amazing weekend together and it is starting to come to a close. Happening has been incredible - we've made some amazing friends, felt closer to God, and enjoyed the love and peacefulness of this community. Much of this peacefulness comes from the lack of distractions, allowing us to focus on God and on one another. Unfortunately, these distractions will be waiting for us as we pass the stop sign and reenter the outside world. We will all get our phones back. We will have countless texts from friends and family, and we will start to reenter the craziness of "normal" life. Returning to the outside world can be really scary and terrifying. While we have been changed at Happening, the world that we return to remains as we left it and that can cause a disconnect. How can we maintain the spiritual connection that we felt so strongly in this place and in the midst of one another?

 

I want to share with you all a little of my post-Happening experience. I left Happening #99 ready to go out and change the world, wanting to passionately share what I had experienced. I lived this "Happening High" for a while, probably scaring my friends with the intensity of my excitement. I soon realized that my friends hadn't experienced the transformation that I had and this disconnect led to a lot of frustration. This frustration turned to tiredness as life began to get more and more distracting. Grades, friends, family, and even Netflix began to demand more of my attention, and my Happening group chats become quieter as all of our lives continued. Then, I received a letter. It was from a staff member from Happening #99 and reminded me of all that I felt when I was at Honey Creek and all that I was missing now. I knew that I had to reset and re-find the love that I felt here.

 

Now, I want to give you all a little "Gracie's how to guide" on re-finding this love and spirit at home. The most important tip I have is to figure out what made Happening so special for you. For me, one of the biggest parts of Happening was the sense of a Community of love. So I sought out other communities united by that same love. Church became very important to me and helped me recapture the spiritual connection I had felt. I've never been a person who thinks that you are a Christian just because you attend church, but I now see the importance of Church for Christians who want more or need the time set aside to connect with God. I also started to look for Youth events and camps where I could find more communities, both at Honey Creek and beyond. For example, I recently went to the Winter Youth Retreat at Honey Creek and had an amazing weekend in which I focused on God and formed connections with incredible people. These are things that I didn't seek out before attending Happening but they help me maintain my spiritual health. Bible studies and prayer groups also offer a great way to connect with other people who want to develop a closer connection to God. These can be as informal as getting together with people in your town who attended Happening and then inviting others to join you and share in God's community of love.

 

Worship is another aspect of Happening that contributed to my spiritual connection during the weekend. Worship can come through music, like my rockin' Happening playlist! Worship can also take the form of service, the true role of Christians, in which you celebrate God by gathering together to worship and going out to serve the world. Personal Prayer was also important in dealing with the world around me. Before Happening, prayer was more simply a part of my routine as it was something I just did before falling asleep because I always had. After Happening, I made sure to take time throughout the day, not only at night, to talk to God and take a step back from the world to reset. My prayers also changed after Happening. I began to add "please work through me and use me to do Your work."

 

While all of this is important in maintaining this spiritual connection back home, perhaps the most important advice I can give is to know and accept that you will wander away from God at times and make mistakes. Life is distracting and we don't always act out of love, and while that may not be something to celebrate, God has already forgiven us.

 

I want to leave you all with what Jesus left with his disciples at the last supper. He says to them, "I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you. 'Where I am going you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another" (John 13:33-34). I believe that this is the true key to returning to the world beyond Honey Creek. We must keep the love that we found and felt here; this love that is Jesus Christ. It sounds impossible to keep this love when you are thrown back into normal life, but Happening sounds impossible, too. Think about it for a moment- less than two days ago we were strangers. We were thrown, blindly, into a situation that can be incredibly overwhelming. Nevertheless, we found this love because we found Jesus - in songs, in worship, and, above all, in one another. This love is easier in an environment that encourages a connection with God like Happening and keeping this love is hard, but our challenge is to love when its hard. If we do not see this love in our realities, maybe it is our job to be what encourages it.

 

Where we all go, we cannot all follow. We will separate. We will leave Honey Creek and we will return home. We will always share this moment and this experience, however. We will always share this love because we will always share Jesus. I know that it can feel as if God exists more at a place like Honey Creek, but this is not true. God exists and is with us always, waiting for us to let God in as we did here. We now have a responsibility to embrace Christ and share His love and His word through the simple act of loving others. So, while our weekend of worship ends, God's love and presence never ceases. The best is truly yet to come.

"There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness,

because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy,

and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy.

" 

-Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy

1Book1Diocese

Prepare for Just Mercy in Lent

Dr. Catherine Meeks to Lead Clergy Conference

The Clergy of the Diocese of Georgia will meet April 29-May 1 at Honey Creek for the Spring Clergy Conference. Dr. Catherine Meeks of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in the Diocese of Atlanta will be our speaker. A sought-after teacher and workshop leader, Dr. Meeks brings four decades of experience to the work of transforming the dismantling racism work in Atlanta. The core of her work has been with people who have been marginalized because of economic status, race, gender or physical ability as they pursue liberation, justice and access to resources that can help lead them to health, wellness and a more abundant life. 

Leading a study of Just Mercy in Lent (see above) is the best way to prepare for her presentation.  This event is required of all priests in a full-time call and encouraged for those serving part time as well as the deacons of the Diocese. 

Register online here .

Clergy Spouse Retreat in March at Honey Creek

This March 29-31, the annual Clergy Spouse Retreat, will be held at the Diocese of Georgia's Retreat Center, Honey Creek. As part of a clergy spouse community, husbands and wives share acceptance, support, and companionship (including a lot of laughs) while exploring the gifts and frustrations that come with being part of a clergy family. Spread out across a big Diocese as spouses are, this Retreat gives precious time together.

Click here to register online.

St. Luke's Rincon held a Chili Cook-Off and the winners were, from left: Fan Favorite: John Sorel; Best Overall: Claudia McCreesh, and Spiciest: the Rev. David Rose.

Prayers for Weekly Liturgies

Diocesan Office Update and News

Bishop Scott Anson Benhase  will make his annual visitation to Holy Comforter, Martinez at 10:30 AM this Sunday. His full schedule is available 

here. 

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue

will preside and preach this Sunday at Trinity Statesboro.

The Rev. David Rose, Rector of St. Luke's Rincon, will serve at the noon, Thursday Eucharist at Diocesan House this week.

Ready to Process!

Acolytes from St. Paul's Jesup gather before the procession.