May 23, 2018
Volume 8, Number 39
Seventh Graduating Class from CDI
Graduates from the Church Development Institutes gathered at Honey Creek on May 19. The seventh graduating class includes, from left: Sally Borchert, Alice Bauza, Walter Hobgood (Trainer), Misty Graham, Bobby Leverette, Denise Ronn (Trainer), Johnny Tuttle, June Johnson (Trainer), Lonnie Lacy (Trainer), Rose Dunnum, Dave Johnson. Not shown: Francis Guice, Millie Johnson, Molly Stevenson, Aaron Brewer, Carole Martin, Nancy Nahila.
In This Issue
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This Sunday's Lections
Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 6:1-8
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17
Psalm 29
or
Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2)

Go  here for the full text.
A 1-minute clip from the sermon everyone is talking about
A 1-minute clip from the sermon everyone is talking about.

The Sermon Heard Round the World
" The Spirit of God has the power to upstage George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey!" the Rev. Helen White told the congregation at Christ Church Savannah in her Pentecost sermon. Across the country and around the world, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's "address" for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle has been the most discussed sermon in decades. White went on to preach, "Bishop Curry's reinterpretation of love through the lens of the black American experience, through the lens of slavery and civil rights, through the lens of Jesus' death by crucifixion, reclaimed the love of the gla morous young couple as an icon of div ine love and the wedding became a spiritual event. So, the Good News on this Day of Pentecost, is that the Holy Spirit is still on the move."  Click here to read her full Pentecost sermon .

In a widely read opinion piece posted at the Fox News website on Saturday, Episcopal priest and Forward Movement Executive Director, the Rev. Scott Gunn, wrote "If you liked the Royal Wedding sermon on Saturday, go to church on Sunday". He said, "Before you get to church, you should know a few things first. The preacher probably won't be as good as Bishop Curry. The ceremony and the music won't be as impressive. There won't be celebrities at every 
turn, and you're unlikely to see fancy outfits. What you will find in church is better than all that, however. In church, you'll find a community of people trying to figure out what it means to live meaningful lives rooted in redemptive love. The church won't look like a fairy tale, and it won't be perfect. That's the point."

The Rev. Cynthia Taylor w rote " A Curry Flavored Sermon " for the Augusta Chronicle, noting 
"Apparently, there was confusion about the word "balm" as the BBC reportedly transcribed the hymn, 'There is a Bomb in Gilead.' Curry and the BBC are both right. When the love of Jesus is unleashed in the world, it is an explosive force that can rock us to our core and change us."
Bishop Benhase' Visitation Calendar has been updated and can be found here. 
From the Canon for Children and Youth
Summer Camp shows us the Real World
One of the great privileges of my job is that I get to go to lots of youth events, including summer camp, weekend events during the school year, mission trips, and more. I also have the privilege of working with congregations as they offer their own intensive experiences, such as Vacation Bible School. At the conclusion of many of these experiences, I have heard participants lament that they don't want to return to "the real world." While I understand what they mean, returning to the cares and challenges that they have set aside for a time, I often ask them to reflect more deeply on that phrase, because I think that during these intensive times, they get to see the real world more clearly than usual.

Camp at Honey Creek is an amazing experience. The staff are incredible, the activities are fun, and it's a great week for our campers. But what makes it particularly memorable, I think, is the emphasis on living together in Christian community. At camp the point is not just to learn about following Jesus, but to live that call to discipleship throughout the week. Each day is framed by worship and anchored by program time (with great Spiritual Directors!). But it is in the ordinary parts of every day, that both campers and staff are encouraged to be open to the presence of Christ in each other  and in the whole community. I have seen this in campers encouraging each other when they are having trouble on a high ropes course, and in small group discussions where prayer intentions are shared. I have watched children teach each other hand motions to songs, and get help when someone has a skinned knee.
When we are able to come together and live in such a way that we are open to the grace of God that precedes and follows us, we get a chance to see the deeply real world, even if only through a glass darkly. We get a glimpse of the world that God dreams of, the world so often obscured by the distractions of daily life, by our own limitations, and by our sin.

Summer Camp, Mission Experiences (both local and international), Vacation Bible School, and many other intensive experiences offer our young people the opportunity to experience this deep reality. They are given the chance to not just believe, but know that they are God's beloved by experiencing love. They are able to show Christ's love to the world, whether that's by sharing a care package with others in the dorm, traveling to a different country, or singing and playing games at VBS. In those moments we can see the real world through the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that we may "know [Christ] and make him known, and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to [God] in all things." ( Book of Common Prayer, p. 836)

The Rev. Canon Joshua Varner
Canon for Children and Youth
Reserve Time at Saluda Clergy Cottage Today!
Ch eck the Saluda Clergy Cottage website calendar for availability.
To reserve time, please fill out and email/mail the reservation form found here.
Around the Diocese
    
The Rev. Jim Strickland was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Benhase at St. Luke's Hawkinsville.

New members of St, Anne's Chapter of the Holy Order of Daughters of the King were admitted on Sunday, May 13 at All Saints on Tybee Island. Front row, from left: the Rev. June Johnson, Chaplain & Vicar of All Saints, Patti Neidlinger and Judy Milton, new members. Back row from left: Presenters Mimi Ferrelle - DOK St. Paul's Savannah, Betsy Strong -  DOK All Saints, Mary Locklear - DOK St. Francis of the Islands.  

The pot luck luncheon following the Pentecost service at St. Paul's Augusta.
St. Michael's and All Angels paid tribute to graduating high school and college students and their families on Sunday.

The vestry and Rector at Trinity Statesboro represented for Pentecost.


Parishioners at King of Peace, Kingsland made use of a photo booth at their church picnic.
Pentecost processional at St. Luke's Hawkinsville.

Celebrating Canon Logue's birthday at Diocesan House.

The Diocese of Georgia ECW presented a chasuble and priest's stole custom-designed by Beth Mithen, immediate past President of the Diocesan ECW to Honey Creek's Director Dade Brantley and the Rev. Becky Rowell, Chair of the Honey Creek Commission. Previously they were presented to Bishop Scott Benhase for blessing during the Eucharist for the ECW/DOK Annual Retreat and Meeting on Saturday, April 26th. "Ms. Mithen's design reflects both the beauty and the holiness of Honey Creek, and reflects the simple but elegant style of our Chapel. Her workmanship can best be described as masterful, a worthy gift of love and praise," said the Rev. June Johnson, Chaplain for the Diocesan ECW who presented the gifts to Brantley and Rev. Rowell during the Spring Clergy Conference at Honey Creek.


Information on how to apply can be found 
here

Hometown Missions 2018 begins June 1! Sign up now! More info can be found at
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. 

May 20-26
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Jesup, St. Paul's. We also pray for our ecumenical partners in Jesup, especially St. Joseph's Catholic Church. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregation of the Holy Spirit (EspĂ­ritu Santo) in Las Carreras.

May 27-June 2
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregation in Kingsland, King of Peace. We also pray for our ecumenical partners, especially St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Folkston. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for St. Martha's Church ( Santa Marta) in Los Cocos.
Diocesan Office Update and News  
Bishop Scott Anson Benhase will make his annual visitation to the Collegiate Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Savannah at 10 AM Sunday and at St. Bartholomew's Savannah at 4 PM. The bishop's full schedule is available 

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue  will preside and preach at St. George's, Savannah.

The Rev. Canon Joshua Varner will officiate at the Thursday 12 noon service at the chapel 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.  
Events 

Hometown Missions
 June 1-3
Augusta, Georgia
For more information go here.

EfM (Education for Ministry) Mentor Training
June 7-9
Honey Creek Retreat Center
Contact Rita Spalding for more information:  912-270-2725, [email protected]

General Convention of the Episcopal Church
July 3-13 in Austin, Texas
News from the Diocese of Georgia Deputation will be reported in From the Field and found online at gc2018.georgiaepiscopal.org

Acolyte Festival--Save the Date
Saturday and Sunday, August 11-12
St. Anne's Tifton
Grades three to 12

Fall Clergy Conference
September 24-26
Honey Creek
With Water and the Holy Spirit

The Rev. Johnny Tuttle, Rector at St. John and St. Mark's Church in Albany, baptizing his daughter Isla. 
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