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The Loose Canon

Implement Invite-Welcome-Connect   

In nearly two hours of training across the two days of diocesan convention, Mary Parmer brought the basics of Invite-Welcome-Connect to the Diocese of Georgia. Her work has been to gather the proven resources which are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and designed to shape an authentic culture of effective newcomer ministry. This is designed for congregations of any size. Whether you were at the convention or not, the tools to begin this work are readily available. I want to lay out a plan to implement this in your congregation.

Gather a Team

While larger congregations might end up with three teams, the work begins with a group meeting at the church in three sessions. In each hour-long meeting, watch one of the half-hour videos Mary offers at  www.invitewelcomeconnect.com. You will find one video for each of the three essentials. In advance of the first meeting, download the 20-page booklet found on the Resources Page of our diocesan convention website: Convention Resources. This provides an overview together with checklists for each of the three areas. 

Map out a Plan of Action

During the three sessions, begin to pick some of the strategies that will fit your congregation well. Mary calls the three areas essentials as churches that do one or more of these well, but fail in others will not succeed as well in attracting newcomers and integrating them into the life of your congregation. The plans will vary for each congregation as this is not a cookie cutter program, because one size never fits all very well. Instead, Mary highlights concerns and offers tools. Our largest congregations will want separate teams working on Invite, Welcome, and Connect, while most of our churches will benefit from one group working together to set out a plan and then begin working through the action items.

The One Step I Recommend for Every Congregation

Any size congregation in this diocese will benefit from a Sharing Faith Dinner, and those with fewer than 50 (or fewer than 20) in worship on Sunday may even find it more transformative than larger churches. This might sound scary, but this is the easiest option for Episcopalians. One person needs to download the full information at sharingfaithdinners.com Gather 8-12 people for a meal. Then follow the plan in which you pick a card with a question and in answering that question, those sharing a meal with you will learn more about you and how your faith in Jesus has shaped your life in some way. I guarantee that this will be eye opening even when everyone present has known each other for years (which is why smaller congregations will really enjoy this).

There are no silver bullets and no one idea will transform the world. But you will learn more about yourself and those with whom you worship in one evening than would seem possible. Discovering how faith matters also builds up deeper roots. Growth is not only about moving out, but also about deepening our connection to God and those we already know. While that is not the one solution that unlocks all the spiritual growth we need, Sharing Faith Dinners is an important tool readily available thanks to the Diocese of Texas.

As you begin this work, let me know how it goes. Nothing will help us as a diocese set about this work more than sharing stories of how it is working in our congregations. We will want to share your stories here.

Peace,

Frank+

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary

Diocesan Office Update     

Bishop Benhase will ordain Deacons Donald Holland and Tommy Townsend to the Sacred Order of Priests this evening at 7 pm at St. Mark's, Brunswick. This weekend, Bishop Benhase returns to Augusta. On Friday, he makes his visitation to the PreK-8th grade Episcopal Day School, which was a host for last week's diocesan convention. Saturday he makes his visitation to Holy Cross, Thomson. Sunday morning he makes his visitation to the Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta. Then at 5 pm at St. Alban's, Augusta, Bishop Benhase will ordain Deacon Ray Whiting to the Sacred Order of Priests. For the Bishop's complete visitation schedule, go here. 

Canon Logue  travels to Dallas today where he is on the teamS that will lead several different Episcopal Church meetings related to evangelism that have been booked together for convenience.

First up is the  Genesis Gathering for Church Planters  which is a meeting for training and support for 75 people starting new Episcopal churches and worshiping communities. Canon Logue is then the facilitator for the day-long Evangelism Summit which will bring together more than 40 people across our church whose roles have them involved significantly in doing and teaching evangelism. Canon Logue will facilitate their compiling currently available resources, such as courses and books, that will then be offered to the church as proven tools. The group will also work on deciding what further tools and resources are needed to assist the Episcopal Church in its work on evangelism and to begin work toward creating those resources.

Finally, Canon Logue is on the planning team for the Evangelism Matters Conference which will bring more than 400 people to Dallas to learn more about sharing their faith. He will teach a workshop on Evangelism for God's Shy People (as our Presiding Bishop calls Episcopalians) and co-lead the closing plenary session. On Sunday, the team for Evangelism Matters will fan out around the area to preach in local congregations. Canon Logue will preach at the Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas.

Bishop Benhase' Visitation     

At Visitation to Christ the King in Valdosta, from left:  Isabella White, acolyte; the Rev. Stan White, Rector; Brenda Brunston, Received; Nicholas White, Confirmed; D.J. Jones,  Acolyte; Jessica Snyder of St. Mark's Brunswick, Confirmed; the Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase; Faith James, Acolyte; Melanie Tolor, Received; Michael Tolor, Received; Leonard Neely, Received; Eucharistic Ministers Marc Rogers and Michael Carroll; Deacon Yvette Owens, and Acolytes Ryan and Daniel Smallwood.

Prayers for Weekly Liturgies

Teaching Our Children to Lead, Grow and Share