The 2016 Hometown Missions Youth Event was a great success! For the second year running this mission-oriented event was hosted simultaneously in two separate convocations, spreading our service throughout the state.
Nine youth and seven adults gathered together in Albany to put the finishing touches on a Habitat for Humanity build. Volunteers painted siding, planted shrubs along the house, and built food-garden beds out of salvaged materials with cotton gin-compost donated by Deacon Leeann Culbreath. The youth were able to meet, worship with, and work alongside the family that will be moving into this new house next week. It was a beautiful day full of laughter, dirt, and power-drills!
Twenty-three youth and six adults worked to clear the overgrown Butler Cemetery and lay a brick paver path to the gravesite of Liverpool Hazzard, the last freed slave in McIntosh County, Georgia. Creating the path included relocating dirt by wheelbarrow to even the land out, as well as moving hundreds of brick pavers by hand.
Thanks to all the kids, adults, and to the community of St. Andrew’s and St. Cyprian’s for their support, for providing delicious meals, and for planning water games for a hot afternoon!
All together, youth and adults from around the Diocese completed over 450 hours of service in their communities. Hands-on volunteer service is not only a great way to learn more about your community, it is the best route to understanding God’s call to love and serve ourselves and our communities.
You can find more photos at the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia Youth Facebook page.
Fifty participants and team members came together for New Beginnings #48 this past weekend. The weekend offers a time for participants to get real about their faith while away from family and their home church. Teens talking to other teens about living out their faith in Jesus Christ is the heart of a New Beginnings Retreat. While the Spiritual Directors do give talks on “God is Love” and “Who is Jesus” most of the teaching at the retreat for 7-9 graders are given by high school students. The talks on friends, family, peer pressure, and more get at the intersection of faith and our daily lives. The key points of the talk are the same for every weekend, but the teens work with the spiritual directors to shape the talks to bring out life experience and to make the talks more meaningful for all. Nick White of Christ the King, Valdosta, gives his talk in the photo above.
Allie Simpson of St. Andrew’s and St. Cyprian’s Churches in Darien was the Lead Teen for the weekend and she had especially strong support from adults in her church who served as adult participants for the weekend. Under the guidance of diocesan coordinator Maggie Bloodworth, the New Beginnings program continues to thrive. Look for announcements about the next retreat in upcoming issues of From the Field.
This winter, college students and young adults from around the Diocese will gather at Honey Creek for a winter retreat on January 22-24. In keeping with our major theme at convention, our primary focus will be on faith sharing and evangelism. This retreat will also enable younger Episcopalians to meet others from around South Georgia, while giving one another the opportunity to enjoy the beauty and peaceful retreat center of the Diocese of Georgia. Scholarships are available. Please contact the Rev. Daniel Shoemake at 
This coming summer, the Diocese of Georgia will sponsor a high school mission trip to the western plains of Nebraska. The trip will be led by the Rev. Joshua Varner, and will be hosted by Christ Episcopal Church in Sidney, Nebraska and their Vicar, the Rev. Tar Drazdowski. We will be working with the people of Christ Church, Sidney to help them maintain their buildings, and to reach out into the community. We will also have time to explore a different part of the U.S. and a different aspect of the Episcopal Church. More details about the trip, including our estimated cost, will be coming soon. If you would like more information, please contact the Rev. Joshua Varner at 
This year’s festival will be hosted by Christ Church Frederica on St. Simons Island and will be held Saturday and Sunday, August 22 & 23, 2015. The cost is just $50 to attend, which includes meals, snacks and a t-shirt. Priests will work with youth ministers in putting on this fun event. Participants should bring their own vestments (marked with a church name or participant’s name) and their home church’s banner, which will be processed during the 11:15 Sunday morning Eucharist at Christ Church.
During the Acolyte Festival, participants can expect to participate in acolyting and church leadership workshops facilitated by experienced practitioners; to meet other young acolytes and church leaders from across the diocese; to learn about other liturgical practices; to share their own church experience; and to have fun! There may be a possible field trip on Saturday to the beach, so please come prepared with bathing suits and sunscreen!