The Anchor Line. not only being grateful to her for this, but also sharing with me the hope that she can continue to serve in this way in the future.

Transcription

1 The Anchor Line Grace Episcopal Church, Panama City Beach, Florida October, 2015 Dear parishioners and friends of Grace Church: In mid-september, I attended our diocesan clergy conference. Conferences such as these are held in most dioceses of our church. It is a time to get together in worship, to learn and for fellowship. In our Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, we have one or two of these conferences every year. As this was our very first clergy conference convened by our new bishop the Right Reverend Russell Kendrick, you can imagine that this was much anticipated and an exciting experience. Of course, it was held at Beckwith, our diocesan camp and conference center in Baldwin County, near Fairhope, Alabama. Beckwith is indeed a beautiful place, with a handsome chapel, in which Weeks Bay forms the backdrop of the altar through clear windows. Beckwith is indeed one of the jewels in the crown of our diocese, and here I go again: I do hope that within a year we will once again be able to schedule a parish weekend at Beckwith. We did this a couple of times in my first years at Grace Church, but subsequent attempts to arrange another have not been viable due to some of our own individual scheduling conflicts. Maybe we can be more of one mind on this in the year ahead. I believe that the last Sunday in September will also be our last Adult Bible Class based on the book, Cross Roads, by William Paul Young. Rarely am I able to be present for the entire forty-five minutes of our Sunday classes. One reason is that there are often other Sunday duties between both of our services. Another is that people naturally defer to their priests in these sorts of things, and I prefer to set the tone for more of your participation. And thirdly, when we do have concurrent classes, say, for First Holy Communion or maybe before too long a Sunday School for young people, this gives me the freedom to pop-in to the other classes as well. Deb Edmondson has done an excellent job in conducting this class as you might imagine, and I know you join me in not only being grateful to her for this, but also sharing with me the hope that she can continue to serve in this way in the future. As you know, our previous Bishop, Philip Duncan, appointed me Archdeacon of Region VI of our diocese. When I was up in Chicago last month and participated in a Sunday mass there, my name was listed in the bulletin as Archdeacon Joseph Hagberg, which seems to have been passed around the congregation with some excitement, and people came up to me and asked me what I was! Well, our dioceses are pretty much free to organize themselves as they find helpful. Usually this involves dividing the diocese into smaller geographic areas. These areas often have something in common, like the location or proximity of the parishes to one another. Our own Region VI is anchored around Panama City, and includes our churches over there, as well as here on the beach, and in Port St. Joe, Wewahitchka, and Apalachicola. Other regions are those of Mobile, or Pensacola, or Walton and Okaloosa Counties, and so forth. Most dioceses do it this way, although I understand that some years ago the Diocese of Colorado, which includes the entire state, organized its regions shaped like pie slices, emanating from Denver. But a colleague there told that while it was a romantic idea on paper (This way upscale, and inner city, and suburban, and rural,and resort parishes could mingle together all in single regions.) it was wildly impractical in terms of the people in those regions actually ever getting together. Also, sometimes these regional groupings are called just that: regions. But in other dioceses they called archdeaconries, inter-parish councils (IPCs), and in still others, deaneries. Here s the thing: it seemed that having an archdeacon preside over a region in a fairly young diocese was a cause of bewilderment in some places. The older, colonial dioceses of our church did tend to favor archdeacons presiding over archdeaconries, but most newer dioceses employed one archdeacon, to be something of a vicar general or executive officer to the bishop. You really wanted to know all this, right? But the reason I go into all of it is that Bishop Kendrick has confirmed me in my position, but has also suggested that I and my five other counterparts consider mainstreaming the title of our position more in line with the predominate Episcopal and world-wide Anglican

2 usage today, and so by mutual consent we, and yours truly, have now become deans and not archdeacons. And since Bishop Kendrick seems to want very much to build upon and strengthen Bishop Duncan s creation of the regional structure of our diocese you might very well be seeing this change in print and wondering about it, so there you are. And along these lines, as you probably have noticed in the bulletin, I have become your rector. Bishop Duncan for some very good reasons in 2007 appointed me to a title he created: bishop s rector. I took the liberty of putting it in Latin in our Sunday bulletins, Rector ad Nutum Episcopi, ( Rector at the Nod of the Bishop ) only because, well, some things do sound better in Latin! But on the occasion of Bishop Kendrick s visitation to Grace Church in early September, he authorized my nomination to the vestry for the position or rector, and the vestry quickly sealed the deal faster than old Mayor Daley could ever have done in Chicago, for that matter! Finally, our Stewardship campaign begins later this month, and you will be hearing more about that. Carl Walters and I have been planning a series of Sundays to bring the story of Stewardship to you from several sources. For now, however, please begin to think, pray, and speak with your family about what you will be giving back to God through his Church in 2016, to further his Kingdom in our community, our nation, and our world. And, in this autumn time of harvest, we are also putting together something of a marketing committee for our Grace Church. Carey Scott has shared with me some very good ideas about making our church even more well known in our community, and I have suggested to him the names of some of our people who have expertise in this area and I am happy to say they have all agreed to serve! I ve also shared this plan with Bishop Kendrick, and he has suggested some resources for this very thing offered by our Episcopal Church. But if you have an interest in serving in this capacity as well, please speak to me or Carey and we can put you and your ideas to work. Sincerely, September 15 th, 2015: Sunrise over Weeks Bay at Beckwith, our diocesan camp and conference center, near Fairhope, Alabama.

3 Join us for our Mid-Week service on Wednesdays days beginning at 5:45 pm with the Holy Communion followed by a small gathering immediately after the service. Please bring a dish to share, and your beverage of choice. Join us in Wilhite Hall Sunday, October 4th th, between the 8:00 am and 10:30 am worship service for good food and fellowship!! Invite a friend. MEN'S FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON Tuesday, October 13th noon Triple J s Steakhouse on Thomas Dr.

4 Those serving the month of October 10/4 Chalice Scott Steere Acolyte Scott Robert Young Lector Scott Steere Intercessor Scott Steere Counters Swearingen Greeters Swearingen 10/11 Chalice Knafelc Todd Harris Acolyte Knafelc Sam Richardson Lector Westmoreland Sam Richardson Intercessor Westmoreland Todd Harris Counters Harris Greeters Nolin 10/18 Chalice Gray Walters Acolyte Gray Walters Lector Hale Jamie Shepard Intercessor Hale Walters Counters Walters Greeters Nolin 10/25 Chalice Scott Richardson Acolyte Scott Robert Young Lector Scott Martha Barnes Intercessor Scott Richardson Counters Richardson Greeters Swearingen October 4 Job 1:1; 2:1-10 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16 Psalm 26 October 11 Job 23:1-9, Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31 Psalm 22:1-15 October 18 Job 38:1-7 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37 October 25 Job 42:1-6, Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52 Psalm 34:1-8 If you have a conflict, please get a substitute..

5 If your birthday or anniversary is not included- -or if it's incorrect--please be sure to let us know! 10/4 Margaret Taylor 10/10 Willodean Ketter 10/21 Bonnie Hale 10/23 Shirley Whitmer 10/26 Bobby Wilder Coffee Hour Hosts for October October 4th ~ Basma Swearingen October 11th ~ October 16th ~ Sayre Steere October 25th ~

6 October 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Supper at Grace 6:00 pm Fellowship Breakfast Holy Communion Supper at Grace aftr 8 am svc 5:45 pm 6:00 pm Adult Bible Study 9:15 am Choir Rehearsal Holy Communion 7:00 pm 8:00 & 10: Holy Communion Men's Fellowship 8:00 & 10:30 Luncheon Holy Communion Supper at Grace Adult Bible Study 12 noon 5:45 pm 6:00 pm 9:15 am Triple J's Choir Rehearsal 7:00 pm Holy Communion Holy Communion Supper at Grace 8:00 & 10:30 5:45 pm 6:00 pm Adult Bible Study Choir Rehearsal 9:15 am 7:00 pm Holy Communion Holy Communion Supper at Grace Halloween 8:00 & 10:30 5:45 pm 6:00 pm Adult Bible Study Choir Rehearsal 9:15 am 7:00 pm

7 BISHOP VISIT SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 During the Wednesday evening worship at Grace Episcopal Church, Panama City Beach, it is their custom to invite folks to come to the altar for prayers for healing. As the Celebrant at the service, I was offered the privilege to lay hands on those who came forward. I have presided at many healing services during my priesthood, but since becoming a Bishop, the only prayers that involved my hands were for confirmation. is a powerful thing! In fact, it unites us in a way that transcends time and space. As someone once wrote, "I don't always know what happens when I pray, but I know that nothing happens when I don't." Prayer works even when you have no idea what you are doing, including a "baby priest" who looked like a deer in headlights. "Look at you now!" I exclaimed. "Yes, I have found new life, and I am good." And then she let out one last laugh, "And look at you." Pray for each other, but even more dare to pray with each other. +Russell A few people came forward. I laid hands on each person and prayed as the Holy Spirit led me. I came to a woman whose head was deeply bowed; I laid hands on her head and prayed. I think I thanked God for her journey, and who she is still becoming. When I said Amen, she looked up at me and gave me the biggest smile. Afterwards in the parish hall, she introduced herself to me. " I was going through a terrible divorce, and I showed up at the Episcopal Church in Dothan and you were there. You were brand new." "Did I look like a deer in headlights?" I asked. "Oh yeah," she laughed, "and I do not think you knew what to do." She went on, "but then you prayed with me. I never knew your name, but tonight when you were praying I heard your voice and saw your eyes, and I remembered that time 20 years ago." What I did not tell her on Wednesday night is what the people in Dothan taught me about the privilege, responsibility and power of praying with other people, especially for healing. Being a life-long Episcopalian, praying with other people was not a part of my upbringing. Praying with other people was not a big part of seminary training. It was not until my time in Dothan that I began to discover the power of prayer. On Wednesday night, I was reminded again of that power. Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16 Bonnie Hale, Bishop Kendrick Russell and Father Joseph Hagberg When we tell each other "I will pray for you" it is a good thing. When we follow through with that promise it is a better thing. When we pray with each other, it