NEWS & STORIES

As we live into this Christmas season with different ways of celebrating – some sacred and some secular – it is likely that “Silent night, holy night” is near the top of our most favored Christmas carols. Even people who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ enjoy this adorably sweet song about mother and child. Many of us have heard something of the origin of this beloved song. The story goes that on Christmas eve of 1816, Father Joseph Mohr, a priest in St. Nichol

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer DECEMBER 1968 On December 12, 1968, after most of the year spent in study by special committees of the Diocese of Florida and the Diocese of Alabama about creating a new diocese from the Florida panhandle and the southern third of Alabama, the Executive Council of the Diocese of Florida voted to reconsid

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer NOVEMBER 1968 In the afternoon of November 3, 1968, the Sunday of All Saints, a tornado touched down in Bay Minette. Within a few roaring minutes, the 54-year old frame Immanuel Episcopal Church was picked up and dropped askew of its foundation. What remains of that rubble are Kodak snapshots; the pulp

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer OCTOBER 1968 In October, fifty years ago, Philip Menzie Duncan, II, was a 22 year old bachelor beginning his middler year in General Theological Seminary in New York City. In an interview recorded in 2001, he told the story of how he decided to attend GTS with some not-subtle guidance from his bishop wh

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer SEPTEMBER 1968 Eight-year old James Russell Kendrick began the third grade in Elliott Point Elementary School in Fort Walton Beach (where his wife, Robin, now teaches). A cradle Episcopalian who faithfully attended St. Simon's on the Sound Church with his family, he says he gave no thought at all to beco

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer JULY 1968 In the summer of 1968, Charles Farmer Duvall was a 32 years old parish priest. He and Nancy Rice Duvall had been married 11 years and had three children: Ann 10, Charles 8, and Ted 7. For six years, he had been rector of St. James’ Church, James Island, just outside of Charleston, South Carolin

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer JUNE 1968 As the spring days of 1968 warmed into summertime, committees in the Episcopal dioceses of Alabama and Florida, appointed by their bishops, continued studying the possibility of creating a new diocese within their borders. They did so while fellow citizens of the United States, in increasing n

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer APRIL 1968 On Thursday, April 4, 1968, Bishop Hamilton West and the Executive Council of the Diocese of Florida heard a report from its special diocesan committee on the possibility of a new diocese – of the work that had been done, the work being done, and the next meeting scheduled in May. Just after s

short stories of events and times during the formation of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast collected by the Rev. S. Albert Kennington, Diocesan Registrar-Historiographer MARCH 1968 In the last days of the previous month, children in our nation awoke to a new vision of how life should be when a Presbyterian minister named Fred Rogers invited children and older folks to be his neighbor. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood became an American television icon of how life should be. All

Who is Jesus for you? Where, when, how has he traveled along with you in your life? Was he a miracle worker, a teacher, a healer? Did he raise you from the dead, or was he a companion along the way? How has his identity affected your own identity as his disciple? Bishop Russell reflects on Luke 8-11, the third week's reading from The Good Book Club. #diocese #goodbookclub #bishop #Lent #News