NEWS & STORIES

Aug 28, 2019
8 min

Team Border Zone Report

Multiple and divergent reporting throughout the media make it difficult to initiate conversations that lead to a credible and enhanced understanding of the situation experienced by legal immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. To initiate an intelligent and productive conversation regarding immigration in the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, a fact-finding team was formed and traveled to the Rio Grande Valley border zone in Texas to gather objective humanitarian inf

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St. Christoher's EYC Mission Trip to Birmingham

Kate McGurk, Youth Minister, St. Christopher's

Aug 27, 2019
1 min

St. Christoher's EYC Mission Trip to Birmingham

Fourteen awesome youth from St. Christopher's EYC along with the Rev. Nick Phares, associate rector; Joe Taylor, Christian education minister; Michelle Haskew, parish administrator, and myself traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, at the end of July for our annual summer trip to serve in various capacities. During the week our teens spent time tutoring and mentoring children at Sparkle, painting homes, serving the elderly, and working at a local clothing and food distribution cen

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My Zambia Trip and the Baluba Healthcare Project

The Rev. Deacon Clelia P. Garrity, LCSW

Jun 10, 2019
5 min

My Zambia Trip and the Baluba Healthcare Project

THE PEOPLE The Baluba (Lost Community) inhabit a remote area of central Zambia, approximately two hours north of the city of Ndola, a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province. Deep in the bush, the trail into the heart of this approximately 2000-member community is impassable during the rainy season. Their sole source of water is the local stream. There is no electricity. Housing is partially assembled cinderblock squares, with little or no furniture. Some have thatched or tin ro

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The Rev. Deacon Clelia Garrity

Mar 13, 2019
3 min

Victor and Our Mission in Zambia

Victor Chimfwembe was born on November 15, 1986 in Zaire – now the Congo DR. Victor was abandoned at birth and received no care for the first four days of his life. He was found in the streets by a nurse who took him in and cared for him for the next four years. During that time, the nurse and her family immigrated to Zambia, and Victor's name was changed from Kanyinda Wanzolu Nsendula Lwakuma to Victor Chimfwembe. Victor's adoptive family experienced a great deal of domestic

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The Rev. Deacon Clelia Garrity

Jul 25, 2018
2 min

No Going Back...

The phrase “no going back” when considering my 20 years of work in Haiti has taken on quite a few meanings for me in the past few weeks. Taken literally, there may be “no going back” at this point in time because of the extremely volatile and dangerous political situation coupled with the possibility that the priest in charge of Martel, where we are now working, may be moved, leaving this community under the guidance of a new priest – one who has yet to form any relationship

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Keith Green, St. Simon's on the Sound

Jul 23, 2018
2 min

Episcopal Strong Youth Mission

Our missioners from left to right: James (Epiphany, Crestview) Jonathan, Connor, Mackenzie and Ashlyn (St.Simons) No. We’re not talking about an Episcopal Weight Lifting Contest. We are referring to our recent mission to the Diocese of Texas sponsored program, Episcopal Strong, to help those in need as a result of the Hurricane Harvey damage. After a year, many people in the Houston area are still without a home due to the severe flooding and will face this situation for a co

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The Rev. Deacon Clelia Garrity

Jul 10, 2018
2 min

Why engage in global mission?

"Why engage in global mission, when there are so many needs all around us in our local community?" Most of us have been asked this question and perhaps have struggled to answer it. Our nation grapples on a daily basis with issues of diversity, multiculturalism, migration, interreligious understanding and the lure of isolationism. Why are intercultural relationships so essential to our Christian discipleship? Global Episcopal Mission Network has gathered ten quotes from their

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Wayne Verry, St. Paul's, Foley

Mar 28, 2018
3 min

Reflections on Selma

On Sunday, March 4, I made my first trip to Selma, Alabama, to participate in the annual Freedom March across the Edmund Pettus bridge, in memory and in tribute to those who made that terrible but historic walk 53 years ago. I arrived in time to attend service at beautiful St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where I was warmly welcomed. Then I headed downtown to join the steadily growing crowd, and in doing so I met some fascinating people. First, I met Lynda Blackmon Lowery, who at

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Justine Kmiecik, Church of the Epiphany, Crestview

Mar 28, 2018
3 min

Learning the Art of Listening

Our church, the Church of the Epiphany in Crestview, Florida, has had a dwindling, aging, and somewhat insular population for several years. We needed a lot of assistance learning how to move beyond our functional issues, and wondered how much the newly formed Congregational Enrichment Venture (CEV) program would truly be able to help. Dennis Jackson, Patricia Jackson, Jerry Kueczynski, Tracy Kueczynski, Pat Shew, Frieda Haley, and I initially came together through the urging

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David Clothier, Trinity, Mobile

Feb 14, 2018
2 min

Project Homeless Connect

An annual event held in Mobile for a segment of the local population in need of various services, Project Homeless Connect (PHC) does exactly what it says: it connects the homeless with those who can meet their needs. The one-day event, held at the fairgrounds in west Mobile, this year on Friday, January 26, offered a wide variety of services, from medical checkups to haircuts to photo-identification cards. The event is organized by Housing First, Inc., a Mobile non-profit, b

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Wayne Verry, St. Paul's, Foley

Jan 23, 2018
3 min

Inmate Re-entry: The Missing Link

Over two million people in the United States are currently in prison, more than any other country in the world. A major factor in this large population is the high rate of recidivism – approximately 75% of former inmates will return to prison. Some go back because they are career criminals, but most cases of recidivism occur because released inmates face a nearly impossible process of returning to society – especially if they are a minority, low-income, poorly educated, or ha

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Lyn Smith

Dec 11, 2017
4 min

Mission trip to Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Children attend Bible study at the school in the dump. Photo courtesy: Lyn Smith Have you ever heard of Zihuatanejo, Mexico? It is located on the southwestern coast of Mexico and is a small fishing village beneath lush mountains. In and among this beauty lies immense poverty, the likes of which we had never seen. My daughter, Stafford and I became acquainted with the area and ministry through Randy and Lynn Pike, parishioners of Christ the King, Santa Rosa Beach. Two years a

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Staff post

Nov 7, 2017
2 min

Congregational Enrichment Venture sessions begin November 17

Church teams signed up for the Congregational Enrichment Venture (CEV) will begin their first year of work and collaboration with the first of four sessions starting on November 17, at St. Simon's on the Sound in Fort Walton Beach. CEV offers a two year training program for churches to explore ways to further the Kingdom of God, not merely to survive but to be vital and viable congregations. The first year, entitled Hopeful Leadership, will focus on fostering hope, and the co

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Blessing those in need in Marathon, Florida

The Rev. Deacon Tricia Spencer and John Talbert

Oct 23, 2017
3 min

Blessing those in need in Marathon, Florida

A glimpse of the devastation in Marathon as a result of Hurricane Irma - view more images on the slideshow below. As the hurricane season draws to an end, for us in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, we can thank God that we avoided major damage from a storm this year. However, we are prayerfully aware of the many people in the country that have suffered enormously. Many parishes have reached out to our brothers and sisters in need. As Christians near Gulf Coast waters, m

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Bishop Russell approves intern to help populate the Episcopal Asset Map

Staff post

Oct 23, 2017
1 min

Bishop Russell approves intern to help populate the Episcopal Asset Map

Meet Brady Johnson, cradle Episcopalian, college sophomore at the University of West Florida, member of St. Christopher's in Pensacola, and Bishop Russell approved intern for the office of communications at the Duvall Center. Over the coming weeks, Brady will be reaching out to church leadership to gather information about each church's ministries and available resources that are open to the community. From there he will populate the information into the Episcopal Asset Map,

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The Rev. Deacon Clelia Garrity

Oct 10, 2017
2 min

Trial by Fire ~ A Mission Experience

A number of years ago I was charged with developing and implementing a healthcare mission in Bondeau, Haiti. I was so excited. For years I had been traveling to Haiti, a tag-along with groups involved in the post-earthquake rebuilding of the Episcopal hospital in Leogane – Hopital Ste. Croix. I had become frustrated with the politics of the project and yearned to get out into the rural communities where there was no hospital – no medical care of any sort. I wanted to “do” som

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Chip Lands, Holy Cross, Pensacola

Sep 10, 2017
1 min

Holy Cross opens food pantry

After prayerful consideration of the needs of its surrounding community, the parishioners of Holy Cross recently opened a weekly food pantry to provide staple items and more to those who live nearby. The long-term vision will also include education, advocacy and increasing awareness of issues concerning those in poverty in our area. Mrs. Howard Johnson, head of this new ministry, said of the inaugural effort of August 2nd, “We supplied food to over twenty-five families, servi

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Remembering Katrina and How to Help After Harvey

The Rev. David Knight

Aug 30, 2017
3 min

Remembering Katrina and How to Help After Harvey

August 29th always brings with it painful memories and a feeling deep in my soul that is hard to describe. Although 12 years have passed since Hurricane Katrina the memories are still fresh and especially poignant with the devastation in Texas and Louisiana from Harvey. St. Patrick's in Long Beach, Mississippi where I was the rector was completely washed away by the storm, but the church remained. As you know, the church is the people, the body of Christ and while we were sla

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Alvan Richey, Commission on Prison Ministry

Aug 8, 2017
2 min

First time in prison

I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Matthew 25:36 As a member of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast Commission on Prison Ministry, I have learned the importance of the above verse. The first time I was approved (a process that took six weeks to complete) to visit the Northwest Florida Reception Center and Annex at Chipley, Florida for a Kairos reunion, I jokingly asked my church to pray that I would

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75,000 meals packed during Feed the Need event

The Rev. Deacon Clelia Garrity

Jun 27, 2017
1 min

75,000 meals packed during Feed the Need event

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Feed the Need food packing event. Your contributions and hard work paid off. We packed 75,000 meals - that translates into 430 boxes containing 10 Family Packs each. Each box contains 12,900 meals - a combination of Oatmeal, Mac & Cheese and Pasta & Tomato Sauce. Each Family Pack also contains boxes of raisins, cheese crackers, and peanut butter crackers. All this means we packaged 75,000 meals which included 17,200 boxes of

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NEWS & STORIES

Discipleship. Development. Discernment.