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Savannah, Georgia 31401

Below are links to a library of PDF files and Word documents maintained on this website for your reference:

Diocese of Georgia Policy Manual

With information on both lay and ordained employees. Updated December 2023

Diocesan Financial Reports

A page maintained with current financial reports for the Diocese of Georgia. Updated after each quarter closes, once the Finance Committee has reviewed and approved the report.

Supply Clergy

This is the current list of those clergy available to serve parishes in the Diocese of Georgia.

Family Leave Policy

This policy was approved by Diocesan Council in May 2022, has been added to the Policy Manual and all Letters of Agreement, that took effect starting in January 2023.

Policy and Procedure for the Election of a Bishop

The following Policy and Procedures (Published January 2024), consistent with Article III.7 of the Constitution of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, are set by the Standing Committee. This manual shall be reviewed annually by the Standing Committee and may be revised as needed from time to time, provided that notice of such policy and procedure is given to all Lay and Clerical Delegates at least ninety (90) days in advance of the election.

Canons

Constitution & Canons of The Episcopal Church (2022)

These may be revised by the act of two consecutive General Conventions of The Episcopal Church which meets once every three years. The 2022 canons will remain in effect until the General Convention in 2024.

Diocese of Georgia Constitution & Canons (2022)

These will remain in effect until at least the November 2023 convention.

Handbooks

The guides below are important in naming norms of our diocese. They are working documents and so your questions and suggestions will help improve their useful. Direct any questions or concerns to the Bishop’s Executive Assistant, Maggie Lyons.

Priests’ Handbook

An overview of the norms for priests of the Diocese of Georgia. Updated Michaelmas, 2018.

Discernment & Ordination Handbook

For those who feel called to the ministry of deacon or priest and all who assist with the discernment of call, this is a guide to the norms of the Diocese of Georgia for this process. Updated February 2024

Addendum: Training of Bivocational Priests

Updated, September 2023

Transition Handbook

A Guide for Vestries and Search Committees working through the transition from one head of the congregation to another. Updated October 2020

Liturgical Customary

The customary for liturgy in the Diocese of Georgia. Updated June 2020.

Documents for Priests

Minimum Priest Compensation

Revised as needed by Diocesan Council.

Diocesan Council approved an updated scale for 2023. The new scale can be found here.

Full-time priest salary survey 2024

This chart compares priest salaries in the Diocese of Georgia by Sunday Attendance and budget size. See also the Full-time assisting priest salary survey 2024 for full-time priests in an assisting role. For comparison, the archived surveys can be found here:

Sample Letter of Agreement — This is the Diocese of Georgia’s standard Letter of Agreement for priests and congregations. Together with an attached compensation agreement (download Sample Priest’s Compensation Spreadsheet which is set to calculate pension and totals from basic information), this forms the contract signed by the priest, senior warden and bishop. Send all Letters of Agreement to the Bishop’s Executive Assistant, Maggie Lyons.

License to Officiate — An Episcopal priest who is in good standing in one’s own diocese may apply for a License to Officiate in the Diocese of Georgia. Licenses are reissued every year on July 1. A report is due each June of the previous year’s sacramental acts in the Diocese. The report form is included with the license.

Mutual Ministry Review

The Letters of Agreement for priests all call for an annual mutual ministry review. The following documents, which are in use at Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta are offered here as a model for creating documents for other congregations:

Overall
Mutual Ministry Review Overview
Sample letter that goes with forms

Self-Assessment
Sample form for vestry member self-assessment
Sample form for rector self-assessment
Sample form for staff member self-assessment

Reviews
Sample form for vestry review by a staff member
Sample form for review of a staff member by the rector
Sample form for review of a staff member by a vestry member
Sample form for staff member review of staff
Sample form for review of rector by vestry
Sample form for review of rector by a staff member

Helpful in this process is to work from a Vestry Job Description viewed by prospective members before election and agreed to by all who serve. To assist in the creation of this, Bishop Logue offers this Sample Vestry Job Description in PDF which is also available in Word vestryjobdescription.docx

Documents for Deacons

Deacon’s Agreement – The Letter of Agreement to be completed annually by vocational deacons together with the clergy where the deacon is assigned. Failure to have a current agreement on file will result in a deacon being moved to inactive status. The file linked above is a Word Document. Updated September 2020

Deacon’s Requirements – Requirements and recommendations for those seeking ordination as vocational deacons in the Diocese of Georgia.

Guidelines for Deacons – Revised Advent 2013

Traditions of the Church Competencies
Updated September, 2019

Documents for Lay Ministers

Serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister (chalice bearer) and Lay Eucharistic Visitor (taking the sacrament to those who could not attend a worship service due to health issues) is licensed by the Diocese of Georgia in accordance with the Canons of The Episcopal Church. The necessary application and information are available for download here as PDF files (revised April 2019). Applicants should receive all three documents. All training for Lay Ministers may be completed in the parish. Some convocations also offer training days.

Lay Minister Application
Standards for Licensed Lay Ministers
Canons for Licensed Lay Ministers

Liturgical Information

Visitation Customary – Bishop Logue’s customary in place for use with in person visitations in the fall of 2023. Updated August 2023.

Bishop Logue’s Visitation Calendar
Updated 1/16/2024

Celebration of New Ministry – this Word file provides the liturgical text to use in creating a bulletin for the service when the Bishop comes to your parish to celebrate the new ministry of a Rector or Priest in Charge. Updated May 2021.

Ordination Customary – The Diocese of Georgia’s customary for ordinations. Updated May 2021.

Certificate of Baptism

Certificate of Confirmation

Certificate of Adult Baptism & Confirmation

Certificate of Reaffirmation

Certificate of Reception

Marital Judgment

For remarriage after one or more persons in the couple has been divorced, the petitioning priest or deacon must get the couple to complete the following forms, sign them, and return the to the diocesan office in care of Maggie Lyons, Executive Assistant to Bishop Logue:

Same Sex Marriages

In 2015, the Episcopal Church embraced marriage equality by eliminating language defining marriage as between a man and a woman and provided new rites for marriage allowing them to be used by same-sex or opposite-sex couples. In 2018, the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church meeting in July 2018 in Austin, continued the authorization for the two new marriage rites: The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage and The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2. These are both authorized for use in the Diocese of Georgia.

As noted in these resolutions: “no bishop, priest, deacon or lay person should be coerced or penalized in any manner, nor suffer any canonical disabilities, as a result of his or her theological objection to or support for the 78th General Convention’s action contained in this resolution.” If their home parish does not offer marriage to same sex couples, the bishop and staff of the Diocese of Georgia will assist the couple in finding a member of the clergy who will marry them in an Episcopal Church in order to fulfill the stated intention of to assure “that all couples have convenient and reasonable congregation access to these rites.”

A book of liturgical resources related to same-sex marriage: Liturgical Resources I: I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing is available from Church Publishing here. Free downloads of the two new marriage rites are available here: The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage and The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2. The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage (BCP, p. 423 ff) and The Blessing of a Civil Marriage (BCP, p. 433ff) are Prayer Book rites and thus should continue to be used as appropriate.

The following documents provide Model Congregational Guidelines, and give the text of The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2 in Word format:

Annotated Eucharist–This booklet gives the pages from the Book of Common Prayer for a Rite II Eucharist using Eucharistic Prayer A. Annotations in the side column give visitors additional information on the service. A brief glossary is in the back. The Annotated Eucharist is an Instructed Eucharist presented in a format that makes it possible to share with newcomers when an Instructed Eucharist is not planned. The annotations are available in Rich Text Format: annotatedeucharist.rtf as well as the Instructed Eucharist which does not include additional glossary and other information: instructedeucharist.rtf

Prayer Cycles

One Year Prayer Cycle for the Diocese of Georgia for 2025 – Updated December 17, 2024

One Year Prayer Cycle for the Diocese of Georgia for 2024 – Updated December 12, 2023

Diocese of Georgia Prayer Cycle—Daily for 31 Days – Updated November 8, 2024

Diocese of Georgia Clergy Spouses – Updated November 8, 2024

Various Other Documents

Clergy Onboarding Checklist

Lay Onboarding Checklist

Church Pension Group New Employee Information Form

Expense Reimbursement Form
Updated January 2024

Audit—Internal Controls Checklist – This checklist was created to assist a review committee in conducting an audit of church finances to ensure that the proper controls are in place. The checklist conforms to the Business Methods manual below.

Business Methods – The Episcopal Church’s official guide to overseeing the temporal affairs of your congregation.

Parish Gift Acceptance Policy for Parish Guidelines

Primer on The Episcopal Church – This document is a primer of the governance of The Episcopal Church.

Hospitality Checklist – This 3-page checklist takes a visitor’s encounter with your church from before they arrive until after they are home.

Bishop’s Letter RE: Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014
Bishop Scott Benhase sent this letter regarding the use of guns or firearms in churches in response to the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014. The policy remains in effect under Bishop Frank Logue.