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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 October 2020
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, will be added to the Policy Manual and all Letters of Agreement, and take effect in 2023.
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 2023
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 2023 for full-time priests in an assisting role. For comparison, the archived surveys can be found here:
- Full-time priest salary survey 2022
Priest Assistant salary survey 2022 - Full-time priest salary survey 2021
Priest Assistant salary survey 2021 - Full-time priest salary survey 2020
Priest Assistant salary survey 2020 - Full-time priest salary survey 2019
Priest Assistant Salary Survey 2019 - Full-time priest salary survey 2018
Priest Assistant Salary Survey 2018 - Priest Salary Survey 2017
Priest Assistant Salary Survey 2017 - Priest Salary Survey 2016
Priest Assistant Salary Survey 2016 - Priest Salary Survey 2015
Clergy Assistant Salary Survey 2015 - Priest Salary Survey 2014
- Priest Salary Survey 2013
- Priest Salary Survey 2012
- Priest Salary Survey 2011
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 Adult Baptism & Confirmation
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:
- Form for the priest to complete
- Form the priests has each member of the couple complete
- Declaration of Intention
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:
- Model Congregational Guidelines in PDF format
- Model Congregational Guidelines in Word format
- The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2
- 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 2024 – Updated December 12, 2023
Diocese of Georgia Prayer Cycle—Daily for 31 Days – Updated January 1, 2024
Diocese of Georgia Clergy Spouses – Updated January 1, 2024
Various Other Documents
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.