No good thing will God withhold from those who walk with integrity. Psalm 84:11
Parishes Providing Same-
Our Savior, Augusta, Ga. Rector Fr. John West
2015 General Convention is over and Bishop Scott has approved same-
February 7-
2012 General Convention is over and the Episcopal Church stands for equality! See below for photos and reflections.
+October 8, 2011-
+07/30/2011-
+5/3/2011-
+12/18/2010-
+12/3/2010-
+9/28/2010-
+9/21/2010-
+Amazing Day, Amazing Witness, Susan Russell
NOTE! Dec 18th Integrity Mtg at St.Anne's Tifton with St. Margaret's Moultrie as
co-
+Pride Events Around the Diocese-
+FAQ on the recent Prop 8 court decision-
+At West Point, Hidden Gay Cadets Put in Spotlight
+7/10/2010-
+The 2010 HIV/AIDS retreat fund drive was a success!
October 28th, 2016
Integrity Holds Its First Retreat at Honey Creek
IntegrityGA held it's first retreat on the weekend of October 28. The purpose of
the retreat was to heal and energize LGBTQI members and allies to continue the work
that Integrity began more than 40 years ago. Twenty-
The retreat began as an idea with the Rev. Jamie Maury, the first chairperson for IntegrityGA who collaborated with the current IntegrityGA board.
Bruce Garner, Integrity USA President was the retreat leader. Bruce is a long time
activist in the LGBT community serving on a number of boards and member of many organizations.
Bruce first served as President of IntegrityUSA from 1990 -
Bruce began the retreat by taking us back to the dark times of 1981 and the beginning of the HIV/AID crisis. He talked about the friends lost to AIDS in the early days of the crisis and how that changed him spiritually. In his presentation he called upon the group to "Let Your Light so Shine" while on their own spiritual journey. By allowing our "light to shine," we illuminate the path for those following. Bruce ended his presentation by saying, "the peace that comes with being healed surpasses the need to be cured."
To conclude the retreat's work of healing, Sarah Riggle discussed the discrimination confronting transgender and gender noncomforming people. She cited information from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey. One of the more shocking statistics that she cited is that a staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population. (If you are interested, more information can be found by clicking here).
Sarah said, "The statistics in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey only
show a glimpse of the injustice and abuse the transgender and gender nonconforming
population endure. Even with the number who did respond to the survey, there are
thousands of voices who could not or did not complete the survey." Ms. Riggle challenged
us to be a strong ally to all gender non-
IntegrityGA's has a strong history of allies who keep spreading our message of acceptance and love. Before our own Larry Lee passed away, his voice was often heard above others fighting to keep Integrity's message heard and because of Larry's support and dedication IntegrityGA created the Annabel Lee Award. This is an annual award that recognizes an individual who had done significant work for the LGBTQI community. The first recipient of the Annabel Lee Award was Larry's beloved wife, Kristin Lee. Larry and Kristin worked tirelessly as a team for the LGBTQI community Kris Lee is recognized by IntegrityGA for her love, service, and dedication to LGBTQI lives in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.
The retreat ended with Eucharist. The Rev. Billy Alford was the preacher and the Rev. Jamie Maury was the celebrant with the Rev. Dee Shaffer assisting.
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Advent, 2015
Bishop Scott’s Policy on Same Sex Marriage is Now Official
The Bishop’s Policy for Same Sex Marriage will go into effect on the first Sunday of Advent this year to provide, as approved by General Convention, for trial use of authorized rites for the coming three years. Specifically, Bishop Benhase says that the following rites may be used by the presbyters of this Diocese with all persons who are legally and canonically eligible for marriage: The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage (2); and, if the couple has already been married civilly, The Blessing of a Civil Marriage. Both rites are found in the document linked below.
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 give the Diocese of Georgia policy, provide Model Congregational Guidelines, and give the text of the rites authorized for trial use in keeping with the policy:
Bishop’s Policy on Same Sex Marriage for the Diocese of Georgia
Model Congregational Guidelines in PDF format
Model Congregational Guidelines in Word format
Authorized Rites in PDF format
Authorized Rites in Word Format
Discussion Guide
In addition to the above information found at the diocesan website, the Episcopal
Church’s Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music offers Discussion Guide for congregations.
This material are found on pages 109-