NEWS & STORIES

Whether you’re leading worship, planning the church year, preaching, or looking for fresh ways to connect with your community, there are plenty of opportunities to learn and share with others around the diocese. Mark your calendar and join us! 1. Licensed Lay Leader Offerings a. Lay Lead Church Zoom — Monthly Planning worship and programming in a lay-led church? You don’t have to do it alone! These one-hour Zoom gatherings offer practical help for looking ahead, planning for

Ericca Cavender-Caldwell Hello! I’m Ericca Cavender-Caldwell, a member of St. Andrew’s By-the-Sea in Destin, a postulant for Holy Orders, and the new Lay Missioner to the City of Freeport. My spouse, Chris, and I call Northwest Florida home, and I am very glad that the next chapter of my formation is bringing me back here more fully. Before seminary, I spent much of my professional life as an executive chef. At St. Andrew’s, I also served as coordinator of our Jubilee Ministr

On August 29, we celebrated six years since our Lay School for Ministry began! What began with a vision to equip lay people for ministry has grown into a vibrant, expanding part of our diocese's life. We celebrate the many lay leaders who have answered God’s call to serve, as well as Bishop Kendrick’s vision to strengthen and equip lay ministry across our diocese. This year, approximately 40 people are participating in our lay tracks, and by graduation in June 2027, our dioce

Church pews designed and built by members of the Commission on Global Mission Engagement. Dominican Republic 2016. In 2006, we learned that the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic needed church furniture for both new churches and older ones that had fallen into disrepair and were being restored to active service. Our Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast responded to that need by organizing a construction mission team to the Dominican Republic to primarily build

By Kim Giryluk St. Francis Episcopal Church is pleased to announce it has been awarded an $8,500 Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship to launch a new community initiative, Healing for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit: Come and Be Loved. This funding will support a year-long series of monthly healing services designed to foster spiritual renewal, emotional well-being, and meaningful community connection. Building on St. Francis Episcop

Status: Starting process; forming search committee Contact: The Rev. Ashley Freeman, Canon to the Ordinary, at ashley@diocgc.org with inquiries. Location: 1050 Azalea Rd, Mobile, AL 36693

Status: Starting process Contact: The Rev. Ashley Freeman, Canon to the Ordinary, at ashley@diocgc.org with inquiries. Location: 14755 Oak St, Magnolia Springs, AL

Status: Interim in place; search committee formed Contact: The Rev. Ashley Freeman, Canon to the Ordinary, at ashley@diocgc.org with inquiries. Location: 28 Miracle Strip Pkwy SW, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Status: In process; starting transition Contact: The Rev. Ashley Freeman, Canon to the Ordinary, at ashley@diocgc.org with inquiries. Location: 6270 Bon Secour Hwy, Bon Secour, AL 36511

The Commission on the Integrity of Creation has been working in partnership with creation care commissions in the Dioceses of Louisiana and Mississippi to form the Watersheds of the Gulf Coast Eco-region. The priorities of our new eco-region include wetland and biodiversity loss, industrial incursion, sea level rise, warming waters, and pollution of waterways, drawing on local and historical knowledge and practices, and on great spiritual resilience. We will accomplish this e

By Valerie Mitchell, Co-Chair, Commission on Racial Justice and Reconciliation This year’s Jonathan Daniels and the Martyrs of Alabama Pilgrimage will take place in Hayneville, Alabama, on Saturday, August 15. The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, through its Commission on Racial Justice and Reconciliation and others, will be representing. Everyone is invited to join us there. You can contact Commission Co-Chairs Joe McDaniel (mcdanieljoe43@yahoo.com, (415) 225-906