St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church: Recent Episodes
Brandi Underwood
Weekly podcasts of the sermon during the 10:30am Holy Eucharist at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
The Reverend John Warner
Deacon John Warner has been an Episcopalian his entire life also known as a “cradle Episcopalian.” A member of St. Augustine’s since the mid-1980’s, he served in many roles including youth and adult educator, usher, lay Eucharistic minister, vestry member, and Senior Warden. John was ordained into the diaconate in the Diocese of Georgia on July 9, 2002.
Although he retired from the State of Georgia in 2009 after 34 years of service in mental health administration working with the mentally ill, developmentally disabled and those with addictive diseases, he continued a ministry in this area by serving as a board member for the Friendship Community Center, a day services program for the severely mentally ill. Other community ministries include the Augusta chapter of Mental Health America; and the Augusta Coalition for Mental and Spiritual Health Ministries. He is also employed as an adjunct assistant professor in psychology at the local campus of Georgia Military College.
He is married to Marsha Lord Warner and has one daughter, Samantha who is married to Atul Sinha. He has two grandchildren, Shaun and Simran.
The Reverend Dr. Kurt Miller is a Priest Associate at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
A “cradle Episcopalian” he was baptized, confirmed and served as an acolyte at St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey before joining the Army. He retired from the Army after 26 years active Federal Service. His last assignment at Fort Gordon was as Sergeant Major of the Telecommunications Center Operator Courses. In 1982, he went to work with Civil Service as an Engineering Technician and Engineer Mobilization Planner at the Facilities Engineer on Fort Gordon. From 1984 to 2005 he was a Training Specialist in the Signal Regimental Officer’s Academy, now the 442nd Signal Bn. He is also an Adjunct Professor for Religious Studies at the Augusta-Fort Gordon Branch of Georgia Military College.
He began his ministry as a lay minister at St. Alban’s Episcopal church. His religious studies began at St. Augustine’s with Education for Ministry from 1981 – 1985. He served as a Mentor in the EFM program; attended Cursillo in 1984; and took a pre-ordination retreat at the Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth, in Pennsylvania. He was ordained Deacon in 1986 by Bishop Harry Shipps, his former Rector at St. Alban’s and entered the ministry as a Vocational Deacon in 1986. His assignments were at St. Alban’s and then in 1994 to the Church of the Atonement.
He has been involved in the KAIROS Prison ministry since 1986. He served on the first Board of Directors of St. Stephen's Ministry of Augusta, providing shelter to homeless victims of HIV/AIDS. In 1991, he began off-duty studies at Erskine Theological Seminary, in Due West, SC. In 1996, he graduated with the Master of Divinity degree and applied for ordination to the Priesthood. He began the process for ordination, again, with support and blessing of his wife, Man Sun and son David. In June, 1997, he was ordained a Priest, by Bishop Henry Loutitt, who was his spiritual director at Cursillo. Bishop Loutitt assigned him to St. Augustine’s to assist the Rector, the Rev. Neal Phelps, as a bi-vocational Priest. Then in January, 1998, he was assigned, as Vicar, to the Church of the Atonement in Hephzibah. He graduated from Erskine Theological Seminary in 2001 with the Doctor of Ministry Degree. From July, 2007 to July, 2010 he was a Caregiver for his wife, until she passed away, in March, 2010. He returned to Church of the Atonement, in July, 2010 until his retirement in July, 2018. He remains active in the Kairos Prison Ministry and teaching the Bible at Georgia Military College’s Humanities Department.
The Rev. James T. Said (Jim) joined St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church on December 1, 2016. He was installed as the 7th Rector on March 8, 2017 by Bishop Scott Benhase the Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia. Jim is a graduate of the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), where he was the recipient of the 2013 Virginia Seminary Ford Chair in recognition of his strong commitment to the community life and mission of the Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in College Station, Texas on January 18, 2014 by his father, the Rt. Rev. John L. Said, retired Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Southeast Florida on behalf of the Rt. Rev. Catherine M. Waynick, the Bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis. In addition to serving as Associate Rector at St. Thomas, Jim has served as Chaplain and a member of the Ethics Committee for Baylor Scott & White Hospital, President of the Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network, assisted in teaching a US Civics Class in Spanish, and has served on the Alumni Association Executive Council of the Virginia Theological Seminary. The Reverend Said is very interested in ministries that provide outreach and real support to those on the margins. He is a board member of the St. Stephen’s Ministry of Augusta, Inc., which is an Episcopal Church Founded organization dedicated to providing housing for persons with HIV/AIDS who are low income or homeless. The mission of this program is to facilitate independence, dignity, and well-being through safe, affordable, and appropriate housing. He is also on the board of the Progressive Religious Coalition of Augusta and the CSRA, which is a group of interfaith clergy and religious leaders committed to socially aware expressions of religious values in this area. Jim and Kim both love the outdoors and spend a lot of time walking together on the trails in Two State area and in their neighborhood. They both enjoy exploring cities and places they have not been before. Jim is an amateur photographer and enjoys photography. Kim is the Newcomer Inclusion Minister and teaches Invite/Welcome/Connect. She also participates in the StoryBox Ministry. StoryBox is an outreach ministry of St. Augustine’s. The mission of StoryBox is to help local children perform better in school by improving access to quality books and time spent reading. Kim volunteers reading to children at a local school. Kim is also the Yoga Instructor at St. Augustine of Canterbury. Jim is a lifelong Episcopalian and has a long history of service. In his youth, his parents where Episcopal Missionaries in Brazil, South American. He has a Spanish Degree and a Business Degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Before moving to Alexandria, Virginia to go to seminary, Jim and Kim were residents of Indianapolis, Indiana. Jim had an extensive career in business and most recently was the North American Regional Vice President of Sales for a data technology company.
The Reverend Amy Smith Bradley is the Associate Rector and the Director of Youth and Family Ministries at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church. Amy came to St. Augustine’s in the summer of 2017 after graduating with a Master of Divinity Degree from Duke University Divinity School. A Mississippi Gulf Coast native, Amy has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Secondary Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. She has worked as an English teacher at the high school and middle school levels, as well as serving as a reading instructor. Her most challenging and rewarding job prior to entering divinity school, however, was working as a stay-at-home-mom to her daughter Alice for the first four years of her life. In fact, it was in living out her call as a mother that Amy began to discern her call to love God’s people as an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church. Amy brings her gifts for teaching and storytelling and her passion for contemplative spirituality to her ministry at St. Augustine’s, where she coordinates our Godly Play program and our youth program, in addition to preaching and teaching adult classes on a regular basis. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, and quilting. She is an active volunteer with Girl Scout Troop 20230, which meets at St. Augustine’s twice a month. Amy is married to her high school sweetheart, John.