Church Action eNewsletter Week of August 6, 2012

[RCCAtl]

God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.   

 Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta 

 

 RCCAtl.org   

 

August is full of opportunities for learning, helping, and enriching our lives. Check the community calendar on our website RCCAtl.org

The National Festival of Young Preachers is coming to Atlanta January 2013! The Regional Council of Churches is a partner of the Academy of Preachers and helping to bring this event to Atlanta. We agree with the Academy of Preachers that, “ We are energized by the conviction that Gospel Preaching is a vocation of public and social significance, a calling worthy of the very best and brightest young people.”  Please contact me if you have questions or would like to help. [e-mail]

Think about what young person in your congregation may be called to preach  --  encourage that young person to sign up now. This is a unique opportunity for young people to preach (maybe for the very first time) and learn and be fed by the spirit in a gathering of over 100 bright, energetic, inspired peers. Registration is already ahead of last year. Speak to that person now! Take a minute and look at the website  Make plans to come and bring a young person with you. 

Plans for Atlanta are exciting. The opening worship will be at Peachtree Road UMC on Wednesday, January 2, and the first ever Gospel Slam will be on Thursday night, January 3. This is a great opportunity for your church’s youth group.  Read all about it  

 

1. National Council of Jewish Women has partnered with Peachtree & Bennett to present a summer book and art sale to benefit Hightower Elementary School. This sale will take place at Peachtree & Bennett's new POP-UP Showroom, located at 3126 Piedmont Road, Atlanta 30305 (next door to Bones Restaurant in Buckhead). It is happening the rest of this week .  directions and more information

 

2. Pastor Sarah A. Harper and Ministries of The Holy Spirit present God’s Women under Construction, a one day conference with Prophetess Tracy Holliman (Jordan Redeemer House of Deliverance) of Dublin, Georgia.  Saturday, August 11, 10 a.m., 2963 South Rainbow Drive, Decatur 30034.  For more information call 404-910-7843

3. Religion Roundtable on AIBTV Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. On August 16, Professor Ralph Watkins of Columbia Theological Seminary discusses the ramifications of the Southern Baptist Convention's election of the first African-American president and allowing individual congregations to use an alternate name for affiliation. Encore Presentation: Fridays at 12:00 p.m., Saturdays at 12:00 p.m. and Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. Find more information at http://aibtv.com/

4. If people in your congregation would benefit from an affordable housing workshop please help get the word out. Space is limited. Get on the Bus: Affordable Housing Workshop and Tour of Purchase Opportunities in Atlanta. Join this FREE Homebuyer Seminar & Tour, August 18, from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. to be eligible to receive up to $40,000 in down payment assistance! See properties for sale and receive your required HUD approved Home Buyer Education & Certificate. Homebuyer Education begins at The Atrium at City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue, SW. Food will provided. R.s.v.p. Sarah Head at 404-614-8317.

5. Warren Memorial United Methodist Church, 181 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd., where Rev. Donald Reed is Senior Pastor, presents Summer Revival:Meeting the Vital Needs of Church and Community.  Sunday, August 19,10:55 a.m. with Rev. Reed; 3:30 p.m. with Rev. Olu Brown of Impact United Methodist Church;  Monday, August 20, 7:00 p.m. with Rev. Belinda McCastle of Ben Hill UMC; Tuesday, August 21, 7:00 p.m. with Rev. Paul Thibodeaux, St. James UMC.

6. We have alerted you in this eNewsletter to the changes in the mandated reporter statue which make reporting of child abuse mandatory for a broad range of people who come in contact with children. Volunteers at churches, camps, and chaperones are included. Webinar training on the basics and on signs of abuse and neglect you should recognize is offered free by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Here is an opportunity for volunteers and workers in your church day schools and Sunday schools to get up to date.  Tuesday, August 21st from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. Register  

 

 7. Please inform parents of children with mental illness or learning disabilities in your congregation of a gathering on the educational rights of these children. Saturday August 25, 2012 from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Sponsored by Parent to Parent Georgia, the National Alliance for Mental Illness Dekalb, the Georgia Council for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and host the Marcus Autism Center this forum will be packed with information. Marcus Autism Center, 1920 Briarcliff Road, NE, Atlanta 30329. Read more   

 

8. All teens are invited to the MATURE Plus Project’s Finding Your Spark  Youth Summit at The Community Achievement Center, 4522 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur 30034, August 25, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free but you must register to attend. Seats are limited. The summit will include great give-aways and breakfast, lunch, and snacks. To register contact the MATURE office at 770-483-3299 or  [e-mail].

9. National Suicide Prevention Week is coming up September 9-15. If your congregation would like to host an event (free of charge) please contact Chris Owens at [e-mail] or 404-374-5197. Chris is the Metro Atlanta Area Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Some judicatories and a good number of churches have health ministries or committees or support groups for whom this would be an appropriate ministry. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention/Atlanta   Let us know what you plan and we will add it to a calendar of Suicide Prevention events at RCCAtl.org 

10. A Lunch and Learn Workshop on young adults and addiction disorders, September 20, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Talbott at Dunwoody/Peachford Conference Center, 2153 Peachford Road, Atlanta  30338. This workshop comes to us from the Southeastern Institute on Chemical Dependency  a faith-based nonprofit corporation that grew out of a recognized need for sound addictions education addressing the needs of clergy and members of congregations and communities throughout the Southeast who are called upon to assist those whose lives are impacted by substance abuse and addiction. To Register or for more information contact Jewell Meringer, Executive Director, SICD, [e-mail], 678-525-2692. Visit Southeastern Institute on Chemical Dependency at  www.thesicd.org 

11. The 2012 Atlanta Interfaith Build with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity begins Sunday, October 7! Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim congregations are already signed up and we are looking for more. This is a unique opportunity to work next to people from many different faith traditions to build a house for a working family in Atlanta! If your congregation would like to participate, please contact Andrew Johnson, 404.223.5180 ext 171 or [e-mail] ASAP!

12. Sacred Space at Lake Oconee Community Church, Regional Council of Churches member church,  has partnered with a Jewish congregation to provide a physical space for their worship. Read about it  on Facebook

  13. Have you read about the Common English Bible?  The Common English Bible translation is academically rigorous and denominationally neutral because 120 translators from 24 denominations collaborated  to use our common language and to accurately reflect the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages in which the Bible was originally written. You can get a taste of it at  www.CommonEnglishBible.

14. The Rev. Mark Sanlin’s blog about his sabbatical away from church is fascinating. Part 4 is available now. He does not want to go back but he will. This is an important message for the church. 

15. Atlanta Friends Meeting (Quakers) Bible Study Group  God-talk continues with a study of powers and principalities,  how the Bible talks about God and the gods of others, and how the religious institutions of New Testament times were involved in institutional evil then and what their experience says to us as we deal today with organized evil. A variety of editions of the Bible and Walter Wink's trilogy Naming the Powers, Unmasking the Powers and Engaging the Powers are resources for discussion. All are welcome, Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. in the Library.  For more info contact Julia Ewen [e-mail] 404-534-3043. The Atlanta Friends Meeting House, 701 West Howard Avenue, Decatur 30030. Office hours 9 a.m. to noon M-F 404-377-2474.

 

Go to www.rccatl.org  for a slide show of member churches, featured articles, Community Events calendar, past eNewsletters,  membership information, and other resources.

 

 Peace,

Ethel Ware Carter

Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta

404-538-0246

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