Church Action eNewsletter Week of October 29, 2018

[RCCAtl]

Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta, Inc.
God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.
Church Action eNewsletter Week of October 29, 2018

The Regional Council of Churches has great affection and appreciation for Atlanta’s Jewish community and the strong civic contribution of Atlanta’s rabbinic leadership. We stand in solidarity with those Jewish friends in outrage and grief over the hate-inspired violence in Pittsburgh. We are praying for the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and Atlanta and we are eager to work together for a more loving future. The Rev. Dr. Dock Hollingsworth

1. The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach, and Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO of Faith in Public Life, will launch the “Moral Revival for Voting Rights” tour Nov. 3, 10 a.m. The two pastors will caravan to three Southern cities. Local clergy in Atlanta, Cuthbert, Ga. and Jacksonville will participate in spirit-filled, revival-style worship services. In Atlanta at Central Presbyterian Church, 201 Washington St SW, 30303.

2. The DeKalb Choral Guild opens its 41th season with “In Flanders Field: In Memoriam 1918.” The program features Songs of Love and War by Paul Moravec and other pieces remembering soldiers and their families. Saturday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m. at Avondale Estates First Baptist Church, 47 Covington Rd., Avondale Estates 30002. Tickets are $5. For more information, check www.dekalbchoralguild.org.

3. The Rev. Dr. Charles Reeb, senior pastor of Johns Creek United Methodist Church in Johns Creek, Ga., is the featured preacher Nov.4 on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally broadcast ecumenical radio program also accessible online at Day1.org and by podcast. Hear his sermon on Sunday morning at 7:05 on News 95.5 and WSB 750 AM or visit Day1.org to hear and read it now.

4. Georgia Chamber Players, Sunday, November 4 , 4:00 pm, Trinity Presbyterian Church will host the first of two concerts by the renowned group. This concert will feature works by Mendelssohn and Dohnanyi. Tickets are $20, $5 for students and are available at the door.

5. Friends of Music Concert Series: Atlanta Percussion Trio, Sunday, November 4, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m., Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in the nave. A concert of all percussion instruments? You betcha! There is wonder, there is grace, there is thunder, there is a place… even for members of the audience to participate. Learn about the instruments and lift your hearts to the pulsing beats of many different members of the mightiest section in the orchestra.

6. The Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, Executive Officer of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, NYC, will preach at the service at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Cannon Chapel, Nov. 8, 11:00 a.m., 11:0012:00515 South Kilgo Circle Atlanta 30322

7. LAMP Lecture “Religious Literacy and the Foundations of Abrahamic Dialogue” a talk with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Pill, Nov. 8, 12:00-2:00 p.m., Candler School of Theology at Emory University, 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta 30022. This talk offers some perspectives on the possibilities – and limitations – of acquiring intercultural literacy, and the ways in which it can be deployed in effective Abrahamic dialogue between faith traditions and communities. LAMP is a collaborative endeavor of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Ga Tech and the Candler School of Theology at Emory. For more information, please visit lamp.iac.gatech.edu

8. The Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority invites the community to a Caregivers Fair, Thursday, Nov. 8, 6 – 8 p.m., Central DeKalb Senior Center, 1346 McConnell Drive, Decatur 30033. There will be speakers, exhibitors with resources and information. There is free surface parking and there will be food. This is event is free and open to the public. Register here. For more information contact Sherard Police at [e-mail].

9. Come sing with Neighborhood Church! They’re hanging out at Thinking Man Tavern in Decatur and singing some favorite karaoke-ish songs Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. For more info, email [e-mail]

10. Register right away if you plan to go to the Interfaith Food Security Dinner Nov. 8 at Archdiocese of Atlanta Chancery Offices, 2401 Lake Park Drive SE, Smyrna 30080. This interfaith evening will kick off a four-part series, Food and Garden as Social Obligation. We will look at our call as people of faith to feed the hungry and how we can do this in areas of food insecurity. Justice and Peace Ministries and Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta (FAMA). For questions or more information, contact Kat at [e-mail] or [phone].

11. Central Outreach and Advocacy Center ArtWorks program provides a creative outlet to guests who pass through the COAC’s doors seeking assistance and support. The annual art show was initiated to provide insight into the lives, experiences, and skills of these artists and those who become artists through Central OAC. It allows artists an outlet for public creative expression and storytelling. Come for an evening of drinks, appetizers, and a silent auction full of beautiful art! Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., 746 Willoughby Way NE, Atlanta 30312. Tickets.

12. Voices for the Earth Concert celebrates creation at the 3rd annual concert, Saturday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7, North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Local musicians, spoken-word artists, and people of faith will present an evening of song and word to rejoice in the beauty of our precious and finite Earth. Coffeehouse in style, the concert will be in the Fellowship Hall. Co-Sponsors are GIPL, Holy Trinity Parish (Episcopal), and North Decatur Presbyterian Church. Tickets. More information.

13. Organ Dedication Concert Sunday, November 11, 7:00 p.m., Experience the delights and intimacy of chamber music as Peachtree Road UMC, 3180 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta 30305, dedicates two instruments, the Van Daalen continuo organ and the Estey Harmonium pedal organ, made specifically for this purpose. The concert will feature PRUMC’s own Schola, renowned organists, and other musicians from around the area. $15 suggested donation, $5 students.

14. Atlantic Institute invites us to the Fifth Annual Early Thanksgiving Dinner. Come experience the Thanksgiving spirit before Thanksgiving by sharing a delicious meal and listening to one another. Click here for RSVP (required). Monday, Nov. 12, Registration opens at 6:30, dinner is 7, in Alpharetta. The Atlantic Institute announces that Bill Bolling, founder of Atlanta Community Food Bank and the current board chairman and senior advisor of Food Well Alliance, will be the keynote speaker.

15. Voces8 in concert, Monday, Nov. 12, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., Cathedral of St. Philip. This is the first Atlanta performance of one of the most sensational new choirs on the international music scene. Preview. Buy tickets at www.cathedralATL.org/concerts or from the Cathedral Book Store [phone]. For information call [phone] or visit cathedralatl.org/concerts.

16. End New Jim Crow Action Group meeting, Nov. 14, 7 – 8:30 p.m. Michelle Menifee will speak about her work with Georgia prisons and offender rehabilitation. She is Director of the Bar Association Support to Improve Correctional Services, a program founded by her late husband, Edward Menifee. The program assists participants in becoming and remaining productive community members. BASICS has partnered for 42 years with the Georgia D.O.C., graduating nearly 14,000 participants. As usual, other concerns of formerly incarcerated and families of incarcerated people will be heard. Those people are urged to come. Atlanta Friends Meeting, 701 W Howard Ave., Decatur 30030 (about 1/2 mile east of East Lake MARTA station).

17. Covenant House Georgia invites the community to the annual Candle Light Vigil on Nov. 15. Meet on the campus, 1559 Johnson Rd NW, Atlanta 30318, to honor through song, personal testimony, and prayer the youth we have lost to the streets. Candles will be provided, refreshments will be served! R.s.v.p. to Georgia O'Farrell at [e-mail].

18. Presbyterians for a Better Georgia 2018 Georgia Legislative Forum, featuring a panel of distinguished state legislators and an early insider preview of the upcoming legislative session. Hear their insights about how to be an effective advocate. Nov. 15, Doors open at 6:30 p.m., Forum begins at 7:00, Druid Hills Presbyterian Church, 1026 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta. Register here.

19. “Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth Century,” Thursday, Nov. 15, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Emory University, Oxford Auditorium, 1390 Oxford Road. Co-sponsored by AJC Atlanta, Emory’s annual Rothschild Lecture will explore this complex history with guest scholar James Loeffler of the University of Virginia speaking on the subject of his recent book by the same title. The evening will also commemorate the centennial of Morris B. Abram, a Georgia-born attorney, civil rights leader, human rights activist, and former national president of American Jewish Committee, whose papers are housed at Emory. Program to be followed by reception and book signing. This event is free and open to the public.

20. St. Bede’s Episcopal Church and the Church of Our Saviour Episcopal Church will host Art from the Heart, a joyful celebration of artists and all those who celebrate the wonders they create, Saturday, November 17, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2601 Henderson Mill Road NE, Atlanta, 30345. All proceeds will benefit the community engagement programs of the sponsoring churches.

21. Service of Thanksgiving: Voices of Hope, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 11 a.m. Join the Candler School of Theology community for a Thanksgiving service featuring The Voices of Hope choir from Arrendale State Prison. 515 South Kilgo Circle, Atlanta 30322. The service will take place in the Cannon Chapel Sanctuary on the campus of Emory University.

22. The Costen Institute, one of the four institutes comprising Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary's new educational structure, is co-sponsoring Sophie's Table, November 28 through December 1, a forum where male and female preachers learn together about issues confronting the women they pastor. This annual event of Woman Preach, Inc. equips preachers to preach the gospel from a womanist/feminist perspective particularly concerning equity, inclusion, and justice. This event will be at New Life Presbyterian Church in College Park, where JCSTS alumnus Hodari Williams is the Senior Pastor. For information, visit smithseminary.org.

23. “Too often, sermons and Sunday school lessons on issues of social justice raise concerns in people’s minds but do little to prepare or empower them to carry out acts of justice. Commonly, church members leave with a vague sense of guilt about the issue, but no clear idea of how to put their concerns into action.” This is from an article published this fall in Christian Citizen by the Rev. Dr. Russell W. Dalton. Read it here.

24. Church Women United as space available for rent to a nonprofit organization in Cabbage Town. It has served as a church for the last five years. If interested contact Claudette Rainey, president of the Atlanta Unit CWU, at [phone].

25. The newest Georgia Volunteer Health Care Program providing health care to our uninsured neighbors has opened in Avondale Estates. At the Martin Clinic Healing House and Curative Community, Dr. Mark Hancock’s free clinic will operate Tues., 1-6:00 p.m. and Fri. 12 noon – 5 p.m. other patients are seen at other times, 135-A Maple Street, Avondale Estates 30002. Congratulations to this new clinic joining the ranks of local heroes; helping to make a healthier Georgia!

26. In light of the recent discussions about the civil rights of transgender/non-binary people, please read this blog www.ctsnet.edu and register for the seminar in January 2019. Register HERE. Spread the word. Be an educated ally, hosted by The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary.

27. Crossroads Community Ministries’ staff and committed volunteers provide a variety of services to help people who are homeless find shelter and stability. The 180 day stabilization program helps able bodied guests get back on their feet, provides over 3,500 guests with a mailing address, acquires over 3,100 state issued ID’s and birth certificates both on-site and through a mobile documentation service unit, supplies over 6,500 MARTA cards for employment related and medical emergencies. Do you want to help? Find out more here.

Visit our website www.RCCAtl.org for the community calendar, the Clergy Tool Box for Mental Health Ministry, and many other resources.

Peace, Ethel Ware Carter