Church Action eNewsletter Week of March 4, 2013

[RCCAtl]

 

 God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.

     

Check the community calendar on our website RCCAtl.org    Underlined words are live links Find Lent resources and services, series, and music.  

 1. The March meeting of the Southside Ministerial Association will take place on Thursday, March 7, hosted by Rev. Wimbley Hale, Jr. and the Asbury-Epworth Towers (a senior adult hi-rise).  Asbury-Epworth Towers is located at 3033 Continental Colony Parkway, SW in Atlanta (it is just down the street from Greenbriar Mall and next to the Tyler Perry Studios).  Meeting begins at 12:00 p.m. and will end by 1:30 p.m.  Please contact Asbury-Epworth Towers at 404-344-9400 to let them know you are coming or let Rev. Hale know at [e-mail].

2. If you are following bills at the Capitol remember that Thursday (3/7) is Crossover Day - Day 30. Bills that do not pass the full House or the Senate by the end of Crossover Day are essentially dead for the year. Rep. Brockway's HB 219 re: Child Victims of Sexual Exploitation - still needs to pass favorably out of the House Rules Committee and be approved by the full House before the end of the day Thursday. Now is the time to call House Rules Committee members and ask that they allow HB 78 to reach the House Floor!   Rules Committee members>>   HB 78 re: At-Risk Adults will be on the House Floor TOMORROW for a vote!  Please contact your representatives>> . More on the two bills>>  

 3. A Call to Action: join colleagues and concerned citizens under the Gold Dome on Thursday, March 7, for Georgia Justice Project Day at the Capitol. The current bill GJP supports, HB271, passed the House yesterday.  The timing is perfect to advocate full passage of this bill and raise issues of concern to those with a criminal record. Come anytime between 10 and 2.  All voices are welcomed and needed.  To sign up to attend, contact Willie Bolden at [e-mail] or 404-827-0027 ext. 225, and  let her know what time you would like to come.

4. The Roswell United Methodist Church Preschool and Kindergarten will host its children’s consignment sale on Friday, March 8, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m,. and Saturday, March 9, 8 a.m. until noon. The sale will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the Roswell United Methodist Church, 814 Mimosa Blvd., Roswell, and will benefit the church's preschool and kindergarten. Donated items will be given to the Foster Care Support Foundation. 

5. This is the week for latex paint recycling at Decatur Presbyterian Church , Saturday, March 9; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  For more information, call 404-378-1777.

6. The SCLC roundtable discussion, Saturday, March 9, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.,  Room 252, Emory University’s Candler School of Theology,  on the topic “How do we talk about justice for our girls in the context of preventing sex trafficking?”. The roundtable is designed for input and data collection from stakeholders of SCLC’s “Stop the Violence Initiative” and its “Justice for Girls” strategy. A workshop, based upon the data collected from the roundtable discussions, will be held on Aug. 26 in Washington, D.C., as part of SCLC’s 50^th Anniversary on the March to Washington, D.C. For more details, contact Ms. Pamela Bridgeman, [phone],  [e-mail].

7. Miroslav Volf, founder and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University Divinity School, will speak on Christian and Islamic relations at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church, Atlanta. The event includes a 6 p.m. reception and catered dinner and is the inaugural installment in the Johnson Lectures in Theology, which honors the Rt. Rev. Robert Johnson, a former rector of the parish. Tickets are $40 per person.

8. The Rev. William E. Flippin, Jr., senior pastor of St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbus, is the preacher March 10, on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally syndicated ecumenical radio program also accessible online at Day1.org. In 2008 Flippin came to St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church as an associate pastor and   became senior pastor. He has also served at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta (where his father is pastor.) His sermon for the 4^th Sunday in Lent, entitled “The Day That God Ran,” focuses on Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. For more information, call toll free 888-411-Day-1 or check the program’s website, http://day1.org.

9. Outreach Ministry Day is March 10, 2013 at Zion Hill Baptist Church.  Come enjoy fellowship among those who are living to love and loving to serve, reaching out to others. The Theme: Changing Hearts, Changing Lives through Outreach will be preached at 8 a.m. by Rev. Dr. J. Allen Milner, Pastor, Chapel of Christian Love and founder of Community Concerns, Inc., and at 10:30 a.m. by Rev. Ernest Brooks lll, Associate Campus Minister at Morehouse College.  Zion Hill is located at 6175 Campbellton Road, SW, where The Rev. Dr. Aaron L. Parker is the Pastor.  For more call 404-691-8025 or visit www.zionhill.org.

10. Make sure you don't miss the opportunity to see Fly!  Theatrical Outfit continues to bring us stories that stir the soul.  It closes on Sunday, March 10! Purchase tickets >> 

11. Istanbul Center in partnership with Atlantic Institute  invites you for an upcoming Midtown Luncheon Series program featuring Professor Helen Rose Ebaugh.    Education, Charity, and Outreach in Immigrant Communities: A Sociological Analysis of the Gulen Movement. Tuesday, March 12,   12:00 to 1:30 pm, program will start with lunch followed by lecture and Q & A.  Registration is required which can be done through the website. Istanbul Center ,Two Midtown Plaza, Suite 1010, 1349 West Peachtree Street NW. Atlanta  30309, [phone]. 

12. United in Prayer Day will be celebrated from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, Dunwoody. Sponsored by Contemplative Outreach, the morning includes centering prayer, a video featuring the Rev. Thomas Keating and discussion. R.s.v.p. to Al Cedarholm, [e-mail]

13. The Seedtime and Harvest Greenhouse and Gardens of Holy Comforter Church, 737 Woodland Ave. SE, Atlanta 30316, is sponsoring its first plant sale of the season on Saturday, March 16 from 10 to 2. Find organically grown perennial herbs and flowers, including five varieties of hosta, strawberries, shrubs, succulents, scented geraniums and other indoor plants and hanging baskets. AND for the early birds, lots of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Come and enjoy the vegetable and herb gardens, flower gardens, and a woodland garden surrounding the 175 year old Red Oak tree.

14. Some youth in Metro Atlanta have taken prayer seriously. Concerned about our city they want us to gather with them to pray for Metro Atlanta on Saturday, March 16, 1:00-2:15 p.m., in the Carver College Chapel, 3870 Cascade Rd, Atlanta. 

15. The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross, 2005 So. Columbia Place, Decatur. 30032, presents John Hope Bryant as Men’s Day Speaker, March 17, 2013, 9:30 a.m., From Civil Rights to Silver Rights: Silver Rights is making free enterprise and capitalism work for the poor.

16. The Atlanta Creole Heritage Society invites you to a film screening, Spirit of a Culture: Cane River Creoles recounting their struggle from colonial French Louisiana to today’s Creole led multicultural renaissance against the notion of race as a deciding feature of a population. The event will include a post screening discussion and a photo exhibit of the Mardi Gras Indians by famed photographer, Curtis Graves . The event is free and open to the public. Sunday, March 17 from 3 - 5 p.m., Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Avenue, NE, 4th Floor, Atlanta, 30303. For more information inquire at [e-mail]

17.  If you have been involved with the groups working to protect children from exploitation you will be interested in a press conference at the Capitol at noon, on March 18, in the North Wing of the Capitol. Turner Broadcasting, Street Grace, and youthSpark will announce a new anti-CSEC public service announcement campaign. Guest speakers at this event include: Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Representative Buzz Brockway, Street Grace CEO/President, Cheryl DeLuca-Johnson, Vernon Keenan, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Representative Ed Lindsey, Michael J. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Edward J. Tarver, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, Sally Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia

18. 2013 Copher Lecture series, Interdenominational Center presents  Dr. L. Henry Whelchel “Sherman’s March to the Sea and the Emergence of the Independent Black Church,"  March 19, 11 a.m., Responding are Dr. Ericka Dunbar, Candler School of Theology, and Dr. Gregory V. Eason, Big Bethel A.M.E. Church. ITC is at 700 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. For more information call 404-614-6345. www.itc.edu

19. Critically acclaimed American poet, essayist, and undertaker Thomas Lynch presents "The Good Funeral and the Empty Tomb" at 5:00 p.m. , Tuesday, March 19,  Room 252, Candler School of Theology, Emory University.  How do we separate the essential elements from the accessories and the stuff from the substance when it comes to arranging "good" funerals? Now in the midst of Lent, this conversation will also examine how death and burial figure in the narratives of Easter and how the mysteries surrounding mortality inform ritual, community, and religious responses to a death. The lecture is free but registration is required. Register here>> http:tinyurl.com/3-19ThomasLynch.

 

20. A lunchtime conversation about drug policy in Georgia. Central Outreach & Advocacy Center invites you to attend the 2013 Drug Policy & Poverty Forum on March 20 from 12 noon to 1:30 pm.  A panel of advocates will present a discussion on how current policy impacts homeless and low-wealth communities, and what we can do to change it. The panel will be moderated by former State Rep. Kathy Ashe. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to pre-register contact Renée Snead at 404-601-3147.

21. Ayana Mathis, March 21 at 7:00 p.m., First Baptist Church Decatur. A distinctive and acclaimed new voice in fiction, Ayana Mathis, whose novel, “The Twelve Tribes of Hattie,” is the latest Oprah Book Club 2.0 selection. It tells the story of the Great Migration of African Americans through the trials and triumphs of one very remarkable, unforgettable family. This program is sponsored by Georgia Center for the Book in partnership with the First Baptist Church Decatur Conversations ministry. No tickets or reservations required. 

22. Blue Bird Revival will make a stop on their "Pickin-N-Givin Tour" bringing Gospel, Blue Grass, Country, and New Orleans style music to the walls of Oakhurst Presbyterian Church. Blue Bird is raising money to benefit the Mercy Community Church, a congregation of homeless men and women out of the Druid Hills Presbyterian Church Night Shelter. Check out Blue Bird Revival >>  They will mesmerize you with their musicianship and a good time will be had by all. May we all revive ourselves as we move closer to the time of Easter and new life. Saturday, March 23, at 6 p.m., Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, 118 2nd Ave. Decatur  30030.

23. The Lynn Swanson Festival Singers present The Music of Bernstein and the Chichester Psalms, Sunday, March 24 4:00 p.m., St. Benedict's Episcopal Church  2160 Cooper Lake Road, Smyrna. TICKETS $15 when purchased online before concert day; $20 concert day, $10 Seniors and Students. Children 12 and Under Free. www.FestivalSingers.org

24. Northwest Presbyterian Church invites you to join the conversation with guest speaker, Robert D. Lupton, author of Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It.) Lupton takes a candid look at the unintended harm often inflicted by our kindness. A committed Christian, engaging speaker, and respected community leader, Lupton delivers a must-hear message for charitable organizers, community leaders, persons of all faiths, and anyone who gives to or helps others. R.s.v.p. by calling 404-237-5539.  Light refreshments served. Childcare provided. March 27, 7 p.m.

25. Do job hunting people in your pews know that the Atlanta Regional Workforce Board’s Mobile Career Lab, or “Jobs Bus,” travels each week to local libraries in Cherokee, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette, Gwinnett,  Henry, and Rockdale counties— job coach and state-of-the-art computer equipment are on board. It is fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Last year over 1,500 persons visited the bus to get help finding a job. March schedule here >>   

 26. Summer Singers of Atlanta and Cobb Summer Singers are accepting registrations now. No audition is required. Early Bird Special and first 150 registrants are guaranteed membership. Find out more information about Cobb Summer Singers who practice at St. Benedict’s  and Summer Singers of Atlanta  at Grace United Methodist. 

27. Vision and Skills for a Long Pastorate, an Alban Learning Retreat,  April 9-11, Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center, Norcross. Presented by Ed White, Consultant, denominational executive, and author of the Alban classic, “Saying Goodbye: A Time of Growth for Congregations and Pastors.”   This event is grounded in the belief that congregations need the perspective, patience and perseverance that come with sustained leadership and that pastors can engage this challenge creatively and faithfully. Click here for more information about this seminar and about the commuter rates that might be available for those of us nearby.

28. Do you know someone who has lost a loved one to suicide?   Camp SOS, April 19 - 21, is open for registration. . This is a family camp for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide. It’s a safe space to have fun together in a place where expressing grief is ok. Activities include: Field sports, arts & crafts, ropes course and zip-line, boating, family activities, music, breakout activities by age, and more. Families can get support from trained facilitators, volunteers, and other survivors, and learn new ways to interact and cope as a family and learn that they are not alone.  Now registering families from age 6 to 106!  Read more>>   

29. April 22, 2013 Earth Day Download resources from the National Council of Churches of Christ in denominational versions adapted for Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Lutheran-ELCA, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in American, and United Methodist Church.

Help people in your congregation toward financial stability through free income tax preparation and financial literacy opportunities  VITA Learn more and find a tax site near you.

Peace,

Ethel Ware Carter

 404-201-6448

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