Church Action eNewsletter Week of April 18, 2016

[RCCAtl]

God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.

Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta

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Church Action eNewsletter Week of April 18, 2016

1. Introduction to Co-Listening, led by Thee Smith & Associates, Co-Listening is a simple but powerful practice. Remarkable results can be achieved by people who learn to listen effectively. These classes offered by the community introduced at www.rc.org. Attend an introductory classes at no cost, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 20. You may consider and be invited to join the closed class which runs April 27 – July 27. Classes meet at Cathedral of St. Philip – Room 133 on the lower level, 2744 Peachtree Rd. NW Atlanta 30305.  Thee Smith is an Emory Univ. professor & assoc. clergy at the Cathedral of St. Philip. R.s.v.p. to Thee Smith at [phone] or [e-mail] DrivingDirections  

2. You are invited to Joining Hands for Justice in Israel-Palestine's annual fundraiser, Friday, April 22, at 6:00 p.m., St. James United Methodist Church, 4400 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd NE, Atlanta 30324. This will also be a celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Fahed Abu–Akel’s arrival in the U.S.A., January 29, 1966, and his April 13 birthday. Please R.s.v.p. now to [phone]. You can pay at the door, tickets are $30. If you want to help but cannot come. You can mail a check made out to NDPC to Walton C. Bryde & Associates, 2200 century Parkway suite 260, Atlanta 30345.

3. Earth Day 2016 is Friday, April 22. People of faith will be coming together to pray for our climate and creation.  Will you join in? Sign up now to join people across the nation in prayer.

4. The NAMI Northside Atlanta 2016 Mental Health Fair will be held Saturday, April 23, at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall, 3434 Roswell Road, Atlanta 30305, 10 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. Come to this once-a-year informative event for a free opportunity to learn what is new in services and advocacy for individuals with mental illness. Organizations and professionals who serve Atlanta's metal health community will be on exhibit to answer questions and present their services. A catered lunch will be provided for those who reserve a ticket. Panel presentation will follow. Register for your ticket at here.

5. The Rev. Susan Sparks, Madison Avenue Baptist Church, New York City, is the featured preacher on Day 1 this Sunday, April 24. Her sermon is entitled Check Your Weapons at the Door. Her sermon last week garnered more requests for transcripts than any Day 1 sermon so far this year. Find out where you can listen and lots more at day1.org

6. Revive Our Hearts, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth live in South Atlanta. Her program airs in South Atlanta at 11:05 a.m. each Monday through Friday. April 28, she will record five programs for later broadcast at First Baptist Jonesboro beginning at 9:00 a.m. There is no admission charge, but you are asked to sign up, www.newlife.fm.  This is a unique opportunity to be part of the studio audience.

7. A reminder that the South DeKalb Family Resource Expo is April 30.  The DeKalb County School District’s Office of Family Engagement, in collaboration with the Joseph Network, invites South DeKalb families to connect with over 40 participating agencies that provide support for education, health—mental and physical, community building, career enhancement, and summer enrichment. The expo is at Miller Grove high School, 2645 DeKalb Medical Pky., Lithonia 30058. This expo is accessible by Marta Route #86 Fairington Road/McAfee Road. Register here. Click on the flyer on the right hand side of website to see a full-sized flyer.

8. The Atlanta Stephen Ministry Network Annual Meeting is being held at Saint Martin in the Field Episcopal School, 3110-A Ashford Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta 30319, April 30, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.  All Stephen Ministry leaders, ministers, and clergy are encouraged to attend.  Register to [e-mail].

9. Capitol City Opera brings Atlanta's best singers and pianists to the community through a recital series featuring opera highlights and art songs in the intimate and acoustically outstanding sanctuary at Church of the Atonement, 4945 High Point Rd. NE, Atlanta 30342. These concerts are free to the public but a suggested donation of $10 will help cover costs and support the mission and programs of Capitol City Opera. Saturday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. with Elisabeth Slaten, soprano, and Nicolò Sbuelz, at the piano, featuring selections by Bellini, Debussy, and Dvořák.

10. Local Christians, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists, Baha'is, Jews, and Unity Church members will gather together May 1 for a Prayer Vigil for an End to Gun Violence. This public event will be hosted by the Cobb Interfaith Spiritual Leaders on Sunday, May 1, at 2:30 p.m. on the Marietta Square. This vigil is an interfaith effort to stand together for peace, not a political movement for or against gun legislation nor an anti-gun rally. “In a rarely seen public sign of spiritual unity, we will seek God's help in working in our communities to end violence, particularly those crimes where guns are the medium of the violence,” they said. The entire community, regardless of religious affiliation, is invited to participate. The event should last around 40 minutes, so anyone who needs to sit should bring a blanket or chair. For more information, contact the Rev. Kim Buchanan at [e-mail] .

11. The Taming of the Shrew at Dunwoody United Methodist Church, 1548 Mt. Vernon Road, April 29-30, 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall; May 1 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10.

12. Festival Singers 27th Annual Piccolo Spoleto Bon Voyage Concert, Sunday, May 1, 3p.m., The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 2089 Ponce de Leon Ave, Atlanta 30307 Tickets at the door or online here.  Adults $20; Students $17; Children 5 and under $5. Classic works by Giovanni, Rachmaninov, and Faure, Modern works by Clausen, Gjeilo, and Esnevalds, Folk Songs and Rousing Spirituals.

13. More on the World Affairs Council 5th Annual Atlanta Summit: Global Health and Refugees -- focus will be on the 60 million refugees and displaced people struggling today, the most since World War II. The conference will examine the severe effects wars have had on health conditions in Syria, Africa and Southeast Asia and how receiving countries are handling temporary refugees and refugee resettlement. CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden will be keynote speaker, and Dr. Paul Spiegel, Deputy Director Division of Programme Support and Management, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will speak. Monday, May 2, at the Westin Buckhead Hotel, 3391 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30326. Registration begins at 7:45 a.m. Register here.

 

14. "There is no us and them in Jesus' family. . . . Who is part of your family and how will the world know?" --Christena Cleveland. Imagining Another Way, a webcast with Christena Cleveland and Richard Rohr, live on Monday, May 2, 4:30-6:00 p.m. US Mountain Daylight Time. Dr. Cleveland and Fr. Rohr offer practices to rewire our minds so we can see our brothers and sisters truly as ourselves, even as we seek to honor and understand our differences. Register for as little as $1 at cac.org.  Dr. Christena Cleveland is a social psychologist and associate professor at Duke University Divinity School.  Fr. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico.

 

15. The Hart Readers at the Cathedral Bookstore, Wednesday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m., the Rev. Brian Sullivan discusses Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow.  Sullivan is the Rector of St. Benedict's Episcopal Church, Smyrna. The bookstore is at 2744 Peachtree Road, Atlanta 30305. All are welcome to join the discussion.

 

16. Holy Cross Anglican Church’s Annual Charity Golf Tournament, May 9, at Northwood Country Club, Lawrenceville, Georgia. Proceeds benefit Pre-K Scholarships and Food banks. For more information on sponsorship or registration contact: Dan Knight, Holy Cross Golf, [phone] [e-mail] or www.hcanglican.org/brotherhoodgolf

 

17. H.O.P.E. for Our Community: A Heroin and Opioid Prevention Education Workshop, Saturday, Mary 13, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. This workshop will cover current state laws, education surrounding treatment options, and a Narcan training certification program. This workshop is free of charge, but registration is required. Learn more about this event.   Space is limited, please call 678-893-5300 to register. Summit Counseling Center, 2750 Old Alabama Rd., Johns Creek, GA.

 

18. It’s Greek to me! Beginning Biblical Greek classes are offered on a drop-in basis without cost on Sunday mornings, 10:10 – 11 a.m., at the Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta 30305. For more information contact the Rev. Thee Smith at [phone] or at [e-mail]. All are welcome. Classes meet through July and resume after Labor Day.

 

Continuing Biblical Greek classes are offered at the Cathedral on Sunday afternoons 1:15 – 2:45 p.m.  Also open to beginners, this class includes long-term members who translate using grammar aids, lexicons and commentaries.  We especially enjoy how probing the Greek of New Testament texts adds nuance and depth to reading scripture. The Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta 30305. Contact as above.

Learn more here.

 

19. Parish-Based Music Schools Initiative from Yale Institute of Sacred Music will hold a workshop at Parkway United Church of Christ in St. Louis on Saturday, May 14. As music education programs in public schools face funding challenges across the U.S., many congregations are working to fill the void in their communities by offering innovative programs that provide individual or group music lessons for local children. Registration is open for this workshop and other workshops are planned for this year and next. Information

 

20. Columbia Seminary Center for Lifelong Learning announces that Aug 15-17, 2016 and January 23-25, 2017 are the dates for the second Colloquy for Mid-Career Clergy, part of the Pastoral Excellence Program. The Colloquy designed for mid-career clergy (ten to twenty years into full time ministry) who are seeking to participate in a professional formative conversation or to reflect on their vocational experience and assess their ability to meet the leadership demands/needs of their organization. By application only. Application should be made by May 15. For information, including the link to the application, visit www.ctsnet.edu.

 

21. Book discussion at Lake Oconee Community Church. The headlines are clear; religion is on the decline in America as many people leave behind traditional religious practices. Diana Butler Bass, commentator on religion, politics, and culture, argues in her latest book Grounded that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand and experience God. Come for two discussion sessions, June 5 and 12 at 5:30 p.m. For more information or to register contact [e-mail].  We are telling you early so you can get the book and read it.  

 

22. Mark your calendar to celebrate with St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, 2870 Headland Drive, East Point, where the congregation has been blessed to have the Rev. Clayton E. Taylor as pastor for 50 years!  The 50^th Pastoral Anniversary Services will begin on Sunday, June 5, at 3:00 p.m.  with speaker Rev. Phillip R. A. Spann, Pastor Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.  On Friday, June 10, a banquet, in his honor, will be held at the Riverside Epi Center, 135 Riverside Pkwy., Austell.  Speaker is Rev. Dr. Edward L. Wheeler, President, Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC).  The celebration will climax on Sunday, June 12 at 3:00 p.m. with Rev. Dr. E. L. Jones, Pastor of 1^st Corinth Missionary Baptist Church. If you have questions contact the church office at [phone] or [e-mail]

 

23. Lutheran Suicide Prevention Ministry will observe May as Mental Health Month with weekly highlighting of resources, posters, videos, and handouts everyone can use for a display, presentation, or workshop.   Visit the website www.lutheransuicideprevention.org

 

24. LIFESPAN Resources was founded in 1981 at Trinity Presbyterian. It is a multipurpose interfaith ministry to and with older persons through partnership with churches, synagogues, and other organizations and agencies in Atlanta. The mission is to enrich the quality of life of senior adults through education, social activities, and services that help maintain quality of life. For information about learning, hobbies, service, dancing, help, and fun visit their web site www.lifespanatlanta.com

 

25. The Atlantic magazine published an interesting article on religious organizations doing what government will not do.  Read it here.

 

Visit our website for more information and resources including a community calendar.

 

Peace,

Ethel Ware Carter

The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta, Inc.

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