Church Action eNewsletter Week of July 18, 2016

[RCCAtl]

God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.

Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta

Church Action eNewsletter Week of  July 18, 2016

 

1. Bring your youth group or senior group or just encourage your families to come downtown for the Be Downtown Film Festival Friday July 22 and Saturday July 23. The Rialto celebrates 100 years Downtown and 20 years with Georgia State University while the Atlanta Film Society celebrates 40 years. Come to a joint birthday weekend of movies the way they were meant to be seen — something for everyone, with several movies that played at the Rialto back in the day. Tickets are $9 adults; $5 children. Get tickets online at the Rialto Box Office or by calling [phone].

2. You are invited to join in one of a series of crucial conversations on race, law enforcement, and the law. This is an opportunity for all participants to engage in constructive dialogue on these critical issues.  Bibb County Training Facility (adjacent to the Hutchings Career Center), 2003 Riverside Drive, Macon 31204.  Participants are asked to stay for the entire session. Saturday, July 23. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., session is 10 to 2. Lunch is provided free of charge. R.s.v.p. today if you plan to come by calling [phone] or online here.  Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice will present findings and recommendations based on a year-long study of ways to enhance police community relations. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office will discuss community engagement.

3. Be Fit Be Well Be Whole – Better Health Exchange, Health Promotion Action Coalition (HPAC) and the Fulton County Partnership to Improve Community Health (PICH) program invite you to come and hear stories, and lessons learned about the physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco/smoke-free environment initiatives underway in some Fulton County houses of worship.  The event will be Saturday, July 23, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, 967 Dewey St SW Atlanta. R.s.v.p.to [e-mail] or [phone].

4. Concerned Black Clergy invites you to participate in the 13th Annual Clergy Health Walk and Wellness Fair, this Saturday, July 23. The walk begins at 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot of the Kroger at I-285, 3425 Cascade Rd., and proceeds to the VICARS Community Center, 838 Cascade Road, SW, where the fair and entertainment will be held. This is a terrific opportunity for you and your organization to meet and network with organizations and church families. 

5. Dr. James G. Somerville, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Richmond, is the featured preacher July 24 on Day 1 with host Peter Wallace, the nationally broadcast ecumenical radio program also accessible online at Day1.org. “God’s Crazy, Mixed-Up Family,” Somerville’s sermon is drawn from Hosea 1:2-10.  Visit Day1.org for your local station, podcasts, videos, and other resources.

6. Missions Lunch-n-Learn at Northside Drive Baptist Church, 12:15-1 p.m., Sunday, July 24.  Rev. Corita Blanco, pastor of Shalom Baptist Church in Boca de Mariel, Cuba will worship with Northside Drive Baptist Church.  She is also in charge of Christian Education for the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba. She will bring a greeting at the end of the service and then join the congregation for a light lunch in the Fellowship Hall.  If you are interested in learning more about Baptists in Cuba please contact Barbara Atchley at [phone] or [e-mail].

7. The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta will be hosting an orientation webinar on July 28 from 6 - 8 p.m. for anyone who is interested in applying for a 2016 Neighborhood Fund grant and would like to know more. Neighborhood Fund grantees do NOT have to be nonprofit organizations!  They are very interested in Get-Out-the-Vote. R.s.v.p. by Friday, July 22 using this form. The webinar access information will be sent out the week of the webinar. 

8. Capitol City Opera's On the Light Side, music of Stephen Sondheim, at Church of the Atonement, 4945 High Point Road, Sandy Springs, is two nights next week, July 29 and 30. Tickets can be purchased here.

9. Child First USA presents the musical production, ALIVE! 55+ and Kickin’, Saturday, July 30, at Atlanta Symphony Hall.  Written by the creators of the award winning, Broadway musical, Mama, I Want to Sing, Vy Higginsen and Ken Wydro, this musical is a testament to overcoming adversity and living victoriously at any age. Featuring performers 55 years+, representing all segments of our community, it has been hailed as inspirational, soulful, emotional, funny, and powerful. It is about the healing and transformative power of story and song and showcases a blend of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop music –a soundtrack for the last four generations. It’s never too late to live a dream. The Atlanta production is a fundraiser and awareness project for Child First USA. For interviews contact Marcus Wright at [e-mail].  For ticket information, group sales, and senior discounts, call [phone], visit the Woodruff Center Box Office, or go to woodruffcenter.org

10. Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Services Administration (SAMHSA) will offer a free technical assistance regional meeting for community-based organizations and faith leaders concerned with substance use treatment and recovery services, Wed., Aug. 10, in Atlanta. Early registration is encouraged; space is limited. Topics include traditional/non-tradition treatment strategies, impact of trauma, co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness, primary and mental health services integration, outcomes in diverse populations, info about SAMHSA, and more. Register online at here. Contact Reggie Clyburn at [phone] or via email at [e-mail] if you have questions.

11. The Edge, a leader in micro and small business development, targets several markets that have been identified as economically oppressed due to limited resources, generational poverty, economic downturn, transformation of the job market. These groups include, but are not limited to minorities, women, veterans, and students. You are invited to an Open House there on August 11, 3 – 7 p.m., 975 Cobb Place Blvd., Suite 101, Kennesaw 30144. Come find out more and be fed and entertained.

12. Lutheran Services of Georgia's 9th Annual Awards Event Heroes of Hope is Thursday, August 11, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Heritage Sandy Springs, 6110 Blue Stone Road NE, Atlanta 30328. Click here for information and tickets.

13. Meridian Herald’s camp meeting service will be Saturday, August 13, in Epworth on the ancient council-lacrosse grounds of the Cherokee Indians and subsequent 19^th century camp meeting site in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nearby, the holy waters of the storied “Spring of Faith” arise where after service watermelon will be served.  Music begins with bluegrass at 3 p.m., followed by folk songs, children’s songs and stories, and more. This is a nondenominational service and everyone is welcome. Read all about it and see some photos on our website here.. Graham Walker, winner of a Templeton Grant for Science and Theology and professor of Theology at the McAfee School of Theology, will preach.

14. It's a Low Country Boil for Lutheran Campus Ministry which serves Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Emory, and Agnes Scott. Your support is needed for this fun event, 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 27, at Living Grace Lutheran Church, 1812 Cooledge Rd, Tucker. Tickets are $50 per person and anyone under 21 is admitted free! Tickets are available online at the LCM Atlanta webpage http://www.gracepeople.org. Are you willing to donate an auction item for the silent auction?  If so, please contact Evelyn Cannon, [e-mail].  She is also available to answer questions about the event.

15. Atlanta Premiere of "A Thousand and One Journeys: The Arab Americans" with special guest, Director and Producer Abe Kasbo, Sunday, August 28,  The Atlanta History Center, Doors open at 6:30 p.m., showtime is 7:00. Tickets are $20; VIP tickets $75 include a reception at 5:30 and DVD. Visit 1001journeysatl.bpt.me; More details; view the  trailer here.

16. Pastors, how are you caring for the mentally ill that attend your church? Do they feel comfortable coming to you for care and support? A significant number of your members live silently with a mental illness. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for DeKalb County works with faith institutions to help their communities get up to speed on issues facing those living with mental illness and their loved ones and how to make a difference in their lives.  Pastors Mental Health and Faith Institute will be Wed., Sept. 14, at 9 a.m. at Central Congregational UCC, 2676 Clairmont Rd, Atlanta 30329. To R.s.v.p. contact Dianne at [phone] or at [e-mail].

17. Empowering the Caregiver 2016, Sept. 17, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., offers help, hope, and insight into dementia care. Lunch is provided at this free event offered by Due West United Methodist Church, 3956 Due West Rd, Marietta 30064. The panel discussion with Q & A will include Miles Hurley, eldercare attorney, and Jenny Heurer, Ga. Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Reservations are requested. Contact Sheila Welch at [e-mail] or [phone].

18. The Shepherd Center is offering again this year the Free Falls Prevention Awareness Day Health Screening/Demonstration Event. Mark your calendar for September 23 and we will have more information later. If you have questions now you may contact Emma Harrington at [e-mail]  or [phone].

19. The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary and Central Presbyterian Church are co-hosting a new exhibit Between the Shadow and the Light: An Exhibition out of South Africa on display at both locations now through mid-August. The exhibition features art created 21 North American and African Christian artists following a trip to South Africa co-sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. Read all about this here on our website.

20. The Micah Challenge has created a new prayer guide, For All Creation  containing prayers of thanksgiving for God's creation, for us as stewards, and for our leaders who make decisions about how creation is used. You may want to take a look at this good resource, click on the link above to download this prayer guide.  

Check out our website at www.rccatl.org and remember we will be happy to put your announcements of special musical events, educational opportunities, volunteer needs, etc. in the newsletter. Just send announcements in the body of your email, no attachments please; be sure to include all contact information and pertinent links.

 

Peace,

 

Ethel Ware Carter

The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta, Inc.

[e-mail]