Church Action eNewsletter Week of May 18, 2015

[RCCAtl]

God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.

Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta

Weekly Church Action eNewsletter

Week of May 18, 2015

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1. Compassionate Atlanta Community Conversation: How to be a Help instead of a Nuisance, tomorrow, Thursday, May 21, from 7-8:30 p.m., Phoenix and Dragon Bookstore, 5531 Roswell Rd. NE, Atlanta 30342. There is no charge to participate. If you haven't read the book, no worries! All are welcome! Please R.s.v.p. here to help spread the word!

 

2. Atlanta Friends Meeting, 701 West Howard Avenue, Decatur, continues discussing Crossan’s book ”How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian.”  How do distributive justice (rain coming both to the just and the unjust) and retributive justice (consequences and/or punishment) arise from Covenant? What is our role in keeping the Covenant?  You are invited for a lively discussion on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the Library. Books are available without charge. Bring your favorite edition of the Bible. Contact Julia at [e-mail] for more information.

 

3. Antioch Bible College Institute and Seminary classes began this week. Seminars are offered for undergraduate and graduate students at locations in Georgia and Tennessee. Call [phone] for information or visit www.abbcis.com

4. The Rev. Dr. Scott Kenefake, interim senior minister at Fort Washington Collegiate Church in New York, NY, is the featured preacher on Day 1 this week. His sermon for Pentecost Sunday, May 24, is based on Acts 2:1-8,12-13 and entitled "Driveway Moments." Visit Day1.org to find your local station and read or hear the sermon online. The website offers sermons, blogs, and video & audio resources, proclaiming a positive, passionate faith for today.

 

5. Southern Fried Theatre of the Oppressed is coming to Atlanta. The trainings are intended to build collective tools for liberation that organizers, activists, artists, and community members can take back to their communities. Theatre of the Oppressed has a wide range of uses included issue-based problem solving, conflict resolution, therapy, the creation of legislation, and activism. The Atlanta training will take place May 25-30 at the Atlanta Friends Meetinghouse. Check out southernfriedtheatre for details or email [e-mail] with questions.

 

6. Life Plus returns to the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB) line up on Thursday, May 28 at 5:30 p.m. The new segment, Tech Talk, hosted by Bluehair Technology Group's Jane Ratliff, helps seniors become more tech- savvy and comfortable with mobile devices and social media. Find out more about AIB  here.

 

7. The Emory University Interfaith Health Program, in partnership with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and the CDC invite you to join a webinar, Friday, May 29, 11 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.EDT, Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Public Health and Faith Community Partners Ensuring Reach and Support to Vulnerable, At-Risk, and Minority Populations. The purpose of this learning event is to create an engaging participatory experience that builds the capacity of public health and faith-based organizations to work together to ensure reach to vulnerable, at-risk, hard to reach, and minority populations during pandemic preparedness action and response. An application has been submitted to award Certified Health Education Specialists and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists to up to a total of 1.5 Category I Continuing Education Contact Hours. REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR>>

 

8. Join Ben Hill United Methodist Church Health & Wellness Ministry in partnership with the Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN), for an educational symposium on prostate cancer risk, prevention, healthy eating to prevent disease, and support strategies for survivors and their loved ones. Saturday, May 30, 9 a.m. -12:30 p.m. at Ben Hill UMC, 2099 Fairburn Road, Atlanta 30331. Breakfast at 8:30 a.m., free to the public, onsite free PSA screenings.  TAKE the TEST!  It only takes 5 minutes... It has no negative impact on physiological function ...AND, It can save your life! 1 in 5 Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and will die from the disease at a rate of 2.5 times greater than men of all other ethnic and racial groups.

 

9. DivorceCare, a biblically based, 13-week course, will be offered Wednesdays, 6:15-8:15 p.m. beginning June 3 at Roswell United Methodist Church. The only charge is $15 for the workbook. Information and registration is at rumc.com/divorcecare or contact De Lee Udelson at [e-mail].

 

10. Armed Forces Mission will offer the L3 Suicide Intervention workshop on June 4 in Pike County.  Register today for this workshop. L3 is a one day awareness and skills building workshop that has received superior marks from those participating.  Read what others are saying. Armed Forces Mission is available to bring workshops to your community.  They work with civic groups, corporations, and faith communities to train all in the skills that are saving lives. From 3 hour awareness workshops to 2 day intensive skills development workshops; AFM's Master Resilience Institute has trained more than 2000 caregivers from all walks of life in the past two years.  Many of the programs offer CE for mental health and nursing professionals.   Learn more  

 

11. Alternatives to Violence Workshop will be held on June 6-7 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Location TBA. Suggested donation $20. Register by emailing Heather at [e-mail]. For more information call Heather at 315-263-1502. The AVP Workshop series includes a Basic, Advanced and Training 4 Facilitators Workshop. Those who complete all three workshops are eligible to apprentice on workshop facilitation teams and become AVP facilitators. The workshops examine the ways in which we respond to situations where injustice, prejudice, frustration, and anger can lead to aggressive behavior.

 

12. The Seedtime and Harvest Greenhouse and Garden at the Friendship Center at Holy Comforter Church, 737 Woodland Ave. SE, Atlanta 30316, is holding its last plant sale until September on Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There's plenty of time to fill in your vegetable, herb, and flower gardens and to do second plantings of crops that are waning.  There are tomatoes, peppers, summer and winter squash, cucumbers, and melons, plus beautiful summer annuals and annual and perennial herbs. Perennial gardeners try Solomon's seal, hellebores, and woodland phlox for shade; Shasta daisy, goldenrod, and coreopsis for sun.  The daylily and iris varieties are spectacular.  Come and see!

 

13. Remember that “Life Sentence” a musical project inspired by the story of the wrongful conviction and 18-year incarceration of Clarence Harrison, ultimately released through the work of the Georgia Innocence Project, is coming up on June 9, 7 – 9 p.m. Harrison will share his story. Presented by the Social Justice Ministry of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 2855 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta 30329. $15 suggested donation. For more information contact Adriana de la Torriente at [e-mail].

 

14. Lake Oconee Community Church holds an ongoing 12 Step Group for families dealing with addiction. The next meeting is Wednesday, June 10, 6:15-7:15 p.m., at the LOCC. Click for more information.

15.  “POST IT UP!" DeKalb --House Bill 141 requires that the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline [phone] be posted in businesses and venues as a means of providing help for children and adults who are victims or potential victims of human trafficking. Join DeKalb County Human Development, Interfaith Children's Movement, 4Sarah, Tabitha’s House/Greater Traveler’s Rest Church, youthSpark!, Tapestri, the ICAC unit of the DeKalb County Police Department, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, and a host of other agencies involved in the fight against human trafficking for "Post It Up!" DeKalb to help protect children and vulnerable adults in DeKalb County, Saturday, June 27, 11:00 a.m. More information here.  

16. Save the date for Saturday, June 27, and there will be more information soon about Zumbathon for C.H.O.I.C.E.S. at C.H.O.I.C.E.S. Downtown Center at First Church Commons, First Congregational Church, 125 Ellis Street, Atlanta, Zumbathon party day means dancing away calories, raising funds for C.H.O.I.C.E.S. programs, and having a blast!

 

17. The Wild Goose Festival in cooperation with The Beatitudes Society is offering a limited number of full scholarships to first-time festival attendees (and their families) - no cost for admission or camping - for seminary or first-call ministers who are ready to LEAD NOW! July 9-12, Hot Springs, N.C. Wild Goose is a community gathered at the intersection of spirituality, justice, music and the arts. Apply today!

18. You will want to mark your calendar for this fall event. The 7^th annual spirituality conference at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Buckhead. On November 14, Margaret Silf, best-selling author and retreat leader will lead a daylong conference, “Sacred in the City.” She says, “Where do we find God in the midst of the challenges and frustrations of urban and suburban living? Can we glimpse the holy in those who serve our needs, and those whose needs we serve? Have we been tempted to think of the sacred as confined to 'holy places,' or is it true, as Jesus tells us, that the holy is everywhere and the Kingdom is within us and around us in the very place where we live our ordinary lives?"  Watch for more information or visit stphilipscathedral.org

19. Mercer University, in partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia, dedicated an interfaith prayer garden Sunday on the Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta. The site, which is located on an island in the West Parking Lot on campus, also includes a labyrinth and outdoor classroom and is intended to be "a garden, a spiritual oasis, a place where friendship that crosses every ethnicity, culture, and faith tradition can grow," said Charlotte Connah, co-chair of the Baptist-Muslim Committee of the CBF/GA Interfaith Task Force. The task force is a partner organization of the University's McAfee School of Theology. Press release here.

20. This summer Get Georgia Reading and myON are delivering more than 8,000 books to computer and mobile devices that can be accessed 24 hours a day, every day through Aug. 30. Every child in Georgia has access to 8000 free books this summer.  More information here.

21. There are early bird discounts for many courses at Columbia Theological Seminary. Visit the website.

 

Peace,

Ethel Ware Carter

The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta, Inc.

[e-mail]

404-201-6448

 

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