Church Action eNewsletter Week of November 14, 2022

[RCCAtl]

Church Action eNewsletter
Week of November 14, 2022
The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta, Inc. 

God calls us to some things we cannot do alone.

 

We want your announcements! We are happy to help get the word out about anything you would like the greater faith community to know. Send announcements to [e-mail].

1. Produce Powerhouse Pantry, a free half hour session focused on planning healthy meals on a budget with recipe demonstrations. Free food, free produce, and gifts, Wednesdays, Nov. 16, 23, and 30, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. 1262 Government Circle, Jonesboro 30236.

2. This week there will be an opportunity to connect with Citizen Advocacy at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church, 636 W Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur 30030, during the church's Witness to Beauty that includes art exhibits and community events.  Wednesday, Nov. 16, 6-8 p.m., Community Conversations, A conversation about what inclusion in your community means to you. Sunday, Nov.  20, 1-3 p.m. Storytelling Workshop offering tools to reframe stories from the mindset of deficit and disability to gifts-based language. Wounds, Imagery and Language will be discussed. To R.s.v.p. see tmgaparish.org/2022/10/18/witness-to-beauty/

3. Finding Common Ground, 18^th annual ecumenical Thanksgiving celebration in Marietta, is coming up on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Temple Kol Emeth, 1415 Old Canton Road, Marietta. Music starts at 6:30 p.m., celebration at 7. Click on the flyer on our website Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta - Regional Council of Churc... to see the list of participating communities of worship.

4. The ELCA is working for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel through Peace Not Walls. promoting dignity, full respect for human rights, healing, and reconciliation. Join Mary Peterson, the synod's Peace Not Walls representative, and Allison Lizdas, assistant to the Bishop, for a conversation about Peace Not Walls and how you can get involved this Advent. Online Nov. 17, 7-8:30 p.m. Register here

 
5. “A Love Supreme” Thursday Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m. Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, 118 2^nd Ave, Decatur, corner of East Lake, invites you to a free interfaith celebration of the music of St. John Coltrane. Donations will be accepted for Heifer International and Decatur Area Food Bank. Horn players are welcome to bring instruments.
 
6. Art From the Heart is an artist market that St. Bede's and Church of Our Saviour host as support for the arts as once celebrated through the Work of Our Hands.  Opening party is Thursday, Nov. 17, 6-8 p.m. with early shopping and cash bar, tickets $10. Shopping days are Friday, Nov. 18, 12 – 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. No admission charge, food and drink for sale, live performances by local artist. St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2601 Henderson Mill Road NE, Atlanta 30345.
 
7. Remember the Nov. 18-20, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Weekend Retreat at Ignatius House, 6700 Riverside Dr., Sandy Springs. Information and sign up at  https://bit.ly/3gXoriS
 
8. You’ve heard Handel’s Messiah, but have you heard it in its entirety? Have you heard its original version, premiered in Dublin in 1742? Have you heard it played on historical gut-strung instruments and natural trumpets, with a Grammy Award winner among the soloists and a choir that will take extra care to nuance the vocal lines according to eighteenth-century performance practices, all geared to deliver this amazing story in the manner that scholars might contend the composer imagined it? Now is your chance! Alanta Baroque Orchestra recreates the original Handel’s Messiah as it premiered. Cathedral of St. Philip. Performances at 7:30 p.m. on November 18 and 2 p.m. on November 19. Concert Tickets - The Cathedral Book Store.
 
9. Barbara Lister-Sink will dedicate the Bill Moody Memorial Piano at All Saints' Episcopal Church, 634 West Peachtree St, Atlanta, Saturday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.  Lister-Sink holds the Prix d’Excellence from the Utrecht Conservatory and an Ed.D. from Columbia. A former member of the Artist Faculty of the Eastman School of Music, she has collaborated with some of the world’s most distinguished performers, composers, and chamber ensembles. Formerly keyboardist for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, she has also taught on the piano faculties of the Amsterdam Muziek Lyceum, Duke University, and the Brevard Music Center and is director of the School of Music and the Music Graduate Program at Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC. Purchase Tickets Here
 
10. Concerts @ First presents Great Romantics: Chopin, November 19, 8:00 p.m. Purchase Tickets, First Presbyterian Church Atlanta.   Concerts @ First (concertsatfirst.org)
 
11. The Rev. Matt Gaventa, senior pastor of University Presbyterian Church in Austin, Tex., will preach Nov. 20 on “Day 1,” the nationally broadcast ecumenical radio program also accessible as a podcast and online at Day1.org.  Hear it in Atlanta on WSB 95.5 and 750 AM Sunday at 7:05 a.m.  “Best Position Player,” is drawn from the story of the crucifixion.  He says, “The tragedy of Luke’s gospel isn’t that the people are powerless to stop the story. The tragedy is that they have power but they use it for such violent ends, or, as is the case today, they just stay in the background.” For more information, check the program’s website, http://day1.org. 
 
12. Organist Carol Williams, artist in residence at Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta, is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Yale University, and Manhattan School of Music. Williams will perform at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Sunday, Nov. 20, at 3:15 p.m. live and livestreamed on the Cathedral website. Following the recital, the Cathedral offers a service of Choral Evensong at 4:00, sung this week by the choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga.

13. Interfaith Community Thanksgiving Service at Northside United Methodist Church, 2799 Northside Drive, Atlanta 30305, Sunday, November 20, 4 p.m.  
 
14. Out of Hand Theater is partnering with the Fulton County Remembrance Coalition to continue their popular free, online, art and conversation dinner series, Equitable Dinners: Stories from the Soil on Sunday, Nov. 20, from 5-7 p.m. on Zoom. This event will begin with an original short play. Then facilitated conversation will take place in small virtual breakout rooms around the narrative of the 1901 lynching of Warren Powell. For more information and to register see www.equitabledinners.com. 

15. Koinonia Farm celebrates 80 years with an Open House November 26, 12 – 5 p.m. Fun for the whole family. Read more at 80th Anniversary Open House. Schedule a Visit to Koinonia
 
16. Interfaith Community Initiatives will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of World Pilgrims with an Anniversary Gala, Thursday, Dec. 1. You are invited to join in celebrating the past and building toward the future where ICI continues to provide a platform for Atlantans to form meaningful relationships that transform the world. Find out more.
 
17. Join the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta in prayer and fellowship at the 2022 World AIDS Day Mass as we pray for those infected with HIV/AIDS, for their families and caregivers as well as for an end to the injustices that obstruct the fight against this and all pandemics. The World AIDS Day Mass will be held on Thursday, December 1, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, located at 636 W Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur, Georgia 30030. https://archatl.com/events/world-aids-day-mass-2022
 
18. This year marks 40 years of The Salvation Army, 11Alive, and Publix fighting hunger in our communities. Start collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items and join the 40th Annual 11Alive Holiday Can-A-Thon, Friday, Dec. 2. Needed are canned meats, fruits, vegetables, and other items that will not spoil. Pop-top cans are good.  Visit www.11alive.com/canathon for a list of drop-off locations.
 
19. Women’s Retreat: The Sounds of Christmas Ignatius House, 6700 Riverside Dr., Sandy Springs, Dec. 2, 6 p.m. – Dec. 4, 12 p.m., directed by Sr. Susan Arcaro. T’is the season filled with songs of the story of Emmanuel, God-With-Us.  During this retreat, reflect on and pray with a selection of Christmas carols in the hope of deepening a renewed appreciation. Expect to see traditional songs in a new way, to hold dear to our hearts and pass along to future generations. $350.  https://bit.ly/3TQb6aw
 
20. Black Faith Matters, Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 .p.m. All are welcome at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 636 West Ponce de Leon, Decatur 30030, for this in-person speaker and book signing with Dr. Ansel Augustine, author of "Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church We Love, Love Us Back?"  Augustine offers a personal and historical perspective on issues of race in the church. A panel discussion and Q&A will follow the address and screening of Augustine’s 17- minute documentary "Black Faith Matters" from the Tremé community, New Orleans. Please register using this link More info at stmgaparish.org/
 
21. Sunday, Dec. 11, 7:00 p.m., Lessons and Carols with the Georgia Boy Choir at Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church. More information at Lessons and Carols with the Georgia Boy Choir, 805 Mount Vernon Hwy NW, Atlanta.
 
22. Do you want to be involved in the fabulous Christmas on Clairemont, First Baptist Decatur, Dec. 18.  For info and to join the choir visit www.ChristmasOnClairemont.com.
 
23. “So that is pierces and rings through the heart; Martin Luther’s September Testament and 500 Years of Vernacular Scripture” is open until Dec. 15 at Pitts Theological Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Explore the exhibition gallery during the library's open hours or from your computer with the virtual tour. Pitts' Dr. Armin Siedlecki curated this exhibition and you can learn more about the process in this conversation.
 
24. The Brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Mass. are providing a series of recorded sermons for congregations this Advent. The free sermon resource can be used in a service where a preacher is not available. The videos can also be used as an adult forum resource.
 
25. Candler School of Theology, Emory University, announces high school seniors are invited to apply by December 31 for the Youth Theological Initiative’s Journeys of Reconciliation ecumenical travel seminar to Belfast, Northern Ireland, taking place June 4-12, 2023. Applicants must be 18 years old by the trip start date. Learn more and apply.
 
25. A holiday without anything special can be a lonely one. COVID-19 continues to impact older adults and people with disabilities through isolation. Light Up the Holidays originated in 2016 to connect Ga. Div. of Aging Services clients with gift sponsors so everyone receives something during the holidays. Find out more at aging.georgia.gov/get-involved/

Visit our website for a clergy toolbox for mental health ministry, and more . . . 

Peace,
Ethel Ware Carter