Church Action eNewsletter Week of October 6, 2025

[RCCAtl]

God calls us to some things we cannot do alone. 

1. Can God be found in the algorithm? How far should our powers with A.I. extend, and how should the church engage with these technologies? What are the implications of A.I. for human relationships and the way we love? These questions and more are explored in a new podcast, The New Garden, launched Thursday, Oct. 2. The series features robust interviews and conversations with thought leaders, tech entrepreneurs, theologians, and academics to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence and theology in contemporary life. Co-hosted by Tony Sundermeier, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and Brent Macon, Atlanta-based tech entrepreneur and thought leader, The New Garden features a variety of guests in multiple fields. Each episode features a rich discussion, deep questions, and a relatable conversational format to engage listeners and make these often abstract ideas more tangible and relatable as our world enters a new chapter with A.I. Notable guests include: Author and Theologian Brian McLaren; Franciscan Sister and Theologian Ilia Delio; Theologian Robert Nicastro, executive director of Christogenesis; Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; Derek Schuurman, author and chair of Computer Science at Calvin University; and Bob Johansen, fellow at the Institute for the Future in Silicon Valley. New episodes will be released every Thursday and will be available on all major podcast platforms. Video versions will also be published on YouTube and on the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta website at www.firstpresatl.org. 2. Visit Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, 737 Woodland Ave, Atlanta, GA 30316, on Saturday, October 11 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the fall garden sale. Fall is the best time for planting perennial flowers and herbs, trees, and shrubs. There will be a wide selection including beautiful Japanese maples. And there will be seedlings for your fall/winter food gardens: arugula, collards, mustards, chard, kale, broccoli, and bok choy. Find lots of indoor plants to brighten winter days and annual flowers to bring color to your beds and containers. Be sure to check out the art work on display and munch on a baked treat as you shop. Proceeds from our plant sales support the work of the Friendship Center which offers programming for adults living with mental illness. The garden gives employment for some of the adults in the Center's community while providing us with much needed funds.  3. Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, and Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty will offer a virtual Solidarity Service on Thursday, October 9, at 7 p.m. in observance of World Day Against the Death Penalty. Gather together with others across our state in solidarity with the global abolitionist movement. Learn facts about the death penalty in Georgia and our recent legislative win, hear reflections from faith leaders, and commit to action. Register at http://bit.ly/gasolidarity. 4. Brian D. McLaren returns to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship podcast to discuss his newest work The Last Voyage. “We’re not simply trying to build a replica of what’s clearly not working on Earth. We need to become a new kind of human community.” This week you can watch AND listen!

5. Remember the St. Andrew United Methodist Church craft show "Fall Into Crafts" Marketplace, 3455 Canton Rd., Marietta 30066. The marketplace will be Friday, October 10, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday, October 11, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

6. Pathways Forward: A DeKalb County Community Town Hall on Homelessness, Oct. 11, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., 178 Sams Street, Decatur. This is a unique opportunity to connect with your county officials, providers, and agencies working together on solutions, to learn from recent experience and best practices explored across the country, and to ask questions and contribute your ideas.
7. Partners in Change asks if you are ready to make a lasting impact? Become a trained virtual volunteer life coach and help an under-resourced adult in Atlanta reach their goals. By providing a year of weekly 30-minute coaching calls, you can offer meaningful, 1:1 support. The next training sessions are in October. Book your intro call hereto learn more.
8. The West Hunter Street Baptist Church of Atlanta has an open position to fill!  They are looking for candidates who may qualify and be interested in the position of Preservation and Sustainability Director at church. West Hunter Street Baptist Church, a site of historical and significant cultural importance, is seeking proposals for a project funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Pastor the Rev. Dr. Cedrick Von Jackson can be reached at the church office [phone].   
9. Pitts Theology Library announces the launch of the Historic Rural Church Archive. This project, a collaboration with Mercer University’s Tarver Library, Columbia Theological Seminary’s Campbell Library, and the Historic Rural Churches of Georgia project, provides open access to hundreds of church histories, photographs, and records from rural churches around the state. It also opens an online portal where community members can submit their own records related to these churches. Learn more on the blog at the link below. You can explore the new Historic Rural Church Archive at https://pitts.tl/hrc. To celebrate the launch of the archive, Historic Rural Churches of Georgia will host a launch event on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., in Crawfordville. Learn more and register for the event athttps://pitts.tl/hrc-archive-launch. Read the blog.
10. Rev. Dr. Charles Qualls is the featured preacher on Day1, Sunday, Oct. 12. He was associate pastor at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta before his call as senior pastor to Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, Va. Hear this Atlanta favorite on WSB 95.5 and 750 AM Sunday at 7:05 a.m. This is episode 4,203 in the 80 years of Day1.
11. Organist Owen Tellinghuisen will perform at the Cathedral of St. Philip, 3:15 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 12, in person and livestreamed at cathedralATL.org. He will play works of Nicolaus Bruhns, Maurice Duruflé, and Keith Emerson. Tellinghuisenserves as sub-organist at Grace Cathedral in Charleston, SC. A graduate of Indiana University, he has concertized across the United States. Following the recital, the Cathedral offers a service of Choral Eucharist at 4 o’clock, sung by the Cathedral Schola in celebration of the Feast of St. Philip, Deacon and Evangelist.
12. “Revisiting Modern Christian ‘Mysticism’:  What Did the 20th Century Mean by It, and Why Does It Still Matter?” Candler School of Theology, Oct. 15, 11 a.m., Sarah Coakley will critically compare the theories of William James, Ernst Troeltsch, and Michel de Certeau, and reflect on what aspects of their work are still important in today’s context. Visit bit.ly/coakley-mcdonald-oct-15for details and to register. 
13. The Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healinginvites you to its annual Allan Lecture Seriesfeaturing "The Simril(l)s: A Family in Black and White." Hear Dr. Spenser Simrill, Jr. and Michael Simril share their powerful story—two lineages once divided by slaveholder and enslaved, now united in truth and healing. Recently featured on CNN’s The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper— [watch the trailer here]. Saturday, October 18, 4:30 p.m. reception, 5:00 p.m. event, 807 Atlanta Student Movement Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30314. Tickets are $20—purchase your ticket here. Your receipt serves as your ticket. Seating is limited. Questions? Email [e-mail].
14. Mental Health America of Georgia will host a virtual mock-interview workshop on October 20 from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. in the Leadership, Empowerment, and Access Program. Participants will gain confidence, refine interview skills and prepare for career success. Participants can be between the ages of 16-30 from all over Georgia. Click HEREto learn more information and to register for this amazing workshop.
15. The Georgia Center for Nonprofits is offering a free virtual workshop on October 22 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., led by GCN Senior Consultant Jim Williams-Neal. Discover a full spectrum of strategic pathways – from scaling and strengthening your organization to pivoting, partnering, merging, or planning a responsible exit. Register here for the Oct. 22 Workshop. Already know the direction your nonprofit needs to take?Then you’re ready to register for a Strategic Options Cohort, starting Nov. 5: Strengthen & Scale| Grow programs and deepen impact; Realign/Reinvent | Realign operations for greater effectiveness; Partnerships, Mergers, Integrations | Explore strategic alliances; Responsible Exit | Plan program or organizational wind-downs.
16. The annual Legislative Conference of the Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center is Oct. 23, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., at Oak Grove United Methodist Church, 1722 Oak Grove Rd, Decatur 30033. Register at Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center Legislative Conference 2025.... The conference will feature presentations from interfaith advocates and policy experts. There will be a county by county planning session on how to jumpstart the most crucial work in our communities.
17. Bonhoeffer for Today? A Faith and Public Life in person symposium from Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary Oct. 23. During complicated political times, few theologians get weaponized more fiercely or misread more easily than Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  But who was he? And how might we interpret him thoughtfully, accurately, and usefully for our present political moment? REGISTER HERE
18. Episcopal Church of the Incarnation is celebrating homecoming with “Faith, Fellowship, and Freedom,” Oct. 25-26. The Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton, retired bishop of Maryland plans to be at the 11 a.m. worship service on Sunday. Saturday, Oct. 25, is the Albert "Kim" Dreisbach/Charles Person Forum: Faith Fellowship and Freedom,featuring Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, the last living white woman of the Civil Rights Movement to face death row—twice. Hear her remarkable story and why it remains so relevant today. Her story is told in She Stood for Freedomand Get Back to the Counter: 7 Lessons from Civil Rights Icon, by Loki Mulholland. Also featured are the daughters of Civil Rights Icons, Cheryl Lowery and Andrea Young, 2-4 p.m. The theme is “What happened—and where do we go from here?” Register at  www.incaratl.org Incarnation Episcopal Church, 2407 Cascade Road SW, Atlanta 30344.
19. National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith welcomes Canon Historian Jon Meacham and U.S. Senator Cory Booker for a discussion on the moral foundations of democracy, the challenges of our time, and the role of faith in shaping public life. All are welcome to join online for an inspiring evening of conversation and reflection as we explore the intersection of faith, public life, and the future of democracy in America. This event is part of the Cathedral’s ongoing “A Better Way” initiative—a series of programs designed to help Americans live together, learn from each other, and chart a path forward in these polarized times. October 29, 7:00 p.m., the cost is $12. tickets.cathedral.org
20. The 100 Years of Community celebration for Clarkston Community Center has been rescheduled for Saturday, November 8.