Regional Council of Churches Pastors Breakfast Dialogues

November Faithworks Mental Health Conference at Temple Sinai drew over 150 interested clergy and lay people, consumers and volunteers. Please contact us if you would like information about Faithworks ot about the Mental Health Collaborative CHIP of which the Regional Council is a member. ecarter@rccatl.orgor 404-523-5554 ext 231.

October Pastors Breakfast Dialogue

The Death Penalty: Reverberations from an Execution


Speakers at October 21, 2010 Pastors Breakfast Dialogue at St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

September 16, at 7:30 a.m.

Candler School of Theology is hosting this breakfast of particular interest to young preachers, seminary students, and their pastors. Come to breakfast with Dr. Dwight Moody, Executive Director of Academy of Preachers, and hear about the 2011 National Festival of Young Preachers, plans to bring the festival to Atlanta, preaching camps, and several local events connected with the Academy of Preachers.
The doors will open at 7:15; breakfast will begin at 7:30. R.s.v.p. to ecarter@rccatl.org
The Formal Lounge (main level of Cannon Chapel) has been reserved from 9 – 11 a.m. for conversation with Dr. Moody after the breakfast.



The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, Archbishop of the Diocese of Atlanta at North Avenue Presbyterian Church, April 15, Archbishop Gregory was installed in 2005, expressing enthusiasm for ecumenical endeavor and concern for the voiceless and marginalized among us. Archbishop Gregory also plays a leading role in the U.S. church. serving as President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and writing extensively on church issues. 

Fourth Tuesday this Month, February 23, 2010

Prisoner reentry poses many challenges for formerly incarcerated individuals and their communities of residence. These challenges include, among others, securing and retaining jobs, identifying and renting affordable housing, accessing educational and other social services, and public fears and concerns about safety and recidivism. All of these issues are intertwined in a spatial context that may encourage or impede effective solutions for the positive reintegration of parolees and probationers. from Executive Summary, Prisoner Reentry in Atlanta.

Regional Council of Churches Pastors Breakfast Dialogue on February 23 at Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Michael Leo Owens of Prisoners of Democracy Project, Emory University, was featured. His institute has worked to gather and analyze statistics, map assets, and make available to the community and policy makers the tools for positive action to support successful reentry for formerly incarcerated persons. Hosted by Dr. William R. Stayton, Professor, Center of Excellence for Sexual Health at Morehouse School of Medicine. For the study Prisoner ReEntry in Atlanta select Publications from the list on the left of the OUCP  website

The monthly RCCA Pastors Breakfast provides a time for discussion, fellowship, and renewal. The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta is the metro community’s ecumenical Christian association where individuals, churches, and organizations share rejuvenating fellowship, network, find partners for collaborative ministry, and explore issues and ideas of interest to the greater community from the perspective of our faith.


December 10 Regional Council of Churches Pastors Breakfast Dialogue will welcome Georgia State Head Football Coach to the December gathering. Bill Curry, a name synonymous with class and integrity in the coaching profession, has accepted the challenge of building Georgia State University’s first football team and his squad will take the field in the fall of 2010. Two-time Super Bowl Champion, National Coach of the Year, two-time NFL Pro Bowl player, author and commentator, Bill Curry speaks of race and friendship, discipline and success, and of the work with young athletes that he considers a ministry. The historical First Congregational Church and Dr. Dwight Andrews, Senior Minister, will host the gathering in First Church Commons, 125 Ellis Street. The renovations at First Church are ongoing but there will be plenty of breakfast, parking, and room for all in the Commons.

FaithWorks Faith, Family and Mental Health Conference, Thursday, Nov. 19. Metro Atlanta clergy of all faith traditions – including seminary faculty and students, as well as Stephen Ministers of all denominations – are invited to attend. The conference is designed to heighten awareness of mental and addictive illness and to educate participants about resources to help address congregational and community needs.
 

The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta Pastors Breakfast Dialogue welcomes Mrs. Rosalynn Carter to discuss how our faith calls us to care for our neighbors who suffer from mental illnesses. We will be hosted by the Rev. Joanna Adams and Morningside Presbyterian Church on March 19, 7:30 a.m. Participants include Dr. Thom Bornemann, director of the Carter Center's Mental Health Program, and Dr. Branko Radulovacki, creator of Faithworks, an initiative within the interfaith community to focus attention and enable advocacy on behalf of the mentally ill especially those in the care of the state. Morningside Presbyterian is located at 1411 North Morningside Drive in Atlanta.

February 19. "Who will lead your church?' a discussion with the Rev. Trace Haythorn, President of the Fund for Theological Education, and other faith leaders. Studies show a 20-year decline in clergy under age 35. But, The Fund for Theological Education, reports an accelerating movement of young people—motivated by a passion for economic and social justice—who are picking up the mantle of ministry. We hear of mega churches but the traditional church is loosing members. How does the emergent church movement affect the religious climate. Who are the next generation's church leaders? Hosted by the Rev. Yvette Massey and Warren Memorial UMC, 181 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd, SW, Atlanta, 7:30 a.m.

The Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta Pastors Breakfast Dialogue, January 15. "Update on Regional Commission on Homelessness." Commission chair Horace Sibley spoke at the halfway point of the 10 year effort to eliminate homelessness in our community. Hosted by the Rev. Dan Matthews and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 435 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, 7:30 a.m.

The December Pastors Breakfast Dialogue featured Lt. Gov. Casey Cagel in a discussion of the role of faith in public life. The breakfast was hosted by the Rev. Gregory Eason and Big Bethel A.M.E. Church, the oldest African American church in Atlanta.

October Pastors Breakfast featured Bill Bolling on Many Ways to Feed the Hungry The Cathedral of St. Philip and the Rev. Sam Candler were hosts for this breakfast. Bill Bolling is the founder of the Atlanta Community Food Bank the oldest and largest hunger-relief organization in the Southeast. Bill presented a provocative look at how we can respond to our hungry neighbors in ways that feed them today and through actions and advocacy that lead to meaningful change. He stressed that this itme of economic crisis is an opportunity for faith communitites to help people reestablish values.

In September we met at First Presbyterian Atlanta to hear Ambassador Andrew Young speak on The Poor People's Campaign 40 Years Later and tour the Civil Rights exhibit at the High Museum next door. September 30, 2008.

On May 15, the monthly Pastors Breakfast of the Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta explored the relationship of the faith community to Grady Memorial Hospital . Guests included: Pete Correll, chair of Grady’s new nonprofit board of directors; Dr. Arthur Kellerman, associate dean for health policy, Emory University School of Medicine; and Dr. Lawrence L. Sanders Jr., associate dean for clinical affairs, Morehouse School of Medicine. Grady serves as a key training facility for both schools of medicine. Approximately one of every four physicians now practicing in Georgia spent time in Grady through the Emory and Morehouse programs.
The breakfast was hosted by Providence Missionary Baptist Church, 2295 Benjamin E. Mays Dr. SW, Atlanta 30311. Braekfasts are free for RCCA members and $10 for nonmembers. To RSVP, contact Ethel Ware Carter at 404.523.5554, ext 231, or ecarter@rccatl.org


The Rev. Kenneth Samuel invited the Regional Council of Churches to Victory Church for the February Pastors Breakfast, March 21, 7:30 AM. Victory is located at 1170 North Hairston Road in Stone Mountain.

The Rev. Kathy Dobbins and the Rev. Robert Browning invite the Regional Council of Churches to Smoke Rise Baptist Church for the February Pastors Breakfast,February 21, 7:30 AM. Smoke Rise Baptist is located at 5901 Hugh Howell Road, in Stone Mountain 30087. RSVP to ecarter@rccatl.org

Lenten Meditation from Smoke Rise Baptist Church
Directions to Smoke Rise Baptist Church

Dr. Barbara King invites the Regional Council of Churches to Hillside Chapel and Truth Center for the January Pastors Breakfast, January 17, 7:30 AM. Hillside Chapel is located at 2450 Cascade Road, SW, Atlanta 30311. We will consider tools to begin conversations about work and wage within our congregations and find out about Fairness for Georgia Families a campaign created by a coalition of Faith And The City, Concerned Black Clergy, Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters, Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, the Mayor’s Faith Based Roundtable, and the Regional Council. RSVP to ecarter@rccatl.org


December 20 Rev. Marvin Moss of Cascade United Methodist Church__ will welcome the Regional Council for an Advent /Christmas gathering. RSVP to our office 404-523-5554, ext 231 or ecarter@rccatl.org

October 25 The Rev. Geoffrey Hoare of All Saints' Episcopal Church, 634 West Peachtree, Atlanta, welcomes us to a special commemoration of the signing of theMinisters Manifesto of 1957. This document, written and signed by leaders of the Christian Council and published by Ralph McGill in the Atlanta Constitution, declared the responsibility of people of faith to speak out in the face of hatred, violence, and oppression and expressed the Christian belief in the equal worth of every person. This is one of many moments, some proud-some shameful, that make up the story of our community’s role in the integration struggles of the last century. We will recall our leadership and honor those men and congregations of vision at our October 25 breakfast at All Saints’ Episcopal Church whose rector the Rev. Frank Ross was a bold civil rights leader. We especially want pastors who signed the Manifesto and their families and representatives from their congregations to come to this gathering where Tom Key of Theatrical Outfit will read from a newly commissioned play about the events surrounding the publication of the Manifesto. RSVP to our office 404-523-5554, ext 231 or ecarter@rccatl.org

September 20 we will be hosted by Decatur First United Methodist Church. 300 East Ponce de Leon, Decatur. A compelling speaker and recognized world-wide as a New Testament scholar and expert in early church history, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson will speak to us on the first Christian councils – their purpose, authority, and influence. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta to be informed by our Christian history as we reflect on what a council of churches can be for our community. Please bring a pastor with you who may not be familiar with us and join us at on September 20 at 7:30 at Decatur First United Methodist Church, 300 East Ponce de Leon, Decatur.