focus radical hospitality” news and notes for god’s folks …€¦ · 08-08-2012 · sharing!...

We are delighted to welcome friends and neighbors who recently visited to worship God here, Carson Barnett, Bridgette Boker, Vickie Hawkins, Joshua Johnson, Judy Kidd, Julia Kneeland, David & Jewel Cromer with Gabby , Khwanza LeBlanc, Bec Cranford-Smith, John & Melissa Strickland, Revs. Barry & Diana Crawford, Rev. Phillip Conyers, Jr., Scott, Rose Marie Conyers, Nancy Cabrera and son Vincent, Jack Duncan, Bob Powell, Daniel Sowell, Elly Tartara, Nia Schooler, Dolores & Daryl Trimien, Elijah, Tommy & Cathy Archibald, Olin Hatch, J.D. Fleming, John & Linda Stilwell, including a wonderful assortment of faithful folks who participate regularly. Hope to see you again soon! Church Board to meet Sunday, August 26, at 12:30 p.m. All Church officers, ministry leaders, Elders, Deacons, and the pastoral staff are expected to participate in the Church Board meeting. Reports are due Tuesday, Aug. 21. Lunch will be provided by the Christian Youth Fellowship.

Fitting the Pieces TogetherFitting the Pieces TogetherFitting the Pieces TogetherFitting the Pieces Together Camp Christian Quilt Project

A regional church patchwork quilt is being pieced with members and friends of Georgia Disciples congregations contributing $20 to place each 2” x 2” block in the quilt. You are

encourage to contribute as many blocks as you are able. Each person writes his or her name on a block and then writes friends’ and loved ones’ names on other quilt blocks they contribute. The goal is to pay a year’s mortgage for the camp, which has nurtured generations of youth and adults. We’d love for every individual or family in our congregation to be represented! Please see Elizabeth Hamm or Betty Brewer-Calvert. New local Book Club starting Thursday eve, August 30 Have you read an exciting, interesting book recently? If you are an avid reader or a sporadic one, come and join us as we begin this new adventure at FCCD beginning August 30th at 7 p.m. in the Carmack Room! Come and build friendships and relationships through reading and sharing! Contact: Sherry Davis 404-378-3621 or Yolanda Lewellyn: 770-939-1338. Decatur Cooperative Ministry In Kind Needs for August

Canned Meats, Juice boxes, individual snacks, Laundry Detergent, Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Sandwich Bags, Tums, Goodnites (for bedwetting), Sanitary Napkins, Diapers (size 4 & 5), Hand Sanitizer, Bleach, Powdered Dish Detergent,, “Thank You” Cards, Legal-size Note Pads. Please bring to First Christian Church of Decatur all items to be delivered! For more info contact Sue E. Holec, M.Div. Volunteer and Donations Manager 404.377.5365, ext. 7

Property Ministry now recruiting

We have a wonderful need for a few folks to serve Christ by helping our Property Ministry in both ongoing maintenance, special projects, and in key decision-making on matters related to our buildings and grounds. Please contact Dave Andrew or Glen Alsobrook, Jr. for more info on how you can participate in this invaluable ministry.

Did you meet and greet…? Recent Visitors

Watching our figures News and notes for God’s folks

Sunday, July 29, 2012 8:30 a.m. Awakenings Service 8 10:50 a.m. Sanctuary Service 74 Total 82 Offering $4,550.00 ALANON 75.00 Decatur Ed. Foundation 500.00 Candlelight 60.00 Total $5,185.00

Sunday, August 5, 2012 8:30 a.m. Awakenings Service 6 10:50 a.m. Sanctuary Service 61 Total 67 Offering $5,057.00 Offset (GIPL) 400.00 Offset (Carol Calvert Counseling Grp.) 60.00 Offset (I.D. for Children) 60.00 Total $5,577.00

Total Annual Giving June 2012 ‘12 YTD Total Income $128,853.78 ‘12 YTD Total Expenses $143,885.14 ‘12 YTD Surplus (Deficit) ($ 15,031.36) “Big Bertha” Capital Fund Campaign Update: $58,000.00 has been received to date towards our Sanctuary HVAC system. Thank you, one and all, for your support. Our goal is $130,000 to cover anticipated costs for the necessary replacement HVAC.

August Birthdays August 10 - Lily Delk August 12 - Lynn Nabers August 12 - Ralph Smith August 13-ElizabethCunningham August 17 - Glen Alsobrook Jr. August 17 - David Andrew August 17 - Cristian Sepulveda August 18 - Minnie Haynes August 18 - Matelyn Heyward August 21 - Mark Ranney August 23 - Mohra Hill-Smith August 29 - Hank Ferry September Birthdays September 1 - Wayne Jobson September 6 - Jeni Flock September 7 - David Blake September 7 - Katie Brewer-

Calvert September 9 - Wiley Harris August Anniversaries August 20 - David & Linda

Chesnut August 26 - Herschel & Imogene Maxey September Anniversaries September 5 - Brad & Carolynn Miller September 6 - Beth & Ross

Schiavo September 7 - Ralph & Emily

Smith

Thank you note and update

on the Chalice Thrift store

featuring gently used products

“Thank you on a successful Grand Opening! For those of you who weren't able to make it today, it was a success by every measure we have set forth: - we had dozens of shoppers from the community! - we grossed $215 in sales! - we had a non-church

member as a volunteer! - everyone was very impressed with our new outreach ministry! - the space looks great! Please pass along my great appreciation to everyone who has worked so hard to launch Chalice Thrift. The Chalice Thrift hours will be Tuesday 9-1, Thursday 5-8, and Saturday 9-1. During those three slots, we will be open for both retail sales and receiving donated products. Thank you for all of your hard work. Let's continue to grow Chalice Thrift! Thank you!” Doug Schuette

This month I’m offering to the church and community a fresh sermon series on Radical Hospitality. We’ll move from Biblical expectations for entertaining angels unaware (Aug. 5) to practicing reverence in our relationships (Aug. 12); from community practices of hospitality (Aug. 19) to its wider implications for social justice (Aug. 26). Come and be fed by the Word, the Bread and the Cup of the Living Christ. You and yours will be made welcome, just as you are. God whispers into our souls: “Su casa es mi casa. Your home is my home.” My friends, expect to welcome into your life and home and city the presence of the holy, who often comes to us in the guise of a neighbor. As you know, throughout the Hebrew Scriptures we find a variety of stories and psalms that encourage us to love one another and to practice hospitality in community. We are richly blessed with the story in First Kings about Elijah and the widow and her son. The prophet Elijah was hungry and wandering during a terrific drought and famine when he arrived at the home of a widow and her son on the outskirts of town. Even though they had very little to spare, a place was made for him. The widow and her son’s hospitality and generosity resulted in God’s blessing their home with a boundless supply of what all three would need to live. That is why we say, when unexpected company arrives, “Set a place for Elijah.” My family lived in Spanish Harlem in New York City. We were intimately acquainted with scarcity and generosity, experiencing both in our own home and our community. Consequently our family of six set a seventh place at the dinner table for Elijah, and invariably the extra seat and plate and silverware would be used. Elijah, I can testify, has many faces, names, needs and hopes. One fellow from Ecuador was a barber, and he thanked – and surprised – my parents by giving all four sons free crew cuts. The barber was so pleased! What could my amazed mother say?! We never worried about portions; there was always enough. No one ever left the table hungry, and if our dinner helpings were somewhat smaller than the night before, the lively conversation more than made up for the lack of seconds. Another Elijah, this one from Tennessee, happily graced our table most every night as he conducted a law internship in NYC. The year was 1973, and that summer the price of beef skyrocketed. Throughout that

hot summer we ate chicken in all its glorious and varied forms. Towards August our soft-spoken guest smiled and said in his Memphis accent, “Mrs. Calvert, this morning on the way to work I noticed something tingling on my back. I felt behind my shoulders and you know what I found? Little wings! Little wings were sprouting!” My mother understood perfectly well what the young prophet Elijah was saying, and for the next few days poultry was stricken from the menu. In our home “set a place for Elijah” runs parallel to “the Lord will provide.” Yes, the Lord does provide, even and especially when entertaining angels unaware.

A Swahili proverb states: “Treat your guest as a guest for two days; on the third day, give him a hoe.” Come to First Christian Church and be a VIP. Welcome home to a church where everyone is a guest of Christ, and where everyone is given opportunities to serve and love and be. Here we celebrate that everyone has something to offer to our

collective effort to better the world. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed the interplay of hospitality and vocation in his sermon “The Drum Major Instinct”, preached in Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, saying: “And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.” As always, First Christian Church of Decatur, I am delighted to be your pastor. Shalom, James L. Brewer-Calvert

Focus “Radical Hospitality”

In our home “set a place for Elijah” runs parallel to

“the Lord will provide.”

Non-Profit Organization

U.S Postage Paid

Permit 137

Decatur, Georgia 30030

First Christian Church

of Decatur (Disciples of Christ)

601 West Ponce de Leon Avenue

Decatur, Georgia 30030 Church Office — 404-378-3621

Fax — 404-378-1875 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.decaturdisciples.org

Ministers: All the People

Your Church Staff:

The Rev. Dr. James L. Brewer-Calvert, Senior Pastor

William E. Garner, Director of Music

Brandy Alsobrook, Director of Christian Education

Kathy Westbrook, Church Organist

Elizabeth Hamm, Bookkeeper

Sherry Davis, Church Administrator

Azeb Gidey, Custodian

Mark Ranney, Facilities Manager

Your Volunteer Ministry Coordinator: Diana Blake, Wedding Coordinator

Return Service Requested

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August 8, 2012

Volume 49, Issue 13

We are Disciples of Christ,

a movement for wholeness

in a fragmented world.

As part of the one body

of Christ, we welcome all

to the Lord's Table

as God has welcomed us.

--Christian Church

(Disciples of Christ)

Statement of Identity

Welcome new members!

We were delighted on Sunday, August 5 to welcome two families into the life and ministry of this growing community of faith. Bridgette Boker (left) joined by transfer of membership. She works two jobs, including at Kroger Supermarket in downtown Decatur . She has six adult children and an outgoing personality. She has already made herself at home in the church by volunteering in our new Chalice Thrift store. Welcome home, Bridgette!

Liz Stilwell, her daughter Madelyn, and Brooke Babbitt (left to right) yoked themselves to the church by transfer of membership. Liz manages the patient call centers at The Emory Clinic. Brooke is a full time student at Georgia State majoring in psychology. According to Liz, Madelyn is “working on her degree as a rambunctious toddler.” We are pleased to welcome this wonderful family as we grow in faith, mission, and hope together!

New Chalice Thrift store was

inaugurated with plenty of space,

energy, & “gently used” products for

families across the city.

Now open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays

& Saturdays, and from 5-8 p.m. on

Thursdays. For more info, see inside.

Disciples missionaries return from Zimbabwe,

plan to speak here with Wisdom Weavers on August 23 Wisdom Weavers will meet for a potluck luncheon on Thursday, August 23 at 11:45 a.m. in the fellowship hall. Disciples Midge and Jack Barnes will present the program. The Barnes recently returned from short-term volunteering in Zimbabwe through Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. They will share stories, pictures, and information about life in Zimbabwe, the church, and their work. Anyone interested in the program is more than welcome. You do not have to be a regular Wisdom Weaver in order to participate! Please sign up or call the church office so we can set a place for you! Jack is a retired Disciples minister and religion professor. Midge is a retired teacher who has also served as Director of Volunteer Services with the Barton Stone Christian Home and an Alzheimer's Respite Program. She served the Florida Council of Churches in Refugee Resettlement and is the past president of Disciples Women in Florida. We have the opportunity to show the Barnes a bit of Atlanta that afternoon and evening and are also looking for an overnight host for the couple. If you would be interested in being a Tour Guide, please contact Betty Brewer-Calvert or Yolanda Lewellyn.

Join the Rocking Rockers on Tuesday mornings! Nifty Knitters and Crafty Crotchetier The Rocking Rockers is a gathering of Nifty Knitters and Crafty Crotchetier who will sit, rock, converse, and create. Whether you are a novice or an expert, you are welcome to join us in the fun. Bring your needles, your yarn and your smiles every Tuesday at 10 a.m. to the Carmack Room at FCCD beginning August 28th. If you are interested, call Sherry Davis at 404-378-3621 or Yolanda Lewellyn at 770-939-1338.

Christian Education/Spiritual Formation

“Once there was someone who said such amazing things and did such wonderful things…”

This is the first line in the Children Worship & Wonder story “The Light”. I will be sharing this story and other Children Worship & Wonder concepts during both worship services for the month of August. Another line in the story “People who love the Light become one with the Light.” WOW! When I first read this story I was amazed at how awe inspiring and wonderful our God really is. We are empowered by the love of God to change lives; even a smile can change a person’s life. This month we will also be discussing Hospitality from all angles. I believe this story offers the

ultimate “welcome home” and the commissioning of sharing the Light. The story shows, through the lighting of candles, how we can become one with the Light. Oh, but how exciting to know that at the completion of this story we hear “the Light was changed so that it’s not just in one place anymore. It can be in many places at once.” Our congregation is the Light and is in many places at once. I plan to practice hospitality more fervently this week and hope you do too. Children Worship & Wonder Orientation is being held August 12th & 19th. A full worship service will be held in our park on Sunday, August 26th at 9:30 a.m.

News for Christian Youth Fellowship (6th - 12th Graders) On Thursday, August 2nd James and Katie Brewer-Calvert and Glen and Brandy Alsobrook along with other youth leaders, ministers, and youth advisors from 8 churches in the metro Atlanta area met to plan activities for the “Disciples Youth in Metro Atlanta” group. It was awesome to see our youth leaders leading the discussions and planning the calendar. We’ve planned fellowship and relationship building activities beginning August 19th with First Christian Decatur youth hosting a cookout in our park and ending in April 2013 with a

spring retreat/cleanup at Camp Christian. This 2012 Women’s Retreat, Empowering Women of Faith will be Friday, September 28th – Sunday, September 30th in Toccoa, Georgia. Our teens/tweens are encouraged to attend and the registration cost is only $90. Registrations are due in the Regional Office by September 5th. Please let me know if you would like to attend or have any questions.

• August 12th & 19th James Brewer-Calvert will be leading the youth Sunday School Class

• August 19th - Hosting Disciples Youth in Metro Atlanta (set-up begins at 3:30)

• August 26th - Hosting Board Meeting Luncheon (Junior Deacons are on the Board and need to participate.)

• September 9th - First Christian Decatur CYF gathering 12-2 p.m.

• September 23rd – Disciples Youth in Metro Atlanta gather at Sandy Springs Christian Church for a Youth Rally (Church van leaves at 3:30 p.m.)

• September 30th – Peachtree Christian Church is hosting a cookout (More details to follow) I am so excited and believe whole-heartedly in the ministries of First Christian Church of Decatur. It is such a blessing to worship, serve and work with an amazing group of people. –Brandy Alsobrook

First Christian Church of Decatur

601 West Ponce de Leon Avenue

Decatur, Georgia 30030

44-378-3621 office

[email protected] www.decaturdisciples.org

Sunday Worship Schedule

8:30 a.m. Awakenings Service (chapel)

9:15 a.m. Sharing in Fellowship Hall

9:30 a.m. Sunday school for all ages

10:50 a.m. Sanctuary Service

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

3 p.m. Cello Lessons

7 p.m. Administration Meeting

2

5-8 p.m. Chalice Thrift

7 p.m. Atlanta Area Disciples

Youth Planning Meeting

3 4

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Chalice Thrift

2 p.m. Lyman Delk Memorial

Service

5

12:15 p.m. Disciples Women

Executive Board Meeting

5 p.m. Regional Planning Team

In Pathfinders

8 p.m. NA

6

10 a.m. Staff Meeting

11 a.m. Prayer Group

7 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Chalice Thrift


8 p.m. AA/ALANON

8

7-8:30 p.m. Counseling Group

with Carol Calvert

7:30 p.m. Chancel Choir

Rehearsal

9



7:30 p.m. Lydia Circle

10

11


12

4-6 p.m.

Resurrection Church in Chapel

8 p.m. NA

13



7:30 p.m. Stewardship Meeting



8 p.m. AA/ALANON

15

6:30 p.m. Bell Choir Rehearsal


Rehearsal

16



17 18


19 3:30-6:30 p.m. Suzuki Violin

Parents Meeting in chapel

4 p.m. Regional Assembly Plan-

ning Meeting

4:30-6:30 p.m. Metro Atlanta

Disciples Youth 8 p.m. NA

20



7:30 p.m. Mary Magdalene at

Yolanda’s house



8 p.m. AA/ALANON

22 Board Reports are due



Rehearsal

23 11:45 a.m. Wisdom

Weavers



24 25


26

12:30 p.m. Board Meeting

4-6 p.m.

Resurrection Church in Chapel

8 p.m. NA

27



6:30 p.m. Evaluation and

Planning


10 a.m. Crochet/Knitting Group

contact Yolanda


8 p.m. AA/ALANON

29

3:30 p.m. Violin Lessons



Rehearsal

30



7 p.m. Book Club Meeting in

Pathfinders

31

August 2012

CYF Lock in at 6 p.m. CYF Lock in till 10 a.m.

focus radical hospitality” news and notes for god’s folks …€¦ · 08-08-2012 · sharing!...

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