The Good News - This Week

APC will be a host congregation with Family Promise of North Fulton/Dekalb! This interfaith effort of thirteen congregations will allow us to host homeless families on our site at least four weeks each year. You can learn more at www.familypromise.org or www.familypromisefd.org.

While Family Promise is still getting organized here, chapter president, Rabbi Brad Levenberg of Temple Sinai, has shared with us that he hopes to have an opening date in the fall of 2012. What will it take from us? Volunteers! Lots of volunteers!

We will need volunteers to set up the cots in the Alpha Building when it is our week to host 3-4 families at APC. We will need volunteers to drop off evening meals and spend evening time with the families by helping to tutor or play with the children. We will need to provide an overnight chaperone and breakfast in the morning. And when the week is over, we'll need volunteers to break down the sleeping cots and clean up the trailer. If 13 congregations each host one week per quarter, these homeless families will have safe, temporary housing for all 52 weeks of the year!

Family Promise will provide transportation, a day center (with showers) and staff to work with families in need. Our job is to provide dinner, overnight accommodations, breakfast, and a sack lunch. We anticipate needing 20-30 volunteers each week that we host! If you would like to volunteer or wish to know more about being involved with this exciting "hands-on" ministry, please contact mission committee chairman, Elder John Shevlin, at johnmaryshevlin@att.net or me at ollie@alpharettapres.com. Thank you for your participation and prayers for this important, life-changing effort!

Disciple Bible Study

Disciple Bible Study - Fall, 2012. Itis barely summer, but it is time to think about fall Bible studies. We need to order materials soon. If you were not involved in a class last year, consider joining us for a time of fellowship and spiritual renewal as we study together. The ideal place to begin Disciple Bible Study is with the long-term study, Disciple I. We will offer three opportunities for this class this fall:

Sunday morning - 8:30-10:30; Sunday evening - 5:00-7:00; Monday morning - 9:30-11:30

We will also offer three short-term classes (8-11 weeks in length):

Sunday evening, Invitation to Genesis; Monday morning, Invitation to Psalms; Monday morning, Invitation to John

One additional long-term class on Christine doctrine, Christian Believer, will be offered Thursday morning.

Please contact Mary Dantzler, 404-754-1763 or jdantzler@bellsouth.net for more information.

Blood Drive

Atlanta Blood Services has a display table in the hallway this morning to encourage blood donations. Please stop by between 9:30am - 12:30pm to learn more about being a blood or platelet donor.

Session Meeting

The Session will have a called meeting at 10:00am this Sunday, June 24 in the choir room.

Ladies Night Out - CANCELLED!

Zumba has been cancelled for this Saturday night June 23. We look forward to new events in the fall!

New Member Class

Interested in joining APC? Please speak with one of our pastors about our New Member Class on Saturday, July 14. July 15 will be our next "Joining Sunday."

New Georgia Law

The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta has shared with its congregations this important news from the state of Georgia: "As of July 1, 2012 a new Georgia law expands the list of mandatory reports of suspected child abuse to include Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders, chaperones and any other church volunteer who comes in contact with children." All APC members are encouraged to review and become familiar with the "APC Child and Youth Safety Policy" which is available in the "document library" on the APC website.

Summer Series

The third class of Molly Elkind's summer series, Seek His Face: Images of Jesus in Art, meets this week, June 24 at 9:45am in the theater. Come see how believers in the Middle Ages used images of Christ on the cross as an aid to devotion and prayer. We will aso begin to look at the Renaissance.

Divorce Care Group

New Beginnings, is a new divorce care group that is forming here at APC. If you are going through a divorce or have been through a divorce, this group is looking for you. It will be focused on understanding the effects of divorce - physical, emotional, spiritual - as well as fellowship and support of each other and preparing for what's next. If you are interested, please contact Greg Jones at gjones38@yahoo.com or 678-620-8879.

Dreams & Visions

Dreams and Visions: Final Call. We popped the balloons-we ate the cake-we celebrated the end of the Dreams and Visions campaign-but there are still some outstanding pledges to be received! Please help us to make our budgeted payment of $120,000 on our mortgage in July by making sure you have fulfilled your pledges to the debt-reduction campaign. Thanks to everyone whose gifts have made APC stronger.

Cancer Care Group

The APC Cancer Care Group will not meet in June. June 24 falls during a time when many people are vacationing and away from home. We will resume meeting on Sunday, July 22 to talk about serveral exciting opportunities: The APC mission fair which will be held on Sunday, August 26 and support for church members and friends walking in the Susan Komen 3-Day, October 19-21 and other activities. We look forward to seeing you in July!

VBS Update

Plans and preparations are in full swing for this year's VBS. We expect to have 350 children in attendance and we need your help! Our mission focus for this year's VBS is Haiti. Our VBS attendees will be creating educational materials and games for the children of Haiti and donating them through our partnership with La Gonave Haiti Partnership. Please save your cans ( soup, bean, broth, etc) to be donated. Also we have placed a Helping Hands board in the hallway outside Fellowship Hall. Please help us make our VBS successful and serve the children of Haiti through donating supplies and volunteering the week of VBS, July 10-13. Volunteers can contact Kristin Hicks at kristinhicks@bellsouth.net

Career Transition

APC Career Transition Program - Recently the unemployment rate in Metro Atlanta dropped from 10.2% to 9.9 %. When individuals are no longer job hunting, as well as those who seek full-time jobs are counted, the real rate of unemployment is a conservative figure of 15%. Since 2007, Georgia has lost 360,000 positions, so the state now has approximately the same number of jobs that existed in 1999. Elder Bill Harris leads efforts at APC to address the employment concerns and needs your help. We are trying to get a handle on how many of our members are unemployed and underemployed and whether or not they participate in the Career Transition Group at APC. If you would like employment assistance, please email Bill at w.m.harris@att.net.

If you work for or lead an organization, we would appreciate any information on positions that might represent opportunities that become available or contact names that would ensure a more effective outreach. We need our employed professionals and executives to reach out and make information available that will give a competitive edge to members of our congregation who are endeavoring to gain a sense of the real jobs and hidden market versus Internet postings. In the Lobby, the Career Transition Bulletin Board is now up and running. Please email Bill with any assistance you can offer as we renew our commitment to serve our members, veterans and the community in this challenging and prolonged Recession.

Youth Ministry News

June Youth Group Dates - June 24 from 5:30 - 7:30pm at APC (no dinner served)

Click here for an Informational Bulletin about our CROSS and Appalachia Mission Trips.

During the summer, we will not send a weekly newsletter via e-mail, rather, we will send periodic information about summer activities and mission trips as needed. Please continue to refer to the Good News and the Youth Website for information.

For questions or more information, please contact Kelly Edwards, Director of Youth Ministries at kelly@alpharettapres.com or 770-751-0033.

Children's Ministry News

Disciples' Village will not meet during the summer. We will welcome everyone back on Rally Day, August 19.

Nursery care is provided on Sundays from 8:15am - 12:15pm for ages 0-2 in the nursery.

Promise Class is provided on Sundays during the 11:00 worship service for our special needs students in the Blue Room.

Kinderkirk (Children's Worship Education for children ages 3 - First Grade) will be during the 11:00 service only during the summer. Preschool classes will meet in Room 105 and Kindergarten and first grade in Room 108.

Sympathy & Celebrations

Sympathy - To Debbie MacGregor and her family at the death of her father, Jack Martin, on Saturday, June 16 in Wooster, OH. Services were held on Wednesday, June 20. He was 88 years old.

Celebration - To John Lipscomb as he celebrates his 90th birthday on Monday, June 25.

Sunday Volunteers

Serving as greeters this Sunday: Joyce Komala at 11:00

Serving as ushers this Sunday: Beau and David Armistead, Kelly Vandever, Donny Matchen, Marian Cunningham at 8:30 & Stu and Kyle Laubenstein, Dave and Zach Berry, Drew Rhoades, Mary Rogovin at 11:00

Promise Class volunteers this Sunday: Kate McChesney

APC Church Officers

The Session

Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Class of 2014

Dianne Berry-Children's Ministry George Bancroft-Property Scott Doll-Membership/Youth Ministry

Michelle Burton-Youth Ministry Jodie Barger-Children's Ministry Molly Elkind-Worship

Morris Estes-Finance Lynn Danson-Fellowship/Mission Stu Laubenstein-Personnel

Jim Gray-Clerk of Session/CE Pat Dennis-Open Arms Anne Mahone-Dayschool/LRP

John Shevlin-Mission Stacy Guy-Commitment/Commun. Charles Moriarty-Property/CE

Jessie Prigge-Youth Ministry Nancy Hill-Personnel/Nominating Sarah Provow-Open Arms/Commitment

Amy Rogers-Communications Jan Hughey-LRP/Finance Ferrell White-Worship/Fellowship

Jean Williams-Nominating/Membership Kylie Vacko-Open Arms

Deacon Care Teams

Hospitality - John Hicks, 678-513-4570, hicksjc@bellsouth.net

Companion Care - Carolyn Dillon, 770-751-3799, csdillon@bellsouth.net

Hospital & Recovery - Paul McChesney, 678-234-8471, paulsmcchesney@gmail.com

Sympathy & Celebrations, Steve Ludlow, 770-722-5473, ludlowst@comcast.net

APC on Facebook

Find us on Facebook! That's right Alpharetta Presbyterian Church has a facebook page! You can "like" APC at http://facebook.com/alpharettapres. Look for the latest information about activities and missions of the church!

The Good News - This Week

Alpharetta Presbyterian Church.
You can visit the church on line at www.alpharettapres.com or contact the office during regular business hours at 770-751-0033 (Mon-Thurs, 8:00am-4:00pm and Friday, 8:00am-1:00pm).