May 31, 2013

The APC Book Club meets Tuesday, June 11 at 7:00pm in Fellowship Hall to discuss "The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. All are welcome! 

Session Digest for Stated Meeting May 23, 2013

The meeting opened with a devotion led by Elder Pat Dennis and closed with a time of prayer for the church and world led by Dr. Wagner.

Rev. Butcher reported that she presented training on cultural issues at the Appalachia Service Project, a project our youth will serve on a mission trip in June.  She also will take continuing education at Candler Theological Seminary on church leadership and technology. 

Dr. Wagner reported that new staff members Drew Bowers and Gene Casey are off to a great start.  Ollie recently completed continuing education in marital and premarital counseling.  He was the baccalaureate speaker at Lyon College's commencement in early May.  He will accompany the CROSS mission trip to Charlotte, NC June 2-7 and will be on vacation July 1-12 and August 5-11.  He and Jamie are collaborating on a summer preaching series entitled The Furniture of Faith.

Session approved the following items:

·         Ted Lynam and Richard Boston to lead two Dave Ramsay courses on Sunday nights beginning Sept. 22, 2013. 

·         Ollie to coordinate counselors and physicians to speak on "The Spiritual Challenge of Mental Illness," an adult summer education series to begin in mid-June.

·         The 252 Basics curriculum from Orange as the children's Sunday School curriculum starting August 2013.

·         The "Live" curriculum for middle and high school youth for Sunday School starting August 2013.

·         A list of summer volunteers for KinderWORSHIP (formerly KinderKirk).

·         An increased budget of $120,000, drawn from church reserves, to fund the renovation of the sanctuary, narthex and fellowship hall this summer.  This increased amount provides for higher quality, longer-lasting materials, more extensive repairs and refurbishing, and will include improvements to the sound system.

·         The use of $10,642 of the $15,000 received from the City of Alpharetta for sale of the strip of land, to pay for repairs to the HVAC system in the sanctuary in January.

·         The hiring of Cameron Gaines as nursery staff.

·        The formation of search committees for part-time positions of Director of Communications, Ministry Associate, and Administrative Assistant for Children and Youth.  Altogether these positions will add about $34,000 to the annual budget.

Additionally:

·         The Commitment Committee is researching endowment, investment policy and planned giving.

·         The Communications Committee is developing a new logo and "branding" to be used across all media and platforms used by APC.   The website will move to a  new platform as well.

·         Mission Committee is planning for the next Family Promise group, who will lodge on our campus June 16-23.  Volunteers may sign up through Access ACS.   Planning for an adult trip to Haiti is underway.  Donations to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance will assist tornado victims in Oklahoma.

·         The Open Arms committee is planning an inclusive family festival June 8, 4-7 p.m.

·         Worship Committee is planning for summer worship in the outdoor chapel (first Sundays of June, July and August at 7 a.m.) and in the Multi-Purpose Room June 23-August 11 at 9:00 and 10:30.    

New Drake Closet 

The Drake Closet of Alpharetta is opening soon!!! Due to the overwhelming support of its first store in Roswell, The Drake House is pleased to announce the opening of a second resale boutique this fall.  The Drake Closet Alpharetta will be located at 26 Old Roswell Street (formerly The Cannery gift shop behind SmokeJack's restaurant) and will be convenient to dining, shopping and all of the unique events that downtown Alpharetta has to offer.  All of the profits generated by The Drake Closet are used to fund programming for the families who reside at The Drake House. 

In preparation for the September opening and planned to coincide with Alpharetta's Food Truck Alley, volunteers will be conducting a clothing drive at the new store every Thursday in June from 6-8pm. New and gently used ladies' clothing apparel is needed to stock the store and all of the following items are requested: dresses, formalwear, skirts, slacks, blouses, sweaters, jeans, shoes, boots, coats, handbags and costume jewelry. The Drake House is a 501(c)3 non-profit and all donations are tax-deductible.  

The Drake House is one of APC's mission partners. The Drake House provides short-term crisis housing and support for homeless mothers and their children. It is the only emergency residential housing facility in north metro Atlanta. 

For information on volunteering at The Drake Closet, visit The Drake House website at http://www.thedrakehouse.org/tdh/ and click on the Volunteer tab.  Don't forget that you can still visit The Drake Closet Roswell located at 825 Mimosa Boulevard.  

APC will be offering a summer adult education series titled, "The Spiritual Challenges of Mental Illness.  We will be learning about the symptoms, prominence and treatments of several disorders, discussing their impact on health, families and friends, asking questions about faith and forgiveness, and considering implications for the church's ministry and response. 

The classes will be held from 9:00am-10:00am in the APC theater.  The series will be facilitated by counselors and physicians as follows:

June 16            Anxiety Disorders (Stress, Panic and Phobias)               Rev. Neal Kuhlhorst
June 23            Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolar and Suicide)           Mr. Bill Waldorf

June 30            Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders                          Dr. Jerry Jenkins

July 7               Cognitive Disorders (Dementia and Alzheimer's)               Dr. Salpi Adrouny

July 14              Childhood Disorders (ADHD, Autism-spectrum, and         Dr. Brooke Jones

                        Behavioral Disorders)

July 21              Substance Dependence (alcohol and drugs)                    Mr. Kevin Moore

July 28              Personality Disorders (borderline personality, narcissism)    Dr. Deborah Silver 

Are you going through a divorce or already divorced? APC is hosting a Divorce Recovery Group this fall using Dr. Bruce Fisher's "Rebuilding" program. Let us know your interest as we plan for the fall. Contact jamie@alpharettapres.com for more information. 

Are you a cancer survivor or have you lost a loved one to the disease? Are you looking for a way to offer encouragement and support to others? Members of APC are training with the national CanCare network this summer in Atlanta. There is a spot for you. Contact jamie@alpharettapres.com for more details. 

The APC men's softball team took 2nd place in the city league tournament last week! We will field a team for the fall season. More information to follow. 

Every Sunday night at 7:30pm in the multipurpose room, a small group of men and youth gather for an hour of pick-up basketball. All are welcome to join in! 

Summer 2013 Sunday Morning Breakfast at APC will begin this Sunday, May 26 with two options: Continental breakfast with one hot dish or just continental.  We are giving our wonderful men's breakfast teams the summer off. Chef Doug (with a couple of helpers) will be preparing the summer breakfast which will be served from 8:00 AM until 10:00 AM in Fellowship Hall. The fee for summer will be as follows:

Continental with one hot dish:  $5.00 Adults  $3.00 for children 8 years and younger

Continental only:  $4.00 Adults   $2.00 for children 8 years and younger

This menu will continue through the summer. Come and enjoy a time of fellowship and breakfast!!!  

The APC Dayschool is currently enrolling students for the 2013-2014 school year. The Dayschool is a ministry of APC that serves students from ages 2-5 in weekday program. For more information, please contact the Dayschool office at 770-751-3862.  As our registration drive will continue through the summer, please refer your friends to our outstanding program! 

The Church Directories have arrived. If you "sat" for a photograph, you will receive a free directory.  Directories may also be picked up in the church office Monday-Thursday 9:00am to 3:00pm and Friday 9:00am to 1:00pm. You may also pick up your copy on Sunday morning between services in the church office.

Career Transition

Sympathy & Celebrations 

Celebration - To Leslie Radford at the birth of her grandson, Skyler Christopher Foster, on Wednesday, May 23.

Sympathy - To Jeff Hyde at the death of his father, Robert, on Wednesday, May 23. Services were held at Calvary Lutheran Church in Seneca Falls, NY. 

The Session

Class of 2013                                     Class of 2014                                         Class of 2015

George Bancroft-Property                      Zach Berry-Youth Ministry                              Gerard Ballard-Mission

Jodie Barger-Children's Ministry            Scott Doll-Youth Ministry/Membership            John Bullock-Membership

Lynn Danson-Fellowship/Mission          Molly Elkind-Clerk of Session/Worship            Julie Jagmin-Children's Ministry

Pat Dennis-Open Arms                          Stu Laubenstein-Personnel/Nominating          Tyler Jones-Communications

Nancy Hill-Nominating/Personnel           Anne Mahone-Dayschool/LRP                        Dave McKemey-Youth Ministry

Jan Hughey-Finance/LRP                      Charles Moriarty-CE Adult/Property                Steve Wardrup-Finance/Commitment

Mike Marcin-Communications                Sarah Provow-Commitment/Open Arms         Beverly Williams-CE Adult/Fellowship

Kylie Vacko-Open Arms                         Ferrell White-Worship

Deacon Care Teams

Hospitality - John Hicks, john.c.hicks@gmail.com

Companion Care - Janice Armistead, janice.armistead@att.net

Hospital & Recovery - Eva Wardrup, zumaland@aol.com

Sympathy & Celebrations - Jennifer Autian, jautian@hotmail.com  

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!