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Central UCC
Central Congregational
United Church of Christ
 
IN THIS ISSUE
Sunday Worship: Aug 17
Sabbatical Preachers
Wildwood Music Event
Stand up for Peace Aug. 22
Discount Meal Helps THCA
Central UCC at the Hagar's House
Books for Montclair Elementary
Request from Sally Purvis
Ongoing Outreach Ministries
Young Adult Gathering
Women's Book Group
No FOG in September
Children's Sunday School
Youth Program
Practical Theology
Sacred Journeys
Pathways
Flowers for Sunday
Sermons Online
 
Phone

Office Phone: 
404-633-4505

24-hour Pastoral Care:
              678-672-7637

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Senior Minister

Associate Minister

Lacey Brown, M. Div.
Pastoral Fellow

Older Adult Day Program
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United Church of Christ 






Sunday, August 24, 2014 
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

LECTIONARY READINGS (Click to read them)
 
8:30 AM Service of Word and Table
11:00 AM Service of Word   

FOCUS TEXT:
Romans 12:1-8
Preaching, Rev. Ginnie    
 
WORSHIP NOTES Paul writes, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern what is the will of God...". Paul instructs the Romans to a path of renewal and transformation. With Christ as the foundation of grace, love and forgiveness, we are called to open ourselves to understanding the world anew. This is what we want for our children and youth - to see the world through the eyes of Christ. We will explore what that might mean for our church community and program. Early in worship, we will take time to give a blessing to our Sunday school teachers.
 SABBATICAL PREACHERS
Through the summer while Rev. Michael is on sabbatical, Central UCC members, lay and ordained, will be preaching.
  • August 31: Gail McGill, M.Div., Member in Discernment
Homecoming Weekend 
 Saturday Evening, September 6
Wildwood Concert, 7:00 pm 

Sunday Morning, September 7
Worship, 8:30 am, 11:00 am
Reception, 12:15 pm  
Rev. Michael returns to the pulpit after his sabbatical time in India. 

Wildwood Homecoming  

Saturday, Sept 6, 7:00 PM 

A Wildwood Homecoming Concert is ON for Saturday, September 6 at 7 PM! One fast-paced, 90-minute set will feature singers, songwriters and poets from the wider Central community. Come and hear the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Old Crow Medicine Show, Randy Newman and more...all songwriters featured in the set list. Hear from Central's poets.  There MAY be a special visit from the most famous resident of Grinder's Switch. And experience Central's very OWN set of Everly Brothers!  Proceeds from the freewill offering will benefit Wholesome Wave Georgia, which works to provide healthy and fresh food to Georgians in need and to support local farmers by doubling the value of SNAP and other nutritional assistance benefits at local farmer's markets.

 

Don't forget- there'll be a dessert reception following the show where you can actually MEET THE PERFORMERS. We'll have a small silent auction of donated art to benefit the outreach programs of Central.  

 

We're still looking for donated desserts; e-mail Bob Watson  if you can help.  See you there!
Homecoming Sunday 
September 7, 8:30am, 11:00am 
Join us on the first Sunday in September as we welcome Rev. Michael back to Central UCC and back to the pulpit. He has been at an ashram in India for three months. We look forward to hearing about his time there as we celebrate his return. It is homecoming - a time of returning and gathering of friends old and new. We will have a reception following worship.
Central UCC
Annual Meeting & Luncheon
Sunday, September 14
12:15 PM, Fellowship Hall
The church has an annual meeting to formally conduct the business of the church. We will have celebrations as well as business. All members and associate members are requested to attend. Visitors and friends are invited and most welcome to join us!
OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Stand for Peace Vigil 

Friday, August 22; 12 noon, Colony Square 

Peachtree & 14th St.   Please join us as we mark 12 years of Standing for Peace & denouncing war  & militarism at the weekly Stand for Peace Vigil. 12 years too long; war is not the answer!  (Contact Joyce Myers-Brown for more information.)
UCC Back Bay Mission Trip Mtg Sunday, August 24, 9:30 AM, Fellowship Hall
The participants on the mission trip to Biloxi, MS, will meet for an organization meeting at 9:30 AM
Newk's Eatery Meal Helps THCA Sunday, August 24
Partner Churches, Toco Hills Community Alliance is partnering with Newks, at the corner of Briarcliff and North Druid Hills next Sunday 8/24.  When people stop by for a meal between 12-3, or 5-8  and mention THCA, we will receive 10% of the price of the meal as a donation. Questions, please contact
Montclair Elementary School
Leadership Team Meeting  
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Lacey, Jean and Joyce have planned a meeting to take place in the conference room starting at noon on the CCUCC campus. Contact Lacey Brown with any questions. 
Human Rights Luncheon
with Brenda Wood
Friday, Sept. 12, 11:00am, Downtown
Church Women United (Atlanta) will honor TV journalist Brenda Wood with its annual Human Rights Award on Friday, September 12 at First Presbyterian Church (next to High Museum). The celebration will take place from 11:00am-2:00pm with lunch provided. Tickets are $30.00. Contact Joyce Myers Brown if interested.

Books for  

Montclair Elementary School

We are collecting items for students at Montclair Elementary School. If you would like to contribute back packs, gently used books, or school supplies, please place your items in the bin outside the sanctuary marked "Books for Montclair"  For all those who have contributed so far THANK YOU. Please contact Lacey Brown for more information.
A Request from Sally Purvis
If you have been writing to Kelly Gissendaner over the years, would you please email Sally. Thank you.

ONGOING OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AT CENTRAL UCC

Our life is full here at Central UCC. Through the year, we serve our local community in many ways. To read about the activities, please  click here. 
Adult Gatherings
Young Adult Gathering
Friday, August 22, 7:00pm
Suburban Lanes Bowling Alley
All are welcome. Please feel free to bring friends along. Contact our Pastoral Fellow Lacey Brown with any questions.

Women's Daytime Book Group 

Thursday, August 28, 1:30pm, Fireplace Room

The next gathering is Thursday, August 28 at 1:30 in the Fireplace Room.  The book is The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.  Read and attend as you can; no commitment.  Send an e-mail to Geneva Benoit if you would like to be on the group's email list.
Earth Topics 
Tuesday, Sept 2, 6:30-8:00 PM, The Commons
Please join us for an ongoing discussion about our planet, its beauty and our challenges in caring for it. We will be discussing the first four chapters of the book, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.
Questions, please contact Rev. Ginnie. 
No Fellowship of the Grape 
in September
Fellowship of the Grape (FOG) will not meet September 6 to honor the Wildwood Concert at Central. We encourage all "FOGGERS" to attend Wildwood. The next FOG will be Saturday, October 4, 7pm hosted by Dianne and Paul Hiltmann.
Children and Youth

Children's Sunday School  

This Sunday, August 24, we will bless the Sunday school teachers toward the beginning of 11:00 AM worship. The younger children can begin in worship or they will be brought to worship from childcare. Younger children and their teachers will go to their classes following the blessing.  

 

9:30 am to 10:50 am: 3rd - 5th grades Sunday School The older children will have in-depth stories about the New Testament for the whole year. We will still use the Godly Play approach to story telling.

 

11:00 am to 12 Noon: Preschool and K to 2nd grades Sunday school.  

Questions, please contact Rev. Ginnie.  

 

To read more about the Sunday school and Children's music, click here.

Our Whole Lives this Fall  

Parent/Youth Orientation
Sun September.7, 9:30 Rms 102,103
The CE committee has decided to move forward with offering the 7-9th grade sexuality curriculum this fall called Our Whole Lives, or more affectionately know as OWL. This class will replace youth worship until after Christmas break. There will be a parent/student orientation on September 7 from 9:30am-10:30am in Room 102. The first OWL class will begin Sunday, September 21 from 9:30am-12:30pm and will be consistently offered every Sunday morning until early December. The cost is $25 for members and $100 for non-members. Contact Lacey if you are interested.
Adult Spiritual Formation
ONGOING SUNDAY GATHERING:
PRACTICAL THEOLOGY
Sundays, 9:30 to 10:50 AM, Room 206

The Practical Theology class (Room 206) studies, explores and takes action on current issues.  The class shares leadership and begins each class with "How was your week?" and a devotional.

August 24: 
Chapters 27-29 
        Leader - Bill O'Steen; Devotional - Nancy
Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road by Brian McLaren.   
 
August 31:
Wrap Up of the Brian McLaren book and overview discussion of our next book, Occupy the Bible: What Jesus Really Said (and Did) About Money and Power by Susan Thistlethwaite.    

 

Questions? Contact Jackie and George Dominick.
ONGOING SUNDAY GATHERING: 
SACRED JOURNEYS

Sundays, 9:30 to 10:50 AM

Fellowship Hall, Steinhaus Library

Each week this group explores how spirit guides our personal journeys, and we gain new insights by listening to each other. It is a sacred hour +, from 9:30 to about 10:50. We close the door to create a quiet space but you are welcome to come in.

For the next several weeks, we will be discussing the book, The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner.

PATHWAYS   

Transformative Theological Education for a Changing World

PATHWAYS is a SE conference wide approach to theological education and ministry formation, bringing theology into the midst of the people, for the purposes of individual, congregational, and global transformation. To read more, click here. 

 

Click here for the PATHWAYS website.

FLOWERS FOR SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP

Would you like to give flowers in honor or in memory of someone? There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board between the double entry doors and the nursery.
SERMONS AVAILABLE ONLINE
If you would like to hear a sermon from this week or an earlier week, they are available on our website. Go to www.central-ucc.org. Click on the "Worship" tab at the top of the site. On the drop down menu, you will see "Sermon", click on "Sermon". Click on "Audio (mp3)" and you will see a list of the sermons by date and, recently, by name. The date is year/month/day with no spaces in between. If there is a certain sermon for which you are searching, please contact Rev. Ginnie and she will help you find the date.
Acolyte Training 
Sunday, August 24, 12:15 PM, Sanctuary 
There will be an acolyte training immediately after the 11:00 am worship. We will meet in the Sanctuary.  Youth in 4th grade through high school are invited to be an acolyte.