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Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
SUNDAY Schedule
January 1 & 8, 2012 Christ at the Center
Sunday, January 1 Epiphany Communion • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • The Mustard Seed Bookstore closed • Communion Worship Service 10:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 11:00 am Reception Room
Sunday, January 8 Founder’s Day • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service 8:15 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore closed • Worship Service - 9:00 am, Sanctuary
• Cherub Choir - 9:30
am
• Sunday School for All Ages - 10:05 am
Dr. Steve Hayner, featured Stewardship speaker. See page 4 for details
• Stewardship Brunch - 10:15 am, Fifield Hall • Worship Service - 11:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 12:15 pm, Reception Room • Youth Musical “Guys and Dolls” 3:00 pm, Fifield Hall
January 1,
January 8,
Epiphany Communion at 10:15 am – One Worship Service (no Sunday School)
Founders’ Sunday at 9:00 and 11:15 am – Resume regular schedule
Dear Friends, As we prepare to celebrate the beginning of another New Year, I look forward to worshipping with you here at the corner of 16th and Peachtree Streets on January 1 – Epiphany Communion Sunday. The title of our sermon will be “Go The Distance” which might be a familiar phrase to those of you who remember the film “Field Of Dreams” and the deep, resonating voice of actor James Earl Jones speaking from heaven to Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Kostner) telling him to Go the distance.” Well, that’s the same theme which the Apostle Paul had in mind as he wrote to the Philippians: “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:13-14). That seems to be a good text to help set the course of our lives in the coming year, and I hope that you will come join us in the sanctuary as we worship the Lord and celebrate the sacrament of communion. Please invite your family and friends to come on along too – Onward and Upward! January 1 & 8 George Wirth to preach
Every year we celebrate Founders’ Sunday on the day that is closest to our beginning date of January 8, 1848 when 19 women and men, guided by God and focused on Jesus Christ as the Center of their lives, launched the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. This is always a special day in for us, and it will be even more so on January 8 as we center our attention on the sermon theme “What If The Founders Came Back?” because we are actually going to be visited by all of them and by our former pastor Dr. J. Sprole Lyons! With their help, we are also going to launch the 2012 Stewardship Season and “Imagine” the future which the Lord has in store for us in ministry and mission throughout the coming year. Between worship services, our co-chairs MC Alvine and Holly King invite you to come to our Stewardship Brunch where Dr. Steve Hayner will be our speaker. Steve is the President of Columbia Theological Seminary and is a very dynamic speaker. So please plan to join us on January 8 – can’t wait to see everybody in the sanctuary!
Faithfully Yours,
George B. Wirth