eChimes for July 31

FPC connects

The Chimes Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta

SUNDAY Schedule Sunday, July 31 • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service 8:30 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore 9:00 am - 12:00 pm • Sunday School for all ages 9:00 am • Worship Service - 10:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 11:15 pm, Fifield Hall

reminder The Chimes is published bimonthly. In months where there are five Sundays (as in July), the fifth Sunday will be printed as a single issue.

In the single issues, we will place a greater focus on editorial content and relevant points of interest.

Summer/September Preaching Schedule July 17th - Rev. Craig Goodrich July 24th - Rev. Hardy Kim July 31st - Rev. Kevin Knab August 7th - Dr. George Wirth August 14th - Rev. Caleb Clarke August 21st - Rev. Lindsay Armstrong August 28th - Dr. George Wirth September 4th - Rev. Chris Moore-Keish September 11th - Dr. Tom Tewell

July 31, 2011,

Rev. Kevin D. Knab will preach “Tomorrow Night.”

Tomorrow night, will you remember what you said tonight?

Tomorrow night, will all the thrill be gone?

T

omorrow Night is a standard in American music - written in 1939, and interpreted throughout July 31 - Kevin Knab decades by to preach artists such as Lonnie Johnson, LaVerne Baker, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Patty Griffin.

At it’s heart, the song is a fleeting plea for promise and dedication.

Genesis 32 is a text about Jacob, the birth-right stealing personification of Israel, and his fight with a man in the night.

Tomorrow night, will it be just another memory?

Or just another song, that’s in my heart to linger on.

Jacob doesn’t let the man, God’s emissary, go until his plea for blessing gets a response from the figure.

And then he left to meet his estranged brother Esau. Would God remember what he said tonight?

Would God keep the promise of blessing once the fog of night lifted?

A lot of hope and promise come during our thoughts and prayers and dreams in the night. Will they linger on when we awake or be just memories?

The Chimes Care, Growth & Events

Prayers for THOSE IN MILITARY SERVICE This is a list of known servicemen/women in our Church family.

To add names, please call 404.228.7719.

Pray for: Chaplain Capt. Jamison Bowman ABE3 Gregory Bridges Sgt. Isaiah Bridges Lt. Col. Bradford W. Cousar LCPL Austin W.P. Eskew First Airman Kevin Lee Captain Alexandria Victoria Miller Captain John Warren Robey Captain Gabriel Rulewicz Ensign David B. Sibley USN Commander Ryan Tewell Col. Roderick G. Turner III 1st Sgt. Antonio G. Whitfield MC2 Tyler Wilson

Are YOU TRAVELING THIS SUMMER? Don’t forget to take us along.

Worship with us live from any place in the world. http://www.firstpresatl.org or www.firstpresbyterian.tv Sundays 9:00 a.m. & 11:15 a.m.

10:15 a.m. this summer

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Pastoral Care Report (As of July 21, 2011)

Recuperating: Lynne McCain Sanborn, Dottie Hitchcock

SINNERS ONLY. Old, white male seeks 10-12 black, white, technicolor male or female sinners to study The Word. 34 weeks, Wednesdays 9:30 am – 12:00 pm, starting Wednesday September 7, 2011. Call 404-285-8468 and ask for Jack or call 404-228-7713 and ask for Lindsay. Mention Disciple 1.

N o t i c e

o f

S p e c i a l

C o n g r e g at i o na l Me e t i ng The Session has called a special congregational meeting for Sunday August 7 immediately following the 10:15 morning worship service. The purpose of the meeting, which will be in the Sanctuary, is to vote on the Reverend Hardy Kim’s request that the congregation dissolve his call. Rev. Kim has accepted a call from the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago to be an associate pastor there. Following the congregational meeting there will be a reception during which gratitude and best wishes can be expressed to Rev. Kim. Signed William M. Earnest, Clerk of Session

The Chimes

First Presbyterian Church welcomes OUR new members: Ms. Emily Alexander Balentine Mr. Charles Beveridge Barbour Mr. Fredric (Rick) J. Bold, Jr. Mrs. Robyn Greene Bold

Light out of Darkness

Mr. William McIlwaine Clay Mrs. Jennifer Wood Clay Ms. Julia Lynn Fenwick Mrs. Anne Conyers Leader-Guether,

Music for the September 11th Tenth Anniversary Memorial Concert

Dr. John Joseph De Caro Mrs. Catherine O’Malley Hasbrouck Ms. Meghan Hawthorne Dr. Jerome Worth Lynn, Jr. Mrs. Nancy Coppedge Lynn

will & Kate Breytspraak

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t took us several months of exploration and discussion to arrive at the final program for Musica Sacra’s upcoming Tenth Anniversary Memorial Concert on September 11, 2011.

While many of the pieces considered were written in direct response to 9/11, we ultimately felt called to assemble a program with a broader perspective. Very intentionally, each of the pieces on the program shares a great deal of the darkness and light we have seen in humanity through the tragic events of 9/11 and the ten years of war and peace that have followed.

One of the most poignant works on the concert is from Polish composer Henryk Górecki’s hauntingly beautiful Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.

Movement II is a song-setting of a plea found on a Gestapo prison cell wall, written by an imprisoned 18-year-old girl named Helena:

“No, Mother, do not weep, Most chaste Queen of Heaven Help me always.

Hail Mary.”

On a wall otherwise filled with angry messages written by desperate prisoners, Helena’s plea for her mother not to weep shines bright with generosity and compassion. Helena’s message to her actual and spiritual mothers reminds us of the many 9/11 victims who made phone calls to their loved ones from the towers and the planes. The victims were much more concerned about letting their families know that they loved them than they were about their own lives.

The selflessness of humanity was abundantly apparent in even the darkest hours of 9/11 and the weeks and months that followed. It is our hope that this concert is a celebration of the true light of God and humanity on a day when we will also remember with great sadness the ashy darkness of September 11, 2001.

Mr. Walter Maldonado Malabuyoc Mr. Andrew Kieffer McConomy Ms. Deborah Ann McCoy Mr. Mark Myette Mrs. Mary Martha Myette Mrs. Karen Neuenschwander Mr. Spalding McArthur Nix Mrs. Aimee Bowles Nix Mr. Benjamin Paul Ost Mr. George William Rohrig Mrs. Dana Rohrig Mr. Charles Alexander Rohrig Mr. George Mathew Rohrig Dr. Zipangani Maury Vokhiwa Mr. Louie Blakeman Wood Mr. Louis Blakeman Wood

Interested in learning more about the music for this concert?

Will and Kate Breytspraak will give a lecture and listening session during the August 14th 9:00 am Sunday School hour in Fifield Hall.

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The Chimes

donations, the Atlanta Food Bank, and shopping trips to Aldi by other volunteers. But people can choose extras, such as cereal, peanut butter, mayonnaise, macaroni and cheese, “and a gazillion other things,” from the back shelf, Bonnie said.

The food goes fast. “We’ve given away 77 bags just on Monday and Wednesday,” she said.

First Presbyterian’s commitment to the community was a major reason Bonnie joined the church in 1992.

She’s been a big part of the ministry ever since.

Become a coupon clipper!

All those unused coupons in your Sunday paper can mean food in the bag for families in need around Atlanta.

Gayle White

B

onnie McAllister may not be a candidate for the new TV show “Extreme Couponing” but she knows how to make the Sunday newspaper inserts work for Community Ministries.

On a recent Wednesday—senior citizens’ discount day—she was in Publix with a detailed list and a fist full of coupons. Ritz crackers, usually $3.09, were on buy-one-get-one sale and Bonnie had a coupon for $1 off two, bringing the cost to about $1

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a box with the senior discount. With similar deals on other products, she spent $35.14 and saved $42.39. Then she was off to Kroger with an even longer list. There, after sales, coupons and discounts, she managed to get big boxes of Cheerios for nine cents.

She’ll use some of what she bought to cook a weekly lunch for the fortyto-fifty men and women who come to the church for mentoring; some will go into her regular monthly brunch for women in the 4th floor shelter; some will be put into “snack packs” for people who show up hungry. Most will be “back shelf” items at the food pantry.

Bonnie took on leadership of the pantry last year after long-time volunteer Nita Pierce fell at the age of 86 and retired from volunteer work. She’s supported by a strong team of fellow volunteers.

Basic canned goods for bags handed out at the pantry come from Sunday School food drives, weekly

It’s in the bag At the food pantry a family receives one bag of food for each two people, always rounded up.

A family of three would get two bags, for instance.

Each bag contains: One can each of corn and another yellow vegetable or potatoes One can each of green beans and another green vegetable One can of tuna, chicken or salmon One can of chunky soup One can of thinner soup One can each of pork-and-beans and other beans or peas One can of fruit or tomatoes One can of Chef Boyardee pasta from the Atlanta Food Bank Families may choose three “back shelf” items for the first bag and one for each additional bag.

What you can do Along with food donations, leave Sunday paper inserts and any other Kroger, Publix or manufacturers’ coupons in the Every Member Can bins.

Volunteer to help pack, hand out bags at the pantry or take shopping trips to Aldi’s.

The Chimes

Summer Fellowship Upcoming EVENTS

Sunday, July 31- 4:00 p.m.

FPC Potluck Picnic Piedmont Park - Main Pavilion Contact: Hardy Kim 404-228-7718 Saturday, August 6 Whitewater Rafting Trip Contact: Lindsay Armstrong 404-228-7713

Building a new Atlanta, one house at a time.

Sign-Up to Help Build Next Habitat House.

4 p.m. Lunch is furnished on site as are all needed tools. No skill or eginning on Saturday, August construction experience is required. FPC has constructed thirty 20, 2011, volunteers from one (31) Habitat homes since we First Presbyterian Church (FPC) will partner with volunteers from began in the 1980s. Please contact Bill Earnest (404/351-8030 or Radcliffe Presbyterian Church, WilliamMEarnest@yahoo.com) for Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic more information or to sign-up.

Church, St. Mark United MethAs sign-ups will be a “first come” odist Church, and the Parsonbasis, make your reservation(s) son Foundation to build a new, environmentally-friendly Habitat early as FPC only has room for ten (10) volunteers each Saturday. house here in Atlanta for a new homeowner and family. Construction of the house will occur on seven Saturdays (August 20 and Atlanta 27; September 10, 17 and 24; October 1 and 8). The work day begins at 8 a.m. and ends about

Sunday, August 14 - 11:15 a.m.

Ice Cream Social FPC Preschool playground Contact: Hardy Kim 404-228-7718

POT LUCK PICNIC Sunday, July 31 4:00 pm

Habitat for humanity

B

Summer is a time for taking a break from our usual hectic routines. Come relax with your FPC family in Piedmont Park as we gather for a pot-luck picnic. We’ll provide a main dish. Bring sides, desserts, and drinks to share.

Sunday, July 31 @ 4:00 pm Piedmont Park – Main Pavilion

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The Chimes nursery/preschool & elementary

youth YOUTH MISSIONS – SUMMER 2011 – HUGE SUCCESS!

Calling All Volunteers!!

A special thanks to everyone who participated in youth/college mission trips this summer to Haiti, Jamaica, St. Louis and Honduras! All the trips were amazing. The College students cleared rubble all week to help position local Haitians to rebuild their homes; the Jr. and Sr. High Youth worked in Jamaica digging 6 holes, building the outhouses and cementing them in, doing road work in Catadupa, building a room addition on to a home and working with afternoon children’s programs; combined Jr. and Sr. High group worked in St. Louis with a public middle school that will re-open in September, preparing a f es o l i home for elderly to inhabit, working at a local M and t! r s e o l homeless day shelter and doing tornado i p s M Pas t a relief work; finally in Honduras we built a s Smile home for a family in the Colonia District. All the trips went very well. Special thanks to the congregation for supporting Youth Mission for Summer 2011!

YOUTH DEPARTMENT TAKES A BRIEF BREAK!

Calling All Volunteers!!

Both the elementary and nursery/preschool ministries need volunteers for the summer and the 2011-2012 program year. If you are interested in teaching Sunday school, volunteering with LOGOS on Wednesday nights, participating as part of the committees, or rotating on the halls please contact Katharine Hamer at khamer@ firstpresatl.org for Nursery/ Preschool or Morgan Moore at mmoore@firstpresatl.org or Joel Moore at jmoore@firstpresatl.org for Elementary.

We look forward to seeing you at the FPC summer fellowship opportunities! Be sure to check out the schedule on page 3 of this Chimes for upcoming events!!

After the Youth Family Mission Trip to Honduras, we will have two weeks break for the Youth Department. We will not have fellowship events on Sunday, July 24 or 31 but will start back up with Lunch and Putt Putt on August 7 and Youth Leadership Lunch and Planning meeting on Sunday, August 14.

Enjoy some time off and spend some quality time with your family. Allison will be out of town August 1-7 and Alan will be in Greek School.

UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS! Youth Fellowship Lunch and Putt Putt- August 7 at 11:30-3:00 PM All Youth are invited to join Alan for lunch and Putt Putt at Mountaisia. Bring money for lunch and putt putt – about $15.00. We will depart church at 11:30 and return for pick up about 3:00 PM. Youth Leadership Lunch and Planning Meeting – August 14 at 11:30-1:30 PM All Youth serving on the Youth Leadership Team for 2011-2012 school year, please make arrangements to meet on Sunday for lunch and planning. We will revisit the work we did at the May Retreat and make plans for this year.

Please make every effort to attend. Lunch $8.00.

Youth Parent BrainStorm Session – August 14 at 6:00 PM All Youth Parents are invited to join us for a “Talk Back” Time to discuss the Youth Program and ideas you may have to improve it! We are always looking for new and fresh ideas for our Youth Program. Please join us for this Brainstorming Session. We will meet in B111. We will have appetizers and mocktails!

Vacation Bible School was cool!

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Youth/Parent KICK-OFF Lunch – August 28 – 11:30-1:30 PM All Youth and Parents are invited to join us for lunch and an information overhaul. We will share all the plans for the 2011-2012 Youth Program. We will show pictures from the 2011 Mission Trips, hear from youth who participated, meet adult advisors, and share plans for this year – musicals, mission trips, and much more! Join us! Lunch - $8.00.

The Chimes adult sunday school

S u m m e r a d u lt S u n d ay S c h o o l July 31 “Christian Views on the News: Immigration” Rev. Hardy Kim August 7 “Christian Views on the News: Mental Health Budget Cuts” John Marriner

The Fourth Fisherman

August 14 Sept. 11th Memorial Concert Listen and Learn Will & Kate Breytspraak

3 Fishermen Who Look Lost 1 American Who Is Lost

“No one has ever heard, told, or possibly imagined a story like it.”

-The New Yorker CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

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fter making his fortune telling the stories of others in shows like Seinfeld, Walker Texas Ranger, Married with Children and Mad About You, former Columbia Tri-Star Television syndication executive Joe Kissack discovered he was at the center of his next story.

In October 2005, a few days shy of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, fishermen Salvador Ordonez, Lucio Rendon and Jesus Vidana packed four days’ worth of food and water into a 27-foot motorboat.

No one heard from them until the next August, when Taiwanese mariners rescued them off the coast of Australia, nearly 6,000 miles from home.

The poverty-stricken sailors had been adrift in the Pacific Ocean for almost 10 months; they were lost at sea longer than anyone in recorded history.

Simultaneously, the seemingly successful Kissack had been drifting

through a nightmare on land. “On the outside, it looked like I was perfect,” he said. On the inside, “I didn’t want to live.”

Hitting rock bottom, Kissack had a watershed moment when he felt led

by God to reach out to the shipwreck survivors. Their story was one of faith and hope; Kissack wanted to tell it.

“I’m going to do whatever it takes to get that story told,” he vowed. Unexpectedly but willingly he spent every dime he had because of that commitment.

What he also didn’t expect was his story powerfully connecting with theirs. So, how are three fishermen going to save another man’s marriage and change his life? Kissack’s new book explains: “The Fourth Fisherman: How Three Mexican Fishermen Changed My Life and Saved My Marriage.” Kissack himself will also tell the story and sign books at FPC on Sunday, August 21 from 9:00 – 10:00 am in Fifield Hall. All are welcome.

“It’s a miracle…people said. But no one knew just how incredible the story would get.” – GQ Magazine

August 21 “The Fourth Fisherman” David Kissack August 28 “A Look at FPC’s History” Bill Lyons September 4 “Stories in Stained Glass” Bill Lyons

The Internationals Class July 31 Dr.George T. Brown, Jr., “The Friendship Force and the World Today.”

August 7 Grace Bopchway, “Life in Ghana and Italy.”

Sundays, Room 327 9:00 – 10:00 am

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The Chimes

Worship for July 31

“Without music, life is a journey through a desert” Communion Service - 8:30 am,

Led by Rev. Lindsay P. Armstrong and Mr. Joel T. Moore Sunday School for all ages 9:00 am, Worship Service at 10:15 am

Rev. Kevin D. Knab preaching Fellowship Hour- 11:15 am

For information about private music instruction and group music, dance, and art classes, please visit us on the web or call: Kate Breytspraak, Director www.PSPAonline.org (404) 404-228-7762 kbreytspraak@firstpresatl.org

Graduation, wedding, baptism... we have gifts and cards appropriate for all occasions. Let us assist you in making a selection.

the Mustard Seed

Wednesdays 9-1 Sundays 9-1 (404) 201-6442 info@themustardseedbookstore.com

Music for July 31

y Drop b d an ! say hi

Prelude Anthem

Offertory Ben Rsp Postlude

Chant de Mai – Joseph Jongen The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee – Berger Roy Howington, tenor Amen – Robinson Alla Marcia – John Ireland

WEEKLY BROADCASTS Sundays live at 9:00 am & 11:15 am On demand anytime www.firstpresatl.org/servicesonline AIB Cable Network (Comcast Channel 5; Smyrna Channel 22) Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

WORSHIP Sunday Communion Service - 8:30 am Sunday Worship Services -9:00 am & 11:15 am Sunday School 10:05 am HOW TO CONTACT US Phone/404-892-8461 Fax/404-228-7760 E-mail: youbelong@firstpresatl.org Web: www.firstpresatl.org

First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta 1328 Peachtree Street, NE Atlanta, GA 30309-3209 Bi-weekly Newsletter of

The Chimes

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Atlanta, GA Permit No. 1521

The Chimes

Get Connected at FPC! Fall Campaign Kicks Off on Sunday, September 11 Get connected at FPC

Ed Trimble

W

hy has each of us chosen to be part of the First Presbyterian of Atlanta community? We have our own unique reasons. Some were drawn by the sermons, some by our community and international ministries, others by our preschool and children’s programs.

I’m here because my wife insisted we drive toward the city, not away from the city, to find our church home. She realized 15 years ago what I’ve come to realize over time; First Presbyterian is a place where it’s easy to put our Christian faith into action.

For all our various reasons for joining our great church, I believe we share the desire for Connection.

Connection with other like-minded Christians. Connection with our spiri-

tual leaders. And ultimately a greater Connection with our Maker through his Son and through the Holy Spirit that moves among us.

On September 11, we will be kicking off a 5-week campaign that we’re calling “Get Connected at FPC!” The goal of the campaign is to support more Connection among our members and out into our neighborhoods with people who may be seeking a church community.

We have a lot of exciting initiatives planned as part of Get Connected.

We will begin an external advertising campaign that will include billboards, NPR, AJC.com, and targeted online ads on Google and Facebook. The campaign will focus on the messages that we believe define us as a com-

pelling place to worship and serve: Community and International Ministry, Traditional Service, Amazing Music, 5-Star Preschool and Children’s Programs, and 2500 Members. At the same time, Our CARE ministry will be announcing our new Neighborhood Parish program that is being piloted this summer. And we will be actively encouraging members and visitors to engage with our Web site and our new Facebook page. Finally, we plan to publish and print a new family pictorial directory for the entire church.

Be on the lookout for “Get Connected” in the fall and think about using this campaign as an opportunity to invite new visitors or less-active members to get involved with our wonderful community of faith and action.

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LET’S GO

with Whitewater Express – Camp Ocoee When: Saturday, August 6, 2011 Carpool departs FPC at 8:30 am Return by 5:00 pm

Accepting the call Rev. Hardy Kim follows God’s calling, as it leads him to Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago.

Where: Middle Ocoee River Who: Any FPC members and friends (must be age 12 or over) Cost: $45 per person, includes lunch. Financial assistance available.

For more info: Contact Lindsay Armstrong at 404.228.7713 or online at www.whitewaterexpress.com To secure your spot, register on-line at www.firstpresatl.org First come, first serve reservations, with a maximum of 75 people.

All are welcome.

Please join us!

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CHURCH GROWTH

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ear First Presbyterian Church Family. After a long process of prayer, discernment, and contemplation of God’s call upon my life, I have decided to accept a new call to serve as associate pastor at the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago.

I realize that my decision may come as sudden news to many of you.

I know that it seems like we have just gotten to know each other, and that our ministry together has hardly begun. I regret that some of the dreams we had about growing the church together will not bear fruit while I am here—but I leave knowing that capable leaders in the Church Growth Council will remain faithful in their service.

I also have faith in the future of First because I have experienced,

personally, amazing love and support for me and my family through the whole FPC community. It has been a privilege to serve among you, to bear witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in your midst, and to be able to call myself a member of a gathering of such faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

In my time as Associate Pastor for Church Growth at FPC, I have seen deep strength of commitment to following God’s call to serve here, and I have felt the vitality of vision and enthusiasm of the congregation. I am sure that the good work we have done together will be continued in the years to come; and I will pray that the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta will continue to be blessed by God, to be a shining example of God’s grace to this city and to the world.

May the peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all.

In Christ’s name,

Hardy H. Kim