8:00 a.m.—Sunday

10:30 a.m.—Thursday, 

Christian Education

9:15 a.m.—Sunday

Holy Eucharist Rite II

10:30 a.m.—Sunday

Morning Prayer

9:15 a.m. Tuesday & Thursday (Parlor)

Evening Service

7 p.m.—Wednesday

For example, for those of us who think they know everything there is to know about our fair city or for the curious at heart, make plans to attend our brand of "COLLEGE PARK EXPOSED" presented by Jane Randolph, on June 17. Jane will be conducting bus tours of College Park with more fun and interesting facts than you ever dreamed existed, right in our own backyard! Tickets will be on sale soon, but mark your calendars for this fun day that will also include refreshments at the church.

Beginning this month, we’ll be offering Centennial Celebration Gifts every Sunday. Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime event! Order forms will be available in Bott Hall,

"Jim & Joe" - Please note: this is a departure from our regularly scheduled programming ("Jim & Joe" is normally scheduled on the 2nd Monday of the month.)

Sunday, June 11

NO 2nd Sunday Brunch

Monday June 12

Jim leaves for the 75th General Convention

Wednesday, June 17

College Park Exposed, with Jane Randolph

Thursday, June 22

NO Speeders

Sunday, June 25

Youth rock climbing event

The 16th annual Taste of Latin America Dinner, a special potluck meal sponsored by the Diocese of Atlanta's Hispanic Ministry Committee, is planned at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20, in the Great Hall of the Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. All people of the diocese are invited to attend, bring friends and, if possible, ethnic food to share. People planning to attend should call the Diocesan Office at 404-601-5320 or 800-537-6743. Hispanic parishioners will prepare special dishes from Latin America. There will be craft items for sale, a raffle and silent auction as well as Latin American music. After dinner, members of the Hispanic Ministry Committee will pass sombreros to receive contributions for humanitarian projects in Latin America. ¡Bienvenidos Todos Amigos!

Please return this form with $40 check attached to the church office or mail to 3480 Main Street, College Park, GA 30337.

I want to speak to you about several things. I’ll start locally, and move outward until, as you’ll see, we’ll touch on issues of global importance.

Where have all the flowers gone? We offer a great deal on flowers for our Sunday service ($40). It is unlikely that you could go to a florist and get one arrangement like ours for that price, much less the two we use.
We invite people to sign up to buy flowers for specific Sundays. When you do so, you not only get to honor or remember a loved one or special occasion, but you also help us defray the cost of having our beautiful flowers on the altar. I don’t know why, but for the last year or so, fewer and fewer people have been signing up to buy Sunday flowers. Please consider sponsoring the flowers to honor someone, to remember a departed loved one, or to commemorate an anniversary or birthday. You may sign up on a sheet in Bott Hall and give or mail your check (marked "Flowers" and the date you are sponsoring) to Lee Barthelette in the office. Thanks!

Thanks, but we’re not there yet. We hired Lee Barthelette, our new Parish Administrator, and agreed to pay her a living wage on faith; the money was not in the budget, and the budget is very, very tight. (Lee is a delight to have, by the way, and she’s quickly learning her very complicated job.) Last month I sent you a letter asking those who are able to do so to increase their pledges. Many of you have responded, and we are thankful. Some have already given sacrificially and cannot give more. We are grateful for what you have done. Some, however, have probably just let it slip your minds. We need your help. Please carefully and prayerfully consider whether you can respond. Supplemental pledge cards are in the back of the church, as are copies of my letter. Thank you! Let’s end the year in the black!

Help the Diocese of Atlanta plant new churches. If you have not gotten it already, before long you should receive a letter from our Bishop asking you to make a contribution to the Alleluia Fund for Mission, an Easter season giving opportunity to help start new churches in our diocese (which comprises Middle and North Georgia). This is a subject dear to my heart because (1) I think the only faithful response to the population growth in our diocese is to plant new churches so that more people will have the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ (and I believe that there are many people who will not be able to hear of Jesus’ Good News in any other denomination), and (2) I am the chair of the newly formed New Starts Task Force of the diocese, which has the task of planting new churches (this replaces my commitment as chair of the Commission on Congregational Growth and Development). We are anxious to have the resources to start planting new churches. If you can help, please respond in the envelope in the Bishop’s letter or by taking an envelope in the back of the church. Brochures describing the Alleluia Fund for Mission are also available.

Pray for General Convention! The Seventy-fifth General Convention of the Episcopal Church begins June 13 in Columbus, Ohio. General Convention meets once every three years and is the governing body of the Episcopal Church. It consists of two houses: a House of Bishops and a House of Deputies. The House of Deputies consists of four clergy and four laity elected from each of the 110 dioceses. (I’ll teach a class on how the Church is governed and issues that will come up at General Convention.) While every "GC" is important, this one faces difficult issues that pit concerns for justice and inclusion with our desire for unity
 as we try to work out issues of sexuality with those who disagree within our church and in the worldwide Anglican Communion. We will also elect a new Presiding Bishop, the head of the church who serves for nine years and lives in New York City. (Our Bishop, Neil Alexander, is one of the nominees.) The Convention will deal with many other issues relating to how we govern ourselves and how we strive to bring peace, justice, and dignity to the world.

Anyway, it’s Easter: Once, at dinner with a friend (whom I’ll call John), I expressed my sorrow about a friendship that had died. (I’ll call that friend Joe.) I had taken a position with which Joe disagreed and found very upsetting, and Joe had cut off the relationship. I told John how sad I was, and how painful it was to find out that something, anything even, could have caused Joe to sever the relationship.

"I have a few friends," John responded, "not many, but a few, that I call my ‘Anyway Friends.’ They are the people that I know will love me anyway. Whatever I’ve done, however I’ve angered, hurt, or disappointed them, I know they’ll love me. I may be dead wrong, and we may have a lot to work through, but the thought of severing the relationship is simply inconceivable. They love me anyway."

I think that’s how God loves us, and how God calls us to love one another.

The Daughters of the King will be available to pray with anyone with a special need (or any need!) in the chapel after the 10:30 service.

A huge "thank you" goes out to all those who helped with preparations for Easter and Holy Week, especially the decorators, ushers, greeters, vestry, altar guild, workday participants, breakfast & egg hunt organizers, and office volunteers. It was a glorious and beautiful Easter

Thanks to all for your hard work!

Jim will be at Perk Place in Hapeville on North Central, near Dogwood, on Monday, May 8 , from 5-6 p.m. Come enjoy a cup of Joe and an open mic discussion with Jim.

Articles for the next Eagle Notes issue are due Monday, June 12. Please e-mail articles to parishadmin@stjohnscollegepark.com.

Robbin Iddins Outreach/Civic Duty, Youth Sr. Warden

Debbie Reeves Finance Jr. Warden

Jason Barringer Youth, Finance

Jackie Berlin Outreach, Inreach, Buildings & Grounds

Al Dixon Finance, Properties

Carl Franzman Parish Life, Inreach

Sarah Clark Parish Growth/Development, Parish Life

David McLeod Worship, Parish Life

Carolyn Pierce Parish Life

Dan Seipel Parish Life, Outreach/Civic Duty

Martha Spring Parish Growth/Development, Inreach