News

May 10th –  June 15th

Central is participating in the TCHA “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” campaign, and has volunteered to collect 700 cans of BLACK BEANS by June 15th. Please join us in this worthy campaign! Look for this flyer in the Commons and the office area, and you’ll find the receptacles to put your cans. Thank you for your donations!

June 22, 2.30 pm @ Theatrical Outfit (84 Luckie Street NW Atlanta, GA, 30303)

ASL interpreted performance

After last Friday’s great turnout to see Will’s show, we decided to go ahead and plan the next outing: Young John Lewis, a “Made in Atlanta” World Premiere Hip Hop Musical. We chose the Sunday matinee at Theatrical Outfit, on June 22nd, so we can caravan from church.

Tickets are selling quickly, so check out more details here and let Julie McBride ([email protected], 404-226-4547) know if you want to go by Monday, May 19th.  We can get 20% off tickets if we have a group of at least 10. Looking forward to our next outing!

Sunday, May 4, @ 12 pm, The Commons

Featured ONE-WOMAN EXHIBIT artist this spring and summer 2025 is Elizabeth Samoluk. Her artworks include oil, acrylic, watercolor, and drawing, with most works created “En Plein Air” throughout Atlanta, from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Savannah, Georgia. Elizabeth also included some pieces from her western journeys to capture the beauty of our U.S. National Parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites! Elizabeth is happy to donate a portion of her sales to the church.

You can find out more about her and her story this Sunday, after worship. Steve Siminski, Central’s art exhibit coordinator, is organizing a Welcome reception for Elizabeth in the Commons, during the Coffee Hour.

It will be such a joy on Sunday to see our Sanctuary overflow with the lilies you offered in honor of, or in memory of someone. Here is this year’s Lilies and Easter Mission Project Donor List .

And remember you have a few more days to offer a gift to our Easter Mission Project, which benefits El Refugio. El Refugio envisions a world without immigration detention. To maximize our support, we will accept donations to this fund by the end of April. You can use the online form or the printed form that you can find at the entrance to the Sanctuary.

Thursday, April 10, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Room 102

An educator from the Dekalb County Fire Department will provide in-person CPR/AED training (without cost) for our church community at Central. All are welcome. Please note, this training will not lead to formal CPR certification.

On April 12, Lena’s Place will host “Bob & The Beatles!“–a beloved tradition at the Coffeehouse. Come, bring your friends to listen to your Dylan and Beatles favorites–we all know the words!

Proceeds for this concert have traditionally gone to The Lena Werking Fund, which provides grants to area nonprofits, helping to fulfill the dream of its initial benefactor and Coffeehouse namesake, Lena Werking.

You won’t want to miss this show! Doors open at 6:30 pm. The concert starts at 7:00 pm.

Contact Evelyn Brewer for more information: [email protected] .

Founded in 1984,  Lena’s Place Coffeehouse, is Atlanta’s longest running month music coffeehouse and showcase. Lena’s Place is a monthly opportunity to experience an eclectic mix of acoustic artists in a coffeehouse atmosphere. Lena’s is staffed by volunteers who love (and often play) music and who take pride in a professional presentation. Join us every Second Saturday at Central, in the Sanctuary. Doors open at 7pm! A suggested donation to support our rotating nonprofit gift designees is $10 at the door. For more information, you can check our calendar or visit Lena’s Place on Facebook.

At the end of 2024, the National Ministries of the United Church of Christ awarded a Neighbors-in-Need grant of $2500 to Central UCC to support the bagged lunch project for the Central Outreach & Advocacy Center (OAC). The award recognizes the embodiment of faith in the service of community. Once a month, Maureen O’Brien and her team provide bagged lunches for Central OAC clients experiencing homelessness. Congratulations to Maureen and all who have contributed to this justice-building project!

Steve Siminski, Central’s art exhibit coordinator, is presenting his own paintings in the Commons from Jan 5th through March 31st, 2025.

During his early childhood, Steve was inspired by his grandmother as she periodically mailed him painting and art supplies while he attended North Carolina School for the Deaf and Fort Lauderdale Oral School. “As a manufacturer and designer of young girl dresses, she endlessly did sketches and drawings of dresses for her business. I was so fascinated by her proficient drawings and strong fashion knowledge. She was a genius in designing dresses“, Steve said.

Steve took up the Art Exhibit coordinator role at Central after Elsie Dresch, the former coordinator. Steve and Elsie met weekly for 4 years as she taught Steve how to improve his painting. “I learned so much from Elsie, and my painting skills improved tremendously. I am so grateful that I had her as my art teacher. She was an inspiration to me”.

The central theme of Steve’s paintings is landscape, flowers, bees and nature.

Steve will donate 20% of the proceeds from the sales of his paintings to the church. There will be a Coffee, Tea, and Conversation reception after the 11 am service on January 5th.

Rev. Thomas has been selected as one of 14 UCC ministers to participate in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative (NGLI). Founded in 2008 by the United Church Board of Ministerial Assistance, NGLI supports young clergy in build[ing] “vibrant congregations.”

Rev. Thomas spent a week in Memphis, TN, meeting the rest of his cohort. Here’s what Rev. Thomas said after returning from the orientation week:

It was wonderful to be back in Memphis, and even more wonderful meeting the rest of my NGLI cohort. I’m so excited for this opportunity to connect with other younger clergy who have felt and are living out a call to serve in local churches, with an eye towards the new work that God and Christ may be calling us all towards. I look forward to reconnecting my and other NGLI cohorts in Kansas City this summer during General Synod.

Learn more about NGLI.