News

We are excited to present to you “The Monthly” for September 2026.

Check out this month’s newsletter for:

• “Monthly Letter: Re-Shaping” by Rev. Thomas
• Re-shaped – A Worship Series for New Beginnings
• Everywhere you look – Common Read
• 20s/30s Pottery Night
• Kids Space: Messy Church
• A Story from Central’s History: “A good idea abandoned”

Click here to download “The Monthly”! There are also paper copies in The Commons, in The Sanctuary, and in the Church office. Be sure to add events and gatherings that you‘re interested in to your calendar.

Enjoy “The Monthly” and all the events and gatherings you are going to attend!

This Sunday, August 23rd,  you are invited to attend the 60th Anniversary Worship Service for the Southeast Conference, hosted at First Congregational UCC at 11 am. 

We will not have a worship service at Central and we are looking forward to seeing you at First Congregational UCC (105 Courtland St NE, Atlanta, GA, 30303) for the joint service. 

This service will also be livestreamed on YouTube. Use this link if you want to join online. 

Our Sunday School classes canceled their meetings for this Sunday morning. The Sunday Morning Bible Study, the Practical Theology Class and the New Perspective Class will meet again on Sunday, August 30th, 9:45 am. 

The Sandwich Sunday group rescheduled their meeting for August 30th as well. 

We’ll see you again at Central on August 30th for the New Member Sunday and the start of a new Worship Series. Be on the lookout for more updates next week! 

Join us for our 4th annual celebration and blessing of the start of the new school year.

ALL students and teachers from preK – grad school are invited to bring their backpack, basket, tote bag, etc to church for a special blessing and moment of celebration during the 11AM worship service. 

Our summer break is almost over and the New Perspectives class will meet on Sunday, August 2nd for a planning session to determine where we go next. 

The class was started four and a half years ago to look at Scripture from a different perspective: bringing a historical background to Scripture. 

Our studies have covered a wide range of topics from series about the New Testament to Violence in Religion, the Gnostics and the Christian Nationalist movement among others. 

If you have not joined us previously, or if there is a topic you would like to explore, please join us downstairs in Room 103 at 9:45 a.m.  on August 2nd.   All are welcome! 

Please contact Nancy W. for more information.

Madeline Reamy is offering 20 percent off on her wall paintings for the last two weeks of her art show in the Commons. All paintings are ready to hang and make great additions to your home or as gifts for friends and family. The smaller tabletop paintings are still available for sale as marked and not discounted. 

Twenty percent of all sales go to Central to support our many programs. 

Madeline’s message for you: “Thank you for your support, and please contact me with any questions or if you are interested in art classes and future opportunities to see or purchase my paintings: [email protected]”.

Join Jillian W. and Rev. Thomas on Thursday nights for a summer discussion group where we’ll explore Christian imagery and themes in the works of Lady Gaga. Please sign up, so we know who’s interested: Electric Chapel Sign Up.

Thursdays at 7pm | Connie & JoAnne’s house | Sign up for address info.

Friends, Christians, countrymen, 

We’ve heard descriptions of the Holy Spirit quite a bit in recent sermons: it’s present but invisible, like a breeze; comforting and dependable, like a blanket. The week before Jesus ascended to heaven, he described the Holy Spirit as an “advocate” or “comforter” he was leaving with the disciples. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire that made the disciples understandable in every language.

In the GenXYZ class, we’re picking up the story right after this happens. We’re exploring the lives and actions of the nascent Christian church after Jesus left. We”ve discovered how they express their remarkable experience to others and what they did in response to the message, “you have been saved”. I’m not really sure where to find the Holy Spirit in my life, or where it’s leading me. That’s one of the things that drew me to the class.

Together, we’ve found some guidance on where to begin  The early church in Acts 2:42 “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers”. In pursuing those tenets: apostles’ teachings, fellowship, shared meals, and prayers, we’ve been able to take small steps towards listening to the Holy Spirit when it calls us and emulating Jesus in our everyday actions. Quoth Reverend Liz, “Have you seen him?”

So far in our reading, the Holy Spirit has filled and empowered the apostles to share the truth of Jesus. In Acts Chapter 2, while witnessing to crowds in Jerusalem on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit made them understandable in every language. When they were questioned in Acts Chapter 4 after being imprisoned for speaking of Jesus’ resurrection, it filled the uneducated disciples with the boldness to proclaim Jesus’ message of salvation for all. Moreover, the church’s actions after Jesus left are radical, then and now: they held all possessions in common, gave their material wealth to those in need, and focused their lives on supporting one another and spreading witness. 

In that light, the Holy Spirit looks like something incredible; a momentous force that can spur large groups of people to act with peace, love, and understanding. I want to experience it, but my everyday life feels very far from the world of the early church. How can I become filled with the Holy Spirit? From what we’ve read thus far, I think it’s about leaning into boldness, spontaneity, and action, as the early church did. I don’t have the full picture, though, so I’m excited to hear your thoughts on Sunday. 

I do think I’ve heard the Holy Spirit in my life before. You might be familiar–that pain you feel when you see someone in need, the little voice that says “Someone should do something”? I think that’s a whisper of the Holy Spirit, pushing us to action in the things we care about. Because God loves us, he gives us the ability to add more love, kindness, and justice to the chaotic world we inhabit. Each person is uniquely skilled in some part of making the world better, no matter how small. I hope you’ll join the conversation on how to reflect God’s love in our world. It wouldn’t be the same without you. 

Thanks for lending your ears, 

Autumn Siebold