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Correction - Megan's Baby Shower
We apologize for the earlier open invitation that was sent in error. Megan's shower is a special event for youth families. If you missed your invitation and would like to come, RSVP here.
If you’d like to show your support, you’re welcome to browse Megan’s baby registry and send a gift. Click the link below or email her to share your love and excitement as she embarks on this beautiful new chapter. Thank you for your understanding and kindness!
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Weaving Prayers
Remember these?
Prayer flags from our summertime liturgy!
For six weeks, (just in case you played hooky a lot this past summer), we engaged in interactive prayers of the people and wrote our prayers on strips of fabric during church with Crayola markers. We looped them onto clothesline and strung them between the pillars surrounding the Nave, until at last the lines were full and beautiful with color and the light shining through. We prayed well.
As I resupplied the tables with more fabric strips each week, I spent time reading the prayers and found it to be quite moving. It carried me into your heartfelt prayers and by my reading, they were prayed again. That’s what happens when we pray together. We are strengthened and encouraged, and our hearts crack open a bit with joy, compassion, shared sorrow, and thanksgiving. That’s why we call it “the Prayers of the People.”
At the end of summer, we took down the flags and collected them all into a basket. It had a bit of the feeling of “Well, now what are we going to do with them?”
The basket felt to me like “a begging bowl,” which means, in modern spiritual practices, hands cupped out together, or holding a stone bowl or a basket, just out and gracefully open like the heart, ready to receive from God as God might bestow blessing. Seeing that basket piled up in a heap in my office was like daily invocation, invoking God to be present, and summoning me to pray and to hold your prayers for the long haul.
And now look what we’ve done! A Celtic weaving practice!
A Diocesan gathering of the Daughters of the King joined me at Holy Innocents for a Celtic Ways to Pray retreat on Saturday. One of our “Celtic” practices was to weave. Weaving is a form of Celtic art that expresses the intricate relationship between heaven and earth and affirms the notion that human and divine are inextricably joined together.
Simple cardboard looms strung with yarn for the warp, your prayers of the people, as the weft! These women are praying women. They’ve taken vows that compel them to pray daily, and they loved being immersed in your prayers.
One member wrote to me with this thought afterward:
It was such a “moving experience, lifting prayers for people I did not know, and probably will never know, but each prayer I lifted up, as I wove the material through the loom, was meaningful and freeing somehow. Even the ones that were just a name or a scribble.”
We call Room 109 in the children’s wing our “Studio.” If you think it might lift your soul and steady your heart, please try the Celtic art of weaving, and spend a little time in the studio, on your own, or with a friend. Engage visually and tactilely in prayer, all the while creating a beautiful piece of art.
Happily, woven together with you in this prayerful faith community,
Ruth+
The Rev. Ruth Pattison
Associate Rector
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Pledge Update
Our stewardship campaign, Nurturing Faith and Cultivating Community, is making exciting progress! We’ve received $1,216,557 in pledges, which brings us to 80% of our $1.54 million goal. This generosity comes from 170 pledges, including 15 new pledges—thank you!
We’re inspired by this momentum but need 10 additional new pledges to meet our goal of 25.
We especially encourage newcomers and families with young children to join this vital commitment. Every pledge supports ministries that enrich all ages, from children and youth programs to outreach and worship.
As we are reminded in 2 Corinthians 9:7, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give…for God loves a cheerful giver.
Together, we can build a strong foundation for our church and community.
If you’d like to discuss your pledge, please reach out to Bill or Stewart.
Visit our Giving Page today to learn more and make your pledge!
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An Unexpected Guide
to Human Nature & Happiness
Join the Rev. John Porter and Rev. Dr. Bill Murray each week at 9:00 AM in Inglett Hall as they lead conversations filled with quotes and ideas from thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, the French Enlightenment as well as Jesus, the prophets, and a long line of Christian thinkers.
How do we work together? What do I owe my neighbor and myself? What do we do when they drive us crazy? What do we want in this life or the next? How does all of this work as individuals, as a community, and with our faith?
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Thanksgiving Food Drive
October 21-November 21
Emmaus House believes the holidays together is an important factor in maintaining family ties. With your help, we will help families in need enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We seek donations of bags filled with customary holiday side items. Please pick up a reuseable bag, with the list of requested items. Drop off filled bags at the church before November 21st. If you are able to help drop off bags to Emmaus House, please sign up below.
Contact Lilia Romero | lgrrn@comcast.net | 404-422-0523
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VG Opening: Angels Among Us
December 5, 6:00-7:30 PM
Join us at the Ventulett Gallery on December 5th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM for the opening of Angles Among Us, an inspiring exhibition showcasing the work of Judie Jacobs and other talented local artists. Discover a collection of pieces that invite viewers to explore unique perspectives, celebrate creativity, and experience the artistry within our community. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with captivating art and connect with artists from around the area!
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Adopt a Child this Christmas
November 17-December 7
Thank You for Your Outpouring of Secret Santa Support!
Gratefully, 79 children have been adopted this year for the CAC and Solidarity Sandy Springs Secret Santa program, and we have only 37 children remaining with their wish lists. Our care for our neighbors in need is abundantly clear and your generosity is greatly appreciated!
If you would like to adopt some of the remaining children, wish list envelopes are available in Bishop Common through Sunday, Nov. 24. Or, if you’re unable to be at church, you can contact Jan Paul directly at janpaul1005@gmail.com, and she will provide you with scans of wish lists and directions. Please return unwrapped gifts to Holy Innocents by Tuesday, Dec. 3.
If you would like to volunteer to help sort gifts at Holy Innocents on Dec. 4 or 5, please contact Doug Peterson at dopete29@gmail.com. Thank you again for your kindness!
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Christmas Concert & Lunch
December 11, 11:30 AM
Get into the holiday spirit on Wednesday, December 11, with lunch at 11:30 AM, followed by a delightful Christmas Concert featuring our very own Randy Romig and his friend Cathy Adams on our Steinway piano. They’ll bring joy to the season as they “tickle the ivories” with festive tunes!
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HIYA: Secret Santa
December 8, 4:30 PM
We’re excited to invite you to a fun opportunity with our young adult group! On Sunday, December 8th, right after the church service, we’ll be hosting a White Elephant gift exchange. Bring a wrapped gift under $35 to participate. To help us plan, just let us know if you’re coming. We hope to see you there for some laughs and festive cheer!
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Women of HI: Cookie Swap
December 8
Sunday soup and salad and a festive spread of cookies to swap. Bring 3 dozen of your own favorite Christmas cookies and exchange them with other bakers to go home with a lovely variety of home-baked goodies.
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FOMA: Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus
December 15, 4:30 PM
“It’s Just Isn’t Christmas Until the Gay Men Sing!” The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus is back with our 44th Annual Holiday Concert. This holiday show is a preview of the one at the Cathedral of St. Philip – an Atlanta tradition that is not to be missed. This year our show will be on the third weekend in December, and we’ll be joined by a jazz combo to bring you holiday favorites and the combination of beauty, camp, power, and joy that only the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus can.
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Third Friday: Men of HI
December 20
Enjoy warm hospitality, engaging discussions, and a fresh sausage and biscuit breakfast. Come for the conversation and stay for the fellowship—7:30 AM in the Frost Youth Center.
Contact Charles Crosby | charles@corepm.net
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Advent Wreath and Breakfast
December 1
Join us December 1 from 9-10 AM as we celebrate the season and prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ. Our youth will cook a delicious breakfast for $5 online and $10 at the door. You and your loved ones can create your own Advent wreaths for $15 with all proceeds going directly to the youth group. Please register by November 25th.
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GLOW
December 4 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Let’s GLOW for advent. Kids come and join us for some advent FUN! Wear your favorite Christmas shirt and get ready for some fun games and go home with a very special advent activity to use at home. Kids ages PreK-5 grade.
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St. Nicholas Sunday
December 8
Join us on Sunday, December 8 to celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas and wear your favorite Christmas pajamas! We will have a special children’s chapel and leave our shoes out for a treat from St. Nicholas, and we might even have a visit from the Saint himself!
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Kid's Christmas Lunch
December 8, 11:30 AM
Kids ages PreK-5th grade are invited to a special Christmas Lunch and Cookie Decorating in celebration of St. Nicholas Sunday. Stay after church until 12:30 and enjoy a festive meal, cookie decorating, and fun with friends! Registration is required.
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Youth Group | White Elephant
December 8, 4:00 PM
Let's celebrate the upcoming birth of our King! Join us for a special youth group on Sunday, December 8th from 4:00-6:00 PM as we enjoy a meal together and play the fun game of White Elephant. Anyone who wishes to participate must bring a wrapped gift. Limit of $35 per gift.
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Club 45: Christmas Party
December 22, 9:00 AM
4th & 5th graders: Join us for a festive Club 45 Christmas Party on December 22 at 9:00am. Did you know that in 1965, astronauts played “Jingle Bells” on a harmonica in space? Well we won’t be playing harmonicas during our party but we will play some fun Christmas games and share some special treats. Bring your holiday spirit and get ready for a festive morning!
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Children’s Choir
December 22
Our Children's Choir will sing on Sunday, December 22nd as part of the 10:15 Lessons & Carols.
Rehearsals are ongoing in Sunday School and Children's Chapel; kids can join any time. We are so excited to give children this opportunity to share their joy. Contact Ms. Renee if you have any questions!
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Christmas Pageant
December 24
Mark your calendars for a wonderful afternoon as children retell the Nativity story! Children are rehearsing for the pageant in Sunday school and Children's Chapel, and we invite friends and guests to join in the fun anytime—no prior rehearsal is necessary!
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Click above to watch Ruth's sermon from last Sunday! | |
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Pastoral Notes
If someone is in the hospital, has died, or has some other pastoral emergency, we hope you will contact our clergy directly. Please call the church office at 410-255-4023 and follow the prompts. This will connect you directly with the clergyperson on call for the week.
If you have joys to share, new births, grandbabies, graduations, or job announcements, we will gladly share them in our weekly Hi-Lights email if you send a note to communications@holyinnocents.org
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Warning about email scammers
When you receive an email from a Holy Innocents staff member, please check if the sender's email address ends with 'holyinnocents.org'. If it does not, it is likely not from us. Unfortunately, some individuals are attempting to scam various church members, posing as clergy and requesting gift cards. We never ask for money in this way. If someone claiming to be Bill, Stewart, Ruth, or another staff member contacts you, please let us know immediately. Report the email, block the sender, and delete the message. If you have any doubts, please give us a call.
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