Dear saints,

Across the street from my office window in Egleston, I can see the North Avenue MARTA station. Over the past couple of weeks it has been getting a facelift. Bright colors now festoon the previously drab grey that seems to be a favorite of mass transit architects. New plants have gone in and it looks like there could be some sort of vendor setting up to serve refreshments once it is all ready to go. MARTA and a representative from the Midtown Alliance met with me last year to share their plans for activating the station plaza. It's wonderful to see it take shape, finally. The work is all part of the larger vision for Midtown to be a place with lively and engaging public spaces. As Midtown Alliance has reflected on the progress that has been made in this part of the city over the past decade, it has concluded that the new buildings are great but it is the people at the street level that give the city its life.

This Sunday, May 5, we will hold a forum in Ellis Hall following the 9:00 a.m. service during which we will share what we have learned from you about our side of West Peachtree. No doubt, all of this discernment work will lead us to conclusions about our own buildings and grounds. Yet, as a parish we know well that it is the people that give the church its life. If there is a word that has repeated itself more than any other in the surveys and home gatherings and one-on-one conversations that we have had over these past few months, it has been "community." What do we value most highly about All Saints'? The people. We value each other.

Because we are thinking people, desirious to learn from the diversity of voices present here, you will hear on Sunday that this all sorts community has all manner of ideas about the future of our church on our block. There is an exciting time ahead of us, wherever this process leads. As we venture on together, I invite us to keep the main thing the main thing: that we are the Body of Christ, the people of God. With that faith, anything is possible.