A Host Family

Decatur First United Methodist Church has been asked to find a host family for Rev. Michael Charles of Jamaica for the summer. Michael will be 33 years of age in June. This summer he will be at the end of his third year of a four year BA theological degree at the United Theological Seminary in Jamaica. He was born in Dominica and grew up in Antigua. He has already been accepted by the Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas as a candidate for full time ministry and has served one summer in the Virgin Islands.

Michael will be assigned this summer by the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and Americas for his internship with the World Methodist Evangelism Institute ("WMEI") this summer. His stay in Atlanta is from May 28 to August 10. He will work with WMEI near Emory during the week for about 20 hours. He will also be acting as an intern at Decatur First United Methodist Church as well. The hope is that the host family will be near or on the Marta or bus line.

Michael will be in Venezuela from July 29 – August 8. He will then leave for Antigua early on the morning of August 10. Michael would like if possible, to leave his clothes and suitcase with his host family while he is away, and on his return to spend the night of August 8 and 9 with his host family, and then leave on August 10. If this will be an inconvenience for the host family, other arrangements can be made.

If you or someone you know would be able to be Michael's host family for the months of June and July, please let me know as soon as you can. You can contact me with any questions at (404) 354-1421 or by replying to this e-mail. May 28 is coming very quickly and housing for Michael needs to be found. Please considering opening your heart and doors to this young man and enjoy the experience of someone from another culture.

Staff Parish Relations Committee Update

Dr. David Naglee, our Senior Minister, is leaving Decatur First United Methodist to be the new District Superintendent for the Rome / Carrollton District as of July 1, 2013. His last Sunday with us will be June 9, 2013 and a farewell reception will follow the 11:00 a.m. worship services that day.

Decatur First's Staff Parish Relations Committee is excited to announce that our new Senior Minister will be Dr. David Jones. His first Sunday will be June 23, 2013. Dr. Jones is coming to us from Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church. We are delighted to welcome him to our family and he is excited to be joining us. Please stay tuned for further information in the coming weeks, including information about a reception for Dr. Jones in June.

Associate Minister Dr. Katy Hinman will remain at Decatur First.

If you have any questions, please seek out anyone on the Staff Parish Relations committee.

Callanwolde Band Concert June 2

You may not know that the Callanwolde Concert Band rehearses at our church weekly throughout the year. In order to give back to us, they offer two concerts a year in our sanctuary. One is a Christmas concert. The other is a pops concert in June, and it is coming up on June 2 at 3:00pm. The program will include Broadway favorites, patriotic offerings, and a few surprises. This concert will also feature guest conductors John Cowden and Mitch Weisiger! Admission is free, though donations to support the band will be taken at the door.

"The Dining Room" Drama Auditions June 8 & June 11

Believe it or not, it has been 15 years since the first Dessert Theater production. As a celebration of this milestone, the Drama Action Team is bringing back our first play, The Dining Room, by A.R. Gurney. The Dining Room is a brilliantly conceived and richly humorous theatrical tour de force in which six or more performers portray a wide array of diverse characters as they delineate the dying lifestyle of the now neglected room which was once a vital center of family life.

For this production, and for the first time, Sharon Brewer and Melinda Mobley will be co-directing the various scenes in the play. Auditions will be Saturday, June 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Tuesday, June 11, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We are looking for both men and women and youth over the age of 13. You do not have to have anything prepared. Just come and have fun with others interested in drama. The number of actors to be cast has not been determined at this time.

We are excited about celebrating this milestone within our Drama Action Team! We hope to see many of you on one of the audition days. If you have any questions, you can call either Sharon Brewer at (404) 408-5771 or Melinda Mobley at (404) 354-1421.

Patriotic Concert June 30

The Chancel Choir will offer its annual Patriotic Celebration concert in the sanctuary at 3:00pm on June 30. Come and join us for music and fun as we celebrate the birthday of our great nation!

Decatur First Goes Wireless!

Yes, we have had wireless before in certain areas of the building, while standing on one foot and touching the wall with your right hand... Let's just say that coverage wasn't very good! But now we have a seamless wireless network on the north side of Ponce de Leon, from the gym to the Fellowship Hall and all floors in-between. When you use a wireless device at the church you will see the network: DFUM Church – this is the network for the congregation to use. The password is like our old password but with Jesus capitalized: Jesussaves. Once you are on the network you can move around in the church and not lose connectivity. There are a few caveats: We do have several concrete firewalls which sometimes interfere with the signal; be patient if the signal is not as strong as you would like as you move around. We are not initially upgrading our internet pipe so be courteous and don't use all the bandwidth to view those YouTube videos! We will be upgrading Internet access later in the summer. Please say a BIG thank you to our trustees who funded this work and Paul Petersen who shepherded this project to completion. Now if we can just get the south side of Ponce wireless!