);
Connect with us

Faith

Women’s Choir of St. Catherine University Perform at Christ the King Lutheran Church

Published

on

St Catherine's Women's Choir

The Women’s Choir of St. Catherine University will visit and perform at Christ the King Lutheran Church on Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m. and admission is free.  Recognized as one of the top women’s choirs in Minnesota, the Women’s Choir performs frequently throughout the year, both on campus and on tours within the U.S. and abroad.

The choir is comprised of students representing a wide variety of academic disciplines and explores treble choir literature of every style period, but specializes in performing music by contemporary composers, particularly women.

The 2019 spring tour repertoire features sacred and secular works appropriate for performance during the Lenten season, including works by J.S. Bach, Francis Poulenc, and Ola Gjelo. Concert attendees will also hear music samplings by Canadian Nancy Telfer and Minnesotans Catherine Dalton, Linda Kachelmeier and Abbie Betinis will be featured – along with traditional and contemporary familiar tunes.

Whether you are just curious, or seriously seeking a “church home”, you are always welcome at Christ the King Lutheran Church where we are led by God’s Spirit and encourage one another to grow in a life-shaping relationship with Jesus.  Services are held at 8:45 a.m. (traditional), and 11 a.m. (contemporary).  Christ the King is located at 5575 Peachtree Parkway at the corner of Peachtree Parkway and Spalding Drive; one mile south of The Forum.  For more information about Christ the King, please visit http://www.ctklutheran.org/ or call 770-449-1211.

A dynamic university educating women to lead and influence, St. Catherine University prepares students to make a difference in their profession, their communities, and the world. The University is home to nearly 5,000 students in associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate and certificate programs. Granting bachelor’s degrees in more than 60 majors, the St. Kate’s College for Women is one of the largest private women’s colleges in the nation. The University also offers a range of programs for women and men in the Graduate College and College for Adults. Learn more at http://www.stkate.edu.

Continue Reading

Community

Changes at Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries Help Further Community Mission

Published

on

Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries vegetable truck

Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries has been battling poverty, food insecurity and homelessness, among other crisis events, in southwest Gwinnett, for 27 years. In total, NCM served more than 25,000 individuals in 2023, through direct support and personal empowerment programs.

Over time, the county’s demographics have changed, meaning the organization has needed to adapt to serve the community.

Families now face long-term needs due to fixed incomes, homelessness, abuse, language barriers, single-parent homes and many other circumstances, according to the NCM website.

NCM now serves 50 to 70 families each day from a 12,000-square-foot facility. In addition to a food pantry, NCM offers job readiness classes, on-site hiring events, money management courses and regular health fairs.

A new course of leadership

Perhaps one of the biggest changes took effect this January. After almost 30 years of service to NCM, Executive Director Shirley Cabe will now give her primary focus to what she loves the most, the organization’s clients.

Cabe has been with NCM since its inception and has helped grow the organization tremendously as needs in this service area have drastically changed.

NCM’s Board of Directors supported Cabe’s request and developed a new role specifically for her. She will now serve as Director of Client Operations, allowing her to use her exceptional gifts and talents to serve those in need.

Additionally, Cabe will lead the expansion of the food program as refrigerated products will be added to client food offerings. Healthier food options such as protein, produce, reclaimed food and more will also be added.

“Healthier intake directly correlates to improved health and more productivity,” said Cabe in a news release. “This new initiative is huge for the clients we serve. We want to positively contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty. I am excited about the opportunities ahead for NCM and grateful to transition into this new role, focusing on more impactful service to our clients.”

With Cabe’s new role, former Director of Community Relations Ryan Jones will take over as Executive Director.

Jones has been with NCM for three years. Under Jones’ leadership, the organization held its most successful fundraising event to date, bringing in over $519,000 to continue its mission of making a difference one family at a time.

“Building out our team and people is the next step in the process,” said Jones. The big thing with the staffing change is just honoring Shirley and her years at this organization and allowing her to serve people, which is the heartbeat of our organization; that’s how she best serves–interacting with our clients in our community.”

Cabe’s larger role in the food program will help keep it running smoothly, he added.

There is already an established pickup schedule from Publix and the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Jones explained that about 40% of food in the United States is wasted.

With new resources in place to access surpluses from supermarkets, restaurants, distributors, farmers and more, NCM can put a sizeable dent in southwest Gwinnett county’s share of the waste.

“We hope to use food as a resource, as we have more touch points with families that we see. So, as things come up in their lives, they’re seeing us more often, and we can step in when unexpected emergencies happen and try to address kind of the issues that have brought them to us in the first place,” Jones explained. “And with that comes just a lot more work.”

Dedicated board members

Les Harper, who succeeded Elizabeth Gross, has taken over as chairman of the board of directors to help with the vision for that work.

“My wife and I have been involved with Neighborhood Coop for a long time, volunteered through the church, and supported financially through the church over the years,” said Harper.

When I retired from working a couple of years ago and was looking for opportunities to give back to the community … one thing led to another, and I had the opportunity to join the board,” he added. “I started on the board a couple of years ago, and then last year, I was asked if I would consider stepping into the board chair role [this year], which I was excited to do.”

Harper’s experience on the board and working closely with Gross for an entire year allowed him to step in almost seamlessly into the new position.

“Elizabeth and I had a chance to work together in some leadership roles at church over the years. So, we have chaired and co-chaired a number of things over the years,” he said.

“For the past 12 months, she’s been great at including me in everything and making sure that I was up to speed on everything, fully involved, and ready to go,” he said.

Anyone involved in large-scale non-profit activities appreciates the time, energy, and resources that go into community organizing. To be good stewards of community trust, funds and well-being, NCM has focused on making operations run smoothly.

“NCM is definitely a feet-washing ministry, especially with the food. … A lot of times it’s heavy, and it’s a lot of hard work, but it’s well worth it,” Jones said. “I’m moving from strictly fundraising to overseeing all aspects of the organization and strategic oversight of all the initiatives that we have going on. … I was born in Gwinnett County. “So, really, the big reasons that I left my corporate job to come to NCM is how impressed I was with the board and the staff when I met them before coming on and the fact that it serves an area where I grew up that has a lot of need,” he commented.

Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries
500 Pinnacle Ct
Norcross, GA 30071
www.ourncm.org
770-263-8268

Catch more non-profit news here!

Continue Reading

Faith

Rev. Fr. Edgar Otero Joins Christ Church Episcopal in Norcross

Published

on

Rev. Fr. Edgar Otero was born in Puerto Rico and relocated to the mainland 23 years ago.  He is married to Marycelis and has two children.
Rev. Fr. Edgar Otero

Christ Church Episcopal, off Holcomb Bridge Rd in Norcross, is pleased to announce that Rev. Fr. Edgar Otero will be joining the parish beginning January 3, 2024.

Father Edgar was born in Puerto Rico and relocated to the mainland 23 years ago.  He is married to Marycelis and has two children, Eliam Manuel, age 17 and Edgar Ezekiel, age 14.

Father Edgar has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He also attended Mount St. Mary’s University and Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, and St. Vincent College and Seminary in Latrobe, PA, where he studied at a master’s level in Roman Catholic theology. 

Father Edgar graduated with honors, acquiring a master’s in divinity with a certificate in Anglican/Episcopal Studies from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. 

Father Edgar served on the Vestry of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, his home parish, as a seminarian at Grace Episcopal Church for four years, as a teacher and Chaplain at St. Benedict’s Episcopal School and as a Priest-In-Charge of St. Anthony’s Episcopal Church in Winder, GA.

Continue Reading

Faith

MOQ Invites Community to Celebration of Saint John the Baptist’s Birthday

Published

on

Photographs from last year’s Saint John the Baptist birthday celebration, taken by members of Mary Our Queen Parish in Peachtree Corners.

Mary Our Queen Catholic Church in Peachtree Corners invites everyone in the community to attend a special evening Mass and outdoor festivities on Friday, June 23 in celebration of the eve of Saint John the Baptist’s birthday.

Saint John the Baptist, one of the most important figures in Christianity, is the cousin of Jesus and is known for preparing the way for Jesus’s public ministry.

Mary Our Queen will honor the saint with a Mass at 7 p.m. Following that, there will be a blessing of Saint John’s bonfire in his memory.

Everyone is invited to bring their lawn chairs and beverages to enjoy outside while listening to live music on our church plaza. Other festivities include outdoor games for children and teens, like the dunking booth — Saint John was known for baptism, after all — and eating crickets — Saint John actually ate locusts. 

Mary Our Queen’s Knights of Columbus will serve watermelon, and there will be some fireworks towards the end of the evening. 

For more information on this event, visit maryourqueen.com or call 770-416-0002.

Continue Reading

Read the Digital Edition

Subscribe

Peachtree Corners Life

Topics and Categories

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Mighty Rockets LLC, powered by WordPress.

Get Weekly Updates!

Get Weekly Updates!

Don't miss out on the latest news, updates, and stories about Peachtree Corners.

Check out our podcasts: Peachtree Corners Life, Capitalist Sage and the Ed Hour

You have Successfully Subscribed!