Build A Prayer Tapestry
| Currently, St. B's does not have a church building that we can use to come together for regular Sunday worship. However, we can come together spiritually by building a prayer tapestry.
A prayer tapestry is created by writing brief prayers on strips of cloth, that are then tied onto a rug canvas.
We will soon start distributing the cloth strips to those who currently are listed in our database. Once you receive your cloth strip, write your prayer of thanks, concern , or hope using a permanent marker. Then return the cloth strip to our office (see our address below). Please write clearly as we intend to read the prayers aloud every day in our 10:00 a.m. morning prayer during the great 50 days of Easter. On the Day of Pentecost, we will weave them into a "prayer tapestry" that will hang on our wall to remind us of our first Easter season in community with each other.
If you have not received your cloth strip, please contact Courtney via email or at 678-279-4310 and one will be sent to you. Thank you.
| The Rule of St. Benedict
| "Insights Into the Art of Living"The First Rule Attend to these instructions,
Listen with the heart and the mind;
they are provided in a spirit of goodwill.
These words are addressed to anyone who is willing to renounce the delusion that the meaning of life can be learned; whoever is ready
to take up the greater weapon of fidelity
to a way of living
that transcends understanding.
The first rule is simply this:
live this life
and do whatever is done,
in a spirit of Thanksgiving.
Abandon attempts to achieve security,
they are futile,
give up the search for wealth,
it is demeaning,
quit the search for salvation,
it is selfish,
and come to comfortable rest
in the certainty that those who
participate in this life
with an attitude of Thanksgiving
will receive its full promise.
Always We Begin Again
The Benedictine Way of Living
by
John McQuiston
This book may be purchased at amazon.com | Daily Prayer at St. B's
| Every day at 10:00 AM we hold a prayer service at St. Benedict's offices. We invite you to join us or to send your prayers to Lang.
If you decide to join us, or just want to come by for a visit, please feel free to drop in (directions).
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| | Living Easter |  As Easter nears, I look at the gift that was given to us and the call for all Christians to be borne out by what was won for us that day. Of course, it is a challenge to live Easter in our every-day lives, but it is Easter action that bears fruit in the hereafter as well as in the here and now.
In our first Easter season, we at St. B's will strive to be Easter people by offering programs and missions to our new community. St. B's will host a four-part series called "Beyond The Grave," a progressive look at the recent Discovery Channel documentary "The Tomb of Jesus." Although the documentary itself was somewhat unspectacular, it will be used to explore Christian doctrine on bodily resurrection. With your help, we will also create a prayer weaving (see the left side column for more details) and start a women's book series that will meet once per month (see below).
Additionally, we announced this week that St. B's has formed our first community partnership with MUST Ministries, a place where people of faith come to serve those who are less fortunate in the community by breaking the cycle of poverty for individuals and families.
I sincerely hope that these Easter season offerings will help you be "...borne out by the Spirit of God" and that you will find joy and happiness during this great season of joy and hope.
Peace,
To find out more about St. Benedict's or to learn how to build Christ's church, please visit our Web site at www.MySaintB.org, or contact Lang directly via email or at 678-279-4301.
| Beyond The Grave - A New EmergentSpirit Series
|  St. B's will host a new 4-part series titled "Beyond the Grave." The series, led by Rev. Tom Buchanan, Co-Director of EmergentSpirit, provides a progressive look at the issues raised by the recent Discovery Channel documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." The documentary claims that the burial ground of Jesus' family as well as Jesus' ossuary was found. The series will examine these claims and use them as a springboard into discussions surrounding Paul's interpretation of Jesus' resurrection.
The series will run on Wednesday nights 7:30 p.m.- 9:00 p.m., April 11, 18, 15 & May 2 and will be hosted by St. B's at our office on 400 Interstate North Pkwy., Atlanta, GA 30339 (near the junction of I-75 and I-285, directions).
Tuition is $50 per person for the whole series (or $15 per class) and is payable in advance or at the door. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged as the class size is limited.
To register, or for more information, please contact Tom Buchanan via email or at 404-729-2144. The series description is available at the EmergentSpirit Web site. You may also contact Patty (678-279-4302) if you have questions.
| Join St. B's & MUST Ministries at the Jonquil Festival
|  St. Benedict's will sponsor a tent at the City of Smyrna Spring Jonquil Festival on April 28 & 29. In addition to giveaways, including balloons and t-shirts, there will be a drawing with $100 donated to MUST Ministries in the winner's name.
Please stop by our tent and meet the staff of St. B's. For more information, visit the City of Smyrna Web site or contact Courtney at 678-279-4300 (Courtney@MySaintB.org).
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St. B's Women's Summer Book Series - Grow In Faith
|  This summer, St. Benedict's invites you to join our Women's Summer Book Series as we Grow in Faith through the words of Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner, Anne Lamont, and Barbara Brown Taylor. We will meet once per month during the summer to enjoy fellowship and talk about how these inspirational books can help us Grow in Faith.
The series will be kicked off with a wine and cheese social on May 2, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Please contact Courtney Vaughn at Courtney@MySaintB.org or at 678-279-4300 by April 25 if you would like to attend. The following books will be discussed during the summer series (please click on the title to receive more information about each book from Amazon.com):
 June
The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew -- Three Women Search for Understanding
by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner
"Pioneering, timely, and deeply thoughtful, The Faith Club's caring message will resonate with people of all faiths."
 July
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamont
"Wise, irreverent, poignant and funny, Grace (Eventually) is a primer on faith, as we come to discover what it means to be fully human and alive."
August
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
by Barbara Brown Taylor
"Leaving Church will remind even the most skeptical among us that life is about both disappointment and hope -- and ultimately, renewal."
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