Be sure to stay after church on May 13 for a special Mothers' Day Brunch at DHPC: a delicious affair prepared by Badda Bing: 

salad

Organic Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad

with pear tomatoes, fresh shaved parmesan cheese

with lemon juice, cracked black pepper & e.v.o.o.

frittatas

Country Sausage

with caramelized onions, peppers & goat cheese

Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella

with fresh basil pesto

Mini Ham Biscuits

with Dijon béchamel

sides

Creamy Cheddar Grits

Assorted Pastries & Bagels

with gourmet jams, whipped butter & cream cheese

Fresh Cut Fruit Salad

Pray for people living in dire poverty in Paraguay who have been hit by a major flood which has destroyed their livelihoods due to loss of animals and crops.

Read more about this disaster and what you can do from Chruch World Service, one of our denomination's partners. 

Yes, and more in our May Newsletter.

NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED!!!  If you're a Middle Schooler at Druid Hills Pres, you know that phrase well!  It's the wording on a sign conspicuously placed on our classroom door.  We believe in asking questions about our faith, and there are no questions too "unperfect" to ask!

We meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30 for food and fun and fellowship.  We LOVE visitors, because every time we break a new attendance record, we go across the street to the Majestic Diner for breakfast the following Sunday to celebrate!  

So PLEASE come and join us if you are in 5th through 8th grades, unless of course you are perfect....then you're not allowed!!

(JK of course.:))

The Education Team would like to start replacing our older modeled cribs with newer ones.  If you would like to donate a new or gently used crib and mattress set, please contact me by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 404-550-2115. Fitted crib sheets are also needed. Thank you!

The Month of May is full with youth activities. 

Get these on your calendar!

May 6 - Youth Sunday with Rodger Nishioka preaching

May 13 - Graduation Sunday (and remember it is Mothers' Day too!)

May 18 - Youth Carwash Fundraiser

May 25 - Youth End of Year Party

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  for more information, and see you there!

Hey! Most of y'all know about the church Facebook page, but maybe you don't know we have one for our youth ministries as well. Check it out. 

The next meeting of the Book Club is 7:00 PM on Monday, May 14th at the home of Karin Dusenbury.

We will discuss Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet by Jamie Ford.
 
"Set in the ethnic neighborhoods of Seattle during World War II and Japanese American internment camps of the era, this debut novel tells the heartwarming story of widower Henry Lee, his father, and his first love Keiko Okabe."

from the Dekalb County Library.

Our Easter 2012 offering to One Great Hour of Sharing was $3,156, more than a thousand dollars more than last year. Thank you! See what a difference these funds can make:

Pray for Christians and all people in Sudan and South Sudan.  On April 22 in Sudan, three churches and a Bible School were destroyed by a fundamentalist Islamic group. Fighting continues between Sudan and South Sudan.

Read a call to prayer and a statement from the Sudanese Presbyterian Church. 

The Easter lily cross is a longstanding tradition at DHPC.  Filled with lilies at the peak of bloom, the 

cross graces the chancel area in the Sanctuary on Easter Sunday.  The Worship Team plans and oversees placing the cross and designing and installing other items of liturgical significance in the Sanctuary for Easter. And everyone was also invited to bring flowers from their yards to place on the cross on the front lawn to celebrate spring's renewal of life and the beauty of God's creation.

This year, folks gathered Friday evening late and early Saturday morning to place the lilies in the cross and install crowns and veils in the arches between the buttresses that frame the sanctuary's majestic stained glass windows.  These artistic expressions designed and placed by our members contributed to a joyous celebration at our Easter worship service.  They also provided us an opportunity to gather as friends, sharing our gifts and talents to celebrate our gratitude for God's love at Easter.

Enjoy more in our Easter photo album!

This week we're praying for the 12 million people living in the West African region of the Sahel where food is always scarce and famine is imminent.

The Sahel nutrition crisis spans the countries of Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and the northern regions of Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal. UNICEF anticipates that one million children suffering from severe malnutrition in this region could die within months without immediate humanitarian assistance. Many more are at risk of stunting and irreversible, permanent brain damage and disability as a result of malnutrition. 

Find resources to help you pray, act, and give in response to this crisis.

In this economy, we're seeing higher demand -- about seventy to eighty attendees -- for our Community Fellowship program at McIver on Sunday afternoons. Those same economic factors also cause our volunteers to drop out of buying, preparing, and serving the meal.

Currently, we have vacancies for the second Sunday of odd-numbered months and for all fifth Sundays -- including April 29th. So, to make things easier, we thought we'd divide the responsibilities.

We'd like volunteers to bring one of something from the list below. It would be great to get eight volunteers for the #1 item up front, if you can help that way. Bring supplies with you to the DHPC Parlor around 10:30 on 4/29 morning, and we'll get it to McIver for the 3:30 preparation.

We need:

1. 8 people to bring a lasagna casserole or spaghetti to feed twelve;

2. 6 people to bring salad fixings;

3. 6 people to bring twenty-four cookies or brownies each;

4. 4 people to bring iced tea, lemonade, or something low cal and fun (2 gallons for each);

5. 4-5 people to do quick prep and serve the meal -- arrive at 3:30; serve at 4:30; and leave at about 5:30.

Thank you so much for your help. If you're able to provide anything, leave a message in the comments or contact Scott Hulsey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

This week, our Prayers for the World focus close to home:

Pray for tomato pickers in Florida who are seeking fair pay from Publix and other groceries. The PC(USA) has supported their efforts for years with some success at Yum Brands and others.

DID YOU KNOW?

The US Department of Justice and FBI have investigated and prosecuted seven cases of slavery in recent years, freeing more than 1,200 slaves in Florida farms, whose produce goes to our groceries and restaurants.

Learn more here.

This week we're focusing our prayers for the world on Christians in the Middle East, as they face uncertainties and sometimes persecution amid regional violence and unrest.

Take this little quiz to pique your interest and awareness of these minority communities

(answers below)

1. What 7 countries have significant Christian populations in the Middle East?
2. Which 5 have Presbyterian congregations?
3. When did Christianity arrive in the region?
4. How many Christians have fled Iraq (many to Syria where they now face even more uncertainty)?
5. What kinds of Christians are there?
6. Everyone else there is Muslim, right? 

Remember that our Easter offering to One Great Hour of Sharing helps people in the Middle East and around the world—people of all faiths—who face violence, disaster, and grinding poverty. 

Answers: 

1. While definitions of "significant" and "Middle East" may vary, the following seven countries are the best fit to answer the question: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. 
2. Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran all have active, indigenous Presbyterian churches (as opposed to churches for Presbyteiran foreigners/tourists/ex-pats, examples of which can be found dotted around the region).
   
3. Well, we know Jesus lived and ministered in what is now Israel/Palestine. But when did people in the rest of the region hear about and start to follow Christ? Let's just say since Pentecost.
   
4. Iraqi Christians have left their homeland in massive numbers, from perhaps 1.7 million before 2003 to perhaps 600,000 now. Read more about them with a focus on Presbyterians.
5. Just about every kind you can imagine: Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Maronite, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican, and more. Read more from one of our denomination's frequent partners, the Middle East Council of Churches. 
6. You're correct-- the answer is no. But you might be surprised by the diversity. Not just a variety of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, but other faiths you might not have heard of. 

Holy Week, Easter, Earth Day, and more. Read it here. 

When one person invests in community, we're all enriched. 

Consider if you are called to invest a pocket of time in our DHPC community in these ways:

Assisting or lead teaching our Elementary Sunday School (grades 1-5), and Middle School next fall.  Talk to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be part of this opportunity. 

Greet weekday visitors and help in our office. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

Help Coordinate, plant and cultivate sustainable and beautiful gardening in our front beds.  Talk to David Carter Florence.

Church Note: 

The following is a short biography from new affilate member Carol Seaton. Welcome, Carol!

I was born and reared in Little Rock, Arkansas with two older brothers.  I also have a younger brother, who was adopted when I was in college.  I graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas with a BS in chemistry.

I graduated from Midwestern Theological Seminary in Kansas City, and worked with four small Presbyterian churches in Kansas City, KS during the four years I was in seminary.  I was ordained there in 1980.I served as associate pastor and pastor in the Kansas City area and also served on the staff of the Presbytery.I served as the Associate for Small Church Development for the General Assembly from 1990-1996.

I moved to Georgia for love, to be with my partner Mickie Williams. Together we developed subdivisions and built work-force housing in middle Georgia. We lived in the Jackson area, on High Falls Lake, and built homes in Barnesville, Jackson, Monticello and Monroe County.

In late 2008, we were ready to get back to the city and closer to family, so we moved to Hapeville. For the last few months, I have been working with our consulting firm, Georgia Housing Consultants, and have just started working for Clayton County as the Manager for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in the Community Development Department.

Hello! My name is Emily Bridwell. Everyone I know, except my husband, ends up calling me Emmy. That may be because I hear the latter better. Outside of the church, I do not know anyone else who is both hearing impaired and below retirement age. Last October, Jason and I celebrated our seventh anniversary. Our son Gavin is four years old and I am delighted he enjoys his church family so much!

We began volunteering with Journey over two years ago. Gavin helps the visitors feel more comfortable and he LOVES to hand out cookies. More than once, someone has given their share to Gavin. My two favorite interests are psychology and animal medicine. I am on a slow but determinded track to a degree in the first with a focus on the second. In the meantime, I oversee inventory and client education at East Atlanta Animal Clinic; I am fortunate to have found both a career and a company I love.

When Gavin allows me spare time, I enjoy reading, drawing, learning ASL, playing my flute, and watching TV on Hulu. I'm a homebody who loves nature, her family, and helping others. I hope to learn more about all our members during the next year!

Church note: 

We welcomed Gavin into our community by baptism on Sunday, March 25. Emmy became a member at DHPC in December, 2011. 

On Easter Sunday, as one response in gratitude for Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross, we will receive the special offering for One Great Hour of Sharing. This offering is used to help poor and hungry people, people hit by natural disasters and refugees around the world. We remember that Jesus gave us two commandments to live by: to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He made it clear, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that our neighbors are not just the people we know but anyone around the world who is in need. How in the world can we fulfill this commandment?  

One way is through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. What a gift this offering is to each one of us. Why is it a gift, you ask; I thought you were asking us to give? It is a gift that gives us a way to obey Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can reach people in need around the world through the network of Christian churches and ecumenical bodies that literally circle the globe.

Just in the last year, through Church World Service, working with local partners:  

We helped Cambodians hit by the worst flood in a decade with half of the rice crop destroyed. We provided food and water purification tablets to the most affected, provided livelihood  assistance to poor families and served as a watchdog to enhance accountability with local governments.

We helped nurture development at the grassroots in Indonesia with seeds, tools and strategies. In West Timor’s Biloto Village, farmers are helped to start permaculture – an earth-friendly methodology that helps boost crop production without expensive fertilizers and pesticides.  The farmers have also been trying System of Rice Intensification, which yields more rice from less seed and water – ideal for this drought-prone area.

We helped children in Kenya, which is facing the highest malnutrition in a decade, with nutritional supplements to prevent irreversible health consequences.

We are helping people in Syria, caught in the fighting, by working with the Orthodox Church to provide rent assistance, fuel, clothing, bedding and food. And these are only examples of the neighbors we helped.

Now you have an opportunity to help millions of other neighbors through the One Great Hour of Sharing on Easter Sunday. In response to the great need, I challenge you to try to increase your gift by 10% over what you gave last year. I promise to do that. In response to Jesus’ sacrificial love for each of us and his command to love our neighbors, who are those in need around the world, I ask you to bring a sacrificial offering for the One Great Hour of Sharing.