Franklin Abbott has been a practicing psychotherapist in Atlanta for nearly forty years. He is also a poet, musician, community organizer and amateur oral historian. His connection to the Congregation and Old Stone Church goes back more than 40 years to early urban radical faery gatherings held in the sanctuary before First E became its steward. He has spoken at First E many times, performed music and poetry there, and coordinated events and memorials.
In our changing awareness of language, how can we be sensitive to people who are powerless, stigmatized, or marginalized? Where do we draw the line between basic respect and the overreach of political correctness? Come explore these issues around word choice and why it matters.
Kim Palmer serves the Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center as the Manager of Research Projects in Spiritual Health. She is a board-certified chaplain with over five years of clinical experience and earned an MSPH in Epidemiology from Emory University as a Transforming Chaplaincy Research Fellow. She is ordained in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and serves as an affiliated community minister for a congregation in Roswell, GA. She is currently engaged in a multi-year, multistudy research effort to investigate the effect of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) on chaplains and the effect of CBCT-adapted interventions on patient and providers outcomes.
Rev. Mitchiner will be our speaker tor Sunday’s Celebration of Life at the First E Sanctuary.
Rev. Marsha Mitchiner grew up in middle Georgia and was an active
member of her church. In her teen years, she became disillusioned with
organized religion but felt a need to find a community of individuals
seeking answers without dogma. She found her spiritual home when she
came to First E in 1980 and joined Rev. Lanier Clance’s ministerial
training program.
“My spiritual life began as a Christian in middle Georgia . During my
teen years I began to question the concept of “one truth”. Through
personal exploration and with three years of guided study by Rev. R.
Lanier Clance, I have come to believe that there are many paths to
truth, each valid to the believer. Our journey through life is a unique,
subjective experience that is enhanced and supported as we share with
others our authentic self. It is a joy to serve the First Existentialist
Congregation and the greater community.”
“A Nurse’s View of Birth and Death and the Moment In Between”
Dan Geller is a graduate of Georgia Tech, Clayton State and Georgia State, and is to receive his Doctor of Nursing degree this May. After ten years as a Nurse Practitioner, Dan is presently faculty at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. His research interests include counseling, spirituality and palliative care within the field of nursing.
Rev. NaDine Rawls is a native of Louisiana. She is the daughter of the late John Q. Rawls and Bernice Rawls.
Rev. Rawls graduated
from Plain Dealing High School and continued her education at then
Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe, Louisiana and graduated
with an Associates Degree in Law Enforcement. During her time at
NLU, she became a member of NLU’s Interdenominational Gospel
Ensemble and served as its choir director for 2 years.
Rev. Rawls begin ministry at Harvest MCC in Denton, Texas. In 1995, Rev. Rawls founded Unity Fellowship Church of North Texas. In 1996 Rev. Rawls located to Washington, DC where she served on staff at Inner Light Unity Fellowship Church. She later served as Assistant Pastor of Baltimore Unity Fellowship church and later Co-Pastor of North Capitol Unity Fellowship Church of Washington, DC. .
In 2006, Rev. Rawls
became a member of Lincoln Congregational Church United Church of
Christ. During her time there, Rev. Rawls served as Chair of the
Diaconate. In 2009, Rev. Rawls relocated to Atlanta, GA and became of
a member of First Congregational United Church of Christ.
For the past 25
years, Rev. Rawls has been a spiritual leader within the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered community. God has allowed her to
touch many lives and encourage individuals to follow the call God has
placed on their lives and to live fully the person God created them
to be. Her motto “One’s sexuality is not a prerequisite for the
Love of Jesus.”
Rev. Rawls currently resides in Atlanta, GA. She is an active member of First Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Atlanta, GA.
“Existentialism and Holidays: Creating Personal Meaning”
Dr. Jean Heinrich, passionate human being, licensed clinical psychologist, musician, is nourished by existential philosophy in these times. Believing her knowledge of existentialism and the human psyche/mind/body/spirit make her a better musician and her music makes her a better clinician, and, both her knowledge and music make her a healthier/more vital human being, she invites you to join us as she speaks on: “Existentialism and Holidays: Creating Personal Meaning”.
“We Hold these Truths: Human Rights, Blacks, and the Continued Struggle for Equality”
Anthony Knight is the Founder, President & CEO of The Baton Foundation—a Georgia nonprofit organization that serves the emotional, intellectual and cultural needs of Black boys ages 10-17. Before founding the Foundation, Mr. Knight worked for twenty-two years as a museum educator and consultant. Mr. Knight has extensive experience with and interest in African American history and culture, public and living history, informal education and Black youth. Mr. Knight’s work with The Baton Foundation reflects his ongoing interest in the issues and practices related to the collecting, preservation and interpretation of information about and material culture from the African Diaspora. Mr. Knight’s undergraduate work was in Spanish and English (Ohio Wesleyan University), and his graduate work was in museum education (The George Washington University). Mr. Knight also holds a degree in Spanish-to-English translation from the Núcleo de Estudios Lingüísticos y Sociales, Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Knight is a New York City native.
Angela Denise Davis, M.Div., M.S., is a ukulele instructor, workshop facilitator, ordained minister, and public speaker. Her work as a minister focuses on how the fusion of art and spirituality can enlarge the ground beneath our feet and enrich the ways we move in personal and social spaces. In addition, she is also the creator, host, and producer of the ZAMI NOBLA Podcast. She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University where she earned a B.A. in Art. She also holds a master of divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, and a master of science in rehabilitation counseling from Georgia State University.
“Considering Gratitude for Things that don’t Make us ‘Feel’ Grateful”
Rev. Chris Glaser, a graduate of Yale Divinity School, is a weekly blogger of “Progressive Christian Reflections” at http://chrisglaser.blogspot.com. He is the author of a dozen books, many of which deal with challenging spiritual communities to welcome LGBTQ people and offering spiritual guidance to LGBTQ people. For more information, please visit http://chrisglaser.com.
