Inreach / Outreach
St. Bartholomew’s has a rich history in outreach and social justice. Together, we are a parish called to act. A parish called to pray, reflect, discuss, and grow. We are called to worship in joyful togetherness. Called to love our neighbors and called to give to those in need.
The Outreach and Social Justice ministries at St. Bartholomew’s provide opportunities for each of us to love and act like Jesus by doing more for those in need, however big or small. And to manifest our love beyond the walls of our church.
You’re invited to join St. Bart’s tradition of outreach and social justice. From the very beginning, this parish has been part of the Civil Rights struggle, for gays, for those affected by HIV-AIDS, for the unhoused and the hungry. Please join us for our bi-monthly meetings of your Outreach and Social Justice Committee on August 14, October 9 and December 11 after the 10:30 service. All are welcome and needed!
For further information contact:
Sara Irwin, Chair (spirwin@mindspring.com)
Neva Corbin, Death Penalty Ministry (nevacorbin@comcast.net)
Carol Lyle, Haiti Ministry (carolalyle@gmail.com)
Linda Erhard, liaison to Toco Hills Community Alliance (linderha@gmail.com)
The Legacy Ministries of St. Bartholomew’s are our parish’s footprints from walking as Jesus’ disciples serving the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless for over five decades. Nicholas House, Jerusalem House, Project Open Hand were started and incubated at St. Bart’s. Over the years, organizations like Villa International, Friends of L’Arche Atlanta, and Kid4Peace have captured parishioners’ passion for service. Today, the St. Bartholomew’s legacy of service lives as our parishioners serve on the boards or donate time and funds to many of these ministries.
A “legacy ministry” that remains deeply embedded in St. Bartholomew’s DNA is social justice activism. Beginning with our first rector, Austin Ford’s, leading parishioners to march in for civil rights in the 60s through today — whether standing for LGBTQ rights, the environment, gun violence, refugee rights, racial justice, against the death penalty — St. Bartholomew’s parishioners organize and walk their faith in the streets, on the phone. and with their pens and prayers for justice.
Domestic Outreach
Outreach-Social Justice ministries provide us opportunities to do much more good in the world collectively than we could do individually, outside our walls in our surrounding neighborhood and beyond. We believe that in coming to know those who may seem very different from ourselves, we are able to discover God’s presence in us all and expand our understanding of the world.
These documents are mentioned in the Annual Report for 2017:
THCA Task Force Report Final
Summary Outreach Communications Plan
Outreach Communication Survey Responses
Amerson House
Information coming soon
Episcopal Relief and Development
An international relief and development agency and a compassionate response to human suffering on behalf of The Episcopal Church. Our work to heal a hurting world is guided by the principles of compassion, dignity and generosity. – Page Love Smith – 912-308-5590 or visit their website
Dismantling Racism Ministry: Pray, Listen, Act
Racial healing efforts have been a part of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church for a long time. Two years ago our emphasis received a boost when the parish studied The Cross and the Lynching Tree and took two bus loads to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum, in Montgomery, AL. Since then, our commitment to healing the sin of racism has accelerated. We offered a Lenten series titled
Racial Healing: Pray, Listen Act.
Monthly gatherings assumed the same title and have continued for 2 ½ years. A class of 25 parishioners completed Sacred Ground, a 10-session, film-based dialogue series on race and faith, and a second group is being formed for 2020-2021.
Responding to the times, the Vestry organized ways for families to participate in the Black Lives Matter protests.
St. Bart’s is adding to its rich history of outreach and social justice as parishioners pray, listen, and act to heal systemic racism.
Nicholas House
Nicholas House provides housing programs along with supportive services to meet the various levels of need that homeless families face in Atlanta. It began on the grounds of St. Bartholomew’s in 1982 as the first shelter in the Atlanta area for homeless families that keeps the family unit intact in the sleeping quarters by not separating parents from children.
Parishioners of St. Bartholomew’s are involved on the Nicholas House board and as volunteers. For more information, please visit the web site at www.nicholashouse.org.
Prisoner/Anti-Death Penalty Ministry
Through the work of parishioners like our own Neva Corbin and Susan Casey, an parishioners have an opportunity to connect deeply and personally with issues related to the death penalty in Georgia. Our members write letters to prisoners and prisoners on death row as well as visit with inmates. We have also act as a voice for them through writings, demonstrations protesting the death penalty, and raising our voices to our elected representatives.
Refugee Resettlement
New American Pathways (NAP) connects refugee families with crucial local resources that assist them in becoming integrated members of American society. Their mission is to help refugees reach their full potential in the United States.
St. Bartholomew’s supports NAP by sponsoring a refugee family, helping to set-up their household and with transition to their new country with volunteer tutors, education coordinators, job searches) Today, St. Bart’s assist families from Burma, Eritrea, and Syria To participate in St. Bartholomew’s efforts, contact Karen Werner 404-906-3992.
Refugee Kids Closet | We have an easy way to help our refugee families! The Refugee Kids Closet will again collect donations for the next season to match the sizes of the kids in families St. Bart’s Episcopal Church has helped to settle in Clarkston. Please contact Malia Escobar for details about items currently needed at photographybymalia@yahoo.com.
Toco Hills Community Alliance
An alliance of neighborhood churches that serve the poor and underserved in our area with food and assistance. – visit their website
Haiti
Since 2006, we have supported our sister congregation, St. Marc’s in Bois Blanc, where the current focus of our work is with the school, contributing to teacher salaries, lunch program, uniforms and school supplies. In addition to the school partnership, regular medical mission teams visit Haiti to provide medical care to the congregation. For more information, contact Carol Lyle.
Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD)
ERD is an international relief and development agency on behalf of The Episcopal Church. St. Bartholomew’s supports ERD through participation in Nets For Life and Kids4Peace programs. For more information, visit the ERD website, episcopalrelief.org, or contact Page Love Smith at 912-308-5590.
St. Bartholomew’s is a community who prays. We pray together. We pray alone. We pray for one another through the ministry of the Prayer Chain, and through our parish prayer list which can be found on the weekly announcement sheet. Submit your prayer requests by calling the clergy or the church office, or by emailing your name and details to admin@stbartsatlanta.org. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call the church office at 404-634-3336 and press 5 to be connected to the clergy on call number.
Inreach ministries provide us with intentional ways to ‘reach in’ to our Parish family offering support – physically, emotionally and spiritually. These ministries also give us organized methods to tend to our building and grounds with the same care.
Care-Giver Support Group
An informal group that gathers monthly over a brown-bag lunch in a spiritual setting to offer and receive encouragement supporting those who are care-givers to family members. All conversations are confidential. Group meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. For more information, contact the church office at 404-634-3336.
Sunflower Connection
Named for the flower symbol of our patron saint, this ministry is a group of compassionate parishioners who have been trained to be good listeners. This support is available to anyone who needs it as they offer confidential, non-judgmental, prayerful company and can only do so with your invitation. For more information contact the church office at 404-634-3336, or program coordinator, Kaaren Nowicki at 404-371-0990.
Food Ministry
This ministry provides meals to parishioners who are in a state of temporary need due to life altering circumstances. Providing meals at these times is a tangible expression of the love and concern the members of our parish family have for one another. We have a group of 30 parishioners who prepare and deliver the meals. For more information or to reach out for meals, please contact Linda Dacey-Caban or at 404-634-9539.
Toco Hills Community Alliance
We provide opportunities for individuals and organizations to be of service to their neighbors by helping individuals and families in need.
Toco Hills Community Alliance (THCA) was founded in 1998 by a community of faith as a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance to our neighbors. The organization became a qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and has expanded its service area in the Northeast Atlanta area. We currently serve a five ZIP code area providing emergency food supplies, rent, and utility assistance. We are located on the property of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church.
Our Mission
To provide assistance and support for individuals and families living in our service area (Dekalb County for food; zip code areas for financial assistance) who face the possibility of the loss of housing and/or who are without sufficient food for themselves or their families.
Our Goals
To make available emergency assistance to individuals and families in need in the northeast communities of Atlanta. To sponsor and promote assistance programs and services that will result in greater economic stability and independence for those individuals and families in need. To provide opportunities for individuals and organizations to be of service to their neighbors by helping individuals and families in need.
More Information
Closed to the public on Monday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
We are open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – 12pm – 4 pm.
Doors open at 11:30pm, shopping begins at at 12 pm and lunch is from 1 pm – 2:30 pm.
Clothing Pantry open Tuesday and Thursday – Noon – 3 pm.
For more information about THCA, please call 404.325.0677 or visit their website.
Emmanuel Center
St. Bartholomew’s Emmanuel Center for Pastoral Counseling (ECPC) offers psychotherapy, pastoral counseling and spiritual direction to individuals, couples, groups and families. Our therapists also offer pre-marital counseling. The Emmanuel Center was officially incorporated in 1994. Our offices are inside the main church facility. Services are available to parishioners and non-parishioners, those of faith and those of no stated faith.
- Our services are strictly confidential.
- Counselors also offer educational workshops and seminars.
- ECPC keeps several appointment slots available for clients on a sliding scale fee structure based on need.
- The Emmanuel Center offers spiritually sensitive care and our counselors consider themselves to be spiritually multilingual.
- Our counselors are trained in many modalities and offer services based on client need.
- Our counselors offer Spiritual Direction.
Our Goals
On average, the Emmanuel Center provides approximately 472 hours of Mental Health Outreach out of a total of 1,908 hours of counseling to the Church and the community at large. Many of the non-MHO hours were provided on a sliding scale, making it possible for a wider range of people to draw on our resources. The Emmanuel Center gratefully acknowledges the personal and financial support provided by the members of St. Bartholomew’s to make this ministry possible. While many private and public organizations offer programs geared toward alleviating the pressures of financial difficulties, disability, displacement, under-employment, and unemployment, the negative psychological and spiritual effects of these crises frequently go untreated. At the same time, even people with regular incomes and health insurance now face shrinking and restrictive benefits for mental health. These difficulties may exacerbate a common reluctance to seek therapy in times of need. The result is a gap in the continuum of care offered to the neediest members of our community, to those caught in the midst of disruptive life transitions, and to those whose needs are not well met by a medically oriented managed care model. Because clients often report that pastoral counseling offers a less intimidating psychotherapeutic environment than other more bureaucratic or medically driven settings, the Emmanuel Center can provide accessible, affordable, and spiritually sensitive care.
CeCe Balboni, MAT, EDS
Executive Director
CeCe is an Episcopal laywoman, psychotherapist and spiritual director. CeCe serves on the adjunct faculty of Shalem Institute in Washington, DC in the Spiritual Guidance Program. CeCe enjoys retreat and workshop leadership. She uses the writings of the mystics and poets as well as Scripture and art to open the mind in heart experience. This year she participated in several ecumenical and interfaith events in the diocese. CeCe, a lifelong Episcopalian and religious studies major in college, likes to consider herself spiritually multilingual. She can be reached at 404-467-8643.
Tere Canzoneri, M.Div., LCSW
Individual, Couple, and Family Therapy
Tere joined The Emmanuel Center in January 2003. Originally trained in psychodynamic and systems theories, she has kept up with innovations in various treatments as well as research about trauma and the impact of neurobiology on mental and emotional well-being. As appropriate she draws on insights from mindfulness, internal family systems, imago therapy, and bilateral stimulation. Her formal education includes an undergraduate degree in human services and social philosophy from Mercer University, an M.Div. from Emory’s Candler School of Theology, an M.S.W. from the University of Georgia, and a residency in pastoral counseling from Georgia Baptist Medical Center. She is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker and is a diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. For further information see terecanzoneri.com. For an appointment, contact Tere at 404-664-6254.
My name is Reverend Deacon Florence Cooper Mitchell. I was ordained in 2022 as deacon in the Dioceses of Atlanta. Prior to becoming a deacon I taught science in the following Georgia counties and city school districts: Dooly, Crisp, Dougherty and Atlanta Public Schools. During my tenure as an educator I taught: chemistry, biology, physical science, mathematics, forensic science and environmental sciences. I was born in Brooks County Georgia and reared on my maternal grandparents’ farm in Quitman, Georgia. Upon graduation from Brooks County High School, I enrolled in Fort Valley State College where I earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry. I continued my education by earning a Master of Science in Biology from Albany State University.
Karen Dickey was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina and has called Atlanta home for the last 28 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from North Carolina A&T State University and her master’s degree in accounting from Keller Graduate School of Business. Karen has been involved in church accounting for the last 10 years. She considers church accounting “her ministry” where her skill, working with God’s people, and passion for social justice intersects. Her hope is to use her gifts to enhance St. Bartholomew’s community centered mission.
Maquita is a published storyteller with a deeply rooted dedication to truth-seeking and narrative change work in overlooked communities. Maquita has seven years of experience in marketing and content communications for the financial, higher education, and government sectors. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in Journalism. She was the editor-in-chief of two teen magazines, the author of three books, and now ghostwrites and documents some of life’s precious moments through video, podcast, and an online journal.
My name is Rev. Shirley Porter. I am a Priest Associate at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church at the invite of the Rector, Rev. Dr. Angela Shepherd, and I look forward to meeting with you!
Hello, I’m Kristi Painter is St. Bartholomew’s Parish Administrator. Kristi has a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology and a degree in Industrial Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology. She recently moved back to Atlanta after spending several years in Philadelphia working as a United Methodist young adult missionary with a homeless services organization. Her calling is assisting congregations in living out their faith through both service and advocacy.
Hello, I’m 
The Rev. Alex Sherrill
The Rev. Canon Dr. Angela F. Shepherd 
Debbie Kerr 
The Rev. Peter Wallace 
The Rev. Dr. Stefanie Taylor
Audry Gagnon
Stephen Frketic 
Kenneth Hilson
Deacon Katharine Hilliard-Yntema
The Rev. Bill Deneke,