Enjoy these thoughts from Bishop Bevel
Jones as the holiday season continues.
I hope you and yours have wonderful holidays and
a Happy New Year; see you in 2009!
Your reporters for December are John B. Kline
and
Don Hooten.
| Bishop L. Bevel Jones Provides Holiday Cheer |
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Bishop Jones provided warm thoughts for
our Decatur Rotary Holiday Meeting
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Lee Conn and his son Jason at the head
table
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President Mark Hastings gave an
introduction of our guest speaker, Bishop Bevel L.
Jones, III. Bishop Jones is Bishop in Residence
and Special Assistant for Development at the Emory
Candler School of Theology.
Bishop Jones has served as resident bishop of
the Charlotte Episcopal Area of the United Methodist
Church (Western North Carolina Annual Conference).
He has published numerous articles in newspapers
and religious journals and is a trustee emeritus of
Emory University.
Bevel Jones is a much-cherished and beloved
speaker at our Decatur Rotary Holiday Meeting every
year.
Bishop Jones gave us a series of thoughts and
observations:
When was the world not in trouble?
It took six centuries for the churches to develop the
creeds of Christianity
Ask yourself the question "Am I going to be part of
the problem - or part of the answer to the problem?"
Rotary International is a very good platform to address
and solve the world's problems
We should not just ask God to bless America, but
ask God to bless the world
We should be grateful to God for being Rotarians -
the principles that Paul Harris authored are the same
as those from the Bible, which state that we are all
here to be servants to the public and humankind
As Rotarians, we should work together to promote
and practice high ethical standards in our business
and personal life in the advancement of international
understanding, good will, and peace
Smiles and positive thoughts are important; more
so today than ever
Do not lose the sense of wonder, especially at
Christmas, because the Love of God has for
us
Bishop Jones closed with an excerpt from Charles
Dickens' A Christmas Carol and encouraged
us to
realize we were put here on earth to give, to serve, and
to live with thanksgiving and in so doing happiness
will seek us out.
Following our speaker's talk, President Mark
presented the DeKalb Library System with The
Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren in our
speaker's honor.
Reported By John B. Kline
Photographs By Mark Burnette
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| Happy Birthday Wishes |
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Happy December Birthday
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- December 4: Jeremy Warner
- December 12: Tim Martin
- December 13: Hugh Goodwin
- December 15: Robert Stroud
- December 17: Julia Carter
- December 18: Houston Smith
- December 21: Art Vinson
- December 26: Bill Funk
- December 28: Dennis Byerly
- December 28: Ruth McCann
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| Around the Room |
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Jean O'Callaghan is recognized for the great
work she does for the Decatur Rotary Club
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Rotarians thank Bishop Jones after his
Holiday remarks
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| MLK Service Project |
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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Project
seeks to directly assist low-income Decatur senior
citizens homeowners to safely and comfortably
remain
in their homes by providing house maintenance and
repair. The MLK, Jr. Service project began in 2002 and
was initiated by the Decatur Preservation Alliance
(DPA) under the leadership of Robert Soens. The DPA
board recognized an unmet and dire need in the
community - that of fixed- and low-income senior
citizens who were unable to maintain their homes and
were facing ever-increasing property tax burdens. By
collaborating with community, church and youth
groups, local government agencies, businesses and
residents, DPA raises the funds and brings together
hundreds of volunteers to work on house repair
projects during the MLK, Jr. holiday weekend. That
will
be January 17, 18, and 19 in 2009.
What is the role of Decatur Rotary?
Decatur Rotary has pledged funds to support the
project. In addition, Rotarians are encouraged to
volunteer to work on one of the houses. Mark
Burnette hopes to have 10-15 volunteers from
Decatur Rotary. Contact Mark at (mburnette@decatur-
law.com) or see him at Rotary on a Friday if you would
like more information or would like to sign up to
help.
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| Upcoming Programs |
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December 26: NO MEETING -- MERRY
CHRISTMAS & HAPPY
HOLIDAYS
January 2: NO MEETING -- HAPPY
NEW YEAR
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Welcoming Guests
Doug Torbush introduced two visiting
Rotarians: Doug Eidson of the Buckhead
Club and Becky Sawyer of the East Cobb
Club.
Guests of Rotarians:
Warren Davidson introduced his guests
(and grandsons) Asher Davidson and John
Miller; Linton Broome introduced his
guests Ruth Broome and Mary Jo Garvin;
Art Vinson had as a guest Ron
Temske, an IT consultant; Walt Drake
had as his guest, his son John Drake;
Jason Conn had as his guest, his Dad,
and a former member, Lee Conn; Terry
and Clark Candler had as a guest, their son
Clark, a law student at
University of Georgia.
Officers for Decatur
Rotary:
President - Mark Hastings
President-Elect - Bryan Downs
Past President - David Ewing
Secretary - Vee Nelson
Treasurer - Jason Conn
Sergeant-at-Arms - Doug Torbush
District Governor - Ted Propes
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bob Byrd announced that the club was
hosting a group study contingency from Korea on April
4-7, 2009, and that volunteers are needs for host
families.
President Mark announced that our next
meeting would be on Friday January 9, 2009.
President Mark conducted the annual
elections for the board. By unanimous consent the
following were elected:
President elect nominee for the term beginning
June 2010: C.J. Becker
For Directors to serve 2 year terms beginning July
2009: Susan Cobleigh; Bob Bachman; Eric
Norwood and Kirby Thompson.
Scott Thompson announced that the
annual M.L King Day service project was scheduled
for the weekend of January 17-19, 2009, and that Bill
Mealer and Scott Thompson would be captains for
one of the homes to be renovated.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Join us! Decatur Rotary Club
meets
each Friday at noon at the Old
Courthouse on the
Square in downtown Decatur.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The four-way test of the things
we
think, say or do:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER
FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all
concerned?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Directions: Old Courthouse on the Square
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