From Emory University…

Internationally known humanitarian and award-winning actor Richard Gere will join Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker for “The Creative Journey: Artists in Conversation with the Dalai Lama on Spirituality and Creativity” at Emory University on Oct. 19. The event is part of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’s return visit to the Emory campus Oct. 17-19 in his capacity as Presidential Distinguished Professor.

The “Creative Journey” takes place Tuesday, Oct. 19 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Woodruff P.E. Center on the Emory campus. Tickets are available for purchase at dalailama.emory.edu.

According to the website, tickets range in price from $40 for general admission bleacher seating to $65, $85 and $100 for reserved seating on the main level at the Woodruff Physical Education Center (capacity: 4,000).

Here’s a direct link to tickets for the event.

Laurie writes in…

Holy Trinity Parish in Decatur, GA, will host the only Atlanta appearance of Les Petits Chanteurs on their 2010 Eastern United States tour. The renowned 30-voice boy’s choir from Holy Trinity Music School, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, accompanied by a chamber ensemble from the school, will perform a concert at Holy Trinity in Decatur on Sunday, September 5, at 4:00 pm.

The concert is free and open to the public. Donations gladly accepted for the Music School, Ste. Trinite, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Holy Trinity Music School is the only music school of its kind in Haiti, and its orchestras and choral groups have long been beacons of hope throughout the island nation. The school offers music education to children of all economic classes and continues to function even though the buildings themselves were destroyed in the January earthquake. The tour aims to raise awareness of the rich musical traditions of Haiti and the importance of the school in the life of the country, especially at this time.

Holy Trinity Parish is an Episcopal church in downtown Decatur, GA. The parish has a very active Music & Arts ministry and frequently hosts musical performances by guest artists and groups.

For directions or more information, please visit http://holytrinitydecatur.org.

I received word of this through the church’s lawyers yesterday, but it looks like the ol’ AJC beat me to it…

A federal judge has ordered Avondale Estates to let a church resume its activities as it pursues a discrimination case against the small DeKalb County city.

Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr. on Thursday ordered the city allow Christ Liberty Family Center to re-open for worship and other activities. The church plans a service at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at its leased property, 137 Maple St.

Reverend Dr. James Brewer-Calvert writes in…

Greetings! I do hope this note finds you well.

You are invited to participate in an open conversation. The First Christian Church of Decatur is holding open conversations on both August 18, at 7:30PM in our Fellowship Hall, and again on Saturday, August 21 at 10AM in our Church and Community Park and Playground on Nelson Ferry Road.

This is an open conversation for both the church and the wider community to discern whether to formulate plans and collect resources to build a new community recreation center dedicated to promoting programs, which could then benefit the citizens of the Decatur community by providing excellent facilities and staff for neighborhood programs such as after-school education and tutoring, health and wellness, sport and athletics, meeting rooms, language and cultural projects, mental health and spiritual wellness services, and so forth. Currently we have a gym facility we have chosen to close for a variety of reasons, which leads us to ask you and each other, “What can we do with our land to help meet specific needs in Decatur?”

There is a valid and practical precedent for such an open conversation and an expectant hope.

Read the rest of this entry »

From an Emory news release…

Emory University’s 10th annual Tibet Week is set for March 22-27. Through films, lectures, art and other exhibits and events, Tibet Week provides opportunities for the Emory and Atlanta communities to experience firsthand the diverse dimensions of Tibetan Buddhist culture. It brings both Tibetan artists and monks to campus as ambassadors to share religious and artistic traditions.

Click here to view the complete schedule of Tibet Week activities.

In other Tibet/Emory news, the Dalai Lama has scheduled a return visit to Emory in October.

This sounds like pretty compelling stuff.  From an Agnes Scott College press release…

Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ, an American research astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory, will discuss “The Ethics of Exploration: Planetary Astronomy” during a lecture at Agnes Scott College Feb. 16. The 7:30 p.m. event is in Evans Hall and is free and open to the public.

A number of ethical issues arise in the field of planetary sciences ranging from the way astronomers do their work to the broader question of the nature of exploration itself. Is the study of astronomy a valid use of scarce resources, or does it make inappropriate demands on money, human talent and scarce environmental settings? Are humans “contaminating” space with their presence? Consolmagno will discuss these and many other questions during his lecture.

More info, including a short bio of Consolmagno can be found HERE.

Beth writes in with details about this Sunday’s Oakhurst Presbyterian Church’s free annual trade and craft show.

Holiday Market Place at Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, 118 2nd Ave, City of Decatur will host its annual free trade and hand made crafts marketplace on Sunday, December 6. Come to the fellowship hall between 1:00PM – 4:00PM   to find beautiful gifts. Proceeds go toward mission trips and conferences for young people. Call 404-378-6284 or see the web site (www.oakhurstpresbyterian.org) for more information.