Dear friends,
I am happy to announce that I have hired a new choir director/organist. Brian Parks will begin with after the new year. Brian brings a wealth of experience to us. He has a degree in music composition from Berklee College of Music in Boston and a masters from Wesleyan. He has extensive experience teaching at the high school and college level. Most recently he has played organ and helped direct choirs at First Methodist in Marietta, and is now an interim at St. John on Mt. Paran. Brian is Jewish, so brings music from that tradition, too. He and his wife have three children.
It has been a long road to get to here, and the last month may be the most unpleasant experience I’ve had in 31 years of ordained ministry. But I firmly believe that Brian is the exact right person for us, and the search committee agrees. I want to thank search committee members John Morgan, Steve Hauser, Andrea Patten-Weerakoon, Matthew McCawley, Elizabeth Wong Mark, and Suzie Throop. I thank Julie Bunn and Ernest Plunkett, who will see us through the rest of this year. And a huge thank you to the choir for staying faithful and dedicated to the choir and St. Dunstan’s. Brian did an audition rehearsal with them, and they were impressed and are excited to work with him.
When I pulled into the parking lot this morning Elise McIntyre was already hard at work loading her car with bags of ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner to Emmaus House. That was no small task. Our goal was to provide 50 bags; we ended up with 60. I’m not sure Elise could have gotten any more in her car. Thanks to all of you who contributed, and to Elise for schlepping them to Emmaus House. You’ve made Thanksgiving dinner better for 60 families.
You have also been generous in our efforts to help the Kombete family celebrate their first Christmas outside a refugee camp in 18 years. We were hoping to raise $1,600 dollars. We’ve received $2,400. There are also a lot of decorations donated for their first Christmas tree. Thank you to everyone who contributed.
Last night I got a phone call from Jennifer Barnes, the driving force behind Solidarity Sandy Springs, to thank us for our continued support of the food pantry. The need there is great and ongoing, so any food for them you bring to the church will be greatly appreciated.
And finally, a gentle reminder for those who have not turned in their pledge cards for 2026 yet. It’s time to start working on the budget, which is hard to do if we don’t know how much money we will have. So please bring your card in on Sunday, or email our treasurer Lee Morris.
With love,
Tricia