Volunteers are requested to help with the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank. Our work includes logging recent donations and/ or filling bags for recipients to pick up. Minimal lifting is required. Training is provided. Hours are from 9-1 but the work is usually completed in 2-3 hours. The upcoming dates are May 18, June 15, & June 29. To sign up or request additional information please contact Belita Gordon by email or by text 706-255-8707.
Family Promise: June 7-13
Our next Family Promise week is June 7 -13. Here are the current needs of the families in shelter we will be serving that week: 1) Four gift cards to Kroger or Walmart. Visa cards are fine too. Or you can give cash to Annette and she will buy them. 2) Hygiene supplies including baby wipes as the families have young children and one mom just had her baby two weeks ago. Boxes are in the parish hall and the narthex. 3) If you have any used clean still good towels and sheets, that's always helpful. Thank you all in advance for your generosity! This work is so important in our community. Please contact Annette Bates with questions by text or phone, 706-255-5839.
Worship Committee Returns
The Worship Committee has been re-formed and we have several exciting plans for new worship services and feast day observances, and a few ideas to make Sunday mornings at St Greg's that much more impactful and run a bit smoother for everyone involved in making worship happen.
The first thing you'll begin to notice from the pews is the return of a St Greg's practice we haven't seen since before COVID - we will be bringing in some "smells and bells" on feast days! Beginning on Pentecost (May 24th) at the 10:30 service, one of our youth acolytes will take on the role of thurifer and carry incense during the procession and another will ring sanctus bells as we celebrate the Eucharist.
We will only be using these elements to mark particularly special occasions and dates on our liturgical calendar and it will be our practice to remind the congregation both in our weekly newsletter and during announcements on Sunday mornings so that any parishioners who have sensitivities to scents/smoke may plan to attend the 8am service or sit further away from the aisle so as to avoid close contact with the smoke.
If you have any questions please reach out to the Worship Committee or Mother Nikki.
Young Designers Sewing Program Fashion Show
The Young Designers Sewing Program will present their 2026 fashion show at St. Gregory's on Saturday, May 2, at 3:00PM. The girls are very excited to show all the wonderful creations they have worked so hard on this year. This is an event for the families and friends of the Young Designers and we welcome them into our space to celebrate what these girls have done!
The Young Designers meet every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon to learn sewing and design skills along with life skills for future success. We concentrate on purpose, persistence, patience, planning, and problem-solving, and a lot of fun too! Many parishioners have helped in the past with setting up, bringing refreshments, and cleaning up as well as enjoying the show. Admission is free, donations are welcome! If you can help support this event, please contact Jenifer Borg (706) 614-4895 or Maggie Reinberger (706) 338-1471.
There is a second fashion show on Sunday, May 3rd at 3:00PM at the Classic Center. This is a ticketed event and the major fundraiser for the Young Designers. Tickets are available through https://www.eventsibles.online/YDSP2026 We hope to see you at one of these shows!
Coffee Hour Help Needed
For the past couple of years the Blindspot has worked alongside our Coffee Hour Coordinator, Danielle Vogt, to provide food, serve, and clean up after the 10:30 coffee hour. We volunteered for this because, as a group, we had a desire to meet and socialize with members of the wider parish, and have time and space to meet with visitors, but coffee hour had been slow to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic. While prior to the pandemic it was normal practice for multiple parishioners to sign up and volunteer to bring food and serve during both of our coffee hours, this was not the case once we all returned to in-person worship. Danielle readily accepted the call to serve and fill this gap for our parish and the Blindspot has enjoyed assisting her in bringing attendance back up. There are now, regularly, multiple tables worth of parishioners who stick around for a snack, a cup of coffee, and fellowship. We couldn't be happier about the results!
Now that we are five years beyond our return to in-person worship and coffee hour is once again a thriving ministry, we believe it is time for us to turn our time and resources to other needs in our parish. Danielle will, of course, still be running the show but Blindspot will no longer be making Coffee Hour one of our particular ministries to the wider parish, with our last Sunday serving being on April 26th. We ask, and encourage, all members of our parish to find the sign up sheet posted on the bulletin board in the Christian Ed building and sign up for a Sunday that you can contribute a baked good, cheese plate, or other treat to the table and don one of our St Greg's aprons and give Danielle a hand with serving and clean up duties. Please help keep up the Gregorian tradition of hospitality to visitors and long time members alike!
Gregorians in the Community
The Outreach Committee decided at its last meeting to keep collecting information about what you all are doing in the community. Is there something you are doing on your own or with other parishioners or friends like making lunches for the homeless? Please let Annette Bates from the Outreach Committee know at bateskannette@gmail.com or 706-255-5839. Thanks!
