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St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

Website
Telephone
(404) 634-3336
Location
1790 LaVista Rd NE
Atlanta
GA
30329-3604
United States

Parish History

On December 12, 1953, thirteen Episcopalians residing near Toco Hills met with Rev. Harry Tisdale, rector of Holy Trinity Parish in Decatur, to explore the feasibility of establishing a mission church. The group felt Toco Hills was ready for an Episcopal Church, and soon received approval to establish a congregation that would become St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. This mission venture began with the sort of hands-on participation that would become typical during the next fifty years. All men present agreed to serve on the first vestry, and the women created the first altar guild. By January 1954 the small group had grown rapidly and plans were made to conduct the first service on January 31. The new parish would be named for the Apostle St. Bartholomew.

Today

St. Bartholomew’s continues to be a place known for and where great care is given to worship—the liturgy, the music, and the sermons. This is the central place in our community where people are renewed in their baptismal identity, and nourished spiritually. We open our doors to all who seek God or a deeper knowledge of God. Glimpses of true community can be seen at coffee hour and at breakfast where tables are people are alive with conversation, relationships are being renewed, and barriers removed. We want to know what is going on in one another’s lives and how we can help and be present in the needful places.

We are deliberate in Christian education and formation for children, youth, and adults. We want to be formed as the people of God. We are achieving a better balance between outreach and “inreach.”

As we are renewed in an ongoing way as the people of God, we cannot help but reach out to others locally and globally. We cannot help but care about the people and things that God cares most about. We continue our partnerships with Toco Hills Community Alliance, Emmanuel Counseling Center, and other outreach agencies and projects.

Tomorrow

Who will we be in future? We will continue to grow as faithful people of God, pushing into areas that are not always comfortable, stretching our spiritual legs and hearts. We will continue to strengthen the formation of all our people. We will continue our strong tradition of liturgy and music. We will continue our radical hospitality and welcome. We will continue our strong stand on social justice and helping others. We will address the growing need for space and the demands of our aging facility and infrastructure.

To accomplish all these things we will live into God’s good future together and work side by side as the body of Jesus Christ in this place and in this time.

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