Memorial Drive MLK Weekend: A Huge Success!

(This is an article from the March newsletter of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.  It has lots of details about our work mission at Memorial Drive Presbyterian and lots of background about this Presbyterian non-profit ministry)

By Catherine Foster, Associate Pastor at Shallowford Presbyterian Church

When Presbyterians talk about being a “connectional church,” they’re usually referring to an upcoming Presbytery meeting, a controversial General Assembly bill, or paperwork that needs to be sent off to Louisville. But this past January, two hundred seventy Presbyterians revolutionized my understanding of and gratitude for our “connectional church.”

Memorial Drive Ministries’ Background

As the membership of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain continued to decline, it became more and more difficult for them to maintain their large campus. Far from hunkering down in scarcity, the membership of MDPC has reached out to their changing neighborhood of Clarkston and Stone Mountain to welcome three Presbyterian new worshipping communities, a Mennonite congregation, and at least six non-profit organizations.

Responding to MDPC’s request for support, in the summer of 2017, the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta convened members of five neighboring Presbyterian Churches to work alongside MDPC and its ministry partners in a visioning process that has become Memorial Drive Ministries (MDM). MDM is becoming a Presbyterian non-profit that will manage the Memorial Drive campus by gathering critical leadership, organization, and a wide network of loving neighbors to create a new expression of God’s Beloved Community.

MLK Weekend

The Board of the newly imagined Memorial Drive Ministries knew that in order for their vision of the Memorial Drive Campus to succeed that they would need many more church and community partners. The Board also knew that the campus of Memorial Drive called for an HGTV-worthy makeover in order to better host all the incredible ministries taking place on the property.

The MDM Board put the call out to all the churches in Greater Atlanta Presbytery, and, boy, did you Presbyterians rise to the occasion! At least two hundred seventy volunteers representing at least twelve Presbyterian Churches rolled up their sleeves, pulled on their work gloves, and got to work supporting their sister congregations.

Each congregation brought their God-given talents to build up the body of Christ. One church employed their tall sanctuary ladder and electrical skills to convert much of the lighting over to eco-friendly LED bulbs. Another church coordinated with the Inspire After School Tutoring program to paint their classrooms bright, cheerful colors. Yet another church utilized the artistic skills of their youth group to transform a black water cistern into a mural celebrating water as a gift of life. Still another church came forward to cook a hearty lunch so that everyone could break bread together. Presbyterians from many different churches teamed up to clean out closets, paint rooms, and scrub the facility. Three Presbyterian-owned businesses volunteered trash removal, landscaping, and building repairs. Over the course of Martin Luther King weekend, God multiplied the many gifts we brought as individual Christians and solitary congregations to transform the campus of Memorial Drive and to knit us closer together as the body of Christ.

Connectional Church

Like any good Presbyterian undertaking, the creation of Memorial Drive Ministries has involved countless committee meetings, reams of documents, and the pokey pacing of doing things “decently and in order.” But never again will I think of polity or paperwork when someone uses the phrase “connectional church.” Instead, I will remember the electric Spirit of over a dozen congregations uniting in love, hard work and hospitality over Martin Luther King weekend.

“Connectional church” is the discovery that we are capable of so much more together than apart. “Connectional church” is the blessing of my weakness being your strength. “Connection church” is the miracle of God making a stranger a neighbor and a neighbor a friend. Thanks be to God for “connectional church”!

To learn more about or to make a donation to Memorial Drive Ministries, visit our website at www.MemorialDriveMinistries.org.