Clifton Community Partnership

Five Questions article:
Five Questions: Pastor Jill Ogleby Evans, Emory Presbyterian Church, located at North Decatur and Haygood roads
May 29, 2008
Source: Community Partnership Update/May 2007

1.Describe your church and its role in the Clifton community.

Emory Presbyterian is a welcoming faith community eager to connect and develop relationships with our surrounding communities.

2.What do you think about Emory’s plans to improve the north side of North Decatur Road between Clairmont and Haygood roads—where your church sits—with bicycle lanes, pedestrian paths and landscaping?

We are excited about the idea. Traffic is an issue in the area that affects us all. Also, in keeping with our desire to better connect with our surrounding community, we look forward to improved access and visibility for the church.

3.Emory Presbyterian is in a well traveled area between North Decatur and Haygood roads. Does this activity impact your ministry?

Despite all the motion and commotion outside our sanctuary, I see our church as a calm and safe spot of respite in the midst of a busy world. At the same time, we welcome an increase in the kind of relational traffic that would allow our property to be utilized in a lively way, seven days a week.

4. How do you envision your church evolving over the next few years?

Our primary goal is to deepen our relationship with God through Jesus Christ and to welcome all who want to join us in spiritual journey. But our strategic location near Druid Hills High School, Emory University and residential neighborhoods offers a rare opportunity to connect with and serve our surrounding communities.

5.What are some of your church’s outreach activities that the community should know about?

To highlight a few, we sponsor a program called Safe Haven, where parents and children who have been separated by Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) can be reunited for supervised visits and be observed in a neutral setting. We support a special relationship with the Chaplaincy Department at Children’s Hospital (Eggleston) by remembering them in our prayers, providing them with seasonal treats and offering them a ministry of space.

We adopted a family from New Orleans, displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and are heading on a mission trip in May to Gulfport to help rebuild houses devastated by the hurricanes in 2005. Visit www.emorypresbyterian.org to learn more about our ministry.