From the Desk of the Leanne Klimavicius, Director,

St. Aidan's Preschool

Two Months In...

I honestly can't believe we are already two months into the school year!

It seems like just yesterday we were getting classrooms ready, meeting new families, helping students get adjusted, and working through those first few days of tears, nerves and lots of new routines.

Fast forward two months, and it is amazing to see the difference.

Our children know their teachers and where their backpacks go.

They know whom they want to share stories with and whom they want to play with on the playground. We are seeing friendships develop, personalities come out, and those little “I'm safe here” moments happening every day. That is one of my favorite parts of being at St. Aidan's.

Of course, we want our children to learn their letters, numbers, colors, shapes and all the other things that prepare them for the years ahead, but there is so much more happening in our classrooms every day.

We are learning how to be a friend.

We are learning how to share.

We are learning how to take turns.

We are learning how to invite someone else to play.

And sometimes, we are learning that we don't always get our way!

One thing I hope every child feels at St. Aidan's is that there is a place for them here and that they matter. It doesn't matter what they look like, what their family looks like, or whether they are quiet, loud, shy, silly, or full of energy; they are part of our school. THEY BELONG.

As the Director, that is something I think about a lot.

I want our children to feel comfortable walking through our doors. I want them to know their teachers care about them. I want our families to feel welcomed. I want our school to be a place where we make room for one another.

Two months into the year, the excitement of those first few weeks has worn off, the routines are becoming familiar, and we are really starting to see our little community come together. I get to see so much of that from carline, being in the classrooms, and walking the halls daily. I see the child who cried every morning now walking into the classroom like they own the place. I see two children who didn't know each other in August now looking for each other every morning. I see teachers figuring out what makes each child tick and learning how to bring out the best in them.

Of course, it isn't all perfect.

We have tears and disagreements. We have days when someone doesn't want to share, listen, clean up or even come inside from the playground, but that's preschool. Honestly, those moments are part of the learning, too.

We have seven more months together, and there is still so much ahead of us. More friendships, more learning, more growing, more laughter and, probably, a few more tears along the way.

As we continue through the year, let's keep reminding our children of something very simple:

There is always room for one more.

Come play with us.

Come sit with us.

Come be our friend.



Because that is how a group of little children becomes a community.

And that is what I love most about St. Aidan's.

Here's to the rest of the school year!

Leanne Klimavicius

Director

St. Aidan's Preschool

Join us for Worship Services



Live streaming via Facebook and our website under the "Worship" tab. 

Bulletin for Sunday, October 18th, 2026

8:15 AM (Rite I)

11:00 AM (Rite II)

The 11:00 AM Service is live-streamed, and Children's Chapel is available

Online Book of Common Prayer

We pray blessings on the following people who are celebrating their birthday this week:

Hopkins Eager, John Thielens, Frank Dancy,

Duncan McCarthy, and Elizebeth Alvarez Sutton

We pray blessings on the following people who are celebrating their anniversary this week:

And a belated Happy Anniversary to:

Carol and David Pritchard

Phyliss and Andrey Arshun



A Note from Trey

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dance. Praise Him with stringed instruments and loud sounding organs. Praise Him with the clash of the cymbals, with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Psalm 150: 3-6

As a classically trained musician earning a living in the field of classical music performance, classical concerts are a vital part of my career. It is exciting for me to blend concerts with the liturgical life of the church. The Episcopal Church, unlike perhaps any other denomination, has a rich history of classical music as an educated, high art form. It is my responsibility and joy to preserve that history and to keep it thriving as a music director of an Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church defines classical music as not simply a musical genre, but the musical genre from which all other sub-genres draw their origins.  

What is the liturgical purpose of concerts in a church? A concert in the context of a church’s music ministry provides a dedicated space to perform both sacred and religious heritage secular musical works that cannot always fit into the structural limits of a regular Sunday service. Concerts also bridge the gap of community outreach and spiritual contemplation.

 Let’s take a look at each of these purposes!

Concerts Preserves a Sacred Heritage

Concerts allow soloists, choirs and instrumentalists to perform larger scale musical works—such as sacred oratorios, musical theater numbers, opera arias, art songs, spirituals and enormous hymn arrangements—that Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium and Church Guidelines specify as an “irreplaceable treasure” especially when such large scale musical works cannot fit into a standard Sunday service. 

Concerts Creates a Spiritual Extension

Much like a devotional discipline, concerts lift the mind and spirit toward transcendence and prepare the listener for the beauty of worship, especially when paired with scripture readings, prayers and silent reflection. 

Concerts Communicate Scripture Through High Art

Concerts communicate salvation history and scripture through high-art musical expression, thereby teaching the faith to both parishioners and visitors in an artistically immersive environment. 

Concerts Engage Community Outreach and Evangelization

Concerts open church doors to non-church members and music aficionados in the broader neighborhood who might feel hesitant to attend a formal Sunday service, acting as a soft-entry point to the parish community.

Concerts Provide Acoustic and Spatial Harmony 

Concerts provide an opportunity for both the congregation and the performers to experience the church building as a resonant, sacred architectural space specifically designed to elevate sound and silence toward God. 

Concerts Encourage Fundraising and Resource Support

Through suggested donations and offerings, concerts can help finance the choir sheet music, piano and organ maintenance, guest singers and instrumentalists and the overall music ministry of the church. 

We sing our faith. I dare say that any church without a vibrant music ministry doesn’t have much to bring people to it. We have all experienced the power that music has to draw us close to God and to each other. 

As Bishop Wright has said, “Nobody ever left church humming a sermon.” Or as I often say, music and sermons connect in a deeply spiritual way when the Priest and the Director of Music are in sync with the Holy Spirit. 

So, whether you think you can sing or not, it is important to participate in the musical life of the church. If you don’t sing or play an instrument, then perhaps your calling is to offer financial support to the music ministry so that it can be a vibrant source of evangelism for the church in an effort to bring people to church. 

We have a thrilling concert at St. Aidan’s on Saturday evening. This is an opportunity to participate in the music ministry of St. Aidan’s simply by your attendance and financial support. 

Please join us as an active member of St. Aidan’s! 

I love you, St. Aidan’s Family! Let’s create beautiful music together!

Trey 

2027 Holy Land Trip

Please email the office at office@staidans.org or call the office at

(770) 521-0207 if you are interested in going on the Holy Land trip

planned for September, 2027!

St. Aidan's New Facebook Page is ACTIVE!

Please click on this link to follow us and please share with other

Friends of St. Aidan's!!!!

Here is the link for the new page: Facebook

Please follow us on the new page--the more followers we have, the more we spread the word of our good works!

To follow us...

Simply click on the new FB link noted above and in the top right corner, you will see the word "Follow", click that and you are in!

This is so important!

Remember that you can still watch our services on www.staidans.org or on our YouTube channel as well! 



As of Tuesday, October 6th, we have 48 followers, only up 10 from last week, and we had

over 800 followers on our former page!

Please help spread the word!!!

Want to get at least 100 by next week and then set further goals to get back to 800 plus followers!!!!

Key Dates for your Calendar

Saturday, October 17th

The Music Ministry of St. Aidan's presents

Beautiful Voices 3 Concert at St. Aidan's; Trey Clegg--organ

An Evening of Opera Arias and Sacred Repertoire

Details to Below

Thursday, October 22nd

Pints with Our Priest

5:30-7:30 PM

Milton Tavern

We have the patio and indoor seating reserved:)

We have 10 people registered so far--the more the merrier!!!!

Register on Realm, sign up in the Narthex, email the office at office@staidans.org or call the office at (770) 521-0207.

Saturday, October 24th

The second annual Chili Kick Off

3:00-5:00 PM

Register on Realm, sign up in the Narthex, email the office at office@staidans.org or call the office at (770) 521-0207.

PLEASE come even if you want to just taste!!!

 You will be glad you did!

Sunday, October 25th

St. Aidan's Blood Drive by LifeSouth

8:30 AM to 3:00 PM

In the parking lot on the bus.

Details below!

Monday, October 26th
Vestry Meeting

6:30-8:30 PM

Tuesday, November 17th -Save the Date!

Community Thanksgiving Service

Hosted by St. Aidan's this year!

Details Below!

Saturday, December 5th

St. Aidan's Christmas Caroling

Various Assisted Living Locations

1:00-4:00 PM

All are invited!

Please contact Keith Richards at

(631) 834-4061 or by email at golfpawkr@aol.com

Sunday, December 6th

St. Aidan's Annual Christmas Concert

The Messiah

7:00 PM

Details to Follow!

Holly Days Craft Fair

Saturday, December 12th

9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

We will have tables for crafters, a raffle and a Bake sale. 

Please call Ida Parker at (910)660-1047 with questions or if you want to reserve a table to sell your items.

Also, please call if you would like to run the raffle or bake sale or have an item to donate to the raffle.

🎁 OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

It’s almost time to pack shoeboxes!

❤️ Join us in sharing the love of Jesus with children around the world through Operation Christmas Child.

Our collection week will be November 16–23!

There are so many ways to get involved, whether you pack a shoebox, donate items, or help with collection week. Every shoebox is an opportunity to share the joy of Christmas and the Good News of Jesus with a child.

Let’s work together to make a difference!

Thank you for being part of this wonderful ministry!

🎄 If you have any questions, please contact

Paisley Cate Samples at pc.samples@icloud.com.

Backpacks of Love is Back!

The donation bin is in the Narthex for the new school season, and we will have our next collection THIS SUNDAY:

Sunday, October 11th, 2026.

Homelessness and poverty have become much more visible and prevalent problems in suburban areas like northern Metro Atlanta. Backpacks of Love serves homeless and food-insecure children at fifteen schools (elementary, middle, and high) in Forsyth and North Fulton counties.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Backpacks of Love delivered a total of 3,639 backpacks of food.

Backpacks of Love operates entirely through the stewardship of its sponsors and volunteer labor. They have no paid staff. They partner with five churches (Alpharetta Methodist Church, Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Johns Creek Baptist Church, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, and

Zion Missionary Baptist Church), who make food and monetary donations to the program.

In the past school year, 30+ volunteers provided the

“hands and feet on the ground” to make this program run.

Backpacks of Love started at St. Aidan’s in 2011. 

How You Can Help:

• We always need more food donations!



▪ Protein: Tuna, chicken, Vienna sausage, small 16 oz. plastic jars

of peanut butter

▪ Fruit: mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail, peaches (cans only please; the small plastic containers leak)

▪ Vegetables: Corn, carrots, mixed veggies

▪ Microwaveable items: single-serve dinners, soup, chili, mac and cheese cups (no boxes or packets that require pots/extra ingredients please)

▪ Pasta: Canned pasta with sauce, ramen noodles

▪ Breakfast/Snacks: Protein or granola bars, single-serve cereal boxes, pop tarts, individual packs of crackers, oatmeal packets, individual boxes of juice or shelf-stable milk.

• Tax deductible monetary contributions:

You can write a check to St. Aidan's and designate Backpacks of Love in the memo section, place cash in a cash offering envelope and indicate "Backpacks of Love" on the front of the envelope or donate on Realm and designate "Backpacks".

Volunteer opportunitie!

Marty McPherson is the Backpacks of Love fearless leader at St. Aidan's and you can email her for more information at: mmdmac@yahoo.com.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in",... (NIV)

How Can I Help?

1) Serve the homeless in person

We continue to serve at Grill-Out Saturdays and by serving at special events. Each Saturday we serve from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and assist with assembling to-go containers, transporting food, serving meals, managing pantry tables, and engaging with our patrons.

Below are the in person volunteer opportunities for the remainder of the year:

October 17th

November 7th & 21st (Thanksgiving meal –

seeking prepared side dishes)

December 5th & 19th

(Christmas partnership event – seeking prepared side dishes)

2)Supply the following:



1. Canned goods - items needed listed on the website (Angie's Kitchen) 

2. Extra coats, gloves, hats, and socks

3. Supply travel size hygiene items or make hygiene kits

4. Service items for Saturdays (coffee creamer, juice boxes / drinks) 

Whom Do I contact for Information?

Paul Aikens (240) 416-4173 paikens01@yahoo.com 

Shawn Callaway (404) 386-6932 shawn@dolphineast.com   

Weekly at St. Aidan's!

Sundays

Breakfast between services

Starts at 9:15

CHRISTIAN FORMATION

9:45 AM - 10:30 AM

The Gift of Years

Burtenshaw Library

(through Sunday, 11/22/26)

Heroes and Heroines of Faith

Preschool Hall

Children’s Chapel

11:00 AM

Children will return to the sanctuary during the Peace.

Mondays

Handbell Choir

5:30-7:30

Tuesdays

A Study of the Lectionary

9:45 AM to 10:45 AM

Burtenshaw Library

Prayer Shawl

11:00 AM in the Parish Hall lobby

Wednesdays

Confession and Spiritual Direction with Father Reggie

4:00 PM-6:00 PM

Please email Father Reggie at fr.reginald@staidans.org if you would like a time slot or just stop by!

Bible Study

5:30-6:30 PM

Burtenshaw Hall Library

Adult Choir Rehearsals

7:00 PM-9:00 PM

Thursdays

Retired Men's Group

9:30 AM-10:30 AM

Walking Group

9:30 AM

Meets at North Park (next to church) at the Carl Black Pavilion

See FULL calendar at www.staidans.org

St. Aidan’s Prayer and Praise List

October 15th, 2026

 St. Aidan’s Prayer Warriors pray for all listed below as part of their commitment to service and prayer. Names listed under Prayer Concerns appear for six weeks. Long Term Concerns, Healthcare Workers, and First Responders continually appear.

To place someone on the prayer list, please contact Annie Metcalfe at email annierae@bellsouth.net.

PRAYER CONCERNS:



 Fr. William McCarthy, father to Brian McCarthy (wife Anna McCarthy)

AJ Youngblood, stepson to Kim Zamonis

Ron Woodard, brother to Jo Woodard

Laurie Cronley

Charles Carroll, father to Lucy O’Neill

Gail Zelley’s family and friends

Kristin Eastabrooks

Ed and Pat Malloy, good friends to Keith and Maureen Richards

Mary Sorenson, coworker to Aaron Hottenstein

Joanna and Tim Watson, friend and colleague to Tom Reynolds

Ms. Kariatu, long-term teacher at St. Aidan’s

Dottie Mack, very dear friend to Anita Hilbun

Jack Dupree’s family, wife Jessica and baby Freddie

Raquel Elda Angeles’ family and friends

Mandy Antonio, friend to the Bradleys

Acezr Sanchez Leynes, family (the Leynes’, the Arreglado’s, the Sanchez’, the DelaCruz’) and cousin Anna McCarthy

Leon Valdry, uncle to Lynnette Clayton

Mother Mary Grace, Rector at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Covington

Laura Van Riper, parishioner and member of the choir at St. Aidan’s

Brent Werling, brother to Vicki Freeman

The Kimmitt Family, dear friends of Corrine and Dave Hofstetter

Linda White, sweet parishioner of St. Aidan’s.

Nancy Babcock’s sons, John and Joel, loving grandchildren, family and friends

Thomas Grover Reynolds VI, son to Tommy and Mallie Reynolds and grandson to Tom and Heidi Reynolds

Caroline Newton, great niece to Tyron Newton who is a best friend to Anita Hilbun

Tommy, Mallie and Baby Grover, newborn grandson to Tom and Heidi Reynolds

Jillian Locklear, daughter to Sam and Pam Locklear

Becky Searles, sister to Marty McPherson

LONG TERM CONCERNS:

Carol Bradley, wife to Mike Bradley

Andy, brother of Cathy Biondi

Dr. Tom Reynolds, father of Tom Reynolds

Cindy Tieken, sister of Celeste Gravois

John and Jean Kelleher

The Jackson Family, godparents to the Bowerman boys and family friends

David Rich, son to Joe Rich

Clyde and Betty Appling, Nancy Babcock’s neighbors

Norm Dobbs & wife Sally, friend of Charles Higgs

Samual Pucket, brother of Aaron Hottenstein’s neighbor, Adam Pucket

Ed Richardson, friend of Charles Higgs

Adi Roosekrans, friend of Stephanie Beckham

Dru Edelmann and daughter Debbie

Bill and Rae Bond, Don Young, Kathy Meyers

Jack Mills, son of Curtis Mills

Geraldine Thompson, mother of Tanya Cassidy

Silas Thompson, father of Tanya Cassidy

Todd Thompson, brother of Tanya Cassidy

Sandra Hurley, daughter-in-law of Gail Hurley

Margaret Rayburn, beloved mother of Lewis Rayburn

Pam Pritchard, sister of David Pritchard

Suzanne Cassidy, daughter-in-law of Fred Cassidy

Bruce Towner, brother of Kay Towner Stalle

Regina Crofut, cousin of Aaron & Kim Hottenstein

Lynn Isenberg, friend of Keith & Maureen Richards

Rosa and George Allen, friends of Dee and Curtis Mills

Farrington Family, friends of Janice Howard

Jack Lukianchuk, grandson of Jennifer and Emil Hoffman

Reid Parkinson, husband of Debbie

Rene’ V. friend of Lynnette Clayton

Alicia Oberholzer, friend of Susan Basile

Sean Haven, Claudia Haven

Nicholas Haven, Claudia Haven

Tish and Bill Chambers, sister of Carol Phillips

Noah Pope, son of Leyna and Ryan Pope

Jeff Heal, friend of Charles

Joy Cox, friend of Marty McPherson

Linda Slocum, friend of Pat Bull

Joan Cowart

Dianne Rogers

Amber Nance, niece of Phyllis Arshun

Camille Johnson and Family

Jeff Smith, friend of Keith Richards

St. Aidan’s Church Family

  FOR OUR HEALTHCARE WORKERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS:

Laura Wakefield, AGACNP, Emory Neuro ICU, daughter of Anne Monroe; Mikayla Van Riper, Ultrasound Tech Northside, daughter-in-law of Laura Van Riper; Evelyn Tran, EMT Grady Hospital; Dr. Kasey Shapp-Reilly, OBGYN, Susan and Jay Reilly’s daughter-in-law; Anne Dickson, RN-Northside Duluth Surgery and Mobile IV Nurse, daughter of Evelyn Goodendorf; Will Hembree, Paramedic at Grady, son of Wade and Melanie; Dr. Greg Melnikoff; Emma Campbell, RN at Northside Gwinnett, Trauma Unit, and Grace Campbell, RN NICU at Children’s Hospital, Granddaughters of Bonnie Moore; Caroline Eastabrooks Cochran, RN; Dr. Richard Shack; Sam Biondi Jakubiszak, OT, daughter of Cathy & Daryl Biondi; Jamie Vernon, PA at Emory Decatur Hospital ICU, Daniel and Karen Vernon’s daughter-in-law; Hannah Collins, Nurse Case Worker at Fort Benning, daughter of Anita Hilbun; Jessica Naunas, PA at Atlanta Cancer Care, wife to Jason Naunas.