Purpose To be a Community where all persons will encounter the power and love of the Living God, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Vision All Saints Episcopal Church is called by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to... · Worship Jesus Christ · Learn and Teach His Word · Minister in His Name · Proclaim Him and Share the Blessing of His Love · Welcome All in His Name |
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The All Saints Messenger
August 24, 2017
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Greetings in the name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Recently, a discussion at Vestry meeting brought up the perceived rowdiness of the Passing of the Peace. We discussed it for a while reflecting on its purpose and the stated concerns and decided I would try something new at last Sunday's 8AM service during the Passing of the Peace. At that service I asked parishioners to pass the peace just to those they could reach without moving out of their pews.
The rite itself went fine, yet afterwards as parishioners were departing, the topic came up again and again. "I didn't like not being able to greet everyone"; "The Peace was how I got to be known and how I got to know others" were just a few of the comments I heard. If I am honest with myself, I also noticed a reduced sense of energy and joy which, of course, is the exact opposite of what we hope for.
So I'm going to attempt something else: According to The Episcopal Dictionary, the Peace is "a liturgical exchange of greeting through word and gesture. It is a sign of reconciliation, love and renewed relationships in the Christian Community." Of course, the challenge for us comes with how we
DO the "exchange of greeting through word and gesture."
It has been said that it is a bit ironic that the part of our service which we call the Peace is often the least peaceful part of our worship. I've heard the terms, "chaotic, hippie love fest, part election campaign" when some talk about the exchange of the Peace. Additionally, as a welcoming and inclusive church we have to be aware of the guests and those new to our traditions in our midst. To be truly hospitable is to be aware of those new to us and to include them "Fully."
We need to remember that some guests, and if we are truthful, probably some of our own members are introverts and might rather have a root canal than have to struggle through a long and drawn out Peace. I have also heard some say "I went to a church where only one or two people greeted me, yet the rest of the congregation was enthusiastically greeting those they knew and were their friends. I wondered if I was already labeled as part of the "out" crowd."
The Peace is the time of the service where we are expected to extend Christ's peace, to be at one with Christ's family before we receive Christ's Body and Blood...to be at unity with Christ and one another. Maybe, just maybe, at the Peace we reach first, not to friends and family (who we will have ample opportunity to share and greet them after the service) but to the visitor, the guest, the stranger, the lonely, the isolated, the one who can do nothing but receive without giving back. It does not mean family and friends are to be ignored; but if they are given a ritual handclasp and a "Peace be with you," then perhaps there will be enough time to greet more folks before the Eucharist begins.
In closing, I recall the following personal experience: We were a young Episcopal family, probably only two years in to this new and strange tradition (I had been Presbyterian, Chris had been raised Roman Catholic) and a woman and her quadriplegic son settled into a pew a few rows back one Sunday. During the Peace our daughter Emma seemed to sense that others were uncomfortable and the mother and son were not getting much "Peace" attention. Emma drifted back took the young man's hand in hers and said, "The Peace of the Lord be always with you." He could not respond, his face did not change. His mother's eyes filled with tears as she mouthed, "Thank You." The mother and son remain in that parish to this day.
See ya Sunday
Fr. Gary+
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The Fall session of EfM is coming up quickly. EfM is a four year program from The University of the South, Sewanee. It is a wonderful way to study the Bible, history and theology. EfM has two new Mentors, Don Stine and Adam Nygren. If you are interested in joining in the fun, please contact one of these Mentors as soon as possible.
We will continue to accept applicants up until September, with the understanding that it could delay you getting your books.
If you have any questions, please contact
Don at 704-691-4089
Adam at 980-285-0915.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
* Last Friday Get Together: August 25th at 6PM.
A pot luck & Bingo night. Bring a dish and be ready to play!!! Food, fellowship, and fun! T
his will be an evening for getting to know one another better, laughing together, and celebrating the fellowship that is All Saints! Please mark your calendars and join us.
PS: If you have games hidden in your closet that you would like to donate to the church for future events,
please feel free.
*
Outreach Meeting: W
ill be on
Tuesday August 29 at 6:30
in the conference room and will be focused on Parade of Tables.
* Youth Christian Formation
: Christian Formation for our young people begins on Sunday, September 10
th
at 9:30 sharp. Our new program is an Episcopal curriculum. We have 11 dedicated teachers and three dedicated musicians who will be guiding our young people. Please bring your children and let them experience God and Jesus with others.
* Towel Ministry Coordinator
: All Saints Towel Ministry funds and builds handicap ramps and does other small building projects for those in Gaston County who have a need. If you are a good organizer and understand basic building techniques All Saints could use your services as our new Towel Ministry Coordinator. You are not expected to do all the work, just take requests, assemble the teams and help out the citizens in our community who need help. If interested please speak to Fr. Gary.
* Parade of Tables: Saturday, September 23rd from 6 - 8:30PM. This is an outreach event that raises money for our church. It is an elegant evening with friends and includes dinner, a band and an auction. Church members host a table that is decorated in various themes. The table hosts sell tickets for a seat at their table. There are usually 12 to 15 tables and each ticket is $25.00 dollars. This includes appetizers, dinner and desert as well as great music and an auction. We will also sell raffle tickets for 2.00 a ticket and a 50/50 cash prize. The evening is very enjoyable and full of fun. Please feel free to contact Lee and Casey Allison if you have any questions. All proceeds go to support our All Saints Outreach Programs. Tickets: $25.00 per person. Please let your table host know if you need babysitting as we can have it available.
* Choir Rehearsal: Sunday mornings at 9:25 am.
* Food Pantry: Please help us restock the shelves by bringing in the following items: canned meat, soups, canned vegetables and fruit. Through your generosity, we have been able to help many families and individuals.
* Preaching ROTA (rotation) at All Saints
: We are blessed at All Saints to hear three different voices in preaching. Each one of our clergy; Gary, Cris and Martha, have experienced the world and see the world differently and through different lenses. Because our community is made up of different people from different experiences we need to hear different voices. At All Saints, Deacon Cris preaches on the 3rd
Sunday
of each month, Deacon Martha preaches on the 1st
Sunday
of alternate months (next time is in September) and Fr. Gary preaches the other Sundays. We hope you find the different voices fulfilling in your spiritual journey.
* Bible Study: The Faith Club is a wonderful book that has generated excellent discussion. It is not too late to join this group which meets on Wednesday morning at 10:00 in the Family Life Center library. If interested in joining, get the book and come.
* First Sunday of the month Coffee Hour: We need someone to set up and clean up only for Coffee Hour on Parish Breakfast Sunday. You do not have to provide any food, just set out the food left from breakfast. Please sign up for this on the Coffee Hour sign-up sheet.
* A liturgical change for the summer: We are currently rotating between three alternative Eucharistic prayers written by The Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Liturgy & Music. The three prayers are in booklets placed in each pew. We hope these new prayers, with new images might help open the Eucharist in new and exciting ways for you. The plan is to return to the Prayer Book prayers in the fall. Other minor changes include: a different Gloria, the Contemporary Lord's Prayer (said not sung, also considered by some scholars to be the original prayer of our Lord), new Sanctus & Fraction anthems, and a new Great Amen.
* Family Promise: The remaining 2017 dates that we will be host to the Family Promise guests are 10/8 - 10/15. Family Promise is a community program that provides housing and support to families that are having to deal with an unfortunate time in their lives. All Saints is one of the original churches that helped establish this ministry more than ten years ago. We host families in this ministry four times a year at our parish facilities with assistance from the Redeemer Lutheran Church here in Gastonia. There are many ways to support this ministry. During weeks that we host our guests, we need parishioners to greet and engage guests, to provide homework and enrichment activities for the children, to prepare and serve dinner, and to spend the night.The other way that parishioners can assist these families is to donate items that our guests need. Suggested items to donate are clothes, detergent, toothbrushes and toothpaste, small first aid kits, hair products, soap and/or body wash, suitcases (both used or new), 10, 20, and 30 gallon storage tubs w/ lids, towels and washcloths (both used or new), bed linens (both used or new), family friendly movies or videos, board games, & craft supplies. For more information, or to volunteer please contact Marc Dudley at 704-718-4044 or [email protected].
* Needed: Monetary donations for lettuce and carrots for the Salvation Army salads on Mondays. Our lettuce in the garden has "gone over to the dark side...bolted". Will be a month or two before the new crop is in. Until then, we need donations for lettuce and carrots. Each week, we use up one large bag of sliced carrots and 6 heads of lettuce. Cost is about $8 a week. Donations are needed to offset this cost. Anyone willing to donate cash or a gift card to the project, please see Linda Klocker, 704-827-3901. Checks should be made out to All Saints, garden fund. Thanks for your generosity. The clients at the Salvation Army really enjoy a fresh salad.
* Parish Nurse Ministry will be taking blood pressures after the 8:00 and 10:30 services on the second Sunday of the month. Nurses interested in the parish nurse ministry please contact Cheryl Saylor, MSN.
* Cookbooks: $10 If you don't need a cookbook, but would like to help our Outreach committee reach their budget goal, consider buying a cookbook to donate to our newcomers committee. Any donated cookbooks will be included in the welcome bag we hand out to newcomers.
* Zumba: All Saints will host a Zumba Gold class on Fridays at 9am in the Family Life Center. It will be taught by certified instructor Barbara Mooradian who has been teaching for 6 years. Especially suited to older adults or those with mobility issues or restrictions, Zumba Gold has all of the liveliness and fun of Zumba while being low impact and easier on the body. It can even be done while sitting! Zumba Fitness is fun-filled, energetic, and contagious. You do not have to know how to dance; you just have to enjoy yourself and keep moving! Classes will be $5 each and payable by the month. Come try it out. You will be glad you did. For more info email Barbara at [email protected] or call 808-281-7172. See you on Friday.
* Adult Christian Formation: We are studying "Great Figures of the New Testament." Our guide is the esteemed Jewish scholar Amy-Jill Levine who teaches at Vanderbilt University. What Ms. Levine brings to the table is a unique Jewish understanding of the New Testament, the culture and people of the day. She will take us on a journey of specific characters: who they are, what they do and how they have been assessed across the centuries. We begin at 9:25 AM. Please join us!
* Sign Up Sheets for coffee hour, altar guild and altar flowers are on the bulletin board in the Family Life Center. Coffee Hour hosting can be as simple as drinks and cookies. Coffee hour is provided to have fellowship with our parish family. Please sign up or call the church office to add your name to the list (704-864-7201).
* Salvation Army Service Schedule: Monday, August 28th - Team #5. (Jacquie Burr & Linda Boyd)
* Church Financials: The Vestry wants to make sure that all parishioners are aware that the monthly financial reports are posted on the bulletin boards in The Family Life Center. If you have any concerns or questions please contact Phill Wertz or Fr. Gary. Thank You!
* Why Do You Love All Saints? Who here loves All Saints? Do you want to tell the world why you love being a part of the All Saints family? Please help us spread the word about our congregation by telling your All Saints Story. All Saints Stories will be published on our website: AllSaintsGastonia.org as well as our facebook and twitter pages. To submit your story, go to AllSaintsGastonia.org and click "All Saints Stories" under the Parish Life tab. If you can, please submit a photo with your story.
* Prayer List: Our prayer list grows rapidly. We ask all parishioners to keep the office informed so that our prayer list remains current and manageable.
* Partnership: All Saints has entered into a relationship with the YMCA's Resource Connection Gateway. This relationship enables us to help those in need more rapidly and efficiently while also addressing long-term needs versus only addressing immediate concerns. If you would like more information please see Fr. Gary.
* Salvation Army Serving: If anyone is interested in serving at the Salvation Army on Mon. nights from 5:00 to 6:00, please contact Candy Albergine at 704-868-8691 or email [email protected]. We have a couple of spots open and you will find this ministry is a true blessing to all involved. The schedule is on bulletin board in Family Life Center.
* All Saints Sermons online: Thanks to John Woodward, our sermons are available in audio and video on our website at: www.allsaintsgastonia.org/sermons
* Free Mulch: There are several piles of mulch in the upper parking lot that you are welcome to take. We need to free up some parking spaces in that upper lot. Please do not take the mulch by the shed as that is intended for the garden.
* Church Directory: Available on the table in the Family Life Center.
* Building Use Policy
: Our buildings are being used more and more and scheduling conflicts are occurring. Effective immediately, all rooms/buildings will be scheduled by the Parish Administrator by the submission of a form which is available at the office and will soon be available on the web site. We appreciate your understanding realizing that this will improve our ability to serve our parishioners and ministries.
* Planned Giving: Programs for Outreach Ministries are an important part of our parish. You can ensure the continuation of these programs by setting up an endowment or including a bequest in your will. The Episcopal Foundation of Western Carolina has set up "The Living Stones Society" to provide Education and training to all clergy and parishioners about setting up a program. For more information see Fr. Gary or call the foundation at 828-225-6656.
* Ministry Opportunities: There are a variety of Ministries available at All Saints including feeding at The Salvation Army, tending the Garden, Family Promise where we take care of those without a home for a week at a time, Altar Guild, Readers, Lectors, Acolytes, Chalicers, and many more. Everyone at All Saints is encouraged to serve in some way. Please let us know what you are interested in and we will put you in touch with the ministry coordinator. You can call the office (704-864-7201), email ([email protected]) or speak to Fr. Gary.
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| Upcoming Schedule August 25th: Zumba August 25th: Last Friday Get Together August 29th: Outreach Meeting September 3rd: Parish Breakfast September 19th: Vestry September 23rd: Parade of Tables October 29th: Worship & Picnic at Rankin Lake |
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This Sunday's Scripture Readings
The Collect
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Lesson: Exodus 1:8-2:10
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live." But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them." So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live."
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, "This must be one of the Hebrews' children," she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes." So the girl went and called the child's mother. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
1 If the LORD had not been on our side, *
let Israel now say;
2 If the LORD had not been on our side, *
when enemies rose up against us;
3 Then would they have swallowed us up alive *
in their fierce anger toward us;
4 Then would the waters have overwhelmed us *
and the torrent gone over us;
5 Then would the raging waters *
have gone right over us.
6 Blessed be the LORD! *
he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; *
the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the Name of the LORD, *
the maker of heaven and earth.
The Epistle: Romans 12:1-8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
The Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
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Saint Day / Feast of the Week
Augustine
Bishop of Hippo, and Theologian, 430
Augustine, perhaps the greatest theologian in the history of Western
Christianity, was born in 354 at Tagaste in North Africa. In his restless
search for truth, he was attracted by Manichaeism and Neoplatonism,
and was constantly engaged in an inner struggle with his personal
morals. Finally, under the influence of his mother Monnica, Augustine
surrendered to the Christian faith in the late summer of 386. He
was baptized by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, on Easter Eve in 387.
After returning to North Africa in 391, Augustine found himself
unexpectedly chosen by the people of Hippo to be a presbyter.
Four years later he was chosen bishop of that city. His spiritual
autobiography, The Confessions of St. Augustine, written shortly
before 400 in the form of an extended prayer, is a classic of Western
spirituality.
Augustine wrote countless treatises, letters, and sermons. They have
provided a rich source of new and fresh insights into Christian truth.
The Manichaeans had attempted to solve the problem of evil by
positing the existence of an independent agency eternally opposed to
God. In refutation, Augustine affirmed that all creation is essentially
good, having been created by God; and that evil is, properly speaking,
the privation of good. A rigorist sect, the Donatists, had split from the
Great Church after the persecution of Diocletian in the early fourth
century. Against them, Augustine asserted that the Church was "holy,"
not because its members could be proved holy, but because holiness
was the purpose of the Church, to which all its members are called.
Stirred by Alaric the Visigoth's sack of Rome in 410, Augustine
wrote his greatest work, The City of God. In it he writes: "Two
cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by love of self, even
to the contempt of God, the heavenly by the love of God, even to
the contempt of self. The earthly city glories in itself, the heavenly
city glories in the Lord ... In the one, the princes, and the nations it
subdues, are ruled by the love of ruling; in the other, the princes and
the subjects serve one another in love."
Augustine died on August 28, 430, as the Vandals were besieging his
own earthly city of Hippo.
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August 31st - Bob Forbes
September 1st - Bill Collins
September 2nd - T.J. Solomon
September 2nd - Jay Roberts-Miller
September 3rd - Jessica Woodward
September 5th - Justin Butterworth
September 5th - Jack Gaskey
September 5th - Lydia Kish
September 5th - Carol Maiden
September 6th - Lynne Stine
September 8th - George Sowersby
September 9th - Adam Nygren
September 11th - Susan Maxon
September 14th - Aiden Klocker
September 15th - Ryan Klocker
September 17th - Casey Allison
September 18th - Erica Baird
September 19th - Kathleen Sowersby
September 22nd - Joan Cieslik
September 26th - Rob Forbes
September 28th - David Outsen
September 28th - Laura Tilly
September 29th - Tyler Baird
Please let the office know if we have missed your birthday!
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MINISTRY SCHEDULE
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2017
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August 27
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September 3
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CHALICE/LECTOR
8:00 AM
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Dennis Bolin
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Kelly Morris
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CHALICE
10:30 AM
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Nancy Byers
Adam Nygren
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Terry Eckard
Jack Gaskey
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LECTOR
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John Still
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Bob Forbes
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ACOLYTES
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Lee Wells
Zoe Tilly
Autumn Jager
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Phill Wertz
McNeil Miller
Emory Borner
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GREETER/USHER
8:00 AM
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Linda Boyd
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Jerry Wertz
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GREETERS/USHERS
10:30 AM
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Gay Lindsey
Pete Laine
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George Sowersby
Pam Hart
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ALTAR GUILD
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Allison Wells
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Terry Eckard
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BREAD
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September
Chris Butterworth
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ALTAR FLOWERS
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Linda Klocker
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Inga Kish
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COFFEE HOUR
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Jerry Wertz
Linda Boyd
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Parish Breakfast
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MORNINGSIDE
10:30 AM
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Jim McCarthy
Judy Mullins
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C.B. Barr
Morningside Resident
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SOUND TECH
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Terry Eckard
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Marc Dudley
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LAY EUCHARISTIC
VISITORS
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David McDowell
Adam Nygren
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George Sowersby
Susan Stroud
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VPOD 8:00
10:30
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John Woodward
John Still
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Linda Klocker
Phill Wertz
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Blessings & Peace,
Fr. Gary+
phone: 704-864-7201
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