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
September 7, 2017
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Greetings in the name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
My stomach gets knots while reading this text. As a priest in the church we often receive disapproving communication from the church family. It is painful...sometimes people leave the church over what I say. However, if I am honest I am not blameless as well. In the past, as a parishioner, I know I also have communicated criticisms that disappointed maybe even hurt others. Often times we are able to recall our own pain, but are unaware of the pain we cause.
Isolating this Sunday's passages (Matthew 18:15-20) painful reproving and excommunicating instructions from this chapter's wider context risks missing Jesus' overall loving message. In previous verses, Jesus says the "greatest" have child-like humility, warns against being stumbling blocks or sinning, and tells the Lost Sheep parable about God's unrelenting efforts to reunite each sheep with the flock. In the verses following today's reading, Jesus says to forgive limitlessly and he shares the Unforgiving Servant parable that teaches how God forgives us infinitely more than we forgive our neighbors. Sunday's reading instructs us to communicate our concerns--but for the purpose of loving reconciliation. If reconciliation fails, God keeps calling--just as Jesus lovingly remained in community with Gentiles and tax collectors.
Forgiving God, we praise and thank you for continuously calling us to return to you each time we stray. Please be merciful with us when we are too quick to reprove and too slow to forgive. Guide our communication so that we lovingly reconcile with our neighbors. Amen
See ya Sunday!
Fr. Gary+
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
*
Youth Ministry: Chris & Emma Butterworth are beginning a once a month youth event for All Saints. All children over the age of 6 are invited to participate. The hope is for three different age specific activities with a holy time together at the beginning and/or end. We thank Chris & Emma for their willingness to start this. They will need volunteers for each event, most especially the All Saints Walk. More information will be coming very soon and personal postcards are being sent to each youth over the age of 6. If you have any questions or input, please contact Chris at
[email protected] or 704-396-6053. Thank you all for your much needed support of this endeavor for our youth.
- Sunday, OCTOBER 1, 2017
4-5:30 pm FALL Get Together
- Wednesday NOVEMBER 1, 2017 6:00 pm ALL SAINTS WALK (Sort of a substitute/addition for Halloween.) Parishioners dress up as Saints and tell their stories to those who come by and the Saints pass out candy and treats) (Children and youth of ALL ages are welcome)
- Sunday, December 3, 2017
4-5:30 pm ADVENT Get Together
* The Pacesetters will gather at
10:00 on Thursday September 21st in the Family Life Center to hear Deacon Martha give a history of Martin Luther as well as perform a monologue portraying Martin Luther's wife. There will be a brief meeting and then the presentation. Afterwards we will go out to lunch. If you plan to attend, please contact Jerry Wertz at 704-577-9699 or
[email protected]
. For any newcomers to All Saints, the Pacesetters is a group of 50+ individuals, not all from All Saints, who adhere to the following purpose statement: Using the wisdom and experiences provided us through our lives, Pacesetters are called to Share The Blessing of His Love by:
Serving His Church Where Needed
Learning From Each Other To Better Teach The Word Of Jesus Christ
Ministering To Each Other and To Those in Need in the Community
* 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.
* Cooking for the Army: On the 1st
Saturday of every month (2nd
Saturday if the first weekend is a holiday weekend) parishioners gather at
9AM to cook approximately 700 meals for The Salvation Army & Cornerstone Ministry. We are always in need of more hands to assist in this life-giving project since "more hands make light work." If you are interested in this ministry, please contact the church office and we will put your name on the monthly e-mail reminder.
* Work Day
: We will have a parish workday on Saturday, October 7th at 8AM. Please put the date on your calendar and join us in sprucing up the church and the grounds. Many hands make light work! "Please don't fall for that voice that tells you someone else will do it"
* Youth Christian Formation
: Christian Formation for our young people begins this 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.
* Ministry Schedule: The September through December Ministry Schedule is on the table in the Family Life Center.
* 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.
* Handbell Rehearsal: Rehearse at 6PM on 9/13, 9/20, 9/27 - Ring on 10/1.
Rehearse on 11/1, 11/8, 11/15 - Ring on 11/19.
* Food Pantry: Please help us restock the shelves by bringing in the following items: canned meats only (chicken, ham, vienna sausages, spam, salmon, etc.). Through your generosity, we have been able to help many families and individuals.
* Zumba: FIRST CLASS IS FREE! 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.
* 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.
* 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 $20 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.
* 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, September 11 - Team #1. (Candy Albergine & Susan Marshall)
* 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 September 8th: Zumba September 9th: Cooking for the Army September 11th: EfM begins September 13th: Handbells Rehearse September 19th: Vestry September 23rd: Parade of Tables September 26th: Pastoral Care Meeting September 29th: Lion's Club BBQ October 1st: Youth Ministry Get Together October 7th: Parish Work Day October 29th: Worship & Picnic at Rankin Lake |
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This Sunday's Scripture Readings
The Collect
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Lesson: Exodus 12:1-14
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the LORD a new song; *
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.
2 Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; *
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his Name in the dance; *
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people *
and adorns the poor with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice in triumph; *
let them be joyful on their beds.
6 Let the praises of God be in their throat *
and a two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To wreak vengeance on the nations *
and punishment on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings in chains *
and their nobles with links of iron;
9 To inflict on them the judgment decreed; *
this is glory for all his faithful people.
Hallelujah!
The Epistle: Romans 13:8-14
O
we no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
The Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said, "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
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Saint Day / Feast of the Week
Born March 3, 1819, in New York City, Alexander Crummell struggled
against racism all his life. As a young man, he was driven out of
an academy in New Hampshire, dismissed as a candidate for Holy
Orders in New York, and rejected for admittance to General Seminary.
Ordained in 1844 as a priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts, he left for
England after being excluded from participating in diocesan convention.
After receiving a degree from Cambridge, he went to Liberia as
a missionary. The African race, Crummell believed, possessed a
"warm, emotional and impulsive energy," which in America had been
corrupted by oppression. The Episcopal Church, with its emphasis on
rational and moral discipline, was especially fitted for the moral and
spiritual regeneration of Afro-Americans. A model Christian republic
seemed possible in Liberia. European education and technology,
combined with traditional African communal culture, and undergirded
by a national Episcopal Church headed by a black bishop, was the
vision espoused by Crummell. He traveled extensively in the United
States urging blacks to immigrate to Liberia and support the work of
the Church there.
On returning to Liberia, he worked to establish a national Episcopal
Church. Political opposition and a loss of funding finally forced him to
return to the United States. He concentrated his efforts on establishing
a strong urban presence of independent black congregations that
would be centers of worship, education and social service. When
southern bishops proposed that a separate missionary district
be created for black congregations, Crummell created a national
convocation to fight the proposal. The Union of Black Episcopalians is
an outgrowth of that organization.
Crummell's ministry spanned more than half a century and three
continents. Everywhere, at all times, he labored to prepare his people
and to build institutions that would serve them and provide scope
for the exercises of their gifts in leadership and creativity. His faith
in God, his perseverance in spite of repeated discouragement, his
perception that the Church transcended the racism and limited vision
of its rulers, and his unfailing belief in the goodness and greatness of
black people are the legacy of this Afro-American pioneer.
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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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September 10
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September 17
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CHALICE/LECTOR
8:00 AM
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Jim McCarthy
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Don Stine
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CHALICE
10:30 AM
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Lee Wells
Bob Forbes
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George Sowersby
Kyle Tilly
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LECTOR
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Claudette Forbes
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Marc Dudley
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ACOLYTES
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Sydney Wertz
Zoe Tilly
Lindsey Wells
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Cheryl Richard
Noelle Martin
Sophie Martin
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GREETER/USHER
8:00 AM
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Laurie Stewart
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Kelly Morris
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GREETERS/USHERS
10:30 AM
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Candy Albergine
Marc Dudley
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John & Jessica Woodward
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ALTAR GUILD
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Marc Dudley
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Allison Wells
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BREAD
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September
Chris Butterworth
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October
Gay Lindsey
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ALTAR FLOWERS
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Susan Maxon
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John Still
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COFFEE HOUR
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Lee & Allison
Wells
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Parish Lunch
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MORNINGSIDE
10:30 AM
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George Sowersby
Eileen Klimkowski
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Lee & Allison
Wells
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SOUND TECH
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John Woodward
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Terry Eckard
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LAY EUCHARISTIC
VISITORS
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Jim & Flo
McCarthy
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Lee & Casey
Allison
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YOUTH
FORMATION
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Christine Borner
Christine Borner
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Laura Tilly
Judy Mullins
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VPOD 8:00
10:30
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George Saylor
Linda Klocker
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Blessings & Peace,
Fr. Gary+
phone: 704-864-7201
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