|
Allhallowtide: Remembering in Love, Living in Hope
Growing up, Halloween was sometimes a source of suspicion in my family and community. Some years we dressed up and went trick-or-treating. Other years, costumes were permitted only if they weren’t “devilish” or “too dark.” And sometimes the porch light stayed off, and we stayed home, or found ourselves at various versions of “Harvest Festivals” at church. I often heard Halloween described as satanic, demonic, and—even more creatively—the devil’s birthday!
As I learned more about our church tradition as I got older, I came to learn that the name Halloween comes from All Hallows’ Eve: the evening before All Saints’ Day. Together with All Souls’ Day, these observances form a season often called Allhallowtide—a time to remember the dead, honor the saints, and renew our hope in the resurrection.
For Christians, this remembrance holds together the extraordinary witnesses whose names the Church celebrates and the people whose holiness we encountered around a kitchen table, in a hospital room, or sitting beside us in a pew. We remember those who taught us to pray, showed us how to love, challenged us to grow, and helped us discover that we belong.
At St. John’s, our invitation to Be Known. Be Loved. reaches into this remembrance, too. Those who have died are still part of the story of this community. Their love has shaped us. Their faithfulness has helped make possible the ministry entrusted to us today. And their absence is still felt by many today.
In a culture with a complicated relationship with death, our faith invites us to face death honestly: to name our losses, make room for grief, and resist the temptation to explain away sorrow with easy answers. Resurrection hope does not require us to pretend that death doesn’t hurt. Jesus wept at the grave of his friend. We can weep, too.
And, also, we are people of the resurrection. We trust that those we love are held by the God who knows and loves them more fully than we ever could. We proclaim that death does not have the final word, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
This Allhallowtide, we will make room at St. John’s for remembrance, grief, gratitude, and hope. Our Saturday 5 p.m. service will observe All Hallows’ Eve, inviting us into this season together. Sunday, we will observe All Saints’ Day with baptism and the renewal of our promises together. We will also have a special Evensong Sunday at 4:00 p.m., with pieces composed by our own Justin Pechulis (See our video below to learn more about Evensong). We will then observe All Souls’ Day/Commemoration of the Faithful Departed on Monday at 7:00 p.m. in partnership with our Walking the Mourner's Path ministry, where we will pay special attention to those we love but see no longer.
Perhaps these days can become a “thin place” for us: a moment when we become more aware of the communion of saints, joining our prayers with the whole company of God’s people, living and departed. We remember because we love. And we carry that love forward in the lives we live.
Derek+
| | |
Necrology List
• Our Necrology list will appear in all of our bulletins this weekend, as well as our All Souls' Day service on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Historic Church
• The list of names will only be read during the All Souls' Day service.
• We will remember those from our parish who died in the past year during the Eucharistic Prayer at all services.
Birthday & Anniversary Blessings
Because of our very full services this weekend, we will have birthday and anniversary blessings at services on Nov. 7 & 8.
| | |
St. John's Annual Giving Campaign for 2027: UPDATE
Thank you to the 87 people who jumped right in and pledged for 2027. Our total as of Oct. 29th is $455,335. (If you missed the email from a few weeks ago, click here to read it.)
Ready to pledge now? Complete the online form here or download a hard-copy pledge form here. Forms are also available near the entrances of our worship spaces.
PLEASE NOTE: Setting up pledge payments in Realm does not give us all the information we need to properly record your pledge. Please START by filling out a hard-copy form or an online form. Do not start in your Realm account.
Download a "cheat sheet" to help you make your pledge.
Questions? Contact Annie Kao, Stewardship Associate, at akao@stjohnsec.org
| | |
Adult Connect's Sunday Faith Forums through Dec. 6
10:10-10:50, Auditorium
Genesis: A Beginner’s Guide to the Beginning
by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine
As Dr. Levine says, “The Book of Genesis is not a book of answers; it is a book that helps us ask the right questions,” and when we read these stories, most of us have MANY questions! Guided by short videos at the beginning of each session, we will come together over the next several weeks to discuss questions touching on our image of God, the nature of humanity, justice, relationship, and responsibility to family, community, and creation. Missed last week? No problem, come as your schedule allows.
Nov. 1: Cain and Abel
Nov. 8: Noah
Nov. 15: Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac
Nov. 22: Jacob’s dream of God
Nov. 29: No forum on Thanksgiving weekend
Dec. 6: Joseph, his brothers, and Mr. and Mrs. Potiphar
Everyone is welcome, and each session can stand on its own –no prior knowledge needed. Come to one session or come to all!
Optional: those who want to go deeper are encouraged to read along in a copy of Levine’s book. Books will be available at the church office and on Sunday mornings in October for a suggested donation of $20, or it can be purchased directly online.
| | HELP! Our Fall Campus Clean-Up is TOMORROW, and we need more volunteers! Please join St. John’s parishioners and school families for our Fall Campus Clean-Up on Sat., Oct. 31! Volunteer for an hour or for the entire time! We appreciate any time you can share! Adults and youth are welcome. Meet next to Clark House near the back door to ASH. Sign up here! | | Our annual Coat Drive has begun! We are seeking new and gently used coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and boots. Children's items are especially needed. All items will be distributed at the Bea Gaddy Thanksgiving Dinner, which serves thousands of needy families in Baltimore. | | Join us for a special observance of All Hallows’ Eve during our Saturday 5 p.m. service. As we enter the season of All Saints and All Souls (often called Allhallowtide), we will have a Service of Light with Scripture, Evening Prayer, and Communion. Consider it a spiritual grounding for your Halloween festivities! | | The Walking the Mourner’s Path Ministry invites you to an All Souls’/Faithful Departed service to commemorate those we have loved and lost. In this holy time of remembrance, we gather to mourn the dead, commend them to God’s eternal care, and affirm our hope in the resurrection. As we honor the faithful departed, we are reminded that we are God’s beloved and are called to live ever more fully into that promise as individuals and as the Church. During the Offertory, attendees will be invited to place a small photo of their loved one on a table of remembrance near the altar and light a votive candle. | | |
Election Day Labyrinth Walk
The Labyrinth Ministry invites you to walk the Labyrinth in preparation for Election Day. You may walk:
-
Sat., Oct. 31st & Sun., Nov. 1st: at any time (during daylight hours)
-
Mon. & Tues., Nov. 2nd & 3rd: Before 8:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. ONLY (non-school hours).
A Prayer for Our Nation is suggested for your walk. Copies will be in the Labyrinth kiosk.
| | |
NexTrex Update
As a church and school community, we have already saved 1,125 pounds of stretchable plastic from going into the landfill so far in 2026. Keep up the good work! Remember, there is a new quarterly program, and the fourth-quarter collection has just begun. Click here for acceptable items. Collection boxes are in the Historic Church Narthex, outside of All Saints Hall, and in Resurrection Chapel.
| | |
Share Your Talents in All Saints Hall
Are you a singer or musician who would like to serve in worship as a member of the ASH Band? We'd love to have you! The ASH Band plays every week at the 9:00 a.m. service in All Saints Hall from September to June. The band plays a variety of music from the past sixty years of praise and worship music and consists of singers, guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers. Membership is open to all ages. Rehearsals take place Sunday mornings before the service, from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m., with occasional weeknight rehearsals scheduled as needed. Contact AllSaintsHallBand@stjohnsec.org for more information.
| | |
Hello, St. John’s! On a given Sunday morning, I am usually running from one rehearsal or service to the next, and don’t often have time to share as much as I’d like to with everyone about what’s going on in the life of our music ministry. This section of Blessings is something new that I’m trying out in an effort to change that. These “notes from the bench,” whether it’s from the piano bench or the organ bench, will be my reflections on the music that you will hear in a service. I hope that you enjoy reading them!
This Sunday, you may have heard, is All Saints’ Day! There are many, many different hymns
and songs associated with the day, but I want to share one that will be heard in both Sunday services this weekend, and one that I was not familiar with before coming to St. John’s: “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” (Hymnal 1982 #293). This hymn, as I’ve come to learn, is a favorite among many, and it portrays a different light on how we think about saints. The saints, God willing, can be anyone, no matter their background, not just the saints we usually think about. Interestingly enough, this hymn was almost cut from the Hymnal 1982 altogether, before General Convention’s Joint Committee for Hymnal Revision voted for it to remain.
“...One was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green: They were all of them saints of God–and a mean, God helping, to be one too.” –from hymn 293, verse 3
To add to the fun of All Saints’ Day, the church and the concert series are putting on a Choral Evensong service on Nov. 1 at 4:00 p.m. This unique service is almost completely sung, and is a great way to celebrate All Saints’ Day and hear a plethora of music, much of which has been sung for centuries. One of the selections is a piece entitled “O How Glorious” by Healey Willan, a 20th-century Canadian composer. The text for this piece comes from a medieval antiphon O quam gloriosum, which in turn comes from the Book of Revelation. In it, the choir will sing about the glory of being a saint and dwelling with God in eternity. I hope that you might consider joining us for Evensong this Sunday to hear this piece and much more!
| | In the Community & For the Community | | |
Outreach "SOS" Day at The Children's Home
MANY THANKS to all of the volunteers who made our "Service Over Self" Day at The Children's Home in Catonsville such a success. Together, we provided breakfast for the 50 residents and helped organize and declutter their donation center. We were even able to bring 8 large bags of brand-new winter hats and gloves that they could not use back for our own collection (taking place now through Nov. 15), as well as small toiletry items to take to the Day Resource Center. A win-win for the DRC, The Children's Home, St. John's, and ultimately for needy families in Baltimore through the Bea Gaddy Thanksgiving Dinner event next month!
| | St. John's Parish Day School | | |
Rev. Allison now has a "Chaplain's Corner" in the Parish Day School's e-news. The feature will appear monthly. She’ll share highlights from recent chapel services, a preview of upcoming chapel topics, and important holidays and sacred observances. Stay connected with the faith-filled moments happening at SJPDS! Read the November edition here.
| | Please keep the following people in your prayers: | | |
Louise & Family
Mark Albright
Liz Armstrong
Deb Avant
Steve Belknap
Kerry Birney
Breezy Bishop
Karl & Ruth Boin
DJ Bone
Teddy Clarke
Joy Cooney
Barbara Epke &
____Gordon Naha
| | |
Constance & David Fischel
Sue Frixione
Michael Gottlieb
Art Grotz
Marti Guillet
Nancy Jaworski
Ben Leovy
Glenda Lovchik
Paige Marlow
Brent & Meg McDorman
Pat Merson
Bob & Ann Miller
Phyllis Nelson
Roger Nelson
| | |
Kathy O’Dunne
Yvonne Osmond
Jean Purcell
Roland Russoli
Teri Salmons
Dan Staples
The Sullivan & Wandelear Families
Ed Suit
Christopher Towle
Marion Walker
Victoria Weimer
| | |
For those who have died: Barbara Ward, Ruth Talbott Keimig, Ed Suit, and Heidi Sullivan
For those serving in the military overseas and their families:
LCDR Matthew Kircher, USN
Our community shares the compassion of prayer with members and beyond. To have someone included on our prayer list, you may: Contact the Parish Office by phone; or Email your prayer request to Tracey Stone at tstone@stjohnsec.org. Names will remain on the prayer list for 30 days. After the initial 30 days, if you wish to have a name stay on the list, please re-submit your request.
| | Ways to Support St. John's | | |
In addition to making an Annual Pledge to St. John's, you are invited to:
1.) Mail your check to the Parish Office: 9120 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21042.
2.) Visit the St. John's website under "Give."
3.) Text "SJEC" to 73256. You will receive a reply with a link to a secure site to complete your transaction.
4.) Donate via Venmo: @StJohnsECMD
5.) Leave a lasting legacy to St. John’s through a planned gift in your estate plan. Visit https://www.stjohnsec.org/planned-giving for more information.
Questions should be directed to Kathy Hahn, Finance Director, at khahn@stjohnsec.org.
| | |
ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH • ELLICOTT CITY
Office: 410.461.7793 • Pastoral Emergencies: 443.538.2806
| | | | | |
