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Dear saints,
This week, a transfer of power took place in the nation's capital. As with so much in American politics (or for that matter, politics all over the world) the day was riddled with contradictions. A ceremony of due dignity and order taking place in the scene of an illegal attempt to prevent the prescribed transfer of power four years earlier. A call for the 'vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department' to end, while the same day later witnessed a sweeping set of pardons issued for people who had committed acts of violence - in multiple cases, deadly violence - in that very place. The appearance of faithfulness to generations of tradition belied its denial.
No doubt, the chief executive of any state has an awesome amount of power, something that the framers were clearly wary of, yet as followers of Christ, we know that such power is ultimately ephemeral. The power of grace is eternal. And while it feels grounding to follow a way of life as a people within the parameters of a centuries-old constitution, the foundation of the kind of life we are called as Christians to live together is set within the very Ground of our Being. Our eye should be set on the here and now, on the struggles and joys of this world, especially in times of trial and trouble, yet our lives must be oriented heavenward. Indeed, if we are to be any good for the world, it is essential that we remember whose we are.
Bishop Mariann Budde's sermon from the pulpit of the National Cathedral this week offered us all, the president included, a reminder of that fact. The president belongs to God, just as the human soul who risks her life to cross our border at night belongs to God. The line-up of billionaire tech leaders belong to God, just as the children do who mine for the coltan that enables our cell phones, laptops and electric cars to function. It's the scandal of the Christian claim about humanity: we are all saved. We are all loved. We all belong. Or as Bishop Mariann so clearly offered, we are all deserving of mercy, because we all find our origin in the source of the one, true power: the grace and love of the eternal God. Everything else is hubris in the end.
There seem to be very few limits to what people will say and do when they believe they either have or want power. The problem with that state of affairs is that rhetoric ends up masquerading as truth. As fellow heirs of the promises of God, we know that all people are of an infinite worth. No matter what any agent of the state, or proponent of ideology might say or do to the contrary, we know that all people - binary and non-binary, straight and queer, citizen and refugee and asylum seeker, economically powerful and impoverished - all are beloved of God. Our call as lovers of all whom God has made is to live as if we belove them too.
In this place, we will continue to welcome, love, support and celebrate life with refugees and others seeking a safe harbor, with trans teenagers and adults, with those who cry out for justice, and those who simply cry. We do these things not because we are sure that we are right, or as people sometimes prematurely say because we are "on the right side of history", but because we are God's. Mercy is the first order of business. It is how we come to know who we are, and it is how we come to know the One who has always known us.
Perhaps you know someone who is feeling that the world has closed in on them this week. Tell them that there is a church for them here, a people who have learned what it is to respect the dignity of all people because they have known the One who honors all life, even their own. Our values as a church are clear and deep-rooted, and our life of ministry alongside those who are all too often unseen and unheard is decades-long. We know who we are. I invite you to ground your own life in this place, not because of what any one of us might say or do but because of the God who calls your life beloved.
Keep the faith, for ‘The One who calls is faithful’.
Peace,
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Be The Light at All Saints' | Happening This Week | |
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Witness the commissioning of All Saints' first ever Youth Vestry and be led in worship by our youth at this Sunday's 9:00 a.m. service.
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Learn lived wisdom from The Rev. Dr. Mary Grace Dupree via her live Zoom session "Healing Ableism" this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
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Commit to one volunteer act and one ninety-minute reflection meeting per month for three months to help support a refugee family by joining a Refugee Ministry resettlement team.
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Be challenged by the book of Amos with The Rev. Naomi Tutu this Sunday at 10:20 a.m. in Ellis Hall and via livestream.
These are just a few of the opportunities in our All Saints' community this week! Keep scrolling through this week's e-news for these and more as we work to actively reflect the light of God. You are welcome here!
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3rd Sunday After Epiphany
Sunday, January 26, Church
Weekly Service Times
- 8:00 a.m. (Traditional Language, No Music)
- 9:00 a.m. (Contemporary Language, Choral Music)
- 11:15 a.m. (Contemporary Language, Choral Music)
- 5:00 p.m. The Welcome Table (Contemporary Language, Jazz Music)
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PARKING: Overflow parking is available at the Bank of America—please enter on North Ave. Please request an additional validation ticket from an usher in the church narthex upon arrival or exit. Use both validation tickets upon exiting the Bank of America parking deck to park free of charge. Be aware, also, that on Sundays in Midtown Atlanta, street parking is free. | |
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Sunday Morning Breakfast
Sundays, from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., Ellis Hall
Join us for a delicious breakfast and fellowship with the saints before Sunday services in Ellis Hall. The cost is $10 for adults and $8 for kids.
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Youth Sunday Service & Youth Vestry Commissioning
Sunday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. Service, Church
Come support the youth as they lead us in worship this Sunday. We will commission the inaugural Youth Vestry during this service. Our Youth Vestry is a leadership council of 8 youth that casts a vision for the youth program and for the youth’s engagement with the broader parish. We hope to see you there!
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Jesus on the Front Page
Sundays, 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., Parish Hall 307
In this weekly Sunday morning discussion of a current news story, participants reflect on how we are called to live as faithful people. In a nonpartisan reflection, we explore how we might be called to pray differently, think differently or act differently in our private and public lives. We ask where God might be found in this story and learn to name our lament as well as our hope. Email Clark Lemons (clemons@emory.edu) if you have questions!
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School of the Spirit, "Amos: A Prophet for Our Time," with The Rev. Naomi Tutu
Sundays, January 26, February 2, from 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., Ellis Hall and Livestream
Join us for a two-week Sunday morning School of the Spirit course on the relevance of the prophet Amos for our contemporary moment. Amos prophesied in a time like ours, when rich and powerful individuals in ancient Israel were doing very well economically and politically. His words to the children of Israel challenge us, too, as they help us examine our loyalties and reimagine a better world.
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Parenting with God: Abundance
Sunday, January 26, 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., Parish House P305/306
Let’s get together! We will meet to discuss “abundance” in our children’s lives – how we notice it out loud and how we encourage gratitude for it. For more information, contact Kathy Roberts (kroberts@allsaintsatlanta.org).
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Brunch & Bible Study
Sunday, January 26, 12:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m., The Ross Room
Come enjoy a delicious catered meal, lively conversation, and Bible study with the All Saints' Young Adults'. All are invited – whether you're looking to connect for the first time, reconnect after a long while, or keep connections going! Childcare is available upon request. Contact: Tasia Blair, youngadults@allsaintsatlanta.org.
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The Welcome Table: Sunday Evening Worship Service and Dinner
Sundays at 5:00 p.m., In the Chapel and Ellis Hall
Before your busy week begins, the Welcome Table is a place to join with others and find rest and refreshment. Come to the Welcome Table: a service with a jazz trio, singing, communion and prayer (together and in ways that speak to us individually). A community dinner for all participants follows the service.
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We kicked off MLK Weekend with a Sounds of Freedom Concert with the Theodicy Jazz Collective. Then, they joined our adult choir to worship with us on Sunday as we welcomed guest preacher, The Rev. Dr. Andrea White, Womanist Theologian and Union Theological Seminary professor. | |
Refugee Ministries welcomed two new families this past week. Did you know that one of our first acts of welcome is to facilitate a trip to Threads? We love our core ministries working together! The overwhelming experience of kindness and hospitality that Threads offers is such a perfect entry into the United States for a family who has been so much, like this family from Burundi we welcomed this past week. Keep reading this newsletter for more about how to get involved with Threads & Refugee Ministries. | |
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Novel Theology >> Meets one Wednesday a month on Zoom from 7:00-8:00 p.m.. Click the link above to learn more and register.
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Be In That Number!
Thank you so much to those who have pledged.
These dollars coming in celebrate the deep generosity
you feel towards All Saints'.
This campaign is not the same without you.
Please share your gifts with a commitment/pledge here now:
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Easiest way: go online allsaintsatlanta.org/give
or email Julie Lockhart, Director of Development, jlockhart@allsaintsatlanta.org.
Thank you so much!
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All Saints' offers easy ways to pay your pledge or to make a gift:
Online at allsaintsatlanta.org/give
Mail a check to All Saints’ Church, 634 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308 Put a check or cash into the offering plate during the services
Text to Give: text AllSaintsAtlanta to 73256
Gift stocks or securities
Our Charles Schwab account is:
“All Saints’ Episcopal Church”
Account #: 1084-6679 • DTC #: 0164 Code: 40
Stock gifts do NOT come with the donor’s name included so remember to contact Betsey Gibbs at bgibbs@allsaintsatlanta.org, and let her know the stock gift is coming.
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School of the Spirit, "Healing Ableism" with The Rev. Dr. Mary Grace Dupree.
Wednesdays January 29 & February 5 from 6:30 p.m. –8:30 p.m., via Zoom
Join us for a course about the lessons and wisdom that come from living with a disability, and the way that Scripture calls us to encounter disability in our lives. Taught by the chair of the Bishop’s Task Force on Disability Justice, The Rev. Dr. Dupree’s teaching is informed by her experience living with disability for 32 years and parenting four disabled children. Contact Jenny McBride at jmcbride@allsaintsatlanta.org for more information and a Zoom link.
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Carmen Bradford Up Next in Jazz at All Saints' Concert Series
Saturday, February 22, 7:00 p.m., Church
Get your tickets now! The Grammy Award-winning vocalist Carmen Bradford will be in the spotlight on Saturday, February 22, for the third in our exciting new Jazz at All Saints’ concert series. She will be accompanied by her longtime friend, pianist, Reginald Thomas, in what promises to be the most exciting evening of the new year. The concert begins at 7:00 p.m., followed by an illuminating Q&A conversation and then a reception in Ellis Hall. Tickets are $25/adult, $15/student. Get yours here: allsaintsatlanta.org/jazz. Share the Facebook event to easily invite friends & neighbors!
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The Journey Bible Study
Weekly on Mondays, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., on Zoom
The Journey (Bible Study) continues, led by The Rev. Karen Evans, Parish Priest Associate. We will resume our journey through the Book of Revelation. The only requirements are a Bible and a willingness to learn. Email The Rev. Karen Evans at kevans@allsaintsatlanta.org for additional class information.
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Faithful Advocates 2025 Legislative Preview, Moderated by Caroll Sterne
Tuesday, February, 4, 6:00 p.m., via Zoom
This legislative preview will consist of a panel moderated by Carroll Sterne and will include subject matter experts on legislation likely to come before the State legislature that will impact All Saints’ Core Ministries. For the Zoom link, other questions, and to receive updates, please contact Suzanne Wakefield at faithfullocals@gmail.com.
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Wednesday Night Supper
Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Ellis Hall
Join us for Wednesdays @ All Saints' (aka Wednesday Night Supper). Grab a friend to come enjoy a meal while connecting with the community. contact Marcia Mayfield, mmayfield@allsaintsatlanta.org, for more information.
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Weekly Children & Youth Formation
Nursery/Little Saints: Birth-Pre-K, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 1st floor of the Pritchett Center
Children’s Church: K-5th Grade, 8:40 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., 2nd floor of the Pritchett Center
Children Formation: K-5th grade — 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., 2nd floor of the Pritchett Center
Youth Formation: 6th-12th grade — 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., The Attic, 3rd floor of the Pritchett Center
SNL (6th-8th grade) and Y’all Saints’ (9th-12th grade): 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., The Attic, 3rd floor of the Pritchett Center
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YA Retreat to Hike Inn
Saturday, February 8 – 9, Offsite Join us for a peaceful retreat at the Len Foote Hike Inn, nestled in the stunning Amicalola Falls State Park. Experience the beauty of nature, savor homemade meals, and enjoy a tranquil escape. We will carpool from All Saints on February 8 at 10 a.m. and return on February 9 by 4 p.m. Reserve your spot today in Realm! Contact: Tasia Blair at youngadults@allsaintsatlanta.org.
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Young Adult Fellowship Online!
Are you in your 20s or 30s and interested in fellowship, discipleship and service? Reach out to Tasia Blair at youngadults@allsaintsatlanta.org to receive our monthly newsletter, get added to the WhatsApp group chat and find out what events we have coming up!
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SERVICE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE | |
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Threads Welcomes Families for Shopping
Threads welcomes families for in-store shopping Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Interested in volunteering? Contact Marcia Mayfield if you are interested in volunteering; Threads needs you:
threads@allsaintsatlanta.org.
You may purchase items please via the Threads Amazon Wishlist:
bit.ly/ASECThreadDecember2024
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Join a Resettlement Team!
Now that the federal refugee resettlement program has been closed, it is THE time to join one of our four refugee resettlement teams. Each team is 6-10 people who commit to one volunteer act and one ninety-minute reflection meeting per month (with times in either morning or evening!) for three months to help support a refugee family as they transition to their new lives in the US.
The teams offer a profound welcome and hospitality through things like grocery store trips, trips to Threads, trips to the zoo, helping people learn how to use MARTA and laundry facilities, bringing them to dinner at All Saints' and more. Email Louisa Merchant, louisam@allsaintsatlanta.org, to sign up.
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If you're interested in Faith & Justice, read this!
Read about Refugee Ministries' new Resettlement Team model, meet All Saints' Seminarian Barbara Yankey, and learn more about upcoming events. Here's the link: January's Faith & Justice Newsletter.
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Share Your Photos! Share Your Expertise!
Did you know that you can submit photographs of All Saints’ events to share with the Communications Team? If you want to make a habit of it, join the Photography Guild! Contact Kathy Powell at communications@allsaintsatlanta.org.
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Connect with us on Realm!
Learn more >> Don't forget to join Realm, our new platform for online giving, directory, and event registration.
Questions? Please contact Betsey Gibbs at bgibbs@allsaintsatlanta.org.
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