Dear Friends,

We’re living in that funny part of Advent in which we’re still in a time of anticipation and preparation at church while the glitter and sparkle of Christmas is peeking through as we scurry about cooking and shopping and attending parties. 

Even in church, we see these glimmers; in particular, this Sunday, known as “Gaudete Sunday.” “Gaudete” means “rejoice” in Latin, and it is the first word of the traditional introit—the entrance chant—of church services around the world on the third Sunday of Advent. 

While we don’t use introits or Latin much here at All Saints, the readings and music, the candles and decorations, all send a message of rejoicing. We will sing the Magnificat, Mary’s song of hope and confidence in God (“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .” Luke 1:46-55). The scripture emphasizes joy; this year we hear from the prophet Isaiah about the joy of returning from exile, and “joy” or “rejoice” appears over and over again in the text. The Advent candle we will light is rose, as is the fabric swooping above the altar—a way to lighten the blue of Advent.

Of course, none of this is absolutely necessary, and yet, the Church in her wisdom has supplied us with special markers to help attune our souls to God in various ways at various times of year. As the hurly burly of the commercial Christmas machine gets faster and faster, the church insists on slowing us down to ponder the mystery of the incarnation at Christmas and to anticipate the second coming of Christ one day, yet we are given glimmers of joy even in the waiting: Rejoice! 

At All Saints, we follow this tradition in our own way: beautiful services in the morning and then Beer and Carols in the evening! What better way to rejoice? 

I pray in this season that you know moments of quiet and anticipation and moments of joy.

See you in church!

Faithfully, Suzanne+

Upcoming events at All Saints…

Sunday, December 11 - Advent III

Beer and Carols at O'Shaughnessy's (6:30pm)

Wednesdays in Advent, December 14 and 21

Lectio Divina (7:00pm)

Thursday, December 15

Liturgy for Hard Times (7:00pm)

Friday, December 16

Light Up Nights in Ravenswood Kick-Off (6:30pm)

Sunday, December 18 - Advent IV

Christmas Pageant (9:00 and 11:00am)

Greening (12:15pm)

Lessons and Carols/Rectory Open House (6:30pm)

This Sunday, December 11, members of the All Saints community will descend upon O'Shaughnessy's Public House at 4557 N. Ravenswood (the corner of N. Ravenswood and W. Wilson) to belt out Christmas carols while drinking beer or other yummy beverages! Invite your friends!

All Saints Youth Group Christmas Party

Young people (7th grade and up) are cordially invited to the ASYG Christmas party this Sunday, December 11 from 3:30-5:30pm in the Parish Hall. We'll be holding our annual cookie decorating contest, playing games, and singing carols.

RSVP's to Liz Bartels are helpful, but not required.

Quiet your soul and deepen your understanding of the scripture we read in Advent as we gather to read and meditate on the promises of a coming Savior. Learn how to read scripture prayerfully—lectio divina means “sacred reading”—and connect with others in this season of waiting and preparation. 

We will gather on December 14 and 21 at 7:00pm in the Parish Hall.

RSVP for the Lectio Divina series HERE.

The Return of the All Saints Christmas Pageant!

Rehearsals for the Fabulous “Sunday Morning Live” All Saints Christmas pageant

are currently underway and the cast is really excited to return to live performances even though the donkey baristas are striking over the unfair labor practices of their multinational conglomerate. How are Elizabeth and Mary supposed get their decaf lattes?

Don't miss your chance to be in the audience on December 18 at either the 9:00 or 11:00am service to see who unexpectedly steps in to help out!

Greening the Church

Stick around after our 11:00am service on December 18 or just come over at 12:15 to help us green the church! Over a light lunch, we'll "spruce" up the place for the season!

New Neighbors in Need

Chicago is a destination for refugees from all over the world, especially Afghanistan, Ukraine, and now Venezuela by way of Texas. All of these folks are now are neighbors; in fact, the immigrants sent here from Texas as part of a political stunt were recently being housed in the Leone Field House in Rogers Park.

While the US State Department provides some assistance, most of it is provided by volunteers. Exodus World Service has asked All Saints to help our new neighbors get settled. Please go here to sign up to contribute.

All items should be new, so keep your eye out for great bargains as you do your holiday shopping. (Regifting is okay, as long as you didn't use the item first!) Annie Logue will set up a bin by the back stairs, or you can have items shipped to the church c/o Annie Logue. We're looking to have it all together by the middle of December. You can email her at [email protected] or text at 773-835-1059.

Liturgy for Hard Times,

“Hold on to Hope – Together!”

December 15, 7:00pm

As Christmas and New Year’s approach, many of us feel “blue” for many reasons. We're grieving losses, worried about a loved one's or our own health, feeling sad or low because our family is no longer near, or just despairing at a world in which cruelty erupts too often. We just aren't ready to join in a jolly chorus of “Ho, Ho, Ho.”

For many of us, living with a loved one’s Alzheimer’s or other dementias colors how we feel about the holidays and the memories connected to them. These are the times when we need to “Hold on to Hope – Together!” by joining in prayer at our special Advent

Liturgy for Hard Times, a service of lamentation, intercession, thanksgiving, and shared hope.

Join us Thursday, December 15 at 7:00pm. For those who wish to participate via Zoom, please send your name and email address to Eileen Crowley so our Zoom Minister of Hospitality will know to expect you, and you can receive instructions on how to prepare for this service. We'll post the Zoom link on the parish “Worship” webpage for “Online Resources for Worship.”

From our friends at the Ravenswood Neighborhood Association:

The Ravenswood Neighbors Association hopes you'll put your home on the map for light decorations in 2022. You can sign up HERE and have your home appear on the official event map before it goes live December 10! 

Ravenswood Light Up Nights runs from Friday, December 16 through Sunday, December 18. It's the third annual free walking event for neighbors and visitors alike to enjoy our neighborhood and take in the beautiful decorations. Opening ceremonies at All Saints will include an official tree lighting, caroling, and an art project for kids on Friday, December 16 starting at 6:30pm.

Local establishments will be providing warming stations with cocoa and activities for kids and adults, and our business sponsors will be providing prizes to the winners of "Best in Glow" Anyone who decorates and gets on the map is eligible to enter.

Any questions about how to sign up or seek advice on last minute creative decorations? Don't hesitate to contact Cassie Brehmer (RLUN Chair) or Andy Smerczak (RNA President) directly.

Lessons & Carols

& Rectory Open House:

Sunday, December 18 at 6:30 pm

At this service, we borrow from the great Festival of Lessons & Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, though we put our own All Saints spin on it as as we read lessons from scripture but also from poetry and hear and sing the great music of Advent and Christmas. This is another fun event for your friends and family! 

Interested in being part of the choir for Lessons and Carols? Contact our music director Colin Collette.

This year, we'll follow our service with a Rectory Christmas Open House. Enter through the reading room and enjoy a drink and some light bites while sharing Christmas cheer with the All Saints community.

January 2023 Baptism Preparation

Baptism will be offered on our celebration of The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, Sunday, January 8, at both the 9:00am and 11:00am services. If you're interested in baptism for yourself or your child, please let us know by visiting this page and filling out a Pre-Baptismal Form.

Preparation sessions are also offered and little ones are absolutely welcome! If you have any questions, please email Suzanne.

Becoming Beloved Community - All Saints History Project

All Saints is a church with a very long history - which should come as no surprise if you know that our beautiful building dates all the way back to 1883. But have you ever wondered what else has happened at All Saints in its almost 140 years of existence? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you this winter!

In connection with our Becoming an Anti-Racist Beloved Community efforts, we would like to compile a full history of All Saints, taking care to include both the most joyous successes of our church and community, as well as the times where we have fallen short and failed to live up to our principles. The majority of this work will likely involve going through our archives on a few Saturdays over the next couple of months, with the goal of better organizing our records and ultimately producing an historical overview of All Saints that places our local events in context with the history of our diocese, city, and the nation as a whole.

If this sounds interesting to you, please contact June Coyne. In early December, we'll meet to discuss the project and our goals and timeline.

All Saints Book Club

The All Saints Book Club continues to meet on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM on Zoom. If you are not a regular attendee, email Mike Burke at [email protected] for a meeting invite.

In addition, we are now supporting the book sanctuary initiative. We'll include at least one banned book each year in our reading plan starting in 2023. 

Our current schedule moving forward is:

January 12, 2023:

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson

We want you . . . to update or join our database!

There are three easy ways to update your information or join our database.



• Already in our database? Sign up for your own online account here and check your information;
• OR fill out this form and we will update your information;
• OR make updates and get your picture taken at church on December 11 after all services.
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Contact Courtney or Edward with any questions or concerns.

Please consider hosting Coffee Hour!

Coffee Hour has settled into a rhythm again with all the incredible hosts we've had over the past several weeks. Thank you all! 

If you're interested in hosting, we've got a coffee hour guide to make your job easier. For the foreseeable future, we're unable to use the sanitizer, but have kept waste low by bringing tumblers from home and using compostable coffee cups.

Please click here to access the sign-up to host coffee hour during the months of January, February, and March. The clipboard will also be circulated this weekend.

Thank you all for making Coffee Hour more sustainable!