News for the Week of:

February 12, 2023

Dear Friends, 

 

The news out of Turkey and Syria is devastating and continues to be so. In the face of such tragedy, compounded by years of war in Syria, government weakness in each country, harsh winter weather, architectural decisions, and more, it is hard to know how best to respond, what to do.

 

I feel helpless as I hear about the search and rescue operation and the mounting death toll, and I am tempted to file this disaster under “far away” or “over there.” Tragedies—mass shootings, police killings, species die off, war—come fast and furious these days since all news travels with us in our pockets, no time between the event and the reporting. We have to choose whether to let the sorrowful news into our hearts and minds; to do so is painful, at times overwhelming. 

 

I don’t have a brilliant solution, nor a new one. Just this: as people of faith, we can entrust people to God in prayer. One of my favorites is this one written by St. Augustine and found in our Book of Common Prayer (p. 124) for use in the evening:

 

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen. 

 

And as people of faith, we are connected to all people around the globe, too; no one is outside our circle of concern. And so we can help. Episcopal Relief & Development is our denominational agency that responds to disasters. They do great work and partner with local agencies. You can support their efforts in Turkey and Syria by going HERE. 

 

Unfortunately, there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to disaster and tragedy. Fortunately, we are equipped with the traditions of charity, compassion, and prayer to respond as best we can. 


Faithfully, Suzanne+

Download the Livestream Bulletin for our 11:00am service
Join Streaming Service
News and Events

Lent at All Saints


Shrove Tuesday, February 21

7:00pm - Palm Burning Service


Ash Wednesday, February 22

7:00am - Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes

7:00pm - Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes


Wednesdays in March (March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29)

12:00pm - Bible Study on Zoom

7:00pm - Basic Discipleship


Sunday, March 5

10:00am - All Saints Bake Auction


Saturday, March 18

3:00pm - Solemn Communion Service

TONIGHT!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, our stories will focus on that loftiest of emotions. For dinner, we'll provide some tasty chili (both vegetarian and otherwise). Please bring drinks, simple food (cheese, bread, dips, etc.), and possibly a story to share. Or bring nothing and just come!

 

If you do plan to tell a story, prepare a 3-5 minute story about love: love for your spouse, love for your children, love for your pet, love for your favorite Scandinavian crime show… The point of gathering is to connect with one another, so your story should be real, your own, and focus on events and feelings rather than proving a point or teaching a lesson.

 

No pressure if you don’t want to tell a story, but if you do, stay within 3-5 minutes and consider taking a risk. If you are new to storytelling, The Moth offers these great GUIDELINES

 

Interested? Sign up here!


Questions? Contact Colin Collette at Colin@allsaintschicago.org.

All Saints Youth Group This Sunday


The All Saints Youth Group (ASYG) continues to meet in the Parish Hall on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from 3:30-5:30pm. All youth (7th Grade and older) are welcome.


Please email Liz Bartels with any questions. Our next meeting will be held this Sunday, February 12.

Calling All Newcomers!


Interested in connecting with others? Are you wondering about ways to get involved? Do you want to learn more about the seasons of Lent and Holy Week at All Saints? If so, join us for lunch, conversation, and connection on Sunday, February 19 at 12:45 PM


Sign up here


If you have questions, please email Courtney at courtney@allsaintschicago.org

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday:

February 21 & 22


Lent is just around the corner, so we're gathering on Shrove Tuesday, February 21 for a simple outdoor service to burn palms. Bring your palms from last year and join us at 7:00pm. We'll also indulge in some sweet treats one last time!


If you'd like to contribute palms for burning, but can't make the Shrove Tuesday service, feel free to drop off your palms at church on Sunday, February 19.


Then, on Ash Wednesday, February 22, we'll offer services of Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes at both 7:00am and 7:00pm.

Not the Last Supper

Lenten Supper Groups

Sign up by February 27


Once again, All Saints is organizing weekly Lenten suppers - opportunities for fellowship during the Lenten season, and a great way to get to know people in an intimate setting beyond Sunday morning Coffee Hour.


In the past, groups have gathered one night a week for potluck meals at parishioners’ homes or at neighborhood restaurants. We will meet for four weeks: the weeks of March 6, 13, 20, and 27


If you're interested, go here to sign up. You'll be contacted around March 3 with your group information. 


Questions? Contact Suzanne or Ann McKenzie.

Calling all singers and musicians!


If you’ve ever thought about becoming a part of the music ministry at All Saints, we invite you join us for Lent and Easter. No auditions necessary; the only requirement is a willing heart! This Lent and Easter, we’re also looking for instrumentalists, so if you play a string, woodwind, or brass instrument, we need you!


Rehearsals dates are limited, but lots of fun. For more information or to sign up, you can see Colin after services or email him at colin@allsaintschicago.org.


And remember what St. Augustine once said: “The one who sings, prays twice!”

Basic Discipleship:

Wednesdays, March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 at 7:00pm


What does it mean to "walk the talk” as a Christian? How do we follow the way of Christ in our everyday lives? Each week, we will examine the holy habits of discipleship: Prayer and Worship, Serving and Giving, Learning and Discerning. Participants will be linked as prayer partners, and much of the class is small group work of support and accountability in following Jesus in our daily lives. At the end of the class, all will be invited to join discipleship groups to continue the journey. 

 

$20 for refreshments and materials.

Scholarships available; talk to Suzanne.

 

Sign up HERE by February 27.

 

Read about all of the courses HERE.

 

Considering Baptism, Re-affirming your Baptismal Vows, Confirmation, or being Received into the Episcopal Church? These classes are for you!

 

These classes are important and as such we ask that you commit to attend all the sessions offered within each module. If you are unable to attend, you’ll have a chance again, as the courses will be offered in an ongoing rotation. 

 

We offered Basic Christianity in January and will offer Basic Discipleship during Lent, Basic Anglicanism in Eastertide, and Basic Bible in the fall.

All Saints Bake Auction:

March 5 from 10:00-11:00am

IN-PERSON and/or ON-LINE



Don't miss this raucous and thrilling event! Can we raise over $30,000 in one short hour again? Our children think we can! Please mark your calendar for March 5 as we return to an in-person auction, as well as online bidding using 32Auctions.com. Cakes will be auctioned “in-person” in the All Saints sanctuary with silent auction items displayed in the parish hall. Bring your phone so you can be in both places at once!


BUT FIRST, we NEED those cakes and other delicious treats! Please sign up with one of our students during Sunday coffee hour or email Polly Tangora (polly@tangoras.com) to contribute cakes, pies, cookies, or any other fabulous treat you can dream up. In the week before the auction, we’ll be asking for catchy descriptions and a photo of the item for the on-line presentation.


Our children are counting your help again so they can fund grants to help support our friends and partners in Africa!

Solemn Communion


This past Saturday, eight All Saints children began their preparation for their Solemn Communion Celebration to be held on Saturday, March 18. The Solemn Communion program offers children the opportunity to consider what it means to receive the Eucharist in a more thoughtful way.


Although children in the Episcopal Church receive bread and wine from the time of baptism, they're able to examine the meaning of this gift more deeply as they grow older. To do this, the group meets at a special time and place apart from regular Sunday School classes - five two-hour Saturday sessions finished with a day-long retreat that ends with a celebratory Eucharist.


This year, children will be meeting on February 11, 25, and March 4 and 11 from 9:00-11:00am. They'll meet again on Friday, March 17 from 5:00-7:00pm and on Saturday, March 18 from 9:00am-4:00pm.


The children participating this year are: Ada Medill, Bridget McDonald, Edvin Glessner, Isabella Maki, Joshua Harris, Sadie Landis, Willem Kapteyn-Dekkinga, and Stanley Housten. Please keep them and their leaders in your prayers during this time of preparation.

All Saints Book Club


The All Saints Book Club is now supporting the book sanctuary initiative. We plan to include at least one banned book each year in our 2023 reading plan. 


The All Saints Book Club meets on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30pm on Zoom. If you are not a regular attendee, email Mike Burke at mebcat@gmail.com for a meeting invite and our spring schedule.


Our next scheduled meeting will be on March 9, 2023 during which we'll discuss If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Food donation needed for RCS After School Pantries


Ravenswood Community Services is seeking donations of food items for its after school pantry program. Specific items are needed and include - canned pasta sauce, plastic jars of peanut butter, kid friendly cereal, and cans of chicken noodle soup.  Any brand of these items is acceptable, however, please do not donate any item in a glass jar. 


How to help:


● You may purchase any of these items and bring them to church where we will have collection boxes just inside the front doors.  

● You can purchase any of the items using the links below and ship them directly to Ravenswood Community Services, 4550 N. Hermitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60640.

 

Canned pasta sauce


Plastic jars of peanut butter

 

Kid friendly cereal

 

Cans of chicken noodle soup

 

● Or you can donate directly to RCS here.

 

Any way that you choose to give will make a difference for the families we serve. And if you are interested in getting involved as a volunteer, you can learn more here or email Parker Callahan.

Support Relief Efforts in Syria and Turkey


Episcopal Relief & Development is working with Action by Churches Together Alliance (ACT Alliance) to provide supplies, hot meals, and other emergency support in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria on Monday. The earthquake killed more than 11,000 people and caused widespread damage across the region. 


Donations to the Turkey and Syria Earthquake Response Fund will help Episcopal Relief & Development continue responding.


Please pray for those who have been affected by the earthquake. 

Like to cook? Volunteer for Love on a Plate! 


Cooking and delivering a meal to a parishioner in need is a great way to connect with other members of the congregation. It also helps make some of life’s challenging chapters — illness, grief, welcoming a new baby — a little easier and less lonely. No minimum commitment required.


Email Kelly McNees to add your name to our volunteer email list and receive a message when care opportunities arise. Participate when you can and help lighten someone’s load! 

We salute everyone who's donated to

the Midwest Veteran's Closet this year!


This Sunday, February 12 is the last day that the Midwest Veteran's Closet box will be available in the back of the Church. That doesn't mean we'll be off-duty. We're still available for arranged pick-ups and car-to-car transfers. It's humbling to be given accolades when we do the drop-offs since it is your generosity that makes it possible. Thank you!


Katie Nolan and Therese Stasik

573-727-9164 (calls only)

ktnolan@sbcglobal.net 

Early voting in all 50 Wards begins Monday, February 13!


Early voting in downtown Chicago for the February 28, 2023 Municipal Election has started at two vote centers: the Voter Supersite at 191 N. Clark and Board Offices at 69 W. Washington, 6th Floor. Super Sites remain open through Tuesday, February 28. Click here to see all Early Voting locations, times and addresses. 


Any voter in Chicago can vote at any Early Voting site, no matter where they live in the city. Voters can choose whatever voting site is most convenient for them, including on Election Day.


Voter registration services (new voters, name changes and address updates) will be provided at all Early Voting sites. Two forms of ID, one of which shows the voter's current address, are needed to register for the first time or to file a name change or an address update. Voters with questions may contact 312.269.7900 or email cboe@chicagoelections.gov.

Get your voter information here
Vote by mail
Serve as an election judge!

United Power: Come Make Good Trouble in 2023!


February 15 at 7:00-8:30pm: United Power Leadership Meeting

 

It's time to make some good trouble! Chicago’s Mayoral Election is February 28, and if needed, a runoff election will be held on April 4. United Power plans to take advantage of this political climate to have our voices heard. We'll ask the newly elected (or those in the runoff) to commit to the work of building affordable homes in North Lawndale and on the south side. 

 

Come join the All Saints United Power team in the Reading Room on Wednesday Feb. 15 from 7:00-8:30pm to plan how we will organize turn out from All Saints. Let’s once again stand up together with our neighbors and do the important work for justice in our city!

 

Questions? Contact Courtney.


February 18-20: Community Organizing Leadership Training 

Offered by United Power: this training will provide an overview of key concepts and critical components essential to building strong community groups and connecting those groups into a broad based organization necessary to create power.

 

TO REGISTER AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT: 

https://forms.gle/pefdwGqBJMR2n4CN6

Cost: $85.00. Scholarships available, speak to Courtney.

 

2022 Year-End Report

United Power’s work is tackling pressing issues in our communities—housing, mental health reform, gun violence—and holding the public and private sectors accountable for doing their part to address those issues. Learn more, check out the United Power year end report.

 

Questions? Contact Barbara Manley at barbaramanley1@gmail.com or 312-953–8802.

One Book, One Diocese: Resurrection Hope

An invitation from the Peace and Justice Committee


In 2023, the Peace and Justice Committee invites the diocese to participate in its inaugural "One Book, One Diocese" discussion of Resurrection Hope: A Future Where Black Lives Matter by the Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas.


If enough of us from All Saints participate, we'll host our own book discussion after Easter. The Diocesan Peace and Justice Committee will also offer online discussions on Zoom on April 13 and April 25 at 7 pm.

Masks Strongly Encouraged

 

As people return from traveling during the Christmas holiday and a number of viruses are circulating, we know masking is an effective way to protect one another from contagion and illness. We strongly encourage the wearing of masks when in large groups at church. If you have forgotten your mask and would like one, there are masks near the front doors of the church; ask an usher. 

 

As we continue to care for one another and stay healthy in this time,

  • Please do not come to church if you or your child has any cold or flu symptoms (cough, sniffles, congestion, fever, etc.); instead, worship with us online at 11:00am!
  • Choose an effective mask; N95 and KN95 masks are best.
  • Ensure that you and your children are fully vaccinated.

 

If you have questions or desire a conversation, please contact Suzanne at suzanne@allsaintschicago.org or 773-724-1352.

We Pray For

Those who suffer in mind, body, or spirit: especially for Dave Howe, Ora Washington and the Washington family, Bruce Ente, Ada Medill, Bridget McDonald, Edvin Glessner, Isabella Maki, Joshua Harris, Sadie Landis, Willem Kapteyn-Dekkinga, Stanley Housten, Peg Deppe, Susan Reid, Lupe Wilson, Richard Johnson, Scott and Ann, Kathryn Colina, Mary K. Williams, Bill Hamm, Lynn Goodman, and for those whose hurt, burdens, and fears go unspoken.


For those on our long-term prayer list: Ashton Christy, Kirsten Rehnberg, Debi Armstrong, Mickey Safranek, Suzanne Shear, Ann J, Clyde Propst, Peter Donalek, James Guite, Nina Chinn, Jim Crandall, Juleigh Ruby, Lionel Edes, Clara Maddox, Kamila and Kathy, Paul, Mary Logue


For those around the world: the people of Ukraine and all affected by war; all affected by the pandemic; and our brothers and sisters in Cuernavaca, Mexico; Renk, Sudan; and throughout Latin America and East Africa


For those who celebrate birthdays this week:

2/13 - Nella Maheshwary

2/14 - Dale Patton, Henry Belton

2/16 - Douglas Matteson

2/17 - Kim Carter, Jonah Kruse

2/18 - Kelly McNees, Terry DeLisio


For those who celebrate anniversaries this week:

2/14 - Tracey Lemon and Suzanne Wille



For those who have died: especially Janet Morris Jones, friend of Elisabeth Hargrove. May her soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, and may God comfort those who grieve.


If you'd like to have someone included in our community prayers, 

please email: prayer@allsaintschicago.org.

Request Prayer

www.allsaintschicago.org

Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  

Having trouble viewing? Open newsletter in web browser