Dear Friends,

I’ve had a heavy heart this week as I’ve read and listened to stories about the senseless killing of 4 college students at Michigan State and the serious wounding of 5 others. This mass shooting, the nation’s 68th so far in 2023, hit closer than the many others. My oldest daughter’s closest friend is a freshman at MSU. She’s shaken but wasn’t among the victims. And on Wednesday, I learned that a dear friend’s daughter was pre-school friends with one of the young adults wounded. I’ve told people this week that I’ve felt alternately sad, angry, and hopeless. The cascading numbers of deaths and injuries caused by guns in our nations is unlike that of any other nation. And it seems that we’ve elevated the gun to be a messiah, something that will save us.

As Christians, we know that our Messiah can be found in the person of Jesus who came to lead a revolution not with weapons of war, but with instruments of love and justice. This Sunday, we celebrate the last Sunday after the Epiphany, and our Gospel is the familiar story of Jesus’s transfiguration where we will hear God’s voice proclaiming that Jesus is his “beloved Son on whom my favor rests.”  These words bookend our season after Epiphany. Over the past seven weeks of this season, we have heard story after story of how Jesus reveals himself to the world as Emmanuel, God with Us, the Word made flesh.   In the calling of his disciples to follow him and in readings from the Sermon on the Mount, we begin to get a glimpse of who this Jesus is, who he is calling us to be, and his vision for a world we can barely imagine.

Our world as it is is not the world that God envisions for God’s beloved people and creation. We come together each Sunday to proclaim God’s vision, to be strengthened and challenged by the Word, to be nourished at God’s table, and to be sent forth to love and serve God. This, my friends, is what gives me hope for the journey. Hope that in our coming together, in our work for justice, we can catch a glimpse of God’s realm.   

If you’re looking for ways to join the fight against the gun violence, check out www.momsdemandsction.org, Episcopalians Against Gun Violence on Facebook, or get involved in our United Power for Action and Justice efforts.  

I hope to see you on Sunday.

In peace,

Courtney +

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

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.

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 Parish Hall and silent auction items will be available for viewing on the app. Bring your phone so you can keep an eye on the silent auction while you bid at the live!

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 ([email protected]) 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!

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 [email protected]. 

All Saints Youth Group

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 Sunday, February 26.

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 [email protected].

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

Lenten Bible Study on Zoom -

Every Wednesday in March at 12:00pm

Join us on Wednesdays in Lent to reflect on the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday. We'll meet from 12:00-12:45pm beginning March 1. You can find the readings here. We'll meet on zoom so that you can join us from home or work. You can join for any or all of the Wednesdays. 

Meeting ID: 827 0590 9340

Passcode: 059063

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Meeting ID: 827 0590 9340

Passcode: 059063

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.

Solemn Communion

Eight All Saints children continue their preparation for the 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 25, March 4, and March 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 [email protected] 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 February 6. The earthquake killed more than 35,000 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! 

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.

Early voting in all 50 Wards began 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 [email protected].

Masks Strongly Encouraged

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 [email protected] or 773-724-1352.

www.allsaintschicago.org

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