Dear Friends,

The 24-7 Christmas music station stopped playing its holiday tunes on December 26. Bare and dry Christmas trees are starting to populate the alleys. And some of the neighborhood’s glittering lights and displays are starting to come down.

Yet in our church calendar, we are only half way through the 12 days of Christmas that lead us to the Feast of the Epiphany.

So while holiday guests may have departed and you're wondering what on earth to do with your kids for the second week of winter break, take some time to sit in the wonder and love of Emmanuel, God with us. 

Howard Thurman, renowned African-American theologian, educator and civil rights leader reminds us in his beautiful poem that the work of Christmas truly begins after the songs have ended, the lights put away, and we’ve returned to our daily routines. For it is in our everyday living that we are called to find the lost, feed the hungry, and seek justice.

As we move through the rest of the Christmas season and celebrate the end of 2022, I wish you all a blessed and joyous New Year. I look forward to discovering what 2023 has in store for our community of faith. 

Peace,

Courtney+ 

The Work of Christmas, by Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with their flocks,

the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among the people,

to make music in the heart.

This poem and others by Howard Thurman can be found in The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations, published by Friends United Press.

Pledges and giving

Thank you for your generosity to All Saints this year! In order for a gift to be credited to 2022, we need to receive it no later than end of day on Saturday, December 31. 

Questions? Contact Edward.

If you're interested in serving All Saints as a member of our vestry or a diocesan representative, please apply online by January 15, 2023!

If you'd like to find out more about what the Vestry is and how it works, we'll be hosting a Vestry Information Coffee Hour at 10:00am on January 8.

Save the Date: Bagels & Budget: Sunday, January 15 at 10 am.

Join us for nosh and numbers as our treasurer Margaret Ferguson gives an overview of our the proposed 2023 budget. Ask questions, offer suggestions, and get informed for the Annual Meeting when we will receive the final budget passed by Vestry.

Basic Christianity:

Wednesdays, January 11, 18, 25, and February 1 at 7:00pm

Following Christ is about trusting in God’s presence in the world and in our lives in amazing ways. This class will look at the basic concepts of Christianity and what they mean for our lives: Creation, Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Life in Christ, and the end times. The Body of Christ. $20 for refreshments and materials. Scholarships available; talk to Suzanne.

Sign up HERE.

Read about all of the courses HERE.

Back to Basics is a series of courses that give us a foundation for the faith we live together at All Saints. It’s not indoctrination, but a chance to roll up our sleeves, learn, discuss, and apply the core pieces of who we are as Christians and Episcopalians. Classes are offered Wednesday evenings in the Parish Hall with light refreshments. There is a fee of $20 per person for each course to cover refreshments and materials.

Considering Baptism, Re-affirming your Baptismal Vows, or Confirmation? 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'll offer Basic Christianity in January, Basic Discipleship during Lent, Basic Anglicanism in Eastertide, and Basic Bible in the fall.

Children's Epiphany Celebration

Saturday, January 7

from 2:30-5:30pm 

Children ages 6-12 are invited to a celebration of Epiphany, the day when we remember the arrival of the Magi.

Beginning in the parish hall at 2:30, the afternoon will include reflections on prophecies of the coming Messiah as well as Gospel readings telling of the birth of Christ, with candle decorating, singing, and simple crafts to reflect on the season.  

During our time together, older children (9-12 years old) will spend time preparing for the celebration by creating a candlelit labyrinth of greenery on the parish hall floor to represent the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem.

Parents and others interested are invited to join the children at 4:45pm to take part in this celebration of the end of the Christmas season.

If your child would like to attend or participate, RSVP to Polly Tangora (773-878-7118 or [email protected]) by Wednesday, January 4 so that we can plan for materials.   We may not be able to accept reservations for more than 20 children, so please call to reserve as soon as possible. Friends and neighbors are welcome to join us. 

North Lawndale Update

All Saints Trouble Makers, come hear an update on our efforts to build 2,000 homes. We've made a lot of progress in 2022, but there's so much more we want to accomplish! 

Richard Townsell from North Lawndale will be joining us in the parish hall on Sunday, January 22 at 10:00 am. Join us for this important update and get inspired to continue making Good Trouble in 2023!

Contact: Barbara Manley at [email protected] or 312-953–8802.

Food donation needed for RCS After School Pantries

On the first and second Thursdays of each month, Ravenswood Community Services distributes a variety of grocery items from the dismissal doors of Goudy, McCutcheon, and Brenneman Elementary Schools. 

The program is seeking donations of food items to stock the pantry for the upcoming months.  Specific items are needed - 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.

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!

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 reading plan starting in 2023. 

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.

Our current schedule moving forward is:

January 12, 2023:

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson

February 9, 2023:

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

March 9, 2023:

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

April 13, 2023:

Splendid & the Vile by Eric Larson

May 11, 2023:

The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie (a banned book)

June 8, 2023:

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles