Dear Friends, 

Well, here we are: the BAKE AUCTION! Please come on Sunday prepared to be generous—we will have fabulous cookies and cakes and more. Even your humble rector—no baker—has baked a cake (with some help from a friend).

We have had relationships with folks in South Sudan for decades, and those relationships have led to other relationships, which means we help lots of individuals and organizations now. You can read all about the Bake Auction below, including information about our partners in Africa. 

This is an amazing, long-term effort here at All Saints; it was one of the events that inspired Tracey and me to join All Saints decades ago, and your generosity continues to inspire me! 

Less inspiring was our experience with some hackers this past week; I HATE that any of you got fake texts asking you for money, preying on your generous natures. We have an article below that provides some more details. 

Luckily, most of you saw through these phishing attempts, but I hope that experience won’t make  us cynical. In fact, let’s use our money to help people who truly need our generosity—see you on Sunday!

Faithfully, Suzanne+

This Sunday, March 5, our annual Bake Auction returns in-person to the Parish Hall—with the Silent Auction also returning to www.32auctions.com. Hosted by students of our church school, this raucous, thrilling, and delicious All Saints event will fill our hearts and our bellies, as we buy each other’s baked goods at ridiculously generous prices. 

All the money we raise goes to much-needed essentials for our dear friends and partners in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and other Eastern African countries.

Last year, we raised over $30,000 in ONE SHORT HOUR.

Can we do it again!? 

Yes, we can!

To participate in either the Live or Silent Auction:

You’ll need an account on 32auctions. Register or confirm your login information at www.32auctions.com/login. We encourage everyone to do this before Sunday morning, so you'll be ready to bid when the auctions open.

For all who have signed up with Polly Tangora to contribute a fabulous treat: 

If you haven’t yet received an email from her, she may be having trouble reaching you. Please contact her at [email protected].

And you can still contribute your baked treats to the auction!

Would you like to put a fabulous treat made of sugar and butter in the Live or Silent auction? Email Polly Tangora ([email protected]) today. In return you’ll receive logistical information, plus pure gratitude and joy.



Are you ready?!

Click here for additional details about the auction particulars, how payment works, and more. 

See you Sunday at 10! 

Update on the Scamming Attempts

As we've recently experienced at All Saints, there are plenty of folks out there looking to take advantage of churches and their congregations. Frequently, these fraudsters pose as pastors, or even masquerade as parishioners, creating fake emails or text messages to trick you into sharing information or sending money/gift cards. This common way for criminals to hack your account is known as a "phishing attempt."

If you've been approached by another member of All Saints—parishioner or staff—requesting help with the purchase of gift cards or access to the church's Breeze account, the best thing to do is to block that person, delete the message, and change your Breeze password.

We now know that we were “hacked” at All Saints by someone posing as a parishioner and requesting to be added to our Breeze database. Once they had an account, they found others’ contact information, posed as Suzanne, and requested gift cards. We have deleted and blocked that account and consulted with Breeze, an expert in IT/Cybersecurity, and our insurance company. Breeze assures us that your financial data is secure: there is a firewall between contact information and financial data. Breeze uses Stripe to process all financial transactions, and Stripe has the highest security level in the industry of payment service providers.

If you have a Breeze account, it makes sense to change your password. We are now changing passwords for all of our online accounts at All Saints.

As a friendly reminder, no one from All Saints will ever text or email you asking to send them money personally.

Lent at All Saints

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

One tap mobile

+13092053325,,82705909340#,,,,*059063# US

+13126266799,,82705909340#,,,,*059063# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location

    +1 309 205 3325 US

    +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Meeting ID: 827 0590 9340

Passcode: 059063

Worship and Service at All Saints

April 2023 Baptism Preparation

Baptisms will be offered at the Easter Vigil (8:00pm, Saturday, April 8) for adults, and on the Second Sunday of Easter (11:00am, Sunday, April 16) for children. 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.

Visiting a Beloved Parishioner: Clyde Propst

Clyde Propst, a long-time parishioner and director of our nursery, has just moved into assisted living at Lincolnwood Place (7000 N. McCormick Blvd., Lincolnwood) in apartment 224. 

While her memory is not as strong as it used to be, she would love to have visitors from All Saints and to see photos and hear stories of those for whom she used to care. If any of those former nursery and church school students can visit, that would be fabulous!

Have questions about this or would like some guidance about what makes a good visit? Contact Courtney or Suzanne.

Formation and Fellowship

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, March 12.

Solemn Communion

Eight All Saints children continue their preparation for the Solemn Communion Celebration to be held on Saturday, March 18 at 3:00pm. 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 meet March 4 and 11 from 9:00-11:00am, on Friday, March 17 from 5:00-7:00pm, and then again 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

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.

Outreach and Justice

United Power Action with Chicago’s Mayoral Candidates

United Power is holding an action on Sunday, March 19th at 3:30 PM. We'll join with at least 250 fellow United Power members at Harmony Community Church, 1908 S Millard to seek the public commitment of both candidates for a larger action, if elected. We'll highlight Reclaiming Chicago and hear from the candidates on how they will act on Reclaiming Chicago and other issues. 

We've committed to bring 25 people to this action. Sign up here to join us. Our presence at this action bears witness to our belief that our neighbors in North Lawndale, Back of the Yards, Chicago Lawn, and Roseland do not stand alone in fighting for vibrant communities and affordable housing for working families.

Want to know more? Contact Courtney or Barbara Manley.

Help a refugee family: Volunteers needed March 7 and 8

Exodus World Service has matched us with a refugee family! A family of three is arriving from Iraq on March 8. The next step is using the items we collected in November and December to set up their household.

Are you available on the evening of Tuesday, March 7 to collect some groceries from Ravenswood Community Services? Are you available during the day on March 8 to buy the rest of the groceries (including a stop at a Halal butcher?) Or late afternoon/early evening to move items from Annie Logue's house to our new neighbors' place?

Check Sign-Up Genius here!

Saint Leonard's at Coffee Hour

Join us on Sunday, March 19 during the 10:00am coffee hour to learn more about the work of Saint Leonard’s Ministries, an Episcopal agency located on the Near West side of Chicago.

Saint Leonard’s empowers formerly incarcerated persons to lead whole and productive lives through access to an array of services such as housing, life skills, behavioral health, and workforce development all on one campus. The Rev. Wes Smedley, Mission & Strategic Advancement Manager and Chaplain, along with other staff and residents will join us for conversation. It promises to be an engaging and inspiring event. 

For more information, visit their website.

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. 

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.

www.allsaintschicago.org

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