Another friendly reminder from the Office of Liturgical Promptness…

Dear Friends,

You already know that THIS SUNDAY is the BEST day of the year: The Feast of All Saints! 

All Saints (November 1) is a funny feast day in that it’s the day when we remember the official saints of the church, followed by the Feast of All Souls (November 2) when we remember “all the faithful departed.” Both are tied to “All Hallows’ Eve” (October 31). Together, they form a fall Triduum (three days) that balances the spring Triduum that culminates in Easter. So far, so good and all in accordance with church teaching and tradition.

But then things get kind of funky. For the wisdom of the people takes over, and we get a mash up of All Saints and All Souls as we remember ALL the dead, knowing that all people are saint and sinner simultaneously, knowing that ALL those we love deserve remembrance and celebration and honor. Here some pagan traditions twine with Christian ones, and we get the Day of the Dead and Halloween, costumes and candy, the acknowledgment and embrace of our mortality even as we also mock death and evil.

This is a time like no other in our year, and we know how to celebrate here at All Saints! 

So, please come tonight to help hang the prayer flags with the names of our beloved departed on them. The mood will be joyful and somber as we hang flags with the names of our beloved dead from the lines strung across the sanctuary, share some pizza, and then pray over and tell stories about those we love but see no longer. We’ll be at church from 6:00pm until a bit after 8 pm, so stop by when you can; we’ll pause for prayer at 7:30pm-ish. You can also come by to make flags to be hung if you haven’t done that already.

Then, clear your calendar and plan to come to church at 8:00, 9:00, or 11:00am on Sunday! We’ll renew baptismal vows, pop champagne, and remember all who have gone ahead of us at all services. We’ll add a brass band at the 9:00 and 11:00 with a baptism at 9:00am.

See you in church!

Faithfully, Suzanne+

Worship and Service at All Saints

THIS SUNDAY: The Feast of All Saints

On Sunday, November 5, we'll gather outside in the front of the church for the 9:00 and 11:00am services before marching indoors to the sounds of a festive brass band!

TONIGHT: Prayer Flags

As part of our annual celebration of the Feast of All Saints, we like to remember loved ones who have passed on by making prayer flags for our beloved dead. Tonight at 6:00pm, all are welcome to gather for a time of prayer, hanging flags, and enjoying some delicious pizza. A brief service of prayer and song to honor the sacred work of remembering the dead will follow at 7:30.

If you haven't yet had a chance to create a prayer flag of your own, you can still email names to [email protected] before 4:00pm today.

Formation and Fellowship

Episcopal 101 & 102:

Belonging, Becoming, and Believing

Are you new here at All Saints? Been coming for a while, but still have lots of questions about what this “Episcopal” church is all about? Would you like a deeper understanding of our worship and why we do what we do? If so, then Episcopal 101 is for you! If you've already participated in Episcopal 101 but want to go deeper, please join Episcopal 102; if you want a review, then take 101 again!

Our next Episcopal 101 and 102 will meet on Wednesday, November 8 from 7:00-9:00pm. Both groups will start in the parish hall and will center their conversation on the topic of belonging. How do we experience belonging in our lives and at church? When we say, we belong to a faith community, what does that mean for us? The 101 group will begin with our own backgrounds of church (or no church), take a broad look at the Christian church, and then explore in more detail how the Episcopal church understands its mission and the ways it is organized to fulfill that mission. The 102 group will take a deeper dive into the polity and structure of the Episcopal Church. We will end our time with prayer. 

Sign up here. The sign-up form includes a place to note topics or questions you want to make sure we cover in the class. 

All Saints Youth Group: Fall Plans

All Saints Youth Group meets from 3:30-5:30pm on the Sundays below. We welcome youth ages 12 and older, and you can email [email protected] with any questions.

• November 12: TBD
• December 10: Cookie Decorating

Hope to see you at our next meeting! 

All Saints Book Club

Autumn 2023 - Winter 2024

The All Saints Book Club meets on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30pm on Zoom. If you're not a regular attendee, email Mike Burke at [email protected] for a meeting invite.

This year, the club continues to support the book sanctuary initiative by including at least one banned book in its reading plan. Our next meeting will be on November 9 to discuss The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber.

Celebrating the life of Patrick Doran

All are welcome to join us as we celebrate the life of Patrick Doran, husband of Judith, father of Diane, and grandfather of Elinor and Ansel, on Saturday, November 11, 10:00am at All Saints. In honor of Pat’s truest nature, ONLY CASUAL CLOTHING PLEASE! Although he could pull it off, suits were never his jam. 

Veterans and feeding people were two of his greatest passions. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that if anyone would like to make a donation, please feel free to contribute to one of the following in his memory: Wounded Warrior Project or Ravenswood Community Services.

Save the Date!

Gather for Lunch and Conversation on Sunday, November 19

No agenda here—just a chance to gather with other folks at All Saints to get to know one another. More information to come including RSVP information. 

Outreach and Justice

Volunteers Needed: RCS After School Pantry 

RCS' After School Pantry is back for the 2023-24 school year and we are looking for additional volunteer help! Partnering with Brennemann, Goudy, and McCutcheon elementary schools in Uptown, these Thursday afternoon pantries are designed to provide families with kid-friendly staples over the weekend when school meals are not available. So far this school year, we've seen an overwhelming increase in participation, which means we need more help! If you have a flexible schedule and can be available for 60-90 minutes on a Thursday afternoon, sign up here for one or more of the available volunteer spots. Thank you!

Revive Christmas Baskets

Thank you for your enthusiastic response to our call for basket volunteers. All baskets are currently spoken for! Please remember that your boxes are due at the church on Sunday, November 26 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) before the 11:00am service. If you have any questions or would like to help, feel free to email Katy Kelsey Morgan.

Are you a caregiver?

Caregiver Connections is a monthly gathering for caregivers to share experiences, listen, vent, get a break, compare notes, and occasionally hear from experts on specific resources. Our next meeting will be Monday, November 20, at 7:00pm in the reading room. 

Please email Kelly McNees with any questions.

Did you know that last fall, a group of All Saints parishioner started a Creation Care Committee (a/k/a “Green Team”)? In keeping with the Episcopal Church’s Creation Care Pledge, we drafted a proposal for our community that outlined specific actions we could take to protect and renew God’s creation. We grouped these actions into four main categories: 

• Christian Formation;

• Buildings, Grounds, and Energy;

• Waste Reduction; and 

• Advocacy. 

Click HERE to read the proposal - a work-in progress. With the approval of our leadership and some budget help, we launched the waste reduction initiative at our 2023 annual parish meeting. 

Since then, all plates, cups, napkins, bowls and utensils we use at All Saints have been fully compostable. That's right! We're just about a year into our commitment to waste reduction and plastic elimination. By our count, we have sent more than 2,000 cups, plates, bowls and utensils to be composted instead of to a landfill! These will come back to us in our bucket from WasteNot in the coming weeks as finished compost for our garden. Well done and thank you, All Saints community! 

This is an ongoing effort, so let’s please remember to put our “waste” where it belongs: 

• Food waste, compostable plates, napkins, utensils go in the compost bucket.

• Paper, glass, and cans go in the blue recycling bins.

• Plastics (for now) and everything else goes in the trash bins. 

We can do more with your help to further develop and implement each part of the proposal. Join the All Saints Green Team. Help with working on particular initiatives. Offer your suggestions and feedback. We would love to hear from you!

Contact us or speak to one of our team members: Terry DeLisio, Trisha Diamond, Barbara Dufford, Allison Loecke (Chair), Josephine Koo, Chad Kruse, Liz Morris, Kathryn Nolan, Kuo-Lun Tye, and Jacqueline Wayne-Guite.

Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks! 

Church Business

Upcoming Vestry Meetings

Our next Vestry meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 14. The Vestry will meet on the second rather than third Tuesday of the month due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

In December, Vestry will follow the same pattern, meeting on Tuesday, December 12 to avoid colliding with Christmas festivities. 

Did you know you can listen to All Saints sermons on Apple Podcasts?

www.allsaintschicago.org

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