Dear Friends,

This Sunday, many wonderful things converge: the 2024 Barbie-themed Pledge Campaign; the Feast of St. Francis with Pet Blessing; festive coffee hour and Sparkling Sunday; and a three-day weekend for Indigenous People’s Day / Columbus Day!

We had a BLAST last Sunday with a great kick-off from Pledge Co-Chairs Katrina Kasten and John Williams:

Katrina: 

This is the best day ever.

John: 

It IS the best day ever. So was yesterday, and so is tomorrow, and every day from now until forever! And you know why!?! Because today is the first day of All Saints’ Annual Pledge Campaign!

Then we had a fun improv activity led by Halley Hoffman where we shared, round robin, a word that represents All Saints for us, going round and round after Halley yelled “Action” to the moment she shouted “Cut!” You all shared words like these: Quirky, Disco Ball, Community, Justice, Bake Auction, Youth Group, Loving, Lobster on the HVAC, Flamingoes, Home.

Then, to top it off, Colin may have slipped in a little piano rendition of “I’m a Barbie Girl” (IYKYK)!

It was just one of those awesome, joyful All Saints Sundays—Amazing!

And this Sunday promises all kinds of joy, too, as we fill the pews at the 9:00am and 11:00am services with our scaly, furry, bumpy, and feathered friends to be blessed during the service. We’ve tried to shorten the service a bit, but we know there will be general joy and chaos. And just like we’re good with crying babies, we’re good with barking dogs, so don’t worry, just come! 

PSA: As always, the 8:00am service is fur / feather / scale free.

In the midst of all the fun and joy here, we also know there are serious issues in the world, and you can read below to see how we are responding with charity and justice, fueled by our worship and celebrations and joy on Sunday.

See you in church!

Faithfully, Suzanne+

2024 Pledge Campaign:

“Barbie is all these women. And all these women are Barbie.”

- Narrator, Barbie

Quite apart from the actual message of Barbie, so much of the joy from the overall “Barbenheimer” experience this summer was the deeply communal movie-going experience embedded within it. 

Some of this joy stemmed from it being a break - finally! - from the loneliness of COVID: so much of life with family and friends was lived through a screen and not in person, which just isn’t the same. And being able to fill an entire theater after years of shuttered cinemas and awkward spacing between seats was amazing!

But much of our joy comes from Barbie acting as a reprieve from decades of a slowly fragmenting culture. These days there aren’t many shows like Seinfeld or All in the Family that you can reliably talk about with colleagues and loved ones. For a brief moment, it was nice having “So, have you watched Barbie?” as a reliable conversation starter and know there was a good chance that you had a shared experience with another person.

As Barbie goes, so goes All Saints. As a church, we are only in the second year of a full-fledged re-emergence. And so, it is still so beautiful to again have full pews and to be able to celebrate coming together as a community, just as we did last Sunday with a piano rendition of “I’m a Barbie Girl” from Colin and being able to share our words to describe our church in the improv activity. This week, we’ll keep the theme going by hearing from some of our friends why this church community means so much to them that they commit to pledging each year.

Your 2024 pledges make these communal experiences and our re-emergence possible. Thank you to everyone who has already committed to supporting All Saints. If you have not yet made a pledge, you may submit it here on the Pledge page on the All Saints website.

Worship and Service at All Saints

THIS SUNDAY: PET BLESSINGS!

Celebrate the Feast of St. Francis with your Furry, Feathered, or Scaly Bestie!

Pet Blessing is Sunday, October 8, and we’ll celebrate our beloved companions at both the 9:00 and 11:00am services with special treats for humans and animals at both Coffee Hour and Sparkling Sunday. Dr. Steve Larson will be on hand between services for Ask the Vet and we’ll have a Barbie-themed selfie booth so you can take (yet another) picture with your best friend – costumes welcome!

November 2023 Baptism Preparation

Baptism will be offered on our celebration of All Saints' Day, Sunday, November 5, at both the 9:00 and 11:00am services. 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.

Formation and Fellowship

The hills are alive with the sound of…

What's better than a Sunday in the park with George than a Wednesday in the All Saints courtyard with our music director Colin? Join us for the social event of the season: a show tune sing-along and open mic with live musical accompaniment. The fun starts Wednesday, October 25 at 7:00pm with beverages and mingling.

Got a favorite song you can't wait to belt out? Just let Colin know!

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 first Episcopal 101 and 102 will meet on Wednesday, October 11 from 7:00-9:00 pm. 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 through Oct 10. 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.

• October 8: Scavenger Hunt at the Lincoln Park Zoo (more details about transportation and permission forms to follow)
• October 22: Pumpkin Carving
• November 12: History of the Bible
• 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 October 12 to discuss The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.

Outreach and Justice

NEXT WEEKEND!

Open House Chicago 2023: October 14 & 15

Once again, All Saints has been invited to participate in the Chicago Architecture Center's Open House Chicago.

Our hours will be: Saturday, October 14th from 10:00am to noon and Sunday, October 15h from 12:30 to 5:00pm.

If you'd like to volunteer your time as a greeter or guide, please contact Ann McKenzie by emailing [email protected] or calling 312-952-1470.

Friday, October 20, 7:00-11:00pm

Ravenswood Event Center, 4025 N. Ravenswood

Great party, great cause! Come join us at this year’s Spirits of Ravenswood as we raise money for the food pantry and community kitchen that operate out of All Saints.

This party features samples from local breweries and Koval, great food, games, tarot card readings, a prize wheel, music, dancing, an open bar, and great company in a cool neighborhood spot surrounded by vintage cars and classic Chicago neon. Don’t miss it!

Early Bird pricing is good through October 13th. Get your tickets today!

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!

Two Plays, Two Directors, Two All Saints’ Parishioners!

Two of our parishioners—Lou Contey and Chad Eric Bergman—are directing plays this fall. Please support theater and our fellow All Sainters!

Lou directed A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, a Shattered Globe Theatre production. Performances are at Theatre Wit (1229 W Belmont) through October 21. Go HERE for more information. It’s getting great reviews! 

Chad directed Peter Malmö by Raúl Dorantes and Mark Litwicki, a Colectivo El Polo and Akvavit Theatre Production. Performances are at Raven Theatre (6157 N Clark) through October 29. Go HERE for more information.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 10:00-11:30am,

All Saints Parish Hall

Join the Ravenswood Neighbors Association and Chicago Community Gardeners Association for an educational session about eco-friendly fall/winter garden care, including the benefits of fall leaf mulch application and zero-trim of dead flower stems. Gardeners will learn about a free source of leaf mulch and RNA’s “Mulch Madness” event in November. Special Guest, Pete Leki, Director of Waters Ecology Program, will instruct gardeners on effective communication with neighbors about the purpose benefits native gardens provide.

Ravenswood Neighbors Association, through its Native Garden Initiative, has helped 25 neighborhoods build and care for native prairie gardens on street corners, parkways and courtyards since 2017. Chicago Community Gardeners Association is comprised of working groups city-wide that meet regularly to support community gardens through education and networking events as well as providing material resources.

Whether you’re an experienced gardener or thinking about starting a garden, you’re encouraged to attend! This is a free event. Lunch (sadly, not free) is available from Byron’s Hot Dogs if you register and place your order before 4pm, Friday, October 6.

To register and order lunch, email [email protected].

Making Good Trouble:

All Saints’ United Power

and Social Justice Ministry

All Saints has been working with other institutions for social justice through United Power since 2019.  Much of this work is done through public actions with our elected officials to keep pressure on them to support our work.  

This past year, members of All Saints participated in two city-wide actions focused on Mayor Johnson’s support for the Reclaiming Chicago campaign to build 2000 homes on the west (North Lawndale) and south sides of Chicago. All Saints also turned out to support a stabilization housing pilot at the Diplomat Hotel on Lincoln Ave. 

We've also begun the hard work of listening and discerning what issue we need to address for our community here at All Saints. During our first listening session in June, we heard about anger and concern for crime and safety, housing and homelessness, the rise in hatred/discrimination, and the climate. We'll continue this work in the months ahead. 

Read more here about how All Saints got started in this work, the progress and impact being made, what’s next, and how you too can help us change the world as it is.  

Contact: Barbara Manley, 312-953-8802, [email protected].

Spread the love and clean out your closet!

Imagine trekking all the way from Venezuela to Chicago. Imagine the strange and wonderful things you would see and do along the way. Then imagine facing a Chicago winter!

Thousands of new Chicagoans will be experiencing it for the first time and they'll need coats. Like most of us, you probably have perfectly good coats in your closet that you don't use. Maybe you have a pair of snowpants your kid grew out of, a ski jacket left behind by an old roommate who moved to California, or a parka that you're tired of. 

If so, bring them to All Saints and leave them in the waiting area outside Suzanne's office. We'll collect them October 8 and 15, then distribute them through Refugee Community Connection. New coats are welcome, too, preferably the puffy type. Costco often has good deals on them.

Also: has an Amazon delivery person abandoned a package carrier in your neighborhood? These are in demand by families moving from shelters to housing. Amazon doesn't want them back, so bring them here!

Questions? Contact Annie Logue.

Church Business

Please consider hosting Coffee Hour!

Back to church school means back to hanging out with your All Saints friends in the parish hall after the 9:00am and before the 11:00am services. Please consider taking a Sunday over the next three months to host Coffee Hour. The sign-up for October, November and December can be found HERE.

The Coffee Hour crew works to make the effort minimal. And the gratitude of your fellow parishioners is an ample reward. Please reach out to Chad Kruse with questions or to review the guide to hosting.  

Banns of Marriage

I publish the Banns of Marriage between Jacqueline Saldaña and Kevin Refior of Chicago. If any of you know just cause why they may not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, you are bidden to declare it. This is the third and last time of asking.

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

www.allsaintschicago.org

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