Dear Friends

Each Liturgical Year, rather than focusing on a particular Feast or Festive Season, the church in her wisdom gives us two liturgical seasons to focus on the stories of our faith, the Sundays after Epiphany and the Sundays After Pentecost, the latter being our current liturgical season.  Some churches refer to these seasons as “ordinary time,” not because they are ordinary in any sense but rather because they are numbered, or ordered.  This week we will keep the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and we will spend time with the very familiar story of the curing of the ten lepers.  I am looking forward to hearing how Courtney, our preacher, will break open this for us in her sermon.

For us at here at All Saints, the season After Pentecost has been jam-packed with wonderful happenings: we had great mid-week social gatherings, we celebrated our commitment to ministry as we formally welcomed Suzanne as our rector and embraced Courtney as our Associate rector; we gathered to tell our stories and look more deeply at how God is active in our lives; we welcomed back our church school students and parents; and we blessed our beloved pets, furry, scaly, feathered, and finned. So much for a season to relax into the stories of our faith and formation!  I feel that finally we are at a moment where we can take a deep breath and listen to and spend time with some wonderful and familiar stories of our faith.  

As we look to the end of this liturgical season and the approach of the great feasts of All Souls and All Saints, it is time for us to pause and remember all of those who have gone before us and have been instrumental in forming us both as individuals and as the community of All Saints.  We encourage you to take some time in these remaining days of this season to think about and pray with those who have played a role in your spiritual journey.  I always get nostalgic this time of year. I grew up in the home of my maternal grandmother, and each year, right about now, she would start the process of making wonderful flower wreaths that we would take on the feast of All Saints and place on the graves of our deceased family members.  While there, we would also light a candle and pray quietly as the candle burned and flickered in the breeze. Although that is my cherished memory, the reality is that we would spend three weeks or so, surrounded by scraps of paper and bits of wax, as she formed each flower.  Also imagine trying to light a candle and have it burn for a moment, all while standing on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with the winds of autumn howling around you! My dear grandmother Barbara will always be in my heart, and I cannot tell you how much a part of her lives in me today. For this reason, I will be forever grateful for this time to pause and remember her. 

Beginning this week, you will find prayer flags in baskets at the doors of the church.  We invite you to take as many as you would like and spend some time reflecting on those names and stories that fill your heart.  You might want to take a moment and complete the flag before leaving church, or you might want to take the flags home with you and spend some time over the coming weeks in prayer and reflection as you complete your prayer flags.  If you will not be present at church and are worshiping with the community online, you can email us your names for the prayer flags, and we will make sure they are a part of the Great Cloud of Witnesses that will hang above our heads on the feast days of All Souls and All Saints.

We will gather on Friday, November 4^th, at 6:30 p.m., for a moment of prayer and reflection, as we hang the prayer flags and reflect on the names and stories of our Community of Saints.  

I hope and pray that these autumn days find you well and give you a moment to gather up the stories of the saints in your life, and I look forward to the days to come.

In the Spirit,

Colin

On Sunday, November 6, as part of our annual celebration of the Feast of All Saints, we remember loved ones who have died. We invite you to make prayer flags for your beloved dead. Colored paper is available at the back of the church. You may also email names to [email protected] 

And if you'd like to help out, we'll gather at 6:30pm on Friday, November 4 for a time of prayer, hanging of flags, and pizza.

All Saints Baptism Preparation

Baptism will be offered on our celebration of The Feast of All Saints, Sunday, November 6, at both the 9:00am 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.

We're so excited to be one of the stops for Open House Chicago 2022! The church will be open for architecture buffs and the curious on Saturday, October 15th and Sunday, October 16th.  Hope that you can stop by!

If you are interested in helping us show off our old church building, please contact Ann McKenzie at [email protected] or 312.952.1470.

Check out the whole weekend event at https://openhousechicago.org/

Becoming Beloved Community:

Deepening our commitment to becoming an anti-racist church

Save the date and join us on Wednesday, October 19 from 7:00-8:30pm to discuss and discern next steps in deepening our commitment to becoming an anti-racist church. We'll meet in person at All Saints. If you're interested in this conversation but are unable to meet in person, please contact Courtney at [email protected].

We hope you’re planning to join us in support of RCS’ food pantry and community kitchen at the upcoming Spirits of Ravenswood on October 21st! If you haven’t already, you should register here.

Come sample local craft libations, spin the prize wheel, eat some delicious food, go for a virtual drive with Redline VR, get a tarot card reading, try your hand at The SKEE League’s SKEE Ball/bags hybrid, and spend some time on the dance floor in a really cool neighborhood space. We promise you’ll have fun, all while helping RCS programs feed people.

Please note: This event is for guests 21 and up.

Questions? Email [email protected].

Mark Your Calendars! Upcoming United Power Events

United Power works to transform the world and our communities in multiple ways. Please join us during Coffee Hours at 10:00am for informative discussions of the different issues United Power is working on.

10/16: Intro to Gun Safety with special guest: Diane Boese (Oak Park)

10/23: Intro to Mental Health & Police Reform

November TBD: Year-end Update on Reclaim Communities

There are also Zoom events happening with the broader United Power community. The Issue Briefings will expand what is discussed at All Saints.

Thursday, 10/20, 7:00-8:30pm via Zoom

Issue Briefing: Gun Safety

Click here to register

Tuesday, 10/25, 7-8:30pm via Zoom

Issue Briefing: Mental Health & Criminal Justice Reform

Click here to register

Questions? Contact Barbara Manley by emailing [email protected] or phoning 312-953-8802.

Donate and Volunteer to Help Out New Arrivals

The City of Chicago is working with local refugee organizations and aldermanic offices to provide support and needed clothing, toiletries, and household items to newcomers to our city arriving from Texas. Below is more information on the help that is needed and here is a link with additional details and locations for drop off. 

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/texas-new-arrivals/home.html

Lost and Found

Cold weather is closing in and it's time to make our coatracks available for everyone to use. The items pictured below have been "hanging around" for quite a while. If any of these things belong to you, please claim them by Sunday, October 9. After that date, we'll donate all things in good condition and discard the rest. Thanks!

All Saints Book Club

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:

October 13, 2022: 

Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

November 10, 2022: 

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

December 8, 2022: 

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller