October 24, 2024 Edition

Over the past weeks, we have expressed our gratitude for what All Saints’ brings to us – for how we worship, our sacred spaces, our programs and groups, and our community engagement.

Before that, we had a Gratitude Gathering where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and heard from our Junior Warden Rhonda Kovar and Randy Brantley, a Vestry member who is serving as Campaign Coordinator for the second year. We made a paper chain for things for which we are grateful.

What I remember most from that gathering is Randy’s talk. Support for All Saint’s ministry and mission is a good form of “regifting.” How is this true? Click to read more.

This past Sunday, we reflected with gratitude on the outreach work that we do and on the impact that All Saints’ has in our community. Lives are changed every day because of the work God does through this parish. Thank you to everyone who completed this week’s gratitude survey. The survey can be completed online here. And all are invited to take part in the discussion about our reflection prompt on the All Saints’ Facebook page and on Realm. Thank you for joining us on this journey of gratitude! We are so grateful for you.

All Saints’ is taking over the recently-renovated Gem Theatre in Kannapolis on Saturday, October 26 at 9:30 AM as a fundraiser to benefit the Concord/Kannapolis PFLAG chapter! The theatre will be ours for the morning, so let’s fill up the seats with all the saints and your friends! In celebration of this slightly spooky season and La Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), we saints will be screening the Disney/PIXAR movie "Coco" on the big screen! This will be a family event that will be appropriate for all ages (this movie is rated PG). "Coco" is filled with moving music and the tenderness of family relationships. You are invited to come in your favorite costumes, too, if you like! Concessions will be available but are not included in the cost of your ticket.

#VoteFaithfullySunday | All Cabarrus County Early Voting sites are open not only Thursday and Friday this week but every day next week starting Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Sunday sites are also open in Rowan, Union, and Mecklenburg. Use the State Board of Elections Early Voting Sites tool for more information. For Cabarrus sites, there is a Wait Time webpage.

You are invited to experience the beauty of holiness on All Saints’ Sunday, November 3, at the 11:10 AM service where the Choir of All Saints’ will be accompanied by violin and cello. Music for this service is particularly beautiful and introspective, giving us an opportunity to find the light in the darkness, and to commune with saints that we see, and the ones we see no longer.

Wanna feed some hungry youths?! Sign Up to Provide EYC Meals! Our youth programs are growing and we need your help to feed everyone on Sunday nights. If this is an area you (or your ministry team) are interested in helping out with, please know we have plenty of grateful bellies you can fill! Click to sign up! Contact Tiffany Fulton for details.

Investiture of Presiding Bishop-elect Sean Rowe on Saturday, November 2 | As Episcopal congregations and dioceses across the church plan local watch parties to celebrate the Nov. 2 investiture service of Presiding Bishop-elect Sean Rowe, all are invited to tune in to the event webpage for the livestream link. The 11 AM ET service will also be live streamed to The Episcopal Church’s Facebook page.

Apple Pies for Honduras Fundraiser | The Stegmans will be participating in another medical mission to Honduras in March 2025. Once again, they are joining with Friends Of Barnabas, as they have over the past several years. This is an extremely effective organization, and further information about their work can be found here.

Each medical team must raise $11,500 to offset cost of medical supplies. To that end, the Stegmans are making and selling apple pies. The pies will be made on Saturday November 9, in plenty of time for the holidays. Pies will be frozen and ready for pickup afterwards. The cost is $25 per pie. Cash or checks made out to Friends of Barnabas/los manos team, in advance are much appreciated. Pies can be purchased after Sunday services for the next several weeks. You can email Debbie Stegman by finding her in Realm, or talk directly with Debbie, Joe Stegman, or Julia Hill at church.

Lastly, have you ever wondered how we turn out upwards of 125 pies in 4 hours? We would love to show you and welcome you on November 9, in the All Saints’ kitchen from 9 AM to 1 PM.

Advent Small Group Studies to Start the Week of November 11 As we head toward Christmas, we enter into a time of expectant waiting and spiritual preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ during Advent. This year you are invited to join other parishioners in small groups to study Not a Silent Night: Mary Looks Back to Bethlehem by Adam Hamilton. Each small group will have a convener to guide the conversation after watching a short video. Advent small groups will begin the week of November 11 and end the week of December 16. There will be five Zoom gatherings, which will run

for about an hour. Stay tuned for the days and times for the groups. Please contact

Chuck Collier if you would like to convene a small group Advent Study.

Our next week to serve at the Center of Hope Night Shelter is November 17 –November 23 | We still have 5 nights left to fill! This is the week before Thanksgiving and some folks that regularly volunteer will be out of town so it's a good opportunity for you to try a new outreach ministry! Call, text, or Realm Gary (the guitar guy) Kovar if you have questions or are interested in helping. Please prayerfully consider how you, your family, small group, or ministry can help out. The commitment is less than 2 hours of your time plus food. This is a great chance to love our neighbors!

We offer condolences and prayers for the family and friends of Dr. William "Bill" Cottrell, who entered the Resurrection on October 16. Please keep Bill's wife Rebecca as well as their children and loved ones in your prayers. Bill's Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, November 16 at 11 AM. Choirs are invited to help lead congregational singing. Reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Aya House, 1572 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis, NC 28083. May Bill and all the departed rest in Christ's peace and be raised with Him in glory.

We offer condolences and prayers for the family and friends of Geoffrey William Klag, father of Tiffany Fulton, who entered into the Resurrection on Friday, October 4, 2024. Please keep Tiffany, Steve, Bernadette, and Rosalie Fulton as well as the extended family in your prayers. Read Geoff's obituary here.

Tree Giveaway Report from Mark Robinson | Last Saturday we completed our sixth year of giving away free trees as part of our Creation Care ministry. As of this year we have given away over 1500 trees which if all of them lived for 20 years would achieve these outcomes for planet earth, our island home:

• Absorb 11,000 pounds of air pollutants
• Save over 3.5 million kW hours of energy
• Sequester over 6 million pounds of carbon from the atmosphere
• Filter over 27 million gallons of storm water

Last Saturday was the culmination of 6 months of work in partnership with the City of Concord, Carolina Power Partners, the Cannon Foundation, the NC Cooperative Extension, and the Arbor Day Foundation. I am very proud to tell you that the City of Concord is currently the only city in North Carolina offering this program, and that All Saints’ Episcopal Church is the ONLY faith community in the entire United States to co-sponsor this program called Energy Saving Trees. A team of 16 volunteers from the Cabarrus County Extension Master gardeners and 20 volunteers from All Saints’ gave away 240 trees to Concord homeowners and provided hands on demonstration stations on how to plant, mulch, and water trees. The leftover trees were given to church members and their friends, family, and neighbors who will plant and enjoy them.  

Thank you to all our volunteers and to this church for supporting this ministry that will care for Creation for years to come. 

You are invited to join the study of "John: The Gospel of Light and Life" on Sundays, through November 17, during the 10 AM Adult Christian Formation hour. Let's experience a season of spiritual growth and life-changing renewal during a six-week study of Adam Hamilton’s John: The Gospel of Light and Life. We’ll follow the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus through the Gospel of John and understand the context of some of the best-known verses in the New Testament. Chuck Collier will lead the discussion following a short video at the start of each session. Please purchase the book, which is available on Amazon for $15.52. Questions? Contact Chuck Collier.

Prayer is the foundation of the ministry of this parish. If you would like to request prayers, please share here. If you are hospitalized, please let the church know. If you are unable to make the call yourself, ask for the chaplain on call and they will make it for you. The church phone number is 704-782-2024.

Prayers have been requested for Mary, Kris, Jen, Amanda, Monica, Sutton, Tom, Suzann, Kam, Felicity, Megan, and Fannie.