November 16, 2023 Edition

Recently, I read an article published by the Harvard Medical School about the fact that expressing gratitude, even when you don’t think there is a lot to be grateful for, will not only make you grateful but happier. Apparently, some people are more naturally grateful than others, which may come from having inherited a particular gene. Even if we haven’t been blessed with that gene, we can actively choose to practice gratitude and that will make us happier. Somehow the brain takes that grateful attitude, even when you can’t see a lot to be thankful for, and processes it into happiness. Choosing to focus on good things makes you feel better than focusing on the bad. It also brings out the best in others around us.

Gratitude is, not surprisingly, the focus of our Gospel text for Thanksgiving Day. Click here to read more.

Many of our neighbors are facing food insecurity at Thanksgiving. This year in particular, Cooperative Christian Ministry is stretched to the limit. They are “getting very low on everything.” Please help your neighbors by bringing in shelf stable food to church THIS Sunday, November 19. Requested foods include: Canned vegetables and fruit, Cereal, Diced tomatoes, Soups, stews, chili, Canned pasta, Pasta and pasta sauce, Peanut butter, Rice and beans. You can also make monetary donations online by using the graphic above or by check payable to All Saints’ with “CCM Food Bank” on the memo line. Questions? Contact Don Foskey.

We are moving into the season where giving is top of mind. At the same time, the church is moving toward finishing up its year with people fulfilling their 2023 estimates of giving.



I don’t give because of income tax benefits, but if I can realize tax savings while giving what I had already planned to give, more to the good. Here are two ideas – one available to everyone and one that is only available to seniors. Click to read more.

You are invited to an Advent Study, starting November 29, on Wednesdays at 7 PM on Zoom.

It’s not within our own power to make a fresh start. If we’re to have a future different from the past, it must come as a gift, something not of our devising. What we need is a God who refuses to be trapped in eternity, a God who not only cares about us, but is willing to show up among us and do something with us, here, now.

In Heaven and Earth: Advent and the Incarnation, Will Willimon introduces us to the God who does just that, bringing heaven to earth and changing everything. In Advent we celebrate and anticipate the earth-shaking, life-transforming good news that God is coming to us. Watch out. Get ready. God is on the way.

Contact Chuck Collier or Karen Robinson for more information and the Zoom link.

This Advent, we have chosen “Faithful – Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph,” by Adam Hamilton. We will start the week before Thanksgiving, Tuesday, November 14, 2023, then skip the week of Thanksgiving (11/21), and continue through Tuesday, December 19. Joseph provides us a great example of humbly obeying God, even when we don't understand, and faithfully moving forward in the strength that God provides. Exchange your doubt for courage this Advent and Christmas season as we read, meditate, and discuss that great Biblical example of humility and faithfulness – Joseph. Contact Brenda Trott or Charles McKinley for more information about our Zoom book study.

The opportunity for All Saints' to prepare and serve meals at the Center of Hope Night Shelter in Concord is upon us! Our next week to serve those in need is Sunday November 26 through Saturday December 2. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are already filled, but we have four other opportunities! If you are interested, contact Jim Williams. He can provide more information and answer any questions. If you’re interested in just "shadowing” to see if this is something you might want to do in the future, let Jim know and he will gladly do that with you. What a wonderful opportunity to consider helping those less fortunate than ourselves as we enter the Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

Annual Christmas Concerts by the 60 Voice Piedmont Choral Society on Friday, December 1 at 7 PM and Sunday, December 3 at 3 PM at Calvary Lutheran Church. Come enjoy familiar carols and songs of the season, with a professional orchestra! This is a free event. Click for details.

Announcements during Sunday worship services are to be given by the Vestry Person of the Month (VPOM). Please submit any content for verbal announcements to the VPOM. Only events or information about the week ahead will be shared during worship services. The November VPOM is Jack Jones.

Stitches From the Saints meets once a month to present the work of our hands. This month, we received 26 prayer shawls! There is so much joy and fellowship in our monthly meetings. Parishioners are invited to shop from our shawl stash to bring comfort to the hurting. There is a sign-out book so we can keep a record of who has given the shawl and who receives it. For more information, contact Jan Millar.

All Saints' Gardens Team Update | Many thanks to all the volunteers who worked to create a new native plant garden at All Saints! We are thankful for: Doug Vernon with the School Gardens at the Plants for Human Health Institute, which donated the plants; Hope Duckworth (Cabarrus master gardeners), who donated the design; the City of Concord workers, who brought two loads of free wood chip mulch; Cabarrus Cycling Company, which donated many cardboard bike boxes, with special thanks to Phil Heydt; and to the All Saints' Gardens team members and Cabarrus master gardeners, who did the sheet mulching, spread compost to create the bed, and planted the 33 native plants!

Most of the plants have gone to sleep for the winter so the garden isn't much to look at now, but with faith and hope we await their rebirth this spring.  

Our goal is to have everyone return an Estimate of Giving card for 2024. Thank you to all who did so during the ingathering on All Saints' Sunday! You can also chose to complete your 2024 Estimate of Giving on Realm by tapping "Giving" or online by clicking here.

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 Dick, Ted, Patricia, Carolyn, Marisa, and Rebeccah.

We offer condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Charles Seaford, uncle of Jennifer Cook, who entered the Resurrection on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, after many years of MS and a heart attack lastweek. As Jennifer shares, "While we are sad that he is no longer with us on earth, we know that he has been healed and made whole in the presence of God."

We offer condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Frances Ruffin, mother of Teri Jones, who entered the Resurrection on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, following a long illness.

We offer condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Tyler Rosenblatt, grandnephew of Rebecca Bahn, who died suddenly. May God provide comfort during this difficult time.