March 13, 2025 Edition

On the Day of Commemoration of The Right Reverend James Theodore Holly

James Theodore Holly, was the first African-American Bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Born in 1829 in Washington, D.C., the son of two freed slaves, Holly moved to Brooklyn, New York with his family at 14. Holly met Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists as a young man. After marrying his wife, Charlotte, in 1852, he joined the Episcopal Church primarily because it ordained African-Americans to the priesthood. After a short time living in Canada, he returned to the United States to become the principal of a Buffalo, New York public school. Holly studied theology and was ordained a Deacon in June 1855 and later a Priest in January 1856. 

He became a co-founder of the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Church Among Colored People, which advocated against slavery at General Convention. Holly was Rector at St Luke’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut until 1861. He traveled to Haiti and began to advocate for the emigration of free African-Americans to that country where former slaves had led a successful revolt against French colonial rule. Haiti became the first republic led by African-Americans in the Western hemisphere. Holly believed that bringing Anglicanism to Haiti would help to stabilize and develop the country more expeditiously. Click here to read more. 

THIS Sunday is the last day to donate to help kids buy books! The Fred L. Wilson (FLW) mentor program through the Academic Learning Center is a ministry with All Saints’ volunteers, who tutor first and second graders. FLW is a Title I school that supports low-income families to improve academic achievement and provide a high-quality education.

Their Spring Book Fair is coming soon. If you would like to make a monetary donation to allow students who otherwise would not be able to purchase a book, you can donate by check or by Giving via Realm. In Realm, add the amount you'd like to give, then scroll down in the fund space to find "FLW Book Fair" to earmark the funds. Checks can be made out to ASEC with a notation of "FLW Book Fair," in the memo line. The school’s guidance counselor and media specialist will coordinate the disbursement of funds to identified students. Questions? Contact Karen Robinson. Her information is in Realm.

Labyrinth available March 7-17 in Parish Hall | The labyrinth design at All Saints’ is based on the labyrinth from Chartres. It will be available to all to walk in the Parish Hall, March 7-17, during times when the church is open. Rev. Nancy has prepared two pamphlets to aid those who are new to this spiritual practice. One pamphlet offers suggestions on how to pray the Labyrinth. The other provides scripture passages to meditate on. Both are available in the Parish Hall. Please note that shoes are not appropriate on the canvas labyrinth. Please either remove your shoes or use the shoe covers provided. To learn more about praying the labyrinth, please read Rev. Nancy's article from Lent last year.

Stations of the Cross in Nave and around All Saints' grounds | Laminated copies of the fourteen Stations of the Cross have been posted on the grounds of All Saints’ beginning at the top of the stairs to the right of the columbarium. Use the QR code provided on the posters to access All Saints' online meditation and prayer guide. You can also click here. This Lent you are invited to participate in this spiritual practice.

Hey! Do you have the time? Have you ever wondered about getting a bit more involved at All Saints’ but aren’t quite sure what you’d like to do – or how to do it? Whether your schedule is full or you have lots of free time, All Saints’ offers so many opportunities to participate that there’s something for just about any interest. Here are just a few ideas, depending on your availability:

• I have a few hours a week: read to children at the Academic Learning Center, join one of our choirs, help with building maintenance, become a Welcome Center volunteer, attend the weekly Men’s Group gathering
• I have a couple of days each month: become a chalice bearer, join one of our many awesome committees, take flowers and/or communion to a shut-in after services, help keep our grounds looking wonderful with our Creation Care team, lead a Sunday School class
• I’d like to help with an event or two: consider Tour de Saints, After Dark @ All Saints, or the Feed Your Neighbors ministry
• I can’t commit to anything regular, but I can step up if needed: prepare food for a funeral reception, help with the Easter Breakfast or Chili Cook Off or Maundy Thursday, make a meal for the EYC kids

These are just some of the many ways to engage further with All Saints’ ministries, parishioners, and the wider community. To find a more complete list, click HERE to view our Ministry Contacts list on the parish website. Our mission is to be a church of disciples making disciples for Jesus. Your participation helps to further this mission!

This summer the Cabarrus Arts Council is hosting two weeks of summer camps! Material Exploration (visual arts) June 9-13 and Choir Camp for Young Voices June 23-27. The choir camp will be hosted at First Presbyterian with Jacqui Yost facilitating. Find out more about these wonderful opportunities by clicking here. Early-bird pricing available until March 22. 

Applications are being accepted for a wide variety of educational scholarships from The Episcopal Church for the 2025-2026 academic year. The deadline to apply online is April 4. All applicants must be Episcopalian. Scholarships are derived from annual income of designated trust funds established by generous donors through bequests to The Episcopal Church. The listing of trust funds and scholarships includes information related to the intended use of scholarship funds. A number of these scholarships are designated for students enrolled in theological education and training. Others provide modest scholarships for children of missionaries, bishops or clergy, as well as other groups covering a wide range of eligibility.  When funds are available, the maximum award is $10,000 per student. Click here for educational scholarship details.

Introduction to Dismantling Racism: Reclaiming Our Baptismal Promise is an interactive workshop offered by the diocese via Zoom. It is designed to deepen spiritual commitment to dismantling racism as participants in the Jesus Movement. Through presentations, prayer, story sharing, videos and small group discussion, participants explore how the sin of racism impacts all lives.

Only one training – March 21-22, 2025 – remains during the spring before there is a summer break in the workshop schedule. All class times are 5-8 PM on Friday, and 9 AM-1:30 PM on Saturday.

Feast for the Spirit, A Community-Wide Gathering for Women, Saturday, April 5, 6-8:30 PM | Join Central United Methodist Church's Jubilee-Ward Circle for Feast for the Spirit, a community-wide gathering for women. The inspiring evening will include dinner with guest speaker Kate Bowler. Kate Bowler is a New York Times bestselling author of books including The Lives We Actually Have, the host of the popular podcast Everything Happens, and Professor of Religious History at Duke University. Click here for details.

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.

This week from the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for: The Church of the Province of Central Africa. This week from the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer we pray for: St. Luke’s, Eden; Church of the Epiphany, Eden; Galloway Memorial Church, Elkin. This week from the Parish Cycle of Prayer we pray for: Dave Abernethy, Karen Ackerman, and Catherine Ackiss.

This week prayers have also been requested for: Jake, Ann and Heather.

The Tuesdays at Three book discussion group will be studying Adam Hamilton’s book on the Gospel of Luke from March 4 to April 8. In the Book of Common Prayer, the liturgy for Ash Wednesday invites Christians “to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word” (p. 265). You are cordially invited to participate in this weekly Zoom meeting to learn more about this Gospel of Compassion. Contact Charles McKinley, Ruth Bratton, Brenda Trott, or Kathy Thompson for the link. (Contacts' information in Realm.)