March 20, 2025 Edition

“Lent is a time for introspection and self reflection, time to reflect on the core of what it means to live a Christian life in the midst of great change and uncertainty.” This statement comes from the introduction of our Lenten resource Living Well Through Lent. How do I focus on living a Christian life when I am bombarded with local, national, and world news that overwhelms me and seems to keep me from this goal?

For me, I have chosen to try to make a difference in the lives of four 1st and 2nd graders at Fred L. Wilson Elementary School. This ministry is supported by the Academic Learning Center and All Saints’. At present, seven volunteers meet for one or two hours a week with 21 students that need a little support with phonics, vocabulary, or reading fluency. Our goal is to help them reach their grade level in reading. 

But there is so much more happening in our sessions. There are connections made and relationships formed. I see the excitement when they sound out a difficult word or read an entire page without mistakes! I see a child building confidence. I see a child that knows they are special and successful! I see a child of God that fills my heart with joy! 

This is a special ministry with a small but mighty impact and recently the people of All Saints’ have supported this ministry with your monetary donations to the FLW Book Fair. Thank you to all who donated and supported us in prayer. Thanks to your generosity, we have exceeded our goal of $500, which will enable 25 students to buy two books each, who otherwise would not have been able.

I may not be able to change much at the national level, but I can make a difference in our community. It’s a small act of faith delivered with love.

Volunteers are the life blood of our parish and having access to various parts of the building is “key” to facilitating their ministries. (Yep, bad pun.) To understand where all of the building keys are, we’re doing a key inventory. If you have a key of any kind that is associated with the All Saints' campus, please send an email to the Church Administrator with YOUR NAME and KEYS in the subject line. In the email, please list which keys you have by noting what as imprinted on each (ex: AA, dog key, GMK). We'd like to get all keys accounted for by Monday, March 31. Thank you!

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.

Be an Engaged Citizen! Advocacy Day 2025 Postcard Campaign | The General Assembly is in session in Raleigh considering many bills that will impact North Carolinians. Do you want to express yourself on an issue you feel passionately about? The Diocese of North Carolina is conducting a postcard campaign as part of Advocacy Day 2025. A team will take your messages to the General Assembly this spring! See or contact Martin Ericson for a postcard and further instructions. Cards should be returned to the church office by Thursday, April 10, so we may ship them to Diocesan House. For more details, see the Advocacy Day 2025 website.

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.

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: Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America. This week from the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer we pray for: St. Stephen’s, Erwin; and Trinity, Fuquay-Varina. This week from the Parish Cycle of Prayer we pray for: Barb Adams, Jim Adams, and Katie Adams.

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

Congratulations to our own Jennifer Cook and her talented students in the Cox Mill High School Chamber Choir for their scores of Superior in Music Performance and Sight Reading this week in competition, scoring at the highest level!

Congratulations to Martin Ericson for the well-deserved honor of being named Distinguished Rotarian for the Rotary Club of Cabarrus County!