April 10, 2025 Edition

In the Episcopal Church, Holy Week is a deeply sacred time marking events in the last week of Jesus’ life. More than simply days of remembrance, Holy Week observances – prayer, worship, and reflection – are spiritual disciplines. They form hearts through the rhythms of sacred ritual. Moving through Holy Week offers insight into how God is continuing to work today through celebration and suffering, despair, and hope. Whether praying individually or participating in special liturgies, you are invited into a deeper connection with God through reflection and silence. Scripture is not only read but embodied in the liturgies – through spoken word, music, and symbolic action.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, celebrating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This year we will stay with that part of the story a bit longer and end our worship with the crucifixion as recorded by St. Luke. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we hear stories of Jesus’ interactions with ordinary people and his closest disciples, leading us to his final meal with them on Thursday, which is known as “Maundy Thursday” (“maundy” means mandate). Click to continue reading.

Thursday, April 17 is Maundy Thursday, the night we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. Have you signed up to attend the dinner in our Parish Hall? Tomorrow, Friday, April 11, is the last day for sign ups on-line. Please do sign up so we can have enough for everyone but not waste anything. If you can help with set up, serving or clean up, please contact Kathy Thompson or Guy Antonides. Their information is in Realm.

Wanna fill some Easter Eggs?! You're invited to pick up a bag of Easter Eggs to fill with individually wrapped candy and return them for our Easter Egg Hunt and Parish Breakfast on Easter II, which is Sunday, April 27 at 10 AM. The bags will be available to pick up in the Welcome Center starting THIS Sunday! Questions? Contact Tiffany Fulton.

Holy Week Helpers Needed! Next week, there will be multiple worship gatherings with receptions, called Revels. Volunteers are needed for prep work, setup, drinks, cleanup, providing savory, fresh, sweet foods as well as kid-friendly treats. Here are the main events we could really use your help with:

• Revels after 8:30 PM Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 19
• Revels after the 9 AM Easter Service on Sunday, April 20
• Revels after the 11:10 AM Easter Service on Sunday, April 20
• Breakfast at 10 AM on Sunday, April 27

Of course, you can join in more than once! Your support will make these joyful gatherings possible. Please contact Kathy Thompson, Mary Beth Ward-Bowman, or Guy Antonides to tell us how and when you’d like to help. Their contact information is in Realm.

Good Friday services offer three unique worship experiences. At 11 AM in the Parish Hall, you are invited to a “Live Stations of the Cross,” an interactive and dynamic interpretation of the final moments of Jesus as offered by the All Saints’ Episcopal Youth Group. We are inviting parishioners to stay for the Noon Solemn Liturgy Service in the Nave. At 7 PM, members of EfM will lead "Good Friday Grace: Monologues on the Crucifixion." These services provide opportunities to meditate anew on the cross of Christ.

Come enjoy our Family Easter Vigil in the Parish Hall on Saturday at 7 PM as our youth and children re-create the stories that make our biblical history rich and the resurrection of Jesus so powerful. All are welcome!

All Saints’ welcomes Amanda Crowley as Church Administrator! Amanda grew up in a small town in western Kentucky. She and her husband Daniel were married in 2006. They moved to North Carolina for the first time in 2007 and served together at a church in Statesville. In 2016, they returned to Kentucky to work in student ministry, returning again to North Carolina in 2022, this time to Concord. Amanda graduated from Murray State University in 2006 with a bachelors’ degree in marketing. She has worked in a variety of capacities – from a church office manager to a teacher assistant – throughout her career. She is excited to join the team at All Saints’ and to become part of a church family that truly welcomes everyone. Amanda has found purpose in serving in many areas across the church and community for many years, including student ministry, recovery ministry, parent/teacher organizations, and social activism. She’s looking forward to learning about and getting plugged into new causes and organizations that All Saints’ partners with. 

Amanda loves nothing more than spending time with her family, her husband David and their children Jillan, Jocelyn and Joel. They can usually be found having fun outside, watching their Jillian and Jocelyn perform at the theater, visiting the zoo or any other place they can enjoy God’s creation. They also love spending time with their furry, four-legged family members, too.

Amanda will be working a limited schedule through the end of the school year after which she will join the All Saints’ staff on a full-time basis. 

We are so grateful for the expertise of Melissa Goodwin, who has served in the role of Interim Church Administrator since the beginning of February. She will continue to work in that capacity until May 2. A huge thank you to Melissa for taking care of the daily business of All Saints' during this transition.

What was special about our Stitches From the Saints' meeting on April 8? As usual, the attendance was good and the ingathering (11 new shawls) was fantastic! Conversation and laughter filled the Welcome Center. We examined the crocheted and knitted prayer shawls, admiring the yarns chosen, the patterns crafted and the color combinations used.

With nearly half our attending stitchers being from the United Kingdom, we enjoyed hot cross buns, baked by our sweet Felicity, with our tea or coffee. These are a British tradition at Easter time. We also did a little research on the nursery rhyme: "Hot cross buns. One a penny, two a penny. Hot cross buns." If you are interested in joining these wonderful times, please contact Jan Millar.

The Fred L. Wilson book fair fundraiser was a huge success! Thank you to all that donated! We collected over $1,400. We donated $500 to the Spring Book Fair and have created an account with the remainder for future book fairs. We supported over 30 students who would not have had the opportunity to participate without your generosity!

Can you help for a few hours? We are looking for 2-3 people who can help us for one morning or one afternoon per week. You would be the smiling face and warm voice that folks would encounter when visiting our Welcome Center. It’s generally very quiet, and you have time to catch up on your reading, knitting, or favorite crossword puzzles. But your being there to answer calls that come in and to accept packages at the door are a huge help to the Office staff. Plus it’s fun to catch up with parishioners who come in. Please call or email the Church Administrator to become Welcome Center Volunteers!

A new Bible Study, “The Sermon on the Mount,” will begin Friday April 25 from 10-11 AM in the Church Parlor and continue each Friday for six weeks through May. We will be using videos from Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish scholar and popular author of a book by the same name. All are welcome, and you are encouraged to bring a friend! If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Waller or Barbara Lewis through Realm.

Climate Justice Event on April 29 | The United Women in Faith of Central United Methodist Church will host a climate justice event "Global Grace" on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 from 6:30-8:00 PM in the Coltrane Room (lower level) at 30 Union Street N, Concord. The speakers will be June Blotnick, former executive director of CleanAIRE NC and Ken Griffin, a local climate advocate. Make plans to attend!

Hospice Grief Camp | Children ages 6-16 are welcome to join in healing and fun activities at Wings to Soar Camp, a special camp for children and teens dealing with the loss of a loved one. The camp will be held Monday, June 9-Thursday, June 12 at Atrium Health Ballpark, Kannapolis. Click for more information.

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 England

This week from the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer we pray for: St. Andrew’s, Greensboro;

St. Barnabas’, Greensboro; St. Francis’, Greensboro

This week from the Parish Cycle of Prayer we pray for: Emily Badgett, Joelle Bailey, Rebecca Bahn & John Erickson

This week prayers have also been requested for: A father with cancer, Mary, Tom, Eileen, Carol, JoAnn, Jake, Marisa, Don, Jake, and Ann.