November 12, 2026

In Person Worship This Week: St. Cyprian

To you I lift up my eyes, 

Psalm 123

Announcements

Pete Haithcock's 80th Birthday- Please join Henrietta to celebrate Pete's birthday after the 10:15 service on November 15th. She is trying to surprise Pete if possible! She is having food and has invited other members of the community to this joyous occasion.

Interfaith Service – An Interfaith Thanksgiving service is set for Tuesday, November 17, at Tartan Hall. Attendees are being asked to bring a non-perishable food and items for CareNet.

Stewardship In Gathering will be November 29, 2026, please have your pledge ready by then! You will find your card inserted in your bulletin. There are envelopes at the back of the church for your use or fold them and put them in the offering plate. You can also drop off yours at the office.  

Christmas Party – Join us for the annual Christmas Party on Saturday, December 12, from 6:00–8:30 pm, at St. Agnes Parish Hall. Enjoy an evening of fun, fellowship, and delicious food. Tickets are $20 per person and will be available until December 6. There will be more information to come!

Christmas Poinsettias – There will be no flower dedications during the season of Advent. However, if you would like to dedicate a poinsettia in honor of a loved one on Christmas Day, please sign up on the Flower Sign Up Sheet located on the back table at St. Agnes or in the narthex at St. Cyprian.

Coat Drive – There is a box for coat donations in the St. Agnes Parish Hall and St. Cyprian's Parish Hall.

Eucharist & Healing Service– The service will be on Wednesday, November 18, at 11:30 am at St. Agnes. Come join us for a Eucharist & Healing Service Everyone is welcome!

Yoga- All Saints is offering yoga, with an insured, certified instructor, for $10/class! Our next class is on Saturday, November 14, at 10:00 am, at St. Cyprian Parish Hall. We do have a few mats available for folks who don't have their own to bring.

Meet with Father E.R.- Father E.R. would love the opportunity to meet each parishioner. If you have not had the chance to sit down with him and share your story, call the office to set up a meeting.

5^th Sunday- Our next 5^th Sunday is November 29, 9AM, at St. Cyprian’s. Bring finger food and light hors d'oeuvres to share after the service!

2026 Annual Diocesan Convention of the Diocese of Western North Carolina

The 104th Annual Convention took place Saturday November 7th at the Lake Logan Conference Center. All Saints was represented by Father E.R., Lay Delegates John Russell and Dawn Armfield and Lee Berger in her capacity as a member of the Executive Council of the Diocese. Clergy, delegates, committee members, parishioners and guests from over 60 parishes attended.

The event began with Morning Prayer, music and a heartfelt sermon given by The Right Reverend Shannon Duckworth, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. Bishop Duckworth acknowledged the resilience the people of our diocese have shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene recognizing our strong faith and belief in the risen Jesus Christ. She encouraged the people of our diocese to have the same faith and belief in the months to come as we do the important work as a diocese to call, elect and welcome our next bishop to our diocese.

The day continued with two business sessions that included elections for the people who will be serving the diocese on the various councils and committees, presentation of the 2027 Diocesan Budget, the reading of two resolutions addressing Parish Giving to the Diocese in support of Diocesan ministries and establishing the minimum Clergy Compensation for 2027, previously approved by the Executive Council.

There was voting on two resolutions that amended two Canons of the WNC Diocese - one concerning the election and filling of vacancies on the Standing Committee and the second addressing the length of time required to the licensing of clergy who are not Canonically Resident in the Diocese by the bishop to follow the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. Both Resolutions were passed by clergy and delegates present at convention.

There was also the presentation of two resolutions as business of the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church - one concerning the authorization of use of communal and devotional prayers that shall enrich the church’s cultural, geographical and linguistic contexts and the second amendment addressing the increase of the possible number of bishops suffragans allowed in a Diocese.

Of great interest to All Saints, Lee Berger was elected to serve on the Diocesan Standing Committee. During this time of transition, the work of the Standing Committee is particularly important as the committee has oversight over much of the Diocesan business including staff and clergy matters during this time of transition. Lee brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the committee from her past service on the Executive Council and other diocesan councils and committees. Congratulations Lee!

While there was much work to be addressed and accomplished at this year’s convention, there was also time to meet and fellowship with other parishes across our diocese. There was a real sense of the Holy Spirit at work giving us hope and faith in the work we do together in our service to Jesus Christ. We have much to be thankful for and much to pray about as we look to the coming year and the election of our 8th Diocesan Bishop which will take place on July 24, 2027 at Trinity Church, Asheville. I want to thank our parish for electing John Russell and me to be delegates at this year’s convention. Anyone in our parish may run for election at the annual meeting and I hope next year we will have more people put their name on the ballot.

Submitted by Dawn Armfield

HVAC Repair Completed at St. Agnes

All Saints Episcopal Church in Franklin received funding from The Episcopal Foundation of Western North Carolina to replace a 20-year-old aging HVAC system in the historic St. Agnes Chapel. The Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded in 1963 by then Bishop Henry with an initial gift from Charles Timson.

The Foundation is independent from the Episcopal Diocese of WNC and uses investment income to award grants to parishes and institutions in the Diocese for repairs, renovations, capital improvements and building projects. Without the financial assistance, these projects could not be done.

All Saints Episcopal Church, St Agnes Chapel thanks the Foundation for their grant. And those parishioners sitting in the pews thank the Foundation also.

This event offers new and experienced vestry leaders a chance to gain insight into the various roles and responsibilities of the Vestry. It will include afternoon workshops on stewardship, finances, and congregational development.

INFO & REGISTRATION

February 27 | 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Trinity, Asheville

Dear Siblings in Christ, 

The Search Committee is honored to be called to this work and discernment and are grateful for the support and prayers we have received from across the diocese. We had 1226 responses to the August survey and almost 200 participants in the listening sessions during the first week of October.

We now invite you to further participate in the process of discernment by attending one of six in-person Information Sessions. These sessions are to update you, the people of the diocese, on the search process and to give those present the opportunity to share your thoughts and opinions and to ask questions of the Search Committee.

The sessions are on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 in Rutherforton, Boone, Highlands, Waynesville, Lincolnton, and Mars Hill and give thanks to each of these communities for hosting us. We chose these locations to reach as many people as possible in the diocese. Our goal was for most everyone to be within an hour of a session. We will also have an online session.

St. Francis, Rutherfordton | November 15 | 3:00 p.m.

St. Luke’s, Boone | November 15 | 3:00 p.m.

Church of the Incarnation, Highlands | December 6 | 3:00 p.m.

Grace Church in the Mountains, Waynesville | December 6 | 3:00 p.m.

St. Luke’s, Lincolnton | December 13 | 3:00 p.m.

Church of the Holy Spirit, Mars Hill | December 13 | 3:00 p.m.

Online | December 3 | 7:00 p.m.

Bible Study

Join us for our weekly Men's & Women's Bible Studies!

Women's Bible Study meets Mondays at 10:00 am.

Men's Bible Study meets Thursdays at 10:30 am.

We are studying the gospel of John. Bring any translation of the Bible.

We gather at St. Agnes Parish Hall. All are welcome!

Next week's Bible Study is cancelled.

Next Meeting:

Women's Bible Study - Monday, November 16

Men's Bible Study - Thursday, November 19

Guest Preachers

We are delighted to welcome distinguished guest preachers to All Saints this fall. The next date will be November 22 with The Rev. Kevin Todd. Check the All Saints website for more details and their bios.

Guest preachers will preach services at both 8 am and 10:15 am. Fr. E.R. will be our celebrant.

Outreach Ministry

Food Pantry- Please continue to bring items for our "Little Free Food Pantry" for those in need. Your donations will be accepted any day. There is a designated shopping cart in the foyer of the parish hall at St. Agnes and also a designated bin inside the parish hall at St. Cyprian’s.  Please do not place fresh foods, i.e. fresh fruits or vegetables, in the free food pantry; though we have a lot of people using the food in the pantry, the frequency of people using it is not high enough to ensure that fresh food does not spoil.

Downtown Door is collecting men's clothing.

All Saints Outreach meets the fourth Sunday of each month during coffee hour. The next meeting will be Sunday, November 22, at St. Cyprian following the 10:15 am service. Come get your treats and see how we can lift up our community together! 



Ladies’ Social- The ladies breakfast meets every Tuesday morning at 9:00 am at Shoney’s Restaurant. All women are welcome to join us.

Men’s Breakfast– The men meet every Wednesday morning at 8:30 am at Normandie Restaurant for breakfast. All men are welcome to join us.

November 16  

Pete Haithcock

November 18  

Bo Bryant

November 19

 Angelina Carpenter

November 21

Barbara Gagliardo

Are you keeping up with all the news about the ministry of our Diocese?

The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina sends out an e-News every Wednesday.

To subscribe, go to this link: https://www.diocesewnc.org/newsletter