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SAINTS Alive! THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PARISH All Saints’ Church Chelmsford, MA March 2006
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SAINTS Alive! THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PARISH All Saints’ Church Chelmsford, MA March 2006
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From the Rector
This Lent, we will continue our Season of Mission by welcoming Nancy and Gerry Hardison, missionaries serving in Kenya. They will preach on the March 5th, the first Sunday in Lent. Nan is a retired Professor of Business from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. Gerry retired from the University of California, San Diego as Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology. For the last four years they have been serving as Episcopal missionaries in Maseno, Kenya. She is the Principal of St. Philip’s Theological College, a training school for Anglican priest and lay leaders. He is the Director of Maseno Mission Hospital.
When I think of mission and missionaries, the image of traveling to faraway lands immediately comes to mind. The Hardisons represent the best of the noble and sacrificial work of sharing Jesus’ love, healing and knowledge. In Kenya, they have found a vibrant, hopeful and spirit-filled people and Church. I think that we will all be inspired and challenged by their example.
Mission is not only about serving Christ far away. It is any act in which we join God’s work of reconciling love. We are missionaries when we do something as simple as bring flowers to a person who is shut in, feed the hungry, or teach a child about the love of Christ. In each of these simple acts we help break down the barriers between God and us through an act of love.
This Lent let us challenge ourselves to consider how we already are missionaries and how we might join God as missionaries. Let us encourage each other and consider new ways we might serve Christ. Who knows what blessings we will find around the corner or across the globe?
Peace,
Tom
Last month, Tom informed the parish...
Mission Sunday: The Outreach Committee designated Sunday, February 12th as Mission Sunday, and planned to welcome the Rev. Dr. Ted Gaiser, Deacon, as a guest preacher. Mission would not, however, be a one-Sunday event. February 12th was to launch a number of Sunday sermons and activities focusing on mission through this winter and spring.
As a deacon Ted Gaiser is committed to a ministry of service and proclaiming the Gospel. His ministry has focused on helping congregations in the diocese establish companion partnerships with other congregations and groups locally and around the world. Our Bishops have commissioned him to this task as a way for the congregations in the diocese to actualize the diocesan goal of every congregation being in a relationship with another congregation or organization in the Anglican Communion.
In the wake of the February 12th Blizzard of 2006, Ted Gaiser was not at All Saints’, but Tom invited the congregation to think about how ready we sometimes are to do the difficult tasks needed to achieve a goal, and thereby claim to have merited the result, while we hesitate to accept the much simpler tasks that may be all that’s needed to achieve the same goals. The case in question, from the Old Testament reading 2 Kings, Chapter 5, was that of Naaman’s request for his leprosy to be healed, and Elisha’s response that merely dipping himself in the Jordan River seven times would cure him.
Isn’t it interesting how sometimes accepting direction to do the smallest token is all God requires for his grace to be bestowed?
After the Blizzard of 2006 on the designated launch Sunday, Mission Sunday did take place on February 19th, 2006!
Churches and institutions we are asked to consider especially during the month of March are listed in this section.
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We remember also the people and parishes of Brazil. There is a companion diocese relationship between the Episcopal Churches of Brazil and the dioceses of the Episcopal Church of the United States.
The Diocese of Massachusetts has asked parishes to inform Carol Kingston of any relief work for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
c.carolkingston@comcast.net
Sunday, March 5, 2006: First Sunday in Lent
Church of the Good Shepherd, Dedham
St. Paul’s Church, Dedham
All Saints’ Church, Dorchester
St. Mark’s Church, Dorchester
Social Ministries/Public Policy Ministry Area
Sunday, March 12, 2006: Second Sunday in Lent
St. Mary’s Church, Dorchester
Epiphany Middle School, Dorchester
St. Dunstan’s Church, Dover
Deanery Co-conveners
Hospitality Homes
Sunday, March 19, 2006: Third Sunday in Lent
Church of St. John the Evangelist, Duxbury
St. Andrew’s Church, East Boston
St. Andrew’s Church, Edgartown
Grace Church, Everett
Congregations: Organists, Choirs and other Church Musicians
Sunday, March 26, 2006: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Church of the Good Shepherd, Fairhaven
Church of the Ascension, Fall River
St. John’s/St. Stephen’s Partnership, Fall River
St. Luke’s Church, Fall River
Formation/Education Ministry Area
Buildings and Grounds
Important March-April Volunteer Day Changes
First of all, thank you to all the
people who have made our 3rd Saturday program a success. Most of the big
projects have been completed, EXCEPT for ONE!
I would like to cancel the Third Saturdays in March and April, and ask for one
big push for landscaping.
SATURDAY APRIL 1st 8:30 AM-
Noon,
SUNDAY APRIL 2nd 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM,
SATURDAY APRIL 8th 8:30 AM- Noon,
SUNDAY APRIL 9th 1:30PM - 4:30 PM
Please bring a rake and shovel. We will want
to move the last of the dirt mounds and plant grass and shrubs in the front of
the Church, in the Meadow area and on both the west and east sides. There
are a lot of small stones to be removed and a lot of topsoil to be spread.
Children can help with this! (Bring a small bucket for the stones.)
The goal is to have our Church look nice for Easter (April 16th) and hopefully have a lawn going for Bishop Shaw's visit on May 7th.
It would be TOTALLY AWESOME to
have a large turnout starting with that first Saturday, because we: a) cannot
count on the weather and
b) would like to complete it so the other work days would not be necessary.
The Sunday afternoon times are for
all those who can’t make a Saturday, to work around the myriad other weekend
obligations. Only torrential rain
will cancel this event.
On Saturdays, doughnuts and coffee...on Sundays, if you bring your work clothes to the Church, B&G will sponsor a light lunch of some sort.
If this would be too challenging a physical effort, but you would like to be a part of this wonderful beautification endeavor, please consider a donation of fescue grass seed or a ground cover juniper shrub.
Rich Jerome
Current Vestry Members
David Cahill Beth Anne Economou Lois Freeman Derick Gates
Steve Grillo Doug Hausler
Joe Sala Sally Warren Anne Whitaker
Adrienne Spear, Senior Warden
Melanie Hickcox, Treasurer
Meredith McElroy, Clerk
Start of Lent
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Ash Wednesday will be on March 1st
Services at All Saints’ Church
7:00 AM - Imposition of Ashes – in the Chapel
12:00 Noon - Imposition of Ashes and Holy
Eucharist – in the Chapel
7:00 PM - Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist – in the main Church: Joint service with Trinity Lutheran Church
Events in the Wider Church
Diocesan Spring Gathering Growing Together
Saturday, March 4th at Boston University
The third annual Diocesan spring gathering will focus on congregational development. The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Randolph Charles, Rector of Church of the Epiphany in Washington DC, a parish which has an exciting story of rebirth to tell. There will be workshops on small group ministry, spiritual formation in the parish, mission discernment in the parish and other workshops offering practical helps for parish leaders.
More information will be in the Sunday bulletin. All are welcome.
Lobby Day at the Massachusetts State House
Thursday, March 9th from 10:30 am to 2:30 PM
Once a year, the Episcopal City Mission hosts an advocacy day at the State House for Christians and other people of faith to raise a strong voice for the needs of those who are poor. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the legislative process as well as to witness how our faith can inform the policies and laws of our state.
Adult Mission Trip to Biloxi, MS,
March 19-25, 2006
Our first mission trip to the Gulf Coast will be to our partner parish, the Church of the Redeemer, in Biloxi, MS. The trip is being organized and sponsored by the Diocesan Katrina Relief Task Force and will be led by the Rev. Dorsey McConnell. It is limited to 24 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. The focus of the trip will be to provide physical help in removing debris from people’s homes, cleaning yards, and generally being available and willing to do similar work-related tasks. Physical requirements are that participants be at least 21 years old, in good physical condition, and free of respiratory ailments. Expectations and requirements also are that participants be flexible, adaptable, sensitive, and patient. A smile and a positive attitude will go a long way. Accommodations will be at Camp Biloxi, a volunteer center sponsored and set up by the Lutheran Church to receive, house, and feed Katrina Relief volunteers. Accommodations are basic, safe, clean, and relatively comfortable. Participants are responsible for the cost of $352.50 to cover airfare. Meals and transportation during the stay will be provided. If you’re interested, please leave contact information for the Katrina Task Force Administrative Coordinators, Deacon Barbara Stowe and Carol Kingston at bstowe@diomass.org; (617/482-4826, ext. 354)
Outreach Prayer
Lord, help All Saints’ Church to do your will in the wider world around us.
Strengthen us in our efforts to help those who are poor or vulnerable and to remember that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for you.
We ask that you give us the wisdom and courage to help each other discern, define and act upon God’s mission for us to be Christ’s representatives to all nations. We ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.
Upcoming Formation Events
Mar 1 Ash Wednesday – Lent begins
Mar 7 & 8 TREK Lenten program begins – morning and evening options
Mar 12 Lunch & conversation with the Learning Team noon Parish Hall
Mar 14 Silent Night 7-8:30pm Blue Room
Mar 14 & 15 TREK Lenten program continues-- morning and evening options
Mar 19 Book Discussion group noon Blue Room
Mar 21 & 22 TREK Lenten program continues-- morning and evening options
Mar 25 Lenten Quiet Day 8:30am- 2:30pm Blue Room
Mar 28 & 29 TREK Lenten program ends – Morning and evening options
Apr 8 Palm Saturday Intergenerational Program-- prepare for Holy Week
Apr 9-15 HOLY WEEK
Apr 11 Silent Night 7-8:30pm Blue Room
Apr 16 EASTER
From the Associate for Adult Christian Formation
I like to say that when I was growing up, we didn’t have Lent. There’s some truth to that. In my Presbyterian upbringing and largely Protestant and Jewish community, there was suspicion of anything that seemed remotely Roman Catholic-- and ashes, giving up things for 40 days, and even the various services of Holy Week all certainly qualified as that. Interestingly, my father loved Good Friday services and every year he and I traveled to a different church in order to participate in the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and death. (Perhaps my Evangelical father planted the seeds of my later Anglicanism!) Year after year, Easter came almost as a surprise, with very little preparation.
So I embrace the season of Lent. I really believe that truism that you can’t get to Easter without all that goes before. Lent invites us to self-reflection, to theological reflection, to deepening in our spiritual lives. Lent invites us to participate in Jesus’ temptation in the desert and in the events of Holy Week, the final week of his earthly life. As we consider our own temptations and deserts, our own need for repentance and salvation, we are invited more deeply into the wonder and exquisite joy of Easter.
All Saints’ offers many opportunities for you to observe a Holy Lent this year. Please check out the Lenten TREK program, the Quiet Day, Palm Saturday, as well as the special worship services that help us be not mere observers of but participants in these mighty events God has done and continues to do. I also have an array of books with readings for Lent and daily devotions drawing from C. S. Lewis and others for the season. See me if you want to borrow something for personal study and devotion.
wishing you a Holy Lent,
Amy Hunter
Associate for Adult Christian Formation
Book Discussion Group Looks at Mission: March 19
Please join the All Saints’ Book Discussion Group on March 19 as it considers Horizons of Mission by Titus Presler. The Rev. Presler was the rector of St Peter’s Church in Cambridge and has had mission experience in India and Zimbabwe. We are reading Horizons of Mission as part of the parish’s focus on Mission and the parish’s desire to be intentional about supporting and participating in Tom’s sabbatical work in Kenya and reflection on mission next spring and summer. So, join us as we read and consider – What is mission? What does mission mean in a world of multiple religions, vastly different cultures, and some people who reject religion altogether? How might this parish be energized for mission?
Our discussion will be at noon on Sunday, March 19 in the Blue Room. Check with Amy Hunter for information about how to get a copy of the book.
An Update from the Learning Team:
Amidst the holidays and ever-changing weather and planning for Tom’s sabbatical and daily busyness (personal and parishwide), the Learning Team steadily continues its work of looking at the identity of All Saints’ Church, our particular sense of God’s call at this time in our history, the barriers that hold the parish back from fully answering that call, and the next steps we might take as we seek to join God’s mission. The Team is so grateful to the many parishioners who have participated in this work so far, especially to the vestry who commissioned and continues to support our work and to the people who came to the meetings in October and November, as well as those who communicated in other ways, to share their stories, impressions and hopes.
One fruit of our labor is Weaving the Threads of Our Parish: A Historical and Spiritual Perspective on All Saints’ Episcopal Church. This narrative tells the story of this parish from its Founding Days to its life during the long rectorship of the Rev. Paul Twelves till the present day. We hope you will take the time to read Weaving the Threads. It is included in the latest SAINTSAlive! You can also read it on the parish website — go to “About Us” and then click on “History.”
These days, the Team is looking at barriers to growth (both numerical and spiritual) in the parish and at the parish’s readiness to address those barriers. By Eastertide (that is, by Bishop Shaw’s visit and before Tom leaves for sabbatical!), the Team hopes to make some recommendations to the vestry and the parish about where we might go next.
Please join the Team after the 10:00 service on March 12 for lunch, discussion of barriers and opportunities at All Saints’, and an update on our work. We are your team, hoping to help the parish learn more about itself and about God’s call to All Saints’. Your thoughts and responses are key! Please feel free to ask questions of or share thoughts with any of the member of the Learning Team.
from your Team,
The Reverend Tom Barrington, Derick Gates, Melanie Hickcox, Amy Hunter, Lynne McSheehy, and Anne Whitaker
Stations of the Cross
Titus Presler, in his “Horizons of Mission” pointed out that the word “companion” was based on Latin words meaning “with bread”.
On the afternoon of Maundy Thursday 1986, a Korean translator, who had noted the next day was a public holiday in Zimbabwe, wished me “Good Friday.”
One way to commemorate Good Friday is through remembering the Stations of the Cross. One listing of these follows:
Here, in a nutshell, is our redeeming sacrifice, made by Jesus for us all. Think, and pray, around these Stations this Lent.
Think about all the meaning emblazoned on your next hot cross bun. And offer up a thought for Mr Shin, a well-meaning Korean translator and one-time companion.
Patrick Blumeris
As we explore the world of enough, we will consider: enough joy, enough simplicity, enough for me, enough for all. We will listen to short vignettes, then ponder and discuss some provocative questions. For example, one question in the first session asks us to each list 10 things we can do very well. (Note: you might want to start thinking about that – include little things as well as big ones.)
No homework is required. You might find a pad and pencil useful so you can jot down your ideas as we discuss.
Please contact Esther if you plan to attend the Tuesday morning session in the meeting room (9:30-11:00) or the Wednesday evening session (7:30-9:00) in the cranberry room so we have an idea how to plan.
Laura Marshall
Esther Davenport
Pam Landi
Outreach
After Lent, the Outreach Team will be engaging church members to listen to what you feel is the Mission of All Saints’ and to hear what Outreach programs you would like to see put into place. We will also be seeking ideas on how the parish should respond to the openings for Outreach presented by Tom Barrington’s sabbatical. Please take advantage as much as you can of these opportunities to learn about Outreach and to help the parish discern its Mission.
For the Outreach Team,
Dave Kuzara
St. Patrick's Day Dinner
An evening of dining, entertainment and family fun, Saturday, March 11, 2006
The annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner will be held at 6PM on Saturday, March 11th. The menu is as follows: Corned Beef & Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots, served with homemade Irish Bread; coffee, tea and beverages. For dessert there will be a make-your-own-sundae bar.
Entertainment will be provided by the Mary Heavey-Quinn Irish Step Dancers. They are fantastic and we have enjoyed them the past two years.
The price for the evening is $7 per person ages 10 and over, all children ages 4 to 9 are $3, and 3 and under are free.
Reservations will be limited to the first 100 people who sign up. We will not be able to accept reservations later than Thursday, March 9th. Please call Carol and Ron Cannistraro at 978-256-0929 to sign up or you may e-mail us at carolron@comcast.net.
Emma Hansen
A funeral service was held January 30th, 2006, and the flowers on the altar on Sunday February 5th were a wonderful tribute to her memory.
Contributions in her memory can be made to All Saints’ Church (contact 978-256-5673).
(All phone numbers are area code 978 unless indicated)
Church Office...................................... 256-5673
Senior Warden....... Adrienne Spear
Junior Warden........ Ron Cannistraro
Treasurer............... Melanie Hickcox
Clerk..................... Meredith McElroy
Acolyte Director.... Clem Cole
Adult Education...... Amy Hunter
Altar Guild............. Liz Landers
Buildings and…….. Rich Jerome
Grounds
Christian School..... Laura Marshall
Michelle Thomas
Elizabeth Danieli
Coffee Hour.......... Cindy Dussault
Endowment ........... to be filled
Environmental Stewardship
Committee............. Liz Marshall
Fellowship.............. to be filled
Finance.................. Clem Cole
Music Minister....... Maggie Marshall
Outreach............... Dave Kuzara
Pastoral Care......... Joy Chadwick
Saints Alive............ Patrick Blumeris
SaintsAlive e-mail:.. ... saintsalive@yahoo.com
Stewardship........... Steve Grillo
Thrift Shop............. Carol Cannistraro
Youth Group.......... to be filled
Webmaster............ Richard Coles
Web site................ www.allsaintschelmsford.org
… for the April 2006 Saints Alive! is
March 19th, 2006
Please leave your articles in the Saints Alive! mailbox in the church office, or send them via email to SaintsAlive@yahoo.com
Thanks
