Dear Friends in Christ,
Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! Here are this week’s announcements:
FELLOWSHIP
THIS WEEK: COMMUNITY TREAURE HUNT
Seek and ye shall find; Ask and it shall be given:
Team All Saints’ Treasure Hunt; Saturday, May 5th. Team up with family, friends, fellow parishioners, or neighbors and head out to find, collect and discover our community! All ages welcome. How does this work?
1. Form a team of 2 to 5 people to work together.
2. Sign up your team on the poster in the Narthex; also write down what munchies you’ll bring to the party.
3. Pick up Treasure Hunt clues at church April 29 (if you can’t be in church to get your clues, we’ll leave an envelope with your name on it in the Narthex).
4. During the week collect all the items, information, and artifacts on your list. Each clue will help you get to know our local community better.
5. On Saturday May 5th at 4 pm gather in the Parish Hall to share what was discovered and collected. We’ll celebrate the winners, enjoy some delicious munchies, and award some prizes!
Even if you don’t do the Treasure Hunt, come to the party and enjoy all the discoveries that will be shared, and have some fun! Questions? Speak to Laurie Gaulke or Suzanne Kosempel.
WORSHIP
Sunday, May 6 is Rogation Sunday, the day we bless the parish gardens and grounds at the end of our 10 am Family Service (see more about Rogation below in Christian Practices). At the end of the 10 am service we’ll process out to the Memorial Garden for our Rogation liturgy, and we’ll also distribute seeds for planting in your home garden or in our parish Community Garden.
We will also recognize the children who have completed their Eucharist Instruction class, as well as our usual prayers for birthdays and anniversaries at both services. It will be a great day. Please join us!
HELPING HANDS
Veterans Community Dinner, possibly May 19 at 5:30 pm - Vets and their families from our local community and from the V.A. in Lyons will be invited for fellowship, conversation, and friendship...and a wonderful home-cooked meal in All Saints' Parish House at no charge. How can you help? Set up, clean up, serving, cooking (side dishes, salads, desserts). And please get the word out and invite any Vets you know! A sign-up sheet for volunteering will go out soon. This ministry is a partnership with our friends in the Christian (Catholic) Community. For more information speak to Kerrie Stepko.
FUN & FUNDRAISING
Thanks to Jackie Sullivan and her crew for a wonderful and welcoming Fish & Chips dinner on Thursday night. We served 160 people, and saw newcomers, returning guests, and parishioners. Great job, everyone!
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Save the Dates – Sun., June 24 – Thur., June 28 for Vacation Bible Camp: “Wizards and Wonders –A Hero’s Journey with Harry Potter.” This will be an inter-generational experience for kids, adults, and families...and at a new time: 6:00-8:30 pm (Sun-Thu), starting with a simple dinner. This is something to invite friends and neighbors to. Flyers are on the table in the Narthex.
Bible Study/Adult Christian Ed meets weekly at 10:15 am in the Rath House. All are welcome – those new to Bible reading and those with long-time experience. We are currently reading and discussing Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life, by Derek Olsen. Hope to see you there!
PARISH VISITATION
Bishop Mark Beckwith will visit us on Sunday, May 13 (yes, we know it is Mother’s Day). He will be the celebrant and preacher at the 10 am service, and at the Peace he will also have a children’s homily. During Coffee Hour he will lead an Adult Forum (child care will be provided), after which Bishop Beckwith will meet with the Vestry and deputies to Diocesan Convention.
The Coffee Hour will be a festive reception/lunch. Please sign up to bring finger foods – sandwiches, appetizers, fruit, cheese & crackers, cookies, veggies and dip, etc.
Bishop Beckwith has asked us to be thinking ahead of time about the following questions:
DIOCESAN NEWS
The Bishop election will take place on Saturday, May 19, at St. Peter’s, Morristown starting at 9 am. The deputies from All Saints’ are the people who will vote in the election: Tom Day, Jean Kimak, and Ellen Lewis; as well as Mother Vicki. The deputies vote according to their conscience and (we hope and pray!) the prompting of the Holy Spirit. However, it will be very helpful for them to hear from each of you. Please read the statements of each of the three candidates: the Rev. Carlye Hughes; the Rev. Lisa Hunt; the Rev. Canon Scott Slater. Please also consider attending one of the “walk-abouts” on May 4, 5, and 6 - public meetings to hear from all the candidates and ask questions. Look at the diocesan website for details: www.dioceseofnewark.org. And then talk with one or more of the deputies from All Saints’. Here are their email addresses: Tom Day tmdjr@aol.com; Jean Kimak jckimak@gmail.com; Ellen Lewis ellenblewis20@gmail.com. Your input and prayers are important!
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The Long Hill Township Robotics Team will hold a fundraising concert here at All Saints’ on Sunday, May 6 at 4:30 pm. Students from the team will perform on a variety of instruments. The money raised will help send them to the World Robotics Competition, representing New Jersey! Please come and support these talented students from our community!
Troop 56 Flower Sale – our Boy Scout troop is holding its annual Flower Sale on May 4-6 in the Valley Mall in Gillette. They have a wide assortment of flowers, vegetables, and hanging baskets. Come out and support the Scouts!
PARISH CALENDAR
4/29 Treasure Hunt Clues Narthex, 11:00 am
4/30 Communion Class Undercroft, 4:00 pm
Pilgrim Group Rath House, 7:00 pm
5/2 Bible Study Rath House, 10:15 am
5/3 Holy Eucharist Church, 7:00 am
Junior Choir Choir Room, 5:15 pm
Adult Choir Choir Room, 7:30 pm
5/5 Treasure Hunt Party Parish Hall, 4:00 pm
For a full schedule of our buildings check the website calendar www.allsaintsmillington.org.
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Rogation Sunday
Long before there was Earth Day, or Arbor Day, or the modern understanding of environmental stewardship, the Church celebrated Rogation Days: the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day. They began in France in the 470s after a series of natural disasters, just at the time of the flowering of trees and sprouting of crops. Prayers and litanies in procession around fields and farms of the parishes were offered for God’s mercy and protection.
Eventually this practice developed into an annual event asking for God’s blessings on fields, gardens, and orchards; on laborers and their tools; and on the boundaries between one farm and another. Sometimes while walking these boundaries (what was called “beating the bounds”) property disputes arose, and the Church sought to help settle these disputes – and the relationships between neighbors – in an equitable way. That added to Rogation processions the added emphasis on justice and reconciliation.
While we no longer walk the boundaries of the whole parish (Long Hill Township and Warren, for a start), we do ask God’s blessings on our parish gardens and grounds, as well as remembering our dependence on the earth’s bounty and our responsibility as stewards of its well-being. We celebrate Rogation on Easter VI – this year May 6th. For more on Rogation history and customs look here: http://fullhomelydivinity.org/ (click Rogation & Ascension in left column).
Blessing of the Parish in Rogationtide
(given at some central place or from the church door)
O God our Father, whose Son was content to share the life of his village at Nazareth: Bless the life of this parish with your continual presence. Grant that in every home your Name may be hallowed and your will be done, that our people may learn to love every neighbor and live godly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
+ + + + + +
Thy Kingdom Come
Two weeks ago a link was sent with information about this year’s invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury to participate in Thy Kingdom Come – a world-wide effort of prayer for friends, family members, the world as a whole, to come to know the blessing of the love of God in Jesus. Thy Kingdom Come starts on Ascension Day and runs until Pentecost – this year from May 10-20.
How are you doing with that? Have you chosen someone, or several people, to pray for? Here is a short video by Archbishop Justin Welby on the power of quiet, persistent prayer: https://vimeo.com/255739089. And here is the link to Thy Kingdom Come website: https://www.thykingdomcome.global/
Your prayers do matter, and they do count. Thank you for praying!
Easter blessings, Vicki+
Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! Here are this week’s announcements:
- Team Saints Treasure Hunt (Fellowship)
- Reception for Bishop & Reflection Questions (Parish Visitation)
- Rogation Sunday (Worship)
FELLOWSHIP
THIS WEEK: COMMUNITY TREAURE HUNT
Seek and ye shall find; Ask and it shall be given:
Team All Saints’ Treasure Hunt; Saturday, May 5th. Team up with family, friends, fellow parishioners, or neighbors and head out to find, collect and discover our community! All ages welcome. How does this work?
1. Form a team of 2 to 5 people to work together.
2. Sign up your team on the poster in the Narthex; also write down what munchies you’ll bring to the party.
3. Pick up Treasure Hunt clues at church April 29 (if you can’t be in church to get your clues, we’ll leave an envelope with your name on it in the Narthex).
4. During the week collect all the items, information, and artifacts on your list. Each clue will help you get to know our local community better.
5. On Saturday May 5th at 4 pm gather in the Parish Hall to share what was discovered and collected. We’ll celebrate the winners, enjoy some delicious munchies, and award some prizes!
Even if you don’t do the Treasure Hunt, come to the party and enjoy all the discoveries that will be shared, and have some fun! Questions? Speak to Laurie Gaulke or Suzanne Kosempel.
WORSHIP
Sunday, May 6 is Rogation Sunday, the day we bless the parish gardens and grounds at the end of our 10 am Family Service (see more about Rogation below in Christian Practices). At the end of the 10 am service we’ll process out to the Memorial Garden for our Rogation liturgy, and we’ll also distribute seeds for planting in your home garden or in our parish Community Garden.
We will also recognize the children who have completed their Eucharist Instruction class, as well as our usual prayers for birthdays and anniversaries at both services. It will be a great day. Please join us!
HELPING HANDS
Veterans Community Dinner, possibly May 19 at 5:30 pm - Vets and their families from our local community and from the V.A. in Lyons will be invited for fellowship, conversation, and friendship...and a wonderful home-cooked meal in All Saints' Parish House at no charge. How can you help? Set up, clean up, serving, cooking (side dishes, salads, desserts). And please get the word out and invite any Vets you know! A sign-up sheet for volunteering will go out soon. This ministry is a partnership with our friends in the Christian (Catholic) Community. For more information speak to Kerrie Stepko.
FUN & FUNDRAISING
Thanks to Jackie Sullivan and her crew for a wonderful and welcoming Fish & Chips dinner on Thursday night. We served 160 people, and saw newcomers, returning guests, and parishioners. Great job, everyone!
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Save the Dates – Sun., June 24 – Thur., June 28 for Vacation Bible Camp: “Wizards and Wonders –A Hero’s Journey with Harry Potter.” This will be an inter-generational experience for kids, adults, and families...and at a new time: 6:00-8:30 pm (Sun-Thu), starting with a simple dinner. This is something to invite friends and neighbors to. Flyers are on the table in the Narthex.
Bible Study/Adult Christian Ed meets weekly at 10:15 am in the Rath House. All are welcome – those new to Bible reading and those with long-time experience. We are currently reading and discussing Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life, by Derek Olsen. Hope to see you there!
PARISH VISITATION
Bishop Mark Beckwith will visit us on Sunday, May 13 (yes, we know it is Mother’s Day). He will be the celebrant and preacher at the 10 am service, and at the Peace he will also have a children’s homily. During Coffee Hour he will lead an Adult Forum (child care will be provided), after which Bishop Beckwith will meet with the Vestry and deputies to Diocesan Convention.
The Coffee Hour will be a festive reception/lunch. Please sign up to bring finger foods – sandwiches, appetizers, fruit, cheese & crackers, cookies, veggies and dip, etc.
Bishop Beckwith has asked us to be thinking ahead of time about the following questions:
- What do you do as a congregation that Jesus would recognize and love?
- What is your congregation’s purpose?
- What are your challenges? What gets in the way of living out your mission?
- What would you like to ask me or want me to know so that the Diocese can be of assistance in supporting your mission and ministry?
DIOCESAN NEWS
The Bishop election will take place on Saturday, May 19, at St. Peter’s, Morristown starting at 9 am. The deputies from All Saints’ are the people who will vote in the election: Tom Day, Jean Kimak, and Ellen Lewis; as well as Mother Vicki. The deputies vote according to their conscience and (we hope and pray!) the prompting of the Holy Spirit. However, it will be very helpful for them to hear from each of you. Please read the statements of each of the three candidates: the Rev. Carlye Hughes; the Rev. Lisa Hunt; the Rev. Canon Scott Slater. Please also consider attending one of the “walk-abouts” on May 4, 5, and 6 - public meetings to hear from all the candidates and ask questions. Look at the diocesan website for details: www.dioceseofnewark.org. And then talk with one or more of the deputies from All Saints’. Here are their email addresses: Tom Day tmdjr@aol.com; Jean Kimak jckimak@gmail.com; Ellen Lewis ellenblewis20@gmail.com. Your input and prayers are important!
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The Long Hill Township Robotics Team will hold a fundraising concert here at All Saints’ on Sunday, May 6 at 4:30 pm. Students from the team will perform on a variety of instruments. The money raised will help send them to the World Robotics Competition, representing New Jersey! Please come and support these talented students from our community!
Troop 56 Flower Sale – our Boy Scout troop is holding its annual Flower Sale on May 4-6 in the Valley Mall in Gillette. They have a wide assortment of flowers, vegetables, and hanging baskets. Come out and support the Scouts!
PARISH CALENDAR
4/29 Treasure Hunt Clues Narthex, 11:00 am
4/30 Communion Class Undercroft, 4:00 pm
Pilgrim Group Rath House, 7:00 pm
5/2 Bible Study Rath House, 10:15 am
5/3 Holy Eucharist Church, 7:00 am
Junior Choir Choir Room, 5:15 pm
Adult Choir Choir Room, 7:30 pm
5/5 Treasure Hunt Party Parish Hall, 4:00 pm
For a full schedule of our buildings check the website calendar www.allsaintsmillington.org.
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Rogation Sunday
Long before there was Earth Day, or Arbor Day, or the modern understanding of environmental stewardship, the Church celebrated Rogation Days: the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day. They began in France in the 470s after a series of natural disasters, just at the time of the flowering of trees and sprouting of crops. Prayers and litanies in procession around fields and farms of the parishes were offered for God’s mercy and protection.
Eventually this practice developed into an annual event asking for God’s blessings on fields, gardens, and orchards; on laborers and their tools; and on the boundaries between one farm and another. Sometimes while walking these boundaries (what was called “beating the bounds”) property disputes arose, and the Church sought to help settle these disputes – and the relationships between neighbors – in an equitable way. That added to Rogation processions the added emphasis on justice and reconciliation.
While we no longer walk the boundaries of the whole parish (Long Hill Township and Warren, for a start), we do ask God’s blessings on our parish gardens and grounds, as well as remembering our dependence on the earth’s bounty and our responsibility as stewards of its well-being. We celebrate Rogation on Easter VI – this year May 6th. For more on Rogation history and customs look here: http://fullhomelydivinity.org/ (click Rogation & Ascension in left column).
Blessing of the Parish in Rogationtide
(given at some central place or from the church door)
O God our Father, whose Son was content to share the life of his village at Nazareth: Bless the life of this parish with your continual presence. Grant that in every home your Name may be hallowed and your will be done, that our people may learn to love every neighbor and live godly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
+ + + + + +
Thy Kingdom Come
Two weeks ago a link was sent with information about this year’s invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury to participate in Thy Kingdom Come – a world-wide effort of prayer for friends, family members, the world as a whole, to come to know the blessing of the love of God in Jesus. Thy Kingdom Come starts on Ascension Day and runs until Pentecost – this year from May 10-20.
How are you doing with that? Have you chosen someone, or several people, to pray for? Here is a short video by Archbishop Justin Welby on the power of quiet, persistent prayer: https://vimeo.com/255739089. And here is the link to Thy Kingdom Come website: https://www.thykingdomcome.global/
Your prayers do matter, and they do count. Thank you for praying!
Easter blessings, Vicki+
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