Dear Friends in Christ,

I hope that you are all getting some time to relax, get outdoors, and maybe even visit family and friends. This will be the last regular e-letter for the next few weeks. I will be taking vacation, including getting to meet our new granddaughter in Boston!




WORSHIP
Worship for the next four weeks will be led by our officiants/preachers Sister Monica Clare and Fr. Shawn Carty. We’ll also have parishioners participate as readers and prayer leaders, as well as having a sung psalm and a hymn. Parish Administrator Susie Harris will send out the service bulletin each week. On August 9 there will not be music as Alison Siener Brown will be starting her vacation then. I’ll be back and ready to lead worship on August 16.

Outdoor Evening Prayer – on August 23, 30 and September 6 we’ll have a service of Evening Prayer at 5 pm (as well as our Zoom worship in the morning). Instructions for this service on 8/23 (including how to sign up for it) will be sent out on August 17.

OUTREACH
Elks Donation to Twelve Baskets Food Pantry – we’ve received a grant from the Stirling Elks for $2,000 for our food ministry – with the understanding that we will divide those funds and share them with the pantries at St. Vincent’s in Stirling and St. Bernard’s in Bernardsville. The larger Elks granting organization would only issue one check, but our local Elks Club wanted to support several efforts. Thank you, Stirling Elks! Their donation is helping us to continue to assist local families and many of the nearly-100 Vets in the Valley Brook housing at the VA in Lyons.

Pop-up Thrift Store Plans – our annual Rummage Sale will be taking a break this year, due to COVID safety concerns for our volunteers and shoppers. Instead, we are exploring the possibility of a smaller, longer term Pop-up Thrift Store. Kimberly Celeste and her team will be letting you know more about this. Stay tuned!

DIOCESAN NEWS
Lay Conversation with Bishop Hughes - Bishop Carlye Hughes is eager to once again spend time in conversation with the members of the diocese, to reflect and consider what we, our churches, and our communities have learned and experienced as we have adjusted to the changes this time has demanded of us. On Tuesday, July 21 at 6 PM we will hold the third monthly Lay Conversation with Bishop Hughes. Scheduled for 90 minutes, this Zoom conversation is open to all members of the diocese. An email invitation will be sent Monday, July 20 to recipients of The VOICE Online with sign-in instructions for this Zoom meeting. You can register for The VOICE Online here: https://dioceseofnewark.org/publications

PARISH LIFE
Summer Parish Mailing – on Friday a letter was sent to the parish. Please be on the lookout for it…and read it! It includes a pledge/donation statement for 2020 year-to-date if you have made a pledge or contribution to All Saints’. It also outlines some of our in-person worship plans. If your letter did not come, please e-mail Susie Harris at allsaints_church@hotmail.com and she will send you one.

Banking Changes – this past weekend Millington Bank, with whom our Church has all its accounts, became Kearny Bank. Kearny had bought Millington some months ago, but the changeover became complete on July 11. This is a big change for All Saints’. Not only have we been with Millington Savings Bank since it opened its doors in 1911, but some of the bank’s founders were our parishioners! There are bound to be a few adjustments along the way, but we anticipate a good working relationship with Kearny Bank. And we are grateful for all the years of service that Millington Bank gave to us and to the wider community.

Parish Prayer List - during the next month is you have a prayer concern, or would like to have a person added to the parish prayer list, or updated in some other way, please send an e-mail to allsaints_church@hotmail.com.

CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Between the middle of July and the middle of August there are four Prayer Book holy days, remembering and honoring three different saints and one event in the life of Christ. We don’t often get to celebrate these days in person, but we can mark them at home in our own awareness and prayer. Here are the Collects and Scripture references for each of the days.

Saint Mary Magdalene - July 22 (John 20:11-18)
Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Saint James - July 25 (Matthew 20:20-28; this is James, the brother of John – sons of Zebedee)
O gracious God, we remember before you today your servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that you will pour out upon the leaders of your Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Transfiguration - August 6 (Luke 9:28-36)
O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Saint Mary the Virgin - August 15 (Luke 1:46-55)
O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Blessings, Vicki+

This Week@ All Saints’: July 9, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ,
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. ~ Psalm 100:1
Here are this week’s announcements, especially:

• Worship via Zoom this Sunday (Worship)
• Bible Study (Christian Formation)
• Plans for Summer Worship (What’s Next?)

WORSHIP
This Sunday is the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Our service of Morning Prayer at 10 am via Zoom. This helps us to interact with one another in real-time. It also allows us to have live music! We’ll have three readers, a chanted psalm, and a hymn, and a virtual choir video of the Junior Choir. The link for the service will be e-mailed to parishioners, as well as a copy of the service leaflet. If you are not on the parish e-mail list and would like to have the link sent to you, or you need help with Zoom, please send an e-mail to allstsmill@hotmail.com. At the end of the service, you can leave or stay on for some coffee hour social time. Hope to see you then!

Daily Compline continues throughout the summer at 9:30 pm. You don’t need a Facebook account (“Be on Facebook”) to participate; just follow this link: fb.me/allsaintsmillington. This is a wonderful way to pray for your own concerns and for the well-being of the world. Come join us.

PARISH LIFE
Congratulations to all Watchung Hills High School Seniors who graduated this week! High school graduation is always a wonderful accomplishment, but this year's class had many COVID-related challenges. Well done, all! And a special shout-out to students from parish families or relations: Kerriann Lettieri, Logan McNulty, Matthew Teo, and Gerard Aroneo.

Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom on Sunday at 11:00 am. How does this work? It’s just a nice social time with others from church. It’s an opportunity to see one another, check-in, share news and fellowship. The link for this was e-mailed to the parish (see above) If you didn’t get the link and would like to join us, e-mail allstsmill@hotmail.com. Come and spend time with your fellow Saints!

CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study is taking a break for the middle of the summer. We’ll reconvene on Wednesday, August 19 at 10:15 am. We’ll be starting a new series on some of the selected Psalms. For the first meeting you are asked to bring a favorite Psalm with you, and we’ll share them with one another. If you haven’t been part of Bible study before, this is a good way to start, and we’ve recently added some new folks, so the group is always evolving. We meet via Zoom. If you would like to participate when we reconvene in August, or want more information, please e-mail Mother Vicki at allsaints_rector@hotmail.com.

WHAT COMES NEXT?
Plans for Summer Worship – after reading all the responses to our Parish Worship survey and studying the diocesan guidelines for in-person worship, the Vestry has made some interim decisions about what will be best for us here at All Saints’. We will continue with our Sunday 10 am service on-line (now on Zoom) through Sept. 6. On August 23, 30, and September 6 we will also have an outdoor service of Evening Prayer at 5 pm (weather permitting). At the outdoor service parishioners will be asked to sign up in advance, bring their own chair or blanket, wear a mask, and stay 6 feet apart from anyone that you don’t live with. The details of this service will be forthcoming closer to August 23.

There are several factors in this decision and its timing. An outdoor service will always be safer than an indoor service. Mother Vicki will be taking her summer vacation from July 18 through August 15. Director of Music Alison Siener Brown and Parish Administrator Susie Harris will also be fitting in vacation time later in August. Our knowledge and understanding of COVID-19 and how it behaves keeps being updated. Evaluating the situation at the end of the summer will allow us to make safer and more accurate decisions.

Please continue to keep the Vestry and the parish as a whole in your prayers. Our church has been faithful throughout this very stressful time, and God has certainly been present with us. The Holy Spirit will lead us in our next steps.

CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Words of Faith: Providence
In God’s creation of the world and providing humankind with all the elements we need for life God exercises providence – loving care. From a human point of view, we would say that this loving care includes foresight, as well; planning into the future. Remembering God’s providence reminds us of our dependence upon God; everything that we have is a gift that has been wisely and generously given to us by our loving Lord.
 
Blessings, Vicki+

Dear Friends in Christ,
O give thanks to the Lord, and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the peoples.  Psalm 105:1 ~ Opening Sentence for Morning Prayer
Here are this week’s announcements, especially:

• Worship via Zoom this Sunday (Worship)
• Bible Study (Christian Formation)
• Statements of Contribution (Stewardship)
• Progress on Guidelines for Resuming In-Person Worship & Meetings (What’s Next?)

WORSHIP
This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and we’ll be trying something new…. we will have our service of Morning Prayer at 10 am via Zoom. Why are we doing this? It will enable us to interact with one another in real-time. It will also allow us to have live music! Our director of Music Alison Siener Brown will play a hymn (appropriate for the Independence Day weekend) that we can all sing, and two cantors will sing the psalm for us. Additionally, we’ll be able to play a pre-recorded video of a solo anthem. We’ll also have three different people participating as readers in the service. The link for the service will be e-mailed to parishioners, as well as a copy of the service leaflet. If you are not on the parish e-mail list and would like to have the link sent to you, please send an e-mail to allstsmill@hotmail.com. And if you need to download the Zoom app to your computer, phone, or tablet, you can find it here. The basic version (which is all you need) is free:  https://zoom.us/download and then click the orange sign-up button in the upper right-hand corner. At the end of the service, you can leave or stay on for some coffee hour social time. Hope to see you then!

Daily Compline at 9:30 pm. You don’t need a Facebook account (“Be on Facebook”) to participate; just follow this link: fb.me/allsaintsmillington. This community of daily prayer and worship includes people from our parish, from other places in New Jersey, and even from other parts of the globe! All Saints’ parishioners and clergy take turns leading the service. Compline is offered every evening and is a wonderful way to pray for your own concerns and for the well-being of the world. Come join us.

Thank you to all of our readers and musicians and worship leaders for the beautiful pre-recorded service last Sunday – especially to Alison for her leadership and creativity, and to Shawn for his wonderful sermon! It’s all on the home page of the website in case you missed it.

PARISH LIFE
Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom on Sunday at 11:00 am. How does this work? It’s just a nice social time with others from church. It’s an opportunity to see one another, check-in, share news and fellowship. The link for this was e-mailed to the parish (see above) If you didn’t get the link and would like to join us, e-mail allstsmill@hotmail.com. Come and spend time with your fellow Saints!

CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 10:15 am. This week, July 8, we’ll discuss the Letter of James, chapter 5. This is a short book of the Bible – five chapters. James focuses on practical aspects of Christian living. If you haven’t been part of Bible study before, this is a good way to start, and we’ve recently added some new folks, so the group is always evolving. We meet via Zoom. If you would like to participate or want more information, please e-mail Mother Vicki at allsaints_rector@hotmail.com.

STEWARDSHIP
Statements of Contribution for the first half of 2020 will be coming out next week. Please be sure to look them over and email the Parish Office if you have any questions. Thank you for all of you who have continued to keep current on your pledges and have even made contributions above and beyond to help us with the loss of our rental income! Please know that you can also fulfill your pledges and contributions via the blue “Donate Now” button on the home page. This goes to our secure Vanco account and then directly into our bank. It is an easy and helpful way to donate. Whatever you are able to do, we are very grateful. Thank you!

Buildings and Grounds – there have been a number of people who have been continuing to make sure our buildings and grounds are in good repair. Bill Smullen has been working on the read front doors, which became cracked and weathered from standing open in the rain so much. Janice Lettitieri, Barbara Barbeau, Steve Kowalik, and Bill Smullen have repaired and re-painted our church sign (which blew over and broke in a February windstorm). Jean Bettler and Jane Hayden have been doing gardening, weeding, and planting. Bonnie McGrath and Barbara Barbeau have been keeping the plants in church watered. Thank you all!

WHAT COMES NEXT?
Guidelines for Returning to In-Person Worship – the Vestry has begun work on the necessary procedures for All Saints’ to resume in-person worship, in accordance with the guidelines for the Diocese of Newark (can be found here on the diocesan website:  https://dioceseofnewark.org/resource-general/journey-forward-guidelines-person-worship-diocese-newark).

They are also taking into close account the responses to our parish worship survey. We received 48 responses to the survey. The great majority of parishioners said that what they have missed the most during this pandemic time has been the people – gathering with of Saints for worship and fellowship. The second largest group’s answer was music or singing (sometimes singing with others). A number of people said the missed Communion/the Eucharist. And a few said the thing they missed the most was being in the church building.

Nearly everyone said that they learned how much their faith meant to them, or that they were surprised at how their faith could be sustained in a variety of ways. Some said they appreciated the slower pace of the last months for personal and family time, and learned anew how to be grateful for what they had – despite the challenges we have all been facing. Many people were grateful to be able to stay together and worship with our on-line services. There was also a strong appreciation for the new daily Compline service on Facebook Live.

When asked how likely a person might be to attend in-person worship with appropriate restrictions and precautions for distance, cleaning/sanitizing, mask-wearing, and service modifications, here is how people responded (1=not at all, 2=probably not, 3=possibly, 4=somewhat likely, 5=definitely):
Indoor worship:    1=13%; 2=21%; 3=27%; 4=19%; 5=19%
Outdoor worship: 1=2%; 2=17%; 3=32%; 4=30%; 5=11% (there were several fewer outdoor answers. Numbers may not add up to 100% because of rounding).
Quite a number of people said the thing they would need to feel safe in returning to in-person worship was a vaccine. Many people responded that if they did not feel safe about in-person they would participate via a live-stream broadcast of the service from the church.

As was mentioned last week, the process from here is that the Vestry will take the guidelines and implement them in a way that is sensible for our own parish of All Saints’. We will be taking the necessary time to do this thoughtfully and safely. We will also need to take into consideration parish staff and clergy vacation time. Please keep the Vestry in your prayers as they discern and make a plan to move forward – safely, with gratitude to God, and full of faith.

CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
A Collect for the Nation on Independence Day
Lord God Almighty, who hast made all the peoples of the earth
for thy glory, to serve thee in freedom and in peace: Give to
the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength
of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance
with thy gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen. ~ Book of Common Prayer, page 207

Blessings, Vicki+