
Here are the announcements for the week.
Prayer List/Prayer Chain - it is our privilege to pray for the concerns of our parishioners, our community, and those who ask us for prayer. Those on our parish Prayer List are prayed for daily by name at our on-line Compline service. We also pray for those most recent or pressing requests in our Sunday service. To add someone to the prayer List, please send an e-mail to Mother Vicki allsaints_rector@hotmail.com. Our Prayer Chain is a group of parishioners who exercise a ministry of intercessory prayer on an emergency basis when needed. Kathy Bousquet is our Prayer Chain leader. If you have an immediate request or would like to be part of the Prayer Chain, please contact Kathy.
Statements of Contribution for 2020 were mailed to you via US Postal Service on Friday. Please look your statements over. If you have a question, or did not receive one, please e-mail allsaints_stewardship@hotmail.com. Thank you for all your support in 2020 - every donation was crucial!
Vestry meeting this week on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7:15 pm on Zoom.
Bible Study is on Wednesdays at 10:15 am. Our current study Ephesians in the New Testament. This week we will read and discuss Ch.2:11-Ch.3. To participate in this Zoom class, or if you have questions, please e-mail Mother Vicki at allsaints_rector@hotmail.com.
“Office Angels” (our office volunteers in non-COVID times) meet for conversation and fellowship on Thursday mornings at 11 am on Zoom. We’d love to have you join the conversation. Email Parish Administrator Susie Harris for the link: allsaints_church@hotmail.com
Adult Choir is on Thursdays at 7:30 pm - check-in, fellowship, and learning music for our next virtual choir anthem project. Even in these virtual circumstances we welcome anyone who loves to sing! Contact Alison Siener Brown asienerbrown@gmail.com for the Zoom credentials.
Pledging for 2021 - You can use our new on-line pledge form on our website www.allsaintsmillington.org. You can also fulfill your pledge by setting up auto-pay with your bank or by electronic fund transfer (EFT) through the secure giving portal on our website. If you are interested in making a gift of appreciated stock, please call David Thursfield.
Until we can have the safe and full use of our buildings for both worship and building use rental our parish income will be challenging, so your timely, heartfelt and generous support will be essential. You can also use our “virtual offering plate” - the heart and cross icon on the homepage of our website - for on-line giving. Thank you!
The Parish Office is generally staffed Mondays and Thursdays but with limited contact for the public. Please call ahead if you need to do in-person parish business.
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Christian Practices: The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
This is an ecumenical Christian effort that was established in 1908. It starts on January 18 (The Feast of the Confession of St. Peter) and ends on January 25 (The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul). This week was chosen because Peter’s apostolic ministry was primarily to Jews, although he also embraced the inclusion of Gentiles; and Paul’s apostolic ministry was to Gentiles, after he had been called from his fierce defense of Judaism.
The purpose of the week is to reflect the words of John 17:21, “they may be one so that the world may believe”. While all of the various Christian bodies have differences of practice and variations of belief, we are all united by faith, prayer, and baptism in Christ. The more we can be united in our practice of following Christ, the stronger our witness to the world will be.
In the United States this year, this Week of Prayer falls at a very appropriate moment. Monday is not only the Confession of Peter, but it is also the day we set aside to mark and honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. On Wednesday we will inaugurate our 46th President Joseph R. Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community where all people are valued, respected, and drawn together in peace by their common humanity has its roots in the Christian idea of the Body of Christ. Our secular American values of equity of opportunity and equality before the law, commitment to the common good of our neighbors and communities, and the flourishing of every individual embrace very similar ideas.
While we pray for unity in the Body of Christ this week, let us also pray for the peace, safety, and well-being of all in our country.
Blessings, Vicki+