Dear Friends in Christ,
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3 ~ Opening Sentence for Morning Prayer
Here are the week's announcements, including the information for Sunday’s worship below. The Parish Cycle of Prayer and Parish Prayer List will be sent on Monday. Please take a look.
Compline Ministry has been expanded! 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! Four new people have been trained to serve as Compline Ministers and will take turns sharing the leadership of these services: Alison Siener Brown, Suzanne Kosempel, Lisa Webb, and Waring Webb. This is exciting to have others take part in this ministry. Compline is offered every evening at 9:30 pm on the parish Facebook page: fb.me/allsaintsmillington. This service lasts about 15 minutes and is a wonderful way to prayer for your own concerns and for the well-being of the world. Come join us.
This Sunday is the Secondary Sunday after Pentecost. our service of Morning Prayer will be at 10 am via Facebook Live. The link is here: fb.me/allsaintsmillington. This is a public link. You don’t have to be on Facebook to view it. And our prayer requests during the service are inter-active. The service leaflet to review or print is on the home page of the website.
Choir Sunday/Hymn Choir – On June 28 our service will be a pre-recorded video service We are looking for singers who would like to participate in a Hymn Choir. Alison will send a recording of the hymn or hymns for the day with an organ accompaniment and a voice to sing along with. Singers will make a recording of themselves singing along and send it back. We'll mix all the voices together to create a slideshow to use during the video worship service.
At home you will need a device to record onto (phone, computer, or tablet) and a second device with headphones to play the accompaniment track. It will be audio only, so you don't need to worry about recording any video. It is a lot easier than it sounds, so don't let worries about technology hold you back! Please email Alison at: asienerbrown@gmail.com if you would like to sing along.
All Sunday worship livestreams are available as a video to watch any time after 2:00 pm on Sunday on the home page of the website. The music links to the prelude and other musical offerings will also be posted there.
PARISH LIFE
Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom on Sunday at 11:00 am. The link for this was e-mailed to the parish. 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
Narnia Book Club – Sundays at 4:00 pm. We are reading through “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (Chronicles of Narnia) by CS Lewis. This week, June 14, we’ll discuss chapters 12 & 13. If you need the Zoom link for this, please e-mail allsaints_rector@hotmail.com and we’ll be glad to include you.
Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 10:15 am. This week, June 17, we’ll discuss James, chapter 2. 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.
OUTREACH
Twelve Baskets Food Pantry continues to serve residents in the Valley View apartments at the V.A. Hospital in Lyons, as well as families in our community. If you know someone who is in need of food, please have them call the Parish Office 908-647-0067 ext. 4. We can supply them with emergency food in a contact-free manner.
STEWARDSHIP
Consider Parish E-Giving – Thank you to everyone who has continued to send in their pledges and contributions! This is vital to the financial health of our parish, and we depend on you. What can you do? Please stay up-to-date on your pledge! And now you have the ability to make a direct donation or pledge payment on our website via e-giving; see the green “Donate” button on the home page. This can be a one-time payment or it can be a recurring contribution on a weekly or monthly basis. And, of course, if you are able to make an extra donation during this time, that would be very welcome. It is a stressful time for all of us, but All Saints’ is always here for you, and together we will come through these difficult days. Thank you.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
This week Governor Murphy loosened restrictions on indoor, in-person worship. The state guidelines limit any single indoor service to 50 people or 25% of the church seating capacity – whichever is less. For All Saints’ that means 44 people – including clergy, organist, readers, etc.
The diocesan guidelines from the Journey Forward team have just been completed and Bishop Hughes needs to approve them before they can be distributed to the churches. Individual parishes will then apply the guidelines to their own local circumstances and create a written plan to submit to the Bishop’s office. Here are some of the areas that will be incorporated in the plan:
Determining whether parishioners feel safe and comfortable returning to in-person worship.
Masks will need to be worn; if you don’t feel well, please stay home.
Sign-up System of who will come to which service so we don’t over our 44 person limit.
Singing (even with a mask) is a “super-spreader” activity and will not be possible.
Distance (much more than 6 ft) between worship leaders and congregation as public speaking is also a super spreader of micro-particles.
Cleaning and sanitizing of Church, bathrooms, etc. after every service.
Timing of re-introducing Communion.
Seating in Church with appropriate distance and limited capacity.
Attendance taken at each service so that worshippers can be notified if someone present at that service later becomes sick with the virus.
Continuing to livestream worship for those who can’t or don’t feel ready to come to worship in person, including those in high-risk categories.
This will take some time, and we will continue to keep you updated. Our concern continues to be for the health and well-being our parishioners, their families, and our wider community, even as we have been missing worshipping in person and gathering with one another.
DIOCESAN NEWS
Diocese of Newark Memorial Service for all who have died during restricted distancing protocols – The last three months have been filled with all kinds of sacrifice, probably none greater than the death of loved ones in our communities. These losses were made harder by families unable to grieve with the family of faith. While this service, led by Bishop Hughes, will not replace what has been missed, it will be a time for us to gather as the diocese in memory of those who have died. This service will be held Saturday, June 13, 10 AM on YouTube Live: https://www.youtube.com/user/DioNewark
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Words of Faith: Sin
Sin has to do with separation from God, from others, and from our true selves (as God intended us to be). It is a quality of mind and heart that is alienated from God, sometimes in rebellion against God’s will and purpose for us. Sin is the large-scale human predilection to want our own way, rather than God’s way, to put ourselves at the center of the universe. It is also the words and actions we take that have real-world consequences of pain, harm, and degradation. There is no one without sin in their life in some way.
Sometimes sin is a clear and deliberate choice. Much more frequently, sin is the atmosphere or milieu all around us that seems almost invisible yet influences what we do and what we say. It only can be addressed when we can see another’s hurt and pain and ask “Why is this happening? What is causing it?” and not accept a simplistic answer.
That is why our service of baptism asks the baptismal candidate (or the parents and godparents) to renounce evil on several different levels: cosmic/spiritual, systems of human society, personal (BCP, page 302). The remedy for sin is to turn to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; to put one’s whole trust in his grace and love; and to follow and obey him as Lord. This is a life-long project, call, and vocation – to follow Christ, and to grow in Christ-likness.
Blessings, Vicki+
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3 ~ Opening Sentence for Morning Prayer
Here are the week's announcements, including the information for Sunday’s worship below. The Parish Cycle of Prayer and Parish Prayer List will be sent on Monday. Please take a look.
- Compline Ministry (Worship)
- Choir Sunday/Hymn Choir (Worship)
- Bible Study; Narnia Book Club (Christian Formation)
- Parish E-Giving (Stewardship)
- Diocesan Memorial Service – June 13 (Diocesan News)
- Guidelines for In-Person Worship (What Next?)
Compline Ministry has been expanded! 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! Four new people have been trained to serve as Compline Ministers and will take turns sharing the leadership of these services: Alison Siener Brown, Suzanne Kosempel, Lisa Webb, and Waring Webb. This is exciting to have others take part in this ministry. Compline is offered every evening at 9:30 pm on the parish Facebook page: fb.me/allsaintsmillington. This service lasts about 15 minutes and is a wonderful way to prayer for your own concerns and for the well-being of the world. Come join us.
This Sunday is the Secondary Sunday after Pentecost. our service of Morning Prayer will be at 10 am via Facebook Live. The link is here: fb.me/allsaintsmillington. This is a public link. You don’t have to be on Facebook to view it. And our prayer requests during the service are inter-active. The service leaflet to review or print is on the home page of the website.
Choir Sunday/Hymn Choir – On June 28 our service will be a pre-recorded video service We are looking for singers who would like to participate in a Hymn Choir. Alison will send a recording of the hymn or hymns for the day with an organ accompaniment and a voice to sing along with. Singers will make a recording of themselves singing along and send it back. We'll mix all the voices together to create a slideshow to use during the video worship service.
At home you will need a device to record onto (phone, computer, or tablet) and a second device with headphones to play the accompaniment track. It will be audio only, so you don't need to worry about recording any video. It is a lot easier than it sounds, so don't let worries about technology hold you back! Please email Alison at: asienerbrown@gmail.com if you would like to sing along.
All Sunday worship livestreams are available as a video to watch any time after 2:00 pm on Sunday on the home page of the website. The music links to the prelude and other musical offerings will also be posted there.
PARISH LIFE
Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom on Sunday at 11:00 am. The link for this was e-mailed to the parish. 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
Narnia Book Club – Sundays at 4:00 pm. We are reading through “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (Chronicles of Narnia) by CS Lewis. This week, June 14, we’ll discuss chapters 12 & 13. If you need the Zoom link for this, please e-mail allsaints_rector@hotmail.com and we’ll be glad to include you.
Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 10:15 am. This week, June 17, we’ll discuss James, chapter 2. 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.
OUTREACH
Twelve Baskets Food Pantry continues to serve residents in the Valley View apartments at the V.A. Hospital in Lyons, as well as families in our community. If you know someone who is in need of food, please have them call the Parish Office 908-647-0067 ext. 4. We can supply them with emergency food in a contact-free manner.
STEWARDSHIP
Consider Parish E-Giving – Thank you to everyone who has continued to send in their pledges and contributions! This is vital to the financial health of our parish, and we depend on you. What can you do? Please stay up-to-date on your pledge! And now you have the ability to make a direct donation or pledge payment on our website via e-giving; see the green “Donate” button on the home page. This can be a one-time payment or it can be a recurring contribution on a weekly or monthly basis. And, of course, if you are able to make an extra donation during this time, that would be very welcome. It is a stressful time for all of us, but All Saints’ is always here for you, and together we will come through these difficult days. Thank you.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
This week Governor Murphy loosened restrictions on indoor, in-person worship. The state guidelines limit any single indoor service to 50 people or 25% of the church seating capacity – whichever is less. For All Saints’ that means 44 people – including clergy, organist, readers, etc.
The diocesan guidelines from the Journey Forward team have just been completed and Bishop Hughes needs to approve them before they can be distributed to the churches. Individual parishes will then apply the guidelines to their own local circumstances and create a written plan to submit to the Bishop’s office. Here are some of the areas that will be incorporated in the plan:
Determining whether parishioners feel safe and comfortable returning to in-person worship.
Masks will need to be worn; if you don’t feel well, please stay home.
Sign-up System of who will come to which service so we don’t over our 44 person limit.
Singing (even with a mask) is a “super-spreader” activity and will not be possible.
Distance (much more than 6 ft) between worship leaders and congregation as public speaking is also a super spreader of micro-particles.
Cleaning and sanitizing of Church, bathrooms, etc. after every service.
Timing of re-introducing Communion.
Seating in Church with appropriate distance and limited capacity.
Attendance taken at each service so that worshippers can be notified if someone present at that service later becomes sick with the virus.
Continuing to livestream worship for those who can’t or don’t feel ready to come to worship in person, including those in high-risk categories.
This will take some time, and we will continue to keep you updated. Our concern continues to be for the health and well-being our parishioners, their families, and our wider community, even as we have been missing worshipping in person and gathering with one another.
DIOCESAN NEWS
Diocese of Newark Memorial Service for all who have died during restricted distancing protocols – The last three months have been filled with all kinds of sacrifice, probably none greater than the death of loved ones in our communities. These losses were made harder by families unable to grieve with the family of faith. While this service, led by Bishop Hughes, will not replace what has been missed, it will be a time for us to gather as the diocese in memory of those who have died. This service will be held Saturday, June 13, 10 AM on YouTube Live: https://www.youtube.com/user/DioNewark
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Words of Faith: Sin
Sin has to do with separation from God, from others, and from our true selves (as God intended us to be). It is a quality of mind and heart that is alienated from God, sometimes in rebellion against God’s will and purpose for us. Sin is the large-scale human predilection to want our own way, rather than God’s way, to put ourselves at the center of the universe. It is also the words and actions we take that have real-world consequences of pain, harm, and degradation. There is no one without sin in their life in some way.
Sometimes sin is a clear and deliberate choice. Much more frequently, sin is the atmosphere or milieu all around us that seems almost invisible yet influences what we do and what we say. It only can be addressed when we can see another’s hurt and pain and ask “Why is this happening? What is causing it?” and not accept a simplistic answer.
That is why our service of baptism asks the baptismal candidate (or the parents and godparents) to renounce evil on several different levels: cosmic/spiritual, systems of human society, personal (BCP, page 302). The remedy for sin is to turn to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; to put one’s whole trust in his grace and love; and to follow and obey him as Lord. This is a life-long project, call, and vocation – to follow Christ, and to grow in Christ-likness.
Blessings, Vicki+
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