This coming Sunday is our parish’s Annual Meeting. It is the time when we elect new members to the Vestry, and hear from our clergy and lay leadership about various aspects of the life and ministry at All Saints’. The meeting starts at 11:15 (after everyone has gotten some refreshments) in the Parish Hall. There will be child care available in the Undercroft of the church during the meeting. Teenagers as well as adults are encouraged to attend the meeting.
This year’s slate of nominees who are standing for election are: Jackie Sullivan – Warden (2 year term); Joyce Kulzer – Vestry (3 year term); Betty Mather – Vestry (second 3 year term); Roger Mederos – Vestry (3 year term); Janet Gibbs – Diocesan Convention Deputy (3 year term); Louis Berry – Diocesan Convention Alternate (3 year term).
Warden Tom Day will be preaching at both the services on Sunday. Hope we see you there!
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A BUNCO Reminder! Friday, January 20! If you have signed up to bring snacks and finger foods, please drop them off to the Parish House by 6 pm on Friday. If you reserved a spot to play we’ll see you there!
Youth Confirmation Class – on Sunday in the 10 am service the members of the class will formally be commissioned as beginning this process. Please support and pray for these teens as they go through the next several months.
Calling all Girl Scouts and Cookie Fans – Girl Scouts from All Saints’ will once again be taking orders for cookie sales this Sunday after Church and during the Annual Meeting. Girls who would like to participate should bring their order forms and wear their uniform vests or sashes. Sue Dudzinski will be helping the kids to organize this. Cookie sales are the way Girl Scouts raise funds for many of their programs and camping facilities. Please support them – and get a sweet deal for yourself!
Adult Inquirer’s Class – will begin on Wed. February 1 at 7:30 pm in the Rath House. Subsequent classes will meet on 2/8, 2/29 and 3/7. This class is for anyone (new or old at All Saints’) who wants to know more about the Episcopal Church – what it stands for, how it expresses Christian faith, its history and organization. At the end of this class you may choose to be confirmed or formally received into the Episcopal Church (from another denomination) by the Bishop. Either way, this will be a fun and informative class. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Please speak to one of the clergy if you would like to know more.
A Big Thank You – the Regional Grocery Team of Whole Foods has made a contribution of seven cartons of non-perishable foods to All Saints’ for the Food for Friends pantry in Dover. This donation was arranged by our Rath House apartment tenant Laura Neff. Thank you, Laura and Whole Foods!
Save the date for Souper Bowl Sunday – on February 5 the Rite-13 Class will please collecting canned goods and cash donations to give to the Food for Friends pantry as they participate in this nation-wide youth program which seeks to help hungry people. So when you go to the store to buy your chips, dips, and snacks for the game get something nutritious for the “soup pot” and deliver it to Church at either the 8 am or 10 am service.
Do you like to sing? Do your children like to sing? You are invited to join our Choir, and your kids can try out Junior Choir. You don’t have to read music, but you do need a sense of humor and a desire to praise God through song. Adult Choir rehearses Thursdays from 7:30-9:30 pm; Junior Choir is Thursdays from 5-6:15 pm. For more information speak to Dr. Jody or e-mail drjodydoktor@gmail.com.
Bible Study group meets Wednesdays at 10:15 am (after the 9:30 service) in the Narthex. We’re finishing up a study of Matthew’s Gospel. Come join the discussion!
Women’s Book Group – our next book is The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball. A thirty-something Manhattan writer chronicles her first year as a farmer near Lake Champlain. (see her website: www.kristinkimball.com). The group meets in the Rath House on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:30 pm. Bring yourself or bring a friend for a fun evening – even if you haven’t read the book!
Let’s get something brewing!Conversation and community are an important part of fellowship; coffee (and tea) fosters this! Coffee Hour Hosts are needed for 2012. Please help out with this ministry by signing up on the Coffee Hour sign-up sheet in the Narthex.
Pick up your 2012 Pledge Envelopes and Kid’s Offering Envelopesthat are on the table in the Narthex. We will not be mailing these due to the high cost of postage, so please be sure to pick them up.
Stewardship is all that you do with all that you have all of the time.
You can dedicate the Altar Flowers in memory of loved ones who have died, or in thanksgiving for events or milestones by signing up on the Flower Chart posted on the Narthex door. Several people can sign up for the same date, the dates are not exclusive. Altar flowers are a wonderful way offer praise to God during the Sunday service, and bring beauty to the sick or homebound after the service. The cost is $48, please note Altar Flowers on the memo line of checks. Questions? Speak to Janet Mansfield.
Diocesan Convention is January 27-28 -- Our parish deputies and clergy will worship, hear reports and the Bishop’s address, attend workshops and make decisions for the life of the diocese, which includes all 107 Episcopal parishes in Northern New Jersey. Please keep them in your prayers.
Remember to visit our website: www.allsaintsmillington.org and the diocesan website: www.dioceseofnewark.org for lots of good information, news and events.
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I turn now to face You,
I lift up my eyes.
Be blessing my face, Lord;
be blessing my eyes.
May all my eye looks on
be blessed and bright,
my neighbors, my loved ones
be blessed in your sight.
You have given us life
And we welcome your coming.
Be with us, Lord,
We have joy, we have joy.
This year is a new year,
The opening door.
Be with us, Lord,
we have joy, we have joy. ~ A traditional ‘first-footing’ prayer for New Year’s, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer
Blessings, Vicki+