This Week @ All Saints'

Dear Friends in Christ,

Here are this week’s parish announcements and reflection pieces. Please take a look at them and note these particular items:
    Flower Minister Needed ~ see Christian Formation
    Birthday Party for Charlie White ~ see Events
    Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper ~ see Christian Formation

And as always: if there is snow and/or ice on a Sunday, please check your e-mail in case there is a cancellation. You can also check the parish Facebook page, and listen to the church answering machine for an update.

A Death in our Parish Family – Steve Kowalik, a fairly recent member of All Saints’, received word yesterday that his 29 year-old daughter Jessica died suddenly in Florida, where she had been living. Please keep Steve in your prayers, and may Jessica rest in peace and rise in glory, in God’s peace.

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EVENTS
Charlie White turned 90! Come to his party this Sunday,  February 8 at 11:15 am in the Parish Hall. We will have a birthday card for you to sign in the Narthex as you come into church. As part of our parish gift, we will be giving Charlie a gift card to Shop-Rite. If anyone would like to contribute to that card, please send/put in offering plate/drop through Rath House mail slot a check made out to All Saints’ with the notation “Charlie White.” Most importantly, please come to Charlie’s party and give him your birthday greetings!

COMMUNITY HOSPITALITY
Valentine’s Boutique to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation Feb. 7, 10-5 pm in All Saints’ Parish House. Lynn Kaplan is offering costume jewelry and beautiful scarves from all over the world. Take a look!

CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper – Tuesday, February 17 from 5:30-7:15 pm (continuous servings). Cost is $5 per person (Kids under 3 eat free); maximum $20 per household; in the Lower Room of the Parish House.  Pancakes, sausage, applesauce….yum! Come and join in this traditional meal that ends the Season after Epiphany before the start of Lent. Sign up on the sheet in the Narthex so we know to count you in! And middle school/high school youth are asked to set tables, decorate the room, and serve the meal. Please put that in your calendar now.

Flower Minister Needed to deliver flowers from the altar to parishioners after Church on Sunday, once a month. This ministry brings hope and encouragement to people all year through. If you are interested, please speak to Mother Vicki.

Lenten Daily Devotions – Lent starts on February 18, and this year’s daily devotional is Good Lord, Deliver Us, a series of short meditations based on the Great Litany. It is written by the Revs. Len and Lindsay Freeman, who live in Minnesota, and with whom our Rector used to work! The booklets are available in the Narthex and are free.

Lenten Reflection Book – Windows Into the Light, A Lenten Journey of Stories and Art, by Michael Sullivan (no, not our Mike Sullivan!). Each chapter “begins with a prayer or poetic excerpt, followed by scripture for the day or week. A narrative then expands on the themes introduced by the prayer and scripture. Exercises following the narratives are simple—mostly collage exercises using differing techniques.” We’ll also be able to discuss the questions on-line via the parish’s closed Facebook group. The books cost $18 for the print edition; or get it as an e-book version. Please see the sign-up sheet for further information.

Women’s Book Group – has been cancelled for February, because of Ash Wednesday. It will resume on March18 at 7:30 pm in the Rath House. The book for discussion is Deep Down Dark: the Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle that Set Them Free, by Héctor Tobar. Come for an evening of fellowship and learning.

February Retreat Day – a day retreat will be offered in February by Fr. Peters Krebs, S.T. of Sacred Thread Ministries. The date is Friday, Feb. 20 from 9:30 – 3:30 pm. The retreats will be held in the Lower Room of All Saints’ Parish House, and lunch is included.  The topic for the retreats and the cost will be announced shortly. Watch for more info!

WORSHIP and MUSIC
Special Needs Worship - All God's Children Service, at 12 noon on the 3rd Sundays of the month. Designed for children and families with a range of special needs – including anyone who has a hard time sitting still! A 30-minute service, no segment is longer than 3 minutes each; optional Communion. Pass the word to friends and neighbors who can benefit from this. Our next All God’s Children Service is February 15. Contact Mother Vicki for details.

Ash Wednesday is February 18th.  Services are scheduled for 9:30 am and 7:30 pm.

Scout Sunday will be celebrated on March 1 at the 10 am Family Service. All Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts and their families are welcome. Wear your uniform and come participate in the Scout liturgy during the service!

Child Care During Worship – Babies and toddlers are always welcome in Church, but sometimes they or their parents need a little break. Our Nursery is located in the Undercroft (lower level) of the Church and is staffed during the 10 am service. Our babysitters Jill and Ella look forward to playing with your children, as well as supervising them. If this would be helpful to your family, please check it out!

HELPING HANDS
Souper Bowl of Caring - Thanks to everyone who supported last week’s Souper Bowl! Our Rite-13 class collected $153, and 160 items of non-perishable food to give to the food pantry in Dover. This was added to efforts of 1,953 groups all over the USA, for a total of $3,410,604 in cash and food items. Your efforts helped to feed hungry people!
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parish calendar this week
2/10     Finance Comm     7:30 pm, Rath House
2/11     Bible Study         10:15 am, Rath House
2/12     HE & Breakfast    7:00 am, Church  
            Junior Choir          5:00 pm, Choir Room
            Adult Choir           7:30 pm, Choir Room

And please check the calendar on our website for the full listing of groups and events in our buildings.
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For All the Saints – February 13, Absolom Jones, Priest, died 1818

Absalom Jones was born a house slave in 1746 in Delaware. He taught himself to read out of the New Testament, among other books. When sixteen, he was sold to a store owner in Philadelphia. There he attended a night school for Blacks, operated by Quakers. At twenty, he married another slave, and purchased her freedom with his earnings. Jones bought his own freedom in 1784. At St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, he served as lay minister for its Black membership.

The active evangelism of Jones and that of his friend, Richard Allen, greatly increased Black membership at St. George’s. The alarmed vestry decided to segregate Blacks into an upstairs gallery, without notifying them. During a Sunday service when ushers attempted to remove them, the Blacks indignantly walked out in a body.

In 1787, Black Christians organized the Free African Society, the first organized Afro-American society, and Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were elected overseers. Members of the Society paid monthly dues for the benefit of those in need. The Society established communication with similar Black groups in other cities. In 1792, the Society began to build a church, which was dedicated on July 17, 1794. The African Church applied for membership in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania on the following conditions: 1, that they be received as an organized body; 2, that they have control over their local affairs; 3, that Absalom Jones be licensed as layreader, and, if qualified, be ordained as minister. In October 1794 it was admitted as St. Thomas African Episcopal Church. Bishop White ordained Jones as deacon in 1795 and as priest on September 21, 1802.

Jones was an earnest preacher. He denounced slavery, and warned the oppressors to “clean their hands of slaves.” To him, God was the Father, who always acted on “behalf of the oppressed and distressed.” But it was his constant visiting and mild manner that made him beloved by his own flock and by the community. St. Thomas Church grew to over 500members during its first year. Known as “the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church,” Jones was an example of persistent faith in God and in the Church as God’s instrument. ~ Holy Women, Holy Men

Question for reflection: What does God want to free you from? How do you cooperate with God in your freedom?

“Gracious God,
Send us anywhere in this world You would have us go
Only go thou with us.
Place upon us any burden You desire
Only stand by us to sustain us.
Break any tie that binds us
Except the tie that binds us to thee. Amen.”

Blessings,
Vicki McGrath+