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
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,
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+
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