Dear Friends in Christ,
Our fall parish schedule is off to a good start. I hope that you are finding a healthy rhythm in this new season that allows you to be aware of God’s peace and presence. Please look at this week’s announcements below.
The funeral service for Carolyn Wallace (mother-in-law of Betsy, grandmother of Will and Chrissy) will be on Friday September 27th at 11:00 am at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian church. Please keep the Wallace family in your prayers.
+ + + + + + + +
Please take a look at this week’s announcements, especially:
RUMMAGE SALE
Rummage Sale Collection – This is the last week to donate! We need lots of people to price & sort. We also need many people to come at 7 am on the day of the sale to help unpack boxes and put them on the tables under the tent, and then to “fluff” the rummage during the day. And we need volunteers to clean-up at the end of the sale, bake for the bake sale table, and staff the lunch-time hot dog and drinks stand. Please let us know you can help by speaking to Kimberly Celeste and/or by signing up on the Rummage poster in the Narthex. This is our biggest fund-raiser of the year, and a wonderful community festival. You won’t want to miss it! Kimberly Celeste celestewk@msn.com
OUTREACH
Shop Rite Needs our Help! Bag for Hunger/Partners in Caring Thursday, Sept. 19 from 11 am-12 noon. We’ll bag groceries at ShopRite to help raise money for ShopRite’s support of the Community FoodBank of NJ and our parish food pantry. The store has been collecting non-perishable foods for our food pantry this month! There will be a photo opp for the newspaper, as well. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex for this fun and easy outreach effort. Thanks!
Hurricane Dorian: Episcopal Relief and Development - You can help provide affected communities with immediate and long-term support. Please contribute at support.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief.
YOUTH
Diocesan Pop Up Youth Ministry Epic Games, Sept. 22 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Oakland/Franklin Lakes. Registration begins at 3:30 and the event will begin at 4:00 and end at 6:30. Includes dinner and worship by campfire. All youth grades 6-12 are invited and encouraged to participate, and friends are welcome. All Saints’ youth and adults can travel by carpool. If you are interested, please contact Mother Vicki. Check the diocesan website for further information: https://dioceseofnewark.org/event/pop-youth-event-epic-games
STEWARDSHIP
Pledge Catch-up – Have you been away from Church this summer, traveling, taking care of family business, or heading to the beach? If so, please make sure that your pledge contributions are up to date. We’ve had our usual summer slump and it will be helpful and important to have our income get back on track. Thank you!
Firewood Available in the back corner of the church parking lot. Free to a good home!
Parking Lot Renovation: Take a Look! The islands have now been seeded with grass seed and covered with straw. A Japanese red maple tree has been planted at the east end of the front island, with perennials planted around it; done in memory of Hugh Wallace. While the grass is coming in, please don’t walk on it so it can have a chance to grow. Thanks.
Fall Clean-up & Pruning Party - Oct. 5, 9 am – 12 noon. We have shrubs that need pruning, brush in the back corner of the parking lot to go to the dump, and bricks to go to our garage (eventually to make a path on one of the parking lot islands) – all before Bishop Hughes and our guests from around the diocese come on Oct. 26 for Breakfast with the Bishop. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex to help!
PARISH LIFE
Looking Ahead: Breakfast with the Bishop. On Saturday morning, Oct. 26 All Saints’ will host this gathering with Bishop Carlye Hughes. It’s an opportunity to meet Bishop Hughes and hear from her. We’ll also welcome our Episcopal brothers and sisters from around the diocese as we discuss the vision, hopes, and dreams for our diocese. Doors open at 9 am; program time is 9:30-11:30 am. RSVP Online by Friday, Oct. 18!
WORSHIP
New Bulletin Format - as part of our parish commitment to being good stewards of God’s good creation we have a new Sunday bulletin format that uses less paper. The service music is on reusable green cards in the pew racks. Please return them to the pew racks when the service is over, so we’ll have them for next time. This new format will have the added benefit of getting us more familiar with finding the Scripture readings in the Bible, if you would like to follow along. Simply listening is great, too! The format may take a little getting used to, so please be patient as together we learn something new. Thanks!
Mid-Week Eucharist and Healing Prayer, Thursdays at 7 am in the Church. This is a great way to start your day. Optional breakfast at the Millington Station Café follows!
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study meets this Wed. 9/18. We will be discussing Chapter 2 of the Book of Revelation. This group is for anyone interested in learning for about the Bible and its connection to our lives. Questions? Speak to Mother Vicki.
Narnia Book Club will be returning in October. We’ll read and discuss Prince Caspian, from The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. There will be a Facebook-based discussion group, and also an in-person group that will meet during Coffee Hour. Dates to be announced soon.
MUSIC
Do you love to sing? Consider lending your voice to our choirs! Rehearsals are Thursdays: Junior Choir, 5:15 pm; Adult Choir, 7:30pm in the choir room in the downstairs (Undercroft) of the Church. To learn more about our music ministry, please speak with Director of Music Alison Siener Brown, asienerbrown@gmail.com.
MusikGarten classes for babies to early elementary school children (including group piano classes) are offered here at All Saints’ during the academic year. It’s a great way to give your child a love and facility for music. For more information visit http://musicsh.org/musikgarten/ or speak with Alison Siener Brown.
CONVENT CORNER – from Sister Monica Clare
(all events are at Community of St. John Baptist in Mendham)
Centering Prayer - Thursdays 7:15 - 8:15 p.m. Join us for a quiet hour and learn a new way to pray. Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. There is no fee for this group. For info, call Sr. Barbara Jean 973-543-4641 ext. 1 or email her at srbj@csjb.org.
Yoga at the Convent - at St. Marguerite’s Retreat House. Mondays from 4:45 - 6:00 pm for gentle Yoga. Experience how Yoga can benefit your overall well-being. $12.00 per class ~ Classes are subject to change. Contact: Jill—973-271-8952. Give us your email address and we will add you to the class.
Associates’ Retreat - “From Commotion to Contemplation” November 23, 2019. 9-3. Conducted by Sr. Josita Marks, SCC. If you'd like information about becoming an Associate of CSJB, please contact the Reverend Sister Superior Eleanor Francis at sref@csjb.org or call 973-543-4641 ext. 3.
Winter Search Program - Our SEARCH program is for anyone who is hoping to determine God's call in their lives, whatever that call may be; as a Sister or serving God in the world. The Winter SEARCH program dates for 2020 are Friday, Feb. 14-Monday, Feb. 17. Please email Sister Monica at srmc@csjb.org or call 973-543-4641 ext. 2.
PARISH CALENDAR
9/17 Vestry Rath House, 7:30 pm
9/18 Bible Study Rath House, 10:15 am
9/19 Holy Eucharist Church, 7:00 am
Bagging for Hunger Shop Rite, Stirling, 11:00 am
Junior Choir Choir Room 5:15 pm
Adult Choir Choir Room 7:30 pm
For a full schedule of our buildings check the website calendar www.allsaintsmillington.org.
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Prayer Book Holy Days – as Episcopalians we “live, move, and have our being” according to the historic Christian calendar of feasts, fasts, and holy days – as we have inherited it through our Anglican tradition, which is distinct from either the Roman Catholic or the Eastern Orthodox traditions.
We all know and mark the principal feast days: Easter Day, Ascension Day, The Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day, The Epiphany. These are the corner stones of our life as a worshipping community, and they are days we gather with one another (even if we have to shift their observance slightly). Every Sunday is counted as a feast of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our two primary fast days are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Again, we all know these, and we always have a public observance of them.
But there is another category of important days in the Church calendar of which we may not be aware, or may overlook, and often have more difficulty celebrating or observing. These are sometimes called Red Letter Days (because they used to be printed on the calendar in red!) or Prayer Book Holy Days. These Holy Days include other Feasts of Our Lord (like Holy Name and Annunciation) and other Major Feasts (like St. Stephen, St. Michael and All Angels, and Thanksgiving Day). While we rarely gather for most of these days, they still are important for us to be aware of and take time for prayer and reflection on Scripture. When we do this, we learn for about the loving purposes of God, the fullness of Christ, and patterns of holy living and holy dying from the saints.
A much fuller explanation of all this is found in the Book of Common Prayer on page 15: The Calendar of the Church Year. The prayers for each of these days is found in the Collects section of the Prayer Book, beginning on page 159 for Rite I, or page 211 for Rite II. Try taking a look.
And tomorrow, September 14, is one of those holy days, a Feast of Our Lord: Holy Cross Day. For information about this day you can read here: https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/the_calendar_response.php?id=LR0914
Here a link to the readings for today: https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC_RCL/HolyDays/HolyCros_RCL.html
The Collect for Holy Cross
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Blessings, Vicki+
Our fall parish schedule is off to a good start. I hope that you are finding a healthy rhythm in this new season that allows you to be aware of God’s peace and presence. Please look at this week’s announcements below.
The funeral service for Carolyn Wallace (mother-in-law of Betsy, grandmother of Will and Chrissy) will be on Friday September 27th at 11:00 am at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian church. Please keep the Wallace family in your prayers.
+ + + + + + + +
Please take a look at this week’s announcements, especially:
- Parking Lot News & Pledge Catch-up (Stewardship)
- Help Needed for ShopRite Food Pantry Event this Thursday (Outreach)
- Breakfast with the Bishop (Parish Life)
- Last Week of Rummage Drop-off (Rummage Sale)
RUMMAGE SALE
Rummage Sale Collection – This is the last week to donate! We need lots of people to price & sort. We also need many people to come at 7 am on the day of the sale to help unpack boxes and put them on the tables under the tent, and then to “fluff” the rummage during the day. And we need volunteers to clean-up at the end of the sale, bake for the bake sale table, and staff the lunch-time hot dog and drinks stand. Please let us know you can help by speaking to Kimberly Celeste and/or by signing up on the Rummage poster in the Narthex. This is our biggest fund-raiser of the year, and a wonderful community festival. You won’t want to miss it! Kimberly Celeste celestewk@msn.com
OUTREACH
Shop Rite Needs our Help! Bag for Hunger/Partners in Caring Thursday, Sept. 19 from 11 am-12 noon. We’ll bag groceries at ShopRite to help raise money for ShopRite’s support of the Community FoodBank of NJ and our parish food pantry. The store has been collecting non-perishable foods for our food pantry this month! There will be a photo opp for the newspaper, as well. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex for this fun and easy outreach effort. Thanks!
Hurricane Dorian: Episcopal Relief and Development - You can help provide affected communities with immediate and long-term support. Please contribute at support.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief.
YOUTH
Diocesan Pop Up Youth Ministry Epic Games, Sept. 22 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Oakland/Franklin Lakes. Registration begins at 3:30 and the event will begin at 4:00 and end at 6:30. Includes dinner and worship by campfire. All youth grades 6-12 are invited and encouraged to participate, and friends are welcome. All Saints’ youth and adults can travel by carpool. If you are interested, please contact Mother Vicki. Check the diocesan website for further information: https://dioceseofnewark.org/event/pop-youth-event-epic-games
STEWARDSHIP
Pledge Catch-up – Have you been away from Church this summer, traveling, taking care of family business, or heading to the beach? If so, please make sure that your pledge contributions are up to date. We’ve had our usual summer slump and it will be helpful and important to have our income get back on track. Thank you!
Firewood Available in the back corner of the church parking lot. Free to a good home!
Parking Lot Renovation: Take a Look! The islands have now been seeded with grass seed and covered with straw. A Japanese red maple tree has been planted at the east end of the front island, with perennials planted around it; done in memory of Hugh Wallace. While the grass is coming in, please don’t walk on it so it can have a chance to grow. Thanks.
Fall Clean-up & Pruning Party - Oct. 5, 9 am – 12 noon. We have shrubs that need pruning, brush in the back corner of the parking lot to go to the dump, and bricks to go to our garage (eventually to make a path on one of the parking lot islands) – all before Bishop Hughes and our guests from around the diocese come on Oct. 26 for Breakfast with the Bishop. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex to help!
PARISH LIFE
Looking Ahead: Breakfast with the Bishop. On Saturday morning, Oct. 26 All Saints’ will host this gathering with Bishop Carlye Hughes. It’s an opportunity to meet Bishop Hughes and hear from her. We’ll also welcome our Episcopal brothers and sisters from around the diocese as we discuss the vision, hopes, and dreams for our diocese. Doors open at 9 am; program time is 9:30-11:30 am. RSVP Online by Friday, Oct. 18!
WORSHIP
New Bulletin Format - as part of our parish commitment to being good stewards of God’s good creation we have a new Sunday bulletin format that uses less paper. The service music is on reusable green cards in the pew racks. Please return them to the pew racks when the service is over, so we’ll have them for next time. This new format will have the added benefit of getting us more familiar with finding the Scripture readings in the Bible, if you would like to follow along. Simply listening is great, too! The format may take a little getting used to, so please be patient as together we learn something new. Thanks!
Mid-Week Eucharist and Healing Prayer, Thursdays at 7 am in the Church. This is a great way to start your day. Optional breakfast at the Millington Station Café follows!
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study meets this Wed. 9/18. We will be discussing Chapter 2 of the Book of Revelation. This group is for anyone interested in learning for about the Bible and its connection to our lives. Questions? Speak to Mother Vicki.
Narnia Book Club will be returning in October. We’ll read and discuss Prince Caspian, from The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. There will be a Facebook-based discussion group, and also an in-person group that will meet during Coffee Hour. Dates to be announced soon.
MUSIC
Do you love to sing? Consider lending your voice to our choirs! Rehearsals are Thursdays: Junior Choir, 5:15 pm; Adult Choir, 7:30pm in the choir room in the downstairs (Undercroft) of the Church. To learn more about our music ministry, please speak with Director of Music Alison Siener Brown, asienerbrown@gmail.com.
MusikGarten classes for babies to early elementary school children (including group piano classes) are offered here at All Saints’ during the academic year. It’s a great way to give your child a love and facility for music. For more information visit http://musicsh.org/musikgarten/ or speak with Alison Siener Brown.
CONVENT CORNER – from Sister Monica Clare
(all events are at Community of St. John Baptist in Mendham)
Centering Prayer - Thursdays 7:15 - 8:15 p.m. Join us for a quiet hour and learn a new way to pray. Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. There is no fee for this group. For info, call Sr. Barbara Jean 973-543-4641 ext. 1 or email her at srbj@csjb.org.
Yoga at the Convent - at St. Marguerite’s Retreat House. Mondays from 4:45 - 6:00 pm for gentle Yoga. Experience how Yoga can benefit your overall well-being. $12.00 per class ~ Classes are subject to change. Contact: Jill—973-271-8952. Give us your email address and we will add you to the class.
Associates’ Retreat - “From Commotion to Contemplation” November 23, 2019. 9-3. Conducted by Sr. Josita Marks, SCC. If you'd like information about becoming an Associate of CSJB, please contact the Reverend Sister Superior Eleanor Francis at sref@csjb.org or call 973-543-4641 ext. 3.
Winter Search Program - Our SEARCH program is for anyone who is hoping to determine God's call in their lives, whatever that call may be; as a Sister or serving God in the world. The Winter SEARCH program dates for 2020 are Friday, Feb. 14-Monday, Feb. 17. Please email Sister Monica at srmc@csjb.org or call 973-543-4641 ext. 2.
PARISH CALENDAR
9/17 Vestry Rath House, 7:30 pm
9/18 Bible Study Rath House, 10:15 am
9/19 Holy Eucharist Church, 7:00 am
Bagging for Hunger Shop Rite, Stirling, 11:00 am
Junior Choir Choir Room 5:15 pm
Adult Choir Choir Room 7:30 pm
For a full schedule of our buildings check the website calendar www.allsaintsmillington.org.
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Prayer Book Holy Days – as Episcopalians we “live, move, and have our being” according to the historic Christian calendar of feasts, fasts, and holy days – as we have inherited it through our Anglican tradition, which is distinct from either the Roman Catholic or the Eastern Orthodox traditions.
We all know and mark the principal feast days: Easter Day, Ascension Day, The Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day, The Epiphany. These are the corner stones of our life as a worshipping community, and they are days we gather with one another (even if we have to shift their observance slightly). Every Sunday is counted as a feast of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our two primary fast days are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Again, we all know these, and we always have a public observance of them.
But there is another category of important days in the Church calendar of which we may not be aware, or may overlook, and often have more difficulty celebrating or observing. These are sometimes called Red Letter Days (because they used to be printed on the calendar in red!) or Prayer Book Holy Days. These Holy Days include other Feasts of Our Lord (like Holy Name and Annunciation) and other Major Feasts (like St. Stephen, St. Michael and All Angels, and Thanksgiving Day). While we rarely gather for most of these days, they still are important for us to be aware of and take time for prayer and reflection on Scripture. When we do this, we learn for about the loving purposes of God, the fullness of Christ, and patterns of holy living and holy dying from the saints.
A much fuller explanation of all this is found in the Book of Common Prayer on page 15: The Calendar of the Church Year. The prayers for each of these days is found in the Collects section of the Prayer Book, beginning on page 159 for Rite I, or page 211 for Rite II. Try taking a look.
And tomorrow, September 14, is one of those holy days, a Feast of Our Lord: Holy Cross Day. For information about this day you can read here: https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/the_calendar_response.php?id=LR0914
Here a link to the readings for today: https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC_RCL/HolyDays/HolyCros_RCL.html
The Collect for Holy Cross
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Blessings, Vicki+
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