Here are the announcements and worship information for the week:
- Tower Bell Repairs & Front Door
- Family Promise Volunteers
- Rummage Sale
- Technology Ministers
- Christian Practices ~ Freedom
All Saints’ Announcements
Bell Tower Off Limits until further notice. The 500 lb. bell in our tower is in urgent need of repair. The bolt that holds it to the frame is loose, rusted, and worn. There are also other parts that need to be replaced. If the bell is used at all there is the possibility of it falling through the floor and into the room below. Out of an abundance of caution we will only use the side entrance – and not the bell tower entrance - to the Church until the necessary repairs can be made. Thank you!
Family Promise Shelter Hosting – Monday, July 19 is All Saints’ turn to host. Four families are currently shelter guests. They are now housed at a motel in Morris Plains where they have kitchen facilities, so we are asked to deliver meals, groceries, and gift cards – but not visit or spend the night.
Here is what is needed:
- A meal for a single mom and three children (ages 3, 5 & 9)
- A meal for a single mom and 13-year old daughter (Mom is lactose intolerant)
- A bag of basic groceries each for the two families above.
- A bag of basic groceries each for a single woman, and for a couple.
- 3 Gas gift cards; 1 Uber gift card. ShopRite gift cards are also always welcome.
Look for the tents!! The All Saints’ Annual Rummage Sale will be held in person and outside on Saturday October 2nd. This is an “all hands on deck” event and our biggest fundraiser of the year! There are lots of ways to help. Please sign up online to help 1) set up for the sale on July 31, 2) price and sort rummage, and 3) help on the day of the sale. Sign-up sheet links (to our Breeze church management program) were sent by email this week. Donations of clean, usable items will be accepted beginning on Sunday August 1st. If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Celeste.
Technology Ministers - we are looking for people to help manage our live streaming technology for the 10 am Sunday service (monitoring Zoom and the projection of our Zoom-participating readers). Training will be provided, but a comfort level with the Zoom platform and technology in general is important. This ministry is important to keep our parish family connected, and also to reach out to others with a message of God’s love and goodness. Interested? Speak to John McGrath.
September 11th Commemoration - this year is the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. All Saints’ will mark this day with an outdoor ceremony on the Church lawn on Saturday morning, Sept. 11th at 8:30. Look for more information to come.
Bible Study meets this Wednesday. We are reading and discussing the Book of Ruth, Chapter 4. To participate in this Zoom class, e-mail Mother Vicki: allsaints_rector@hotmail.com.
Join us on Thursday at 11am for “Office Angels” Zoom. All are welcome to join us and chat, email us if you would like the Zoom login: allsaints_church@gmail.com
Parish Schedule next Week
Compline - Daily, 9:30pm; Facebook Live link on our website
Finance Committee – Tuesday, 7:15 pm; Zoom
Bible Study – Wednesday, 10:15am; Zoom
Office Angels - Thursday, 11 am; Zoom
Parish Office – Monday & Thursday, 10am-5pm
Sunday Worship – 8 am; Memorial Garden ⸭ 10 am; Church and Zoom – posted later to our website and YouTube
Christian Practices ~ Faith
We use the word “faith” in two ways – as trust (having faith in God) and as content (Christian faith teaches certain things). As followers of Jesus, it is important to embrace both meanings of the word, and to invest ourselves in both.
Having trust and faith in Christ is first and foremost. It is the foundation of what it means to be a Christian. Trust in God is what gives us hope, direction, and joy in life.
The content of Christian faith – teachings, beliefs, doctrine – are a close second. Over the centuries the Church (that is, all Christians) have read Scripture, and thought, and discussed, and prayed, and wrestled with very important ideas such as: What is God’s nature? What does it mean for God to be Creator? What is sin and how does it operate in the world? What does it mean to be a human person made in God’s image? Who is Jesus? What is the meaning of the Cross? What is salvation? How do I know that God loves and cares for me? What does living a Christian life look like and mean?
The historic creeds of the Church (the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed) addressed some of these questions in a very broad way in their own language and in their own time (the second and fourth centuries, respectively). Theologians and teachers and ordinary Christians have also prayed and thought through these same questions throughout the ages – building on the wisdom of what went before.
Each generation needs to think through and pray through these questions, even as we keep faith (trust and loyalty) with the whole community of faith. We need to make faith in Christ our own, but we don’t get to “make it up”, invent a whole new religion.
What draws you to have faith/trust in God? What aspect of the faith/content is a strong foundation for you?
Blessings, Vicki+