
This Sunday, Sept. 8, is Welcome Sunday – the start of our fall season. We’ll bless kids’ and teachers’ backpacks for school, our choirs will sing at the 10 am service, Sunday School will resume, and we’ll have our Welcome Picnic after the 10 am service – this year with ice cream from Ava’s, and some neighborhood guests. See you in Church!
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We’ve all witnessed the terrible devastation of wrought by Hurricane Dorian in parts of the Bahamas. Urgent needs for food, water, sanitation, and shelter for 70,000 people are starting to be addressed, while the death toll is still unknown but expected to rise. Episcopal Relief and Development will be working with local churches and partner agencies (The Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos) to assist with material and pastoral care needs. The most effective response we can make now (in addition to our prayers) is to donate to Episcopal Relief's Hurricane Fund: support.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief.
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Please take a look at this week’s announcements, especially:
- Sunday School (Christian Formation)
- Blessing of the Backpacks; New Bulletin Format (Worship)
- Welcome Sunday Neighborhood Picnic (Parish Life)
- Rummage Drop-off and Volunteering (Rummage Sale)
Welcome Sunday Picnic, September 8 – Gather with fellow parishioners for a new school year/program year get-together after the 10 am service. We’ll grill hot dogs and veggie burgers; you bring a salad, side, or dessert. New this year: ice cream from Ava’s! And we’ve invited some of our neighbors who will be our guests.
Looking Ahead: Breakfast with the Bishop. On Saturday morning, Oct. 26 All Saints’ will host a diocesan gathering with Bishop Carlye Hughes. This will be an opportunity to meet Bishop Hughes and hear from her. We’ll also welcome our Episcopal brothers and sisters from around the diocese. Save the date!
WORSHIP
Blessing of the Backpacks – This Sunday, Sept. 8 we’ll bless the backpacks of our students and teachers for the start of the new school year. Bring your back packs or school bags to church at either the 8 or 10 am service.
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 will not meet this week but will pick up again on 9/18. Our study for this fall is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament. This group is for anyone interested in learning for about the Bible and its connection to our lives. Questions? Speak to Mother Vicki.
Sunday School for children Age 4-middle school meets downstairs in the Church at 10 am. Children join their families in worship at the Peace.
Narnia Book Club will be returning in the fall. 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.
Sunday Forum – this fall, starting October 13, we’ll offer a monthly adult Christian formation/education opportunity during Coffee Hour. This effort is being organized by Sister Monica Clare. It will usually be held on the second Sunday of the moth. The format will include about 20 minutes of presentation, followed by discussion and questions. The topic and the speakers will change each month. Watch for more information soon!
RUMMAGE SALE
Rummage Sale Collection continues: Sun 12-2 pm; Mon 5-8 pm; Tues 5-7 pm; Wed 6-8 pm; Thu 1-3 pm; Fri 10-12 noon. Please bring your clean, gently used items to the Parish Hall. Thanks.
We are looking for volunteers for the following positions:
Food Table Chairperson—oversee the food that will be sold and volunteers to staff the table
Clean-up Crew—be part of a group that will help clear the ‘left-over’ rummage and furniture in the week after the sale.
And we need lots of general help on the day – Sept. 28!
These jobs are VITAL to the success of the sale – volunteers are NEEDED! Interested parties should contact me directly instead of using the sign-up sheet. Thanks! Kimberly Celeste celestewk@msn.com
MUSIC
All Saints’ Choir for Adults and Children is a vital part of our parish life and worship, and we are always happy to have new members. The only requirement is a love for singing! 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.
STEWARDSHIP
Creation Care – as part of our parish commitment to being good stewards of God’s good creation we will begin using a new Sunday bulletin format that uses less paper, starting next week. This new format will have the added benefit of getting us more familiar with finding references in the pew Bibles (if you want to follow along).
ShopRite Cards – you can buy ShopRite gift cards for yourself or someone else after the 10 am service. You get the full value of the card, and All Saints’ gets 5%. Please see Barbara Barbeau to buy a card...or two!
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. Go for the gold against friends old and new in a series of the most epic games ever imagined. We will top the night off with dinner, a medal ceremony, 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. Check the diocesan website for further information: https://dioceseofnewark.org/event/pop-youth-event-epic-games
OUTREACH
Hurricane Dorian: Episcopal Relief and Development is working closely with dioceses in the path of Hurricane Dorian. You can help provide affected communities with immediate and long-term support. Please contribute at support.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief. Check the green insert for further information.
Change of Date: Bag for Hunger - ShopRite in Stirling has asked for our help! Thursday, Sept. 19 from 11 am-12 noon volunteers from All Saints’ will bag groceries at ShopRite to help raise awareness of hunger in our communities and raise money for ShopRite’s support on the Community FoodBank of NJ. This also helps All Saints’ food pantry and food ministries through ShopRite’s CFBNJ grants to our Church. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex.for this fun and easy outreach effort. Thanks!
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Shrine of St. Joseph 9/11 Interfaith Service will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 11 from 7:00-8:00 pm at the Shrine’s Tower of Remembrance on Long Hill Road in Stirling. If you have never visited the Tower (built from WTC steel beams) or participated in this service, it is a moving time to gather with those of all faiths and no particular faith to pray for hope and peace in God’s world on this important recent anniversary in our nation’s life.
PARISH CALENDAR
9/10 Finance Committee Rath House, 7:30 pm
9/12 Holy Eucharist Church, 7:00 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
Creation Care – the month of September marks a world-wide, ecumenical Season of Creation, from Sept. 1-Oct. 4 (the Feast of St. Francis). Christians across the globe are taking actions and offering prayer for the health and well-being of our planet. There are some interesting links here: Season of Creation https://seasonofcreation.org/; Anglican Communion Environmental Network https://acen.anglicancommunion.org/; the Episcopal Church website https://www.episcopalchurch.org/creation-care.
Why should Christians care about the environment? To begin with, the God we love, serve, and worship is the Creator and the creation is God’s handiwork; our role in the world is to be stewards and care-takers, the gardeners of this beautiful Earth. A healthy planet goes a long way in supporting healthy human communities – the neighbors that God bids us to care for. The other creatures and living things that share the planet with us are all part of God’s web of life in which we are sustained. Caring for creation, however we are able to do it, is part of living life from God’s perspective.
Prayer from the Diocese of Leeds (U.K.)
God our Father,
You never cease the work you have begun
and prosper with your blessing all human endeavour.
Help us to be good neighbours to those who share our world today,
and those who will inherit our world in generations to come.
Make us wise and faithful stewards of your creation,
living lightly on the Earth
so that it continues to blossom and flourish now and in the future.
In the name of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Blessings, Vicki+