October 20, 2016
Dear Friends in Christ,
TONIGHT, 10/20 - Quiet Evening: Guided Meditation & Compline
Need a quiet break? Want to de-stress? Come for 30 minutes of guided meditation in the Church. The theme is “Transitions in Life.” Compline follows, sung by members of our Choir. Compline is the ancient night prayer of the Church, a peaceful way to close out the day. We’ll chant, listen, and pray by candlelight. Come to one, or both!
8:15 pm – Guided Meditation
9:00 pm – Compline
The Annual Pledge Campaign for 2017 has begun. This year’s theme is Living Genrously. Making a pledge for the coming year is the most important way you can support our parish financially. Pledge packets were mailed today. Please read the material about All Saints’ and Stewardship, and prayerfully reflect on what God is calling you to do before you make your response. Return your pledge card on All Saints’ Sunday, 11/6 or mail it to the Parish Office by 11/10. God is so generous; can we live generously, also?
Rector at Clergy Conference this Week – The annual Clergy Conference (part continuing education, part gathering with the Bishop, part recreation) will be held in Shawnee, PA, 10/24-10/26. Mother Vicki will be away from noon on Monday through Wednesday. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call or text her cell phone: 973-886-4119.
Please see the following announcements, especially:
- Necrology (Worship)
- Pilgrim: Advent Study & Soup Supper (Christian Formation)
- Trunk or Treat (Events)
- Mid Winter Adult Party (Events)
- Noonday Prayer on Election Day (Around the Neighborhood)
- Going Local Report (Around the Neighborhood)
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Stewardship
worship
Necrology Names for All Saints’ Sunday – at our Sunday morning services on Nov. 6 we’ll begin with the names of parishioners and loved ones who have died in the past year – or those you would like to have remembered. Please send names to the Parish Office via email, or drop a note in the Rath House door by 10/31. Thanks!
All Saints’ Sunday Evensong – November 6, 4 pm
We’ll celebrate our parish feast day with a service of Evensong – readings, hymns, choral music, chant, and prayers from our Anglican heritage. A calm and peaceful way to offer thanks to God for the life of our parish.
EVENTS
Trunk or Treat – Sunday School kids wear their costumes, and adults provide Hallowe’en treats. The kids trick-or-treat from car to car in the parking lot, and we have refreshments outside on Sunday, October 30at 11:15 am. Please sign up in the Narthex to participate – kids and adults!
All Saints’ “Sunday Dinner” on November 6 (following the 10 am service.) We’ll celebrate our Parish Feast day with a feast! And our friends from the V.A. in Lyons, and the Christian Community are invited, as well. We’ll have several entrees provided, and the rest of it is pot-luck. Come gather with friends and newcomers, share stories and good food, and celebrate the goodness of God in lives and what the Holy Spirit is doing in and through All Saints’! Sign-up on the sheet in the Narthex – maybe make something from the Parish Cook Book!
Mid-Winter Adult Fellowship Party – we’ve had a number of requests for an event in the January -February time frame. If you would like to be part of the planning group for this event, please signup on the sheet in the Narthex. Thanks!
CHRISTIAN formation
No Bible Study this Wed., Oct. 26. We’ll be back the following week, Nov. 2, 10:15 am, reading Acts, Chapter 8.
Advent Study:
Pilgrim - A Course for the Christian Journey. This group will meet Monday nights at 7:30 for six weeks, 11/7 – 12/12. We’ll use the first book in this new Episcopal series – Pilgrim: Turning to Christ. Prayer and soup will be available before for those who want it!
6:00 pm – Evening Prayer, Church
6:30 pm – Simple Soup Supper, Rath House
7:30 pm – Pilgrim Discussion Group, Rath House
Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex so we know how many books to order, and how much soup to make!
Baptismal Anniversary Prayers – each month we will be praying for anyone whose baptismal anniversary is in that month – so double-check these dates in your family, and be ready to come forward. We are also inviting you to add your name and baptismal date, along with the names of your godparents and any godchildren you have to our baptismal family tree poster. Currently the tree is near the font in church, but it will be moved over to the Parish House and hung in the hallway there. Our baptism is the foundation of our life in Christ, and it is good to remember, honor, and be renewed by it!
helping hands
Knitting (or Crocheting) for Christmas-at-Sea. All Saints’ has a dedicated group of folks who make hats, scarves, and other warm items for the seafarers on merchant vessels. This is a ministry of the Seaman’s Church Institute at Port Newark. For patterns and information, speak to Janet Mansfield. This is great time of year to start knitting!
Gardeners, Can You Help Us? We have three rhododendron bushes to plant on the Rath House lawn behind the book donation bins. We’re making an evergreen screen so our next-door neighbors don’t have to look at the bins. So we’ll need three sizeable holes dug. If you can help with this, please speak to Mother Vicki. Thanks!
around the neighborhood
Blessing of the future Peace Garden Site at the Shrine of St. Joseph – 10/30, 4-6 pm, marking the 30th Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace. People of all faiths are invited and welcomed.
Noonday Prayers for our Country on Election Day, 12 pm Come for a short service in the Church to pray for God’s wisdom and guidance for our country, and for peace among all residents of the US as we go to the polls. Bring a friend or neighbor! And the Church will be open all that day until 8 pm for personal prayer and meditation. See the link on the diocesan website http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/content/diocese-newark-congregations-elect-pray
The Going Local Report from the Guiding Team that was presented to the Vestry this past week is available today on the table in the Narthex, along with a good article by NY Times columnist David Brooks describing the value of neighborhood relationships – the essence of Going Local. Here is the online link http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/opinion/the-power-of-a-dinner-table.html?_r=0 Please take a copy home with you, and find out more about what Going Local at All Saints’ involves.
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parish calendar
10/24-10/10 Clergy Conference Rector away
10/24 Yoga Parish House, 6:15 pm
10/27 Holy Eucharist Church, 7:00 am
Senior Yoga Lower Room PH, 5:30 pm
Small Saints’ & Junior Choirs 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.
Parish Office Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs. from 9:30 am-4:00 pm
Rector’s Sabbath day: Friday
Remember to “Like” us on Facebook: All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Millington, NJ
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Christian Spiritual Practices
Generosity
“In all of my years of service to my Lord, I have discovered a truth that has never failed and has never been compromised. That truth is that it is beyond the realm of possibilities that one has the ability to out give God. Even if I give the whole of my worth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I gave.”
~ Charles Spurgeon
And a song from Amy Grant, “Greet the Day” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYhK8MVdIqY
Blessings,
Vicki+