The Messenger, September 2007

Λόγος
Logos

As our schedules resume this Fall, I am reminded of how words (logos) impact and influence our lives.  Reading the word works from the outside.  Meditation on the word works on our hearts.  Digesting the word of God begins on the inside of us.

Once we hear and digest the word, then and only then can we proclaim the message of God.  That is what we are here to do, to proclaim the Good News to each other and to those who do not sit in our pews; we are called enable everyone to go out and proclaim the news to people so they can hear in their own way and in their own hearts.

Sometimes it is hard to listen to the word.  Our busy world doesn’t put much emphasis on reflection and quiet time.  So, if you are having trouble hearing the voice of our shepherd, be patient.  Some days it will sound like a kitten’s meow and others it will sound like a siren; some days it will seem like a love song and others like a curse.  It is not a voice that always speaks in words, much less complete sentences, but it can usually be heard sometime between our getting up and our lying down each day, leading us beside the still waters, restoring and nourishing our souls with the fresh waters of grace.

We are all called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Our calls come differently, but we are all called nevertheless.  Christ spent more than half of his life with just twelve men, developing them into leaders, and proclaimers of the word, who would carry on His work after He ascended into heaven.  This month we begin a new church year with Bible studies, Sunday school and outreach.  Let us be the ones to go out and be God’s creative agents of the world, let us be the ones who lead others to the still waters where souls are restored and renewed.  It all comes from outside, inside and most importantly from our hearts.  I am certain that a wonderful journey awaits us as we all absorb the word of God as it is lived out in our lives and in our faith at All Saints’.  I ask for God’s blessings as we reach out to begin yet another year studying, reflecting and carrying out the blessed word of God.

The word of the Lord,

Margie +

Welcome to you and a new season at
All Saints’ Church!
 

Surprisingly for me it has been a fairly busy summer with church business.  Our search for a new priest is going well and I will continue to advise and update you when I have new information. 

I hope you join me, the vestry, and all the members and supporters of All Saints’ Church in expressing our gratitude to The Reverend Dr. Margie Holm for her support of and dedicated service to All Saints’ over the past year.  She has been an inspiration and comfort to many and a true blessing and joy to be around.

I need to let you know that All Saints’ Church is in a stable position financially.  We have received support this year so that our annual budget expenses will be met.  We set aside some money for salary and expenses for a new priest for this year (2007) and my hope and prayer is that a new priest will be in place by the holiday season.  At this time I need to make you aware that we will be starting our Every Member Canvas in October.  The vestry will be working on its 2008 budget and based on available funds from this canvas we will be able to determine the amount of salary, housing, and benefits available for our new priest.   I want to thank you for your generosity in the past and the faith in which you have entrusted us with handling the financial matters of the church.

We are excited about the new season and how well the family of All Saints’ has done this past year.  If any of you have special concerns or needs please feel free to call me or Margie.

Faithfully,

Robert J. Burke
Senior Warden

Margie’s Bookshelf

EVIL and the JUSTICE of GOD
N.T. Wright, InterVarsity Press, 2006
This is a heavy book that requires a lot of attention.  Bishop Wright examines the ever present problem of evil and where God stands in it.  This book examines some touchy issues, but they are not a turnoff.  Instead, this author, an Anglican Bishop, informs us as to how evil can transform us into being God-like people and the hope of eternal life in the kingdom.  We are called to be a God like vessel to the world, not to fix or make sense of the calamities that occur around us.  I really like this book because it calls us to continue to reach out into the hurting world.  It is a real eye opener.

YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE
Duane Dog Chapman, Hyperion Press, 2007
This is the amazing story of a bail bondsman who lives in Hawaii and openly wrestles with issues of sin that we all struggle with.  His bail bondsman business is a family affair.  There is a lot of bad language in this book regarding the troubled life of Dog Chapman.  He spent the first half of his life on the wrong side of the law, and in prison he found God.  He is a devout Christian (he is definitely what we would call rough around the edges) who prays often and especially before he sets out to arrest fugitives.  When he captures people, he evangelizes to them and shows them one of God’s greatest gifts: grace.   If you can get around the language issue and his unorthodox dynamics, you will love this book.

Mister Pip
Lloyd Jones, The Dial Press, 2007
This is a timely book about a teacher, Mr. Watts, who has no formal teaching credentials, just a passion for sharing.  He steps way out of his comfort zone to teach and transform the lives of the young and old.  The setting is in New Guinea, where amidst a raging civil war and countless personal issues, the author shows us how pain and destruction can be used as the formula for survival and growth.  The title of this book is based on a character from Charles Dickens’ book Great Expectations.   And that is exactly what this book has in store for us: Great Expectations.

Episcopal Church Women      

Welcome back for the 2007-08 Year.  We will have our first meeting Wednesday, Sept. 12th. The board meeting will start at 10:15AM and Holy Communion will take place in the parish house at 11:30 AM.  Lunch will be served at 12:00 noon followed by a program.  Lunch will be served by Cynsational to those who have signed up for the year and have not called Margie Musgrove (537-3354) to cancel by Sunday night, Sept 9.  Those who have signed up at this time are: Peggy Barber, Pat Barnes, Agnes Carter, Ruthie Gregory, Sally Hardison, Betty Harris, Frances Hursey, Frances Jones, Sandy Lehman, June Long, Deedie Moncure, Margie Musgrove, Betty Pearce, Sally Pierce, Sadie Carol Ward and June Whitaker.  If others would like to sign up please call Margie M. and let her know.  The cost is $42 for the year which will take care of 6 meals.  You can put this money in the plate on Sunday designated for the ECW MEALS or you can give it to Deedie at our first meeting.

Please continue to save the graduate child and the bar code on the soup cans and the wrappers on other Campbell products.  Pace and Prego products now have the information on the wrapper rather than the tops so bring in those also..

Sign Up Sunday has been delayed 1 week to Sunday, Sept. 16, and the telephone section of the year book will be available at that time with unfilled spaces for certain responsibilities.  Please check the book and see if you might place your name in one of the spaces.  The 2007-08 yearbook will be available shortly on Sunday, Sept. 23.

The Rocky Mount Convocation will be hosting the Annual meeting in Tarboro on the 9th & 10th of November.  Our responsibility is the registration folders.  I have started assembling the covers and could use some help right after our program that day.  We need 120 folders.  I have the materials; I just need some hands.  The meeting in Tarboro will start in the early afternoon and go through Saturday noon.  The Holiday Inn Express there has set aside a block of room; for $57 you can get double beds to 1 room provided you make a reservation by Oct. 9.  Of course you can drive back and forth or go for 1 day.  Our new bishop will have Holy Communion on Friday evening and our speaker sounds very interesting.

I look forward to seeing you on Sept. 12th if not before.

Sisters in Christ,
Ruthie G.

FOOD FAIR                     FOOD FAIR
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2007
The Saturday before Thanksgiving
Start preparing and thinking
of what you can provide.

St. Francis Guild News

 The St. Francis Guild is an outgrowth of Christian Social Relations which is an office in the ECW.  It is a group of parishioners who visit, send cards or take food as needed.  Peggy Barber is Chair of this group and has asked that cards be sent to the following.  The Committee for September is: Peggy Barber, Chair, and Scott Barber. Please consider signing up for this ministry on Sunday, Sept 16th if you are not on the list for this wonderful ministry.

 · Ronnie Mitchell is now at the Guardian Care in Scotland Neck.  Please continue to mail your cards to PO Box 1128, Tillery, NC  27887

· SPECIAL PRAYERS for: Pat Harris, Kathleen Davis, Ida Bowers, Amber Keeter and Betty Mooring.

· Any nursing home residents—see your ECW booklet.

 If you know of someone who would like to be contacted or visited by this group, please call Peggy Barber at 537-6368 or Vickie in the parish office at 537-3610.

Joys……A special thanks to June Whitaker for her generous donation of yarn for the ECW crafters and many other useful items that she has donated. 

&

Concerns…Our sympathy to Angela Allen on the loss of her long time companion, Tom Anderson and to Julian Gardner for the loss of his sister, MaeBelle Hudgins.

Finding God in Times of Trouble

We evaluate our friends with a Godlike justice, but we want them to evaluate us with a Godlike compassion…  Sydney J. Harris: Chicago Daily News

Don’t we just love to make fun of people who find God in prison?  Isn’t it amazing that we have recently had an abundance of celebrities who have claimed that they have found God and Christ in times of trouble?  There is nothing that can inspire our dander more than a person who has committed despicable and/or irresponsible acts and then claim that God has entered their lives and are asking for forgiveness on behalf of a loving God.  Can we believe anything that is said?

In alcohol rehab, it is expected that an addict will relapse at least 15 times.  Drug addicts don’t have that grace because the substances they use are illegal.  Once they re-offend, and are caught, they are back in the prison before you can blow your nose.

Being a prison chaplain for fifteen years, I have personally seen how God has changed the lives of those who sit in darkness.  I used to be a very judgmental person.  After living and seeing first hand the grace that God extends to people who we, as a society, condemn, I just want to get on my knees and thank God for the fact that these folks have had any kind of experience with God in the first place.

Most of us, as mature Christians, need to remember our first journeys in our walk with Christ.  We may have been young, middle aged or even in our final years.  In the beginning of our journey, we tend to relapse.  We also tend to relapse in our second, third, fourth, etc. journeys with God in Christ before we get the picture.  Of course, our sins may have not had the impact of those who sit in prison, but we all sin nevertheless.

What we should look at is not whether a person is justified through grace, but let us look at Gospel itself.  As Christians, we seek to establish a society which demonstrates both justice and mercy to all people.  Each week when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God’s kingdom will come on earth as in heaven.  Though God is both the initiator and the enabler in bringing about the kingdom, God generally chooses to work through frail and fallible human beings.  And so, we have a special privilege – and responsibility – to see that we provide both justice and mercy for all.  That is the real lesson for us…

Margie +

Music Notes
Jim Lee

Choir: A body of singers who provide musical leadership for congregational singing in the worship of the church. Choirs may also sing anthems or make other special musical offerings to beautify and enhance the experience of worship. The primary role of the choir is to lead and support the congregation's worship through singing, not to provide a musical performance. Choir members may wear a cassock and surplice, or an alb. Some choirs do not wear vestments. The choir may be placed in a section of the chancel (also known as the "choir" or "quire"), or the choir may sit together in a designated part of the nave.  (From the Episcopal Church USA Web site).

The emphasis in the middle of the paragraph is mine, because I believe our choir does a beautiful job in leading and supporting our congregation worship.  The Liturgy is shot through with beautiful music—not just hymns and anthems, but service music as well.  Judith does a wonderful job blending the organ with the congregation, but the organ can’t make words and phrases to cue the congregation on how music in worship is to be sung.

In order to furnish this support to the congregation, members of the church must step forward and put on the cassock and surplice which signifies that they are present for one purpose: to support worship.  The folks whom I have worked with for the past three years are wonderful and have done great things, but we need more help to allow us to do more (and more often) to make worship at All Saints’ a truly meaningful experience.  We will meet for the first time this fall on Sunday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.  I hope to see you there.

OUTREACH

 Mary Wellman has agreed to chair the Outreach Committee this year.  Please contact her to share your ideas for outreach!  Her email address is tmwellman@earthlink.net, and her telephone number is 586-5449.  If you would like to be a member of the committee, contact Mary or sign up on September 16^th!

The Second Sunday of each month is designated as a collection day to help meet the needs of a specific organization supported by our Parish.  On Sunday, September 9, Hannah’s Place is our chosen organization.  Hannah’s Place is a local shelter for abused women and their children.  Listed below are items needed by the women and children who live at Hannah Place:

Shampoo & Conditioner
Shaving items
Diapers
Toothpaste/brushes
Hair brushes, hair spray
Baby Powder

Additional items are needed for Hannah’s Place.

Paper Products
Cleaning Supplies
Household Items

If you would prefer to give a monetary donation, please make your check payable to All Saints’ with a memo to Hannah’s Place.  Just a reminder that the loose offering from the first Sunday goes into the Rector’s Discretionary Fund.  This fund has helped many local individuals and families with their utility bills, food, prescriptions, etc.  All Saints’ now has a small food bank in the parish office, which is funded by the Rector’s Discretionary fund.  If you would like to donate any canned items please feel free to bring them to the parish office. 

Thanks you for supporting our efforts to reach out to those in need in our community.

FUND RAISERS FOR RRHS YOUTH

One of All Saints’ youth, Rebecca Gordon, has been chosen to go to Denmark for a 10 day foreign exchange program.  She will be leaving, along with 12 other youths from Roanoke Rapids High School, on September 28th.  They are having several fund raisers to help with the cost of this trip.  They plan to sell BBQ plates for $6.00, Boston Butts for $25 each and $1 Raffle Tickets for a Gas Card for $250.  The BBQ plates will be available to pick up on September 7th, from 11 am until 2 pm in the parking lot of the Yard Contractor.  The Boston Butts can be picked up on September 22nd at the Yard Contractor also and the drawing will be held at the RRHS football game on Friday, September 21st. (no need to be there).  If you would like to place an order for any of these listed above please contact the Gordan’s at 537-6230, but the BBQ plates deadline is Monday, Sept 3rd so please call the Gordon’s before Monday, Sept. 3rd and leave a message how many you wish to purchase.  Thank you so much for supporting Rebecca in this endeavor.  Please pray for a safe and fun trip for all.

SAINTS' CUISINE

 Sandy Lehman has agreed to chair the Saints' Cuisine this year.  This ministry allows All Saints’ members to share fellowship, fun and good food with each other!   Here's how it works.  Participants are randomly assigned to groups of about 10 people.  Each person or couple take turns during the year hosting dinner or brunch at their home.  The host/hostess generally provides the entrée and beverages with the others members bringing the appetizers, side dishes and desserts.  This is the general format, but groups can vary the occasion to their liking.  It's a great way to have fun and get to know fellow parishioners.   Please contact Sandy at 537-0249 or murphy514@charter.net to sign up so she can begin to co-ordinate this project.  There will also be a sign up sheet on Sunday, Sept. 16.  Looking forward to a fun year!!

SUNDAY SCHOOL
BEGINS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH
10 AM

Bob Burke has asked me to co-ordinate Sunday School this year.  We will offer classes for all ages so mark your calendar for September 9th and join us at 10 am in the parish house.   The Adult Education class will be held in the Mullen Room with Willie Long, Jr. as the teacher.  If you would like to teach a class or help in any way, please contact me at 535-4628 or Vickie in the parish office at 537-3610.

See you on September 9th!
Betty Davis

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2007
11:00 AM
COVERED DISH LUNCHEON
(Only One Service)

On Sunday, September 16th, we are planning a Sign-Up Sunday after the 11 am service.  We will worship as one body together with choir, sermon and Holy Eucharist.  After worship, we are planning a covered dish luncheon followed by our sign-up Sunday.  Our different ministries will be featured and each chairperson will be available to answer any questions concerning each committee.  Please make every effort to come on Sunday, Sept. 16th .  If you are not able to come on that Sunday but would like to more information or to sign up for any particular committee, contact Vickie in the parish office at 537-3610.

ADDRESSES and E-MAILS NEEDED FOR STUDENTS AWAY

Sandy Lehman is once again the Secretary of College Work and enjoys communicating with All Saints’ youth that is away at college.  But she needs your help, please email her at murphy514@charter.net or call her at 537-0249 with any changes or additions.  Or you can contact Vickie with the information at 537-3610 or allsaintsrr@earthlink.net.  Please help Sandy stay in touch with our youth by helping us get this information.  Thanks!!