May they all be one, Father may they be one in us; as you are in me and I in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.” John 17:21

This prayer for the disciples shows us that when true caring and love are found, God is present. It reminds me of the devastation from the tornados that slammed into Virginia on April 28. The Spirit of God is very much alive in the aftermath as people come in to help rebuild home, towns and lives. When we find community where true love and care exist, then we find that we are a sign of God’s presence in the world. We cannot be effective apostles alone. We are not called to be the Lone Ranger ministers. Our effectiveness is proportional to our living in union with Jesus and with each other. It is only when we branches are connected to the vine that we can bear fruit. As Jesus puts it, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

So, if we are to bear any fruit, we branches are totally dependant for our nourishment and growth on the vine, we have to continue in our process of caring for each other and especially for those who are less fortunate than us. When we braches stay connected to the vine, we are empowered to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

We can participate in spreading the Gospel because we are assured of the ability to carry it out; and the mark of us as disciples is that we are bearing fruit. And we bear much fruit.

The important thing to remember is that we have no ministry at all; instead, we are stewards, caretakers, and managers of Jesus’ ministry. And so any ministry we do, is the ministry of Jesus Christ. Any power we have is Jesus’ power. Any victory we live is Jesus’ victory. And any Good News we proclaim is the Good News of Jesus Christ. And in all this, we have the peace of our Lord always with us, because we know that whatever persecution or obstacles we face in the world, Jesus has already conquered the world.

Yes, this is the place where true love and nourishment can be found. This community is the way we pour out our lives and give of our lives without counting the cost. We love each other and we work together! Thanks be to God.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As many of you know our parish administrator, Vickie Irby, has recently been ill and not able to work her normal schedule. For the time Vickie was unable to come to the office at all, members of our church volunteered to pick up the slack by coming to the office to answer phone calls and be there to greet visitors or members and help with the everyday duties that needed to be done in Vickie’s absence. We are very appreciative of their care and thoughtfulness to help us while Vickie was ill. Vickie is now feeling a bit better and has been working a few hours in the morning or afternoon as she feels up to it. I hope we will continue to give her the support that she needs during her illness.

With deep regret, I need to tell you that Deedie Moncure, with over thirty years of service as All Saints’ Treasurer, has asked me to find another Treasurer so she may retire and have the time she needs to take care of her family, to do some traveling, and enjoy her retirement. As of June 1, 2008 All Saints’ will be without a Treasurer. We are in the process of upgrading and computerizing our accounting practices to make it easier for Deedie’s successor. We need someone to volunteer to be our new Treasurer and if any member is interested would you please speak with me or Margie so we may explain our new bookkeeping and accounting system and exactly what duties would be required as well as the estimated time involved for this function. Being Treasurer of All Saints is a very important and responsible position, but with the new computerized bookkeeping system it will not be as demanding time-wise as it has been in the past.

We at All Saints’ Church are extremely appreciative and grateful for Deedie’s long years of dedicated service as our Treasurer. She has been such a gift to All Saints’ and although she is retiring as our Treasurer there are numerous other activities and duties she will continue to perform for the church. Thank you Deedie!!!

All Saints’ Church has become very active with numerous outreach and in-house church activities over the past few months. We have had a wonderful turnout of members and friends for all of our activities and projects. Our church family seems to be a very happy and cohesive group. The success of our many projects reflects on the positive leadership of our new priest, Margie, the hard work of our committees, and the participation of our members. Thanks to all of you for your service and time.

If you have any comments, questions, desires, or needs please do not hesitate to contact me.

Robert J Burke
Senior Warden

Overcoming Life's Disappointments
By: Harold S. Kushner
Anchor, (reprint) August, 2007

Rabbi Harold Kushner gives us a message about the disappointments that invariably creep up on us in life. He uses the great biblical hero, Moses as an example of not only coping, but overcoming the despairs in life that threaten the deepest sense of our being. Moses, serving as God’s servant suffers many setbacks as he struggled to let my people go: to release them from slavery in Egypt. As the people constantly complained and worshipped false idols, Kushner gives us deep insight as to how Moses was able to hang in there. Like the excellent author he is, Kushner enables folks like us to not only appreciate the biblical perspective of Moses’ hardships, he gently leads us into the 21^st Century and show us that as we struggle, we are not alone.

The Last Lecture By: Randy Pausch
Hyperion, April, 2008

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. This book is about an ordinary man who is trying to die with courage. He is a Computer Science professor who is fighting pancreatic cancer. His last lecture was given at Carnegie Mellon University so that he could put his life in a bottle for his children. The things that really matter in life are the people and things that set our hearts on fire. This lecture is moving beyond words, and it helps us to see that there is indeed life as we journey toward death. I have only one reflection: Randy, what a wonderful life…

Safe Church Training

We hosted an interesting and informative seminar at All Saints’ on Monday evening, April 28 about Safe Church Training. This meeting addressed the issues of sexual misconduct by:

Definition – how we can identify sexual misconduct
Characteristics – how an abused child can be described
Procedures – how we can respond to sexual misconduct
Legal Summary – this concerns legal definitions

A copy of Policy and Procedures from the Diocese of North Carolina as well as the booklet of Safeguarding God’s children has been posted on the bulletin boards in the kitchen, sacristy and on the refrigerator in the Administration Office.

As we share our gifts from our community of All Saints’, we will provide a safe space for all of God’s children. We are committed to make this church as free as possible from sexual abuse and harassment by dealing with it honestly and quickly.

Also, any form of intimidation or harassment of God’s people (children and adults) will not be tolerated at All Saints’. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can also contact the Diocese of North Carolina at 1.877.332.3394.

Episcopal Church Women

We are at the end of our ECW church year and looking forward to the annual picnic which will be at Ann Boyd Smith’s on the north side of the lake on Tuesday evening the 20^th of May. All women are invited.

Included are directions from Gaston.

Trip: 14.0 mi, 21 min from Gaston

1 Depart SR-48 / Pleasant Hill Rd

2 Turn right onto SR-46 / Lawrenceville Rd 9.5 mi

3 Bear left onto River Rd 2.8 mi (Henrico)

4 Bear right onto Wood Cock Rd 1.4 mi ( Whip O Will Hills)

5 Turn left onto Bob White Rd 0.1 mi

6 Keep straight onto Quail Ln 0.1 mi

7 Arrive at 341 Quail Ln (on the left) The last intersection is Bob White Rd

We will meet at the church at 5:30 to get together for riding there. We hope to see many of you that evening .

Just a reminder that CPC Sunday is May 4^th. If you cannot be at church that Sunday, the CPC chairman (Margie Musgrove) is always happy to receive your envelope. You may also bring it into the office.

Spring UTO is also this month. It will be the last Sunday, the 25^th and you will be receiving that envelope near the date. We have so much for which to be thankful let us express our thanks and give so that others in need may have. We have blue boxes at the office if you need one and Frances Jones (UTO chairman) will be happy to let you have one .

The first Sunday in June, the 1^st, will be installation day for the new board members. This will take place at the 10:00 service. Please try to be there that day.

Some officers have work to perform over the summer and others have a rest however we look forward to another year with a call meeting for the board in early August to help get all the latest information for the yearbook to help Sallie Hardison (VP) put this together. Please keep notes of any changes we need to make.

I feel that All Saints’ has had a good year and it is all of us working together that has made this possible. I thank you very much for all you do.

Christ has no eyes on this earth but ours, Christ has no feet on earth but ours,

Christ has no hands on earth but ours, yours are the eyes from which Christ is to see the world, yours are the feet for which you are to go about doing good, and yours are the hands which you are to show love, care and compassion as you use them to bless your brothers and sisters.

Sisters in Christ, Ruthie G.

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 Chairperson of this group and has asked that cards be sent to the following. The committee for the month of May is Deedie Moncure and Kathy Mitchell.

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.

With the Reformation in the mid-1500’s, Protestant churches dictated that the Eucharist (a Greek word for Holy Communion to differentiate it from the Latin “Mass”) should be said in the common language of the people and that all should partake of the bread and wine, in contrast to the Catholic practice of the congregation saying some parts of the Mass, but only the priest partaking of the elements (except on Easter when all congregants received them). Plainsong chanting of the Mass was discouraged by Lutherans, Anglicans, and other Protestant sects, and metrical settings of the Mass and the Psalms were composed. Many of the hymns we sing today come from the explosion in composition of these settings during this time period.

Under Henry VIII, Anglican Archbishop Cranmer published the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549 with a less “Catholic” version (especially repudiating transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Christ) following in 1552. After Catholic Queen Mary succeeded Henry VIII, she had Cranmer burned at the stake in 1556. When Elizabeth I, who reinstituted the Church of England, republished the BCP in 1559, she published both forms of administration; interestingly, both forms have come down to us and are in our current prayer book (look especially at the two forms of the Eucharistic Prayer in Rite I on pages 335 and 342).

During the Interregnum (1640-1662) Cromwell and the Puritans divested the Church of England of all Catholic influence and trappings, even banning Christmas. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1662, a new Prayer Book was instituted. This book became the template for all current prayer books in the Anglican Communion. Now out of power in England, Puritans seeking religious freedom emigrated to America, and the Great Awakening began in Massachusetts. It was a time of Evangelical fervor and fire-and-brimstone preaching which would spread throughout the American colonies.

As a result of the spread of the Evangelical movement, by the end of the 1700’s, Protestant churches in Europe and America were at a liturgical low. Methodism and other Evangelical traditions had invaded Anglicanism (remember, for example, the Wesleys remained ordained Anglican priests to the end of their lives), making the sermon, and not the Eucharist, the focal point of the Sunday service. Most Anglican churches had communion only monthly or quarterly, first by stopping the service after the Prayers of the People, and subsequently (into the 1800’s and beyond) by simply tacking the Offertory and the sermon onto Morning Prayer. Liturgical vestments and symbols were removed from many Anglican churches.

Meanwhile, after the colonies’ repudiation of the authority of the King in 1776, the Anglican churches in America formed The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (we wouldn’t officially be “the Episcopal Church” until 1967). The Church of England recalled its bishops (episcopal means “bishop-based”) and refused to ordain any Americans. However, Scottish bishops agreed to ordain American bishops, allowing the Episcopal Church to maintain apostolic succession of bishops. After the Revolution ended, an American prayer book was drafted in 1786, but it was roundly criticized by Anglican archbishops as too Evangelical (for example, using “minister” instead of “priest” and dropping the Nicene Creed from the Liturgy), and a more acceptable version was adopted in 1789.

The Episcopal Church was now a major influence in the newly minted United States with its own prayer book and a mixture of musical influences from the Anglican to the Evangelical which has continued into the present hymnbook.

Saints’-On-Wheels is a new ministry at All Saints’ which provides opportunities for church members and friends to explore God’s creation….the interesting, the beautiful, the amazing world around us… with fun and fellowship. Our first trip to the Poe Museum in Richmond was quite successful! Val and Tony Short are coordinating these trips in the church van. To register, call Vickie in the church office at 537-3610. Cost per trip will be $5 to cover the cost of gas. Meals, drinks, admission fees, and other personal purchases will cost extra. Parents must accompany their children. Please sign up for one or all of the following trips….

Saturday, May 24 Picnic Lunch and Tour of the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Ecocenter.

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park & Eco-Center, located in Scotland Neck, is home to the world’s largest collection of waterfowl, and is dedicated to conservation, education, research and wholesome outdoor fun. We will have a guided tour of the facility and you’ll have a chance to view, up close, the colorful waterfowl that are native to North America, South America, Central America, Africa and Australia. Admission is $5 for children 12 and under and seniors 62 and over, and $7 for all others. Visit their website at: http://www.shwpark.com/ *Bring your own sandwich; drinks and chips will be provided. *Departure time from All Saints’: 10 a.m. Return by 3 p.m.

Sunday, June 22 Picnic Lunch and Tour of Blandford Church in Petersburg

Blandford Church, built in 1735, features 15 exquisite Tiffany stained glass windows honoring the states that provided soldiers for the Confederate army. The Ladies Memorial Association of Petersburg organized the church’s restoration campaign, soliciting funds from each former Confederate state for the creation and installation of a stained glass window in memory of the Confederate soldiers from that state. Louis Comfort Tiffany's studio was commissioned to design the fifteen memorial compass windows. Each of the large windows contains the image of a Saint and symbols associated with the Saint. The four smaller windows were designed to complement the larger ones. The Ladies Association will provide a guide for our tour of the church and the surrounding cemetery. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children under 12 and seniors 60 and older.. For more information, visit the website: http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrID=11988 *Bring a sandwich; drinks and chips will be provided. *Departure time from All Saints’: 11 a.m. or immediately following the 10 a.m. service. Return by 3 p.m.

A Saturday in July (TBA) Fruits of the Sandhills: Pottery and Peaches

Enjoy a visit and tour of the Cole pottery and a shopping stop at North State Stoneware in Sanford. We’ll lunch in Sanford before we make our way to the Pee Dee Peach Orchard near Rockingham where we’ll find peach ice cream made right there at the orchard as well as a variety of peaches for purchase. Visit these websites for more information:

http://www.ncclay.com/ncclay/potters/coles/coles.htm and http://www.agr.state.nc.us/ncproducts/ShowSite.asp?ID=2975 *Bring money for lunch, snacks, and purchases. *Departure time from All Saints’: 9 a.m. Return by 8 p.m.

A Saturday in August (TBA) Art Ducko at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh

Nearly 400 carved decoys from 1872 to 2008, beautiful Audubon bird prints and natural bird specimens only skim the surface of ArtDuckO: Waterfowl Culture in North Carolina, an exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. ArtDuckO brings together 150 years of waterfowl culture ― from decoy carving, art and fashion to market hunting, hunt clubs and conservation efforts — into one fascinating exhibit. Admission is free. http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/wgo/press_03132008c.html *Bring money for lunch at an Irish Pub in downtown Raleigh. *Departure time from All Saints’ parking lot 10 a.m. Return by 4 p. m.

******************************************************************************

What’s next? September: Lighthouses of the Outer Banks (Corolla, Bodie, & Cape Hatteras) October: The Winery at Iron Gate Farm, Mebane, NC (http://www.irongatevineyards.com/ )

Any suggestions? Email Tony or Val at short302@gmail.com

All Saints’ Vestry Minutes
April 8, 2008

$1000 put in Memorial Fund in March
Outreach Sunday to MDG = $1260

Rector’s Report – The Rev. Margie Holm

Senior Warden’s Report – Bob Burke

Junior Warden’s Report – Tony Short

Old Business

Fletcher Carter expressed his concern about getting a runner.

New Business

Meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer.

Submitted by Vickie Irby

Pentecost is one of the major feasts in the church year. It occurs after seven weeks of Easter and means “the fiftieth day.” Pentecost is related to one of the three harvest days (the other two are Passover and Succoth) of Shavuot where all Jewish males were required to journey to the temple in Jerusalem to sacrifice the first grains of the new harvest.

Jesus met the disciples as they were assembled during an uncertain time. There was the rush of a violent wind, tongues of flame came into each person and they began to speak so that each could understand in their own language. The others were amazed that this group of uneducated Galileans could speak so many different languages.

The people, being totally in shock, wondered what all of this meant. Some mocked the disciples suspecting that they were drunk, but Peter stood up and proclaimed that this was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel (2:28-29). Peter declared from that prophecy that God was pouring the Divine Spirit upon all flesh. The first Pentecost ended with Peter baptizing the crowd of 3,000 people in the name of Jesus Christ.

As Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” We can look to our Old Testament history and remember that God breathed life into Adam (Genesis (2:7) and into the Valley of the Dry Bones (Ezekial 37:3-6).

Christians consider the Day of Pentecost to be the birthday of the church because from that moment on, the disciples carried the message of Christ all over the world. From that point on, a new community of faith was formed. Jesus empowered that community of faith with new ways of speaking and hearing that the world had never before experienced. It is a community of faith that is still with us today.

On Pentecost Sunday, the liturgical colors change to red to symbolize the tongues of flame and the Holy Spirit.

During the Season after Pentecost our liturgical colors will be green. This signifies our growing relationship with the risen Christ. This Season is the longest period we have in the liturgical church year and will begin on May 27. The Season of Pentecost ends at the Season of Advent, November 25.

 
Mother’s Day/Pentecost Picnic
Saint Luke’s in Northampton County
11:15 AM with Picnic on Grounds

Bring your favorite picnic lunch— enough for your family and perhaps some extra to share with your friends.

No Sunday School
If it rains the service will be at All Saints’ Church
Call Office if directions are needed.

Extra Notes of Interest

Outreach Sunday
CPC Sunday—May 4th
UTO Sunday—May 25th

The loose offering from the second Sunday in May will not be designated for Outreach because there are two other special collections in May. May 4th is the collection Sunday for the Church Periodical Club, and May 25th is the collection Sunday for the United Thank Offering.  Outreach Sunday will return in June!

Many thanks to all who participated in the Stop Hunger Now food packaging event by working or contributing -- it was a huge success! 44 people packaged 10,000 meals. The Outreach Committee members made soup, and the EYC prepared dessert. Again, thank you for your support.

On the last day of the Feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, if any one thirst let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39 RSV)

STOP HUNGAR NOW is a campaign to help some of the physical and emotional needs of hungry people as well as those who have been affected by disasters. Thanks to churches like us, we have made a difference in serving people who don’t have anything. While we do that, we also satisfy the spiritual needs of thirsty people here. When we pour out our love and give ourselves away in the process, we discover that it is one of the greatest blessings in our lives.

Paul challenged the wealthy people of the church at Corinth with the response the impoverished church in Macedonia had made to aid the struggling church in Jerusalem. The Macedonians collected an offering well beyond their means. (2 Cor. 8ff) The author of I John says that, if we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. (I John 3:17) The gifts that we share compel us to share what we have. For all of us at All Saints’, it is our time to follow the example of the church in Corinth. This is our moment. The whole world is beginning to learn about who we are and what we value and what we will accomplish together. People have heard of us in Bangladesh, Iran, Nicaragua, Uganda, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Tanzania, Germany, South Africa, Madagascar, Mexico, New Orleans, and, even Rocky Mount and Raleigh. O, indeed, we are blessed. We have no life but that which God provides. Remember the parable of the Rich Fool and his larger barns. (Luke 12:13-21) When we store treasures for God, then our living waters flow from our hearts.

With Jesus, we hold a treasure that every other person wants to possess - Living Water!

“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:38b