Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols
This Sunday, December 3, the Choir of All Saints Church presents its annual Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols at 5:00 p.m. The very first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was held on Christmas Eve 1918 at King’s College Chapel (Cambridge). The service was planned by Eric Milner-White, who at the age of thirty-four had just been appointed Dean of King’s College. After his service as an army chaplain, he decided that the Church of England needed “more imaginative worship.” And thus began the yearly tradition of re-telling the story of our redemption – from prophecy to fulfillment – through Holy Scripture and music. We here at All Saints are pleased to continue this wonderful part of our Anglican heritage and tradition. Please do come out and join us. And immediately after we will hold our St. Nicholas Party. We have it on good authority that good ole St. Nick will be putting in an appearance to fill up those shoes with some goodies! See you then.
Weekly News
Dearly beloved, It is hard to believe it is already 2 weeks since we held our annual parish meeting and, with Thanksgiving Week following it, it certainly has been hectic for all of us the past couple weeks. Now it is time for all of us to slow down a bit as Advent begins tomorrow, December 3, and make our sure preparations for the coming of the Christ Child just three short weeks away.At the annual meeting, we elected new vestry members. Congratulations to Bob Brooks, Sally Blackburn, and Verna Shipman who were elected to full terms. Tom Clyde was elected to an unexpired term. We heard many reports and set a budget for the new year and it is very clear that the upcoming year is shaping up to be a very exciting time in our life here At All Saints Church. You can download and read the entire annual meeting packet by clicking here. Motorcycle for IndiaOne of things I mentioned in my address at the annual meeting was the fact that we used our outreach funds to provide a motorcycle for one of our priests in India. Well, just a couple of days later, I received pictures and information from Bishop Jaya Rao, our Bishop in Andhra Pradesh. Fr. Niranjan Purushotham is the proud recipient of the motorcycle. He is the priest in charge of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Kadiri, Ananthapur District. He also cares for a new mission congregation 20 kilometers away, so the new transportation is an incredible help. Bp. Rao writes, “He conveys his thanks to one and all of you for this God’s gift.” Here are two pictures with Bp. Rao blessing the bike and Fr. Niranjin (he’s the really tall guy!) standing with his new ride.
News of NoteKathy Willis had knee replacement surgery the day before Thanksgiving. She went home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day and is doing very well. In fact, she intends to be in church Sunday. News of Note #2Loretta Reynolds had shoulder replacement surgery on Friday, at Pardee Hospital. She said she is doing well. We expect her to head home by Monday. We will keep you up to date. Saints EvergreensBe sure to pick up your tree and wreath orders on Sunday morning at church. As I was getting ready to send out this edition of our weekly news, I found out that our supplier shorted us on many of the larger sized wreaths. Please see Doug Hensley so we can make this right for you if you are affected by this glitch.AnnouncementsThe announcements below have some important scheduling info for you and also gives the details on this year’s Angel Tree, the Ladies Advent Luncheon, the Men’s Brats & Beer, and the Madrigal Dinner. So please read on. Blessings to all of you and I pray you have a blessed Advent season. See you in church!Fr. Erich
Announcements
Angel Tree· This year we have adopted 8 children. The Angel Tree at the back of the church has “ornaments” which identify a child. Please pick an ornament, or two (or three even!) and go out and shop for the child on that ornament. Return the gift UNWRAPPED, with the ornament attached to it, to the church. The deadline for returning the gifts is next Sunday, December 10. If you need a “personal shopper,” please see Kathy Zwingert or Cynthia Hensley. Ladies Advent Luncheon· The date for our Annual Women’s Advent Luncheon this year is this coming Saturday, December 9 at 1:00 p.m. Sally Blackburn has offered her home to host this catered event. Sunday is the last day to sign-up and pay. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board. Detailed directions to Sally’s house will be sent via email to those who R.S.V.P. Men’s Brats & Beer· During the women’s Advent Luncheon this coming Saturday, the men will gather at Doug Hensley’s house for their Annual Beer and Brats event, starting at 1:00 p.m. Let Doug know Sunday if you plan on attending. Madrigal Dinner by Home School Choir· The Blue Ridge Home School Choir will host a Madrigal Dinner here December 8 & 9 at 6:30 p.m. There will also be a matinee performance next Sunday, December 10 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $25, which includes a full meal. Please see Anjie Grady for tickets and additional details. Tuesday Book Study· C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters is our study book. It is very easy to jump in at any time. Join us! Class starts at 11:00 a.m. Please read Letters 17-19 for this week. This will be our last class until January. Wednesday Bible Study & Fellowship Dinner· This week will be our last class and dinner for 2017. We will look at Chapter 6 in Romans. After that, class and dinner will return on January 3. Food Bank· Bread of Life in Transylvania County is this month’s recipient of our in-gathering of food stuffs. Christmas Schedule· Our Christmas Schedule is a bit different this year because Christmas Eve and the Fourth Sunday in Advent are the same day. We will have only one celebration of the Holy Communion on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Then we will begin Christmas with our Family Eucharist at 7:00 p.m. followed by the Christmas Mass at Midnight at 11:00 p.m. On Christmas Day, we will have Holy Communion at 10:00 a.m.
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