“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.” (Luke 18:31) Dearly Beloved, The verse quoted above is from the Gospel this coming Sunday and it signals for us that Lent is about to begin. This verse sums up for us what Lent is all about…to journey with Christ to Jerusalem, to witness and share in his Passion and Crucifixion, to experience the divine Love shown forth there…and to know that “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) It is in response to the divine Love shown by our Savior that we make the decision to “put away childish things,” as St. Paul says. We put away those things that get in the way of us growing into that great Love shown to us, such as self-indulgence and worldly preoccupation. It is the time to put on “grown-up” things, the Christian duties of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, and make them our Lenten disciplines. It is out of these disciplines that holy habits are formed. When we make Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving disciplines during Lent, we give ourselves the opportunity to turn them into habits…habits of heaven…habits of Love. How will you engage these duties this year? Will you make them a Lenten discipline? Here at the church, regarding Prayer, we will have Morning Prayer every day at 8:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM each evening during Lent. We will also follow our Savior on the Way of the Cross by praying the Stations of the Cross every Tuesday at 12:00 PM and every Friday at 7:00 PM. This is all in addition to our normal worship on Sundays and Wednesdays. As to Fasting, the prayer book enjoins upon all of us to fast every day during Lent. The general accepted practice is to limit your food intake to 2 full meals a day. Many people break this down to 1 full meal and 2 half-sized meals. As a parish we will abstain from meat as part of the Lenten Fast when we gather for our Fellowship Suppers on Wednesday evenings. Abstinence from meat should also be practiced on Fridays. The final aspect, Almsgiving, can easily be dealt with by using the mite boxes provided in church and we are focusing our almsgiving on children who are less fortunate than us over in India. The funds collected will be given to our national church’s Lenten Appeal (you can read Bishop Grudorf’s letter below). What is important here is doing something about this EVERY day during Lent. Writing a check once and forgetting about it is not why we ask for money. The point is to get each one of us to think about the reason for giving, and to pray about it, and dedicate our fasting in part to the success of our Global Partners’ work with the Dalit children. But at the “end of the day,” the point of all we do during Lent is to bring to mind constantly that journey to Jerusalem that Christ made for us and to show our response to the great Love shown to us “once for all” on the Cross of Calvary. Let us journey with Him this year! The journey begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6, just five days away. Worship will be as follows:
- 7:00 a.m., Imposition of Ashes & Holy Communion
- 12:00 p.m., Penitential Office, Imposition of Ashes & Holy Communion
- 7:00 p.m., Penitential Office, Imposition of Ashes & Holy Communion (This will be a solemn celebration and incense will be used)
Tuesday, March 5, is Shrove Tuesday and we will have the traditional Pancake Supper from 5:00-7:00 PM in the Parish Hall. Thank You from the SailorsTwo Sundays ago, we had an old-fashioned “pounding” for paper products for Peter Zwingert and two of his classmates at the Naval Nuclear Power School. As they move on to work on nuclear reactor prototypes, they had to move off the base into their own housing and your help allowed them to set up their new household. You can see in the picture above three very happy Petty Officers, due to your generosity (l-r, Robert Klein, Jackson King, Peter). Thank you! Parish Hall ExpansionAll the demolition has been completed with the removal of the wall heating units last week. All the electrical work has been completed in the parish hall extension and most of the sheet rock has been patched. Our HVAC contractor also connected the ceiling vents in the extension to the rest of the hall. We expect the sheet rock to be taped and “mudded” this coming week. Once that is finished we can clean up in the parish hall, get some paint on the walls, and get the new carpet laid. Painting SurpriseWe were pleasantly surprised when we heard from our painting contractor this past Sunday. His schedule had changed and he wanted to begin work on the church right away. On Monday morning, his crews were at the church pressure washing and finishing up the caulking that needed to be done. Yesterday, the painting began and it continued today. I have included several pictures below. The painting will be completed, as the weather allows. I am extremely impressed with the work and I believe the new colors are fabulous! First Friday Youth EventTomorrow, Friday, March 1 at 5:45—8:00 p.m., the young folks of our parish and friends of the parish will gather for our monthly First Fri-Yay! Dinner and fun will be served. All are welcome. Palm Branches & CrossesIf you have not already done so, please bring in your palm branches and crosses from last year no later this coming Sunday, March 3, so they may be burned for ashes for Ash Wednesday. There are more announcements below. Be sure to read them to get more info about the Lenten Fish Fry, the Gosnell/Ridley wedding, and educational and service opportunities here at All Saints Church. Blessings,Fr. Erich
The Painting Begins!
Other Announcements
Lenten Fish Fry
· It’s that time again! On Friday, March 29, we will hold our Lenten Fish Fry. Tickets are $9.00 each in advance ($10 at the door) for breaded tilapia filets, roasted potatoes, hush puppies, coleslaw, and iced tea or lemonade. Take-out will be from 5-6 p.m. and dine-in will run from 6-8 p.m.. Kids under 12 eat free. Ticket packets are available on Sunday!
A Wedding!
· On March 16, 2019, at 1:00 p.m., Jeremiah Ridley and Felicia Gosnell will be joined in Holy Matrimony here at All Saints. Jeremiah and Felicia would like to invite their All Saints family. Please sign-up on the bulletin board in the parish hall no later than today to let Jeremiah and Felicia know you will be here that day. In lieu of gifts, the couple is requesting gift cards to assist in the completion of their beloved home.
Neat Niks· We are looking for a few folks to join our new Neat Niks team. This group keeps the pews tidy by straightening books, replacing offering envelopes, and other small tasks. Please contact Cynthia Hensley if you are interested being a part of this ministry team. Adult Sunday School· There will be no class on Sunday morning. Adult Sunday school will return on Sunday, March 10 at 9:45 a.m. in the parish hall. Wednesday Night Bible Study· Our Bible study will return on Wednesday, March 13. During Lent, we will continue our study of St. Matthew’s Gospel. It is never too late to join us! Tuesday Book Study· The Tuesday Book Study is reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Please read chapters 26-28 for this Tuesday’s class. Food Bank· Western Carolina Rescue Mission of Buncombe County is this month’s recipient of our in-gathering of food stuffs. Along with the normal food offerings, WCRM is currently in need of regular laundry detergent, powder or liquid.
This Week in the Parish
Friday, March 1· 5:45 p.m., First Friday YouthSunday, March 3, Quinquagesima· 8:30 a.m., Holy Communion· 9:45 a.m., Sunday School (no adult class)· 11:00 a.m., Holy Communion· 12:15 p.m., Fellowship LunchTuesday, March 5, Shrove Tuesday· 11:00 a.m., Book Study· 5:00 p.m., Pancake SupperWednesday, March 6, Ash Wednesday· 7:00 a.m., Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes· 12:00 p.m., Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes· 7:00 p.m., Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes & Penitential Office (incense used) Thursday, March 7· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer· 5:30 p.m., Evening PrayerFriday, March 8· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer· 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer· 7:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross
Lenten Appeal 2019
Dear APA Clergy and Lay Members,Last year our Lenten Appeal efforts were focused on providing funds for a second APA Good Shepherd School, for Dalit Children in India. We set an ambitious target of $150,000. I am happy to report that we achieved over half of that goal last year. Our focus this year will be to raise the balance of the funds needed to construct this second school.This second school will be constructed in the Kadapa District of the state of Andhra Pradesh, and its exact location will be determined by Bishop Jaya Rao, the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of India. Children from several of our churches in the area will be able to benefit from the new school. The search for suitable land is making progress and we anticipate that the final selection of property will be made by July of this year. Once the land has been secured the school will begin in rented quarters.This school will change the lives of numerous Dalit children as well as provide numerous benefits to the surrounding village communities. Through the spread of the Gospel and an English-medium education, future generations of children will be able to escape the crippling poverty and oppression resulting from the Caste system and be able to lead full and productive lives in Indian society.Our Lenten Appeal Project 2019 challenge will be to raise the balance of the $150,000 for the APA Good Shepherd School near Jammalamadugu, Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh in partnership with OM (USA) and Good Shepherd Ministries (India).I am asking each individual within our churches to make a sacrificial Lenten offering of a minimum of $1.50 per day for the 40 days of Lent (a total of $60 per person), or more as our Lord leads you. We will need one hundred percent participation in order to achieve this goal. Please make this a family project for Lent. Remember, your generous gifts will enable Dalit children to be liberated from the bondage of poverty and oppression.Please pray every day during Lent that God will use our offering to show His great mercy on the Dalit children of India.Faithfully yours in Christ,The Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf, Presiding Bishop, Anglican Province of America
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