Dearly Beloved,
It has been a bit of time since I last wrote to you with the news of this place so I just want to get all of you caught up on what has been happening and what we have in store for our life together.
Craft Market
The Ladies of All Saints Craft Market back on October 19 was very successful. As you know, this is the major fundraiser for our women and their ministries both here in the parish and to the wider church and world. Many of the vendors were extremely pleased with the results of the day and intend to return next year. There are so many of you who involved yourself in this event and none of it could have occurred without you. So thank you to everyone who was involved in registration, set-up, bake sale, basket raffle, selling your wares, break down, and all those little things by just being there to help out. We are blessed that we all work together so well.
Steve Miller’s Ordination
Steve Miller, who interned here the first part of this year, was ordained a deacon in the church on the same day as the Craft Market. Several of us ran up to Weaverville that day for the occasion at St. Matthew’s Church. I am sure all of us look forward to having the “new” Father Steve back with us in the future. More pictures of Steve’s ordination are available by clicking here to go to our national website.
Confirmations & Receptions
And if that weekend was not busy enough, Bishop Grundorf joined us on Sunday, October 20, for his Episcopal Visit and he confirmed four members of the church and received five more. It was such a joy for me to be able to show him how much we have been able to accomplish together here at All Saints. He and his wife Mary were very impressed, not only with all of our expansion, but also with the loving spirit that abides here and I thank all of you, and the good Lord, for that. You can see our confirmands in the header picture and those received are here below. There are more pictures of the day here on our website.
Stewardship Campaign
In the midst of all this activity, we also launched our annual Stewardship Campaign. Thanks to all of you who have already responded and I encourage those of you who have not been able to make your commitment yet to please do so as soon as possible. Our annual meeting is just a little over a week away and your response will help the vestry and me present a proper budget to you for next year.
All Saints Festival
Our children had a wonderful evening of stories, food and games on our first ever All Saints Youth Festival on All Saints Day, November 1. We were blessed to have 17 young people here that night, as you can see in the picture below. Many thanks to Dss. Cynthia and all the adults who cared for our kids and allowed them to have a wonderful time together celebrating All Saints Day!
St. Timothy’s Porch
Our picnic pavilion was erected just over a month ago. Our contractor has been waiting for the pressure treated timbers to dry out enough to be able to paint it. It needed at least 30 days to do so and will be painted soon. Yesterday, the gutter company installed the gutters in order to catch and properly drain off rainfall. The contractor will let me know later today when he will schedule the final painting.
Kitchen Updating
The swinging “Butler’s” door into the kitchen is being prepared and installed as I write today. Once this is done, after what has been some “ups and downs,” we will be finished with what started on Labor Day weekend!
Upcoming Events
Four big events are on tap for the next couple of weeks: Annual Meeting & Parish Thanksgiving Dinner, Thanksgiving Day Worship, Advent Lessons & Carols, and our annual St. Nicholas Party. I have listed the details below.
God bless you all and I look forward to seeing all of you this weekend.
Fr. Erich
Important Upcoming Events
Annual Meeting and Annual Parish Thanksgiving Dinner
· On Sunday, November 24, we will hold our Annual Parish Meeting immediately following the 11:00 a.m. Holy Communion at 12:15 p.m. The parish Thanksgiving dinner will follow within the hour. Be sure to be here then. Please sign up for the dish you will bring to share for the dinner. The sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board to let us know what you are bringing.
Thanksgiving Day
· We will celebrate the Holy Communion on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, at 10:00 a.m. We will sing a few hymns, worship our Lord, and be on our way to Thanksgiving feasting in 45 minutes. Be sure to set aside time to be here that morning. Since Thanksgiving Day is actually about how Almighty God has blessed us in this nation, is there any better way to start the day than in church? For those who cannot make it Thursday morning, we will celebrate the Thanksgiving Day Holy Communion the day before, on Wednesday night, at our usual time of 6:00 p.m.
Advent Lessons & Carols
· The All Saints Choir will proudly present its annual Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 1, at 5:00 p.m. This special service was started in 1918 at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England and it is a re-telling of the story of our redemption—from prophecy to fulfillment—through Holy Scripture and music.
St. Nicholas Party
· The St. Nicholas Party, an annual tradition here at All Saints, will immediately follow Advent Lessons & Carols. We have it on good authority that jolly old St. Nick will make an appearance again this year to fill up those shoes. Don’t miss your chance to perhaps spy on him as he goes about his work!
Other Announcements
Ladies of All Saints Advent Luncheon and a Baby Shower
· The Ladies of All Saints will have their Annual Advent Luncheon on Saturday, December 7, 2019 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. We will gather at The Cedars in downtown Hendersonville, 211 7th Ave. W. The cost is $15.00. Please sign-up on the bulletin board in the parish hall to R.S.V.P. Please give your $15.00 to Dss. Cynthia. We encourage all ladies to attend this fellowship event. And, as always, invite a friend!
· We will also be having a baby shower that day for Ashley Chamberlin. What a wonderful blessing for our church to celebrate and “shower” Ashley and Jesse with our love and gifts!
· Ashley and Jesse are registered at Target under Ashley Chamberlin and Jesse Chamberlin, Arden, NC. You may shop online or in-store. They are also registered at Amazon under Ashley Johnson, Arden, NC, baby due date Jan. 2020. Amazon is online shopping only. Want a link? Dss. Cynthia is happy to send you a link to these registries via email.
Adult Sunday School
· After this coming Sunday’s class, our adult Sunday school will be on break for two Sundays. Class will resume on December 8.
Annual Coat Drive
· The Ladies of All Saints will be collecting donations of new and gently used coats for ABCCM over the next few weeks. ABCCM accepts all sizes, infant through adult, however, there is always a need for XL—XXL sizes. There is a rack in the parish hall to hang your donated items. If you have any questions, please see Sara Briggs or Sandy Peninger.
Food Bank
· Bread of Life in Transylvania County is this month’s recipient of our in-gathering of food stuffs.
Tuesday Book Study
· Our weekly Book Study, at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday mornings, is discussing Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. Please read the final chapter the book for this week’s class. Our last class for this book will be this coming Tuesday morning.
Wednesday Night Bible Study
· Our Wednesday night Bible study continues to work its way through St. Matthew’s Gospel. Bring your Bibles and come join us! Reminder: If you would like to eat, the suggested dinner donation is $3 – $5 per person, cash only please.
