Dearly Beloved,
The First Sunday in Lent, which we celebrate this coming Sunday, always has as its Gospel lesson the Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness. The three temptations he endured are essentially the same three primary temptations that are visited upon mankind. In the first temptation, the devil suggests that Jesus turn the stones into bread. This temptation insists that the power of God should be turned to worldly ends. In other words, God can make it “comfortable” for us on this planet. The so-called “Prosperity Gospel” promoted by TV preachers comes to mind. The second temptation is that Jesus should throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple and, in effect, force God to save him by sending the angels to catch him. This is essentially testing God and whether or not he meets our human standards. The third temptation is truly the root of all other temptations. Satan tells Jesus that he can have the whole world at his fingertips. In other words he is saying, “You can be like God, if you will do just one little thing…worship me.” This is the temptation to believe we are the center of the universe, that we control all things, that we need nothing else. Jesus answered this last temptation with, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” This means, quite simply, that we MUST put God first in our lives…and follow HIS will…and no one’s else’s, especially not our own. Since Lent has begun, there are so many things happening, so read on to make sure you do not miss a thing! Lenten ProjectsThe men of the parish will be gathering on Saturday mornings during Lent for their yearly project time. This year’s focus will be “sprucing up” the outdoors and finishing up some smaller inside projects in anticipation of us hosting our national church’s synod this coming August. We will gather for morning prayer at 8:00 a.m., have a scrumptious breakfast provided, as usual, by Kathy Zwingert, and then get to work and be out of here by 11:00 a.m. The men would also like to invite the ladies to join them so that we can make this a family affair! See you tomorrow morning! I’d like to put a special call out for pickup trucks to help us haul items to the dump. We can’t “spruce up” if we don’t get rid of all the junk! Thanks! Lenten StudyBeginning on Tuesday, March 3 at 11:00 a.m. and on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m., our Lenten study will offer two class times weekly for 6 weeks. We hope that everyone in our parish will come out and participate either on Tuesday mornings or on Wednesday evenings during the Lenten season. The topic will be 24 Hours That Changed the World. Remember to invite a friend! Our Wednesday dinners during Lent are meatless. Donations of $3-$5 per meal are appreciated. Lenten Fish FrySince it is Lent, it is time for a Fish Fry! On Friday, March 20, 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. Tickets are on sale now! News of NoteIt is with sadness that I must tell you that David Fort has died. David was a longtime member here at All Saints, deeply involved in so many aspects of parish life. He actually served 5 terms as Rector’s Warden! He has been living in Raleigh the past few years to be near his family. On Wednesday evening this coming week, we will celebrate a Requiem Eucharist for him. Per his request, his body has been sent to UNC Chapel Hill Medical Center for research. Once his remains are returned, he will be interred here in our cemetery beside his beloved wife Ann. I will let you know about that in the future. New StoveUnfortunately, our old stove in the kitchen has seen better days and constantly repairing it is not an option. The kitchen is the hub of our fellowship and we can’t operate always wondering whether or not it will turn on. We have not budgeted to replace the stove this year and we are asking for your help. A good, commercial grade stove will cost us $1100.00. Would you be able to help? Any donation, small or large, would be greatly appreciated to help defray this cost. Please let Fr. Erich or Dss. Cynthia know if you can help in this. First Friday Youth NightOur young people will be gathering next Friday evening, March 6, at 5:45 p.m. for dinner and game night. The children will join the congregation walking the Stations of the Cross at 7:00 p.m. Annual Lenten AppealMite boxes are available on the pews in the church for your use in supporting this year’s Lenten Appeal from our national church. Please read Presiding Bishop Grundorf’s Appeal Letter below. Daily Lenten ScheduleAs you know there are many opportunities here at All Saints to deepen your walk with Christ on a daily basis during the Lenten season. That schedule is listed below. That about covers what you need to know this week and I look forward to seeing you all many times over the course of the next several weeks! Blessings,Fr. Erich
2020 Lenten Appeal
From the Presiding Bishop:
I can hear people saying to themselves, we just celebrated Christmas and now we are getting ready for Lent! Yes, Lent is upon us and it is time to make preparations. I encourage each of you to plan in advance what you are going to do on a personal level as your spiritual discipline for this Season. Talk with your parish priest if you need guidance or have questions. An important part of keeping a true Lent is focusing outside of oneself on to the needs of others. This can be expressed in a number of ways such as helping with local parish projects to assist the less fortunate. When we commit to a spiritual discipline during Lent, whether it is on a personal level or reaching out to assist others, it is part of establishing a rule of life which would set a pattern for future living. I am going to designate the 2020 Lenten Appeal to be for a domestic mission. I have spoken with Bishop Ordinary Giffin, Bishop Coadjutor Jones, Suffragan Bishop Perkins (Chairman of our Domestic Mission Board), and Missionary Bishop Haines, and we all enthusiastically support having our two Alabama mission churches that Father John Klein is pastoring to be the recipients. It will now be a matter of finding the right man to take on this challenge. Father Klein is a wonderful priest with great experience and knowledge. He is building St. James the Great Church in Smith Station, Alabama, from scratch and is also serving as the vicar of St. Matthias Church, Dothan, Alabama. He drives every Sunday, following Holy Eucharist at Smiths Station, to Dothan, Alabama (about 2 hours) to celebrate and teach there. He could use the help and would provide excellent training and mentoring for a young curate. Some of you may be aware that St. Matthias Church had an average Sunday attendance of 6 people and are now have over 30. Many new members have come from a local Episcopal Church which has gone the way of the World. Bishop Jones will be at St. Matthias upon his return from the Holy Land and will receive around 30 new members. Father Klein has been an inspiration and we are blessed to have him and his dedicated wife Linda with us. I pray that all of you and your parishes will join in the support of this year’s Lenten Appeal. The ambitious goal will once again be to raise $100,000. It would be used over a period of three years to support an energetic curate who would relocate to the chosen area; i.e. $50,000 the first year, $30,000 the second year and $20,000 the third year. The mission churches will be expected to increasingly make up the difference in compensation. My prayer is that as we consider our Lenten sacrifice for this Appeal, we will do so remembering we are working at Kingdom building. Whether it is in a far off land or here in our country, our goal is to bring people to Christ. As you fast and pray as part of your Lenten discipline for your own parish and its spiritual health, pray also for others in our Diocese and Province as well as our Global Partners who are laboring for the Gospel in other lands. May the Lord grant us a spiritually profitable Lenten Season and pray also for the Lenten Appeal that it will be blessed of the Lord. Faithfully yours in Christ,The Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf, D.D., Presiding Bishop
This Week in the Parish
Friday, Feb. 28• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer• 7:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross Saturday, Feb. 29• 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer• 8:15 a.m., Breakfast• 8:30 a.m., Lenten Projects• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Sunday, Mar. 1, First Sunday in Lent· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer· 8:30 a.m., Holy Communion· 9:45 a.m., Sunday School· 11:00 a.m., Holy Communion· 12:15 p.m., Fellowship Lunch· 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Monday, Mar. 2• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Tuesday, Mar. 3• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 11:00 a.m., Lenten Study• 12:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Wednesday, Mar. 4• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer• 6:00 p.m., Holy Communion• 6:30 p.m., Fellowship Dinner• 7:00 p.m., Lenten Study• 7:00 p.m., Choir Practice Thursday, Mar. 5• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Friday, Mar.6• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer• 5:45 p.m., First Friday Youth• 7:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross
Daily Lenten Schedule
Sundays· 8:00 a.m., Morning Prayer· 8:30 a.m., Holy Communion· 9:45 a.m., Sunday School· 11:00 a.m., Holy Communion· 12:15 p.m., Fellowship Lunch· 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Mondays• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Tuesdays• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 11:00 a.m., Lenten Study• 12:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Wednesdays• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer• 6:00 p.m., Holy Communion• 6:30 p.m., Fellowship Dinner• 7:00 p.m., Lenten Study• 7:00 p.m., Choir Practice Thursdays• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer Fridays• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer• 7:00 p.m., Stations of the Cross Saturdays• 8:00 a..m., Morning Prayer• 8:15 a.m., Breakfast• 8:30 a.m., Lenten Projects• 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer
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