My dear family in Christ,

Recently, I re-shared on one of my social media accounts a quote from a colleague and fellow Sewanee alum, the Rev. Boyd Evans, that I thought particularly relevant to the state of the Christian faith in our American culture. To my surprise (and it’s always at least a little to my surprise to discover that every single person on Earth does not in fact see every single thing exactly the same way I do), my sharing of Fr. Evans’s quote led to a bit of controversy in the comments section. Some compelling and interesting points were raised by some good friends who took issue with the quotation, and that indicates to me that there’s some good “faith talk” to be had in exploring these ideas.

Here’s the quote from Fr. Evans:

“Christianity was never about individual salvation. It is well past time for us to get over this notion. If you don’t believe that your salvation is bound up with your neighbor’s, you have entirely missed Jesus[’s] message.”



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Sanctuary Candles

Hi, folks ~ Fr. Christopher here with a new column for our newsletter, What’s Up With That, All Saints?  In this series, I’ll try to answer any and all questions y’all may have about any aspect of our church, from the reasons our worship space is laid out the way it is, to various facets of our liturgy and worship, the origins and meanings of different parts of our Episcopal tradition … whatever you happen to find yourself wondering about.

Recently, a random parishioner (actually, our illustrious Junior Warden) suggested, and I agreed, that folks might like to know a bit more about the two candles that we keep burning at all times ~ the one that’s above and to the left of our main altar as you face it, and the one that’s on the right-hand side of our columbarium. We refer to both of these candles as “sanctuary candles,” though technically only the one by the main altar is specifically for the sanctuary, whereas the one by the columbarium should probably be called an “eternal flame.” The same meaning and symbolism is, nevertheless, shared by both candles ~ namely, the constant presence of the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, who is with us all, even to the end of the ages.

The sanctuary candle, in particular, burns to indicate the presence of Jesus Christ in the reserved sacrament, which we store in the wall compartment, called an aumbry, on that same side of the altar. The flame burns to indicate that the living Christ is here and available, always. The candle is only extinguished on Maundy Thursday, in preparation for our acknowledgment, on Good Friday, that when Jesus died for us, he was really and truly dead. The candle is then rekindled on Easter Sunday in celebration of our Lord’s glorious and world-changing resurrection from the dead, and it burns thus for the rest of the Christian year.

The eternal flame in the columbarium also symbolizes and embodies the light of the living Christ, here in the resting place of the saints from our community who have gone before us and have passed into the nearer presence of our Lord. The light burns continually to remind us that those whom we love yet see no more nonetheless live on, and that Christ Jesus never abandons us, not even in death.

In some parishes, it’s the practice to use oil to keep these flames burning indefinitely, but at All Saints (as in many other Episcopal churches), our tradition is to use candles that are designed to burn for a full week, and then to replace those candles once a week, passing the flame from the old candle to the new. That does mean that we go through two candles a week throughout the church year, but it’s an important and highly visible way that we can live into our baptismal oath to make the presence of Christ known and visible in this world.

I hope that sheds a little light on the subject of our sanctuary candles. 

Please drop a line to fatherchristopherallsaints@gmail.com with any questions you’d like me to answer in a future What’s Up With That, All Saints? … I look forward to hearing what you’d like to know about!

Fr. C

The 6:30 pm Eucharist this evening (Wednesday, May 8) will be a celebration of the Feast of the Ascension, with special music included. Come celebrate one of the principal feasts of the Episcopal Church!

During the summer months, beginning June 2, we'll have one Sunday service at 9:30 am. Further details will follow.

On Trinity Sunday (May 26), we'll recognize parishioners who have made special contributions to our parish life and worship during the past year. Please contact Fr. Christopher with your suggestions of people to be honored!

Prevent Suicide Fox Cities sent All Saints the following note:

Dear Dee and fellow contributors,



Thank you all so much for your donation of beautiful prayer shawls. They are provided to newly grieving people who have just lost a loved one to suicide. Your gift, talent and prayers are so appreciated.

With deepest gratitude,

Cindy Raffke

Nine knitters from All Saints contributed 23 scarves and 2 hats to the Seamen’s Church Institute ingathering at the May 4 Tri-Diocesan Special Convention. 63 participating congregations from the reunifying Diocese of Wisconsin brought a total of 357 scarves, 25 hats, and 11 fabric gift bags, overwhelming the organizers. These gifts will be distributed to merchant sailors for SCI’s “Christmas at Sea” program, bringing warmth and comfort to those enduring the harsh conditions of life at sea. https://seamenschurch.org/programs-services/christmas-at-sea/ Check out the 3 min inspirational video to see the impact of this ministry.

Tremendous thanks to all who stepped up and got busy with needles and yarn: Pamela Padley, Dolores Wiseman, Jan Watson, Janet Kaul, Nancy Krueger, Susan Allen, Kay Dalton, Emily Gilbert, and Sarah Gilbert. 

We plan to continue to support this ministry, periodically sending a collection from All Saints. A book of patterns for knitting and crocheting is now available in the church office, as well as online. Join in anytime!

Sunday, May 19, 2pm: Music at All Saints presents "Wen-Lei Gu Plays Bach", Partitas No. 1 and 2 for Solo Violin. Reception to follow.

No charge for admission; free-will donations will support Pillars, Inc. Please invite your friends, family and neighbors! 

For the reception, if you are able to provide a treat (sweet or savory), please indicate on the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board, or let the church office know. Thank you very much!

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, starting on Monday, May 20^th, at 5:30 p.m., I will begin offering what I hope to be an exciting and engaging series called Living Christianity: A “How To” Guide. The idea is to reserve that day and time for us to explore a number of different Christian spiritual practices designed to help you make more personally meaningful and more practically hands-on connections with your faith and spirituality as a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ. 

To that end, the plan is to present limited-run workshops, classes, and/or series drawn from the richness of the Christian tradition in general and our Anglican heritage in particular. Each series will run for roughly 3-5 Mondays, depending upon interest and participation. Proposed topics so far include lectio divina; Anglican rosary; contemplative prayer & meditation; deep dives into our liturgies; music & artistic expression as prayer, worship, & meditation; and whatever else you would be interested in exploring in a small-group setting.

For the first series, I’ll be leading the group through the practice, drawn from the Education for Ministry program, of “theological reflection.” This method of discovering connections between our shared faith and our individual lives is easy, accessible, and fun … and can lead us to some surprisingly deep and impactful spiritual insights.

It all gets going at 5:30 on the evening of Monday, May 20^th ~ please plan to join me downstairs in the youth group room (the one with the comfy couches and the big t.v.!). I’m so excited to get this new series going with y’all this month!

Send questions & ideas to: fatherchristopherallsaints@gmail.com

Peace,

Fr. C

We had a blast at our inaugural mah-jongg night! Come join us and bring a friend to learn and play.  We'll meet again on Tuesday, May 14th and Tuesday, May 28th @ 6:30pm in the Palmer Room. Other board games will also be available to play depending on numbers and interest. Questions? Contact Stephanie Gadzik, Pamela Padley, or Catherine Neiswender.

REMINDER: If you'd like to have your birthday or anniversary recognized, please contact the office.

May Birthdays

5/2 - Henry Gadzik

5/2 - Ezzy Rouman

5/12 - Ken Bozeman

5/12 - Bill Reeves

5/19 - Renny Mick

5/27 - Natalie & Carolyn Bates

5/30 - Suzanne Fischer

5/31 - Anne Lingelbach

The Eucharistic Festival will be held Friday-Saturday, May 10-11, at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Fond du Lac. ​Established in 1960 by Bishop Brady, the Festival gathers the diocesan family to be united in its faith in the Presence of our Blessed Lord in the Bread and Wine of the Altar. This year's guest homilist is the Rev. Dr. Sarah Coakley. For more information, visit the diocesan website.

Imago Dei is an annual, ecumenical event with a mission to celebrate the dignity of LGBTQ+ people. The 4th annual picnic and celebration will be held Sunday, June 2 at the Ashwaubenon Community Center, with an ecumenical worship service at 2:30 pm and a community meal to follow at 4:00 pm.

Visit the Imago Dei Facebook page for more information. If you plan to attend, please RSVP here.

The Episcopal Church has named faith-based organizer Aaron Scott its first gender justice staff officer—a new Episcopal Church position called for by the 80th General Convention that is dedicated to LGBTQ+ and women’s ministries. He will start on April 30.

Scott co-founded Chaplains on the Harbor, and he most recently worked at Union Theological Seminary’s Kairos Center as project coordinator for the Countering White Christian Nationalism Initiative. He serves on the national steering committee for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

As an organizer from the transgender community, Scott began his gender justice work in 2006 with Queers for Economic Justice; since then, his work has included leadership development for women and LGBTQ+ people navigating the immigration and public assistance systems—and those ​living in encampments, shelters, and incarceration facilities.

For more about Aaron Scott and his new position, click here.

We are excited to share plans to strengthen and expand the outreach work we do at All Saints. In addition to our 2 regular monthly volunteer meal opportunities at Pillars and Salvation Army we are kicking off quarterly collection of items that support a specific charitable organization serving residents in the Fox Valley. Roughly each quarter, we will select an organization, and request items that are of most need to that organization. More information about the organization and their needs will be shared in the bulletin, newsletters, hallway bulletin boards, and on our social media.

All Saints parishioners are invited to give as much or little as you are able! Together, our gifts will help individuals and families who need shelter, food, clothing, and personal care in the Fox Valley.  As we follow the footsteps of Jesus, we want to collectively live out his calling to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and serve the needs of our neighbors. 

Our first organization we identified to support is Pillars. From homelessness to coming home, Pillars provides shelter, support, and solutions to address the housing needs in our community. To learn more about Pillars and the work they do throughout the Valley, click here. Throughout the months of May – July, we will collect items needed as identified by Pillars. This list can be found in your bulletin, the bulletin board, or here. Pillars also needs gifts cards, which you can purchase through Suzanne Fischer as RaiseRight and benefit All Saints at the same time!

This lines up nicely with the benefit concert on May 19^th by violinist Wen-Lei Gu, who will be performing Bach at All Saints. Free will donation at the concert will also benefit Pillars.  

Collection runs from May 1 – early July. Items can be brought to church on Sundays, or dropped off at any time the church office is open. Questions can be directed to Jan Watson or Catherine Neiswender.

Lawrence University is holding a drive to collect children's books for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley, and All Saints is one of the locations hosting a donation box. You're invited to donate new or gently used K-3 level books, including easy readers, picture books, and early chapter books. The donation box (and a poster with more information) will be in the hallway May 7-24.