The Purpose of Sacred Song (Why we Sing)

I thought I was so clever.  As I prepared to teach a class at CDSP this past June, I readied a YouTube video to introduce the class to the concept of inviting people to join in song.  The video took place on a train car in Perth, Australia.  My thought was, “this piece of performance art gives a great “how-to” for would be leaders of congregational song.”  I pressed PLAY and the video began with a young man standing on the train and inviting people to sing.  And then he began singing Bob Marley’s “Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright.” 

A ukulele player (and obviously a friend of the singer) started strumming as well.  Some of the passengers smiled and were soon chiming in with their own voices, rocking of heads, toe-tapping and laughter; some kept their heads fixed on their cell phone screens, and a few sat there looking perplexed and/or embarrassed.  The performance lasted all of a few minutes, from one train stop to another.  (Here’s a link for reference:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u949rI20F0)

As the video ended I asked the class for comments.  Initially students spoke of the infectious joy of participating in group song. “Bingo,” I thought, “mission accomplished.”  But then one student added they were not OK with this at all and that it was “a hostage situation.”  Others added their two cents with comments like, “they were trapped in an uncomfortable situation with no escape.”  Our post-video conversation became more than a little animated, and took up a good deal of my teaching hour.  It was a good lesson for me about awareness of the gathered people.  Maybe we can call it, “Reading the Room.”

You may have noticed that I really enjoy bringing the practice of invitational song to my ministry, as we begin each 10:30 service with some form of song.  This is a practice I’ve done for decades. I find it to be empowering, liberating, perhaps even challenging.  I realize that many people feel like singing makes them feel exposed, even naked and/or ashamed.  My hope is to help us all find our own voices, and to realize that each voice is essential to the assembly.  

I see my own work as an Animateur:  one who gathers and equips the Church for heading back out the doors to share the Good News.  This inexorable rhythm seems, to me, the very definition of Church.  We enter the doorway to give thanks, and to re-gather ourselves as the Body of Christ.  We learn our stories, both Scriptural and familial.  We pray for the Church and the world, and our own community. We take, bless, break and share the gifts of bread and wine. And then we are sent out to BE that Body and Blood of Jesus in the world; only to repeat that rhythm every time we gather again.  And I find SONG to be an integral part of this mystical formula.

Whether it’s a well-loved Angel Band piece, a quietly chanted psalm, a choral offering, or a barn-burner hymn, song has a remarkable way of helping us learn our stories, our traditions, and our theology.  It also has a unifying effect.  We breathe and resonate as a group, so that 120 voices become one voice…not through impressive blending and vocal technique, but in the very act of offering ourselves to God.

This week marks my first anniversary serving among you, and I’d like to treat this little article as the beginning of a richer, fuller conversation for the future.  How do you want to participate?  

  • Would you like to join the Angel Band or the Choir?  Excellent – There is no limit to the open seats and hearts in music leadership here at All Souls!  
  • Would you enjoy being in our Main Choir – which is the CONGREGATION?  Wonderful – you’re already there, and I invite you to participate with even more gusto.  
  • Would you like to explore further about the ways song builds us, changes us, & heals us? Super – Phil and I will be leading a three week forum in January about words married to music.  What does our song do to us?  What does it do for us?  

I encourage everyone to accept the invitation to make your own kind of music, whatever it means to you.  You’ll find a place here.

From the Treasurer

Real-Time Conversations: The ASP Mid-Year Financial Summary

One of the goals of the Finance Committee is to share information during the year with all parishioners as to our financial results.  This is the perfect time to provide the summary below as it is a good snapshot of for the first half of 2023.  We want to make the information readily available to you and easy to access and present a big picture focus.  Real-time conversations throughout the Parish on the numbers will provide valuable information for all ministries in the church and help guide us going forward.  Thank you for exploring the information below and we welcome any questions, feedback and ideas.  Don’t skip the chart — Just dive into the numbers and enjoy!

             
  All Souls Parish PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT  
  As of 6/30/23   Budget vs Actual  
  YTD   Actual    2023 Annual Budget  Over (Under) Budget  % of Annual Budget  
  INCOME    
    Pledges Offerings $   407,539    720,000  (312,461) 57%  
    Donations       3,483      12,300      (8,817) 28%  
    Facilities Use     58,942    113,632    (54,690) 52%  
    Other Income         697      25,000    (24,303) 3%  
  Total Income $   470,662    870,932  (400,270) 54%  
  EXPENSES  
    Stewardship $   428,988    847,693  (418,705) 51%  
    Parish Life     31,216      76,494    (45,277) 41%  
    Formation       5,365      31,850    (26,485) 17%  
  Total Expenses $   465,570    956,037  (490,467) 49%  
  Net Operating Income $       5,092    (85,105)     90,196   
               

First Half 2023 Highlights / 

  • Net Operating Income – “The Bottom Line”

The results as of June 30, 2023 are encouraging as we are slightly above a break-even position with Operating Income to date higher than expenses by $5,092.  This is very good news as earlier, during the budget process, we expected to be in a loss position for the full year of ($85,105).   In other words, at June 30, we are $47,644 ahead of where we thought we would be at this point in the year. 

  • Balance Sheet is improving due to the generosity of so many. The story is in the numbers. The results signal that we have more timely and consistent giving.  We cannot discount the intangible factors that are so significant to the financial health of the Parish and contribute to the bottom line – the energy of the congregation, our ministries and our amazing leadership — we see signs of a real desire for engagement by so many in our All Souls community and beyond.  
  • Living Waters.  The outstanding success of the Living Waters capital campaign is also a major factor in the 2023 financial results so far.  Giving leads to more giving.  It is amazing as some might think the opposite.  Just in the six months ending June 30, we have received $821,515 in cash or cash equivalents to Living Waters and the balance of LW total liquid assets is $1,955,650.  

Highlights / Operating Income 

  • Pledges & Offerings Income received were $407,439 (7% higher than projected at mid-year)
  • Facilities Use Income has generated $52,942 (2% higher than budgeted)
  • Total Gross Operating Income at $470,662 exceeded the budgeted amount by $35,196 (4% higher).  

Highlights / Operating Expenses

  • Stewardship Expenses of $428,988 are slightly higher than the year-to-date projections by $5,142 (1% over budget). This classification includes General Operations, Church Property and Assessments. 
  • Parish Life of $31,216 is below the budget by $7,031 (9% lower) and includes Music, Worship Activities, Community Building and Hospitality.
  • Formation is $5,365 and well below budget by $10,560 (33% lower).  This includes Children/Family, Youth Ministries, Adult Ministries and Mission & Outreach. 
  • Total Operating Expenses of $465,570 YTD are $12,448 lower than the budget (1% lower)  

A Special Welcome and Thank You to Betty Winnacker, our new Bookkeeper at All Souls.  Thank you, Betty, for all you have accomplished in just the past few months.  

Homecoming

Much has changed at All Souls in the past few years – Jordan Court is complete and full, we have weathered the pandemic, the Living Waters Capital Campaign is almost ready to remake important parts of our space, and we will soon welcome our new Associate Rector, Emily Boring.  It seems right to gather and celebrate this church home we are constantly re-creating.

On August 27th, we will have a Homecoming celebration to gather to reflect, relax and reconnect.  If you have a friend, or know a family, who may be looking for a church home, this is the perfect time to invite them to experience All Souls first-hand. 

Homecoming Sunday will start with our standard service at 10:30. The choir will be in full voice and Children’s Chapel will be offered during the service.

The Homecoming festival begins in the courtyard immediately after the service, about noon.   We will close off Spruce street to make room for a taco truck and a bouncy house.  We will be releasing the new Children, Youth and Family Ministries fall plans as well as the Adult Formation calendar for the academic year. We will have an abbreviated version of the ministry fair that was so successful in MAY(?). We will have a photobooth if you’d like to update your directory photograph or just take some silly souvenir pictures. It should be a fun afternoon.   

Homecoming also marks Emily Boring’s first Sunday as our Associate Rector!  As she begins to settle into her new home, she will be at the festival talking about her plans for the Children, Families and Youth ministries this fall.  Emily has been a marine biologist and she will be inviting people to join her for a tide pooling excursion to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

We will also be introducing the Other Homes project.  We will be welcoming people to share a description of other spiritual homes they have lived in before arriving at All Souls.  Your spiritual path may have taken you from the church of your baptism to a support group or to a Yoga practice that helped you find balance. Or you may have started your spiritual path when you walked through the door at All Souls.  The Other Homes project is a collaborative art project that may give us all a glimpse of the paths All Soulsians have followed to arrive at this spiritual home. 

To mark the beginning of the school year, there will be the traditional Blessing of the Backpacks.  If you are starting on a new path – a new year in school, a new job or some other new beginning — bring a backpack or some other symbol of your undertaking and join in the Blessing of the Backpacks.

We are inviting many neighbors who may be looking for a church home to join us on the 27th and we may have more new faces with us than usual.  Please make our visitors feel welcome as they encounter All Souls for the first time.  

Every week on the front page of the bulletin, we are reminded that at All Souls, “No matter who you are or where you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.”  Homecoming will be a tangible opportunity to practice that welcome, both for current All Soulsians and for people who may be coming to a new home for the first time. 

Save the Dates

  • August 4, Racial Justice Movie Night
  • August 27, Homecoming & Blessing of the Backpacks
  • September 7, Climate Justice Movie Night
  • September 15-17, Parish Retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch

Weekly Worship

Join us for worship this week:

  • 8am, contemplative Eucharist (in Chapel) 
  • 10:30am, sung Eucharist (click here to access the live stream)
  • 5p, the Sunday Night Service, is on summer break!

You can access the live stream through our website or by tuning into our All Souls Episcopal Parish Youtube page. Click here to watch on Sunday morning. 

If you miss a Sunday, you can always catch the sermon on our homepage or as a podcast, anywhere you listen to podcasts! 

Wednesday 9am Service

Join the Zoom call here, or join us in person in the Nave at 9a. Password: 520218.

Formation

Adult Formation Classes

  • Reading Between the Lines Bible Study @ 7:00a. Click here to join by Zoom, or join them in-person in the Common Room.
  • Reading Between the Lines Bible Study @ 9:15a. On break for the summer.
  • Summer Book Group #3–The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, led by Emily McDonald, July 30th, August 6th, and August 13th. The Red Tent is the story of Dinah, a minor character in the book of Genesis, chapter 34. The brief episode in which she appears is usually referred to as the “rape of Dinah,” a violent episode that has posed difficulties for biblical scholars over the centuries. Dinah does not say a single word in the biblical text; what happens to her is recounted and characterized by her brothers. The Rent Tent Gives voice to Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, and brings life and story to her more biblically famous brothers.  Although the book is painful to read at times, as some of Dina’s story is tragic, it is well written and a quick read that will astonish you and educate you about the historical context of Dina’s life.  The book will no doubt bring about a lively discussion, as any time we talk about the Old Testament, there are lots of thoughts and feelings… And the author does an elegant job of outlining some of the historically accurate disturbing practices of the time.  The Red Tent is essential reading for the curious Christian.  Please consider attending the 3 week book group. Week 1: pages 1-104 (Genesis 29-31.21), Week 2: pages 105-210 (Genesis 31.22-34). Week 3: pages 211-321 (Genesis 35).

Children, Youth, and Family News

Nursery The downstairs nursery is open and available to you for your use whenever you’re at All Souls. This is not a staffed nursery, so an adult must be there with your child, but if you need a quiet place to take a time out, change a diaper, let your child play or take a rest, the nursery is open for you to do all of those things. If there is a service going on that’s being livestreamed, you will be able to watch the livestream on the computer in the nursery as well.

Side Chapel There is a special seating area located in the side chapel that is meant for children and families, giving children a clear view of the altar, and full of materials with which they can immerse themselves in the actions of the liturgy. All are welcome and encouraged to check it out!

Sunday School On break for the summer!

Youth Sunday morning hang outs and youth group are on hold for the summer.

Other News & Notes

Homecoming

Save the date for August 27th when we’re transforming what has been Rally Sunday into Homecoming––complete with a taco truck and bounce house (yes, you read that right)! The Blessing of the Backpacks will also happen this day in the courtyard just after the 10:30 service when all the other festivities will also begin. Feel free to invite your friends!

New Member Class

If you’ve been hanging around All Souls for some time and would like to learn about what it means to be a member here, or if you’re new and wondering about learning more about All Souls, please join us for our two-series New Member Class August 20 & 27th during the Adult Formation Hour (9:15a). See Emily (emily@allsoulsparish.org) for more information.

All Souls’ Author Event

Our very own Tess Taylor has just published Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them, a new edited book of poems, and we are all invited to head out to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden on August 24th from 5:30-7p to hear an amazing array of poets (including Tess) who will be reading their poems. Tickets are selling fast, and you can get them on the Berkeley Botanical Garden homepage (here).

Don Gates

Racial Justice Movie Night

Join our team for racial justice this coming Friday night (8/4) at 6:30p in the Parish Hall to watch the movie Get Out. Bring food or drinks to Share. 7:00 pm movie starts.

“In GET OUT, talented black photographer Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) has been dating the pretty white Rose (Allison Williams) for five months and is now getting ready to go home and meet her parents. Rose’s doctor father, Dean (Bradley Whitford), and hypnotherapist mother, Missy (Catherine Keener), try to make Chris feel welcome. But when Missy forcibly hypnotizes Chris to break his smoking habit, he starts feeling like strange things are happening. The family’s black servants (Betty Gabriel and Marcus Henderson) act very oddly, and the arrival of an unexpected party full of privileged white people — including noted gallery owner Jim Hudson (Stephen Root) — results in some unsettling encounters. Is everything happening in Chris’ mind, or is something diabolical about to happen?”–Common Sense Media

Got Questions: Emily McDonald, emilykmcdonald5@gmail.com. Enter through the Courtyard

Sunday Night Service on Summer Break

The core team for the Sunday Night Service has decided to have the weekly worship services for the Sunday Night Service take a summer break (with the rest of you!). We’re going to take this time off and devote some of our energy to relaxing and making some plans for the future. 

Admin job opening

We’re hiring! Our beloved administrator, Annie Rovzar, has stepped down and we are hiring a new part-time administrator. Please click here to read the job description, and pass along this notice to anyone who you think might be a good fit! 

2nd Thursday Lunch

All women of the parish are invited to a potluck lunch on the 2nd Thursday of the month (August 10th) at 12p in the Parish Hall. Please bring one of your favorite lunch dishes or a beverage to share and feel free to invite other women. Contact Gloria Bayne for more information: gloria.bayne@comcast.net.

Climate Justice Movie Night in September

On Thursday, September 7, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm, the Justice and Peace Ministry Team will host a screening of The Letter in the Parish Hall.  This powerful documentary tells the story of the Laudato Si encyclical letter by Pope Francis, through the eyes of frontline leaders confronting the ecological crisis in different parts of the world.  The film also includes footage of the dialogue these leaders had with Pope Francis.