From the Deacon
Jesus is not
with thanks to Jonah
Jesus is not
alone
in his pierced flesh,
splintered back,
suffering.
Jesus is not
martyred alone:
no
The bullets
that fly
from every
not-taser
at a traffic stop
of a Black man
meet
the heart of humanness.
Jesus is not
shaking his head
saying a prayer.
he’s zipping his hoodie
and heading
into the streets.
Jesus is not
a story from
the hazy past:
he’s sharp focused
in someone’s sights
right now
and faith
is not enough
to save Him.
Learn about police brutality and community solutions: https://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/
Learn about redefining safety: https://ellabakercenter.org/
Learn about criminal law reform: https://www.aclu.org/
Join us at our next Justice and Peace meeting, Monday May 10th at 7pm, Zoom link in the All Souls Calendar.
Peace,
Deacon Dani
A Reflection from Holy Week
Maundy Thursday: Keeping Watch
An annual practice at All Souls is the overnight vigil from the end of the Maundy Thursday service through the morning of Good Friday, representing the contemplative (and I imagine tense) time of waiting with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The church is stripped of any linens and the consecrated sacramental elements brought in procession to the Chapel of Repose where fragrant jasmine, lilies, and dots of candlelight wait. Since we can’t rationally rely on folks leaping out of bed and driving over on a whim, we ask for volunteers to come in and keep watch, to not leave Jesus alone, and we assign ourselves an hour’s time slot or more until we are sure there will be a presence. It’s a practice I have followed since joining All Souls in 1998, typically David and I would tag team each other so our young children were not left alone. Last year, restrictions forced a lot of creativity around many of our practices, and it was accepted that a virtual presence would have to do, and I imagine many of us rose at a selected hour and kept watch on laptops and iPhones in kitchens or offices or guest rooms around the bay area. This year, a relaxation of sorts, not quite our intimate chapel but a cozy corner where the healing altar typically resides. I arrived at 2:00 am, nodded my warmest hug to two parishioners who had come before me, and I was alone again in that familiar setting. It was different this year, and it was startlingly so for me.
I became acutely aware, almost like an out of body deja vu, that I was not just putting myself in an apostle’s place, but in the place of hundreds of thousands of people keeping vigil for a loved one, many times alone, solitary, perhaps in a garden, but more times I suspect in a car in a badly lit hospital parking lot, maybe with a view of the room in which their loved one was suffering. I didn’t cry. I didn’t exactly mourn. But for the first time, I stayed vigilantly awake. I stayed through the 3:00 o’clock hour, and then through the 4:00 o’clock hour, although I knew there was someone else watching with me from their home.
I have not had to sit vigil for family during this pandemic. I paid close attention to colleagues who were ill, some who died, but I have been spared the unimaginable, the FaceTime goodbyes, the completely unsatisfactory deaths that no one deserves. In addition to the yearly vigil watching with Jesus, I want to become willing to sit with those who are alone in their cars, knowing what is coming for their loved one, but unable to properly process the grief. I realize it is still a “virtual” experience. But if it is intentional, it has to matter. Right? It has to matter.
-Maggie Cooke
Church Clean Up
Saturday, April 17th: 10-12 or 1-3
This Saturday, April 17th, join Junior Warden, Kaki Logan, and other All Soulsians for a Church Clean up day! Come for as long as you’d like to stay between 10am-12pm or 1-3pm. You don’t need to bring anything other than a mask, and your enthusiasm for some spring cleaning. Lunch will be provided
From St. Dorothy’s Rest
Woods to Waves: May 8, 2021
This year St. Dorothy’s Rest is hosting a modified “Woods to Waves” fundraiser, with onsite and virtual options! The onsite hike includes a 4 mile walk on the St. Dorothy’s property, through the redwood forest on new and little known trails, opportunities to silk screen a special Woods to Waves T-shirt, lunch and fun activities for all ages outdoors at camp!
As an alternative to the onsite hike, St. Dorothy’s supporters are encouraged register and lead short hikes in your area. Gather your family, parish community, youth groups or friends to hike remotely and bring the St. Dorothy’s spirt to your neighborhood or local regional park. St. Dorothy’s campers and counselors are encouraged to share St. Dorothy’s traditions in your community by building nature clovers, sharing the ministry of picking up litter, or teaching camp songs and chalk drawings.
All hikers, remote and onsite, should register on the St. Dorothy’s website. There will be a Facebook Live morning “kickoff” and social media photo sharing through #woodstowaves21.
Woods to Waves is a fundraiser for St. Dorothy’s Rest, money raised will support 2021 virtual hospital camp programs, all 2021 residential camps including “Braid Camp,” in partnership with Braid Mission.
If you’d like to join group of participants from All Souls, please contact Maggie.
To Register: http://stdorothysrest.org/events/woods-to-waves/
Weekly Worship
Sunday Mornings: Join us at 9am in the courtyard, in-person (masked and holding a 4’ distance between you and anyone outside of your pod or family). Attendance is limited for outdoor services, so please sign-up here! Please remember to bring your own chair and chalice!
Or (and!) join us for the live stream of Sunday’s 11:15 service, which can be accessed through our website or by tuning into our All Souls Episcopal Parish Facebook page. Click here to watch on Sunday morning.
Additionally, you can try out live streaming our 11:15 service to a Zoom call, so that you can participate in church with fellow parishioners. Click here to get into the 11:15 Zoom call, and please send us a note this week about your experience with this new mode of virtual church!
Wednesday Mornings: 9:00am PDT
Join the Zoom call here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86087951049?pwd=THNxbjlqMm5zdjc5RGNLWkFrZk16QT09
Meeting ID: 860 8795 1049 Password: 520218
Thursday Night Compline (Night Time Prayers): 8:30pm PDT
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78630294068?pwd=cmdoenJYRWUwR2J6QkhxSHNsakt0UT09
Meeting ID: 786 3029 4068
Passcode: Compline
Adult Formation
7:30am Reading Between the Lines Bible Study Contact Kate Murphy to join that Zoom call.
10:10am Reading Between the Lines Bible Study Contact Daniel Prechtel to join that Zoom call.
The Resurrection at 10:10am on Zoom with the Rev. Michael Lemaire.
The Resurrection is a central part of the Christian faith both that Jesus was resurrected but that we as Christians share in the resurrection. For me this has been something I have believed, affirmed in the creeds, but have actually spent little time exploring. How do we understand the resurrection today? What did the people of Jesus’s time believe about life after death? What did his disciples mean by the resurrection and how best can we understand their experience? How does the understanding of the resurrection evolve both in Paul and later through the different Gospels?
Missed the previous week’s class?? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered. We’ll be recording all of the Adult Formation offerings and loading them to the Adult Formation page of our website. Click here to get there and access the class recordings.
Children, Family & Youth News
Children’s Ministry
In-person, outdoor Children’s Formation takes place on Sundays in the Courtyard at 10:10am!
This Sunday, April 18th at 3:00pm, we’ll meet in Tilden Park at the Lone Oak trail head for our second family hike! We’ll gather near the parking area and head off down the trail around 3:15.
Kid’s Book Club meets Wednesdays at 4:00pm on Zoom. This is the final week of The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson. Hope to see you there!
If you’d like to receive updates about Children and Family Ministries, but do not subscribe to the Family Bulletin, please email Maggie Foote (maggie@allsoulsparish.org) for more information.
Youth Ministry
Youth group meets next Sunday, April 25th, at 3:00pm in the courtyard. Hope to see you all there, and if you have a young person in your household in grades 6-12, and do not receive updates about Youth Group events, please email Maggie at maggie@allsoulsparish.org to be added to the list!
Other News & Notes
Soulcast: Our Weekly Video Announcements
Check out Season 3: Episode 7 of the Soulcast!
Faith Climate Action Week with Interfaith Power and Light
“Kiss the Ground” is a new film how about how regenerating the world’s soils has the potential to rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems, and create abundant food supplies. This film explains why transitioning to regenerative agriculture could be key in rehabilitating the planet, while simultaneously invigorating a new sense of hope and inspiration in viewers. Click here to register to view the film.
This film has been chosen as the featured film of Interfaith Power & Light’s Faith Climate Action Week, April 16-25, 2021. Our theme this year is Sacred Ground: Cultivating Connections between our Food, our Faith, and the Climate. Learn more about the week here.
Stephen Ministry: We are here for you!
2020 was a challenging year, right?! Most of us have been struggling and overwhelmed. You are not alone. Stephen Ministers understand and are available to listen, support and pray for you. We can offer you a confidential caring relationship or an occasional phone call to help you through these ever-changing times. Contact Maggie Foote at (513) 309-1079 or Madeline Feeley at (510) 495-4512 so we can be there for you.
Still Seeking All Soulsians with Communications Skills
We are reaching out to the All Souls community for marketing, communications, technical and design talent to build a team of skilled individuals on whom the communications team can call to support their efforts. If you have any (or many) of the skills listed below and some time to bring them to bear, please sign-up here.
Skills-sets:
- Graphic design
- Writing
- Email marketing
- Web design and development
- Content management
- Photography
- Video
- Social media
Ongoing Canned Food Drive
The ASP Food Drive continues to pick up and deliver food for the Berkeley Food Pantry on a weekly basis. Food contributors and drivers participate every other week. Please email Cathy: ogoshca@yahoo.com for more information.
Meal Train
If you are able to help provide some meals for parishioners in need, please contact Cathy Goshorn to help out! We are in great need at this time to help care for each other––please consider helping other All Soulsians in need by providing meals or gift cards for meals. You can reach Cathy at ogoshca@yahoo.com.