From the Rector

Remembering, Praying, Standing Together

 For the last four years All Souls Episcopal Parish has been in relationship with two other faith communities in Berkeley, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Congregation Beth El. Like most relationships, our friendship has been built by time spent together, learning about each other’s beliefs and practices, and sharing about our hopes for our common life in Berkeley.

Our first events were called Breaking Bread, Building Bridges, and we’ve continued with those words as guideposts for our time together. Over the years of Breaking Bread, Building Bridges, we’ve shared meals, worshipped in each other’s spaces, built tiny homes alongside one another, studied scripture together, shared our stories with one another, and advocated for each another. Now that we are emerging more and more from pandemic, the clergy of our congregations (Pastors Tony and Dorisalene of St. Paul, Rabbi Bekah of Beth El, and me from All Souls) have begun looking for more opportunities for our congregations to build on these relationships.

Recently members of all three congregations met at St. Paul AME to form a council made up of members of each congregation. (the All Soulsians on that council are Paul Mathew, Bonnie Bishop, Priscilla Camp, and Kim Wong) The hope is that this council, along with the clergy of the congregations, will guide the work and study and fellowship we share in the time to come. We also talked about our next opportunity to be in relationship with one another, through prayer and remembrance. 

Continuing our collective practice of praying together, Congregation Beth El has invited All Souls and St. Paul AME to join them for the observation of Tisha B’Av at Congregation Beth El, on Wednesday July 26th from 7-8:30p, in person and on Zoom. On that day, the 9th (tisha) day of the month of Av, Jews around the world make space to remember, to mourn, and to pray.

For centuries Tisha B’Av has been a day of remembrance and mourning, specifically of the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which were destroyed on that day, roughly six centuries apart. It also marks other disasters that have befallen the Jewish people, including the expulsion of Jews from Spain by the Christian rulers in the 15th century. In the words of Rabbi Bekah,

“Our focus will be the experience of being discriminated against, persecuted and oppressed because of some aspect of our identities – either as individuals or as members of a group – as we continue to build relationships across these identities and stand together against these forms of discrimination, persecution, and oppression. The Book of Lamentations will be our shared text, some of which we will read and discuss, and other parts we will hear chanted in Hebrew. Whether you’ve participated in Building Bridges programming from the beginning or this will be your first, we hope you’ll join us to add your voice and your story and to witness the stories of others.”

Please join us online or at Congregation Beth El (1301 Oxford Street) on Wednesday, July 26th to continue building bridges with Congregation Beth El and St. Paul AME. Together we will listen, remember, sing, share, and pray.

Peace,

Phil+ 

Tisha B’Av Zoom Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84585613144?pwd=cnoxTVBXMlMvMXl3VEVrS0dPZkNWQT09 

Meeting ID: 845 8561 3144

Passcode: 731913

Save the Dates

  • August 19, All Souls at the As game
  • August 27, Homecoming & Blessing of the Backpacks
  • 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 #2 – The Meal That Reconnects: Eucharistic Eating and the Global Food Crisis by Mary E. McGann, Led by Ruth Meyers In The Meal That Reconnects, Dr. Mary McGann, RSCJ, invites readers to a more profound appreciation of the sacredness of eating, the planetary interdependence that food and the sharing of food entails, and the destructiveness of the industrial food system that is supplying food to tables globally. She presents the food crisis as a spiritual crisis—a call to rediscover the theological, ecological, and spiritual significance of eating and to probe its challenge to Christian eucharistic practice. Drawing on the origins of Eucharist in Jesus’s meal fellowship and the worship of early Christians, McGann invites communities to reclaim the foundational meal character of eucharistic celebration while offering pertinent strategies for this renewal. The book is divided into three sections so we will plan to talk about Part I on July 9th, Part II on July 16th and Part III on July 23rd.

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

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. 

Though we’ll take a break from our Sunday gatherings, we’ll still meet up this summer for:

  • Beer garden hang outs, June 28th and July 26th at Westbrae Biergarten in Berkeley.
  • A family dinner in August. This will be a Storytelling Dinner meets Family Meeting. Stay tuned for more details in July!

Big Sur Camping Trip, July 14-16

The Santa Lucia Chapel and Campground, a mission of All Saints Parish in Carmel, is a private and secluded campground in the gorgeous Big Sur area. It’s a sweet spot that sits right on the Big Sur River, and is right next door to the Big Sur River Inn and restaurant. There’s a spot to float down the river and a little swimming hole and family friendly beach, complete with a rock to jump from. 

Cost: $45 per person for the weekend (children under 5 stay for free; $180 max per family) Note: Santa Lucia has substantially raised their rates, but we are hoping to keep this weekend affordable for all who are interested. Scholarships are available. Talk to Emily Hansen Curran for more information. To reserve your spot you must sign up and pay in full no later than July 1st! 

Summer Book Groups!

The Adult Formation Committee is pleased to announce the summer book groups for the summer. All book groups will meet at 9:15am prior to the 10:30am service.  

  • June 4, 11, 18, 25 Thomas Merton Seven Story Mountain. Led by Jack Shoemaker 
  • July 9, 16, 23 The Meal That Reconnects: Eucharistic Eating and the Global Food Crisis by Mary E. McGann. Led by Ruth Meyers
  • July 30, August 6, 13 The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Led by Emily McDonald

Need a parking spot?

We’ve got a parking lot under the Jordan Court apartment building that is available to anyone with challenges with mobility or anyone who regularly drives someone with challenges with mobility. If that is you, and you would like access to the parking garage on Sundays or other times when you are at the church, please reach out to Annie Rovzar, annie@allsoulsparish.org.

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).

Last Call for Baseball

Thinking about our All Souls night at the ballpark this year, I keep hearing the chorus of that old Stones song, “This could be the last time, Maybe the last time, I don’t know, oh no, oh no….”  Well, we don’t know if this is the last time but let’s do it one more time.  It’s been part of life at our parish for over 15 years.  And I remind you, it has never been about the quality of the team on the field.  Celebrating summer, celebrating our community life, some purely non-church fun with your church friends.

The windup, the Pitch:  Saturday August 19, A’s vs Orioles, 6:07pm game time, 4:45pm tailgate party in the Coliseum lot with the usual great spread of food & bev, with each Soulsian receiving a 1973 replica jersey of the World Champion A’s, AND following the game a Star Wars Drone Show lighting up the sky.

$35/pp, PayPal / Venmo strongly preferred, RSVP by July 31, don.a.gates@gmail.com.

Don Gates

Please join us for the First Annual Episcopal Impact Fund Volunteer Day

We are thrilled to invite YOU, our amazing community, to a special volunteer opportunity with our grantee, City Hope. On Saturday, July 22, we will serve breakfast to residents of the Tenderloin at the City Hope Community Center. We hope you’ll join us as we give back and connect to the needs of those around us.

Episcopal Impact Fund Volunteer Day – City Hope Breakfast

What: Serve a delicious home cooked breakfast, restaurant-style, to residents in the Tenderloin

When: Saturday, July 22, 2023
Time: 8:00-10:00am, volunteers arrive at 7:30am

Where: City Hope Community Center: 45 Olive Street, San Francisco

Space is limited.