From the Rector

A Spirited Call

Thanks to the persistence, creativity, and Spirit-led work of our search team and the open heartedness of many, many people, I am grateful and excited to share the news of the call of our new Associate Rector at All Souls Parish, the Reverend Emily Boring. Led by our Senior Warden, Sarah Kern, the search team of Irina Wolf Carriere, Sharon Chipman, Michael Drell, Jeannie Koops, and Richard Lynch were consistently creative, careful, and considered. As can often be the case, an intentional process led to an outstanding result.

At All Souls Parish we have been the beneficiaries over the last seventeen years of the faith-filled pastoring, generative preaching, and skillful teaching of the Reverends Kristin Krantz, Liz Tichenor, and Maggie Foote as Associate Rectors. I have every hope that the Reverend Emily Boring will continue in and expand upon that tradition. Emily comes to us from the Diocese of Oregon (thank you Bishop Diana!) and along with the downbeat of preaching and teaching, she will be leading our parish life in the areas of Children and Family, Youth, and Pastoral Care. Her work with us will have one noteworthy component. Because of a commitment to a book that she has been contracted to write, she will writing that book alongside her four-day-a-week work at All Souls.

Emily B. (we are now blessed with more than one Emily) will begin at All Souls on Monday, August 21st, and her first Sunday will be our Homecoming Sunday, August 27th. (more on that feast to come) In the meanwhile please keep Emily in your prayers as she prepares to move across country from Connecticut to Berkeley and begins her life anew among us.

Peace,

Phil+

From the (New!) Associate Rector

Hi All Soulsians!

I’m delighted to join the All Souls community this August as your new Associate Rector! I’m coming from New Haven, Connecticut, where I recently finished seminary, but I’m a West Coaster at heart. I grew up in Oregon (Salem and Corvallis), and I first found a sense of the sacred in the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

Before I followed a call to ministry, I was a marine biologist. In college, I studied the evolution of fish, and I discovered two new species! During my Masters of Science, I researched the resilience of Oregon’s sea star populations in the face of climate change. I spent summers teaching marine ecology (and scuba diving!) to high schoolers at The Island School, an intentional community on a small island in The Bahamas. I love making connections between science and religion, especially through creative writing. I see both science and faith as ways to enter into wonder, relationship, kinship, and discovery.

I’m excited to share the many places and vocabularies where I find a sense of God—and to hear where and how you find God, too. From the moment I began to talk with folks from All Souls, I knew this was a place that values relationship and authenticity. Over and over, people told me stories of bringing their whole selves—their joys, challenges, longings, pain, and doubts—to All Souls, and finding they were welcomed and embraced. That, to me, is the essence of holy community. I’m honored to walk alongside you as we explore how the texts and rituals of our Church come alive through our own struggles, needs, and celebrations—and how we can support one another in finding a “living” faith.

 

I’ve never lived in Berkeley, but I’ve heard it has many of the things I love most: hiking, trail running, farmer’s markets, music, and libraries! When I’m not in church, you can find me writing, exploring tidepools, or adoring my family’s orange cat. I can’t wait to put down roots in this new place and to meet all of you. Thanks for welcoming me!

Til soon,

Emily B.

From Living Waters 

Save the Dates

• July 14-16, All-parish Big Sur camping trip (sign-up here!)
• August 19, All Souls at the As game
• August 27, Rally Sunday
• 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 This week, join us for Children’s Chapel during the 10:30am service. Children are invited to follow the Children’s Chapel leaders down the center aisle after the gospel reading, and rejoin their families before communion!

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

Episcopal Summer Camp Registrations are Now Open!

Episcopal Camps across the country are starting to open for registration, including the Diocese of California’s not one, but TWO summer camps: St. Dorothy’s Rest, and The Bishop’s Ranch. You can find more information about the dates, age ranges, and cost for each camp at the links below:

St. Dorothy’s Rest

The Bishop’s Ranch

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

Open Door Dinner

Open Door Dinner is next Sunday, July 9th. If you are able or interested in helping put the meal together or deliver some meals to the camps around Berkeley, please see John or Anne Cockle, cocklejl@gmail.com, or cockle1@icloud.com.

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.

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.