From the Associate for Music
A (Somewhat) New Approach
By now you likely know that this Sunday the 9am service will officially (I hesitate to say “permanently” these days) move indoors. As with everything we’ve been forced to change in the last two-plus years, this could be thought of either as a reversion to the way things were or as an opportunity to move forward.
Before the pandemic, All Souls had a pattern of offering nearly identical Choral Eucharists at 9am and 11:15am (9am had two fewer elements so as to create space for formation activities). The goal was to ensure that all those who attended either of the community’s principal Sunday services would be presented with a similar worship experience—hopefully one among many ways of binding together the parish as a whole. This model had pros and cons. On the one hand, it was often exhausting for those liturgical ministers who had responsibilities at both services; on the other, more people could appreciate the efforts of the Choir each week, and we got second chances at anything we had messed up the first time around!
Now that the 9am is moving back indoors, we are presented with the question of whether we should revert to the previous pattern or test out a new one. I’d like to try the latter. In particular, I’m hoping to maintain something of the feel that the 9am service has developed while it’s been outdoors, with a small pick-up choir—perhaps singing a simple anthem—and accompaniment from piano and fretted instruments. I believe there are at least two compelling reasons to take this approach. First, from talking to staff, musicians, and others, I’ve sensed that more than a few people have appreciated what they experience as a more relaxed atmosphere outdoors. Elements like instrumentation and the choice to forgo vestments contribute to this feeling. Second, my hope is to be able to continue focusing choral attendance and energy on the 11:15 service. While there were a handful of intrepid souls who used to sing both services before the pandemic, many sang only one, and of those, most favored 9am. This sometimes left us thin—and tired to boot—at 11:15, and while we always brought our best, it did not always feel good.
This summer, I hope you’ll pay attention to how this way of doing things at 9am shapes your experience of worship; this will position us to reflect productively and to continue discerning paths forward in the coming months.
Jamie Apgar
Associate for Music
From the Associate for Ministry Development
Introducing the Jordan Court Team and Update on How to Access the All Souls Offices
Dear All Soulsians,
What an exciting time to be an All Soulsian. This month we are launching a brand new sub-team of the Justice & Peace team: the Jordan Court team and Emily McDonald, Cathy Goshorn, and Kaki Logan have taken on the role as chairs. What does this team do? So glad you asked.
Before I say more about what we’re hoping the work of this team will be, it’s important to first note that we are building this plane as we fly it––learning what it means to be in relationship with, and be good neighbors to our newest neighbors in Jordan Court. The chairs of this new team are working on a mission statement, which they will tell you about in a few weeks in a follow-up piece in the Pathfinder, but for now, I’m writing to introduce you all to the team and share how we see the team functioning. We’ve also got some updates on how to access the new staff offices in Jordan Court and the shared spaces in Jordan Court.
First, the Jordan Court team. Our hope for this new team is that they will function as the liaisons to whatever is happening over at Jordan Court and whatever needs might arise from Jordan Court residents. This means that if you have an idea for some way of engaging or building relationships, or something to offer our new neighbors, the protocol is to contact our Jordan Court team first. The team will be meeting regularly with the Resident Services Manager over at Jordan Court and will bring those ideas or offerings to the manager to see how best that offering can be used. You can reach out to Cathy Goshorn at ogoshca@yahoo.com, Kaki Logan at kaki.logan@gmail.com, and Emily McDonald at emilykmcdonald5@gmail.com.
Second, some updates to accessing the Jordan Court staff offices and the shared spaces at Jordan Court. The big news is that we finally have our phones up and running in the new offices! This means that if you want to stop by and say hello or if you have an appointment with one of the staff, you can walk up to the corner of Oxford and Cedar to the front door of Jordan court and get buzzed into the building.
To do that, walk up to the call box on the wall outside the glass doors on Cedar and Oxford and press “001”. This will dial the church phone system. From there you can choose which staff person you would like to reach (anyone can let you in), or if you don’t have an appointment, just dial Annie’s number, which is “1”. Once a staff person answers the call they will give you a key code that you will need to keep in your head so that you can enter the stairwell or the elevator. If you don’t think you can remember the code, just let the staff person know and they will come down and get you from the lobby. Either way, they will then buzz open the main glass door, and you can enter the lobby. From there you will need to get to the third floor by entering either the stairwell or the elevator. To do that, enter the key code at the keypad of the stairwell door, or enter the key code in the keypad inside the elevator and then press “3” for the third floor. Once on the third floor, the All Souls’ offices are to your right at the end of the hall.
A second update is that the courtyard gate next to the triptych is now locked during “business hours” during the week (it is still open on Sundays from 8-4p). If you come in from the church building and want to enter through the Jordan Courtyard gate, just give a staff person a phone call or text while you’re down there (all of the staff’s phone numbers are in the directory, and if you don’t have the directory and would like to be added, reach out to Emily!). A staff person would be glad to let you in.
Lastly, a note about our shared spaces in Jordan Court. The three shared spaces that we hold in common with the residents of Jordan Court are the Community Room, the Conference Room (both on the ground floor level), and the courtyard/labyrinth. If you would like to reserve either the Community Room or the Conference Room (for a meeting or gathering of All Soulsians) you can do that by reaching out to our Admin, Annie Rovzar. If you would like to walk the labyrinth, you can just simply buzz in from Cedar and Oxford, or call a staff person directly to get into the courtyard. Or, you can walk it on Sundays from 8-4 while the gate is unlocked.
A thing to note about all of these spaces is that while they are shared spaces, they are also the homes of residents of Jordan Court. As a result, we need to be thoughtful and careful in how we use these shared spaces, respecting the privacy of those who live there while also enjoying these new church spaces. This is new territory for all of us, and we will have to learn, together, how to hold these spaces in common respectfully.
This is a lot of information, but if you have questions or wonderings about any of it, please feel free to reach out to me, Annie, or the Jordan Court team. I also suspect that once you’ve entered the building one time it will all make a lot more sense, so try it out! Come by sometime during the week and say hello.
Yours,
Emily
From the Vestry
Update from the June Vestry Meeting
The June Vestry meeting started with a reflection from Isaiah 58 (verses 6,7 and 11,12) led by Vestry Chaplain Tim Ereneta. A discussion followed on fasting, as it is described in this reading, as a kind of fasting from inaction. This is a dramatically different way of looking at fasting. It is seeing fasting as a call to act justly in the world.
On the agenda for this meeting was the usual vote to approve last month’s minutes and the Treasurer’s report. A Gift Acceptance Policy was discussed. Kirk Miller had some additional changes that were explained. This was also approved, and a copy will be posted in the Narthex. If you’d like your own copy, please contact Richard Lynch.
As part of the continuing conversation about the health of the various ministries at All Souls, Jill Anderson led a presentation and discussion on Youth, Children, and Family Ministries. The challenge of gathering during this current COVID surge and the swing in attendance makes it difficult to plan events.
Richard Lynch then joined us via Zoom to update us on the Living Waters campaign. He reported that we have a total of $3.9 million in commitments from 134 households. The 10% tithe that the Vestry approved of last month has a name now, The Isaiah Project. Details of the Isaiah Project are still in formation.
Our Junior Warden, Irina Wolf Carriere, highlighted the parish survey that was in the recent Pathfinder and encourages all to please fill it out. It will inform the Vestry on the next steps for the Living Waters campaign.
The Rev Phil reported that an outreach committee has been formed and met to discuss how we can support and care for the residents at Jordan Court. He encouraged us to spread the word about the apartment we have available for people to use while on sabbatical. The link from the parish website was referenced.
The rector’s report included the news that was shared in the June 9th Pathfinder concerning the successful end to the search for a new Associate for Music at All Souls. Dent Davidson will join us on August 14th. Sadly, Dr, Jamie Apgar, our current Associate for Music, will have his last Sunday with us on July 24th.
Lastly, over the past few weeks, a crew of All Soulians including Kaki Logan, Jill Churchman, Anne Cockle, Martin Ortega, and Alan Schut worked to clear out the old copy room and area outside the women’s vesting room. This has allowed them to move all the materials from the Archive Room in the former copy room. Much gratitude was expressed over this first of many transformations to come in spaces vacated by the offices moving to Jordan Court.
Vestry meetings are open to all and, while the agendas are not posted in advance, they do follow a similar format each month in line with our goals for the year. We always include time for an in-depth look at an area of congregational ministry, Living Waters Campaign/Project Updates, Jordan Court Operations, and other areas of need. Approved minutes from previous Vestry meetings are available in hard copy form in the Narthex.
-Jennifer Akiyama
Save the Dates
June 26, Youth Group Pilgrimage to SF and the 9:00am service moves indoors!
July 15-17, All Parish Campout
August 19, All Souls at the A’s Game
September 16-18, All Parish Retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch
Weekly Worship
Join us for worship this week:
- 9am, in-person, indoors
- 11:15am, in-person, indoors (masks are optional, but strongly recommended at this point.) This service will also be live streamed.
You can access the live stream through our website or by tuning into our All Souls Episcopal Parish Facebook page. Click here to watch on Sunday morning. This service will move indoors if the weather is below 40 degrees at 8:15a, if the AQI is over 150, or if there is rain.
Then join us in the Parish Hall at 5p Sunday Night Service for Evening Prayer.
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. Masks are required for this service as it is indoors.
Formation
Adult Formation Classes
There are three class offerings this Sunday:
- Reading Between the Lines Bible Study @ 7:30a. Contact Kate Murphy, kmurphy2209@gmail.com to join that Zoom call, or join them in-person in the Common Room.
- Reading Between the Lines Bible Study @ 10:10a. Contact Daniel Prechtel, dprechtel1@gmail.com to join that Zoom call, or join them in-person in the Chapel.
- Summer Book Group begins! @10:10a in the Common Room (and on Zoom––click here). The first book we’ll read is Thomas Merton’s Contemplative Prayer for June 19, 26, and July 10th. In the final group meeting we’ll read and discuss Thomas Merton’s book The Wisdom of the Desert. If you need a copy of the book, please see Emily.
Children, Youth, and Family News
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi event at First Pres: This Friday evening, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, a thought leader in anti-racism, will be presenting about his new book, How to Raise an Antiracist. A group from All Souls’ Justice & Peace and Children’s Ministry Teams will be attending the event and hosting a follow-up conversation on Sunday, June 26th, at 10:10. This event had previously advertised a concurrent movie night at the church for kids, but that has been canceled due to lack of sign-ups. We look forward to seeing you at First Pres and/or our follow-up conversation on Sunday at All Souls!
Youth walking Pilgrimage to San Francisco: It’s this Sunday! Make sure to attend the 9:00am service, so we can be commissioned and leave on time for our Walking Pilgrimage to San Francisco!
Email Maggie for more information about Children, Youth and Family Ministries at All Souls.
Other News & Notes
From the Living Waters
Now that the fundraising portion of the Living Waters Campaign is complete, we want to hear from you! We have created a short survey where we hope you will share your hopes for the Project phase of Living Waters and let us know if you have a particular interest, area of expertise, or contact to share. While we may not be able to make use of everybody’s favorite plumber, we do hope you will fill out the survey by Sunday, June 26th. This survey is just the first step in this process, and there will be more opportunities for conversation in th future! Thank you!
Summer Book Club
Part 2 (July 24 – August 7)
Voting began at church on June 5th and will continue through June 25th via email. Please email your vote to ayardley@drew.edu.
We have four possible books for our mid-summer book group. They are:
Colum McCann Apeirogon: A Novel
Omar al Akkad What Strange Paradise
Charles Blow Fire Shut up in my Bones
Peter Gomes The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart
Longer descriptions are available in the narthex. Look for the jars and marbles and cast your vote!