From the Interim Rector

TYVM

This summer hasn’t been what any of us hoped it would be. We miss being together, and I missed meeting most of you in person. I was able to share in ministry in some small ways, but I never got to worship with the early morning crowd or hear the congregation sing. My days off were often spent working on sermons although last Saturday my sister and I explored New Pieces (a fabric shop on Gilman) and I got out of there for less than $50 (a major victory!) We found a great Reuben Sandwich at a brewery down the street and delighted in eating a meal together in a restaurant (outside.) It’s funny how these moments can make such a difference in our lives.

Here are some others from my summer with you – in no particular order:

  • A long leisurely conversation about ministry, All Souls, Eucharist, Pastoral Care, the Episcopal Church, and the San Joaquin Valley with Emily at the Albany Bulb.
  • Staff meetings that range from proofreading the bulletin to new ways to minister, to wondering how to care for a homeless woman in the neighborhood.
  • Wardens’ meetings where we agonized together over the glitches and celebrated the final signing of the documents enabling Jordan Court.
  • Renewing old friendships and starting new ones.
  • A hike to the top of Tilden Park over a deep conversation about what it means to love and be loved and to trust God’s working in our lives. I had to stop a bunch of times (way to out of shape), but my hiking partner was patient.
  • Porch sits. In conversations with old friends and new, we wrestled with Scripture, spirituality, pastoral care, politics, possibilities, and hope.
  • Pastoral care conversations via phone or Zoom, where I met you deep in your hearts.
  • Co-hosting Soul Cast and reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Book Club.
  • Great food. Always great food: e.g., lechón from the Little Butcher Shop, chicken kabobs for breakfast from the bagel place, mole and chiles rellenos from Talavera, good pork bao from Safeway (who woulda thunk?!).
  • Taking care of the chickens. They were always so excited to see me in the morning.
  • Walking. Discovering the rainbow of houses – especially a Pepto Bismol pink one that first got my attention, and one with bougainvillea beautifully draped over the front door.
  • Meeting with small groups: Soup & Story, Bible Study, Sacred Ground and others. I think I look forward to being stumped on Sunday.
  • Feeding the hungry (although from a distance) and getting to know folks while picking chickens and filling lunch bags.
  • Al fresco meals with friends.
  • When God Was a Little Girl, a book by David Weiss. Whitney showed it to me. It’s in All Souls’ library.
  • Worship: Celebrating the Eucharist, learning to preach to a camera instead of an incarnate congregation, listening to challenging sermons, and delighting in the beauty, fun, and diversity of the music at All Souls.
  • My two wonderful homes in Albany.

You have been loving, welcoming, fun, generous, challenging, and gracious. Your ministry is amazing. Your leaders are exemplary. The gifts you offer to the world are important. Keep the faith. You are revealing the Kingdom of God and the world needs to see and know that possibility right now.

Thank You Very Much. It has been an honor to serve God and God’s people with you.

Blessings,
+Nedi

Children’s Ministry

As September is underway, it is time for the new children’s program year. This new program, created and supported by the Children’s Ministry committee, is defined by our current virtual way of gathering. When we are able to meet in person once again, we will make changes to some of our programs so that they will better serve our needs.

For now, we are offering three ways for kids to come together with their church family. We hope these will be opportunities to come closer to God and feel God’s love.

1. Children’s Chapel will continue at 9:30 am Sunday mornings on Zoom. This Fall we will be using our much-loved Godly Play stories. These stories will look a tad different (using a black felt board with felt pieces) than in the classroom but hearing the stories will feel very similar. We will also add time for the Godly Play feast so that the kids can check-in with their friends and teachers. An added benefit to this format, is that there will be templates available to families (from the website) to create their own Godly Play stories at home. Please email Whitney at whitneykwilsonwc@gmail.com if you would like to receive the Zoom invite for chapel.

2. Kid’s Book Club: This summer, we had such fun with our kid’s book club reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that we decided to do another kid’s book club this Fall. Next up is Where the Mountain meets the Moon by Grace Lin. We will gather on Wednesday afternoons at 4:00 pm (via Zoom) with different guest readers each week. Your child does not need to read the book themselves (although they might find they want to read ahead!) as our guest readers will read them a chapter or two each week. We will begin Wednesday September 16 – please email Whitney at whitneykwilsonwc@gmail.com if you would like to receive the Zoom invite for the Fall Book Club.

3. Monthly Prayers: While our worship service is done on live-stream, we recognize that this can be a difficult medium for kids to participate in. Starting in September, there will be monthly prayers available on the website for families to use. Similar to the prayers we use with our Advent wreaths, these are written so your family can take a bit of time – how long or how short is completely decided by you – to share evening prayer together. These prayers comprise a very simple worship service that can be followed or even led by kids. Beyond this evening prayer, there are also prayers to use at mealtime and for the start of school. Look on the All Souls website under Formation for these prayers each month.

And just a quick reminder that there are other resources available for families on the All Souls website. Check out the google doc with resources for anti-racism books and websites, the video library with over 20 stories recorded on video by many All Soulsians, and ideas of faith practices for families to use in their homes.

As we navigate these uncharted waters, please know that the clergy and staff are here for you. Reach out to me at whitneykwilsonwc@gmail.com if there is something I can help you with.

Take care,

Whitney Wilson
Interim Children’s Minister

Adult Formation

The Adult Formation Committee is very pleased to share the coming year’s course schedule with you. Formation classes are an opportunity to learn about our faith, to dig into our roots, and to ponder together how to live as Christian in the world today. We’ll learn from the leaders of these classes and from each other.

We’ll study scripture in different seasons of the church year. Next month, the Rev. Dr. Paula Nesbitt will open a 3-week series on “Gender, God, and the Church Today” with an exploration of the feminine face of God in scripture and Christian tradition. In Advent, the Rev. Michael Lemaire will lead a study of the prophets and Jewish roots of Christian practice. During Lent, in “Story with Story,” the Rev. Phil Brochard and Jack Shoemaker will explore scriptural stories that don’t tell the same story the same way, and what that can teach us. Easter season will bring two opportunities to engage scripture: a study of resurrection texts with the Rev. Michael Lemaire, and an experiential class, “Praying with Scripture,” with Toni Martinez-Borgfeldt and Madeline Feeley.

Other courses will lead us to ponder complex questions of race, racism, and racial justice. Beginning October 25, the Rev. Phil Brochard and Wendy Calimag will lead a four-week course, “Carrying the Cross,” on racial allyship. We’ll turn to a different aspect of the topic during the second half of Easter, when the Justice and Peace Committee, along with the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers, host “Restoration and Reparations.”

Two classes will focus on healing. In “Imaginal Meditation: Why and How,” the Rev. Dr. Daniel L. Prechtel will offer experiential learning about the role of imagination in accessing spiritual dimensions for healing and wisdom. During Epiphany, Dr. Cynthia Li will return to teach, with the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers, “The Body of Christ: Worship as Healing.”

Science and Theology will be the topic of “Things We Trust and Ways We Know” led by the Rev. Dr. Mark Richardson, President and Dean of Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Periodically during the year, we’ll have opportunity for conversation with leaders in our congregation, beginning this Sunday, September 6, with Stump the Rector, a time-honored tradition where you get the ask the rector your burning questions. The Rt. Rev. Nedi Rivera Moore will be on hand for all your questions, big or small. The following week, September 13, Meet Maggie and Welcome Back Phil! Join us for a conversation to get to know our new Associate Rector the Rev. Maggie Foote and to welcome the Rev. Phil Brochard back from sabbatical. Closing out 2020, we host an interview by the Rev. Phil Brochard of the Rev. Dr. Daniel Prechtel about his new book, Soul Journeys.

The calendar is the product of many people who volunteered their time to the committee and we want to thank all who shared their ideas. A special thank you to Nancy Austin for creating the poster again this year!

Download or view the calendar here, or on the Virtual Formation page.

For the foreseeable future, classes will be held online via Zoom. To reach a class, please visit the Virtual Formation page.

We hope you can join us!
The Adult Formation Committee

Arts at All Souls

Redwood Tree Animals Update

Forest critters are populating the Redwood Tree mural at All Souls and they are amazing! Collage, paint, confetti, and markers are some of the materials bringing them to life.

Want to join in and add to the foliage?

1. Download and print your animal. Here is a link to a drive full of individual animal files, rather than the initial long file, so you don’t print more paper than you intend:

2. Gather your art supplies and fill in your animals with paint, crayons, markers, pencils, collaged paper or something we haven’t even thought of. Think all shades of green!

3. Cut out your animals. Pro-tip: If you flip over your animal and work on the back side, you don’t have to be so careful about staying in the lines! This is especially handy if you are collaging.

4. Pop your green animals into an envelope and mail back to church (2220 Cedar St. Berkeley, CA 94709) or swing by and drop them into the mailbox near the chapel door.

Thanks for your critters. Keep them coming!

 

Announcements

Sunday Livestreaming News
The livestream of Sunday services continues to be available through our website, rather than only on Facebook. Visit the Streaming Services page to watch on Sunday morning.

Adult Formation Class this Sunday
This Sunday is The Rt. Rev. Nedi Rivera’s final Sunday with us. Join us for a Stump the Bishop at 9:15 am to kick-off the new Adult Formation year! Come ready with questions about theology, practice, history, or just whatever is on your mind. Click here for the Zoom link. 

Children & Family News
We will be doing a children’s chapel program this Sunday at 9:30am via Zoom. It should last about 30 minutes. Please email Whitney Wilson for a link so your family can participate. We are hoping that this will give the kids a time together for their own “church” and a time to see their friends as well. Please email Whitney Wilson at whitneykwilsonwc@gmail.com if you want a Zoom invite or have any questions. 

If you are looking for some current information regarding Children’s Chapel or the upcoming Kids Book Club – check out the new additions to the All Souls website. The All Souls Website has been updated to include some new information and resources (including the links for all the storybook videos) for families.

All Souls After Hours
This week’s After Hours will be special. For Nedi’s last Sunday with us, we’ll be doing a skeleton crew Story Swap. You can find it just after the Sunday’s service on a new Facebook live on our All Souls Episcopal Parish Facebook page. 

Evening Prayer via Zoom
Here is the link for the Thursday night BCP Compline: https://schoolmint.zoom.us/j/7124066649?pwd=d0Z4c1RHeld0QllOLzdlS1IxK3FKZz09.
For our safety online, the password needed to join the call is 329903. 

All Souls Geek Squad
If you’re having any trouble with technology during this time of tech-only contact with others, we want to help! On the homepage of our website is a box with the words “Technical Help”. Click on that box and you will be taken to a form that you can fill out. Once you fill that out, we’ll have someone get in touch with you to help with your tech problems. You can also click here to access the form directly. 

Soulcast
No Soulcast this week. Check back next week for Episode 20! 

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.

Wednesday 9:00 am Service
Join the Zoom call here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86087951049?pwd=THNxbjlqMm5zdjc5RGNLWkFrZk16QT09
Meeting ID: 860 8795 1049 Password: 520218

Stories of All Souls
If you missed it, read this article by Emily Hansen Curran on a new writing project. In short, send in a short reflective story on the theme of DOORWAYS, to be published in the Pathfinder. Deadline for submission extended to Wednesday, September 9th!