From the Wardens
One of the primary purposes of our new facilities is to extend All
Saints’ hospitality in a setting which includes the parish community. In
the coming days we have two excellent opportunities to put our
facilities to use for this purpose and to show our hospitality to those
nearby and far away.
The first of these is this Sunday evening, November 4, at 5:30, when we
host the choir of St. Peter’s, Oxford, which will combine with the All
Saints’ choir for choral evensong, followed by a reception in the parish
hall. This will be an occasion of worship and celebration with a sister
parish on the weekend of our parish feast day, All Saints Day.
The second comes on Wednesday night, November 7, at 6:00, when we host
the Rt. Rev. Zebedee Masereka, an Anglican bishop from Uganda, here at
Bishop Gray’s invitation. Bishop Masereka will join us and other
parishes in our convocation for a pot-luck supper in the parish hall
followed by a presentation by the bishop on his work with children in
Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS. Though they are half a world
away, these children are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Through our
hospitality to Bishop Masereka, we will have the opportunity to impact
the lives of these children.
Each of these events deserves the support of everyone at All Saints.’
More than that, they deserve our efforts to invite others outside of the
parish to join us and to be our guests. Please be intentional about
supporting these events with your attendance and your invitation of
others. These are the first of many such events to come, and they are
precisely why we have built this marvelous new building.
Les Alvis, Sr. Warden
Search Committee Work Starts
The Search Committee has organized and its work is under way. We had an
initial meeting and then last weekend the committee and Vestry met with
the Rev. David Johnson, Diocesan Canon and our search consultant. David
guided us through the steps of the process and helped us begin to
evaluate our needs and expectations for a new Rector. These Friday night
and Saturday morning sessions were a productive and beneficial use of
our time, and were followed by our official commissioning at the 10:30
service last Sunday.
The committee in the near future will be seeking input from all members
of the parish in the form of a written survey that can be filled out
either online or by paper copy. This will be important data for our
parish profile, which will be sent to prospective candidates. The
questions deal with the congregation's assessment of where All Saints'
is in various aspects of its ministry and the strengths and
characteristics you think we should seek in a Rector. Watch the
newsletter and listen for announcements on when and how to take the
survey. Later in the process, the committee will formally ask the
congregation for nominations of clergy to be considered for the
position. We will also be given a list by the Bishop of prospects to be
considered.
The search process is by design a lengthy and deliberate one. While the
Search Committee, Vestry and Wardens all are committed to moving the
process ahead without undue delay, we also do not want to rush it. It's
vitally important that we take the time to discern where God is calling
us -- and the priest God is calling for us -- and that cannot be done
hurriedly. The Search Committee's commitment to All Saints' is to give
our prayerful best to this effort and to keep you informed of where we
are in the process at each step of the way. We ask for your prayers.
Lloyd Gray, Search Committee chair
