The Herald January 24, 2010
Third Sunday after Epiphany
From the Rector On the Calendar:
Of Medium and Message In 1967 Marshall McLuhan coined the term, "the medium is the message." McLuhan was a professor of English Literature, critic and scholar, but much of his life's work had to do with the study of how we communicate in the context of a post-modern multi-media world. He also coined the term, "Global Village" recognizing that, even as early as the 1960's, electronic multi-media would begin bridging the socio-economic and cultural gaps in our world. He developed this theory well before computers, as we now know them, existed; before e-mail; Facebook; Twitter; digital video; and digital cellular and satellite communications. McLuhan's primary hypothesis concerning media was that the message that is communicated is profoundly affected by the means by which it is communicated.... We know, for example, that e-mails may be understood quite differently as compared to a spoken conversation; remote live video communicates far differently compared to still photographs; poetry different from prose. The medium is the message.
Tuesday, January 19 12N Golden Circle 3:30pm Training choir rehearsal 4:30pm Murray House Bd Mtg Wednesday, January 20 12N Holy Eucharist (Chapel) 4pm Girls’ Choir rehearsal 7:30pm Parish Choir rehearsal Thursday, January 21 12N Al-Anon (Smith Rm) 5:30pm AA (Smith Rm) Friday, January 22 5:30pm Food Share packing Saturday, January 23 8am Food Share distribution 9am Recovery Today (Smith Rm)
I have marveled at the television media's coverage of the catastrophic earthSunday, January 24 quake in Haiti. I must say that I have a broad ambivalence regarding the so8am Holy Eucharist 9am Breakfast called news media, but in this case things seem somehow different. A young 9:20am Christian Education doctor was seen on camera weeping at the magnitude of his task ahead. He told 10:30 am Holy Eucharist NBC's Nancy Sniderman that this event had changed his life forever. She asked Reception following him if he thought he would be able to continue...He replied that he would stay until all was done...We saw a young surgeon telling a mother that her six-yearMonday, January 25 old daughter's leg must be amputated or else she would die… the mother wailed, 6pm Vestry Meeting (Saad Rm) tears streaming down her face of ebony, but was soon consoled by her injured Tuesday, January 26 daughter, her husband and this young surgeon from Raleigh, North Carolina… 3:30pm Training Choir similar tears on her white face; then we saw a woman who had been trapped in rubble for six days, her husband keeping vigil until he heard her small voice… three hours later she was rescued by fire-fighters from Los Angeles...as she lay on the gurney, she sang hymns of praise; another NBC reporter who lived thirteen years in Haiti as a child tracked down her nurse to make sure she was alive… both were unable to speak upon finding each other. The medium is the message. Where the medium is compassion, then the message is God's love incarnate...alive and real....by air and land and sea...and this love ramifies throughout the global village, the commonweal of humankind, in which we now see and hear and know of our astounding and irrevocable interdependence...we have seen it in the flesh....and we will continue to see it, this intimacy of the global human community, in all aspects of our lives...our lives that shape and are shaped by many other lives...Our tears this day, our common ground and our shared humanity....Where there is compassion, even in the midst of unthinkable tragedy, there is God's love. The medium: compassion; the message: Love alive.
All Saints’ Food Share Program
will be held this Friday and Saturday, January 22 & 23. We need helpers on both days: at 5:30pm on Friday to pack the food, and on Saturday morning to distribute the food. If you are a Saturday morning helper, please arrive by 7:15am so we will know if we have enough help or not to do certain tasks. If you have never been to Food Share before, why not give it a try? You will have a good time, you’ll feel good about yourself, and most importantly, you will help keep up your end of the Baptismal Covenant by feeding the hungry!
The Food Share Committee extends its thanks to the anonymous donor who gave $350 to the program in December.
Lenten chefs wanted!
We need folks who would like to provide meals for the Wednesday programs during Lent. If you would like to gather a few friends to volunteer, please call the church office to tell us the date you want to cook (438-2492)! (Supper Clubs: since you are eating together soon, please discuss this with your groups!!)
Congratulations to Wylly Stirling on becoming a grandmother for the second time! Daughter Jane and her husband Brandon Clarke are the proud parents of Marion Wylly Clarke, who was born last Thursday, Jan. 14. Baby Wylly joins her sister, Ann Douglas, as the newest member of the Stirling/Clarke clan. A Prayer for Haiti Jesus, Savior in times of storm, when the waters of the deep are broken up and all the landmarks crumble before our eyes, come to our aid and hold us up. Support the people of Haiti at this time lest they sink in hopelessness and despair. Empower those who are responding to their need; uphold the bereaved in their grief; and let your light shine in the present darkness to lead us all to the city securely built on your love; In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Bishop Jeffrey Rowthorn, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation January 15, 2010
From the Presiding Bishop A sermon delivered on Jan 17, 2010
A few minutes ago we gave thanks for the many saints who have come before us, for our ancestors and our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ, for all who have toiled to build the world we have dreamed of, the dream the prophets continue to hold before us, of that world we have not yet seen in its fullness. Moses led his people out of Egypt in search of that dream, of a land of milk and honey, where slavery would be left behind, and no one’s labor would be stolen by the powerful, where God’s children might live in peace and abundance. It’s the same dream that the prophet Martin Luther King held before us – a world where no one goes hungry, where each one has a decent shelter at night, where all have an equal claim on justice. It is the eternal dream of God’s spirit within us, and the vision that Jesus urges on his followers. This dream is not just a dream for the end time. This dream comes among us like a thief in the night, it sneaks up on us when we’re not paying attention, and this dream lives within us. We’ve confronted that dream this week as we’ve seen the terror of Haiti, a land shaken by the impersonal forces of an ever-changing globe. It’s also a terror in which human forces play an enormous role. The dream of God is evident in the care of one Haitian for another, and in the care of the world’s urgent response. We know that most of the buildings of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti in and around Portau-Prince have been destroyed. Two of our young adult missionaries who’ve been teaching theology there are on their way home. I have not been able to reach the bishop yet, but one of those young adults reports that Bishop Zaché Duracin has organized a camp of several thousand persons, caring for those with nowhere else to go. This includes the bishop, whose own home has been destroyed. They have water and some food, and a purpose – to care for each other and for the suffering around them. The dream of God is becoming real on that soccer field, in small and hidden ways. At the same time our hearts are breaking as we see the bodies and hear the stories about not knowing where family members are. ~continued on p.4
Help Haitians Devastated by the Earthquake Following a catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on January 12, Episcopal Relief & Development is reaching out to the Diocese of Haiti to both address immediate needs and prepare for long-term rehabilitation work. At least three million people are estimated to have been affected by the earthquake. Innumerable homes and major structures were destroyed. The Rev. Kesner Ajax, Executive Director of the Bishop Tharp Institute, said: “There is no Cathedral. The entire Holy Trinity complex is gone. The convent for the Sisters of St. Margaret is gone. The Bishop’s house is gone. College St. Pierre is gone.” Episcopal Relief & Development has disbursed emergency funding to the Diocese of Haiti to help meet critical needs such as food, water and shelter for those affected. As communication improves and recovery plans develop, we will continue to provide updates. We are standing ready to support the country’s ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts in the days to come. Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in a statement on the earthquake, “Even under ‘normal’ circumstances, Haiti struggles to care for her 9 million people. I urge your concrete and immediate prayers in the form of contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development, who are already working with the Diocese of Haiti to send aid where it is most needed.”
Rubble is all that is left of the Holy Trinity complex in Port-au-Prince following the earthquake. Here’s how you can help today: 1. Pray for people devastated by the earthquake. 2. Give to help those most impacted by this disaster. Your partnership is critical in protecting the people in Haiti who are in a very vulnerable situation. Without your help, our work to reach those in need would not be possible. Please donate by mailing a check with the attached coupon or by filling out the credit card information. [Note: There are LOTS of other organizations taking donations. Find them online.]
~ continued from p.2
Those with experience in disasters, whether you lived through the aftermath of 9/11 or Katrina, or the professionals, who do this compassionate work for a living, know that the recovery and rebuilding will take a very long time. The damage in Haiti is far worse than it was when an equivalent earthquake hit San Francisco 20 years ago, when only 62 people died – it’s worse because the infrastructure in Haiti is so poor, and the buildings there so fragile. It is a result of poverty. And that poverty is what the prophet Martin would challenge us about. Haiti has its roots in a history of slavery. Spaniards first imported Africans as slaves to the island on which Haiti sits in 1517. The island went back and forth between Spanish and French control over the next two centuries, with the French eventually colonizing the western part. In 1804, a slave revolt led to the first independent nation in Latin America, the second independent nation in this hemisphere after the United States, the first post-colonial black-led nation anywhere, and the first nation established as the result of a successful slave rebellion. If that isn’t an Exodus story, I don’t know what is. The Haitians were delivered from Pharaoh, led by their own team of Moseses. Yet they have never tasted much milk and honey. Martin the prophet would remind us that there are still slaves around us – those who live in thralldom to grinding poverty, like the 80% of Haitians who live on less than $2 a day. That’s the kind of poverty that the first of the Millennium Development Goals is meant to relieve. Martin the prophet would remind us that there is no justice when some live in that kind of poverty. And Martin the prophet would remind us that the people of Haiti are our brothers and sisters. Did you hear his words? How can one avoid being depressed when he sees with his own eyes evidences of millions of people going to bed hungry at night? How can one avoid being depressed when he sees with his own eyes God’s children sleeping on the sidewalks at night? Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are tied together in a single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Martin Luther King’s ministry was focused on liberating the people of these United States, but his message pointed toward the universal liberation of all people, all God’s children, here and around the globe. The work he began here helped to liberate the
people of South Africa. The ways in which Americans and faithful people around the world began to hear that universal message have made us conscious that oppression, and discrimination, and injustice anywhere are indeed our problem. We are most certainly “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” This congregation is abundantly aware of that reality – it shows in your care for, and your ministry with, so many who suffer in want of food, and clothing, and shelter, and education. Your particular focus on children reminds us all that Jesus came among us as one of them, and maybe we can remember that we’re all God’s children, and that Jesus is still present among us in the most vulnerable. What do you do when you encounter someone who is particularly vulnerable? You’ve probably heard and seen the stories about trying to get still-living people out of ruined buildings in Haiti. One man was sedated before they dragged him through a very tight spot. Others have had water piped to them through tiny hoses. Some of them had to have limbs amputated in order to deliver them from potential tombs. Rescuers do what is most needed to sustain life. I’m struck by the image of a tiny child, newly born, newly delivered, perhaps the most vulnerable life most of us ever meet. What do we do with a child like that? Wrap it up and keep the child warm. Martin invited us as church to become a thermostat, rather than a thermometer, to be an instrument that changes the temperature of the society around us. Well, my friends, it’s time to turn the heat up. Babies are dying out there. God’s children, our brothers and sisters, are dying of neglect – our neglect to work for justice both here and around the globe. Haiti is also a child of God, teetering on the cusp of life. She needs water, food, solidarity in prayer, work for justice, redevelopment, she needs milk and honey. Haiti is a bellwether for all the world’s children, for all God’s children, caught in that network of mutuality. None of us will arrive in that land of milk and honey of which we have dreamed for eons, none of us will enter that land until and unless we cross the river together. Only hand in hand with our neighbors, poor, hungry, thirsty, only when we keep on building that network of mutuality. Take my hand, precious Lord, and put it in the hand of my sister and my brother. Take my hand, take all our hands, and together – together - we shall come into the promised land.
Mardi Gras decorations are up, so Lent is around the corner! Ash Wednesday is February 17 The Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes will be held at 12N and at 6:00pm in the church “Wednesdays in Lent” — February 24, March 3, March 10, March 17 and March 24 — begin at 6:00pm with Evensong in the church followed by supper and program in Stirling Hall from 6:30-7:30pm Nursery will be available Program: Reading and discussion of
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
Books will be available in the church office for $8 each To reserve one, please call or email the office as soon as possible (438-2492 or asstrector@allsaintsmobile.org) [There is also a young reader’s edition of the book, intended for readers 8 years and up, available on line or at local bookstores]
From a review: This is an as-told-to biography of American Greg Mortenson, who has devoted his life to building schools in the remotest mountains of Pakistan. After a failed attempt to scale the earth's second highest peak, K2, he stumbles into an isolated mountain village, where he resolves to repay the generosity of the village leader and his people by building them a school. Mortenson's struggle to fulfill that promise and then committing himself to fund raising and building many more schools is the central subject of this well-detailed book. The book is a lesson in how a real field of dreams comes into being, and it is a quiet rebuff to those who seek change and order in the world's trouble spots through shock-and-awe military might.
Please mark your calendars now for Lent. This promises to be an exciting and timely conversation!
EYC PAGE “Hold tight, Wait ‘till the party’s over. Hold tight, We’re in for nasty weather. There has got to be a way Burning down the house.” ---Talking Heads In his sermon this past Sunday, Jim Flowers mentioned the band Talking Heads while talking about water. Later that afternoon I asked the EYC if any of them had heard of them. Two of the kids sheepishly raised their hands, but the remainder had no idea who Jim was talking about. Later that evening, I mentioned that I would be quoting them on the EYC Page. She confessed that she did not know who they were either. David Byrne’s ego would be crushed, I’m sure. And of course, none of the EYC know who I am talking about. JANUARY 24th WII ROCKBAND at the GREENES’ Let out your inner ROCKSTAR from 5:30 - 7:00 and have dinner at the home of Doug and Renee Greene, 203 Rapier Ave JANUARY 31st GAMES and FUN with the KELLYS Both Junior and Senior EYC meet at the home of Clark and Kim Kelly, 1656 Dauphin St 5:30 - 7:00 Games and Dinner FEBRUARY 7th BIG GAME PARTY AND FOOTBALL Due to trademark issues, I can’t say the name of the game we will be watching, but we will be watching it at the Conte house and playing football beforehand Times TBA FEBRUARY 14th JOE CAIN DAY EYC is going to the parades after Church We will have lunch after Church and then walk down to the Joe Cain Parade CHRIS CONTE CONTACT INFO: (251)604-2073 e-mail: ctc@helmsinglaw.com EMILY CONTE CONTACT INFO: (251)455-1056 e-mail: emilyconte@hotmail.com
Sunday Lectionary: 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Psalm 19:7-14 Luke 4:14-21
Lay Ministers for Sunday
Altar Guild: Melanie Petithory, Kim Gray, Laura Williams Flower Guild: Elizabeth Doyle, Clayton Ryan Breakfast: Jeff Clearman, Suzanne Cleveland, Martha Harris Reception: Paula Reeves, Frances Rouse 8:00 Lector: Keith Winkler Intercessor: Larry Hallett Chalice bearer: Ray Hester Ushers: Larry Hallett, Burl Ratcliffe Greeter: Renee Dillard 10:30 Lectors: 1) Molly Allison 2) Ben Harris Intercessor: Debi Foster Chalice bearers: Andy Mitchell, Beth Hardaway Acolytes: David Burchell, Kate Kelly, Grace Williams, Philip Roldan Ushers: Jim Ayres, Bill Hines, Ray Pappas, Hank Caddell, Skeeter Robertson
Music for Sunday, Jan. 24 Voluntary Craig Phillips Psalm-Prelude Processional Hymn 616 Es flog ein kleins Waldvogelein William Mathias S-278 Gloria in Excelsis Deo Samuel Sebastian Wesley Psalm 19:7-14 Sequence Hymn 295 Christus, der ist mein Leben Offertory Anthem Gordon Jacob O Lord, I Will Praise Thee Presentation Hymn 632 Munich William Mathias S-128 Sanctus and Benedictus qui venit William Mathias S-165 Agnus Dei Communion Hymn O Zion Haste, sung to Le CĂŠnacle Motet F. A. Gore Ouseley From the Rising of the Sun Post Communion Hymn 530 Gott sei Dank Processional John Blow Voluntary in C Major
Friday night supper club
will meet at Margaret and Keith Winkler's, 9601 Three Notch Rd, 666-0984, on January 22 at 7:00. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Thursday night supper club will meet at the home of Martha and Ben Harris on January 28 at 6:30pm. The Harrises live at 123 Provident Ln; phone 342-4458. All are welcome.
Please keep in your prayers: Dick Baade Robert Cozad Diane Petersen Muriel Cherney Tim Holston the White family Bill & Lida Bowman Royce Ladnier Linda Irby David Reeves Laura Bonnie Roberts
Serving in the military:
Spencer Abbot Matt Abbot Sean Paul Naylor Joseph Willcox Christopher Hume Steven DeWeese William Wesley Pollard Daniel Robert The policy of this church is to keep people on the prayer list for one month. After a month, they will be removed. If you want someone to be on the list longer, please call the office; the request will be updated and s/he will be kept on for another month.
Pantry Items The Refugee Committee collects daily health or household items for our refugee families that cannot be purchased with food stamps. Please place your donations in the basket in the Ann Street entry of the church or bring them to the office during the week. The items for this week are: bar soap and shampoo.
All Saints Church 151 SOUTH ANN STREET MOBILE, AL 36604 www.allsaintsmobile.org Return Service Requested
Clergy
The Rt. Rev. Philip M. Duncan II, Bishop Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast The Rev. James B. Flowers, Jr., Rector rector@allsaintsmobile.org Office: 438-2492 Home: 436-8932 The Rev. Mary C. Robert, Assistant Rector asstrector@allsaintsmobile.org Office: 438-2492 Home: 479-5084
All Saints Church Staff
Jeff Clearman, Principal Parish Musician jeff@allsaintsmobile.org Mary Holbrook, Financial Administrator mary@allsaintsmobile.org Parish Administrator office@allsaintsmobile.org Irene Raymond, Parish Sexton Lila Higdon, Jennifer Brownlee, Elizabeth Dunnam, Nursery Workers
All Saints 2010 Vestry Jim Ayres Chris Conte Harold Dodge Rob Gray Renea Greene Charlotte Hall Martha Harris Clark Kelly, Treasurer Pete Mackey Matt McDonald Susan Meztista Michael Morrison Diana Nichols Jean Tucker Darrel Williams
All Saints Committee Chairs
Acolytes: The Rev. Mary Robert Addiction & Recovery: Becky Wilson Adult Christian Education: The Rev. Jim Flowers Altar Guild: Melanie Petithory Choirs: Jeff Clearman Communications: The Rev. Mary Robert Community Ministries: Matt McDonald Constitution & By Laws: Pete Mackey Episcopal Youth (EYC): Chris & Emily Conte Finance Committee: Clark Kelly, treasurer Flower Guild: Katharine Flowers Food Share: Susan Meztista, Mark Taylor, Burl Ratcliffe Golden Circle: Laura Rutherford, Wylly Stirling Hospitality & Events: TBA IHN/Family Promise: Henry Brewster Lectors & Chalice Ministers: The Rev. Mary C. Robert Long-Range Planning: Curt Doyle Nursery: Elizabeth Doyle, Amy Hunter, Jim Ayres Parish Development: Clark Kelly Property: Curt Doyle Refugees: Martha Harris Ushers: Bill Evatt, Louie Wood Stewardship: Joe Basenberg, All Saints Vestry Youth Christian Education: Renea Greene
All Saints Episcopal Church
151 South Ann Street, Mobile, AL 36604 www.allsaintsmobile.org
Service Schedule Sundays
Wednesdays
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist 9:00 am Breakfast 9:20 a.m. Christian Education Classes (during school year) 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 12 Noon Holy Eucharist (Chapel)