Pentecost: The New Language of the Spirit

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VOLUM E X V lI N U M B E R 22
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THE NEWSLETTER OF ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Pentecost: The New Language of the Spirit
Trouvères
Spring Concert
On Friday, May 29, the Middle
School, Mixed Ensemble, and
Chamber Choir Trouvères will
combine to present a Spring
Concert at 7:30 p.m. in the
Church. Come and enjoy
songs of celebration spanning
the centuries, including music
of Papoulis, Naplan, Chilcott,
Núñez, Hampton, Franck, traditional spirituals, and music
of South Africa. A $5 donation
is suggested to help defray
expenses and childcare will be
provided. For more information,
contact Stephanie Mowery at
626.583.2719 or smowery@
allsaints-pas.org.
Canterbury and
Coventry Choirs
Spring Concert!
On Sunday, June 7, at 5:00
p.m. in the church, enjoy an
exciting and diverse program of music from around
the world, including music of
Haydn, David Zalo Okuku,
James Hopkins, Gwyneth
Walker, Bill Cunliffe, Poulenc,
César Carrillo, Rachmaninoff,
DeReau Farrar, György Orbán, Handel, Randall Thompson, and Shawn Kirchner.
Suggested donation $10/$8
for seniors and students; child
care provided; parking at Plaza
las Fuentes. For more information, contact Melissa Hayes at
626.583.2725 or mhayes@
allsaints-pas.org.
from abel lopez, senior associate for Multiculturalism, Adult Education, Parish Life, Vocational Discernment, and
Covenant II
A
group of fearful disciples, gathered behind closed doors, were filled with the
Holy Spirit. As the story goes, the Holy
Spirit descended on all who were present; overcame all barriers of culture, and the disciples were
empowered by the Spirit to speak in foreign languages. It was so strange that many in the crowd
began to say that they were drunk (maybe they
thought they were Episcopalians?)! And yet, all
those in Jerusalem were so filled by the Spirit that
everyone heard the Gospel message in languages
they could understand.
There is something compelling about hearing
your own language in a foreign country. Many
of you know this from personal experience.
We walk into a business, someone says hello in
your native language and the whole atmosphere
changes. Suddenly the place becomes friendlier.
We shift from a sense of being isolated to moving
toward a place of connection; from strangeness
to a sense of belonging.
I believe, my friends, that the gift of the Spirit
was to take a group of fearful and broken people
and allow the disciples to speak to them in their
native language, making the message accessible
and forging a connection. They were transformed
into people of shalom and wholeness, who knew
and understood the good news. We take from
the day of Pentecost this great and thrilling gift of
a new way to talk with each other so that we can
genuinely understand one another as members
of one family of God.
In this colorful multicultural world of ours,
and specifically in Southern California, wouldn’t
it be wonderful if you and I could be given a
new way to talk with one another, a new way to
relate to one another that allows us to create an
environment where differences are recognized,
understood, appreciated, and where all persons
embrace one another and understand what God
wants for each of us?
At All Saints Church we rejoice in the celebration of what traditionally has been called ‘the
birthday of the church,’ and what makes this day
so special to us is not so much about our anniversary as a church, but also about the gift of the Spirit that calls us to new ways of being as a church.
The gift of the Spirit in Pentecost is an invitation
to participate in an ongoing process of cooperation by which we learn to accept differences and
operate from a position of genuinely appreciating one’s own cultural identity and that of others.
These cultural groups can be based upon race,
ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical abilities, class, job status, religion, immigrant
status, language and nationality.
This mutually-accepting language of the Spirit
is what is going to move us closer to reconciliation rather than retaliation, and closer to understanding rather than the hurt caused by blaming,
shaming and attacking one another. As people of
faith we have the responsibility to find peaceful
solutions to disagreements, to break down barriers, to understand different cultures and to see
all people as our brothers and sisters in the human family. What a challenge and what a gift!
Sunday
M AY 3 1 , 2 0 0 9
eUCHARIST at 7:30, 9:00, 11:15
a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Rev. Abel Lopez will preach
on The Feast of God the Disturber
at 7:30., 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. and
the 1 p.m. Spanish-English service.
PENTECOST
A DULTS AT 10:15
What in God’s Name are Some
Californians Doing?
with John Calhoun
Internationally acclaimed public speaker and author of
Hope Matters: The Untold Story of How Faith Works
in America, Calhoun argues that the story of faith we
normally hear is of a faith that divides, hurts, even kills.
The untold story is of a faith that heals, not causes pain;
reconciles, not separates; serves, and does not judge.
Sweetland Hall
Prayer 101: Prayer as Relationship
with Covenant III Leader Jon Neff
Join this lively discussion about the essential nature of
prayer as relationship with God, with each other, and
with ourselves. Guild Room
Voices of Witness Africa
D
on’t miss the West Coast premiere screening of this important new documentary giving
voice to the witness of the LGBT faithful in Africa. A Claiming the Blessing
production, Voices of Witness: Africa is
being offered as a gift to the Anglican
Communion -- and All Saints Church is
proud to be one of the screening sites.
Join us on Friday, June 5, in the All
Saints Forum at 7:30 p.m.
“As our Anglican Communion family continues to wrestle with issues of
human sexuality Voices of Witness: Africa
offers an important response to those
who dismiss the full inclusion of the
LGBT baptized as a ‘western issue,’”
F O R C H I L D R EN
Preschool (ages 2–4), SCOTT HALL
9:00Infant and Child Care with Bible Stories
10:30 Rooms 2 and 3: Pentecost, No Sunday
School
Grade School (K–5), LEARNING CENTER
9:00Children’s Chapel: Children go to church
with their parents, leave after the Gospel,
and return before the offering. 10:15 Grades K—5: Pentecost, No Sunday School
11:15
Children’s Chapel: Children go to church
with their parents, leave after the Gospel,
and return before the offering.
F O R YOUTH, JR. HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL
10:15–11:00 JR. HIGH & SR. HIGH SCHOOL
Pentecost, No Sunday School
JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH ROOMS
said the Reverend Susan Russell. “Inclusion is not a western issue -- it is a gospel
issue. And as the Episcopal Church prepares to gather for its 76th General Convention under the theme of ‘Ubuntu’
it is critical that ‘I am because you are’
extends not only to the neighbors across
the street we are called to love as Jesus
loved us, but to the neighbors across the
communion. All our neighbors: including LGBT Africans who have so courageously offered their stories and their
witness that lives might be touched and
hearts might be changed.”
For more information contact Anthony Parker at aparker@allsaints-pas.
org or 626.583.2744.
Fiction Fun! for June
Reads Trollope’s
Barchester Towers
O
ur June book for Fiction Fun!
this year will be Anthony
Trollope’s classic satire of
Anglicanism, Barchester Towers. High
church and low church face off and we
so hope you’re able to take part in our
discussion. We will gather in the Guild
Room and begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday,
June 26, and continue until 9:00. All are
welcome. Please call Rusty Harding at
323.662.3614 for more information.
At 9 and 11:15 a.m., Canterbury
Choir and the 1 p.m. Bilingual
Service Ensemble offer the traditional song Si tuvieras fe and
El Cielo Canta by Pablo D. Sosa.
SUNDAY’S SCRIPTURES
Acts 2:1-21
Romans 8:22-27
Psalm 104: 25-35,37
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
The Next “Second Saturday” Celebration
is Saturday, June 14, at 5 p.m.
Join us for an informal, family-friendly
eucharist in the Learning Center.
Looking Back on the
Transformational Journey to Israel/Palestine
R
iding a camel in the bleak Judean
desert, treading Jerusalem’s
cobblestone streets by moonlight, singing with pilgrim throngs traversing the Mount of Olives, passing
under the shadow of the stark concrete
wall bisecting Bethlehem, and sharing
bread and wine overlooking the Galilean Sea are just a few of the images
that members of the Transformational
Journey to Israel/Palestine bring back.
But it was the women and men we
met; Jews, Muslims and Christians, some
religious and others decidedly secular,
who were the highlights of our journey.
Like Jimmy Johnson, an American Jew
with the Hebrew letters for “peace”
and “justice” tattooed on his knuckles,
who led us through the Muslim Sil-
(ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Continued on page 3)
(ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Continued from page 2)
wan neighborhood of Jerusalem where
homes are threatened with demolition.
Another was Mitri Raheb, the Lutheran
pastor of Bethlehem, whose vision and
leadership has created health, education and enough other programs to become that city’s third-largest employer.
The stories of these seekers of a just
peace, and the organizations they represent, revealed ordinary people doing
the extraordinary work of truth-telling,
boundary-breaking and hope-building.
We came seeking greater understanding and hope. There were times when, to
our eyes, the weight of the political reality
or the enormity of the problems seemed
insurmountable, and despair for a positive change would creep in. Cedar Duaybis, a founder of Sabeel and committed
voice for peace, admitted that “what we
do is only a drop in the ocean, but,” she
added, “it is a necessary drop.”
What we at All Saints can do to support the dreams of peace and justice for
the inhabitants of these troubled lands
remains to be seen. Jean Zaru, longtime
peace and human rights activist, and
Clerk of the Friends Meeting House in
Ramallah, was a source of inspiration.
Calling us all to think beyond nonviolent
resistance to injustice, she challenged us
to be “midwives of each other’s hopes.”
Please join us on Sunday, June 21 at
the 10:15 a.m. Adult Education Hour
as we share experiences and continue
our Journey.
Holy Rakers Update
T
he Holy Rakers’ regular meeting on the fourth Saturday of the
month falls on Memorial Day
Weekend so we will postpone our gathering until the following Saturday, May
30. Please join us from 8:30-11:00 a.m. We
will provide all the tools you need and
even a pair of gloves if you don’t have
your own (not to mention tasty home
baked treats!). Not sure if you know a
weed from a day lily? No worries; our
trained leaders will guide you through.
Please contact Candy League at bcandida@echomt.net or 626.797.4678, or Judith
Fischer at fischer.judith@sbcglobal.net, and
let us know you’re coming.
Holy Raker Tip: Many gardeners
plant useful vegetable gardens OR beautiful fragrant flower gardens. Try combining the two by planting nasturtium
and marigold in with your vegetables
OR herbs around your flower garden.
20/30 Summer of Service Kickoff!
Our fall series challenged your intellectual preconceptions about Jesus. Our spring series explored spiritual
practices that can open your heart to the movements
of God in your life. This month, following a seasonal
rhythm that engages head, heart, and hands, 20/30
(formerly SIYA) kicks off an exciting and communal
Summer of Service for twenty- and 30-year-olds!
On May 31, we’ll introduce specific opportunities
to serve our church and broader community with other
young adults at All Saints. Please come with an open
mind and heart, and be ready to consider where your
faith is leading you to serve!
Sign up at the 20/30 table on the lawn or by emailing
siya.allsaints@gmail.com. Be on the lookout for other
20/30 events this summer, including dinners, pool parties, and evenings at the Hollywood Bowl!
Coming Soon:
All Saints’ Parish Retreat 2009
All Saints Parish Council warmly invites you to attend
the annual Parish Retreat at Casa de Maria in the foothills of beautiful Montecito. Come for rest and relaxation,
be inspired by lectures and enjoy a weekend in community with new and old friends. Under ancient oak
trees, experience the quite beauty and serenity of the
retreat center as you hear sounds of a stream nearby.
The retreat dates are June 12-14. Abel Lopez will lead
the retreat with Ed Bacon as guest speaker on Saturday.
For more information, stop by the Parish Council table
on the lawn, contact Norma Sigmund at 626.583.2734
or register online at www.allsaints-pas.org.
Music and Faith:
Variations on a Theme
On Sunday, June 28, All Saints Staff Lori Kizzia (Peace
and Justice) and Christina Honchell (Parish Administrator), both avid music fans, will share their faith journey,
their love of music and how it inspires and moves their
hearts. Keyboardist Russell Ferrante and trio will accompany them.
Luncheon, drinks, and socializing will begin at 12:30
p.m. in Sweetland Hall followed by this original and
jazzy program of stories and music that promises to
open our hearts and minds to the universal language of
music in our own lives.
Admission is $20.00 and includes brunch, drinks,
stories and music! Sponsorship categories are available
to help defray costs of the event and provide scholarships. Sign up at the Women’s Council lawn table, or
call Gerry Puhara at 818.790.7564 for reservations.
You can also e-mail Gerry at gdpuhara@earthlink.net.
Volunteers are also needed to staff this event.
Please call or write Gerry if you would like to help.
For child care, please phone the Child Care Coordinator at 626.583.2781 one week in advance.
Memorial flowers are a beautiful way to remember a loved one,
celebrate a special event, or to give thanks for someone who
has touched your life. To donate flowers for the altars, please
call 626.796.1172
Death Penalty
Alternatives Task Force
I
By Lori Kizzia
n April of this year, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico followed his
conscience and signed into law a bill
which makes the death penalty illegal in
his state. His action of integrity and responsibility has added new energy and
hope to thousands of activists across the
country who have struggled and labored
for decades in the effort to overturn the
death penalty across the United States.
As with any advancement in social
justice, such as the work of New Mexico’s state legislature and Gov. Richardson, there is a backlash of opposition and
those who oppose the issue of death penalty abolition are organizing in California. These efforts to oppose the reversal
of the death penalty may include a ballot
proposition in 2010 and the obstruction of
legislation toward this goal is completely
certain. The current landscape in criminal
justice as well as the encouragement out
of New Mexico, calls for all of us who feel
deeply about the injustice and inhumanity of the death penalty and it’s abolition
to become active, to move out of the comfort zone and take an action.
Recently, a large and diverse group
of community activists called The LA
County Coalition for Death Penalty Alternatives has begun meeting to organize
around the potential ballot initiative and
to promote and shepherd legislation opposing the death penalty in California,
as well as community events and education and advocacy. In addition to All
Saints Church, some of the organizations at the table are: C.L.U.E., California
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, legal professionals and non-profits,
ACLU, Action Committee for Women
in Prison, and many more. This coalition meets on the second Wednesday of
each month and needs each of us with a
commitment to this work to join in their
amazing organizing efforts. The coalition is sponsoring it’s first community
forum on Sunday, May 31, at the Renaissance Center of First AME Church 1968
West Adams. Beginning at 3:00 p.m. and
featuring speakers Dr. Charles Ogletree
and Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
The event is free.
Please contact Norma Sigmund
at for information on the Coalition
meetings time and place, and contact
jatrig777@aol.com for more information
on the Coalition event May 31st.
shorts
Broadening our Oblation Ministry
All Saints is committed
to fully include all persons in our worship experiences and all other
aspects of our parish
life. We are delighted
to offer the choice to
bring the oblations (the
bread and wine), by either processing down
the nave to the bottom
of the altar steps where
the clergy, staff and Lay
Eucharist Ministers descend the chancel steps
to receive the offerings
from the oblation bearers or the oblation bearers may choose to walk
up the altar steps. If you
would like to participate in worship as an
oblations bearer, please
contact our volunteer
oblations
coordinator, Kay Ellis at kellis@
prayers
FOR THE PARISH COMMUNITY
allsaints-pas.org or by
calling the church office
on Monday afternoons
and explore other options available for full
participation.
Kids’ Summer Adventure
Save the Date: Planet
Earth:
Conservation,
Preservation & Appreciation for Our Island Home,
August 10 - 14!
Foster Care Project A Way To
Help Kids in the System
May is Foster Care
Awareness Month. There
are many ways volunteers can make a difference in the lives of foster
care children, and the FCP
wants to match interested
volunteers with the activities that will help these
precious kids. Stop by the
FCP action table for more
information.
Remember those for whom prayers have been requested: Christina Avalos
and Family, Natalia Caballero, Louise Carmichael, the Ennis Family, Jerry Gostin,
Susan Harston-Huff, Robert Henderlider, the Hooten Family, Ann Gay Hovey,
Mary Hubbard, Phil Ibach, Sebastian & Melissa Langdell, Ava Lopez, Deven
Lozoya, Gary Mackenzie, Isabel Medina, the Montalvo Family, Carmen Moreno,
Dick Mullen, Sagrario Nunez, Gayland Poole, Gerti Reagan-Garner, Kathleen
Ross, Manuel Sanchez, Arla Sheinwald, Frances Takeda, Dale Wayne & Family,
Brigitte, Ben and Haley, Shane, James & Claire,Ersin & Amy, Kanani, William &
Katherine, Kim, Mary & Nicole, Marian, Mark, Raleigh & Markos, Sandra, Shirley
In thanksgiving for: All members of the Seekers Youth Confirmation Class, for
their leader Mimi Orth, and for their faith partners; for the adult members of the
Covenant II class who were confirmed, and for their leaders
For those who have died: Gary Edward Diehl, Jerrill Dulancey, Alma Man,
Jacquelyn Ardalan, Annette Haddad, Larry Hindman, Marilyn Johnson, Anton
Krumel Gavin Mackenzie, Bob Wayne
saints alive
Volume 17 Number 22 Sunday, May 31, 2009 Deadline for June 7, 2009 issue is Tuesday, May 26, 2009
USPS 553-760 Published weekly except biweekly in July and August Postmaster: Send address changes to Saints Alive, 132
N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101-1796 Telephone 626.796.1172
Fax 626.796.4749 Online www.allsaints-pas.org
J. Edwin Bacon, Jr., Rector
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