tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40895033306221906072011-07-30T17:18:48.646-04:00The blog of All Saints Episcopal Church-East Lansing. A place for us to extend our living community into cyberspace. Comments on postings and online discussion are encouraged.All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.comBlogger2321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-14310886467326840542011-03-14T17:41:00.001-04:002011-03-14T17:42:51.176-04:00

Episcopal Relief and Development has announced plans to help the Anglican church in Japan. Check out the report at ERD.

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-73862737735295785352011-03-14T17:31:00.002-04:002011-03-14T17:38:25.396-04:00

This idea has floated around the blogosphere for a while ... as a Lenten discipline, try to remove a bag of clutter from your home every day for 40 days. People who are clutter-prone might need to try a large black garbage bag. For others, small grocery bags might do it.Maybe you could take a week and call it "recycle" week. Have every bag that week be stuff that needs to go to the Recycling

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-39102199313443660442011-03-11T11:54:00.009-05:002011-03-11T12:07:22.358-05:00

A parishioner recently asked these questions: "Educate one of your sheep. I have no Catholic background and have no understanding of the significance of Ash Wednesday. Why do we celebrate Ash Wednesday? What do the ashes mean? (dust to dust, ashes to ashes) or something else? What does Lent signify? Is it something specific in the Bible? Or is the 40-day period merely building on the 40 days

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-61328841532933374132010-04-10T23:08:00.001-04:002010-04-10T23:10:26.669-04:00

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-76345928749224905392010-03-24T18:04:00.002-04:002010-03-24T18:16:15.983-04:00

Fun in the sun, the hot, hot sun continues. The clinic, with Monica at her chair, continues to see patients. Audrey did exams on more than 500 children today at St. Pierre School. The flouride team treated more than 700 students. This is one sign of the earthquake's effects ... the people coming in from Port-au-Prince to move in with relatives in the country bring their children and swell the

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-35877419080896003132010-03-23T13:17:00.003-04:002010-03-23T13:23:06.030-04:00

Can you say hot? Can you say tired? Everyone is working hard in the heat. The clinic is seeing a steady stream of patients. No evidence of earthquake related injuries, just the usual round of chronic conditions relating to malnutrition and lack of health care. The children are beautiful ... they always are.Doug is out on the mobile team in Noyeux today. They have to take four by fours, ford

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-22530009375977121962010-03-21T12:33:00.002-04:002010-03-21T12:42:08.052-04:00

All of us have arrived safely. We spent yesterday unloading the clinic. All Saints was there in every pack of Rolaids and every bottle of Children's Tylenol that we unpacked, sorted and stowed away. This is a smaller team this year ... half the size of last year's trip, and we are focusing on getting through our regular mission work without the dominating presence of Roger Matthews. It is

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-72628184110776595802010-03-19T11:14:00.003-04:002010-03-19T11:20:34.514-04:00

We are in the airport in Miami, waiting to board the flight to Port-au-Prince. Doug Powe and Eric Hegg should already be there, having traveled separately yesterday, slept in Ft. Lauderdale and gotten on their Haiti flights early this morning. They will have to wait as the rest of us straggle in on our various flights throughout the day. By 4 p.m. or so we should be on the road to Mirebalais,

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-9360650890483161202009-10-05T11:47:00.003-04:002009-10-05T11:56:30.007-04:00

The short answer is ... we don't know.However, I understand that there was a lot of discussion following Carrie Euler's presentation on Eucharistic controversies during the Reformation. People want to know... well, what do we think now?It would be easy to take the dodge offered by (or attributed to) Elizabeth I: Christ was the Word that spake it,He took the bread and brake it,And what that Word

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-58269749297702291472009-09-15T12:00:00.003-04:002009-09-15T12:29:41.445-04:00

I am excited about the new MOPS group that will provide support and fellowship for mothers of children up through 6th grade. This group is open to the entire community, not only All Saints folks, and the first meeting is featuring a wonderful speaker.Karen Hossink, an Okemos author, has written a book about her struggles with parenting and her growing awareness that the challenge of

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-46200824308505220932009-08-22T21:57:00.002-04:002009-08-22T21:59:05.429-04:00

This video, by Eric Law, an Episcopal priest who has written extensively on inclusion and acceptance, reminds us ... on the brink of a busy academic year ... to be ...still ...

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-67405175434977426232009-08-08T17:33:00.002-04:002009-08-08T17:36:06.359-04:00

That is the poignant question asked by an Episcopal priest, Tom Ehrich, in an essay in the Indianapolis Star. In this essay, he defends the moves the Episcopal Church has made to broaden its inclusion, but he critiques our beloved church as an institution that has "rewarded institutional tinkering and stopped dreaming. We depend on style and not substance. We worry about inherited property and

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-4352862362955965112009-07-17T10:19:00.002-04:002009-07-17T10:21:19.398-04:00

OK, against my better judgment, I am going to start posting Twitter updates. If you are a Twitter person, and want to receive updates, there is a button on the blog you can click to "follow" me. Mostly I will be posting tweets related to upcoming events or news about All Saints, and not (as on Facebook) whether I went to Crunchy's or Harrison Roadhouse for a burger.So if you want Twitter

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-36659998872561551122009-07-14T16:25:00.003-04:002009-07-16T10:18:45.942-04:00

Resolution D025, as passed at General Convention yesterday, offers the Episcopal Church an astonishing way forward in the great messiness that has marked the debate about full inclusion of GLBT people.Quite simply, it tells the truth. It tells the truth about who we are as the American branch of the Anglican Communion. We are a church that has listened to the lives and stories of our gay and

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-87728202731075014872009-07-13T08:18:00.001-04:002009-07-13T08:21:03.073-04:00

1) Sit still in a place that you like. It should not be a place where you see any work or tasks that you need to accomplish.2) Sit there for five minutes. Be aware of your surroundings, the temperature, the sounds you hear, the things you see. Be completely present to the moment and to the place. If your mind starts running ahead to what you need to do today, just set that aside and return to

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-35301555413162064862009-07-11T14:04:00.004-04:002009-07-11T14:14:44.468-04:00

I went to downtown East Lansing this morning to check out the Sidewalk Sale, and ended up in Kirabo, the fair trade store. At the checkout counter, there was a basket of these tiny crosses. They are made from spent bullet casings left over from the brutal civil war that raged in Liberia in the 1990s. The artisans who make them created them to witness to the triumph of hope and healing over the

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-30430642317548492692009-07-10T09:28:00.003-04:002009-07-10T10:07:40.351-04:00

Hello, there has been a hiatus in my blogging efforts. Periodically in my career as a writer I have simply run out of things to say (this can be a problem when preaching almost every week!). I try to respect those periods as times of silence and restoration, and allow God to work with me when my busy brain and keyboard fingers are still for a while.Nonetheless, "Saints Alive!" is back for now.

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-35427206829676664092009-05-13T08:19:00.003-04:002009-05-13T08:23:59.869-04:00

This article in Slate ponders the mystery of what kids get out of worship. It is fascinating to watch children explore their spirituality and experience God in ways that might challenge us as adults. They ask questions we find hard to answer. They celebrate aspects of religious life in ways that make us uncomfortable ... all you have to do is hear them discussing the size and nature of the

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-33190615203770220572009-05-07T13:25:00.006-04:002009-05-07T13:35:02.187-04:00

Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited with our Canterbury MSU students today in the Undercroft, sharing thoughts and wisdom with these young adults as they prepare for their lives and vocations in the wider world.Local clergy were invited to attend with their wardens,and Bishop Wendell Gibbs and his wife Karlah joined us for a tea lovingly prepared by women from All Saints and St. Paul's.Bp. Tutu had

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-25211954611850644142009-04-28T22:23:00.003-04:002009-04-28T22:28:23.311-04:00

Justice and advocacy for children has long been an important aspect of our calling to Christian witness and service here at All Saints. Our annual observance of the Children’s Sabbath, frequent collections to furnish apartments for children leaving foster care, layette and teddy bear collections, and our work with the families at Haven House, the project at the orphanage in Haiti, all show our

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-74501781612048475462009-04-27T07:56:00.009-04:002009-04-27T08:10:04.437-04:00

More than two dozen All Saints folks spent their Saturday helping to restore the home of a woman in South Lansing, through Rebuilding Ingham. Rebuilding Ingham, formerly known as Christmas in April, sends out teams on a Saturday in April to repair the homes of elderly and ill people who are not able to repair their own homes, and who cannot afford to pay for others to do it.Our team assisted a

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-40375582039183616172009-04-23T09:38:00.003-04:002009-04-23T09:46:28.424-04:00

Sunday during coffee hour, members of the mission trip to Haiti will report on our work there, what we did and what we learned. We'll have an a/v presentation, and a chance for you to hear from the group about what was meaningful to us.Also, Cafe Rebo, a Haitian coffee, will be available for sale -- both whole beans and ground. A 10-ounce bag of either costs $8. The proceeds will serve as a

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-24164954859463175812009-04-22T08:15:00.001-04:002009-04-22T08:19:29.731-04:00

From Anne Porter's Fire, and Torrential RainFire, most beautiful of flowers,Whose only perfume is brightness,You have no season, and you bloomOn the highest of high altarsAnd under the vagrant's pot.Through centuries on centuriesLike Christ you are everywhere,To kindle the half cigarettesWhich the homeless find in the gutters,And the tall paschal candle.

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-4736337663508477232009-04-21T08:09:00.000-04:002009-04-21T08:10:35.147-04:00

Seven Stanzas at Easter By John UpdikeMake no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fall. It was not as the flowers, each soft Spring recurrent; it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the eleven apostles; it was as His Flesh: ours. The same hinged thumbs and

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-76006890921259298652009-04-20T10:42:00.001-04:002009-04-20T10:43:32.941-04:00

As usual, Father Matthew Moretz tells it better than I can ...How to grapple with the Bible, particularly the question of Biblical inerrancy.+ Kit

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-16654300859532916522009-04-19T12:52:00.003-04:002009-04-19T12:58:50.113-04:00

Here is the full quote from "Jesus Shaves" by David Sedaris, as I quoted him in the sermon this morning.I wondered then if, without the language barrier, my classmates and I could have done a better job making sense of Christianity, an idea that sounds pretty far-fetched to begin with. In communicating any religious belief, the operative word is faith, a concept illustrated by our very presence

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-25286086174224345832009-04-14T07:53:00.001-04:002009-04-14T07:56:23.488-04:00

The Orthodox traditions call Easter Monday a day of holy hilarity. It is a day to remember God's great joke on the cosmos in raising Jesus from the dead. So it is a day for celebration, and for telling jokes. Do you know a good Easter joke? Share it in the comments section (see green link at the bottom that says "comments", click and share).Here's my favorite: Three blondes died and are at the

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-80236271363096147262009-04-12T01:10:00.000-04:002009-04-12T08:51:08.227-04:00

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-10043660899542729872009-04-11T09:16:00.003-04:002009-04-11T09:39:57.470-04:00

Today is Christ's great Sabbath. Jesus rests from his labors. His work is done; nothing more is needed. The stone is rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb, and Jesus -- dear, dead Jesus -- is safely laid away in death and darkness.After yesterday's two services ... three hours of meditations on the Way of the Cross from noon to 3 p.m., then the Prayer Book Good Friday liturgy last night ...

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-24218935960994575452009-04-10T09:04:00.002-04:002009-04-10T09:16:18.848-04:00

From East Coker:The wounded surgeon plies the steelThat questions the distempered part;Beneath the bleeding hands we feelThe sharp compassion of the healer's artResolving the enigma of the fever chart.Our only health is the diseaseIf we obey the dying nurseWhose constant care is not to pleaseBut to remind of our, and Adam's curse,And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.The whole

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-36316814869068368872009-04-09T07:49:00.005-04:002009-04-09T08:16:56.140-04:00

Last night, the full moon, the Paschal moon (from the Greek transliteration pasch of the Hebrew word for Passover, pesach.) appeared. The first night of Passover was observed by our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we look ahead to this evening's Maundy Thursday celebrations, and the remembrance that our eucharist rises out of the Passover supper, observed by Jesus and his friends, who were --

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-621257565075105502009-04-08T07:18:00.003-04:002009-04-08T07:31:44.971-04:00

Tonight, the students and chaplain from Canterbury-MSU will lead a service of Tenebrae at All Saints. Tenebrae is the Latin word for "shadows," and this service is designed to capture the emotional aspects of the gathering darkness of Holy Week.It dates from monastic times, when some of the late night services, Matins and Lauds, were moved to the evening of the night before for a special Holy

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-30515658421152256292009-04-07T08:04:00.004-04:002009-04-07T08:17:56.623-04:00

Jesus was already in Jerusalem when some Greeks came to his disciples and said "We wish to see Jesus."Do you wish to see Jesus this week? It won't be like a Sunday School picture, gentle Jesus meek and mild, holding a lamb or patting a child on the head. This is Jesus showing us something very important about who he is and how much God loves the world. It's not that God is a divine child

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-6915313961611570392009-04-06T09:47:00.002-04:002009-04-06T09:53:09.979-04:00

The readings for today tell the story of the woman who anointed Jesus prior to his passion and death. In the version we heard yesterday, in Mark, Jesus tells his friends that she has done a good deed, she has already anointed his body for burial.As always in Mark's gospel, there are only ever a few people who see what Jesus is really doing ... demons, a blind man, a sinful woman. The people who

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-62153121583124842672009-03-31T08:24:00.005-04:002009-03-31T14:37:30.843-04:00

The traditional answers to this question are:1) My grandmother GAVE the church that light bulb!OR2) What was wrong with the old one?I would add a third ...3) Remember that light bulb we USED to use? Can't we have that one back?George Clifford writes at Episcopal Cafe this week about the human longing for stasis, and the inevitability of change. He says in a changing world, humans often think of

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-27490434934026072252009-03-30T08:08:00.007-04:002009-03-30T08:16:27.339-04:00

The Episcopal preacher Fleming Rutledge says we all "flunk Lent." How is your Lent going? Ready to take a big W and withdraw from the course? Or are you willing to go all the way and get that 55% overall grade for the six weeks?There is one week left before Holy Week. This is a good time to examine the past weeks of Lent. What has been working for you in your discipline and devotion? What have

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-4296527411253806232009-03-25T15:33:00.002-04:002009-03-25T15:38:37.852-04:00

I've moved mine twice so far. It's proving a good reminder to not let my tongue run away with me.James 3:5-18 The tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature,and is itself set on

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-68814848021873618242009-03-24T08:40:00.004-04:002009-03-24T08:55:31.727-04:00

A while ago, I noticed that Pastor Sam Duncan, of Lansing Church of God in Christ, had a purple rubber bracelet on his arm. When I asked about it, he told me about the Complaint-Free World project. Based on a book by Will Bowen, the project aims to create a world of positive cooperation. It starts with a purple bracelet. Because theory says to change a habit takes about 21 days, you put a

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-73388927381875389162009-03-21T15:59:00.014-04:002009-03-21T16:46:24.196-04:00

We got home late last night after a long and tiring week. But we accomplished much in a short time.At the orphanage, we left behind a thoroughly cleared garden. A compost pile, with directions on how to continue to compost. A variety of vegetables planted now that the rainy season is coming, and the children helped put the seeds into the ground. I cannot say enough how hard this group worked,

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-85557265658855199952009-03-17T12:12:00.004-04:002009-03-21T15:54:56.737-04:00

Day two of operations. A lot got done yesterday in many different locations. A medical team went to Desvailleux, up in the hills, to treat people there and do dental care. In addition to seeing 200 people, they saved the life of a baby that had accidentally drunk gasoline through an amazing emergency intubation.In Mirebalais, the clinic is open, and Dick Johnson is seeing patients in the front

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-42300139106854749852009-03-15T15:37:00.004-04:002009-03-21T15:58:38.940-04:00

Just to let you know the HOM team arrived safely in Haiti, in two batches. One group on Friday and the second group on Saturday. Our folks arrived, and the Episcopalians promptly went off to church. Friday evenings in Lent, Pere Jeannot does the Great Litany, with a long teaching sermon and prayers. It was an excellent introduction to the culture for the first-timers, and also good for our

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-16603969760781245112009-03-12T08:08:00.003-04:002009-03-12T08:17:29.747-04:00

Tonight, the All Saints contingent of the Haiti Outreach Mission team will leave the parking lot around 2:30 a.m. By 2:30 p.m., we will be in Haiti for the second time this year, participating in HOM's annual mission trip to Mirebalais.Our work there will include helping in the medical clinic, where Dick Johnson and Monica Stafford will offer their services. And also an intensive week of work

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-69090427228914504412009-03-11T07:48:00.002-04:002009-03-11T08:00:39.577-04:00

My son remarked last night that almost all of his Michigan-born friends continually complain about living in Michigan, and can't wait to move somewhere else. Coming from Maryland, where people are rabidly proud of their Orioles, crab cakes and Baltimore (even though it's a lot like it's pictured on "The Wire"), this continues to surprise him. "Even my New Jersey friends love New Jersey, and

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-13352881823600472352009-03-09T17:13:00.003-04:002009-03-09T17:19:47.017-04:00

As a follow-up to the previous post, I note this blog entry by Brett McCracken, who asks "Are you a Christian Hipster?"The sort of Christian he describes comes from the new "emergent" movement in young, GenX and GenY Protestantism. These younger folks are eschewing the megachurches of their Baby Boom parents to re-invent or reclaim a Christianity that, well, to me it looks awfully Episcopal. See

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-58646412395312279262009-03-09T08:34:00.003-04:002009-03-09T13:52:17.841-04:00

A survey released today, The American Religious Identification Survey, shows a dramatic drop in the last 18 years of people who identify themselves as Christian. In 1990, 86 percent of those surveyed said they were Christian. That number is now 76 percent. Of those who say they are Christian, fewer are willing to identify with any denomination at all. As USA TODAY put it, "When it comes to

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-75810701470158881992009-03-03T07:56:00.004-05:002009-03-03T08:03:29.120-05:00

Michigan native, poet, author and undertaker Thomas Lynch will launch our Lenten educational series on the spirituality of the end of life.Author of "The Undertaking: Tales from the Dismal Trade" as well as other books of essays and poems, Lynch has a deep, yet whimisical approach to the craft of tending to the dead and their families. We are delighted that he'll join us at All Saints.Bring a

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-168322126400111722009-03-02T08:32:00.002-05:002009-03-02T08:35:33.050-05:00

On Ash Wednesday, the national church launched a website called I Am An Episcopalian. Here, short videos offer real Episcopalians a chance to tell their stories about this church and what it means to each of them.The site offers a chance to upload videos from other Episcopalians, which will be reviewed prior to posting. What might each of us at All Saints say about being Episcopalian? What

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-83240934021190622702009-02-25T06:27:00.004-05:002009-02-25T06:35:53.337-05:00

from "Ash Wednesday" by T.S. EliotThis is the time of tension between dying and birthThe place of solitude where three dreams crossBetween blue rocksBut when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift awayLet the other yew be shaken and reply.Blessèd sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehoodTeach us to care and not to careTeach

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-18303337764238261542009-02-23T08:07:00.003-05:002009-02-23T08:23:30.230-05:00

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), a day to eat and eat and eat, prior to the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, when, of course, we will all fast all day long ... right?Many cultures have ways of celebrating this last moment before six weeks of fasting and abstinence. In Brazil and the Caribbean, there is Carnival, with parades and partying in a very serious fashion. Mardi Gras in New

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-15443146394385771152009-02-20T13:22:00.003-05:002009-02-20T13:28:56.504-05:00

This video was posted over on Episcopal Cafe. I watched and first, recognized myself, and second, realized that this portrays reality for most people under age 40, and certainly under age 30.I like Facebook, and many of you are my Facebook friends. But I wonder about this sense of being continually available, continually on, continually plugged in. Do I need to know that Clare's house is clean

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-2154093626133264902009-02-20T08:26:00.002-05:002009-02-20T08:29:26.358-05:00

Today and tomorrow, you can visit All Saints, where the LATTICE organization is holding its annual Zulu Basket Sale.The sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 800 Abbot Road, East Lansing. More than 150 museum-quality Zulu baskets and a special, small shipment of Sikhosiphi Nene's beaded jewelry will be on sale.Prices

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-41277759698421002062009-02-18T21:40:00.007-05:002009-02-18T22:12:29.905-05:00

When last we left Jesus and his friends, it was at the end of Chapter One of Mark's gospel. A lot had happened in just a few verses. John appeared in the wilderness, announcing the Messiah. Jesus turned up, was baptized, then driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted. He returned to Galilee, began his ministry, called disciples, healed in the synagogue, healed Peter's

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-2264610989341612912009-02-17T16:01:00.002-05:002009-02-17T16:09:55.448-05:00

Yes, Lent begins one week from tomorrow. This annual period of reflection, self-examination and repentance lasts for six weeks, so we can prepare our hearts for the journey to the cross and the empty tomb.The time to think about Lent is now ... not on Ash Wednesday. What do you want the next six weeks to be like? What do you want to read? What disciplines do you want to take on? What plans will

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-50965728066275749852009-02-16T08:49:00.004-05:002009-02-16T09:10:04.734-05:00

The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means much more than simply an absence of hostilities, or a neutral position. It means a completeness, a wholeness, all parts in balance. As Christians, we can think about the central point on the cross being the position of shalom ... perfectly balanced between God and humanity (the vertical beam) and all humans with one another (the horizontal beam). When

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-50839420209700653002009-02-13T12:47:00.002-05:002009-02-13T12:58:14.188-05:00

Absalom Jones was the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church. His saint's day, which falls within Black History Month, is often a cause for particular celebration in our church. Our diocesan celebration of Absalom Jones Day is this Sunday at 3 p.m., at Christ Church-Detroit.Jones was born into slavery in Delaware in 1746, and was later sold to a store owner in Philadelphia. While

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-69981179462443096492009-01-22T08:15:00.003-05:002009-01-22T08:35:26.859-05:00

A local Lansing colleage, Zach Bartels, who is pastor of Judson Memorial Baptist Church, suggested a website to me. The Presidential Prayer Team is a web site that was set up after 9/11 to pray for then-President George W. Bush. It continued to organize people to pray for the president, to pray during the election season, and then to pray during the transition. Now that Barack Obama is president

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-43603735815145821592009-01-19T14:16:00.002-05:002009-01-19T14:37:39.559-05:00

For a teeny tiny denomination, for a denomination that is NOT the denomination of the incoming president (who is UCC), the Episcopal Church is getting a lot of visibility during the inauguration ceremonies of Barack Obama.Yesterday, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, bishop of New Hampshire, gave the opening prayer prior to the inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial:Then tomorrow morning, prior

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-31636508536441596632009-01-18T14:08:00.003-05:002009-01-18T15:05:00.241-05:00

Yes, you did see Chaplain Sarah and me in tears today as we sang the closing hymn, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This hymn has long been known as the "Negro National Anthem," or the "Black National Anthem." It was sung daily in black schools, immediately following the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.The song was written in the year 1900 by the African-American poet James Weldon Johnson and

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-41556261730716236692009-01-17T20:19:00.001-05:002009-01-17T20:21:44.817-05:00

As different from the previous video as you can imagine. A 60 Minutes segment on Wyclef Jean's charity in Haiti.We are in serious need of twin sheet sets (new) and towels (also new) among other items to take on our trip to Haiti in March. Please drop them off at church as soon as you can. See me or Pam Miklavcic with any questions.+ KitWatch CBS Videos Online

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-6518601427729117232009-01-07T07:48:00.000-05:002009-01-07T07:49:31.008-05:00

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-76245595977654525602009-01-06T10:31:00.002-05:002009-01-06T10:50:10.949-05:00

The Church of the Saviour, an activist, social-justice based, completely UNdenominational church, is at a crossroads.Founded by Gordon Cosby in the late 1940s, Church of the Saviour combined spiritual contemplation, prayer and reflection, with an astounding array of public ministries that provided housing, found jobs, ministered to people with AIDS/HIV, helped homeless women, and created a rural

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-25989983134099275112009-01-05T15:31:00.005-05:002009-01-05T15:44:06.294-05:00

Wisnel Dejardin, the seminarian we sponsor from Haiti, visited All Saints over the Christmas break. He arrived just before Christmas, to find bitterly cold temperatures, and lots and lots of snow. He had never seen snow before and was amazed that it just went on and on. "What do people do in it?" he asked. Well, shovel it mostly, I said, but also ski in it and sled, and play. He stayed with

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-17183265143166481512009-01-03T09:38:00.004-05:002009-01-03T09:45:06.885-05:00

At this point in the Christmas feast, with the New Year begun and Epiphany just around the corner, I always turn to this section from W.H. Auden's poem "For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio." It reminds me how easy it is to pack up the Incarnate One with the trimmings, and how important it is to hang on, even if only by a single thread, to the vision of the season.+ Kit Well, so that is that

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-15967309833840117682008-12-26T11:18:00.002-05:002008-12-26T11:28:34.146-05:00

Because most folks do not run off to church every day during the 12 days of Christmas, we miss a compelling understory that runs through this season of bowl games and parties, travel and relaxation. The understory is a dark one. The church calendar marks people and events that reflect the struggles and violence of the world that Christ came to save.Today, the "two turtledove" day in the 12 Days

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-4823195775402953312008-12-24T15:10:00.003-05:002008-12-24T15:17:07.440-05:00

I've been thinking of Adam since yesterday. In our house, we always call December 23 "Christmas Adam" because it comes before Christmas Eve. But Adam and Eve have been part of the Christmas story since the middle ages. They, after all, represent the reason we need a Savior -- human hubris, the desire to be like God, and the conviction that we can decide for ourselves without considering God's

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-51275341720190334612008-12-22T11:35:00.002-05:002008-12-22T11:38:03.111-05:00

Susan and Nico Gisholt are inviting anyone who would like to come to their house tonight for caroling and cookies, to please come! It starts at 6 p.m. If you email them, they'll give you directions and a phone number ... gisholt@msu.edu.See you there!+ Kit

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-37723392691295934102008-12-21T15:23:00.002-05:002008-12-21T15:30:02.475-05:00

On this shortest day and longest night, so close to Christmas, it can feel like darkness has swallowed the world. Especially if you have lost someone you love, to death, divorce, depression, this season of joy and merriment can feel hollow and meaningless.All Saints offers its second annual "Longest Night" service in the chapel today at 5 p.m. This is a chance to pray, to remember, to sit in

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-33473908745037403562008-12-18T08:00:00.005-05:002008-12-18T08:05:50.358-05:00

Friday night, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., join All Saints friends for Christmas stories, songs, carols and other -- interessssting -- entertainment. It's BYO adult beverage, plenty of snacks to go around, and for an evening at least, Advent is OFF. We are singing the Christmas music!!! If you've never come before, it's lots of fun in a relaxed atmosphere. Come and go through the evening as you wish

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-10269721280039056672008-12-16T08:26:00.003-05:002008-12-16T08:35:56.425-05:00

I found this history of the development of Christmas tradition interesting:An overview:1600's: The Puritans made it illegal to mention St. Nicolas' name. People were not allowed to exchange gifts, light a candle, or sing Christmas carols.17th century: Dutch immigrants brought with them the legend of Sinter Klaas.1773: Santa first appeared in the media as St. A Claus.1804: The New York Historical

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-3972351057195052602008-12-15T12:09:00.002-05:002008-12-15T12:21:33.798-05:00

I have been thinking about "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and that moment at the top of Mount Crumpet, when the Grinch is about to dump all the stuff he took from the Whos.The story says, "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." Because of course, the Whos woke up and found no toys, no gifts, no trimmings or trappings, and no

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-68852186313477071152008-12-12T09:21:00.002-05:002008-12-12T09:29:49.814-05:00

Oh wait, didn't we do John the Baptist LAST Sunday? Well, yes, but he's back again for another visit, this time in an episode from John's gospel that sounds a lot like last week's lesson. John the Evangelist -- who almost never sounds like Matthew, Mark or Luke, and who rarely uses the same event to tell his story -- quotes John the Baptist and that sandal quote that we heard last week ... "I

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-68124259332142651602008-12-08T13:17:00.003-05:002008-12-08T13:26:07.735-05:00

Do you ever wonder ... maybe you don't ... how everything gets ready for our worship each week? Where do the cups come from? Who puts the wine in that pitcher? Who bakes the bread? Who makes sure the altar is wearing the appropriate color for the season?It's the altar guild, a group of caring, talented people who do their work quietly and without a lot of fuss. The altar guild makes sure the

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-56307082134473829082008-12-06T09:55:00.004-05:002008-12-06T10:09:24.387-05:00

Are you ready for this week? You know what this week is ... it's the week in December when we get ready to meet that curious man with the big beard and the wide leather belt and the big voice, who calls out:No, not "ho, ho, ho!"But this ... "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and until the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water,

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-50255583138944023882008-12-04T10:24:00.000-05:002008-12-04T14:46:08.687-05:00

Many people tell me they have trouble attending church because they can't say the Creeds with intellectual integrity.Sometimes, intellectual integrity is over-rated. I can't imagine we'd like saying it this way any better ...The Apostles' and Nicene Creeds are statements of theology hammered out by the early church to try to resolve questions about God. They are not the be-all-end-all in

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-69325767336787194922008-12-03T10:30:00.002-05:002008-12-03T10:45:46.419-05:00

For three weeks in Advent, beginning tonight, All Saints is offering the opportunity to pause in the midst of this hectic season, to settle down and center in, to simply be still in the presence of God, through the practice of Centering Prayer.Centering prayer is also known as Christian meditation. It is the kind of prayer Jesus meant when he said, "Enter your inner room, close the door, and pray

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-37238021145132617252008-12-02T13:21:00.002-05:002008-12-02T13:40:41.817-05:00

The Diocese of Michigan's own Rev. Chris Yaw is the author of this engaging, informative and inspiring book on the Episcopal Church, and what it has to offer the 21st century world. Billed as "A Newcomer's Guide to the Episcopal Church," I believe it has much to offer even the most entrenched "cradle" Episcopalian. For one thing, it does not start our story with Henry VIII and his infamous

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-87421050804159093542008-12-01T15:00:00.003-05:002008-12-01T15:13:14.528-05:00

They pass through the congregation like a host of angels in the opening procession, then disappear into the vaulted ceiling, to the choir loft. Yes, it's the All Saints Choir, the often heard, but rarely seen, group of 30 fabulously talented singers and musicians who enhance our worship with music from the simple and austere to the intense and complex.In the past few weeks, the choir has prepared

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-66500405020566087252008-11-29T13:02:00.002-05:002008-11-29T13:15:31.828-05:00

Episcopal Cafe has posted an online Advent Calendar that will help celebrate and support the Bokamoso Youth Program in South Africa. The project was once funded by the Anglican Church in South Africa, but economic strains in that country have ended that stream of support. Donations raised through the calendar will help pay for students to attend community college or technical school in South

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-16178843292360211802008-11-25T07:28:00.002-05:002008-11-25T07:34:33.671-05:00

I sent an email yesterday to a former mentor of mine. I wanted to say "thank you" to him for teaching me something very important about how to be a Christian and a priest. Today, I'm going to email an old friend from high school to thank her for her presence in my life these many years.During this week of Thanksgiving, why not try this practice of saying thanks? Think of someone who has taught

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-20904891862345780262008-11-24T07:09:00.001-05:002008-11-24T07:09:00.289-05:00

This video tells us how to begin. The website tells us more.As we begin Advent next Sunday, I support the core message of the Advent Conspiracy ... Worship fully, spend less, give more, love all. Let their suggestion to spend less money, enjoy our relationships more fully, and give more money to those who really need it inspire us all.+ Kit

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-29160033554078606142008-11-22T13:56:00.003-05:002008-11-22T14:18:36.183-05:00

Today we celebrate Clive Staples Lewis, author and apologist for the Christian faith. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1898, Lewis had a lonely childhood. His father was emotionally distant, and his mother died when he was ten. A series of boarding schools, some nightmarish, some merely horrid, formed him, until he left for Oxford. A rich fantasy life, especially focused on the Norse

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-56680290760949711402008-11-21T11:09:00.004-05:002008-11-21T11:18:27.592-05:00

In this week's gospel reading, we end the church year with the last parable Jesus tells before his passion and death (in Matthew's gospel, anyway. This parable only appears in Matthew.)The parable of the sheep and goats makes it very clear that it is not "believing" in Jesus that wins one eternal fellowship with the Lord. It is ministering to Jesus in his least obvious and most prevalent form ...

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-18447312667731584932008-11-18T18:35:00.001-05:002008-11-18T18:38:52.247-05:00

Advent starts in less than two weeks. Are you ready to get ready? We'll have several ways to help you embark on this season of waiting as if on tiptoe for the coming Messiah.One, the ever-whimsical Advent calendar poster by Jay Sidebotham. Each day has an idea, a prayer, a thought for you as you move through this busy season, a way for you to keep the focus on the Incarnation in the midst of

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-90901571072039275522008-11-14T17:58:00.003-05:002008-11-14T18:11:36.495-05:00

The gospel lesson for this week is a tough one.First, it's not about "talents" as in God-given talents. A talent was a unit of money, worth about 6,000 days' wages. This landowner is not messing around. He is entrusting his slaves with huge sums of money. This is a parable about money.Second, it's not about capitalism either. The economy of the first-century world did not understand capitalism.

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-40269298932710715422008-11-11T08:10:00.003-05:002008-11-11T08:25:51.372-05:00

Before Israel had kings, the people were ruled by judges ... men OR women who arbitrated between people, who settled disputes, and who kept the good of the nation in the forefront of their mind.The book of Judges tells their story. It is a wild book, about the youth of the nation of Israel, its continuing fights with Philistines and Canaanites. The small section we will read Sunday comes from

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-37518729746618981522008-11-09T12:45:00.003-05:002008-11-09T13:08:33.420-05:00

Paper or plastic? Smoking or non-smoking?Standing or kneeling?This has become an option during the Eucharistic prayer. Different people have different pieties, different ways of connecting with God. The Prayer Book says after the Sanctus (the Holy, Holy, Holy) ... The People may stand or kneel. (Except in Rite I it says "The people may kneel or stand." and in Eucharistic Prayer C, it doesn't say

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-44731917753510289852008-11-06T08:17:00.004-05:002008-11-06T08:21:10.737-05:00

The State News, MSU's student paper, is expanding into multimedia reporting. Here is a great video report on last weekend's Day of the Dead celebration, where you can see the dancing, hear the mariachis, and catch Nico Gisholt and Dori Helm talking about our celebration and how awesome the Episcopal Church is!

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-86687001600947923852008-11-05T01:43:00.003-05:002008-11-05T01:43:00.231-05:00

...when you hear the word "God", what images come to mind?For many people, their concept of God is built around a God who's outside of everything, a God who essentially is somewhere else, a God who make the world but then stands back and watches it from this other vantage point, a God who's there and then from time to time, comes here.-- Rob BellJoin us for the first installment of our Nooma

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-28191613553490194792008-11-04T08:26:00.001-05:002008-11-04T08:28:50.436-05:00

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powersand privileges: Guide the people of the United States, and ofthis community, in the election of officials and representatives;that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights ofall may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill yourpurposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-25451238675089116512008-11-03T08:06:00.005-05:002008-11-03T08:15:14.791-05:00

Michigan author, poet and funeral director Thomas Lynch writes in the New York Times about the ongoing American project to forget death. He writes: "The dead get buried but we seldom see a grave. Or they are burned, but few folks ever see the fire. Photographs of coffins returned from wars are forbidden, and news coverage of soldiers’ burials is discouraged. Where sex was once private and

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-53880018056865124332008-11-02T09:12:00.002-05:002008-11-02T09:21:58.680-05:00

Last night's fiesta drew more than 200 All Saints friends and community members to our undercroft to feast on Mexican food, dance to mariachis and honor our beloved dead with a community altar. The Lansing State Journal had this report. But most importantly, the celebration continues liturgically this evening at 5 p.m. All Saints will join with the student ministry, Canterbury-MSU, to celebrate

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-35012590155739209752008-10-31T00:01:00.000-04:002008-10-31T00:02:43.229-04:00

This essay by Kathleen Henderson Staudt asks the question, "How shall I respond to the relationship with God that I'm already in, perhaps without knowing it?"It is a question that turns the business of vocation on its head. Vocation becomes not about my JOB in the real world. It is not about a super-sacred call that will lead to ordained ministry. It is about response, response to something

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-44110094692737430742008-10-30T08:19:00.003-04:002008-10-30T08:37:43.046-04:00

Laugh at death. Cry a little as you remember lost loved ones. Dance to mariachi music and enjoy the flavors of Mexico at our second annual Day of the Dead fiesta, this Saturday night from 6-9 p.m.This year's celebration is a joint effort between All Saints and Canterbury-MSU, the student ministry. We'll have catered food from Los Tres Amigos, Hispanic dancers, a mariachi band, and a cultural

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-41746184237992498512008-10-28T10:57:00.003-04:002008-10-28T11:00:30.220-04:00

This website offers the notion that Church exists so members can serve Christ the other six days of the week. Here are the basic principles they outline. What do you think? Do you agree? What can All Saints do to support your everyday ministry?A theology for member missionsOur missiology: God’s mission and our role in it. Member mission is based on seven very critical truths about God and the

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-48125565946605253192008-10-27T08:18:00.001-04:002008-10-27T08:22:00.220-04:00

This Thursday, October 30, from 7-8:30 p.m., the member congregations of Action of Greater Lansing will gather to choose the issue that we will focus on for the rest of the year.The choices are:1) There are insufficient numbers of beds for homeless in the Lansing area.2) There is not a user-friendly, central point for accessing social services.3) Public transportation is inconvenient, not

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-63455695328993569682008-10-24T15:16:00.001-04:002008-10-24T15:21:32.603-04:00

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.-- Philippians 4:13

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-15673509039117332462008-10-23T08:15:00.003-04:002008-10-23T08:28:06.864-04:00

I inadvertently skipped over this very important part of my talk on St. Paul last night, so I share it here ...Another reason I don't take the "wives be submissive to your husband" verses in Colossians and Ephesians as coming from Paul himself, is because in First Corinthians, which we KNOW Paul wrote, he has advice for married men and women that calls for radical mutuality in the marriage bed.1

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-52977198946332069462008-10-20T15:03:00.003-04:002008-12-12T20:35:35.055-05:00

OK, whose fault is it?You know who you are ... the person out there who watched the Spartans play, or who didn't watch the Spartans play, or who went to the game or who left the game too early, or who wore the wrong shirt, or the wrong hat, or put your shoes on the wrong way, or who made a cocky pre-game prediction.It's your fault, you know. For not doing whatever magic ju-ju you needed to do to

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-56133171590462804542008-10-16T11:47:00.003-04:002008-10-16T12:00:02.506-04:00

In this week's readings you may be tempted to ignore the Epistle. It's from the first chapter of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. Don't skip on so fast!This is the oldest piece of the New Testament, the earliest written part of our Christian scriptures. It predates the writing of the gospels, and the writing of any other of the epistles. Written about 50 AD, this is the closest part

All Saints Episcopal Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17020697581260736557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089503330622190607.post-23869928955278869832008-10-14T09:32:00.002-04:002008-10-14T10:12:12.703-04:00

Each day in America ...• 2 mothers die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth.• 4 children are killed by abuse or neglect.• 5 children or teens commit suicide.• 8 children or teens are killed by firearms.• 32 children or teens die from accidents.• 78 babies die before their first birthdays.• 155 children are arrested for violent crimes.• 296 children are arrested for drug crimes.• 928

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