+ All Saints’ Church +

Summer 2011

The Servant

At Summer Ordinations, Bishop Breidenthal annoints the hands

of Matthew Hanisian following his ordination to the priesthood

at Christ Church in Glendale…

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Washington National

Cathedral is a church for

national purposes,

welcoming people of all faiths, but particularly those of the Anglican

Tradition. This trip offers members of our church a chance to take a

guided tour of this wonderful awe inspiring treasure and gardens, and

spend some time in our Nation’s capital.

This trip includes round trip by train in our private rail lounge cars.

Motor coach to and from hotel on Friday and Sunday. Two nights’

lodging at the Holiday Inn Express. Three meals on the train on Friday

and two meals on the Sunday. Continental breakfast Saturday and

Sunday at the hotel. A quick tour of some of the monuments. A tour of

the Cathedral Saturday afternoon and time to walk the grounds and see

the gift shop. Dinner at Tony and Joe’s Seafood Restaurant on Saturday

evening, (included with the trip), and the Sunday 8:00 a.m. service at the

Cathedral before our 11:00 a.m. departure.

Total price per person $549.00 (double occupancy), $649.00 (single)

Payment due in full at time of order. We must have confirmed

reservations by July 22, 2011. Only 50 seats are available. To order

tickets, please call the historical society at 866-639-7487 Monday through

Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For information, call Don Maxwell

(Calvary’s Treasurer) at 304-523-0364 office or 606-831-9035 cell, or Chris

at 304-634-0918 cell.

National Cathedral Tour

August 26-28, 2011

Sponsored by

The Collis P. Huntington

Railroad Historical Society

&

Calvary Episcopal Church

3 From the Rector’s desk...

My dear people,

I’ve been reflecting recently on the word “viability.” I hear it used a lot these

days in a wide variety of circles. I hear church administrators talking about the

viability of small churches. I hear politicians talk about the viability of

continuing to do business as usual where budgets are concerned. And I hear

diplomats in the news talk about the viability of countries with significant social

programs. All this talk made me wonder what is was all about...the word itself.

After searching some online dictionaries here is what I found…

The ability to work as intended or to succeed.

The ability to continue to exist or develop as a living being…

Or how about this definition…

Capable of living, developing, or germinating under favorable conditions.

Capable of living outside the uterus.

Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable...

Whether or not we agree on a definition, I think it goes without saying that we

all agree that we want viability in our lives, in our communities, in our churches

and in our schools. The second and harder aspect of viability is how to obtain

and sustain it in our lives and in our institutions.

When I think about my own experiences with viability and vitality, they all

seemed to share a few things in common.

Clarity of identity...Commitment to the common good…Shared sacrifice

People and institutions function at their bests when they are clear about whom

they are and whom they are not. Shakespeare might have been clever when he

said, “to thine own self be true,” but the wise person follows G.K. Chesterton’s

advice to “know thyself.”

Commitment to the common good is also found in the characteristics of things

viable and vital. From the everyday citizen to the President, from the small

(Continued on page 4)

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Schedule of Holy Day Observances

with varied commemorations

Wednesday, June 29, 6pm Sts. Peter & Paul

Friday, July 22, 12:10pm St. Mary Magdalene

Monday, August 15, 6pm Dormition of St. Mary

Wednesday, August 24, 12:10pm St. Bartholomew the Apostle

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 6pm Vigil for the Feast of the Holy Cross

Thursday, Sept. 29, 12:10pm St. Michael and All Angels

Tuesday, October 18, 6pm St. Luke

Friday, October 28, 12:10pm St. Simon & St. Jude

church to the Fortune 500 company, if you are not committed to the welfare of

all people there is no health within you…(hat tip to the 1928 Prayerbook).

And whether we want to talk about it or not, shared sacrifice is necessary if we

are to live and work together as church and community. There has been so

much talk about the mess we are in and so little or no shared sacrifice. It really

is a shame we have come to this moment when state and national politicians

keep cutting valuable programs, and at the same time walking away from

discussion about raising taxes to help share the sacrifice. We can all take a

lesson from the staff of the Minford Local Schools who recently agreed to take

an across the board pay cut so no one would loose their jobs.

I hope you will read the items I have included in this issue of the Servant. I

hope they will spur discussion and action about the things we need to help this

church become more viable and vital

Blessings, Fr. Jeff

5 Blessing of the Backpacks

In 2006, the people of All Saints’ Church participated in a vital ministry

to the community by collecting school supplies and backpacks for

children in need. After a “blessing of the backpacks” these materials

were distributed to students in the Portsmouth City School System. This

annual event of collecting materials for kindergarten aged children has

become part of the back to school routine for our Parish. A list is

provided below of the materials needed. Simply purchase a backpack

and fill it with the supplies listed. Please indicate on the pack whether it

is for a boy or girl. Then bring the filled pack to church with you on

Sunday August 14, when we will conduct a blessing of the backpacks

during the children’s moments. If you have children or grandchildren, or

young relatives, this is a great opportunity to teach them the values of

generosity and service to others.

Items for the backpack…

4 Boxes of crayons, 24 count each

1 Box of basic markers, 8 count

1 pack of dry erase markers

1 pair Fiskars Brand Scissors, blunt tip

10 glue sticks

1 bottle of school glue

2 boxes of tissues

1 box of pencils, 20 count

Boys Girls

1 box of wet wipes 1 bottle of pump hand sanitizer

1 box of gallon 1 box of quart Ziplocs

Ziplocs

6

Jesse Zink, a former radio reporter and Episcopal Missionary to South Africa,

who now finds himself working on a Master of Divinity degree at Yale

University, comments on his recent visit to Africa and his relationships with

fellow Episcopalians... This article was taken from Jesse’s blog Mission

Minded… http://jessezink.wordpress.com/

I spent Saturday at the diocesan council meeting of the Diocese of Yola.

Yola is the capital of Adamawa state – “the Sunshine State” – and is in

north-east Nigeria, not far from the border with Cameroon. Northern

Nigeria is more Muslim, poorer, and less populated than the rest of the

country so I knew that Yola would give me a different perspective on the

church than I’ve had in my first weeks in the East. This meeting

confirmed it.

A major topic of conversation was the purchase of a second car for the

diocese. Right now, they only have the bishop’s car and it is used for

everything, from travels around the diocese (the farthest church is five

hours away on bad roads) to errands in town. They need another vehicle

not only for back-up but also because there is just too much demand for

the one vehicle.

The trouble is that they can’t afford it. The car they want – a 2002 Camry

or a 2001 Peugeot 406 – costs about $11,000 and so far the diocese has

saved about two-thirds of that. There was a lengthy discussion on

whether to keep saving or buy something cheaper. That turned into a

conversation about maintenance and which mechanics could care for

which brands of car. It is clear that the diocese is taking this quite

seriously, as I could tell by the way the conversation reached

mind-numbing levels of detail. (Again, for those of you who think this is

a vacation, remember me in this four-hour meeting.)

Commitment to the Common Good

7

The next topic after the car was completing construction on the new site

for the diocesan secondary school. (I haven’t written about this yet but

the government in Nigeria has essentially abdicated responsibility for

education so the church plays a huge role in this.) They need 400 bags of

cement to finish the next phase of construction. Each bag costs about $15.

Again, they just don’t have the money so they brainstormed about how

to raise that money – ask each deanery to contribute? approach richer

members of congregations?

I had two thoughts on listening to these conversations. The first is how

different it is to Owerri, where the diocese has about four cars, many

parishes own vans, and 400 bags of cement would be nothing.

The second was how clear a need there is for international partnerships

in a place like Yola. They have hard-working clergy here, who speak

good English and manage their finances transparently. Bishop Marcus

Ibrahim is young, smart, energetic, and educated in the U.S (and on

Facebook). Yet not a penny of the money the diocese has spent in his six

years as bishop has come from abroad. (Some of it comes from other

Nigerian dioceses, including Owerri, however.) He has looked and

looked for partnerships and had no luck. The reason? The divisions in

the Anglican Communion. Mainline Americans (and others) are

conditioned to think that Nigeria is closed territory to them. (It’s not, as

my presence here demonstrates.)

But surely, you say, those conservative Episcopal/Anglicans in the U.S.

and elsewhere that have made such a big deal of their support and

concern for the “orthodox” church in places like Nigeria are helping out?

Nope. GAFCON folks are nowhere to be found in Yola or any of these

(Continued on page 8)

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other dioceses that have serious needs. It seems like they confine

themselves to the big cities, where the rich dioceses and senior bishops

are.

The way in which artificial divisions among leaders are causing serious

headaches – and creating serious obstacles to the mission of God – in a

place like Yola infuriates me. Nigerian after Nigerian is telling me that

while they disagree with me on some issues, there is no reason we cannot

still work together. Yet that is not the narrative that is propagated at the

highest levels of Anglicanism – and to which most people, unfortunately,

seem to be listening.

Yola’s annual budget is approximately equal to that of a mid-sized

Episcopal Church in the U.S. Yola – and other similar dioceses – present a

terrific opportunity for mission-minded congregations throughout the

Anglican Communion to form path-breaking new partnerships that

would not only do important work in an important area of the world but

also helpfully shake up the rather-stale discourse on alleged Anglican

disunity.

Back by popular demand…

Monthly Parish Requiem & Eucharist

This Holy Eucharist, offered on the first Wednesday

of each month, is said in memory

those members of the parish who died in that particular month.

Requiems will resume August 3, at 12:10pm

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Rev. Dr. Mariann Budde, rector of St. John's in Minneapolis and bishop-elect to the

Episcopal Diocese of Washington, shares the following thoughts on her church's blog…

As our elected leaders spend the last days of the state legislative session

working around the clock to finalize budgets that will affect us all, there

is considerable talk about the need for shared sacrifice in these difficult

economic times. Yet I can't help but echo a question I heard on Public

Radio yesterday, on a program interviewing leaders from both political

parties. A woman called to ask the politicians who refuse to consider

raising taxes on the wealthiest of Minnesotans: "How are the rich being

asked to sacrifice?"

Their reply, all the more disturbing for its matter-of-fact tone, was, in

essence, "They're not." And yet the sacrifice being asked of our most

vulnerable citizens, and of those who work to sustain the foundations of

society upon which we all depend, is enormous.

The author and educator Parker Palmer once amended Socrates' famous

dictum that the unexamined life is not worth living to include the

following: If you decide to live an unexamined life, please do not take a

job that involves other people. The world suffers deeply at the hands of

leaders who possess the skill and power to manipulate external reality

but lack sensitivity and awareness of the cost of their actions on others.

"A leader," Palmer writes, "is someone with the power to project either

shadow or light on some part of the world and onto the lives of the

people who dwell there. A leader shapes the ethos in which others must

live, an ethos as light-filled as heaven or as shadowy as hell." What kind

of ethos, what shadows or light will these proposed budgets cast?

If this is indeed a time for shared sacrifice, surely those who have the

least to lose can give a little more so that those with the most to lose can

live. This is not a partisan debate. This a moral issue.

Shared Sacrifice

10 Our Parish Identity

Summer Saint’s Alive Movie Nights The committee on Formation has announced a summer schedule of

activities for our Saints’ Alive ministry. Two events are planned for

summer and the regular Wednesday night program will resume in the

fall on September 7.

Wednesday, July 20, there will be dinner provided at 5:30

followed by a showing of the movie Godspell.

Wednesday August 17, 5:30pm Dinner

followed by with a showing of the movie

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Come and be a part of the fun and fellowship.

Some of you might not be aware of the mission statement for our Parish. Take a

look and see how you are helping our faith community

accomplish its mission...

All Saints' Church is a warm and welcoming home from which we

are called to restore all people to unity with God and each other in

Christ.

We pursue this calling through the ministry of all our members as we

pray, worship, proclaim the Gospel, and promote justice, peace, and

love.

All Saints' Church is an exciting group of people from diverse back-

grounds. We bring our unique gifts and talents to worship and

serve God in unity. We are an open and inclusive people of faith; all

are welcome!

11 Odds & Ends

Prayers Are Requested for...

Intercessions*: Robby, Jane

Scroggin, Scott Jones, Alex

Shortridge, P. J. Lyle, Bob Walton Sr.,

Don, Mike Lukemire, Karen

Holdridge, Matt, Marge Newman, Al-

ison Dingus, Ruth Wheeler, Charlie

Prochaska, Gail Moyka, Ronnie Grubb,

Greg Curnutte, Kerry Nourse, Joseph

Valli, Nikki King, David Kinney, Billy

Williams, Steve Stahler, Raymond

Warren, Lucie Shell, Eldridge Family,

Jerry Wear, Bobby Glover, Scott

Berry, Tom Tipton, Cindy Creaig,

Priscilla Thiel, Tammy Miller, Dan

Trout, Miller Toombs, Rick Head,

Larry Kitchel, Chip Moore, Priscilla,

Cindy Birkhimer, Berryman Green,

Gordon Sanders, Cindy Neeley,

Genetta Moore, John Wittenmyer, Ruth

Daubert, John Clark, Ellen Vetter,

Donald Howard, Kaye Lawson, Laura

Malone, Sherry Hollin.

Birthdays at All Saints’

in June

08 June McCall; 14 Linda Spires;

15 Kelley Alexander; 17 Bonnie

Johnson; 22 Zach Bedard; 23 Vicki

Daily, June Jewett; 24 Casey Doerr;

25 Justin Welch; 27 Eleanor Pavey;

28 Miller Toombs

Birthdays in July

01 Trey Walton; 03 Jeff Queen;

08 Madeline Queen; 11 Brianna

Bedard; 12 Dee Russell; 14 Logan

Clifford; 17 Joan Eynon; 21 Carlson

Yost, Linda Walker; 22 Gayle Berry;

29 Griffin Queen; 30 Teresa Queen;

31 Megan Felts

Birthdays in August

08 Tate Queen; 10 Becky Taylor; 14

Clara Hash; 19 Marilyn Daily; 21

Cameron Rodriguez, Tim Angel; 24

Sharon Ramsey; 29 Caitlin

Throckmorton; 30 Justin Wiget,

Matt Nourse

Loaves and Fishes Feeding Ministry A monthly feeding ministry hosted by All Saints’. We prepare food

on the fourth Saturday of each month. Please consider taking in the kitchen.

It will be very helpful if we can count on persons to work during a certain

month. You will receive more blessings than time you give.

Call 353-3919 to sign up.

All Saints’ Episcopal Church

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Portsmouth OH 45662

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