The Pathfinder: January 11, 2024
Vestry Nominations
The Vestry Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the slate of nominees to be considered for election at this year’s Annual Meeting: Laura Altieri, Bob Cross, Cathy Goshorn, Erin Horne, Jenny Kern. I hope you will take some time to get to know each of them by reading their introductory statements below.
In creating this slate, the Nominating Committee sought a diverse mix of voices, background, areas of engagement, and long-time parishioners. With this announcement, we also want to make space for the Holy Spirit to move beyond the Nominating Committee. If you feel a call to serve on the Vestry or would like to nominate someone else to serve, you may do so (get permission from the person you are nominating first) by communicating with Nydia MacGregor by Tuesday, January 16th. If additional nominees meet the criteria for Vestry service, we will announce them in next week’s Pathfinder and have an election at the Annual Meeting on January 30th in which the top five candidates will be seated on the Vestry. If no additional nominations are made, we will vote to approve the Nominating Committee’s slate at the Annual Meeting.
Laura Altieri
Laura Altieri has been a parishioner at All Souls since 2010 (minus a few years when she lived in Modesto), and a regular attendee with her son Dax since 2017. Laura and Dax were baptized here on Easter 2018 and Laura has been involved with Open Door Dinner, Sunday School, and recently serving as an usher. Traditionally she has preferred being active in the fun parts - Advent festival, retreat and camping trips, but is ready now to work on the business of the church. She recently completed a three-year term on the Board of Directors for Las Trampas School in Lafayette, a school for adults with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. She's a lawyer, currently working as the Head of Legal for Clif Bar & Company in Emeryville.
Bob Cross
Pat and I first attended All Souls in 1972-73, then returned with our very young sons in 1981 and have been here ever since-so I’m in the gray-haired geezer demographic (not speaking for Pat). I’ve been on four prior Vestries (for Rectors Bill Clancy, Joe Britten, Andrew Walmsley & even newly called Phil Brochard – he didn't have a grey hair then). I’m a long-time member of the board of Berkeley Canterbury Foundation (Episcopal ministry to Cal) and helped with the legal work on Jordan Court. In my workaday life, I’ve been practicing law with various San Francisco firms for over 50 years, and can’t seem to retire (I don’t do golf and Pat isn’t keen on having me underfoot at home). We have great love and appreciation for the All Souls community, which has fed our social and spiritual needs for the better part of our lives. Now that Jordan Court has become a blessed reality, I am excited to help the Parish meet new challenges and welcome new souls.
Cathy Goshorn
Hello All Souslians! My name is Cathy Goshorn and I have attended ASP for nine years and actively participated for about five years. In the beginning, I sat in the back pew, enjoying the worship, and then would sneak out before coffee hour. One Sunday, Raymond Yee caught me and encouraged me to be an usher. That was the start of a loving relationship with the All Souls community! Being a member of various ASP ministries has opened my eyes and heart to the sincere presence of God’s work and love at All Souls. Over the years, I have attended many churches and have found my home here. I embrace the inclusivity and respect our church has for the wider community and all who enter our parish. Professionally, my work has included parent education, special education, work with immigrant women and children, senior citizens, and various non-profit organizations. Jeff (husband) and I live in Lafayette (yes, it’s just a tunnel.) We have two sons, Eric and Bradford who is married to Inka. It would be a privilege to serve on the All Souls Vestry.
Erin Horne
As I begin my 11th year at All Souls, I would be thrilled to return to Vestry, and bring my passion for welcoming all people, regardless of diversity in culture, heritage, beliefs, and abilities. As I reflect on the last 11 years, it is evident there is a common thread throughout my involvement on many committees and many discussions within the community that this place is our church home and we are making church together as a family. People enter in through many doors, but when we approach the altar for communion, we are equal and all of us become one body through God‘s grace. I am an advocate for equality professionally and personally, as a woman with multiple disabilities. My Guide Dog Opie is wiggling with excitement to be able to be the vestry dog again. I look forward to the many changes in accessibility and growth of our community in the coming years.
Jenny Kern
Greetings. I am a PK or ‘preacher’s kid’ raised on the East Coast in a large family. I moved to the Bay Area for law school and first attended All Souls in the 1990s. After my son Jasper was baptized in 2015, we became more regular attendees. I was a greeter before the pandemic, and since 2020 have been involved with the tiny house village and the justice and peace committee. Professionally I have worked as a lawyer doing civil rights law and have worked on disability-related projects in a dozen countries. Since 2018, I have shifted to a career in counseling and am currently an associate marriage and family therapist in private practice.
On behalf of the current Vestry and the community, we are excited to move forward in this next stage of leadership at All Souls.
–Nydia MacGregor, Junior Warden
Healing Ministry
There is a sacred sweet spot that occurs every Sunday during Holy Communion. As the choir sings our prayers to God, and as we move forward to receive the sacraments of bread and wine, members of the community make their way to the back of the church to the healing station. Our priests and Lay Healing Ministers stand ready to envelop other members of the community in prayer.
Whatever is on your heart at this sacred time– from prayers for physical healing, emotional healing, or healing for our broken world– the weight of these prayers can be held by our healing ministers. There is also an opportunity to receive anointing with a cross marked on your forehead, as a physical reminder that you are a loved child of God.
Your prayers are heard when you leave that sacred space and head back out into the world. Entering into this sacred time is meaningful for both the person requesting prayer and the healing minister. God’s presence is felt and the prayers are clearly held by God.
One of our Healing Ministers, Tara Horton, has this to say about her experience:
“I first became involved in All Souls’ lay healing ministry in 2013. Before starting, I had been curious about the practice, observing fellow parishioners receiving the laying of hands in the side chapel during communion. I was under the impression that only ordained clergy were allowed to do healing, but soon learned that parishioners could offer such prayers, too, after receiving some training. Engaging in healing prayers during communion has become a meaningful aspect of my worship at All Souls. It requires a certain courage and vulnerability for parishioners to approach the healing station and request a prayer. Witnessing the tangible effects, the dissipation of pain or anxiety after receiving these prayers, moves me deeply, evoking a profound sense of spiritual connection.”
If you feel the Spirit moving you to become a healing minister, please connect with Erin Horne by text or call at 206.850.8886.
–Erin Horne
December Vestry Update
The 2023 Vestry has had a busy year of meetings and December was no exception, with two meetings to fit in around Advent, our Taize services, and the usual holiday business of shopping and socializing.
During our regularly scheduled meeting on December 12th Sean Adderly, one of our three chaplains serving this year, started our meeting by sharing ideas about how communities can establish constructive communication, characterized by open and empathic communication, use of "I" statements, active listening, and offering solutions. focus of our efforts on the 12th was on two of our five goals for 2023: staffing and finances. On the staffing side, we heard from Emily Hansen Curren and the Reverend Emily Boring about their personal and professional priorities in 2024 and how those fit together with All Soul's needs. These conversations helped the Vestry to clarify the availability of our staff as we plan ahead for 2024 and also permitted us to consider the impact of staffing on the draft 2024 budget.
At the time of our meeting, the 2024 budget reflected a deficit of about $120K. For many years now, All Souls has passed deficit budgets and has relied on earnings from the Jordan gift to close the gap between pledges and our expenses. By necessity, this practice is drawing to a close as the Jordan gift will largely be spent as part of the Living Waters Capital improvement projects. As we discussed the 2024 budget, the Vestry was aware that we have 15 new pledging households and also that our total pledge dollars as of that point in the giving season was below the 2023 figures. The Vestry engaged in a spirited discussion of options, recognizing that more needs to be done to bring in additional revenues for 2024 and future years. Ultimately, the Vestry passed a deficit budget and plans to revisit the budget again in January 2024 to make additional adjustments.
Our second meeting of the month took place following services on December 17th and was focused on matters related to the Living Waters capital improvement projects. In our September meeting, the Vestry selected the foyer/lift elevator location provided that following the Design Development stage, the budget remains balanced. At that same September meeting, discussions took place regarding how to maximize the circulation of people through the space and looking at different design options. The Property Committee brought those concerns back to the architects who were able to address those concerns by developing a variation on the foyer/lift elevator location so that the new elevator will open directly into the sanctuary with no vestibule. Taking this approach means that there will be no flow/circulation concerns in the sanctuary. Also, the current appearance of the sanctuary will experience very minimal adjustments to accommodate the elevator and our experience of the space will remain largely unchanged. On review of the Design Development and ROM budget, in a unanimous vote the Vestry gave final approval to the lift/foyer elevator location without a vestibule.
Finally, the Vestry held an executive session to discuss business of the Vestry and then returned to regular session to pass the following motion, “In November 2023 an incident occurred in which a Vestry member undermined our collective discernment and ability to function as a body. As a result, on December 17, 2023 we find it necessary to affirm a core value. The Vestry of All Souls is a representative and deliberative body. The Congregation has tasked each member with making decisions collaboratively and respectfully. Upon reaching a final decision, it is the sense of the Vestry that a member in good standing shall refrain from actively undermining that decision. Behavior counter to this core value is incompatible with service as a Vestry member.” With that motion, the final Vestry meeting of 2023 came to a conclusion.
–Sarah Kern, Senior Warden
Annual Meeting Notice
The 120th Annual Meeting of the Congregation is January 28th, 2024 in the Parish Hall, from 12:30-1:30 pm. All parishioners are encouraged to attend.
– Phil+
Living Waters Update
Even as we have celebrated Christmas and the New Year, the work of the Living Waters Project has continued!
The Isaiah Project team has been evaluating organizations that could be partners in its effort to heal the breach of racial discrimination. The team has identified a handful of organizations to engage with and anticipates beginning conversations with many of them soon.
The architect, HY, has been developing a comprehensive set of detailed construction plans. These plans cover all of the Living Waters work - refurbishing the Parish Hall, the elevator, renovation of the kitchen, renewal of the chapel and undercroft. The plans should be completed shortly. They will be submitted to Berkeley as part of the construction permit application in January and then be used by subcontractors to submit formal cost bids in the first half of February. Having these subcontractor bids come in as anticipated in the ROM budget we have been using so far will be a key factor in firming up our budget and scope.
We have a revised elevator plan!
The option to place the elevator in the foyer/lift location that would not require a new vestibule in the nave is moving forward! The contractors and architects have developed a construction plan that is feasible and a cost estimate that stays within the budget parameters set by the Vestry. With this option the current interior of the church would need only minimal changes to accommodate the elevator.
On December 17th, the Vestry voted unanimously,11-0, to adopt this elevator option as part of the overall Living Water scope that the architect will move forward with. This option will be included in the construction plans to be completed at the end of this month.
The PGE application for upgraded service has been pushed back a bit. In the last update we anticipated filing the PGE application for upgraded service in mid-December. That application must come after the construction permit has been filed with Berkeley, so the PGE application will likely be filed at the end of this month.
More news soon!
–Richard Lynch
Announcements & Events
Happening This Week
Drop-In Spiritual Autobiography Group Sunday, January 14th from 12:30 - 2:00 in the Common Room
This group is open to all longing for the support a good writing workshop can provide. We meet monthly as a drop-in workshop in the Common Room following the 10:30 service and coffee hour.
More info? Text Jane Vandenburgh, 510-384-1173.
Concert Fundraiser, Interfaith Council of Alameda County, January 20th, 2024
This special evening will feature Billboard artist Lena Byrd Miles, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, and Destined2Dance. Attendance will help support the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (All Souls is a founding member) in their charitable efforts in the community, especially their work to improve community health and safety and to feed and care for those in need of food and shelter. More info here.
Worship This Week
8:00am, Holy Eucharist in Chapel
10:30am, sung Eucharist (click here to access the live stream)
Wednesday 9am Service. Join the Zoom call here, or join us in person in the Nave. Password: 520218.
Adult Formation
When Notes Meet Words Join the rector, the Rev. Phil Brochard, and the Associate for Music, Dent Davidson, as they explore the connection between theology and music in the congregational song of the church. How do the words and music come together in expressions of faith? How does changing the music for a hymn alter the experience of singing it? Bring your voice to this interactive class. (January 7, 14, 21) Join by Zoom (click here).
An Invitation to Wholeness and Holiness with Hildegard In this experiential class, taught by the Very Rev. Dr. Peggy Patterson, we will welcome our guide, Hildegard of Bingen - mystic, musician, healer, poet, lover of creation, wisdom friend, abbess, greening prophet of the earth – as we consider the experiences of wholeness and holiness in our own lives. We will explore Hildegard’s colorful illuminations, create our own mandalas, and consider how our lives might change if we, like Hildegard, considered ourselves “a feather on the breath of God.” (January 7, 14, 21) Small group; not on Zoom.
Coming Up Next: The Jewish Origins of Christianity with Rabbi Harry Manhoff
Before Judaism (as we know it today) and Christianity, the people of Israel were learning how to live according to the Hebrew Bible. In the Jewish Origins of Christianity series, Rabbi Harry Manhoff will present the rabbinic traditions of the first century that are shared in the New Testament. We will see that Jesus of Nazareth, called Rabbi (in Greek letters), taught many of the same traditions as sages of the people of Israel. (February 4, 11, 18)
Children & Family
Nursery The downstairs nursery is open and available to you for your use whenever you’re at All Souls. This is not a staffed nursery, so an adult must be there with your child, but if you need a quiet place to take a time out, change a diaper, let your child play or take a rest, the nursery is open for you to do all of those things. If there is a service going on that’s being livestreamed, you will be able to watch the livestream on the computer in the nursery as well.
Children’s Ministry Sunday School continues each week during the 10:30 a.m. service. Children head downstairs at the start of the service, then return after the “Peace.” See an usher if you need directions.
Children pre-K to 1st grade: Godly Play (in the Godly Play 1 classroom)
Children 2nd-5th grade: Faith Explorers (in the Fiery Furnace room)
Youth Program - No Youth Group this week due to a special deanery-wide overnight event for MLK Day. Youth Group resumes next Sunday, Jan 21st, from 7-8:30 in the Parish Hall.
If you are not receiving weekly Youth Program updates but would like to, please reach out to Emily B to be added to our mailing list.
Godly Play & Faith Explorers Teachers We are actively seeking teachers and/or alternates to add to our Sunday School team for all ages. If you are interested, please reach out to Emily B. (All teachers will go through SAFE Church training and background checks).
Justice & Peace
From our Colleagues at Building Interfaith Bridges:
Please join the Building Interfaith Bridges* group at Congregation Beth El on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 6:15pm for Beth El’s “4th Friday Shabbat in the Round”. Members of all three Building Interfaith Bridges congregations will be present.
Congregation Beth El’s monthly extra-musical Shabbat service takes place on the fourth Friday of the month at 6:15 pm and is led by Beth El clergy. Using both the words of our historical liturgy and many wordless melodies, we welcome Shabbat with a focus on the transformative power of music, with support from volunteer instrumentalists in our community. Bring your voice, your percussion or other portable instrument and come play and sing along! Or join us just to soak up the music.
All service attendees are invited to stay after for a nosh and meet and greet. Guests from All Souls and Saint Paul’s are also invited to participate in a short Q + A about the service.
Congregation Beth El is located at 1301 Oxford Street in Berkeley. An RSVP to Anna Fogelman (annaleahfogelman@gmail.com) is appreciated but not required. Hope to see you there!
*What is the Building Interfaith Bridges group and who’s involved?
With leadership and support from clergy, Congregation Beth El, All Souls Parish and Saint Paul A.M.E. Church have joined together to Build Interfaith Bridges through shared faith experiences in each others’ spiritual homes.
Questions? Please contact Beth El liaison, Anna Fogelman at annaleahfogelman@gmail.com, All Souls Parish liaison Bonnie Bishop bonniekbishop@myyahoo.com or Saint Paul AME Church liaison Joyce Dawson dawsonje@prodigy.net.
Ways to help with the Israel-Hamas War, from Episcopal Relief & Development
Since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war, Episcopal Relief & Development has been supporting long-time partners in the Holy Land including Al Ahli Hospital, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, to provide emergency medical support in Gaza. Despite being hit by two explosions that damaged buildings and claimed hundreds of lives, the hospital is still serving those who are in need of care. Episcopal Relief & Development stands with the brave staff of Al Ahli Hospital as they risk their lives to help others.
Please pray for peace in the Holy Land and consider making a contribution to the Episcopal Relief & Development Middle East Fund to help meet the growing needs of all people in the region.
Stay informed about the Episcopal Relief & Development response at episcopalrelief.org.
Everything Else
Winter & Spring Programs at the Bishop’s Ranch As you wrap up 2023 and begin to look forward into 2024, consider joining in on some of the offerings from the Bishop’s Ranch: Register Here.
Epiphany Reflection Day with Bishop Marc
Rediscovering Celtic Wisdom 2 with John Philip Newell
The Great Search 2 with John Philip Newell
Wild Contemplative and the Wilderness Within
Holy Week: The Tridium with the Holy Women
