The Pathfinder: June 6th, 2024
You’re In Good Hands
As I write this article, people are hard at work preparing the many spaces of All Souls for the construction of the months ahead. Couches that long ago outlived their usefulness are being scrapped, desks are being sold, books are being boxed, and safes and tables and chairs and Godly Play stories and plates and cups and many, many other things are being moved.
The goal on the horizon is palpable: this Saturday, from 9:00a to 12n, everything that needs to find a new home in the preschool rooms and the Crow’s Nest will find their place. The energy in the air is crackling, as we plan and prepare for the most extensive work to the All Souls buildings in nearly 70 years.
Often, the work of a congregation in the summer is of preparation for the rest of the year––the arc of a teaching year and the theme for an annual giving campaign, to name a couple. It just so happens that this summer, in addition to that planning, there will be other preparation, especially around the Living Waters Campaign, and the search for a new Associate for Music. And for the ten weeks of sabbatical this summer I won’t be here to take part in it. Which feels strange.
In the time that I have served as the Rector of All Souls Parish there has never been a “good” time to be away. The life of this parish is so constant, the current so swift, that any extended period of time inevitably overlaps with some initiative or project, a celebration or departure. That is the blessing and the curse of this cure. This summer will be no different.
For this reason I am deeply grateful for the scores of All Soulsians who will be offering their attention and skill and prayer over the next few months. The Moving Movers will be clearing spaces and making sure that the items we need to make church will be accessible. The Property team will be meeting weekly (at least) with WCI (our general contractor) and HY (our architects) to make sure that the process of rebuilding is as smooth as it can be. The Isaiah Project team will be in communication with the semi-finalists grantees, discerning who we might best walk alongside. The Associate for Music search team will be receiving applications, reviewing them and discerning who fits best to lead us in song. The Stewardship team will be re-forming our understanding of stewardship and focusing our efforts for the annual giving campaign. And much, much more.
Guiding and supporting these efforts for the time that I am away will be our Wardens, Sarah Kern and Grace Telcs, our Vestry, and our outstanding Staff––Diana Markley, Scott Garriott, Dent Davidson, Emily Hansen Curran, the Rev. Emily Boring, and now including the Rev. Dr. Mark Richardson as Sabbatical Rector. Just typing those words gives me great relief and joy. We are in good hands.
And so, the last several weeks as I’ve been preparing to be away, I’ve once again been reminded about the breadth and depth of leadership at All Souls. Yes, I serve an important role in the life of the parish, and one for which I am grateful. And, it is abundantly clear to me that, thanks be to God, we have all that we need.
I have no doubt that there will be many twists and turns while I am away. And, at the same time I have a deep and abiding trust that with God’s help the people of this parish will be able to navigate them all with courage, skill, and grace. I can’t wait to hear the stories. Take pics, or it didn’t happen.
Peace,
– Phil+
Connection and Community: Reflection on the All Souls Newcomer Class
It is with so much gratitude that I write this piece. I had the great honor to be welcomed as a new member of All Souls on Pentecost Sunday, along with 15+ other friendly and interesting people. We all had the fortune to attend the New Members Class, led by Reverend Phil and Emily H-C this spring.
I recently moved back to Berkeley in 2022, after living here for almost a decade in the 1990s while my husband and I attended school and started our family and careers. We semi-retired to Truckee from the peninsula after empty nesting, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains. But I missed something. I missed a community to explore, deepen and engage my faith. Having recently empty-nested and retired from my career as a schoolteacher, I find myself seeking spiritual growth and craving new opportunities to re-engage my Christian life with my everyday life. This desire for greater community connection brought me back to Berkeley, and to find a new faithful home at All Souls.
Like most of us, I have participated in many classes, courses, meetings, gatherings, etc where people share their backgrounds and learn new information. Increasingly, and gratefully, there are guidelines and parameters set up to create ‘safe space’. Yet when people come together who have not met before, despite all attempts to encourage and enable a comfortable setting, there is still a reluctance or hesitation to share, and the conversation can fall a bit flat. Not so with our New Members class this spring! Welcomed and guided expertly and compassionately by Phil and Emily, we really shared. We laughed together, and we shed some tears together.
I realized, and maybe all of us sitting around the very big table did, that perhaps our sharing was going a bit off Phil’s and Emily’s plan for the hour, but there was no stopping the vulnerability, acceptance, grace and love that was occurring. All Emily had to do was ask one, seemingly simple, opening ice-breaking question - designed, I am sure, to be a quick whip around - and we were off.
The stories shared of how each of us found our way to All Souls, and what we hope to bring and receive by being members of this wonderful church community, were moving and profound. They were so honest and trusting. They were often funny, and just as often heartbreaking. They were deeply human and we all felt the love and grace of God in the room. Phil and Emily held such space for us to learn and share together, generously giving up their agenda, that we all understood we were embarking on a truly special and spiritual relationship that was going to provide what each of us is coming to All Souls for. We were being cared for.
I was reminded of a quote by Margaret Wheatley that hung in the principal’s office of a school I worked at, “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” It was obvious what All Souls cares about, translated through the graciousness of Phil and Emily: people. The people matter who attend All Souls, and the people matter in the communities radiating out from the church. Encouraging and supporting people to live life through the lens and heart of Jesus as guide and comfort. Together we can effect great change and growth, within ourselves, our families, our church and our world.
I am sure I speak for all of us in the recent New Members class when I thank you for welcoming me into this community. And after spending a really delicious and delightful four weeks getting to know the other new members, I am convinced you will very much enjoy them too.
– Beth Wang
A Spirited Sunday
Last week was a big one! In addition to our two Sunday services, we had a Bishop’s visitation (the final visitation by Bishop Marc Handley Andrus); a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Living Waters construction that is set to begin in just a week or two, in addition to blessings of the spaces set for renovation (done by Bishop Marc); a Q&A session with Bishop Marc; three baptisms; two Receptions, five Confirmations; a whole host of incredible Thanksgivings during the 10:30a service; and a Parish Picnic up in Tilden park full of sweet intergenerational moments and a cornhole tournament.
Pictures from Sunday speak for themselves: it was a day full of the Spirit! Click through the slideshow below to see some highlights.
– Emily Hansen Curran
Announcements & Events
Happening This Week
Worship This Sunday
8:00am, Holy Eucharist in Chapel
10:30am, sung Eucharist (click here to access the live stream)
Wednesday 9am Eucharist Service. (Note: this service will not be available via Zoom the weeks of June 12 and 19. Zoom will return at this link on the 26th. We apologize for the inconvenience).
Reading Between the Lines Bible Study, Sunday @ 7:00a. Click here to join by Zoom, or join them in-person in the Common Room.
Parish Moving Day, June 8th: Join us for a group work day as we pack, clean out, and move items in preparation for our Living Waters construction. All hands are welcome and needed! 9:00 to noon, snacks provided. It’ll be fun!
Lector/Intercessor, Chalice, & Lay Liturgical Assistant Training 6/9 If you are interested in getting more involved in the liturgy on Sunday mornings by serving as a chalice bearer, a healing minister, a lector or intercessor, or (we’re attempting to bring back an old practice of ours) a Lay Liturgical Assistant, please come to a training on June 9th just after the 10:30a service. If you’ve got questions, please see Emily HC, emily@allsoulsparish.org.
Adult Formation
First Summer Book Group!
Join Jack Shoemaker and other All Soulsians this week for our first book group, June 9, 16, 23, and 30th at 9:15am in the Jordan Court Community Room.
Let’s begin at the beginning. Join us as we read Reading Genesis, the latest book from Marilynne Robinson. A recent review of this book calls her “one of the most influential Christian writers and public intellectuals alive today.” Come see if you agree. Her book includes the complete text of Genesis in the King James version, but feel free to read any translation you wish. We will imagine dividing our reading of the 50 chapters of Genesis into four parts, but our discussions of Robinson’s book may well discover a looser structure.
Other 2024 Book Groups:
July 7, 14, 21
Charles Duhigg, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection (Random House, 2024). Led by Raymond Yee.
July 28, August 4, 11
Steven Charleston, We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope (Broadleaf Books, 2021). Led by Marguerite Judson.
Any questions? Contact Anne Yardley at ayardley@drew.edu
Children & Family
Save the Date: Parish Camping Trip, July 19th-21st. Join us in Big Sur for a weekend of family-friendly camping and fun! All ages welcome. Details forthcoming; email Emily HC with questions.
Children’s Book Group While Sunday School is on a break for the summer, we are excited to offer a new form of fellowship for kids: children’s book groups! Fourth to sixth graders will read The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers. First to third graders will read The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls by M.J. Thomas. If you are interested in participating, please email Molly Nicol (molly.joan.nicol@gmail.com).
Look out for more info about Faithful Families and playground meet-ups this summer!
Sunday School Survey Parents— we are seeking your feedback to shape next year’s Sunday School! If your child took part in our program in any way, please fill out this survey. We’re grateful for your time and input!
Youth Program Please pray for our high school youth and leaders who are on their Immersion Trip this weekend, June 9th-11th. We will be exploring the theme of “Faith in the Wilderness” as we engage in prayer, self-reflection, art, and community-building.
Justice & Peace
Boost the Vote! “…it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls.” - Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
The All Souls Justice and Peace team invites you to help increase voter turnout by writing letters, following these easy steps:
Pick up from church 20 individual names, addresses, paper, & envelopes
(The names come from Vote Forward’s analysis, identifying citizens in low voter turnout areas)
Write non-partisan notes to encourage voting
Add postage
Return to Janet or a church basket to be mailed on Vote Forwards’s assigned dates
Ask for 20 more…?
Contact Janet Chisholm, jgchisholm@aol.com to request materials or to ask questions.
Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach (USMO) is a Cal student group that organizes outreach events every Saturday to bring food and resources to homeless encampments in Berkeley. Because these encampments are in resource deserts, they often lack access to quality food, medical services, and other resources which we try to facilitate through our many partnerships. All Souls has been supporting this effort through donation of menstrual hygiene products.
Now, USMO has invited us to take part in more direct outreach efforts, especially as USMO student volunteers are away for the summer. The USMO group meets on Saturdays at 12:10 pm at the West Circle on UC Berkeley's campus (location linked here). From there, they organize pick-up and delivery of food and supplies. If you would like to join in this effort, please contact Beth Christensen for details (beth.christensen@gmail.com). She will connect you to the USMO leadership team.
Finally, while menstrual hygiene products continue to be welcome, there is additional need for the following items:
Power banks
Phone chargers
Batteries
General hygiene and first aid products
Size 8 women’s shoes
You can drop off these items in the red donation bin in the narthex. Thank you!
Needs of the Community
Call for Lay Eucharistic Visitors We are seeking to expand our team of Eucharistic Visitors. Eucharistic Visitors are lay people who provide home visits to parishioners who cannot attend church and deliver communion on behalf of our community. If you are interested in being trained or learning more, please talk to Emily HC or Emily B.
Request for Temporary Housing We have a newcomer to All Souls who is looking for housing for just the month of June. She is able to pay some rent, but is hoping to find a situation where she trades some labor or some way of contributing to the household for rent. Please see Emily Hansen Curran if you think you might be able to help out.
Meal Train If you are in need of meals, or if you’d like to join this network to deliver food to others, please email Sarah Oneto at sarahoneto@gmail.com.
Everything Else
2nd Thursday Lunch is next week, June 13th. Join us for a potluck from noon to 2pm.
Cal Payne-Taylor’s Ordination Saturday, June 8th @ 3p at Grace Cathedral. You can attend in person or join via livestream here.
