The Pathfinder: July 11th, 2024
A Lifetime Connection
Some of you know about my younger brother, John’s, recent death. I will be away this weekend for his memorial service in Vancouver, Washington. I had visited him this winter shortly after a treatment plan for his cancer had begun. He had been weakened by both the illness and the treatment but in our time together, and with words and without, we felt the bond of love, of a lifetime connection.
After the visit I sent him poetry, hymns, music I thought he would appreciate. Even in his fatigue he wrote such thoughtful notes in return. Early reports were that his body had responded well to the treatment. With this news I decided to wait until the end of summer to return for another visit. But that would never be. Suddenly, a few weeks ago, the report came that the cancer was surging aggressively and in a matter of days he died.
He too was a pastor, by avocation a saxophonist (his band will play at the memorial), an athlete, a loving husband, and proud father of two boys, and grandfather of four grandchildren.
Many of you also may have experienced the death of a sibling. There is something unique about this in that a sibling may be one of the only people one has known as long as one has had memories at all. There is a bond one cannot measure in terms of time spent together in adulthood in the midst of busy lives raising children, building a vocation, and living in different cities. Something deep fills my heart as I both experience the loss and also give thanksgiving for his life. I feel it in my body as if the whole self remembers–childhood play, growing into teens, young adulthood, the joy of a new generation of children from our families coming together, flashes of so many memories that made me smile through my sadness. And eventually sharing the loss of parents. The major passages of life marked together in the company of siblings has been a gift.
There is another aspect I wish to pass along. A good friend who had had such a loss in his life said this to me: “Mark, you will feel regrets, feel the weight of things that your shadow says you could have done, or should have done. But guilt can take you nowhere. Let him remain dear in your heart.” My friend was not telling me “Don’t grieve.” But he was inviting me into gratitude alongside, into the blessings of time shared with my brother which helped to shape who we both have been in life. These words of my friend help me and I pass them along hoping they help you at times like this with a loved one.
Finally, I am so grateful for the prayers and the hope that I find in our memorial rites in the Book of Common Prayer. It is a great gift to be able to return to these, read or say them sometimes like a mantra, letting them pass through my body when thoughts and emotions have me stuck. John had a beautiful faith. God had gifted him generously, and he returned these gifts through the lives of family, friends and those whom he served.
Finally, thank you All Souls community for your prayers these past few weeks. You are a community that prays for one another. This inspires me.
–Mark Richardson+, Interim Rector
Meet the Acolytes!
Our acolyte program is back in full swing! You’ve likely noticed many of our youth serving as crucifers and torchbearers.
Acolytes play an indispensable role in our worship life, providing assistance to the altar party and participating in all parts of the service.
This summer, we are running profiles of our current acolyte team so you can get to know them.
If you'd like to join us and be trained as an acolyte, please reach out to me, Emily B!
Acolyte Profile: Rose Siera (she/her)
“My name is Rose. I’m going into 9th grade. I play the violin and piano, and I volunteer at the Oakland Zoo. I enjoy reading and spending time with my cats.
My favorite part of being an acolyte is taking on new responsibilities to contribute to the community, and seeing my friends.”
Thank you, Rose!
–Emily+
The Welcome Team––a new ministry of ASP
Back in February, while on retreat, our Vestry decided on three goals for 2024:
To Revitalize our approach to newcomers and how we gather new people, in a sustainable manner.
Foster deeper connections within the parish especially among young families, young adults, and those who may feel isolated.
The Vestry will oversee, communicate, and support the implementation of the Living Waters capital projects and Isaiah Project.
This new Welcome Team is a response to this first goal, which I, alongside the guidance and leadership of vestry member, Cathy Goshorn, helped to finally get up and running this past month. Cathy gathered a team (Mark Wilson, Katie Ring, Brian Beachler, Deirdre Nurre, and Sarah Crawford), and together we have written a training program and trained these fine team members to lead a sustainable program of inviting, greeting, orienting, and incorporating new folks into the life of this parish.
Our mission statement is this: To greet newcomers and develop relationships with them. To orient newcomers to All Souls’ parish life by using our developed strategies to understand why they are here, the questions they have, what they are hoping for, and their skills and interests. And finally, to incorporate newcomers by shepherding them into the life of our community.
You might be asking, what are these “developed strategies”? I too wondered what these might be, but as if by magic, or providence, a clear and obvious path developed in front of us as I realized how much I have learned.
It starts with a short poem by Ada Limón from her collection The Carrying:
When Eve walked among
the animals and named them—
nightingale, red-shouldered hawk,
fiddler crab, fallow deer—
I wonder if she ever wanted
them to speak back, looked into
their wide wonderful eyes and
whispered, Name me, name me.
As a team, we spent some time with this poem and reflected on those lines “Name me, name me” and how we see them reflected in the eyes of many new folks who walk in our doors. We talked about other ways of saying those lines, like “See me, see me” or “Know me, know me.” People who walk in the doors of a church, in Berkeley, CA in 2024 don’t come lightly or without great intent, hurt, need, or longing. It is our job, the people of All Souls who have found a spiritual home and community, to help these newcomers feel seen, known, as if they’ve been given a new name.
Doing that is much more an art than a science, but there are some tools that I have been given or developed over the years that help provide some lenses on how to meet people where they are. Many tools come from the College for Congregational Development and some of them I have written or written with Phil over the years.
One of the essential tools I wrote (based on the work of the old Newcomer team led by Betsy Dixon before I arrived at All Souls), is the Pathway to Membership, which will now serve as the backbone to the Welcome Team. Again, thinking of it more as an art than a science, we essentially put newcomers to All Souls on this pathway and help them along to the next step, paying prayerful attention to who they are, the questions with which they arrive at All Souls, and how we can offer ourselves and this church community as they journey into the life of this community.
This team feels like an exciting next step for us as a parish, as the roles I have played and the knowledge I have acquired are now being spread to a group of parishioners, who will work with me and our greeter team to welcome new folks to this parish. Please stop and ask me or Cathy Goshorn if you have questions or would like to learn more!
–Emily Hansen Curran
Living Waters
We continue to wait patiently for news from the City of Berkeley regarding the finalization of our construction permit. We will commence sharing weekly updates once we have progress to share.
–Richard Lynch and the Property Committee
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. Join us by Zoom at this link.
Reading Between the Lines Bible Study, Sunday @ 7:00a. Click here to join by Zoom, or join them in-person in the Jordan Court Conference Room.
Adult Formation
Current Book Group: Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, by Charles Duhigg. Led by Raymond Yee.
Have you ever wondered what makes some people "supercommunicators"? Who among your friends and family are the people you turn to when you need to be understood, to be heard? This month, we’ll embark on a journey to become better communicators ourselves and deepen our connections with each other.
Join us on Sunday at 9:15 in the Jordan Court Community Room. (July 7, 14, 21)
Upcoming Book Group: We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope, by Steven Charleston. Led by the Reverend Marguerite Judson.
You are cordially invited to this summer’s final book study: We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope by Steven Charleston (Broadleaf Books, 2021). Text is available both in hard copy and Kindle.
If, like me, you are feeling overwhelmed by the political, social and climatic changes around us, come spend time learning from Bishop Steven Charleston about different ways in which leaders of four First Nations helped their communities to face and survive the devastation of settler invasions which remade their worlds. Drawing from the histories of individual prophets from the Seneca, Shawnee, Wanapams and Paiute nations, and the world view of the Hopi, Charleston points to our call to be prophets in our own communities - to love the earth and speak truth and compassion in the midst of the political, cultural and climatic tides which frighten us.
July 28, Chapters 1-3 (82 pages)
Aug. 4, Chapters 4-5 (55 pages)
Aug. 11, Chapters 6 through Epilogue (62 pages)
Join us on Sundays at 9:15 in the Jordan Court Community Room. (July 28, August 4, August 11)
Children & Family
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).
Youth Program is on hiatus for the summer. We’ll return in the fall.
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!
Volunteer Opportunity: WriterCoach Connection
All Souls community members have been invited by a local organization, WriterCoach Connection, to volunteer:
“We are a local nonprofit which brings volunteers into local middle schools and high schools to help students with their writing and critical thinking skills. Our volunteers provide much needed one on one support which helps students become confident thinkers and writers. Contact Noah Curtis-Goldstein (noah@writercoachconnection.org) if you are interested.”
Needs of the Community
Stephen Ministry When you experience unusual stress or navigate a major life transition, the support of a Stephen Minister could be helpful. To explore this possibility, contact Madeline Feeley, a Stephen Leader, at 510-495-4512 or madelinefeeley@gmail.com.
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.
Community member request: Teresa Vosper is looking for a twin or XL twin mattress. If anyone has one to spare, please reach out to either Teresa or Emily Hansen Curran.
Everything Else
Dent’s Farewell Reception and Gift Sunday, July 28th is our last day with Dent Davidson before his retirement! Join us after the 10:30 service for a reception in the courtyard. We are putting together a gift for Dent and his family and we would welcome your contribution. If you would like to contribute, you can do so by either putting a check in the offering plate designated “Dent’s gift” or by clicking on this link. Thank you!
Young Adults Ice Cream Social: If you are in your 20s or 30s, come join us on the Belgum's patio from 7:00pm - 8:30pm on Tuesday, July 16th for homemade ice cream and toppings. Please bring a fun topping to share! Vegan ice cream options will be available. For more information, reach out to Tommy and Lizzie Belgum at tommylbelgum@gmail.com.
Big Sur Camping Trip Any and all are invited to the annual church camping trip at the Santa Lucia Campground in Big Sur. The dates this year are July 19-21st and the cost is $45 per person (kids under 5 are free) and there is a $180 max for families. If cost is prohibitive, please just let us know and we’ll have you covered. Sign-up here!
Homecoming Sunday: August 25th after the 10:30 service You are invited! Whether you’ve been coming for a while and are returning from summer, or you’ve been away for a very long time and hoping to reconnect, or if it’s your first time: welcome home. Come celebrate the start of the new year with us.
Save the Date: Parish Retreat Join us at Bishop’s Ranch for our annual Parish Retreat, September 13th-15th. More info and sign-ups to come!
A Big Shout Out Parishioner Dean Williamson spent an entire day putting together the new book shelves in the Fifth Floor Lounge in Jordan Court. As we await our construction to begin, we have already been using rooms in Jordan Court. One of these rooms is the fifth floor lounge and patio from which there is no better view. We have been stocking that room with books for the residents of Jordan Court and, have found that we needed another book shelf. Last Wednesday, that new book shelf was installed. Thanks go to Dean for his superb work. With 48 pieces of wood, 216 screws, etc. with which to work, on this nearly seven feet tall book case, the company that creates the pieces highly recommends two people to put it together. And I can assure you, I did not fit the part of a second person.
Thank you Dean, you did a beautiful job!
-Margaret Sparks
Flowers on Sundays at Church If you are interested in dedicating the flowers in the Church on Sunday mornings to a loved one or a particular remembrance, please fill out this form and indicate which day you would like to contribute the flowers and what you would like the dedication to say. The dedication will appear in our printed materials on the Sunday you have selected. The suggested contribution for flowers is $75, which can be paid to All Souls either electronically or by check (see the giving page on our website for more information there), and be sure to write in "flowers" in the memo line.
Please contact Maggie Cooke for any questions, giving@allsoulsparish.org
