The Pathfinder: August 8, 2024
Moving Ahead with Trust and Adaptation
I want to add my voice to the regular updates on The Living Waters project. First, we are off to a fast start now that City approvals are in place. Thanks to the Property Committee, led by Patrick Tahara, the construction team was ready to proceed in a very focused way toward our goals as soon as the permits were given. This kind of work proceeds, of course, on several fronts at once, and is usually not a straight line to the finish. Here are some of the areas of current work and how they affect our parish life.
First, work is progressing swiftly in the undercroft areas. We are currently amid an ongoing abatement period in the downstairs bathrooms, old choir rooms, and hallways. Abatement will begin on the main floor soon. Demolition of the courtyard has been completed, with plans to rebuild foundations under the Spruce Street stairs soon. Concrete pouring will follow in the next 4-6 weeks. We are working with vendors and with the Property Committee to make final selections on finishings such as tile, window coverings, flooring, and the elevator interior.
As of this Sunday, we have two ADA portable toilets located in double parking spaces on Spruce Street, just outside of the courtyard gate. These will be locked during the week but open on Sundays during church hours. Additionally, you are still welcome to use the restroom in Jordan Court.
We continue to enter the nave solely through the main doors on the corner of Cedar and Spruce. The Chapel space continues to be undisrupted; simply enter through the copper doors. Thank you to the Wednesday Eucharist folks who gathered in the Jordan Court Community Room this week for our morning service due to ongoing construction noise. We’re slowly adapting to new spaces and routines, and we’re grateful for the people who have stepped up to get creative and help.
Throughout the duration of this project, the safety and wellbeing of our congregation and the construction team is our utmost priority. We will keep you updated on emergency exits and any important precautions on a weekly basis. This coming Sunday (8/11), our two routes of emergency egress are 1) the narthex doors that open onto Cedar St; and 2) the steps that lead from the nave down toward the Parish Hall, where you’ll then exit down the staircase to the Jordan Court breezeway. Both pathways are marked with signs. If you have questions, you are welcome to talk to the clergy at any time.
You have all adjusted to new information as it comes in, and we thank you. Especially on the front end of this project, change–the unexpected– is likely on short notice. Community is forged and strengthened when we face unexpected challenges together. We are grateful for the teams and individuals who are seeing us safely and efficiently through this process. We invite you to join us in a spirit of trust and adaptation as we move ahead.
–Mark+
It’s Time for Parish Retreat!
It’s that time of year… Parish Retreat is coming up in just over a month, September 13-15th.
This year, we’re going to explore the idea of “Home” as our theme. We’re finding the renewal of our physical space is providing us an invitation to re-examine––what makes a home sacred? Who’s included or excluded? What happens when home is complicated or contested? Who are we in relation to our neighbors?
If you’re wondering if the retreat is right for you and/or your family, I’ll leave some photos from last year’s retreat below to give you an idea of what it’s like. In short, we retreat, recreate, rest, sing, grow, socialize, play, enjoy the quiet of wine country, and enjoy the noise of a crowded pool. It’s a lovely weekend to get to know others and to rest alongside your All Souls family.
We also know that it is a pricey weekend and so if the cost is prohibitive for you or your family, please let me or Emily B know as there are scholarships readily available.
This year’s registration is a little different as we’re using our new church database, Realm. If you have any questions or problems with registering, please see me and I’ll walk you through it. Please note that while there will be a total cost tallied for you when you register, do not pay for your registration just yet. I’ll send a follow-up email in the week before the retreat with your final cost.
Register for the retreat here!
We hope you can join us this year!
–Emily Hansen Curran & the Staff Team
A Letter from Bishop Austin K. Rios
“For you are all one in Christ Jesus” - Galatians 3:28b
Bishop Austin has asked all congregations to share the following letter, inviting you to participate in Listening Sessions as we build a strategic plan for our Diocese. If you would prefer to hear Bishop Austin read the letter aloud, you can do so here.
Dear Siblings in the Diocese of California,
In my first letter as your new pastor, it is my tremendous joy and honor to address you today and to share one of my great hopes for this next chapter of our common life. Over the past several months, I’ve enjoyed meeting you, joining you in celebrations and solemnities, and appreciating all the many gifts that God has already blessed us with in this portion of the vineyard called the Diocese of California. I give thanks for these many blessings, and my deepest prayer is that we can faithfully build upon these gifts and experiences in the years ahead to be part of a church that helps transform the wider world into God’s beloved community.
Such transformation will neither be quick nor easy. Besides the predominant cultural storms that rage in the political and social spheres, we simultaneously face headwinds within our Diocese. We have trust to build with each other. We have wounds to heal. We have relationships to develop. We have shared values to discover. I deeply trust that God is longing for our wholeness as a Diocese. I believe that getting honest with one another about these headwinds and difficulties, entrusting their healing to Christ, and sharing our best practices for ministry are faithful ways for us to discern a path forward as one whole and joyful body.
Amidst these gifts and challenges, the best way I know to be a faithful leader with you is to listen to you wholeheartedly. I want to hear how God has already been at work among you. I want to hear about the many successes in ministry you have built over generations in this place. I also want to hear about your pain and frustration, your fear and uncertainty. I want to be with you in the ways we’ve fallen short of the glory of God in our dealings with one another.
During the bishop search process, I heard your call—a call to discern a shared strategic vision for the Diocese of California. And I am convinced that doing this visioning work together is an essential first step in building trust with one another and ensuring the many diverse and wonderful members of our diocese are common stakeholders in our shared future.
Consequently, the first thing I ask of you as your new diocesan bishop is to pray for this process and, specifically, that we might discern God’s will together and gain the strength to pursue it.
The second thing I ask is that you engage this process with integrity and hopeful intention.
The Executive Council and I are beginning this process by scheduling five Listening Sessions around our Diocese. These sessions are an important first step in the overall effort to map a strategic plan for our Diocese; a path that we pray will mimic the path God has laid for us. Please receive my heartfelt invitation to participate in one of these listening sessions. I hope you will make every effort to join us and encourage the widest participation possible from your siblings in our Diocese:
Thursday, September 5, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Orinda
Tuesday, September 10, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Online Zoom Meeting
Saturday, September 14, Noon – 2:00 pm, Church of the Nativity, San Rafael
Monday, September 16, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Foster City
Thursday, September 25 – 27, Clergy Retreat, The Bishop’s Ranch
Spanish interpretation will be available at all meetings, and we will translate the written materials for each session into Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Tongan. We will present initial learnings from our Listening Sessions at this year’s Diocesan Convention on October 25th and 26th.
My hope is that, as we begin discerning together, we will begin growing together—into the united body God calls us to be.
And that the vision we pursue will be ours—not mine, not our diocesan staff’s, not one congregation’s, nor one parishioner’s vision—but our vision, to live out with God’s help.
I don’t yet know where the process will lead, which is part of the joy, actually! I am excited and look forward to being surprised at how and where God will lead us, even as I hope to build upon the profound legacy of ministry and faithfulness that has come before my call to serve as your bishop. But even as I remain open to that uncertain future of “treasures old and new” I do know something about what will lead us there.
As we listen, discern, and dream together, the way to greater life and a shared and faithful vision for this next chapter of our common life passes through the truth and the mystery of the Cross of Christ. And we must follow Jesus’ wisdom to get where our hearts long to go.
That means loving God and each other in thought, word, and deed.
It means being willing to serve one another as Christ served his disciples and those beyond.
It means loving our neighbors, seeing them clearly, and attending to them.
And it means letting go of the limitations of “I” “me” and “mine” and “us vs. them” and moving toward the resurrected life of “we” and “our.”
The more we do that, the more we can follow Jesus’ path of transformation from one single grain of wheat into an abundant harvest of bread for the world—
the more our hearts will burn within us,
the more our congregations will thrive and be shapers of meaning and hope for a starving and thirsting world,
the more our diocese will be a connecting and resourcing force for good in the Bay Area,
and the more the contours of our shared vision will come to shape and shift the wider world around us.
I am here among you as bishop because I believe this work is worth doing, and it is worth doing together. I look forward to hearing from you, walking with you, and serving alongside you in the months and years to come.
Yours in Christ,
– +Austin
Update from the Musician Search Committee
The search committee for a new Associate for Music is pleased to announce that it is recommending two finalists for the position to the rector. We believe that both candidates would fill the position well. Both of them have been informed that Phil will be on sabbatical until August 19, so no decision will be made prior to his return. The committee appreciates the participation of the staff and the choir in the interview process.
– Anne Yardley and Nat Lewis, Search Committee Co-Chairs
Living Waters Weekly Update
Please see the Rev. Mark Richardson’s reflection above for a comprehensive update on our construction process.
In the meantime, a reminder to respect the “Do Not Enter” signage so everyone remains safe. With the exception of Sunday mornings, the church building is off limits to all but the construction team at all times.
See the photos below for a peek at week’s progress!
–Ann Myers and the Property Committee
Announcements & Events
Happening This Week
Worship This Sunday
8:00am, Holy Eucharist in Chapel. Please access the Chapel through the copper doors on Cedar St.
10:30am, sung Eucharist (click here to access the live stream). Enter through the Cedar St. doors.
Wednesday 9am Eucharist Service, in the Jordan Court Community Room (note the location change, due to construction noise). Join us on Zoom here.
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
Book Group: We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope, by Steven Charleston. Led by the Rev. Marguerite Judson.
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. You are welcome to join at any time, even if you have missed previous meetings.
Children & Family
Save the Date: Godly Play Training! September 7th, 9a-1p, at All Souls. As our Children’s Ministry program continues to grow, we are actively seeking new volunteers to lead and assist our Sunday School lessons. Join us to learn about the Godly Play curriculum and train as a Storyteller. Email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org for more information or to sign up. Parents are especially encouraged to attend and consider joining our teacher team.
Youth Program is on hiatus for the summer. We’ll return after Labor Day on Sunday, September 8th. To join the youth mailing list, email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org.
Justice & Peace
Boost the Vote! “…it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls.” - Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
This important effort is still ongoing! Please consider taking part:
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. In addition to ongoing menstrual product donations, there is need for the following items: power banks, phone chargers, batteries, general hygiene and first aid products, and size 8 women’s shoes. Please bring these items to the red bin in the Narthex. Email Beth Christensen (beth.christensen) for other volunteer opportunities with USMO.
Needs of the Community
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
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. Sign up here.
Sermon Haiku By popular demand, we are bringing back the weekly sermon Haiku, generated by ChatGPT! Here is the composition about the Rev. Mark Richardson’s sermon from August 4th:
Unity we seek,
Not through sameness but through love—
In difference, one.
You can listen to this sermon and all past All Souls sermons on our podcast channel.
