The Pathfinder: November 14th, 2024
Musical Abundance
At All Souls Parish, we cover a lot of ground musically every week: from chant to bluegrass, organ music to body percussion. There is the beauty of the a cappella Lord’s Prayer, old hymns sung in harmony, new hymns with inclusive texts written by women, a well crafted mixture of the familiar and the fresh.
I love all of it. And, I will admit, that sometimes it takes some work to feel that love..
I’m reminded of one of my dear friends I met in Los Angeles - Diana Zlotnick. Diana was an octogenarian art collector who bought Andy Warhol paintings at his first show and ended up collecting every important artist from the LA area through the 1960s - 1980s. Some artists I talked with said she singlehandedly saved the LA art scene during the Reagan years as she was the only one buying their works.
I asked her how she was able to identify which artists to collect, and she said, “I always looked for art that upset me. Then I went home, and asked myself, ‘Why did that upset me?’ If the answer was that I didn’t understand it, I would schedule a visit with the artist at their studio and learn more about their work.”
I’ve taken that sentiment as an inspiration when it comes to music as well - if something isn’t my favorite, is that a new doorway beckoning? How does this music illuminate something about where I am spiritually? Or where I need to be?
I am appreciative of the music survey you completed last summer. It gives me a real sense of the deep love for music (and music directors) that this congregation has, its commitment to a wide range of musical styles and even its growing edges. As we continue to build on that musical foundation, how do you interact with the musical abundance at All Souls?
Peace,
–Matt Wolka
15 years of Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry at All Souls began in 2007, when Rev. Jim Richardson, our interim, brought the idea from his experience at Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento.
He saw a need for “caregivers”, trained laypeople who could engage in one-on-one relationships with “care receivers”, fellow parishioners who would appreciate companionship as they navigate a hardship. Our first team of Stephen Leaders – Betsy Dixon, Sharon Roberts, Emily Lyon, and Phoebe Tussey - was tasked with attending a week of training, ordering materials, training the first class of Stephen Ministers, facilitating Supervision groups and shepherding the new ministry in such a way that it would thrive, not flounder, in its new environment. “It was a lot of work – a lot of work”, remarked Betsy recently, as we marveled at the endurance of the program. It is still around and still quite viable, though you may not know it unless you’ve been a care receiver or caregiver; confidentiality is a central tenet of this program.
Stephen Ministry is a highly organized, resource-heavy organization that has provided standardized, time-tested training for laypeople and clergy since 1975 (see their website for details). It works because the program is suited to each church’s context by the volunteers who run it while maintaining its overarching principles, rooted in core Christian values: care for neighbor, concern for those in distress, respect for the confidentiality of everyone’s story. To their credit, our amazing original Stephen Leaders blessed our parish with the right program at the right time. Our congregation was growing and thriving, and Rev. Andrew Walmisley (1997-2007) was leaving. Reverend Phil Brochard, arriving in 2008, started his All Souls ministry alongside our first Stephen Ministers, and has always supported the program. He has called us the “after people” who will listen and pray with you after the divorce, the job loss, the diagnosis, the death. We are not therapists or counselors or pastors but fellow travelers, trained in certain skills but most definitely parishioners just like you.
My own journey toward Stephen Ministry also began in 2007. That January, my good friend Mary Scott died after an intense bout with cancer. She was fifty and like a local big sister to me: kind, a good listener, funny, sensible, wise. She was my son’s godmother; we taught Sunday School alongside each other; our children were in youth group together. As a medical social worker who cared deeply for others’ welfare, she also offered support in the wake of my husband’s heart attack – while undergoing her own treatments. So, to honor the best of my friend and quiet some nagging impulse in myself, I became a Stephen Minister in 2010. I vowed to “be more Mary” in my interactions with others, and it really took some practice.
Since then, I have worked with many care receivers – listening, praying, walking, sitting, asking reflective questions, showing empathy, setting boundaries – and have grown to love this particular blessing in my life. I believe it is the most “Christian” thing I do, and always affirms my sense of how essential community is. Accompanying someone through a rough patch, being present to all they bring in that moment, may help them return to the community when they previously felt too bereft or broken to show up. My greatest joy these days is to look at our congregation on a Sunday and just notice how many people have been involved in this ministry; this circle of care enfolds us all and is truly, as the Stephen Ministry logo says, “Christ caring for people through people”.
If you’re interested in training to be a Stephen Minister, please come to an information session in the chapel, at noon on Nov 24 th . You can also let Rev. Emily B. or Marilyn Flood know you’re interested.
–Madeline Feeley
About those 72 households…
One of my favorite parts of the pledge drive is talking with people about All Souls and about their pledging.
This year, in the midst of a pledge drive that could expand and support our ministries in exciting ways, one of the questions I hear most often is some version of, “What about those 72 people who don’t pledge?” Sometimes people are curious about how one-third of the people in church on a Sunday are not pledging. Sometimes people are irritated, or worse, by the idea that a large portion of the church is not pulling its weight.
To start this pledge drive back in September, I showed a graph of the pledge levels for the 2024 pledge campaign from the households who are part of the pool of 224 households from which we are seeking pledges for 2025. I wish I had been more precise in presenting that information and graph.
The tall bar on that graph of pledgers in the zero pledge column is the 72 households we planned to solicit for pledges for 2025 that had not made a pledge for 2024. That set of 72 was made up of
21 new households that were not part of the All Souls community during the pledge drive last year,
16 lapsed households that had made a gift of record for 2022 or 2023, but not for 2024; and
32 “non-donor” households from which All Souls has not recorded financial support since 2021. Households in this category typically have a very loose current connection to All Souls. They are often households who have been active in the past but have drifted away from attending and may no longer consider themselves part of the community. We thought there was enough of a chance that they might respond to include them on the list, but recognize that looking to these households for engagement, especially financial support, may be more aspirational than dependable.
I don’t think this group of 72 households “isn’t carrying their weight”, so much as it is a varied group, some of which are drifting away from All Souls, some of which are making their first contributions to All Souls this fall, and some of which are in a liminal space. This group seems to me more in the process of discerning their relationship to All Souls than taking financial advantage of the community.
This is the chart I wish I had presented. It segments the composition of the 72 households with zero 2024 pledges and re-presents the overall 2024 pledge giving levels of returning pledgers. Households that had pledged for 2024 and had left the community, either by intentional departure, death or other circumstances are not included in the returning pledger data.
Since Ingathering Sunday we have received pledges from returning plegers, members of the subsets of the group of 72 and from unexpected pledgers/donors who were not on our initial solicitation list.
I believe we can come close to meeting our full participation goals in each segment of pledgers. Many of the returning pledgers we have not heard from yet are consistently involved in the life of the parish and many have already said they plan to pledge, often at a higher level than in 2024. I believe the new All Soulsians will join the community of pledgers in about the same proportion as returning pledgers. Lapsed and non-donor households will likely continue to have pledge rates that suggest lower connection to the community. We need to continue to move toward our full participation goals.
However, after an initial burst of pledges on Ingathering Sunday, our pledging activity has slowed substantially in the past two weeks. The election and the hustle and bustle of daily living have pressed in on all of us and may have dropped pledging out of the top of mind for many. Soon, Thanksgiving will occupy more mental space. If we are to approach our pledge goal of $878,000, we will need close to full participation from both the returning and new pledgers. And we need to receive the pledges soon, particularly if the Vestry and staff are to decide to increase our staffing.
To support the budgeting process, we will start a new round of outreach next week. Taking advantage of a week without an election or a major holiday, we will invite a pledge response for households from which we have not yet received either a pledge, or a request to be removed from the solicitation list. We would like to have all but a few straggling pledges received by the end of Thanksgiving week.
Before we begin the outreach effort, we are asking people who have already decided to pledge to go ahead and submit their pledge, using our online pledge form, or by pledge card. There will be pledge cards in the pews, or chairs, on Sunday and they can be returned in the offertory plate as it is passed.
I will be at the back after both services this Sunday to answer your questions about the pledge drive in general or your pledge in particular.
I am grateful to hear so many of the stories of this congregation and the ways people are approaching their support for All Souls. I look forward to moving forward on the pledge drive and turning all of our attention to the exciting opportunities ahead.
-Richard Lynch
Living Waters Weekly Update
Trim: The materials used to provide a clean finish of the building, such as moldings around window and door openings, or the baseboards in rooms, for example.
Believe it or not, there are now areas in the undercroft with trim installed and painted! Some lovely colors are being used and it looks wonderful.
Egress remains the same this week. Use the Cedar Street doors, the emergency exit is through the sacristy, and porta potties are on Spruce. ADA bathroom is at Jordan Court.
It is always exciting to see a design come together!
Above: Polishing of concrete by chapel
Left: Tile in restrooms. Right: New finishes in Chapel
Left: Courtyard from foyer doors. Right: New foyer doors.
–Ann Myers and the Property Committee
Berkeley Half Marathon This Sunday
The Berkeley half marathon will take place this SUNDAY, November 17th. Click here for street detours and closures! The race may have significant impacts for our parishioners on Sunday morning. Please plan your route ahead of time and allow extra time for parking and driving.
Announcements & Events
Happening This Week
7:00am, Reading Between the Lines Bible Study either in person in the Jordan Court Conference Room or Click here to join by Zoom.
8:00am, Holy Eucharist in Chapel. Please access the Chapel through the copper doors on Cedar St.
9:15am, Adult Formation. “Heretics and Creeds” with the Rev. Phil Brochard, in the Jordan Court Community Room.
10:30am, Sung Eucharist; enter through the Cedar St. doors. Join us via livestream here.
7:00pm, Youth Group (all grades)
Wednesday: 9am Eucharist Service, in the Jordan Court Community Room. Join us on Zoom here.
All Parish Living Waters Update on Sunday, November 24th
The generational work of the Living Waters Campaign is coming to fruition! The Isaiah Project grantees were just announced last week, and in the past couple of weeks the new courtyard has been poured, we have new stairs heading to Spruce Street, and painting, flooring and other work in the Undercroft is happening. Learn more about when these spaces will be available for use and the next steps for the Isaiah Project at the next All Parish Meeting Sunday, November 24th in the Nave from 12n-1p.
Adult Formation
Current Class: “Heretics and Creeds,” led by the Rev. Phil Brochard and others
Every Sunday at All Souls we say or sing the Nicene Creed. You may be wondering why. Well, in a word, heresies. For four weeks in late October and into November the Rev. Phil Brochard (joined by the Rev. Emily Boring and the Rev. Mark Richardson) will explain what a heresy is, why they were important to the early church, and why they continue to matter today. Come engage the tensions of a Christ that is both human and Divine, a God that is three in one and one in three, and the meaning of free will. Come to understand why you believe what you do, and quite possibly how that relates to the right belief of the Church. This class meets in the Jordan Court Community Room on the following Sundays at 9:15 am: Nov. 10, 17, 24.
Membership Class Wondering how to learn more about All Souls and connect with our community? Whether you are new here or looking to become a member, join us for a class held in the Chapel at 9:15 am on the following Sundays, beginning this week: November 10, 17, 24, December 1st.
Children & Family
Sunday School: Sunday School (for kids pre-K through 5th grade) happens every week during the 10:30 service. Meet outside of main Cedar St. doors at the start of the service; teachers will lead you around the corner to our temporary classroom space. (If you’re late, ask an usher for directions). Children will return to church at the “Peace.”
Godly Play Training is approaching! Join us to learn about this unique philosophy of children’s spiritual formation and train to be a teacher. All are welcome. November 23rd, 9am to 1pm, at All Souls. To sign up, email Emily B by Saturday, November 16th.
To join our Children and Family mailing list, email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org
Youth Program
Youth Group generally happens each Sunday from 7-8:30 pm in the narthex.
November 17th: All grades, “Practicing Gratitude” Thanksgiving-themed games, crafts, prayers of gratitude (with special guest leader Phil Brochard!!)
November 24th: High School Small Group
View and download our full fall calendar (Sept. - Dec.) here.
To join the weekly youth mailing list, email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org.
Justice & Peace
Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach 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. As the weather gets colder, they are especially seeking donations of the following items:
General hygiene products (toothbrushes/toothpaste, deodorant, soap, etc.)
Clothes/cold weather gear
Bottled water
Please bring these donations to the red bin in the Narthex. Email Beth Christensen (beth.christensen) for donation and other direct volunteer opportunities with USMO.
Serve With Us
Information Session: Becoming a Stephen Minister All Souls is planning to offer a Stephen Ministry training class beginning in February 2025. If you have ever thought about becoming a Stephen Minister, please come to the information session on Sunday, November 24 at noon in the Chapel. Find out the nuts & bolts of Stephen Ministry—how to apply, what’s involved in training, and (best of all!) offering your gift of compassionate listening to another. You can also learn more about what it is like to be a Stephen Minister here. Can’t come to the session Nov 24? Contact Marilyn Flood, 510-517-7192 or marilyn.flood4902@att.net for more information.
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
Emmaus Groups If you’re looking for a small group here at All Souls either because you’re new to the church, or because you’re looking for a place to build deep community, or because you’re trying to be intentional about growing and caring for your spirit as a follower of Jesus, or because you’re looking for a place to work out some personal discernment alongside others, an Emmaus Group might be the thing for you. Reach out to Emily Hansen Curran, emily@allsoulsparish.org for more information.
New Church Directory/Database called Realm We have a new church online directory and database, and you are invited to join! If you are a member here, you should already have received an invitation from Realm to join the online community. If you’re new and looking to join (or didn’t get an invitation in your inbox), see Emily Hansen Curran. For anyone interested in learning more about Realm or need help troubleshooting any problems logging in or using Realm, we’ve got folks who will be in the Narthex this coming Sunday, after the 10:30 service, with laptops ready to answer your questions and help. Come by and get the help you need.
All Saints & All Souls Art Project There are still a couple more weeks to participate in our All Souls and All Saints Day art project in the nave. Write a special message to a loved one who has passed away, and then pin it to one of the ribbons on the columns alongside the pews. Writing directly to this person creates a space of connection, where an absence can turn into a presence.
Sermon Poetry is back by popular demand! Enjoy the following haiku, composed by Chat GPT, based on the Rev. Emily Boring’s sermon last Sunday.
Grief with strength entwines,
Not alone in loss we wait,
Held by sacred hands.
You can listen, or listen again, to sermons on our website or our podcast channel.
