The Pathfinder: November 27, 2024
The Unexpected Yes
Each year as we prepare for the time of Advent, as a staff we take some time to consider why we celebrate this season of the Christian year. It’s not that that’s the theology or purpose of Advent changes year to year, more that depending on where we are as a parish and as a people, some aspects of the season feel more resonant.
This year, after discussion and discernment, the theme of “an unexpected yes” rose to the surface. At a time of significant uncertainty, and in a year when we are focused on the Gospel according to Luke, the pattern in this Gospel of unexpected yesses feels potent.
Below in this Advent edition of the Pathfinder you’ll find several ways to practice with All Souls this season––a daily breviary, weekly in-gatherings, services of story, silence, and chant, and times to gather together. As you look forward to our collective preparation for the Glorious Impossible, please join us in creating space for the unexpected yes to come.
–Phil+
An Invitation to the Season of Advent
I love a good invitation. At their best, they do what the master of gatherings and author of The Art of Gathering describes as creating a temporary social contract to a temporary alternative world. We do this often, like when we gather on Sunday mornings. Following the invitation of the presider when they say, “May God be with you,” we respond “and also with you.”
When we do this, we enter into this temporary social contract—trusting and living, for that hour (or sometimes an hour and a half), suspended in this reality. But I think this temporary alternative world is much more intensely felt at the start of our annual Advent Festival.
Gathered around a fire in the courtyard, just after the opening carol, the presider of this service makes a formal invitation to us all, to dive deep into this season of waiting for the unexpected, stillness, light, and darkness with these words:
Beloved friends, in the stillness of this place, enfolded by night’s sacred darkness, we gather to mark the beginning of the season of Advent, in which the Church bids us prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ: who came in flesh as the Child of Bethlehem; who comes in the gift of the Spirit, in the bread of the Eucharist, and in ordinary moments of human encounter; who will come again to establish God’s reign of justice and peace. Let us now hear from prophets foretelling the coming of Emmanuel, and poets proclaiming “God with us.” Let us also pray for a renewed vision of God’s righteousness, whereby we may proclaim Christ’s transforming presence in our own generation; that our ministries with all who suffer, all who need, and all who seek may enact the coming of that same Kingdom. May God open our hearts to receive the message of Christ.
And with these words, we enter this temporary alternative world, a whole season where beauty, stillness, community, darkness, light, patience, and love hold us.
I invite you all to come out this Sunday, December 1st, in the evening, to kick off the season of Advent. We’ll gather at 5p in the courtyard around a fire (dress warm!). Then, we’ll process into the nave for the remainder of our service. We’ll sing, pray, read poems and scripture, and sit in silence under the stars. Around 5:45, or just as soon as the service wraps up, the party will begin.
The Parish Life team will have rounded up greens from Christmas tree lots around town, and there will be ribbons and other fun things so that you’ll be able to build and decorate Advent wreaths. There will also be a table where you can make this year’s All Souls Christmas ornament, designed by the Arts at All Souls committee. Last but not least, we’ll have a hot chocolate bar, hot cider, and cookies (please bring some to share!).
You just need to arrive in warm clothes, with your Advent wreath metal form from last year (if you’ve still got it, and if you don’t, we’ll have one for you), some cookies to share (If you’re able), and with as many friends and family as you can round up. Don’t miss this opportunity to recognize the shift in this season of our lives. You are invited.
–Emily Hansen Curran
Advent for Children and Families
For children, there are few things in the rhythm of the church year that are as magical as Advent. It’s a time of candles and greenery, song and story. A time to slow down and make space for big questions and wonderings. A time when we wait with wonder, anticipation, and joy.
At All Souls, we build our Children & Family Advent program around four key themes: Music, Prayer, Story, and Ritual. The activities are intended to invite kids of all ages– and grown-ups, too– to engage with Advent through sight, sound, and hands-on experience. Advent isn’t merely a lead-up to Christmas; it’s a season in itself, with themes of waiting, stillness, quiet, and reflection. We hope to invite All Soulsians, young and old, to inhabit this season fully and prepare our homes and our hearts for the great mystery of Christ’s birth.
Below are some of the activities we’re offering as part of Advent and Christmas at All Souls. We hope that children will join us for any and all things, and we’re happy to adapt to meet their interest and needs. Below this article, you’ll find a calendar that breaks down these events so you can easily keep track (download it here).
Music
Our Children’s Choir, led by Tess Taylor, is returning! The choir will perform at the 4 pm Christmas Eve service as part of our Nativity Story.
Rehearsals are during Sunday School (10:30) on Dec. 8, 15, and 22.
Email our director Tess Taylor (tess_taylor@mac.com) or Emily B (emilyb@allsoulsparish.org) to sign up. We’ll send you the music.
Prayer
During Advent, All Souls engages in a special ritual during our 10:30 service.
Each Sunday, a different child/family is invited up to the altar to light the Advent wreath. Then, at the Eucharistic Prayer, you’ll hear a child asking: “Why is it right to give God thanks and praise?”, “Why do we share this bread and wine?”, and “Why do we follow Jesus Christ?” The congregation responds to each question in an interactive way.
These practices are intended to bring the curiosity of children to the center of our worship, honoring the wonder that lives in every one of us.
We have families signed up for all four weeks of Advent, but if you want to take part, it’s not too late to add others. The more the merrier!
Kids will be provided with the script in advance, and on your day, you'll arrive at 10 a.m. to prepare for the service.
Story
Our annual Nativity Story will take place at the 4 pm service on Christmas Eve!
All kids (including middle/high school youth) are invited to participate. Possible roles include angels, sheep, shepherds, assorted “friendly beasts,” Mary, Joseph, Wise Men, narrators, cats, camels, butterflies… we have a huge closet of costumes, and we’ll fill parts based on interest!
This week, Dec 1st: Come pick out your costume in the Sunday School room from 9:15-10! Or, email Emily B to say what role you want to play.
Rehearsals will be held on Dec 8, 15, and 22 from 9:15-10:15.
Ritual
We warmly invite everyone– and children especially!-- to take part in our annual Advent Festival of song, reading, and reflection. The service begins at 5 pm. After the festival, around 5:45, we’ll gather in the Parish Hall with cookies and cider. There will be materials and activities to help you bring the ritual of Advent into your home. See more details in Emily’s article, above.
Wreath-making supplies will be available, including wire frames and candles. (If you still have your frame from last year, please bring it to reuse or return!). Children and families are encouraged to make and decorate a wreath to bring home, and engage in a candle-lighting ritual each evening. There will also be a station to make homemade ornaments for your tree.
In peace,
–Emily+
Taizé Tuesdays at All Souls
Experience music and prayer in a new way at Taizé Tuesdays: three Tuesdays in Advent (December 3, 10 and 17) starting at 7:30 pm until 8:15 pm. Due to our ongoing construction, a soup supper isn’t an option this year, but we do hope to have cookies and hot beverages available at the conclusion of the service. Services are held in the back of the nave (near the healing altar).
What exactly is Taizé? Taizé is a mixture of simple songs or chants, readings from Scripture, stories, poems, prayers and silence. Short, easily learnable songs and chants, repeated many times, create a meditative environment that helps move the texts from the mind into the heart. Periods of silence hold their own space for reflection and discovery - sometimes much longer times of silence than we have the opportunity for in our daily lives. Each night, one person from our community will share their own story of something unexpected. Readings are drawn from scripture as well as poets, theologians, and mystics.
As we think about how Mary said “yes” to the unexpected this year, why not take a moment to say “yes” to Taizé on Tuesdays during Advent?
Advent Spotify Playlist:
Want to get a head start on our Advent music this year? I’ve put together an Advent Playlist on Spotify! (Disclaimer: Some of these are alternative versions to what we will be singing, and some are just for enjoyment!) What are your favorite Advent songs? Happy to add them to the playlist - just send them over!
–Matt Wolka
Advent at Home: Breviary
This year, we are continuing the All Souls practice of a seasonal breviary. This is a booklet of prayers, readings, and hymns that we use for personal and small-group prayer, but that we share across our community; though we may be practicing Advent rituals at different times and different places, these shared words unite our parish in shared worship. We invite you to use this breviary as you light candles in your advent wreath each week or day this year.
The theme of this year’s Advent breviary is coming closer to God. As we love God in ourselves and our neighbor, we must then come closer to ourselves and come closer to each other. In the process, we seek a willingness to be open to encountering Christ. This involves being open to the unexpected, as God is never exactly what we imagine, and ultimately means saying yes– yes to God’s call for relationship, and yes to the wonder and mystery of life in Christ.
This breviary flows from the Advent hymn, “Come thou long expected Jesus.” In addition to singing (or reciting) and lighting candles, each week includes prayer, reading, poetry, and questions to spark imagination. The scripture in this year’s breviary is from a variety of Bible versions and adaptations, including translation of some epistles by a WWI soldier called “St. Paul from the Trenches.”
This year, we invite you to use this booklet to pray and reflect with other people. This time involves coming closer to the Body of Christ, especially in each other. Light Advent candles with your family, neighbors, or friends. Call another member of All Souls on Zoom or by phone, and use this ritual together.
You can get your printed breviary at the Advent festival on December 1st, or find it online HERE.
–Harlowe Zefting
Advent Ingathering
Every Sunday in Advent we collect items for some of our neighbors in need. Our Justice & Peace team has coordinated lists for each week of Advent and what is needed. Please bring these items on Sunday mornings and place them in front of the altar.
Week 1 (Dec 1): Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach (USMO)
Week 2 (Dec 8): The Berkeley Food Pantry
Week 3 (Dec 15): Berkeley Unhoused Encampments
Week 4 (Dec 22): Tiny House Project
Read more about these organizations below!
Week 1: December 1st
Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach (USMO) is a volunteer student organization at UC Berkeley focused on providing aid to Berkeley and Oakland homeless encampments. Each week, student volunteers go out to encampments and hand out food, hygiene supplies, medical supplies, and other requested items, such as clothing and desserts. They are committed to bridging the gap between the unhoused community and access to basic services and necessities.
Here are the items the group is requesting. All of them apply to both Berkeley and Oakland encampments.
Tents
Petrol
Winter jackets
Camping stoves
Butane and propane
Socks
Underwear
Blankets
Gloves
Batteries (any type)
They would also welcome any cash donations, or donations to the group’s Venmo at cal_usmo.
Week 2: December 8th
The Berkeley Food Pantry is a non-profit organization providing emergency groceries to over 2,000 Berkeley and Albany residents in crisis monthly. All Souls collects donations at church weekly. We also pick up donations twice a month upon request. The Christmas ingathering is especially welcomed to satisfy increased need around the holiday.
Canned goods, mostly vegetables, no beans,
Rice
Oatmeal
Fresh fruit if it has a peel that removed like tangerines or bananas
No perishables
Week 3: December 15h
Berkeley Unhoused Encampments
We will be gathering the following items to be distributed to the encampments at 8th/Harrison and 2nd/Jones. This list comes from the residents themselves.
Small fire extinguishers
Small propane canisters
Head lamps
New Gloves
New Hats
New Socks
In addition, you are welcome to make a monetary donation which will be granted to the Homeless Action Center in Berkeley on Shattuck. This organization provides advocacy for the unhoused and disabled residents of Alameda County.
Week 4: December 22nd
Tiny House Project Many of you remember the tiny houses we helped build and furnish for Youth Spirit Artworks. They’re now filled with transitional age youth who are rebuilding their lives! We will continue the Advent tradition of supporting these young adults with holiday gifts to be determined. We are requesting cash donations we will use to purchase gift cards so the resident can purchase needed items. More information forthcoming about how to donate.
With questions, please email Beth Christensen.
Thanks,
–Beth Christensen, for the Justice and Peace Committee
Announcements & Events
Happening This Sunday
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: “Introduction to the Gospel of Luke,” with the Rev. Michael Lemaire
Membership Class with Emily Hansen Curran, in the Chapel
10:30am, Sung Eucharist; enter through the Cedar St. doors. Join us via livestream here.
5-8pm, Advent Festival. Meet in the All Souls courtyard.
Wednesday: 9am Eucharist Service, in the Jordan Court Community Room. Join us on Zoom here.
Thanksgiving Service: We are not holding a Thanksgiving service here at All Souls, but we encourage you to join our neighbors at St. Mark’s for an 11:00 a.m. service and meal on Thursday. Find more info here.
Adult Formation
This week: “Introduction to the Gospel of Luke,” with the Rev. Michael Lemaire
Starting in Advent, we will begin a new liturgical year that will follow the Gospel of Luke in our Sunday liturgies. This gospel contains some of the most memorable and beloved gospel stories from the nativity, to the parable of the Good Samaritan, to the parable of the prodigal son. As we have done with other introductions, we will explore what is known about the history and authorship of this gospel, explore its Christology as well as the particular theological concerns of Luke. (Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, 9:15am)
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 for one more Sunday, 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 return to church at the “Peace.”
To join our Children and Family mailing list, email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org
See Emily B’s article above for information on children’s activities during the Advent and Christmas seasons!
Download our Children & Family Advent Calendar.
Youth Program
Youth Group (for grades 6-12) generally happens each Sunday from 7-8:30pm.
This week, Dec 1st: No Youth Group - come to the Advent festival at 5pm!
Dec 8th: No Youth Group - Caroling Party at 5pm!
Dec. 15th: 3rd Annual Gingerbread Competition (festive sweaters/attire welcome!)
View and download our full fall calendar (Sept. - Dec.) here.
To join the weekly youth mailing list, email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org.
Justice & Peace
Film Screening: Past Lives, Dec. 6th at 7pm
The Racial Justice Committee (RJC) invites you to explore themes of identity, migration, and belonging in our next movie discussion series. Join us Friday, December 6 at 7:00 pm (snacks at 6:30) in the nave, with food served in the narthex, for a screening of the acclaimed film Past Lives, directed by Celine Song and starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro. (Bring some snacks to share.)
Serve With Us
Save the Date: Parish Work Day, Dec 8th Great news! Construction is almost finished on the north side of our undercroft! We can begin using our Common Room, library, nursery, and Godly Play classrooms beginning in early December. To that end, we are holding a moving work party on Sunday, Dec 8th from noon-3 (right after the 10:30 service). Come help us move items from our storage space and set up our new rooms!
Everything Else
All Souls Caroling Party, Dec. 8th! Join us for a 5pm dinner, followed by songs around the piano and caroling from house-to-house. Hosted by the Legrands, the Wilsons, and the Nicols. This event is super fun and family-friendly! More details and RSVP to come.
Sermon Poetry is back by popular demand! Enjoy the following haiku, composed by Chat GPT, based on the Rev. Phil Brochard’s sermon last Sunday.
Where power devours,
The Lamb walks a gentler path—
Grace heals the wounded.
You can listen, or listen again, to sermons on our website or our podcast channel.
