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Ross Guthrie has been a follower of Jesus Christ for over thirty years. He was not raised in a Christian home. Growing up, he did not go to church except for more than a handful of times with his grandmother. He began attending a Southern Baptist church in Pinckneyville, Illinois when he was sixteen.

Heavenly Father, captivate our imaginations once again with the glory of this story, that we might be known to the world to be captive to the one who was first made known to us in a manger, in whose name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen

Nearly two years ago, Debbi Wagner and I sat chatting about the wholeness of the Anglican worship tradition. The way our bodies and senses and spirits get wrapped up in the music, and the reading, and the sights and smells.

I have felt the desire to do ministry since I was a child, and over the last several years I've followed that call in various ways. During my time as an undergraduate student at Union, I studied Biblical Languages during the year and did ministry each summer.

I recently returned from the Anglican Symposium on the Family, a three-day meeting of clergy and laity to discuss the ever-changing landscape of family ministry and congregational life. While many denominations within the greater Christian Church continue to operate in seemingly outdated and irrelevant models, the Anglican Church in North America is actively seeking to address modern cultural concerns and to educate church leaders about the needs that arise in post-millennial society. We should note, for instance, that we exist in an education-rich, relationship- poor culture, that is one in which access to information is readily available but within which it is difficult to develop meaningful, long-lasting friendships. People feel alienated from one another, they feel too busy to engage with others, and they are often too distracted to realize how much they need one another.

It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since Fr. Chuck Filiatreau retired as All Saints' first rector. We are incredibly blessed to have him and his wife, Gretchen, continue to be a part of our parish. As a way to honor his presence among us and in order to better communicate with our newer folks that our former rector still serves among us, we plan to give Fr. Chuck the official title of Rector Emeritus on Sunday, October 11. This will also be the first Sunday since his retirement that he'll preach God's Word to us. We hope that you can join us.

It's that time of year for our emphasis on stewardship to be brought to our attention. While this always presents us with the annual opportunity to reassess our monetary contributions, this is only a part of what stewardship means. A biblical definition of stewardship is "utilizing and managing all resources God provides us for the glory of God and the betterment of his creation." That's why the theme of our stewardship series this year is this: "It's all a gift."

We're blessed to be able to offer our facilities to the Adoption Support and Preservation (ASAP) program of West Tennessee. They will be meeting every second Monday evening of the month from 6:00 to 7:30. The meetings are open to the public, and anyone from All Saints interested in learning more or even volunteering can attend. Here's a little bit more about ASAP from Mallory Morris.

Fr. Wes has brought a challenge to All Saints, a challenge for each of us to participate individually in God so that we can together participate with God in the building of his kingdom, to focus as a congregation on developing inwardly our spiritual discipline in order that we can also as a congregation minister effectively outwardly in the world around us.

Even Harleys need a blessing! After church on Sunday, July 19, I had the privilege of gathering with a small group around the Harley of Ed Whiting and Ramona Sparks to ask for God's continued favor and protection over the motorcycle and its riders. This is but another reminder that we're in desperate need of God in the everyday moments of life. God can certainly be found in the riding of a Harley, and so acknowledge that together, and pray these words to God.