Over the past year, Celeste and I have experienced the blessing of travel, some from obligation and some for enjoyment. Since moving to Jackson eight years ago, we have noticed two major changes in our travel experiences. First, it’s no fun flying anymore, although now I have an appreciation for how the animals on the Ark felt. The other, more positive change is we no longer have a problem finding an Anglican Church to attend on Sundays. There are now over 1,000 parishes in the ACNA...Keep Reading
As we work and meet with various key players in the development of our property, we notice them inevitably making innocent comments like, “Remember that the ultimate goal in all this is to build a building,” or “At the end of the day, our goal is to build a building.” They mean no harm, of course, but we, as the church, have a responsibility to voice our reply: “With all due respect, building a building is not our ultimate goal; it’s to build the church, a people who share in the life of God for the life of the world.” Or at least we have a responsibility to remind ourselves of this in the midst of all the details and logistics entailed in such a project. A physical building is a means to an end. Let us never forget!
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In conjunction with our stewardship series, All Saints is participating in a coat drive from 220 low-income students of Washington Douglas Head Start program. Please bring new or gently-used children's coats sizes infant to 8 to All Saints throughout November....Keep Reading
Did you know that diamonds aren’t rare? Last year, MIT produced a report estimating that there are about one quadrillion tons of diamonds hidden in the planet’s crust. That’s enough for every person currently alive to have over 130,000 tons of diamonds. Of course, it’s not in the interest of diamond mining companies to make diamonds so common because diamond companies operate according the same principle as the rest of the world, which is that scarcity increases value.
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All of life is bittersweet. I write to you all with a balance of sadness and hopefulness for the future. Over the last month, I received a call to the care of souls and to serve as the Rector of Church of the Holy Trinity in North Augusta, SC. The sad part is leaving All Saints. We are a parish of people marked by peace, stability, good leadership, financial stability, and most of all, love for one another and those outside of our community. It’s hard to leave such a people....Keep Reading
For the last few years, our bishop would make his annual episcopal visit to our church for confirmations around All Saints’ Day, and so we would include among our Fall Pastorates an Inquirers’ Pastorate for those interested in preparing for confirmation. But over the last couple of years, your clergy has realized that we need to “bulk up” our confirmation process by including more time for catechesis. So after speaking with our bishop, we have decided to change our confirmation process.
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We are not building a Mission Abbey so that we can become something we have not already been, but so we can grow into more of what God has already created us to be. To say we hope to build a Mission Abbey is to say that our intention is to develop our property as an outgrowth of the mission we currently live out: “to share in the life of God for the life of the world.”...Keep Reading
Simple Christian hospitality is a natural and effective way of building relationships in Christ. Our Summer Suppers will, once again, be an opportunity to practice and discover the riches of Christian hospitality....Keep Reading
Bless the Lord! It’s been almost a year since Fr. Wes called me into his office and asked if I would be willing to lead a team of parishioners with the goal of creating a “culture of church planting” at All Saints. I never could have imagined where we would be as a church moving into the summer of 2019....Keep Reading
Praise God for his work among us during our recent Season of Discernment! These past months have simply been an intensification of what All Saints always strives to be—a people marked by prayer who listen to and are guided by the Holy Spirit in all things. Our desire for this season was to engage the entire parish to ensure that our journey toward building a Mission Abbey was a shared one, unified and in step with the Spirit.
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