Giving Thanks for Our Affiliate Clergy

From this morning's service celebrating the ministry of our affiliate clergy:

Toward the end of his Gospel, St. John the Evangelist recounts the following exchange between Jesus and Peter:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep."

For many years and especially the last three years, Father Tom Honderich, Father Dan Billman, and Father Michael Stichweh have embodied the Christian service Jesus lays upon Peter. As Christian people, we require spiritual sustenance in the form of regular worship and receiving Holy Communion. these three men, tirelessly and without complaint, have served at mass on Sundays and Wednesday, have faithfully preached the Gospel, and have been with many of us individually during our time of need. Truly they have fed Jesus' flock, and they are an example to us of our own calling to selfless service to God.

Now seems an appropriate time to recognize the gifts Tom, Dan and Michael have given us. We now eagerly anticipate the arrival of our new rector in a few short weeks. Tom, Dan, and Michael will then take a well-deserved break for a few months. This is not a goodbye, just an acknowledgment for a hard job well done. Let's stand up and show Tom, Dan and Michael how much we appreciate them with a round of applause.

Tom, Dan, and Michael, you have generously given this congregation great gifts of time, love, and service. We hope in some small way to repay your generosity with our gift to you. We celebrate the holy days of this church by using a special wine, Six Grapes Port. From this congregation, I present to each of you a bottle of this port. Whenever you drink it, remember the love the congregation of All Saints has for each of you.

- Brendan O'Sullivan-Hale, August 26, 2012

Prayer: Almighty God, we praise and bless you for the ministry of Father Dan, Father Tom, and Father Michael, whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to lead our worship and to preach the Gospel in this place. We thank you that a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and we ask your blessing on them today and always; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.

A Letter from Mother Suzanne Wille

The letter below from Mother Suzanne Wille, who will soon be joining us as our rector, was sent to the all people on the All Saints mailing list today.


The Feast of the Transfiguration 2012

Dear Friends,

Today we celebrate the moment when Jesus revealed his divine nature to Peter, John, and James; his face shining like the sun, his clothes dazzling white, Jesus was joined by Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop, as the voice of God the Father declared, “This is my Beloved Son; listen to him.” In that moment, the earthly veil was drawn aside, allowing the disciples a glimpse of the divine. Peter declares they ought to build tents so that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah can stay put; when the Father speaks, they are terrified. 

The disciples’ reactions are understandable. It is tempting to try to domesticate our wild, surprising God, and it is understandable to feel terror when standing on holy ground, but, friends, I believe God is on the move in our lives and that we are about to enter some holy territory together. 

What All Saints has been up to and continues to live inspires me; from the moment my spouse Tracey found your profile online and told me I “had” to take a look, I knew that God was calling me to join you so that, together, we could worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and further grow your amazing tradition of radical welcome. Not only am I eager to join you, but I am also eager to share with you my love of Anglo-Catholic liturgy, experience in developing programs of Gospel-based outreach and radical welcome, and passion and skills in church growth—in numbers, in spiritual depth, and as disciples of Christ. 

In many ways this is a return for me. When I left IU Bloomington with a master’s degree in 1996, I never imagined that I would return to Indiana, at least not until your search committee and vestry bowled me over with their warmth, faithfulness, and honesty. All that you have done and are doing made me believe that All Saints is a parish where I would “fit” as a priest; my sense was confirmed in the last half hour of our two-day interview. As the last dinner was ending, one of the search committee members looked at me earnestly and said, “I have one more question.” I held my breath because I could tell it was important, and I hoped to have enough brain power left to answer well. He then asked, “Do you think you could love us?” Tears filled my eyes, the molecules in the room shifted, the faces around the table shone like the sun, and I was standing on holy ground. I took a deep breath and answered: “Yes.”

We are entering holy ground, friends, as we get to know one another while we worship and pray, serve and play together. I dream that we will grow in many ways together—that more people will join us, we will deepen in our relationship with God, and we will engage with the neighborhood and the city as a holy place of hope and welcome. But before any of that, during all of it, my greatest hope is that we allow ourselves to be transformed by our wild God, that we allow ourselves to shine like the sun, and that we love God and one another. 

I can hardly wait until we get started together in September!

Faithfully, Mother Suzanne+

Results from the All Saints Yard Sale

Saturday's yard sale was a big success. We raised approximately $1200, which will be divided among the Parish Events Committee, the Dayspring Center, the Tinker Street Initiative, and Holy Life Missionary Baptist Church (the congregation worshipping in our parish hall while they recover from the recent fire).

Thanks to all the volunteers who came out on Saturday and to the donors who provided inventory. And special thanks to our fearless coordinators, Patricia Griffin and Lance Ratliff.

Amy Bailey Preaches on the Beheading of John the Baptist

Yesterday Amy Bailey did a wonderful job taking the story of the beheading of John the Baptist and finding the resurrection narrative in it. If you missed it, or just wanted to read it again, Amy has graciously allowed us to reproduce her sermon below.

The readings for this Sunday were: Amos 7:7-15, Ps. 85:8-13, Eph. 1:3-14, Mark 6:14-29

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from Mark and Father Tom inviting me to choose one of several available Sundays in the preaching rotation here at All Saints. They knew I was looking forward to an opportunity to preach, and I have been, and so I chose this Sunday, and then I looked up the Gospel reading for today, and realized that it was about a Baptist preacher who preached an unwelcome message and was subsequently imprisoned and (gulp) beheaded. 

This story of a birthday dinner party for the rich, famous and powerful, featuring entertainment by the host’s “princess” of a daughter, concluding with a vengeance plot against the personal enemy of the host’s wife – sound like nothing so much as an episode of 21st century reality TV. The marriage of Herod and Herodias, his half-brother’s wife, comes to you courtesy of Jerry Springer. Herodias’ plan to do away with the man who dissed her husband is straight out of “Real Housewives of Ancient Galilee.” And the lurid finish to the evening (and to John the Baptist), following on the heels of some delightful choreography by the house’s young daughter, may be the next episode of “Dance Moms.”

Fun things to do at General Convention

So General Convention, the triennial gathering of the entire Episcopal Church is in town. Preliminary work is already under way, but things really get going Thursday, July 5, and run through July 12. Most events take place at the convention center or the JW Marriott. What's an All Saints member without an official role to do?

• Worship. Starting Thursday, there will be a community mass every day at 9:30am in the JW Marriott. On July 12, mass will be at 11:30. Note that on Sunday All Saints will cancel its 10am mass; we encourage you to go to the General Convention mass instead. You do not need to register as a visitor to attend any worship service.
• Celebrate: The mass on Sunday, July 8 is a huge festive gathering. We are excited that All Saints will be participating as a host to the delegations from our diocesan partners, Bor and Brasilia, thanks to a grant from the All Saints endowment. Contact Patricia Griffin for details on how to be seated with our guests at the Sunday mass. Also, at the Indiana Day celebration at Victory Field immediately following the mass, stop by the hospitality suite for our guests between 3-5pm. All Saints is sponsoring refreshments for the reception.
• Observe the legislative sessions. All sessions of the House of Deputies and most sessions of the House of Bishops are open to visitors. You can find the legislative calendar on the General Convention website.
• Check out the exhibit hall. Exhibitors from dozens of organizations within the Episcopal Church and other religious organizations will be at the convention. Our own Brother Francis Jonathan Bullock and his compatriots will be there -- stop by and say hi!
• A daypass for visitors costs $20. But volunteers get in free on the day of their shift. Volunteering is a great way to meet others in the diocese and around the country. Volunteer here.

There are some unofficial events worth mentioning. This is by no means an exhaustive list. You do not need to register as a visitor to attend any of these events.

• Solidarity rally and march with Hyatt workers. The Hyatt and other hotels in Indianapolis routinely hire temporary workers to clean rooms to avoid paying benefits. But maids who work as temporary workers are then blacklisted by the Hyatt as ineligible to be hired on full time. Whatever the human resources merits of the policy, the policy violates Christian ethics. The rally will begin on the steps of the State House on Thursday, July 5 at 4pm, and will march to the Hyatt from there. The rally will conclude at 6pm. E-mail Dianne Aid at sanmateo921@yahoo.com for more information.
•  Acts 8 Gathering for Prayer and Action. Bloggers Susan Brown Snook, Scott Gunn, and Tom Ferguson are hosting a visioning gathering for anyone who cares to attend. The budget and church structure are very hot topics at this year's convention. This gets into very wonky territory. But these folks are trying to do some visioning for what the future structure of the church might look like, understanding that how a church spends its money tells you a lot about its theology. Young people are especially encouraged to attend. Thursday, July 5 at 9:30pm. Capitol II Room at the Westin.
• Integrity Reception and Mass. For many participants at General Convention, the Integrity mass is one of the most inspiring and memorable events. Bishop Mary Glasspool will preside; Bishop Gene Robinson will preach. Monday, July 9 at 8:30pm, Sagamore Ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center. The mass will be preceded by a reception honoring Louie Crew, Integrity's founder, starting at 7pm, outside the Sagamore Ballroom.

Upcoming Service Cancellations

Due to the Independence Day holiday, there will be no 6:00 mass on Wednesday, July 4. Have a safe and happy holiday!

All Saints will cancel its 10am mass on Sunday, July 8. Please attend mass at the General Convention instead. It is located at the JW Marriott at 9:30am. Members are encouraged to carpool - arrive at All Saints by 8:30 on Sunday morning and we'll arrange rides down.

The 8am mass on Sunday will proceed as usual.

All Saints Calls Mother Suzanne Wille as Rector

A joint message from the Vestry and the Search Committee: Earlier this month, after a year of deliberation, the Search Committee unanimously recommended to the Vestry a candidate for our open rector position. The Vestry voted unanimously to issue a call.  We are pleased, proud and excited to announce that the Reverend E. Suzanne Wille (pronounced 'Willy') has accepted the call and will become the next Rector of All Saints.

Mother Suzanne was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Raldolph-Macon Woman's College in 1992.  She received a Master of Arts in English degree from Indiana University in 1996.  She taught English in a Catholic high school for girls in Chicago for ten years before discerning her call to the ordained ministry. She received her Master of Divinity degree and the E. William Muehl Prize in Preaching from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University in 2009. While a seminarian intern at St. Paul’s, Norwalk, famous for its “smells and bells” and its theology of Radical Welcome, she came to love Anglo-Catholic liturgy, to long for worship that was timeless, steeped in beauty and mystery. Mother Suzanne is currently serving as an Interim Pastor at Christ Church in Warwick, New York.  

When we met Mother Suzanne, we had the opportunity to share a Solemn Mass with her as Presider and Preacher.  The Search Committee and Vestry were all impressed with her attention to the liturgy and her preaching, and we are confident that you will be as well.  She subscribes to the progressive Anglo-Catholicism that we try to exercise at All Saints.  She is passionate about social justice, outreach and stewardship. Mother Suzanne enjoys knitting, running, and reading novels (often Victorian or 20th century British).  

Mother Suzanne and Tracey Lemon, her partner of twelve years, were married in New York state earlier this year.  They will be relocating to Indianapolis later this summer, and Mother Suzanne will assume her duties as Rector on or about September 12.  Her first mass will be a celebration of the Feast of the Holy Cross on Friday, September 14 at 6pm, and her first Sunday mass will be on Sunday, September 16 at 10am.