Coming Home

As part of the Vision Council process of shaping the future of All Saints, parishioners are offering stories of why All Saints means so much for them. We're posting them on the web site and here on this blog. If you have a story you'd like to share, send it to Paul Greatbatch.

Our first story comes from Bethel Bose, who serves All Saints in a variety of ways, including our Medicine Cabinet and outreach committee.

In a committee meeting the other evening it was suggested that we share some personal stories relating to the church and our Faith. The question was put to us "what do you think social concern means?" I hope that you will share some of your own experiences.

I started attending All Saints in 1954 when I graduated from nursing school. I was married here, and all 4 of my children were baptized here.

In 1982 I left All Saints and Indianapolis. I moved to Mississippi to continue my education. After I graduated, and for the next 20 years, I lived and worked in Mississippi, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and finally Northern Indiana. In each of the places that I lived, I tried to find a Church home that I felt comfortable in. I tried many Episcopal churches in 4 different states as I moved around the country. I found most of the churches that I attended to be rather cold and unfriendly. I was in one community for 12 years. I don't think the priest ever even knew my name. It was lonely and eventually I quit going to church altogether.

After I retired I moved home to Indianapolis. I had been here for several months when one Sunday morning I awoke feeling that I needed to go to church, and I decided to visit All Saints

When I walked in, I could feel something that had been missing in my life for a very long time. There was a sense of something special going on here. It came from the greeters, the Priests, and from the people who introduced themselves to me after the service. Actually, it felt to me like it was in the air and in the building itself. Many people greeted me that morning and introduced themselves. It was pretty overwhelming. I experienced a feeling of great Peace.

Finally, I had come home.

Visioning Council Report by Gordon Chastain

Visioning Council Report

January, 2011

The Visioning Group called together by Tanya in the summer of 2010 began its work with personal stories of the impact of the parish on our own lives and the lives of others. Many of the stories centered around one or more of three themes – a welcoming and safe place for wounded persons of all sorts and conditions, the historic and pivotal role of the parish in response to societal issues, and magnificent and meaningful worship. Those themes were encapsulated in the adoption of a vision statement:

We believe ... that something special happens to us when we worship God ... in building upon our extraordinary history as a beacon for social concerns ... in welcoming people without exception.
A concrete result of that belief in worship and welcome was the suggestion to move the Baptismal Font, the symbol of welcome into the household of faith, to its new position at the head of center aisle as one enters the main doors.

On January 12, 2011, Tanya called the group back together to deal with the question of “what next?” Again we told stories about times since this visioning process began when worship has resonated with us, about when we have been beacons of concern or witnessed such beacons, and about welcoming. The group also attempted to define “social concern” – with “concern” suggesting what God lays on our hearts as a call to response and with “social” suggesting systemic societal issues. The group’s conversation soon identified a systemic, societal issue weighing heavily on our hearts – namely, the fear-based anger and selfish rage of our culture illustrated in everything from road rage to political attack to media frenzy. What could All Saints do about that? We quickly identified both things that we are doing constructively and suggestions for ways we could move forward in doing more. Current activity and future directions could be seen under the following headings:

1. Telling stories – continuing to share vignettes from our own lives illustrating the power of unity over division, hope over despair, reaching out over selfishness, etc.
2. Setting up a “school for the times” – offering help and training in and opportunities to practice meditation, prayer, theological reflection and a wide variety of other spiritual resources; and identifying and offering training in techniques for how to talk to others about difficult and divisive things.
3. Facilitating for a wider public conversations about difficult and divisive things
4. using formats and techniques which offer safety from attack.
5. Partnering across ethnic, cultural, economic, racial, and religious divides to accomplish the above objectives.
6. Establishing a structure in the parish which would focus on and facilitate these objectives.

The Haitian Earthquake, One Year Later

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is the largest diocese by population of the Episcopal church, and its cathedral as well as many churches and schools were destroyed.

Last night, American Public Media's The Story ran an interview about efforts to support one of those schools, the Holy Trinity Music School in Port au Prince.

On the eve of the anniversary of the earthquake, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori also pledged continued support, both material and spiritual, to the people of Haiti and the Episcopal Church there.

We continue to work with and pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. The Episcopal Church is urgently engaged in supporting the rebuilding of the cathedral complex, in addition to mission partnerships all over the nation. We hope for significant and measurable progress in the coming months in improving the lives of Haitians, helping to restore livelihoods, and stabilizing the institutions of communities and the nation.

For our part, All Saints continues to include the Church in Haiti in our prayers at Sunday mass. Elsewhere in the diocese, Christ Church Cathedral will observe the anniversary with a memorial evensong at 5:15 this evening. The Cathedral has also issued a matching challenge to encourage other churches in the diocese to help rebuild, a mission opportunity All Saints would do well to consider.

Image via Episcopal News Service

Secession Vote Starting in Southern Sudan

In less than an hour, voters in Southern Sudan will go to the polls to decide whether to secede from Sudan. The vote is part of a peace deal reached 5 years ago that ended a 20-year long civil war. Southern Sudan is the home of the Anglican Diocese of Bor. In addition to being the home of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Bor is also one of the partner dioceses of the Diocese of Indianapolis.

The vote is widely expected to be in favor of secession, but whatever the outcome, there will be wrenching choices ahead for both North and South Sudan. Pray that the results are respected peacefully, and that all in positions of power may exercise their authority wisely and in the pursuit of the common good.

All Saints stories to round out the Christmas season

As the Christmas season draws to a close, three members of our parish had stories to share about ways our parish has touched the lives of members of our community.

Thanks so much to the members of the parish who stayed after church on December 12 to write Christmas cards to veterans getting treated at the Roudebush VA Medical Center on W. 10th Street.

Susan Thompson delivered the cards. She writes:

Our 100 We Believe cards were delivered to the VA hospital Tuesday. Hopefully, they'll add some Christmas spirit to the recipients.

It was an eye-opener for me and I'l really glad we did it. When I was driving out of the parking garage, a group of young men were walking to their van. I had noticed them in the lobby earlier (they were cute!).

What I didn't notice was one of them was walking on two metal prosthetic legs.

And he was just a kid in his 20s.

We owe our veterans so much.

And our own Stephen Little, a Vietnam veteran, adds this story:

This is a small world story. Last Sunday at coffee Brendan circulated Christmas cards to be signed by parishioners. He said the cards were destined for Veterans as an appreciation for their service. (This was just before Mark began his presentation for the coffee hour.) Yesterday at noon I was sitting in the Roudebush VA Hospital waiting for a blood test restul. A gentleman walked into the waiting room and presented me (...and everyone else) with a card from local churches. He thanked me for my service and gave m an All Saints Christmas card!

Finally, Jane Billman and the good work she does through All Saints has attracted the notice of the Kroger across the street. During a routine grocery shopping trip this week, the store manager stopped her. Another customer had dropped off two bags of grocery, mistakenly thinking that Kroger was taking a collection for another food bank. The store manager kept the groceries, and gave them to Jane when she stopped in so she could drop them in our collection bins for the Damien Center.

Amy Bailey to Preach on December 26

Amy was born and raised in Manhattan, KS. She got her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University in Music Education and her M. Div. from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in 2001, and was ordained in the American Baptist Churches USA. Amy just finished 9 years of pastoral ministry in August. She has a 15-year old daughter, Elizabeth, who is a sophomore at Franklin Community High School. Amy is glad to be openly attending Episcopal worship at last!

Baked Goods & Toilet Paper

Today the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention and Christ Church Cathedral hosted the annual memorial service for the homeless members of our community who died in 2010. This was part of the National Homeless Persons Memorial Service. All Saints parishioners provided desserts for the community meal that followed. Later in the day, All Saints helped out with a toilet paper shortage at the Damien Center. Patricia Griffin reports:

The service at the Cathedral was wonderful, as usual. Lance and I were both there, and we also saw Mary Roberts.

The pews were nearly filled, and two testimonials were of course heart-breaking, yet there is hope now for both of these individuals as they are getting on with their life and now off the street. There were 36 people that were honored today that died in 2010, which was down from about 50 in 2009. The service concluded with a moment of silence and 37 tolls of the church bells, one for each of those who had died, and one for those known only to God.

Prior to the service, we picked up the lemon pound cakes from Jane Billman, that she and Brendan baked at Jane's house on Saturday, for the event. Jane indicated they would feed 90 people. The organizers from CHIP were thrilled to get the home baked goods for the luncheon today.

On another note, Lance and I stopped by the Church this afternoon and picked up items for the Damien Center and delivered them. It must have been a premonition they might need what was in the contents, as there were several packages of toilet paper from AS, and they only had one left on the shelf.

News about other Episcopal observations of the National Homeless Persons Memorial Service can be found at the Episcopal Cafe.

The worship bulletin included a special prayer for those in need:

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

O God
When I have food,
Help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
Help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a warm home,
Help me to remember the homeless;
When I am without pain,
Help me to remember those who suffer;
And remembering,
Helm me to destroy my complacency,
And bestir my compassion,
Make me concerned enough to help
By word and deed, those who cry out
For what we take for granted. Amen.

Anonymous,
Prayers for the Common Good