All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 1, Number 12, April 27, 2008

From time to time through Christian history, controversies and arguments have sprung up over what has been described as the Doctrine of Election.  Put simply, this refers to the idea that God has chosen us, for salvation, from the very beginning and there is very little we can do or undo to change God’s saving choice. “For by grace we have been saved through faith . . . Not our own doing, [but]  the gift of God, which God prepared beforehand . . . .”  (Ephesians 2:8-10)  While Doctrines of Election (when they have to do with salvation) can seem confining, contrived and restrictive, we sometimes experience those same feelings at the local parish.  The difference is that at the parish level, we have those feelings not so much about Election, but about elections.

In too many parishes, when it comes to parish elections for leaders, few people really pay attention because it is assumed that all of this is simply a formality.  Parishioners imagine that the Rector has made quiet calls to a select few, whose names eventually turn up on a ballot. The same people are chosen year after year, and that’s just the way it is.

But that’s NOT the way it is.  And that’s not the way I hope it will be. 

I enjoy a Vestry that challenges me and argues with me and helps me think as clearly and faithfully as possible.  This is healthy for the parish.  I pray that we continue to have a Vestry filled with people who are confident enough in their own faith to lose an election or to win an election.  (And I’m not sure which one requires more faith.)

Next month, on Sunday, May 18, we have our Annual Meeting.  Among other business, we elect three general members of Vestry and a Junior Warden.  New candidates are Bill Miller and Bob Publicover.  Returning candidates are Ray Myrtle, Jim Solomon, and Tony Domenico.  Please notice the materials in the Undercroft relating to the Annual Meeting.  Please pray for those who are standing for Vestry and pray for our parish, that we might live out a good, faithful, and dynamic doctrine of elections.  John Beddingfield

Your prayers are asked for . . . Robert Osborne, Joanne Marx, Mary Beth McCutcheon, Linda, Isaac Borocz, Delia Jokanovich, Jean Watson, Bryan Powell,  Roger Dixon and family, Veronica Horn, Walter Jason, Martha Holdgate, Chip Meyers, Mary Backus, Mike Berman, Xavier de la Renaudiere, Trent, Regina Dading, Julia Gutierrez, and for Ted Field.  In addition to this prayer list, if you wish to participate in our ongoing Internet Prayer Circle please contact Vicki Lowe.

Around the Parish .  . . Attendance on Sunday, April 20 at 8:30 a.m.: 51, at 11:00 a.m.: 122. . . Total pledge offerings received this week were $9,232.70.  The total plate offering received this week was $1,054.50.

Liturgical Notes . . . During Eastertide (the season from Easter Sunday through the Day of Pentecost) the Paschal Candle burns near the high altar, there is no prayer of confession on Sundays, and the liturgy is filled with alleluias . . . The flowers at the High Altar are given by Barry Huber to the glory of God and in celebration of Butch Bradburn’s birthday on May 1^st . . .  The flowers at the Mary Chapel are given by Betty Bird & Daniel Callis to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for the service of Artie Roach . . . The Sanctuary Candle burns in memory of J. Vance Lewis, given by James W. Lewis.

Cookies for Children . . . During the month of May it will be our turn to provide cookies for the children at the Episcopal Center for Children.  Please bring homemade or store-bought cookies to the parish kitchen, make sure they are plainly marked, “Episcopal Center for Children,” and place them in the marked receptacle.  If you have questions please speak with Merriam Woodhouse.

A List of Eligible Voters . . . for parish elections at the Annual Meeting on May 18 is posted in the narthex and the Undercroft.  Please check the list and see that your name is included.  Though the official date for including names on this roster has passed, the Vestry can meet and add names if necessary.  If you are not listed on the posted roster, please contact the parish office. 

Episcopal Men’s Fellowship will gather on Wednesday, April 30, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Undercroft. The evening will spotlight the traditions and history of the Kentucky Derby.  Appropriately, the evening will include Mint Juleps.  Please sign up on the list in the Undercroft if you are able to attend.

When were you baptized? . . . In an effort to reconcile the parish records, we’re looking for baptism dates for many of our parishioners.  If you have a copy of your baptismal certificate, then that does the trick.  If you have a relative who remembers your baptism, then tell us about that, and we’ll figure out the date.  If you know that you were baptized but have no idea as to the particulars, then see Robin Jones in the Undercroft on Pentecost (May 11).  She will have a calendar and will invite you to find a feast day in your first year of birth, and we can call that your baptismal day. 

The Young Adults Ministry Network of the Diocese of Washington is sponsoring a retreat, “Awakening to the Sprit” May 9-10 at the Cathedral College.  Retreat participants will learn several Christian prayer practices for everyday spirituality through the guidance of a young clergy couple, The Reverends Megan Stewart-Sicking and Dr. Joseph Stewart-Sicking.  To sign up, click on “Awakening to the Spirit” at  http://www.edow.org/news/calendar/upcoming.html.  Space is limited.  The cost is $25.  Childcare and lunch are provided on Saturday.  For more information, contact Norman Whitmire . . . The Koinonia Young Adult Fellowship has canceled its brunch previously scheduled for this afternoon.

At The Adult Forum this Sunday at 10:00 a.m., “Eastern Orthodoxy,” will be led by parishioner Dan Davis.  Dan will lead us in a discussion of how Eastern Orthodoxy, as a faith tradition, celebrates the mysteries of creation, incarnation, and resurrection.  Our aims in this Adult Forum will be to better understand the origins of Eastern Orthodoxy and to explore these rituals and practices, all with the hope of discerning their relevance for our own lives as faithful Anglicans.

Readings for teh Daily Office come from the lectionary in the back of the Book of Common Prayer.  Psalms are traditionally read according to the headings in the Prayer Book corresponding to the day of the month. 

Calendar for the Week

All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church

The Reverend John Beddingfield, rector; The Reverend Christopher Worthley, adjunct clergy; Mr. Isaac Borocz, parish administrator; Mr. Arthur Roach, interim director of music and organist; Mr. Oscar Prado, sexton

2300 Cathedral Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008-1505
Voice: 202-232-4244, Fax: 202-232-8593
Email: allsouls1@aol.com

www.allsoulsdc.org