All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 2, Number 2, December 7, 2008

Anonymous Generosity

I know a church where some of the parishioners are fiercely competitive.  They compete in trying to contribute without anyone knowing about it. They make a game out of donating to things, sponsoring events, contributing to this or that, but hiding the name of the donor from the public. For special feast days, there might be a brass quintet supporting the music of the choir, and the bulletin will simply say, “Today’s brass is made possible by the gift of an anonymous donor.” A struggling family might receive a check from the rector’s discretionary fund with a note saying, “Best wishes from an anonymous parishioner.” Scholarships are funded, programs are begun, mission trips are paid for, many of them, anonymously.

I think of this church as I think of St. Nicholas of Myra, whose official feast day is December 6. At All Souls, we honor him at our children’s Christmas party on December 13. And, of course, this is this same fourth century bishop named Nicholas whose life has morphed into modern conceptions of Saint Nick and Santa Claus.

One of my favorite stories about Nicholas has to do with a family that had three daughters. As the young women grew up, it became known to Nicholas that the family had no money for dowries for the women to be properly married. The only options for them in that culture seemed to be abject poverty or prostitution. But Nicholas saved them from that predicament. He saved them by throwing a bag of gold through their window, anonymously. Some sources say he threw it into the chimney (and you can see where that has led to in modern legends.) But the point is that they didn’t know who had shone this kindness to them. They didn’t know who had been so generous, but it changed their lives and it made things better.

I wonder what we can do to encourage a culture of anonymous generosity. What would it be like if we were able to do things for other people without always needing recognition or credit? What would it look like for us to go out of our way to remain hidden, but give to someone who is needy? What might it look like if we were to incorporate a bit of the spirit of Saint Nicholas into our gift-giving?  As we move through Advent and into Christmas, may the anonymous generosity of St. Nicholas guide our giving, blessing us and blessing the world. John Beddingfield

Your prayers are asked for . . . Dorothy Whitmore, Libby Davis, Susan Morrison, Chris Cobb, Suzanne Eyman, Landis Vance, Vickie Drell, Stephanie Russell, Ruth & Fred Huber, Jim St. George, Martha Holdgate, Chip Meyers, Mary Backus, Anne Marie Morotte, Ron Biggs, Steve Coon, Dorothy, Cindy Harvey, Jerome & Mary Ann Gariff, Carol Atnip, Walter Jason, Arthur Andrew Warren, Robert Osborne, Mary Beth McCutcheon, Bryan Powell, Regina Dading, Julia Gutierrez, and Ted Field. Pray also for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Jack Severson, David Jones, and Timothy Zlatich . . . If you wish to participate in our ongoing Internet Prayer Circle please contact Vicki Lowe at lowevg1@verizon.net.

Stewardship update . . . To date, we have received 113 pledges, totaling $426,184. Our goal is 175 pledges & $657,963. If you have not filled out a pledge card, please do so as soon as possible so that your pledge can be counted toward the 2009 budget.  The Finance Committee meets this Sunday to study trimming the budget.  Copies of the current asking budget are available in the Undercroft.

Around the Parish . . . The Adult Forum this Sunday is led by Stu Edwards and focuses on the life and writings of C. S. Lewis.  Please join us in the Undercroft at 10 a.m. . . . The Wise and Mature luncheon for December is on Wednesday, December 10, following the Noon Mass . . . The Advent Dinner and Bible Study on Isaiah continues Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Undercroft . . . Attendance on Thanksgiving Day, 22; Attendance on Sunday, November 30 at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 36; at the 11:00 a.m. Mass, 103 . . . Total pledge offerings this week were $9,812.04. The plate offering this week was $1,217.00.     

Liturgical Notes . . . The Sanctuary Candle is offered to the glory of God and in memory of Daryll Timothy Tolson on the 4th anniversary of his death, by Gene Sexton.

Special Christmas Donations . . . If you would like to contribute to the Christmas decorations or special music in memory of, or in thanksgiving for a loved one, or thanksgiving for a special event, please mail your check to the parish office with a note including the name of the person or persons you are honoring or remembering.  Make checks payable to All Souls Church and specify a donation for flowers, music, or both.  Donations will be accepted until the end of the year, but must be received by December 21 in order to be acknowledged in the bulletin.

New to All Souls? . . . Please join us for a newcomers wine and cheese on Sunday, December 14 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Undercroft to learn more about being a part of our parish family.

Toys for the St. John Hospital . . . Help provide stuffed animals or art supplies for the pediatric patients at the St. John Hospital in Jerusalem. Bring the items to the Undercroft during Advent. The children served by the hospital come from very poor families. These gifts mean a great deal to the young children who find themselves in a very unfamiliar hospital setting. Our gifts will be shipped with medical supplies to the hospital after January 1, 2009. Thank you for your caring support. Pat Dresser 

saiah -   banks of candlesaiah 38-55)
The Book of the Anointed Conquerer (Isaiah 56-66)enturies. ssiah.irst, Ambrose saiJoy of Christmas Concert Features a Mary Hitchcock Poem . . . One of Mary Hitchcock’s poems, “The Animals’  Christmas,” has been selected by the Cathedral Choral Society for the lyrics to a new anthem to be sung at its Joy of Christmas Concert, which will take place on Saturday, December 13, and Sunday, December 14, at 4 p.m. at the Cathedral. There will also be a shorter concert for children on Saturday, December 13 at Noon, where the anthem will also be sung. The composer of the anthem is Alice Parker, considered by many to be one of the greatest composers of church music alive today. The anthem was sponsored by Joe and Embry Howell in honor of the memory of their first child, Katherine, who would have turned forty this November. She died of a heart ailment just before her first birthday. Tickets may be purchased on line https://tickets.cathedral.org/public/ or by calling the Cathedral Choral Society at (877)537-2228.

Arts Mart at All Souls . . . An exhibition of photographs and paintings from members of the All Souls Community continues in the Undercroft on Saturday mornings through December 13, from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.

Endowment Grant Applications . . . Applications for grants from the All Souls Endowment Fund for 2009 are available in the parish office. Grants may be made for projects in ministry or mission as well as for capital improvements. All applications are due in the office by February 7, 2009 and will be acted upon by the Board and Vestry.

I know a church where some of the parishioners are fiercely competitive.  They compete in trying to contribute without anyone knowing about it. They make a game out of donating to things, sponsoring events, contributing to this or that, but hiding the name of the donor from the public. For special feast days, there might be a brass quintet supporting the music of the choir, and the bulletin will simply say, “Today’s brass is made possible by the gift of an anonymous donor.” A struggling family might receive a check from the rector’s discretionary fund with a note saying, “Best wishes from an anonymous parishioner.” Scholarships are funded, programs are begun, mission trips are paid for, many of them, anonymously.

I think of this church as I think of St. Nicholas of Myra, whose official feast day is December 6. At All Souls, we honor him at our children’s Christmas party on December 13. And, of course, this is this same fourth century bishop named Nicholas whose life has morphed into modern conceptions of Saint Nick and Santa Claus.

One of my favorite stories about Nicholas has to do with a family that had three daughters. As the young women grew up, it became known to Nicholas that the family had no money for dowries for the women to be properly married. The only options for them in that culture seemed to be abject poverty or prostitution. But Nicholas saved them from that predicament. He saved them by throwing a bag of gold through their window, anonymously. Some sources say he threw it into the chimney (and you can see where that has led to in modern legends.) But the point is that they didn’t know who had shone this kindness to them. They didn’t know who had been so generous, but it changed their lives and it made things better.

I wonder what we can do to encourage a culture of anonymous generosity. What would it be like if we were able to do things for other people without always needing recognition or credit? What would it look like for us to go out of our way to remain hidden, but give to someone who is needy? What might it look like if we were to incorporate a bit of the spirit of Saint Nicholas into our gift-giving?  As we move through Advent and into Christmas, may the anonymous generosity of St. Nicholas guide our giving, blessing us and blessing the world. John Beddingfield

Your prayers are asked for . . . Dorothy Whitmore, Libby Davis, Susan Morrison, Chris Cobb, Suzanne Eyman, Landis Vance, Vickie Drell, Stephanie Russell, Ruth & Fred Huber, Jim St. George, Martha Holdgate, Chip Meyers, Mary Backus, Anne Marie Morotte, Ron Biggs, Steve Coon, Dorothy, Cindy Harvey, Jerome & Mary Ann Gariff, Carol Atnip, Walter Jason, Arthur Andrew Warren, Robert Osborne, Mary Beth McCutcheon, Bryan Powell, Regina Dading, Julia Gutierrez, and Ted Field. Pray also for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Jack Severson, David Jones, and Timothy Zlatich . . . If you wish to participate in our ongoing Internet Prayer Circle please contact Vicki Lowe at lowevg1@verizon.net.

Stewardship update . . . To date, we have received 113 pledges, totaling $426,184. Our goal is 175 pledges & $657,963. If you have not filled out a pledge card, please do so as soon as possible so that your pledge can be counted toward the 2009 budget.  The Finance Committee meets this Sunday to study trimming the budget.  Copies of the current asking budget are available in the Undercroft.

Around the Parish . . . The Adult Forum this Sunday is led by Stu Edwards and focuses on the life and writings of C. S. Lewis.  Please join us in the Undercroft at 10 a.m. . . . The Wise and Mature luncheon for December is on Wednesday, December 10, following the Noon Mass . . . The Advent Dinner and Bible Study on Isaiah continues Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Undercroft . . . Attendance on Thanksgiving Day, 22; Attendance on Sunday, November 30 at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 36; at the 11:00 a.m. Mass, 103 . . . Total pledge offerings this week were $9,812.04. The plate offering this week was $1,217.00.     

Liturgical Notes . . . The Sanctuary Candle is offered to the glory of God and in memory of Daryll Timothy Tolson on the 4th anniversary of his death, by Gene Sexton.

Special Christmas Donations . . . If you would like to contribute to the Christmas decorations or special music in memory of, or in thanksgiving for a loved one, or thanksgiving for a special event, please mail your check to the parish office with a note including the name of the person or persons you are honoring or remembering.  Make checks payable to All Souls Church and specify a donation for flowers, music, or both.  Donations will be accepted until the end of the year, but must be received by December 21 in order to be acknowledged in the bulletin.

New to All Souls? . . . Please join us for a newcomers wine and cheese on Sunday, December 14 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Undercroft to learn more about being a part of our parish family.

Toys for the St. John Hospital . . . Help provide stuffed animals or art supplies for the pediatric patients at the St. John Hospital in Jerusalem. Bring the items to the Undercroft during Advent. The children served by the hospital come from very poor families. These gifts mean a great deal to the young children who find themselves in a very unfamiliar hospital setting. Our gifts will be shipped with medical supplies to the hospital after January 1, 2009. Thank you for your caring support. Pat Dresser 

saiah -   banks of candlesaiah 38-55)
The Book of the Anointed Conquerer (Isaiah 56-66)enturies. ssiah.irst, Ambrose saiJoy of Christmas Concert Features a Mary Hitchcock Poem . . . One of Mary Hitchcock’s poems, “The Animals’  Christmas,” has been selected by the Cathedral Choral Society for the lyrics to a new anthem to be sung at its Joy of Christmas Concert, which will take place on Saturday, December 13, and Sunday, December 14, at 4 p.m. at the Cathedral. There will also be a shorter concert for children on Saturday, December 13 at Noon, where the anthem will also be sung. The composer of the anthem is Alice Parker, considered by many to be one of the greatest composers of church music alive today. The anthem was sponsored by Joe and Embry Howell in honor of the memory of their first child, Katherine, who would have turned forty this November. She died of a heart ailment just before her first birthday. Tickets may be purchased on line https://tickets.cathedral.org/public/ or by calling the Cathedral Choral Society at (877)537-2228.

Arts Mart at All Souls . . . An exhibition of photographs and paintings from members of the All Souls Community continues in the Undercroft on Saturday mornings through December 13, from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.

Endowment Grant Applications . . . Applications for grants from the All Souls Endowment Fund for 2009 are available in the parish office. Grants may be made for projects in ministry or mission as well as for capital improvements. All applications are due in the office by February 7, 2009 and will be acted upon by the Board and Vestry.

Readings for the Daily Office