All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 2, Number 12, February 15, 2009

A MONK AMONG US

On Sunday, February, 22, the Rev. Dr. Adam McCoy will be our preacher at both Masses. Adam is a monk of the Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican religious community founded in New York City in 1884. Some from our parish have visited the main Holy Cross Monastery and Guest House in West Park, New York. In addition, Holy Cross has a priory in Toronto and a monastery in Grahamstown, South Africa. Sadly, the Order lost its Santa Barbara retreat house to fire on November 14, 2008.

Adam is a good friend and a fascinating person. He is an early medievalist by training and has been a monk for 35 years. He has served as Prior of two monasteries, as Novice Master, and as monk-not-in-residence when he served as a parish priest from 1992 to 2008. Currently, Adam is based in West Park and serves as Novice Master for the Order, librarian for the monastery, and helps oversee the community’s finances.

Today, there are slightly more than 100 Anglican religious communities all over the world. Most are very small, but in many cases, their size allows them to be flexible in their ministries and adapt to changing communities and needs. For example, the Order of the Holy Cross, located just north of New York City, has developed a busy ministry of retreats. The Community of St. John the Evangelist, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, provides worship and prayer for many of the students in its area. All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor, located in Catonsville, Maryland, is one of the most traditional communities in the Communion, where the nuns wear full habits and dedicate themselves to a life of prayer and hospitality. With a very different theological outlook, the Order of St. Helena includes sisters who serve as priests, counselors, teachers, retreat leaders, social workers, artists, and serve in parishes and dioceses.

When King Henry VIII disbanded English monasteries in the 16^th century, little could he have imagined that seeds would be planted that one day would be raised to new life all over the world. Today, people enter religious life as young persons, as retirees, as widows or widowers, and as those who simply feel God’s calling to leave one profession and begin to serve God in a different way. Please join me next week as we welcome Adam McCoy and as we give thanks for the witness of religious life in our Church. John Beddingfield

Your prayers are asked for . . . Jimmy Hobbs, Mark Henderson, Jane Titterson, Barb Chaffee, Jim Capen, Harriet Martin, Dorothy Whitmore, Susan Morrison, Chris Cobb, 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, 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.

Around the Parish . . . Please pick up a copy of the new Member Directory in the Undercroft . . . Join us for the Adult Forum this Sunday morning as we continue to explore ethical questions around life, death and in-between. The discussion is coordinated by Dan Davis and meets at 10 a.m. in the Undercroft . . . Attendance Sunday, February 8 at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 40; at the 11 a.m. Mass, 152 . . . Total pledge offerings this week were $10,986.00. The plate offering this week was $1,471.00.

Liturgical Notes . . . On Shrove Tuesday (February 24) Evening Prayer & the Burning of Palms takes place in the Meditation Garden at 5:30 p.m.  A pancake Supper follows in the Undercroft . . . On Ash Wednesday (February 25) we offer Low Mass with Imposition of Ashes at 7 a.m., Noon, and 7 p.m. . . . This Sunday, the flowers at the High Altar are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Betty Publicover Mason, who would have been 91 on February 20, given by Bob Publicover.  The flowers at the Altar in the Mary Chapel are given to the glory of God an in loving memory of Frances H. Dils, by Stu Edwards and Family.  

Are you new to All Souls?  Please join us for a newcomers wine and cheese on Sunday, February 22 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Undercroft to learn more about being a part of our parish family.

Sunday School Church Exploration Night . . . On Saturday, February 28 at 6 p.m., the young people of the Sunday School, their friends and families are all invited to meet in the church. This will be a chance for everyone to walk freely around the church, and to look and to learn.  There will be an opportunity to see the church bells in the tower, to stand in the pulpit, to see a demonstration of the pipe organ, and to ask questions and explore.  A pot luck dinner in the Undercroft will follow the exploration.  Please let Marcia Anderson know what you can bring: marcia51@rcn.com.

Episcopal Men’s Fellowship . . . The EMF will meet on  Thursday, February 19 at 7 p.m., in the Undercroft, Ed Perlman will be discussing the life and works of George Herbert, a 17th century Anglican minister and poet. Dinner and drinks will be served for the low price of $15. Please RSVP by sending an email to Ike.brannon@gmail.com or by signing up in the Undercroft.

Prayer Shawl Ministry begins at All Souls . . . On Sunday, March 1, Martha Domenico will introduce us to prayer shawl ministry and explain how anyone with interest and/or skill in needlework might be a part of this new effort at All Souls.  The meeting will be in the Conference Room following Coffee Hour.  The ministry is very simple.  It begins with the shawl maker, who prays for the (usually unknown) person who will one day receive the completed shawl. Prayerful intentions are continued throughout the knitting or crocheting. Upon completion, the shawl is blessed, and then taken by a lay pastoral care giver or priest to someone who is in the hospital, in a nursing home, or undergoing some kind of grief or illness. Please join Father Beddingfield and Martha Domenico on March 1 to learn more.

 
Clothing for those in Need . . . In the past Jennifer Johnston has taken donated women’s clothing to Martha’s Table and donated men’s clothing to Christ House. Martha’s Table is no longer able to receive women’s clothing. If anyone knows of another organization that does receive clothing for women, please let the parish office know. Parishioners may continue to leave good men’s clothing in the Undercroft bins. Jennifer can also use help periodically taking the clothing over to Adams Morgan.