All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 2, Number 24, May 10, 2009

POSTULANTS, ASPIRANTS, AND THE REST OF US

On Wednesday of last week the Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane, Bishop of Washington, made parishioner Shawn Strout a postulant for Holy Orders.  That’s a good thing, in spite of how it may sound. The word “postulant” comes from a Latin word meaning “to ask.”  A postulant is one who is asking to be admitted to a religious order or one who is asking to be considered for ordination.  Normally, in the Episcopal Church, one must be made a postulant by one’s bishop before beginning seminary and continuing in the process toward ordination.  Shawn has been accepted to Virginia Theological Seminary and will begin his studies there this fall.  He has completed his discernment year at St. Margaret’s church and will soon join us back at All Souls. This summer he will participate in an intensive Spanish language course in Copán, Honduras and also will help with a mission project in that area.  His summer work is made possible in part by a grant from the All Souls Endowment.

One of our former parishioners, Norman Whitmire, is also in the process toward ordination, but technically is sponsored by the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, California and the Diocese of Los Angeles.  Norm is about to complete his first year at Virginia Seminary.  This summer he will be doing his Clinical Pastoral Education at Good Samaritan Hospital and participating in the life of the Church of Our Saviour.  He will be working with their priest-in-charge, the Rev. Dr. Michael Battle, a leading priest-scholar in the church, who has written extensively on the “ubuntu” theology of Desmond Tutu.

 
Many have missed regularly seeing parishioner Lisa Zaina.  Lisa is not yet a postulant, but is an aspirant for Holy Orders.  She continues to serve her discernment year at St. Paul’s Church, Rock Creek but will rejoin us again sometime in late summer. In September, Bishop Chane will make a decision about whether Lisa is to be made a postulant. 

As we give thanks for the individuals God raises up from our congregation, we can pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to stir up gifts, abilities, desires, ideas, passions, and ministries.  May we be open to the Spirit’s pushing and pulling in each of our lives.  John Beddingfield

Your prayers are asked for . . . I. Kathryn McKewen, Lexi Ball, Helen Horne, Jim Capen, Bruce MacDonald, Polly Mitchell, Bob Colburn, Elizabeth McKee, Freddie Cameron, Robert Long, Frank Karel, Jimmy Hobbs, Mark, Jane Titterson, Barb Chaffee, Harriet Martin, 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, Ted Field, and for the repose of the soul of John . . . Pray also for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Jack Severson, 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 . . . The Adult Forum meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. in the undercroft.  On May 10, Erwin de Leon will deal with issues around “Religion and Politics.” On May 17, Dan Davis leads the discussion on “War and Terror.”  On May 24 Sally MacDonald will offer a diversion from our focus on ethics with a discussion having to do with linguistics entitled, “Fighting, Food and No Lies! (how English works in those areas!)” . . . Attendance on Sunday, May 3 at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 24; attendance at 11:00 a.m. Mass, 114 . . .  Total pledge offerings for the week were $3,832.00. The plate offering was $658.00.

Liturgical Notes . . . We continue to celebrate the season of Easter, or Eastertide, for fifty days, concluding on the Day of Pentecost.  Alleluias fill our worship and the prayer of confession is omitted on Sundays in this season . . . Flowers at the High Altar are given to the glory of God and in memory of the Rev. Hatch Dent Sterret and Ann Sterrett Grandy, given by Ms. Carter Grandy Bernet . . . Flowers at the altar in the Mary Chapel are given to the glory of God and in celebration of the baptism of William Austin McAllister, given by his parents, Doug and Christina McAllister . . . The Sanctuary Candle burns in memory of, and in thanksgiving for the life of Jay Craig Turner on the 9th anniversary of his death, given by Nancye & Laurence Suggs.

Sunday School Parents . . . Please help us recognize the achievements of our young people.  If your child is graduating from college or high school; going from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school, or is just beginning school for the first time in the Fall; has received an award for perfect attendance, a sports achievement, excellent deportment or academic honors—we would like to know.  Please contact us by May 31 through the parish office or Nancye Suggs, senior warden of vestry, at (301)740-2486 or Fatnancat@aol.com.

A new history of St. Alban’s Parish . . . In 1850, Miss Phoebe Nourse died of consumption and left $35 in gold coins (her earnings from needlework and watercolors) to build Washington’s first “free” Episcopal church, one that welcomed all comers.  St. Alban’s opened four years later, a wood structure set beside a dirt road amid farmlands overlooking the capital city.  Church at the Crossroads recounts that founding and the parish’s history over the next 150 years.  All Souls parish originated from St. Albans, and there are several pages mentioning our origins.  The book is available at the National Cathedral bookstore. 

Elections for Vestry . . .  On Sunday, May 17, our parish family will gather for the annual meeting of the All Souls congregation to, among other things, elect a senior warden, junior warden (for a special one-year term) and four general members of Vestry. Nomination forms may be obtained from the parish office and can also be found in the April/May edition of The Message.

A List of Eligible Voters . . . for parish elections at the Annual Meeting on May 17 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.

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.