MAY 2016

Search Commi ee Update

Higher Ground Welcome

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Published by All Saints Episcopal Church

“…to spread the love of God to all by what we do and say”

Wayne Road at Groometown Road, Greensboro, North Carolina

www.allsaintsgreensboro.org

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DEAR ALL SAINTS… As I reflect on the workings of All Saints Church I am truly amazed at what can be accomplished when in good faith and in a spirit of loving our God and our neighbor we reach out to those who have many needs such as food or clothing or just simply comfort. In the short time that I have been with this congregation I have seen a strong and unique dedication to provide needed gifts to our community through outreach programs, volunteering of services, working in service professions and sometimes just being there. And now we are in the process of starting a new ministry as we combine our talents with those of nature in the form of a community garden from which we hope to help fill the cupboards of the various food banks in our area. And then I think of our commission: “As a community of Christians, our purpose is to spread the love of God to all by what we do and say.”

But this is a two way street and “gifts” flow in both directions. In our lives we are enriched by the moral and spiritual growth that comes with under-standing the concerns and problems of our fellow man. We incorporate same sex marriage in our services and we struggle for resolution of the is-sues presented in The New Jim Crow. We are learning every day to accept and to love those who in the past lived in the shadows of our society be-cause they were “different” or we considered them to be lazy. We come closer to understanding that we are all God’s people and all are loved and this brings peace to our daily lives. Any who have visited with the good people at Higher Ground will surely know this to be true.

We also need to take care of ourselves and our fellow “Saints” and the “how to” came out of those wonderful “cottage meetings” we had last year. Many expressed a desire to get back to some of the events that we once enjoyed together just for fun and community. It is time again for fes-tivities such as picnics on the lawn and I am hearing rumors about a spa-ghetti “cook off” and a taco night. Also, we are having a plant sale and “shredding party” to provide funds for things that All Saints Church needs. Looks like a busy spring. Enjoy!

See you at the festivities,

Ron Alexander Senior Warden

from the Rector…

COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL – We have so much happening that keeping an accurate calendar is essen al! Please let Jacque in the office know of any events involving All Saints. Call 336-299-0705. Please check with her before scheduling anything.

BULLETIN BOARD – Be sure to check the bulle-n board each week for notes and no ces –

like this note from a guest at Higher Ground: “All Saints Chris an Brothers and Sisters, Once again among many, many mes, you have blessed us at Higher Ground with delicious food and compassionate fellowship. We love you for accep ng us as we are and for walk-ing with us on our journeys of life. We love you.”

FLOWERS AND CANDLES – The chart for your offerings of flowers and candles is now on the table in the Gathering Space. Please sign up to give in memory of loved ones, in celebra on of a special me in your life or in thanksgiving for your family. The usual amounts are $5.00 for the candle and $55.00 for the flow-ers. Certainly more than one person can give on any date.

–Ken Kroohs

News Update: April, 2016 The Search Commi ee met twice in April to refine the video conference interviews for each candidate applicant in order to insure fairness in the process. The Diocese has been receiving applica ons throughout April. On May 1st the Office of Transi on Ministry will release all ap-plica ons to Tom Robins, Search Commi ee Chair. The commi ee will independently review each resume and then meet on May 2nd to begin the review as a group. We are expec ng to receive up to 15 applica ons so there is a lot of work to be done. We will use video conferenc-ing to carry out these ini al interviews, each las ng 1 hour. Once all candidates have been interviewed the Search Commi ee will pause for reflec on and prayer for up to 10 days and then begin to compile the notes taken by each individual member, keeping in mind the infor-ma on and feedback from our Co age Conversa ons.

www.allsaintsgreensboro.org –Gene Simpson

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Search Commi ee News Update

Augus ne Literacy Project’s ®Fourteenth Replica on Project Team is strategizing, collabo-ra ng, organizing and preparing for their training at All Saints from 9 am-1 pm on May 2-5 and 9-12. Team members completed their training and now look forward to training 9 new tutors who will support struggling readers at Guilford Elementary School in Greensboro and Oak Hill Elementary in High Point. Linda and Ninevah tutor at Guilford Elementary School, while Brenda and Sue tutor at Oak Hill Elementary. Please keep these tutors, trained and newly trained, and their tutees in your prayers.

-Sue Mercier

CURSILLO WEEKEND June 23-26

Cursillo is ‘a short course in Chris anity’ and many of our songs and prayers have originated there.

It is a weekend filled with prayer, fun, learning and lots of love! This one is go-ing to be held in Concord North Carolina. If you are interested, or have ques ons,

ask Ken. There are many people at All Saints who have a ended weekends and would be happy to discuss it with you.

Do you like All Saints??? We really need you to like All Saints. Well, not just like All Saints, but “like” All Saints. All Saints is working to promote our community and the wonderful things we do through the church Facebook page. All Saints can reach an exponentially larger amount of people if more of our members “like” our page and “share” our events. Here’s what to do:

• If you use Facebook, please search for “All Saints Episcopal Church of Greensboro”

• Go to the church’s Facebook page and like it by clicking • Perfect! Done! • Now help us promote our events… • Look for All Saints’ events and share them by clicking • If you want to make sure that certain friends see an event, you can invite

specific friends to events by clicking

-Alison Mercier

Loom Knitting Group The loom kni ng group will meet Wednesday, May 11th from 6:30-8:00 pm in the All Saints Library. All are welcome, but if you are a first mer please let Shirley know so that she can have supplies to get you started (salkroohs@juno.com).

–Shirley Kroohs

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Work on the new church photo directory has been completed and submi ed to Lifetouch for proofing and prin ng. We should receive a dra copy by mid-May and once the dra is approved the final printed copies should arrive within 15 days. Every family who sat for a photo portrait will receive a compli-mentary 8x10 portrait and a di-rectory.

-Gene Simpson & Alison Mercier NEW FRONT COVER DESIGN

Undercurrent, May 13, 2016 at 6:00pm Hosted by Pam & Ron Alexander / Dessert at the Alexander’s

SPRING / SUMMER DATES & HOSTS

MAY 13, 2016 ................. Pam & Ron Alexander JUNE 10, 2016................ Jane Davis & David Boger JULY 8, 2016 ................. Anne & Bill King

!! Get Ready to Shred !! Begin gathering your old, clu ering-up-the-house papers and bring them to be shredded. Bobby Byrd and Maureen Ballsieper are the volunteer coordinators for the Shamrock Shredding Event to be held in the parking lot at All Saints Church on May 21, 2016 from 9 a.m. to noon. A dona on of $5.00 per paper grocery bag to be shredded is suggested. The

monies collected will be used to fund projects at our church. Vol-unteers will be needed to direct cars and assist donors. Contact Maureen at 336-817-3662. Other organiza ons

that have used Shamrock Shredding have been pleased and have scheduled follow-up shredding events.

–Maureen Ballsieper

DOK Update The All Saints chapter of the "Order of the Daughters of the King” hosted the Diocesan Spring Assembly on Saturday, April 9th. 99% of those who registered were in a endance. It was a glorious day! Carolyn Edge did a wonderful presenta on on "Being Christ-Like" and centered her talk on John 20:11-35 and Luke 13 asking the ques on,"what does the resurrec on teach us about being Christ-Like?" A lively discussion ensued.

Susan Keith, from the Na onal Coun-cil, was among our guests and opened herself up to ques ons from the floor A er the required business mee ng, Carolyn's presenta on and lunch, Rev. Ken Kroohs celebrated the clos-ing Eucharist.

–Verna Hurley

NEW CHURCH PHOTO DIRECTORY HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION!

Saturday, MAY 7, 2016 8:00 am UNTIL NOON

ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE WE’RE HAVING A PLANT SALE

JUST FOR YOU! THERE’LL BE BASKETS AND POTS

AND IDEAS GALORE AND VEGGIES AND HERBS - JUST LIKE

THE STORE. TAKE A LIST AND MARK IT WELL

THAT’S SO WE’LL KNOW WHAT WILL SELL.

DON’T FORGET… The date is Saturday, May 7th

JUST IN TIME FOR MOTHER’S DAY -Sue Starr

ALL SAINTS PLANT SALE

Harris Teeter baked a beau ful cake for the occasion

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-Sue Mercier / Alison Mercier

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How you can get involved… Invite at 4 or more friends to join you at your table on June 4 for the “Welcome Home” A Family Gathering for Higher Ground evening. Handout or mail the postcards to your family, friends, neighbors, people where you work, gym buddies, golfing partners, etc. Let your friends know that the price for the bar-b-que dinner is a dona on to Higher Ground’s Discre onary Fund in the amount that you might have spent on a restaurant dinner. Get involved by signing up to support the RaffleRama with a gi basket, raffle item and or a gi cer ficate. Sign up in the gathering space to help with set-up, clean-up, kitchen duty, hos ng, parking, etc.

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Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Now we can “serve” in style! Thanks to a generous dona on by Gene Simpson, all Servers and Lay Eucharis c Ministers have their own, new robes! The new robes were delivered to the ves ng area labeled with each server’s name and protect-ed by plas c shoulder liners. Some robes even have snaps!

Be sure to check out how bright and spiffy your Servers and Lay Eucharis c Minis-ters look in their new robes, and … say THANK YOU to our benefactor!

The Growing In Faith Together Ministry (G.I.F.T.) received Vestry approval on March 13 for the con nua on of their program. The team will a end a workshop on April 16 in Durham sponsored by the Diocese.

ACTION PLAN FOR GROWING IN FAITH TOGETHER TEAM: PURPOSE/MISSION: The purpose and mission of the G.I.F.T. Team (Growing in Faith Together) is to:

• Bring members of our community into a living, loving rela on-ship with God through His Son Jesus Christ

• Invite, welcome and help community members' to connect • Nurture members' rela onships with God to their life-long

frui on

VISION STATEMENT: All Saints Exists to:

• "Go forth, making disciples of all na ons," (Ma . 28:19) • Share the love of God by what we do and say • Change lives • Walk in love as Christ loves us

Blessings, –Verna Hurley

Godly Play dates and lessons

for late winter and early spring Knowing Jesus in a New Way... May 1 ........ Known in Making Him Known May 8 ........ Known in Waiting May 15 ....... Mystery of Pentecost May 22 ....... Paul’s Discovery May 29 ....... The Holy Trinity

All children 4 years to 5th grade are invited to the Parish Hall during the first part

of the 10:30 service. –Faith Hawes

Spring has sprung and the WHOSE (We Help Organize Special Events) have been busy planning for the plan ng season:

In support of the new Garden of Ea n’s blessing this Sunday (Roga on Sun-day), May 1st, the WHOSE are offering a “Lemonade on the Lawn.” Come worship at the outdoor service at 10:30, enjoy the fine weather, see the new garden, and savor carrot cake, zucchini bread, and, of course, lemonade.

If the garden inspires you – or you’re looking for a great Mothers’ Day gi , take advantage of forms that will be available on-line this week and at church May 1st to order plants at the first annual Parish Plant Sale (see ar cle on page 3).

Our new crop of high school graduates will soon be walking across the stage. Help them celebrate with ice cream floats on the hardscape a er church later in May.

Prepare to plant a blanket on the lawn, bring a picnic basket, and help make music throughout the summer with monthly “Jammin’ Picnics” at All Saints. We hope to kick off this series at 5 o’clock on Sunday, June 26th. WHOSE will provide the drinks, All Saints musicians (known and unknown) will provide the instrumentals, and everyone is invited to raise their voices in song and make a joyful noise.

The first seeds have been planted in prepara on for back-to-back celebra-ons: Bon Voyage to Ken and Shirley Kroohs, as they complete their service to

All Saints as interim rector and choir director, and Welcome to our new rector and family. We don’t know when these par es will take place, but WE DO KNOW WE NEED YOUR IDEAS. If you have thoughts on either event, feel free to let a WHOSE know, or, be er s ll, come to the next WHOSE mee ng,

Monday, May 23rd, at the Alexanders’ house, at 7 p.m.

for an evening of food, laughter, and talk about All Saints events past, present, and future.

-Linda Bedell

Bedding frame builders Filling beds with the good earth The “Green Thumbs”

All Saints Community Garden of Ea n’

A Statement from the Episcopal Bishops of North Carolina

Regarding HB2 April 26, 2016

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In our bap smal covenant, we commit “to strive for jus ce and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” For many, this is the most difficult promise in the covenant, as it calls us to move beyond our differences, expecta ons, fears, prejudices and misunderstandings about other people and meet them where they are. At mes, it means standing up in the world and speaking truth to power, knowing that there will be resistance. This promise takes us out of our comfort zone and into the uncharted territory of God’s grace.

In the highly polarized and poli cal environment in which we live, we may be tempted to take sides on an issue or to back off en rely and be silent. But the issue of discrimina on is not par -san, nor is it secular. The prac ce of discrimina on by a state or ins tu on limits, even prohib-its, us from respec ng the dignity of another human being. It inhibits our very capacity to care for one another and to work for the common good. This affects all people.

On March 23, 2016, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2 (HB2). This bill overtly discriminates against LGBT people and goes further by cu ng back on protec on against discrimina on for anyone in the state. HB2 does this by:

• Refusing to understand the complexity of the lives of transgender persons and criminalizing non-problema c behavior by members only of that community;

• Overturning the local passage of laws by the city of Charlo e to allow transgender persons to use the gender-specific facili es matching their iden es, and requiring all people to use facili es according to the biological sex listed on their birth cer ficates;

• Preven ng ci es and coun es from establishing ordinances extending protec ons for lesbi-an, gay, bisexual or transgender persons, while making no effort to call for protec on at the state level;

• Making it more difficult for people who are being discriminated against for reasons of race, age, sex, religion or disability to take legal ac on by making them take their cases to federal court instead of to the state;

• Discrimina ng against the working poor by restric ng a community’s ability to demand that contractors raise minimum wages to living wages and pay for vaca on and sick leave.

In the weeks since the passing of HB2, other states have followed suit, pu ng forth bills openly suppor ng discrimina on against LGBT persons. Such discrimina on by the state reinforces the fear and prejudices of people who do not know or understand the lives of people who are al-ready marginalized in our society. It cul vates an environment in which we do not respect the dignity of each person but instead fight to hold on to personal power and privilege.

The response against HB2, in North Carolina and around the world, shows evidence that this bill affects the lives of more than a few people using the bathroom; it touches on the ongoing strug-gle for equality.

As a Church, we seek to love uncondi onally as witnessed in the life of Jesus and follow his example by embracing those who are marginalized by society.

We affirm that all people are created in the image of God and are loved by God.

We oppose laws suppor ng discrimina on against anyone by race, religion, color, na onal origin, sex, sexual orienta on, gender iden ty, age, poli cal affilia on, gene c informa on or disability.

These are complex issues with wide-reaching ramifica ons. HB2 was introduced and passed into law in one day, without sufficient me to listen to the voices of all who are affected by the bill. The moun ng economic losses for North Carolina show this hasty process did not leave room to consider what impact HB2 would have on our state. We are all paying the price.

Because we strive for jus ce and peace among all people and respect the dignity every human being, we call on the North Carolina State Legislature to repeal HB2. We encourage our leaders to listen to the experiences of LGBT ci zens and to seek to understand their lives and circum-stances. Furthermore, we offer our prayers and support for the LGBT community, and for all who are affected by this bill. Yours faithfully, The Right Reverend Anne E. Hodges-Copple Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina The Right Reverend Porter Taylor Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina The Right Reverend Robert S. Skirving Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina The Right Reverend Peter James Lee Bishop Assis ng of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

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A Parish of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

served by The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, Bishop Pro Tempore The Rev. Kenneth Kroohs, Rector

The Rev. Paula C. Rachal, Priest Associate

THE VESTRY 2016 Ron Alexander, Senior Warden Jane Davis, Junior Warden Linda Bedell, Missioner of Outreach & Hospitality Duane Gentry, Missioner of Worship (with Priest) Verna Hurley, Missioner of Congregation Care Sue Keith, Missioner of Education Lou Pollock, Missioner of Buildings & Grounds Gene Simpson, Missioner of Communication Sue Starr, Missioner of Stewardship

Rhonda Campbell, Treasurer Sue Mercier, Clerk

OTHER MINISTERS & MINISTRIES Gene Fayssoux, Altar Guild

Edwin Powell, Acolytes Bill & Teresa Sullivan, Ushers

Sue Mercier, Hosts Linda Tranchetti, Prayer.Net

Jacque Stowers, Care.Net Ron Stowers & Jack Kramer, Men’s Fellowship

Rowe Campbell, Finance Committee Anne Frost, Memorials & Tributes

Pam & Ron Alexander, Restaurant Raiders Alison Mercier, Gail Parker, Gene Simpson, Web Sextons

Verna Hurley, Daughters of the King Stephen McCollum & Linda Bedell,

Augustine Literacy Project

STAFF Jacque Stowers, Parish Administrator

James Thompson, Bookkeeper Bob Dietzen, Groundskeeper

Sue Keith & Shirley Kroohs, Choir Directors Toney Yancey, Church Organist

SAINTLY NEWS is published monthly

for parishioners and friends of All Saints

Deadline for articles for the next issue is the Sunday after the 15th of the current month

Address corrections should be reported to the parish office

Telephone/Voicemail 336-299-0705 Fax 336-299-9857

e-mail: saints@allsaintsgreensboro.org

EPISCOPAL CHURCH 4211 WAYNE ROAD GREENSBORO, NC 27407-7314

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changes or corrections, and please include both old and

new addresses.

In the interest of good stewardship, should you no longer wish to re-ceive this mailing, please let the

office know as well. We enjoy sharing it with you, but only

if it is welcome!

A “paperless” edition may also be sent to you via email: simply ask at

saints@allsaintsgreensboro.org

Inside This Issue

Senior Warden’s Le er Page 1

From the Rector / Search Commi ee Update 2

ALP Training / Cursillo Weekend / Like All Saints 2

Restaurant Raiders / Shredding Project / Plant Sale 3

Kni ng Group / Church Photo Directory / DOK Update 3

Higher Ground “Welcome Home” 4

Higher Ground Discre onary Fund 5

New Servers’ Albs / Godly Play / WHOSE News 6

G.I.F.T / Garden of Ea n’ 6

Statement from the Bishops re: HB2 / Church Roster 7