The Nativity by Lorenzo Credi
NEWS and NOTES from THE RECTOR’S DESK
A supplement to the Parish Calendar
Kenneth L. Schmidt
20 December 2011
THANK YOU to all who have already responded so generously to our annual “Opportunities for CHRISTMAS GIVING” appeal. As of today, over $7,000 has been contributed to many ministries at All Saints’:
- $2,500 for the Memorial Fund [the parish endowment]
- $745 for the Haight Ashbury Community Services Committee food program
- $1,897 for the Jackson Building Fund
- $581 for the Rector’s Discretionary Fund
- $607 for altar and sacristy needs
- $850 for general operating expenses.
Gifts range from $10 to $2,500. No gift is too small; and none is too large! Please help us reach our goal of $20,000, essential to maintaining our regular programs, building maintenance, and the on-going ministry of our neighborhood food program.
And thank you, too, for the many gifts “in kind,” including:
- a banner for the front of the church announcing our Advent and Christmas services;
- the trimming of the trees in the front of the church;
- a new set of glass cruets for Sunday and Holy Day Masses;
- gifts for the children and youth at the pageant;
- Advent greens and Christmas flowers throughout the season;
- food and beverage for the many receptions held for Advent Lessons & Carols, the
- Pageant, and the Christmas Eve Mass this coming Saturday; the Christmas tree and decorations in the Parish Hall;
- altar flowers sent by a couple of parishioners on behalf of the entire congregation to St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church in Mt. Shasta, California, in celebration of the first anniversary of the ordination of Larry Holben to the priesthood. on 11 December. A former member of All Saints’, Larry is the author of the history of All Saints published in November 2010: For All the Saints’: The First Hundred Years of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, San Francisco.
The list could, and should, go on. Please forgive me for any omissions, but also accept my great thanks to God for the wonderful generosity of all the saints at All Saints’.
ONE STARRY NIGHT: Instead of a sermon on Christmas morning, I usually read what I consider the best of the children’s story picture books on the nativity published that season. My selection for this year is One Starry Night, written by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Jonathan Bean. Thompson is author of the beloved Little Quack series as well as the Mouse’s First series, and has written many other favorite picture books as well. Bean is the illustrator of many books and has received the prestigious Ezra Jack Keats award.
This year I also have a runner-up to recommend: The Story of Christmas which features text from the King James [Authorized] Version of the Bible, and illustrations by Pamela Dalton, based on her cut-paper artwork. Dalton is well-known for her illustrations for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, a retelling of the classic poem of St. Francis of Assisi by Katherine Paterson.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: The parish Nominating Committee met last night to begin preparing a slate of nominees to be presented at the Annual Meeting on 5 February, when we will elect three members of the vestry, two representatives to diocesan convention and the deanery, and a trustee of the Memorial Fund. If you are interested in being nominated, please speak to Senior Warden Larry Hilty, Chair of the Nominating Committee. A nominee must be an official member of the parish [by baptism, reaffirmation of faith, or a letter of transfer from another Episcopal church], over 18 years old, and current in an annual financial pledge to the church.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW for the Annual Parish retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg, the weekend of 7-9 September, with Dr. Rod Dugliss, Dean of the School for Deacons in Berkeley, as the guest facilitator.
WEEKEND IN PHOENIX: Thanks to the generosity of several parishioners, I will be going to Phoenix, Arizona, the weekend of 13-16 January to visit Katherine Kenney and Boyd Campbell. A long-time member of All Saints’ who was active as a sacristan, Katherine, who turned eighty-eight in November, moved to live with one of her daughters in Chandler, Arizona, this past year. Boyd, who turned eighty-nine last August, has been a friend of the parish since 1989, when his son Stephen died of AIDS. In memory of his son, Boyd and his now departed wife, Ermalee, gave All Saints’ the carpets in the nave aisle, the Lady Chapel, and in front of the tabernacle, as well as the lantern in the front porch of the church. I look forward to bringing both of them your greetings, with thanksgiving for all they’ve done for All Saints’ over the years.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
and HAPPY YEAR of OUR LORD 2012!
Kenneth
All Saints’ Episcopal Church 1350 Waller Street San Francisco, CA 94117 Telephone: 415.621.1862 Facsimile: 415.621.7008 Web: www.allsaintssf.org
