On December 29th of last year, the first Sunday of Christmas, we began a four month study on the Gospel of John. A lot has happened since then, and this study has, with the world, changed multiple times.
Still, over these four months, we’ve read almost the entirety of John’s Gospel together. We spent the weeks from Christmas through Epiphany and Ordinary Time with Jesus in his early life and ministry. During Lent, we slowed down (as the Gospel of John slows down) and spent nearly seven weeks on the week of Christ’s passion and death–most of that in the upper room with Jesus at his last supper.
It’s now Easter. Last week, we were with Christ at the empty tomb. This week, we will look at John’s “epilogue,” along with Christ’s last words, commissioning his disciples for their mission in this world. Our preacher for this Sunday will be our new Pastoral Resident, Ariana Bellanton. As we move into this new season together, she will be speaking to us about our “New Life in Christ.”
Hope you can join us!
Expanding Our We
Cultivating Christ-Centered Community Across Racial Lines
Sundays @ 3:45 PM on Zoom
e-mail rector@allangelschurch.com to register
This time of physical distancing has provided new space and new reasons for us to think again about how we form our social bonds. Join us this Easter season as we are led in a study on cultivating “Christ-Centered Community” by our new “Scholar-in-Residence,” the Rev. Dr. Courtney Bryant. Dr. Bryant (below) received her doctorate in Religion, Ethics, and Society at Vanderbilt University, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College.
Over six weeks, Dr. Bryant will lead us in rich discussions through scripture, theology, and ethics as we reconsider who “we” are, and who “we” are called to be in Christ. Our schedule for the study is below. E-mail rector@allangelschurch.com to RSVP. Hope you can join us!
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April 19th–Minimalist or Maximalists? or How Big do You Like your God?
April 26th–Christian Community & The Power of Privilege
May 10th–Christian Conversion as Embodied Solidarity
May 17th–Love as the Standard
May 24th–Confronting Evil: The Christian’s Relationship to Power
May 31st–What Does the Lord Require: Mutuality and the Makings of Justice
In response to growing needs within our parish following the outbreak of COVID-19, All Angels Church has started a benevolence fund, which we have named after this passage from Psalm 91:
“You shall not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.…If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91: 5-6, 9-12)
We believe that together we are called to serve with the angels God has commanded to lift up those who have been brought low during this pandemic. I am pleased to announce that a number of generous donors have already given toward a cornerstone gift to jumpstart this effort. While we know these times will stretch many of us financially, we ask those who are able to consider giving sacrificially, beyond your normal pledge. One hundred percent of your gift will go directly to helping a fellow parishioner facing an immediate financial crisis.
If you have any questions about giving to the Psalm 91 Fund, email Ann Kosmerl, Director of Administration, at akosmerl@allangelschurch.com. You can give directly via Zelle to parishadmin@allangelschurch.com, or by sending a check to the church office. There’s also an option to give to “Psalm 91” on our giving page.
If you are in need of funds, you can apply by filling out this form and sending it to relief@allangeslchurch.com. This form is also available on the allangelschurch.com homepage.
Community Ministries Update
For this week’s Community Ministries Update, please see our blog.
allangelschurchblog.wordpress.com 