Altar Servers: Men, women, boys, girls to assist at the altar at all worship services. Duties involve helping to set and clear the altar, serving the chalice during communion and other help as needed. Training will be provided. See Fr Alan or Dcn Sandy.
Lector: A fancy name for people who read the lessons during worship. All are invited to apply. Training will be provided. See Dcn Sandy or Fr Alan.
Altar Guild: Men as well as women are sought to become members of the Altar Guild. These are the people who make sure that the altar is prepared for worship, that wine, bread, and other items needed for the Eucharist are ready. Training will be provided. See Fr Alan or Dcn Sandy.
Lay Eucharist Visitors: We have a number of members who are unable to come to worship at All Souls, some permanently, some temporarily. Part of our ministry to these people is to see that they receive communion regularly. This is a particularly rewarding ministry. Training will be provided. See Dcn Sandy or Fr Alan.
Coffee Hour hosts: We all love coffee hour, and we all want to take a share in bringing food and making coffee. Please see Sue Doing to get yourself on the schedule.
OSL: The Order of St Luke is a group of people who meet to study the healing ministry of Jesus and how it can be brought to life in today’s church. The All Souls chapter has been inactive for a while, but is being revived. If, as you pray, you think that God might be calling you to a ministry of healing prayer, see Fr Alan.
Vicar’s Newsletter Article
All Soul’s Church
September 2010
It’s September. Up north people are beginning to think about heading south. Down south we’re thinking about how good it will feel when cooler weather begins. People in between are just confused, I guess. A lot of things seem to change in the fall, and things that have been set aside for the summer resume.
Church is no different. Summer seems to be a time when things go on hold for a while. Perhaps part of that is because of the absence of our northern members, but I suspect that mostly it’s habit from our school days all those years ago. In any case, summer is coming to an end and fall is approaching, so things will begin to start up again.
On Sunday, September 19, we will return to two services: a said Rite I service at 8:00am, and a Rite II service with music at 10:00am. We will also develop a stronger emphasis on Christian Education. An essential part of discipleship is knowing the Bible. It is God’s word. Through it God tells us who he is, who we are, and how we relate to each other. It contains the good news of Jesus. It is the authoritative source of what we know about God, our faith and ourselves.
We live in a time when it seems there are false teachers on all sides, inside the church as well as outside. The beliefs of our western culture compete with biblical beliefs, not just for our attention but for our loyalty. As I have said on several Sundays now, the only way we can possibly discern true teaching from false is through knowledge and understanding of Scripture. While we are still working on days and times, what is set is that we will begin classes for children, and we will begin at least one Bible study, and possibly two, for adults this fall. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to participate in this vital part of All Souls’ ministry.
In addition to Bible study, we will have other events and short teaching series. For example, Faith Alive, a weekend time of spiritual renewal for all members is scheduled for December 3 through five, Friday evening through Sunday morning. You will receive much more information about Faith Alive as the time comes closer. We will also have a short series on how to share our faith simply and easily. Many of us have feelings close to terror when we think about talking to other people about religion, and about Jesus particularly. We have visions of the button-holing approaches that were common when we were younger. Well, they don’t work anymore, and they really didn’t work very well back then. Sharing faith is best done when we have established a relationship with someone, have earned the right to be heard, and tell about our faith in Jesus in a normal, everyday conversation. We’ll learn how to do that without any emotional stress at all.
When I came to All Souls, I knew that some folks would head north for the winter. I didn’t really understand that two thirds of the congregation would do that. We live in the middle of a community (20 minutes driving is the norm for how far people will travel to church) of more than 200,000 people of all economic levels. All Souls is a great church, we have a friendly and active congregation, and a powerful community outreach. We need to communicate with the people around us to invite them to visit. Now, I need to be very clear about this. I am not concerned with building a large congregation for the sake of having a large congregation! According to Jesus, our primary purpose as believers and as a church is to make disciples and teach. I came across this statement recently, “A Christian who doesn’t share faith is like a bird which never flies.” If we are faithful to Jesus and reach out for the right reasons, people will come and the congregation will grow. We need to equip ourselves to be faithful.
I am excited about being at All Souls, and about our future together. I hope that you are excited as well, and ready to join in.
God bless,
Fr. Alan
All Souls Church
The Very Rev Alan Kelmereit
July Newsletter
Vicar’s Article
“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy….” So go the lyrics, but I’m not so sure. The song’s about a land and a time far, far away. I remember summer as a kick back season, a time when there was not much to do but take it easy and have fun. Of course, I was in elementary school at the time. I’m sure you had more or less the same experience, and that common experience seems to have created a sort of cultural expectation that summer time is supposed to be less stressful, more laid back; a time when we take a few deep breaths while we wait for Labor Day.
Thinking of more recent summers, I can’t recall actually kicking back or taking many deep breaths. The same fast pace of winter seems to have just kept on. What to do, what to do! First, I highly recommend a vacation. Go somewhere where no one can find you. Leave your cell phone at home, or at least keep it turned off until you need to make a genuine emergency call. If you can’t go “away,” at least leave the house. Go to the beach, or a park, or a museum, or a double header at the movie theater, or something, anything, to get away from your routine.
My next recommendation is to take some time to reflect on how you’re living your life. This is a bit more taxing, at least mentally. Socrates is quoted as saying, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.” He said that at his trial for teachings that challenged the accepted beliefs of the day, and rather than being sentenced to an unexamined life, Socrates chose to be sentenced to death. Fortunately, our choice is less dramatic than his. So, we might observe that the unexamined life is a monotonous, boring, unsatisfying life which could be a whole lot better is we would take the time to examine how we’re living and consciously discover ways to improve it.
That fits neatly into my final recommendation, which is consider where we’re going from here. Yes, I know I’ve made a shift from “you” to “we.” Even in these difficult economic times, All Souls has an incredibly bright future. We have a clear focus on serving other people, and that is demonstrated in our community outreach. There is even greater need in our community, and we should be planning ways to increase the reach of our outreach. We should also be planning strategies for reaching further into our community with the good news that Jesus is alive and his kingdom is indeed at hand. Think about these things, and think about how you can be a part of the action. One thing I’ve learned about “church” over the years is that it’s huge fun to be part of a church that is going and growing, and that’s exactly what we will be. Come join the fun! Oh, yes – bring friends. Bring strangers, too.
Monthly Calendars for All Soul's Ft. Myers, FL.
September 2010
July & August 2010
Every Wednesday morning, Barber Hall (our large social hall) comes to life at 9 a.m. when we open the doors for our Food Pantry. North Fort Myers residents with a limited income are eligible to receive two bags of grocery items each month. The food we dispense consists of donated items and products we purchase from the local Harry Chapin Food Bank – which is part of the national network of Food Banks.
In 2006, we gave out 5,852 bags of food with an estimated retail value of $70,000. The food we purchased weighed nearly 59,426 pounds.
SPECIAL EVENTS AT ALL SOUL'S
See MONTHLY CALENDAR for other special events
YEAR ROUND EVENTS
MEN'S MONTHLY PRAYER BREAKFAST...7:30 AM... First Wednesday of each month. All men are cordially invited to attend.
FOOD PANTRY Every Wednesday 9 A.M. until 12 Noon held in Barber Hall.
Blood Pressure Screening and Referral Services also available.
VET'S LUNCH Every Wednesday....held in Barber Hall (Free to all who come) - 11:30 A.M. - 1 P.M.
ALL SOULS PRAYER CHAIN
Our Prayer chain for urgent prayer requests may be contacted at the Church Office 997-7685.
To put a prayer request in the Sunday Bulletin call the Church Office or write your request on the Sunday Prayer Page which you will find on the Greeter's table before each Service.
MUSIC MINISTRY- Rehearses each Thursday in the church at 6:30P.M. New musicians and chorus members are invited......this is on hold presently look for more info shortly.
BIBLE STUDYsee the calendar or for further information call the church office.
MEN'S CURSILLO REUNION GROUP- Meets each Saturday 8:30 A.M. in the Parish Hall
FOOD BANK- Distributes food to residents of N. Ft. Myers in need each Wednesday, 9:00 A.M. to noon, Barber Fellowship Hall. The 3rd Sunday of each month is designated at Food Bank Sunday.
Donations of cash or non-perishable food items may be brought to both Sunday morning worship services or you send a check to All Souls Episcopal Church marked for the "food bank".
THRIFT STORE & OUTREACH CENTER- SUMMER SCHEDULE FROM MAY TO OCTOBER IS: Tue. thru Sat., 9A.M.- 4 P.M. WINTER SCHEDULE FROM NOVEMBER TO APRIL IS: Tue.thru Sat., 9A.M.- 4 P.M. Located on the north side of the building, 1st floor. Operates strictly on donations and run entirely by volunteers. phone: 656-6229
We also welcome your participation in the following:
Altar Guild, Ushers, Acolyte Ministry, Lectors, Greeters, Eucharistic Ministers, Hospitality.
For further information please call the church office: (941) 997-7685.
Additional groups that hold regular meetings at All Souls:
VETERANS GROUP FREE LUNCH PROGRAM - meets every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
WEIGHT WATCHERS - meets Thurs. 9-11 a.m. and 5-7 p.m., Barber Fellowship Hall.
The Ruth Tucker Memorial Thrift Store & Outreach Center
A ministry of All Souls Episcopal Church
14640 North Cleveland Avenue, North Fort Myers, FL. 33903
(941) 656-6229
STORE HOURS
WINTER (Nov - Apr) Tue. thru Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
SUMMER (May - Oct) Tue. thru Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The Outreach Center/Thrift Store is staffed solely by volunteers and the merchandise is received strictly as donations by the generosity of our community. Residents of North Fort Myers are assisted with clothing and household items according to their need. With 50% of the space dedicated to clothing and personal items priced at $2.00 each, we enable our patrons to care for their own needs within their personal buying power. Our goal is to have 100% of the proceeds dedicated to outreach.
About every three months we hold a BAG SALE when buyers can purchase a grocery size bag and fill it to the brim with items from the back room....all this for only $2.00. Watch for these special events as you patronize our store.
