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