DIANA BUTLER BASS: "Christianity After Religion" in the Rector's Forum

■ DIANA BUTLER BASS ■ February 12 ■ in the Rector's Forum

CHRISTIANITY AFTER RELIGION: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening

Diana Butler Bass, one of contemporary Christianity’s leading trend-spotters, joins us in the All Saints’ Rector’s Forum. Using evidence from the latest national polls and from her own cutting-edge research, Bass's new book exposes how the failings of the church today are giving rise to a new “spiritual but not religious” movement. Together we will explore questions like how the Spirit might be leading us to live into the future. Will we become a new church, or will we become something else, a new way of being in community before God and with one another?

Sunday, February 12 ■ 10:15 a.m. ■ in the Rector's Forum
Books will be available for purchase.

Speaking Truth to Power: Opposing "Corporate Personhood"

In January 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that corporate political spending is protected, holding that corporations have a First Amendment right to free speech. On the 2nd anniversary of that landmark ruling, Ed Bacon called for a constitutional amendment opposing it and All Saintsers participated in "Occupy the Court" demonstrations protesting it.

[photo credit: Kristin Bedford]

Still Celebrating 20 Years of Blessing

The dust is still settling from our celebrations marking the 20th Anniversary of the blessing of the Covenant of Mark Benson and Philip Straw -- but here, for a start, are some pictures that capture just SOME of the great moments of a truly extraordinary weekend:



With deep gratitude to all who made it all happen ... and especially in thanksgiving for the courage, the love and the persistence of Mark and Phil in calling All Saints Church to walk its talk and live into its prophetic calling to be a community of radical welcome, blessing and justice.

RICHARD ROHR: The Change That Changes Everything

“Most of us were taught that God would love us if and when we change. In fact, God loves you so that you can change. What empowers change, what makes you desirous of change is the experience of love. It is that inherent experience of love that becomes the engine of change.” ― Richard Rohr

We are thrilled to welcome Franciscan priest and spirituality author Richard Rohr as the keynote presenter for All Saints’ LENT EVENT 2012.

Author, teacher, activist and Director of the Center for Action & Contemplation, Rohr will explore his conviction that the overarching imperative of our time is to link spirituality and social justice.

Calendar for the entire Lent Event weekend:
Sunday, March 25:
Richard Rohr preaching at 9 and 11:15 a.m. services
Richard Rohr in the Rector’s Forum at 10:15 a.m.
Exploring the Both/And of Action and Contemplation: Nets for Life, 3:30 p.m.
Contemplative Worship, 5 p.m.
Richard Rohr’s presentation on Non-Dual Consciousness (The Naked Now), 6 p.m.

Monday, March 26:
Small group gatherings for discussion and group contemplative experience, 5:45 p.m.
Richard Rohr’s presentation on Spirituality of the Two Halves of Life (Falling Upward), 7 p.m.

The Labyrinth will be available both days for walking before the evening presentations.
Mama’s Tamales will be on site to provide food on Monday beginning at 5 p.m.
Childcare will be provided for the Lent Event. We will be exploring ways of meditation through activities for
the children. Please call 626.583.2781 before Friday, Mar. 23, to reserve a space for your child.

Register now on the All Saints website  or print out and mail in a registration form from here!

For more information contact Christina Honchell: 626.583.2742 or chonchell@allsaints-pas.org

WORKSHOPS Set for 20 Years of Blessing Conference!

Plans are being finalized for the upcoming 20YEARS OF BLESSING weekend event at All Saints Church -- including this fabulous menu of workshops focused on mobilizing for our future as we work to build on our past.  The workshops will be offered in two sessions:

Session One: 1:00-2:15 | Session Two: 2:30-3:45

Advocacy within the Episcopal Church: What’s next at the National Church level on LGBT inclusion? Get the inside scoop on the ongoing movement toward full inclusion in the Episcopal Church from General Convention Deputy and All Saints leader, Jim White

Activism in the secular arena: Contributions to marriage equality and LGBT rights come from many arenas – secular, faith and grassroots efforts. Come to hear stories about progress from many places. Dr. Paul Clement & Rev. Dr. Neil Thomas will present.

Keeping Kids Safe from Bullying: Resourcing participants to create bully-free zones, this workshop will include a screening of Bill Brummel’s brilliant documentary “Bullied” followed by a facilitated conversation with All Saints youth staffers Jeremy Langill and Isaac Ruelas

A la familia: The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has developed a groundbreaking new curriculum designed to address issues of LGBT inclusion in Latino contexts. Abel Lopez will lead a “test drive” of this exciting new resource.

“But the Bible Says …” The "Christian right" is back (in disguise) and even more committed to denying the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans. The gains we have made are easily lost unless we understand and confront their campaign of fear and loathing based on scientific ignorance and biblical misuse. Mel White will show us how!

Strategic Storytelling: This workshop will is designed to equip LGBT activists and straight allies to tell their stories to effectively change hearts, minds and votes. Led by Integrity Communication Director and media consultant Louise Brooks.

Making Marriage Work For all the pleasures and gratifications of marriage, for most of us it is also a constant challenge to stay close, to feel safe and to create a future that is satisfying for both of us. This workshop is designed to help us make our way together, whether gay or straight, long-term couples or newly-weds. Led by Pasadena therapists Diane Lee and Rick Thyne
 
For more information contact Linn Vaughan at 626.583.2744. To register click here.

LOVE FREE OR DIE comes to Pasadena

"You don't have to leave your Christianity behind to stand on the right side of history." -- Macky Alston

"Love Free or Die" -- Macky Alston's feature length documentary of the work and witness of Bishop Gene Robinson premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23rd and will screen here at All Saints on Saturday night, January 28th as part of our "20 Years of Blessing" event.

"Our" L.A. Times film critic Ken Turan called it "one to keep an eye on" in his Sundance column this week ... and so here's a glimpse of what to keep an eye out for:



7pm | Saturday, January 28 | in the All Saints Forum
Seating Limited: Register here

MLK Day Reading du jour @ All Saints Church in Pasadena

“Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God’s universe is made; this is the way it is structured.

John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms: ‘No one is an island entire of itself. Every one is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.’ And he goes on toward the end to say, ‘Any one’s death diminishes me because I am involved in humankind; therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.’ We must see this, believe this, and live by it if we are to remain awake through a great revolution.”

Minister: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.

People: Thanks be to God.

(From Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, sermon preached March 31, 1968 at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. – the last Sunday Sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
—from ATestament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
ed. James M. Washington, and A Knock at Midnight

All Saints Church sponsors BAIL OUT THE FOOD BANKS on MLK National Day of Service

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a National Day of Service.

On Sunday, January 15, All Saints Church in Pasadena will participate in the 2012 Martin Luther King National Day of Service by sponsoring a Bail Out the Food Banks food drive to benefit our own food ministry as well as Pasadena area food pantries.

Our youth will be at the curbside drop-off zone in front of the church from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday morning to receive donations. All Saints Church is located at 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena 91101 ... see website for driving directions.

Click here for a list of most-needed food items.
For more information email Norma Sigmund or call 626-583-2734

WE DO! All Saints Celebrates 20 Years of Blessing

January 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the first blessing of a same-sex couple — Mark Benson & Phil Straw — here at All Saints Church. We will celebrate that milestone with a series of events and programs the weekend of January 28/29. Make your plans now to come celebrate the past and mobilize for the future!

Saturday, January 28
9am—5pm

All Saints Rector Ed Bacon | Bishop Mary Glasspool | Rector Emeritus George Regas | Bishop Gene Robinson

Morning program in the Forum will include a multi-media look at the last twenty years; reflections from our “God, Sex & Justice” history makers; remembering Beyond Inclusion's beginnings and the Claiming the Blessing years. There will be opportunities for Q&A and a conversation with Bishop Robinson. Come be informed and inspired!

Afternoon workshops will include Faith-based advocacy; Civic Engagement on LGBT issues; Keeping Kids Safe from Bullying (with Bill Brummel’s brilliant documentary “Bullied”); A la familia — a bi-lingual guide to LGBT inclusion from our HRC colleagues; Strategic Storytelling for changing hearts and minds, offered by IntegrityUSA; Reclaiming Scripture as a tool for inclusion with Soulforce founder Mel White ... among others. Come be equipped and empowered!

Workshop details here.

The afternoon will conclude with a Festive Holy Eucharist: Mary Glasspool, preacher and Gene Robinson, celebrant.

Then Saturday is “Movie Night!”

We are thrilled to be hosting the West Coast “sneak preview” of “Love Free or Die” — the just released documentary on the work and witness of Bishop Gene Robinson ... premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23.

Love Free or Die begins with the story of a man whose two defining passions are in conflict: his love for God and his love for his partner, Mark.

Gene Robinson is the first openly gay bishop in the high church traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir, and he has lived with death threats nearly every day since. Bishop Robinson refuses to leave the church that has taught for centuries it has no place for people like him. And he refuses to leave the man he loves, even though he has been taught it is God's will for him to do so. And of course he is not alone. Bishop Robinson lives in a nation and a world in which many are caught in this ultimate double bind.

Love Free or Die documents the lives of Bishop Robinson and a host of others in the church/state struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality in America. Shot over three years, Love Free or Die reveals from the intimate inside how our culture and our laws change due to the convictions, courage and commitments of specific individuals and communities. Bishop Robinson as he changes hearts and minds on the LGBT equality issue, from working class towns in the northern mountains of New Hampshire to the Lincoln Memorial at Barack Obama's inauguration.

In the Forum at 7pm.

Sunday, January 29

The celebration will continue on Sunday morning at All Saints Church where both Bishop Glasspool and Bishop Robinson will be with us for the 9:00 & 11:15 services. Gene Robinson will preach and Mary Glasspool will celebrate. We conclude our celebration with a very special Rector’s Forum conversation with Bishop Glasspool about her journey toward ordination as the first "out" lesbian bishop .

For more information on email All Saints staffer Linn Vaughan or call 626.583.2744.

To register online visit the All Saints website

An All Saints Church Celebration,
with thanks for generous support from HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and Integrity USA

Happy New Year, Church!!

And it’s January!

As the new year begins -- with all its opportunities and challenges -- here at All Saints Church we look forward to another year of living out our mission of turning the human race into the human family and making God’s love tangible 24/7. We quote Martin Luther King Jr. a lot here at All Saints -- and high on the list of frequently quoted quotes is “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

We know that to be true – and we know also that we stand on the shoulders of generations of “arc benders” as we work together to make justice roll down in our generation as they did in theirs. And during the month of January we’ll be getting a jump start on that work as we welcome some extraordinary leaders to equip us to both learn from our history and mobilize for the future.

On Sunday, January 8 the Reverend Dr. James Lawson – one of the architects of the Civil Rights Movement – will be with us in the Rector’s Forum to continue to equip us in the work of using non-violent direction action to make change happen. We were honored to have Dr. Lawson with us in November for a teaching session with the vestry and are delighted that he will be kicking off our 2012 Rector’s Forum series. The arc of the moral universe is long, but Dr. Lawson will help us work to bend it toward justice.

On Martin Luther King Sunday (January 15) we welcome the Reverend Stephanie Spellers – a long time friend of All Saints Church and a national leader on issues of radical welcome and the emerging church movement. From the pulpit and in the Rector’s Forum she will both challenge and equip as we continue to expand our understandings of what it is to “be” church in the rapidly changing challenges of what some are calling the “Digital Reformation.” The arc of the moral universe is long, but we will continue to work to bend it toward radical welcome.

And then on January 28/29 we will mark a very special anniversary with a weekend dedicated to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 1992 blessing of Mark Benson and Phil Straw: the first same-sex union blessed at All Saints Church . A day-long conference on Saturday the 28th will include speakers from the original “God, Sex & Justice” task force and a video look back at this important part of our history followed by workshops equipping us to move forward in the future.

Confirmed participants include Bishop Mary Glasspool, Rector Emeritus George Regas, Bishop Gene Robinson and Mark Benson. Bishop Glasspool will preach and Bishop Robinson celebrate at the conference day Eucharist on Saturday afternoon – and the day will conclude with a special “sneak preview” of a brilliant new documentary on the work and witness of the Bishop of New Hampshire: “Love Free or Die.”

Then on Sunday morning, January 29 both Bishops Glasspool and Robinson will be with us to continue the celebration: Bishop Robinson preaching at the 9:00 & 11:15 services and Bishop Glasspool celebrating. It is going to be quite a weekend!

The arc of the moral universe is long, but we have seen it bend toward justice … and this January we are going to continue the All Saints tradition of setting audacious goals and celebrating incremental victories as we continue to do our part to make justice roll down. Happy New Year, Church!

-- by Susan Russell, Senior Associate for Communication, Incorporation & Inclusion