"New Skies:" Choral Anthem Premiere at All Saints Church | Sunday, May 20

Time flies when you're having fun and so it's hard to believe that here we are pushing the end of May again already and gearing up for the Spring Concert for our Children and Youth Choirs at All Saints Church. If you're in the neighborhood, of course you should drop by. 5pm in the Church. And even if you're NOT in the neighborhood you should know about anthem premiering in the concert this evening.

The title is “New Skies” and it was commissioned by us from Karen P. Thomas, artistic director of Seattle Pro Musica. There are 3 texts that are used through the song. The first is the pledge from the “It Gets Better” website.

Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are.
I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors.
I’ll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it,
At school and at work.
I’ll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi and trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that
“It Gets Better!”

The next text was an anonymous poem that was found on that same website (sung by Trouveres):

Look up!
Let us search for clear sky.
Rain flows in rivers where we stand.
Wind pushes, we sway, but stand still, but stay strong.
There are new skies to come.
Do not say that we are less than,
We are as ever,
Hearts flying wild,
Hope beating heavy and sense turning mad,
Excitement growing,
Hands in hands,
And as ever, and as always,
You want only, simply, to be loved
And come home.

The last poem is Emily Dickinson (sung by Mastersingers and Troubadours and Chamber Choir):

If I can stop one heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain.
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help on fainting robin
Unto his next again,
I shall not live in vain.

They say that those who sing pray twice ... and so these words ... prayed twice as they are sung this evening by the young voices here at All Saints Church ... will be offered "like incense" into a world in desperate need of the love, hope and healing they represent. Songs of healing. Songs of hope. Songs of new skies and a new commitment to be the agents of change that will rid the world of the hatred, intolerance and homophobia that keeps it from being the "kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven" we pray for.
 
And let the people say, "AMEN."

All Saints says THANK YOU!

In response to their recent statements supporting marriage equality, All Saints' rector Ed Bacon wrote the following "thank you note" to the President and Vice President ... inviting parish members to go and do likewise by writing their own notes at tables on the lawn on Sunday, May 13.

Dear President Obama and Vice President Biden,

Thank you for your recent statements in support of marriage equality.

For decades All Saints Church has served as a beacon of justice and inclusion. The mission of our parish – to embody the inclusive love of God in Christ through spirituality, community, and peace & justice – has led us to protest Japanese internment, fight racial segregation, oppose the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq, work to reverse the nuclear arms race, declare ourselves “prayerfully pro-choice,” and stand for marriage equality.

We believe that love between two persons, upheld in mutual commitment and relationship with God, is a complete and honorable union which is indeed Holy Matrimony. This year All Saints is proud to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of same gender blessings in our parish. Until the time has come when our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers are able to legally marry, All Saints will refrain from serving as the agent of the state in this regard. Consequently, we ask heterosexual couples to have a civil marriage; then we offer church blessings for unions and marriages alike, until the law serves all God’s children equally.

Enclosed please find personal notes from members of our community who express their thoughts, feelings, enthusiasm and gratitude in response to your new position on gay marriage.

Sincerely,
The Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, Rector
All Saints Church, Pasadena

If you missed the chance to send your note of thanks, you can click here and send one directly to the White House.