All Saints Church Says "NO" To The Death Penalty

"An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed. Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by a legalized murder." -- Coretta Scott King

Photos from today's Death Penalty Vigil in Pasadena's Central Park.

Update from the All Saints Front: Vault Project On Schedule

Today begins Week Two and Phase Two of the "Great All Saints Vault Project."
If you missed the earlier installments click here for a report from last Monday.

The new electrical vault has now been lowered into place and construction workers are preparing it for the switch-over process ... migrating all the All Saints campus electrical and communication components from the old vault into the new one.

It is that process that will precipitate the All Saints campus being without power from Tuesday, September 20 through Thursday, September 22.

That means:

• No phones.
• No voicemail.
• No email

So Remember:

● For pastoral care emergencies call: 626.298.9551 
● For non-emergency matters requiring immediate attention email: ASCpas@gmail.com 
● For updates on the status of the project keep an eye on this blog

An email notification will be sent out as soon as we’re back “up and running” so watch for that! We appreciate your patience and good humor during this stressful time, and we are very grateful for the leadership of Lonnie Schield, chair of Buildings and Grounds, in guiding us through it.

CELEBRATION OF MINISTRIES SUNDAY IS ALMOST HERE: September 25, 2011

We're in final preparation mode for "CELEBRATION OF MINISTRIES 2011" ... to whet your appetite for what we know will be another "best ever" celebration at All Saints Church, here's a look back at last year.

[For a map of the tables on the lawn for this coming Sunday, click here.]

[All Saints Church | September 2010] All Saints didn't let a little thing like record heat (103!) get in the way of a FABULOUS celebration of the many ministries that make up the work and witness of All Saints Church! Here's a peek at the energy and excitement of Celebration of Ministries 2010:


And to find out more about any of the ministries on the lawn today, visit the new All Saints website Ministry pages.Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself there IS a place for you here! Let us help you find it!

All Saints in the News: Standing for Justice with Grocery Workers

Left to right, John Steele, board member of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice; Heather Holt, member of 9 to 5 Working Women's Association; Steve Holt, member of CLUE; Robyn Smith, parishioner at All Saints Church, Pasadena, in a show of support for grocery workers outside the Vons in Eagle Rock on September 17. [photo ccredit Ajay Singh Photos]

All Saints Church was well represented in speaking out for ecnominc justice and standing with grocery workers yesterday during eleventh hour contract negotiations. (See Robyn Smith -- pictured above -- from Labor in Talks with Grocery Chain Management -- Highland Park | Mount Washington Patch)

And we rejoice at the good news today:  Grocery Strike Averted -- Los Angeles Times

The table is set ...

WELCOME HOME!

Here are some snapshots from today's Homecoming Celebration at All Saints Church ... more to come!

(And wasn't it a GREAT day???)

Homecoming 2011 -- INVITE Someone!

We're on final Homecoming Countdown at All Saints Church.

“If you think you can’t-go-home-again
Because the might-haves and
the should-haves and the didn’t-quites
have taken hold,
Then think again.”
These words from the All Saints “Homecoming” poem … penned by Anne Breck Peterson in 1982 … once again call us all back to All Saints Church for Homecoming Sunday 2011.

Homecoming Sunday is always a marvelous opportunity to greet old friends and make new ones and members of our Parish Council have outdone themselves in planning an extraordinary and festive start to this All Saints program year. We’ll welcome back both Canterbury and Coventry Choirs at the 9:00 and 11:15 services and (something new!) a variety of foods will be available for purchase from some of the area's most popular food trucks beginning at 10:00 a.m. Here's a link to their menus to whet your appetite.

Ed Bacon has said more times than most of us can count that being a member of All Saints Church is not a spectator sport. So be with us this Sunday as we begin another year together of putting faith into action; of speaking truth to power; of making God’s love tangible 24/7. And take a minute to watch this video, reminding us there are plenty of folks out there who have plenty of reasons NOT to be part of a church. Until they find one like All Saints. And then INVITE SOMEONE to Homecoming so we can say "Welcome Home" to them, too!



[Yes, it has come to our attention that the folks who made this video don't embrace the same theology of inclusion that we do here at All Saints. Nevertheless ... if the message works, use it!]

35 Years Ago Today ...

For many All Saintsers it's hard to imagine an Episcopal Church that doesn't include women in all orders of ministry -- and for others the struggle for women's ordination is part of their lived history in the Church! But it was exactly thirty-five years ago today General Convention paved the way to make these pictures -- and many others like them -- possible.



We give thanks to Louie Crew for reminding us on Facebook this morning that today ... this very day ... is the 35th anniversary of the day that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church voted to end discrimination against the ordination of women with a resolution that read:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That a new Section 1 of Title III, Canon 9 be adopted, with renumbering of the present Section 1 and following, the said Section 1 to read as follows: Section 1. Theprovisions of these canons for the admission of Candidates, and for the Ordination to the three Orders: Bishops, Priests and Deacons shall be equally applicable to men and women.

And thanks to George Werner for this -- also reminding us that our own rector-emeritus was in the forefront of that important fight for equality:

"I just found D-1 from '76 Convention: Signees: George Regas, Lueta Bailey, Lois Barnum, Dupuy Bateman, James Birney, Leona Bryant, Gordon Charleton, Charles Crump, Mark Dyer, Joe Green, Sally Head, Hugh Jones, Charles Lawrence, Clay Myers, Dillard Robinson, Lucile Roca, Ed Romig, Bob Royster, Bart Sherman, Gordon Stenning, Ross Sidney, Charity Weymouth, Stew Wood & me. Special moment!"

So Happy Anniversary, Church!!

And thanks to all who worked so long and hard to make it happen. May we be given grace to serve the Church in our generation as faithfully as you served it in yours!