All Saints Church @ Diocesan Dodger Night!

It was a beautiful night for a ball game ... and All Saints Church was out in force to cheer on the Dodgers to a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox AND our Bishop Mary Glasspool as she threw out the ceremonial "first pitch. Photo above is Bishop Mary with partner Becki Sander.

And here's a look at the fun everybody else was having. Enjoy!

Violence and Racism Make Us All Sick

Do you know that living in certain zip codes can be hazardous to your health? Do you know what could be done to change that reality?

Dr. Eric Walsh is a student of issues relating to social justice. As he has sought to understand what social structures influence health and well being, he has come to see racism and structural violence as killers. Since becoming Pasadena’s Director of Public Health in 2010, Walsh has put his energy toward public health practices and policies which increase individuals’ health and wellness in order that all people are able to thrive. In a multi-media presentation, he will invite us into the challenges in Pasadena.

Walsh has served under the current and previous White House administrations on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. He is the past President of the California Academy of Preventive Medicine and has served on committees with the Center for Disease Control, collaborating with many grass roots organizations in Southern California to improve the health of at-risk populations. He is on the staff of Loma Linda University School of Medicine and the University of California Irvine as an adjunct professor.

On Sunday, June 17 we welcome Dr. Eric Walsh to the Rector’s Forum at 10:15 a.m -- and see where All Saints might become more involved with his efforts. (Or tune in via u-stream if you can't we with us on campus!

"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.

DIOCESAN DODGER NIGHT | Friday, June 15

It's time for Episcopal Night at Dodger Stadium again, set this year for Friday, June 15, with the Dodgers playing the Chicago White Sox!

IF enough tickets are sold, our own Bishop Mary Glasspool will be on the mound for the first pitch: so we want to do our All Saints Church part to make that happen!

The game starts at 7:10 -- (plan to arrive before 6:30 p.m. to see the bishop introduced) -- tickets are just $15 each (discounted from $22), and must be purchased by May 18.

Purchase your tickets: Online on the All Saints website
Or at the table-on-the-lawn on Sundays May 6 or May 13!

And then let’s go root, root, root for the home team!!

Questions? Call (626-583-2744) or email Linn Vaughan

Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards in the ASC Rector's Forum | Sunday, April 29

As the "war on women" continues to be headline news, women’s health care has the best of all possible advocates in Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards -- and we are SUPER delighted to welcome her to the Rector's Forum as our "skyped in" speaker this Sunday, April 29. Don't miss it!

If you can't make it to the Rector's Forum here in Pasadena at 10:15 on Sunday, then tune in via the live stream on our website. (Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on Sunday morning, there's a place for you here!)

All Saints Rector Ed Bacon named this year's 'Thorny Rose' recipient

All in good fun ... All Saints' Rector Ed Bacon (pictured below in front of the Maryland Hotel Wall) to be "honored" at this year's Doo Dah Parade!

All Saints Rector Ed Bacon named this year's 'Thorny Rose' recipient
By Janette Williams, SGVN
Posted: 04/18/2012 03:22:03 PM PDT
PASADENA - For standing his Civic Center ground over a controversial church expansion, All Saints Rector Ed Bacon has been named this year's Thorny Rose, the Doo Dah Parade's annual nod to the biggest pain in the civic neck.

As Doo Dah organizers describe it, the prickly honor is presented annually to "an individual or organization that has created the strongest dose of discomfort and controversy in the community."

The recognition comes two days after the City Council unanimously voted to approve the church's $45-million expansion, part of a 15-year master plan on the 2.8-acre campus opposite City Hall. In their citation, Doo Dah officials cited Bacon's six-year "vision" to expand the church's role.

"The plans called for bringing progressive architecture to Pasadena's historic Civic Center," the citation said. "When the rector took it public many people railed against it as too big, too extreme, and too `out there.' Of course, the preservationists got involved. First they swooned, then they got a hold of themselves and threatened roadblocks at every turn. But Ed Bacon and his supporters battled on."

As is the tradition for Thorny Rose winners, officials said, Bacon, or a church designate, will be given an invitation to receive the award in public and be driven along the route of the 35th Pasadena Doo Dah Parade on April 28 at its new Colorado Boulevard location in East Pasadena.

The only Thorny Rose awardee to pass up the invitation was Wayne Lusvardi who was the eighth recipient (represented by a giant rubber chicken) and last year's award winners, Pasadenans for a Livable City who sued the city over the IED development in the Playhouse District.

Past recipients who did attend include inaugural recipient, the late Star-News columnist Charles Cherniss; former City Councilman and Pasadena Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Paul Little - twice; persistent council critic Roy Begley; the PUSD School Board; Mary Dee Romney; West Pasadena Residents Association; Ann Lau and the Falun Gong, and the Friends of Hahamongna.

Read more here