We have all now journeyed with Jesus through the passion to the resurrection and now we are exploring through His appearances to the disciples. Jesus came and stood among the Jews to declare peace. Through this we can learn that regardless of our efforts, He will come.
Join us throughout the month of May to dive into the word with various guest speakers - Hunter Allen, Dr. Robert Sloan, Carrie Heddington, and Bill Hendricks.
Holy Week continues on with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday as we journey together through Jesus' last week leading into the cross and resurrection with Easter Sunday. The children will have their own role to play on Easter with the flowering of the cross, which should be a lovely addition. We will have hot cross buns and coffee outside after the service on Easter.
We also have some exciting staffing changes/additions to announce! Watch the video for more info.
Here are the dates and times of the services leading up to Easter -
Maundy Thursday – 4/14 at 6:30pm (foot washing service) Good Friday** – 4/15 at 12pm (stations of the cross service) Easter Sunday – 4/17 at 9am
*Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday & Easter services will be family services with childcare only from birth to 3yo. **Good Friday will have childcare from birth to 5th grade.
This Sunday is Palm Sunday and we will be starting off the service a little differently. We'll begin all together out by the blue doors facing Easton Rd and we will process in with our palm branches. This will be a family service, so all children older than 3 will be welcome to participate. Palm Sunday is the service where we'll position our hearts to get ready for everything that's coming in Holy Week.
Holy Week is coming up, and these are some of the most powerful services of the liturgical calendar. Here are the dates and times of the services leading up to Easter -
Palm Sunday – 4/10 at 9am Maundy Thursday – 4/14 at 6:30pm (foot washing service) Good Friday* – 4/15 at 12pm (stations of the cross service) Easter Sunday – 4/17 at 9am
*Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday & Easter services will be family services with childcare only from birth to 3yo. **Good Friday will have childcare from birth to 5th grade.
Holy Week Service details and more! A recap and links to register for all:
Maundy Thursday - 7pm at White Rock Fellowship
Good Friday - 12pm at White Rock Fellowship
Easter Sunday - 8am at St. Bart’s, 10am picnic to follow at Flagpole Hill Park
Watch the video above to hear a message from Rev. Dave about how Lent is really a season to receive.
Dear All Saints and St. Bart’s,
Epiphany Greetings to you!
As Lead Bishop of the AMiA (and as an AMiA clergy member for the last 15 years), I have come to know, accept and celebrate that one of the essential actions of a missionary society is sending people out – to deepen their walk with the Lord, to move further into the calling the Lord has placed on their lives and hearts, and to build the Kingdom of God. Claudia and I have “been sent out” six times in my career as a pastor, leaving places and people we love to follow the Lord’s leading. I write to you today to announce a change for St. Bart’s and All Saints, a sending out of two people we all love dearly.
Many of you have already heard about this upcoming clergy transition, but after confirmation from the All Saints Board of Stewards I want to make it official – I am excited to announce that Jay+ Wright will be joining the ASD staff next month, and Dave+ Larlee has been asked by the St. Bart’s Vestry, and accepted, the role of Interim Senior Pastor at St. Bart’s. During this transitional season I will continue to work closely with the St. Bart’s Vestry and Associate Pastor Chris+ Myers.
Over the last three weeks, the Vestry of St. Bart’s has interviewed candidates for the interim position and have communicated to me they would like to call Dave+ as Interim Senior Pastor. We - me, Jay+, Dave+, the All Saints and St Bart’s vestries - have had many discussions and prayers and meetings about this transition and there is unity, peace and excitement about this move. While we don’t know yet the exact dates these changes will take place, it appears that sometime in mid to late February we will send Dave+ and the Larlees on mission from ASD to St. Bart’s and receive Jay+ and the Wrights on mission from St. Bart’s to ASD.
I have walked along with Jay+ the last few years as he began to discern his call to a counseling ministry and encouraged him to both continue his education in this area and to consider what this would mean for his senior pastor role at St. Bart’s. I know Jay+ has written to St. Bart’s of this journey and All Saints is excited to receive the Wright family back at ASD five years after they left to plant.
Jay+ will come to ASD as an associate pastor to cover a number of areas with our pastoral staff. These duties will include programing development (Alpha, Alpha Marriage, Membership Class, Adult Education and NOVO), outreach, pastoral calls and counseling, occasionally leading worship, and connecting with newcomers. ASD will delight in having such an intelligent, winsome man to help build our church.
I have served with Dave+ Larlee the last seven years at All Saints and seen him grow as a leader, a husband and father, and as a pastor and priest. He is a marvelous minister of the Gospel, a good (good!) and immensely talented man and he will bless and be blessed by St. Bart’s.
As Jay's+ and Dave’s+ Bishop, I will attend the last services for both at St. Bart’s and All Saints for a proper sending off and commissioning for mission.
I look forward to answering any questions you may have as we all move into a new season in the life of both churches.
Thank you for your prayers and attention to these important steps for Jay+ and Dave+ in their ministry development, our churches and my role as their Bishop in the Anglican Mission.
God bless you.
On Mission,
+Philip
“Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.” Psalm 111 (ESV)
These words from this Sunday’s Psalm struck me as a nice encapsulation of the power of thanksgiving and the power of collective memory. We are always admonished to remember the works of the Lord, both in salvation history and in our own lives, but it is especially important to do so, I believe, in times of change and transition. Often by looking to the past and by recounting the faithful works of God in our lives, we are better able to orient ourselves to the future, even in the midst of uncertainty. For that reason, I would encourage you all to remember the works of God, in your own life and in the life of our body, and in remembering them, to delight in them and in the Lord who has wrought them.
I would also like to ask you to please pray for Jay and Amy, and their entire family. They both tested positive for COVID, and though thankfully they are not experiencing the worst symptoms, they are both fatigued. Pray for their quick recovery and for their children to be protected as well.
Because they are at home quarantining and resting, this means that this Sunday, January 31st, will not be their send off Sunday. We will reschedule their blessing service soon, so please stay tuned for those details.
Also, this is just a reminder that our service on February 7th will be at 4pm, because of the Super Bowl, and we are also delaying the parish meeting.
Chris+
Last night my friend and neighbor, and not to mention member of St. Bart's, Aaron Schmidt brought me a piece of art he had painted. In this time of transition, I took great comfort in it, and I wanted to share it with you as well.
”Christ will be build his church." As I have thought about the future of St. Bart's, this phrase has been at the forefront of my mind. I have meditated on it as a reminder to myself that St. Bart's is Christ's church. We are his body, and Christ cares and loves for us as his bride. He is the one who builds us up. He is also the one who graciously invites us to join him in the work of building up his church.
"Christ will be build his church." In the last week or so, some of you have repeated this very phrase to me, not knowing that I had been meditating on it myself. And I have taken that as a great encouragement of the solid foundation we have at St. Bart's. Even with everything that has changed and is changing, so many of you are actively encouraging me and others, and I am so grateful to all of you who have offered your help in this time of transition.
As I said in my remarks this past Sunday night, I have felt the support from the body in a profound way, as well as from our Bishop, Philip Jones, and especially from our Vestry, who have been working tirelessly in this time of Jay's transition. (As we said on Sunday night, if you have questions for me or for the vestry, do not hesitate to reach out.)
I've taken all this and more as great encouragement that Christ has, Christ is, and Christ will build his church. But as we look to the future, we must also take time to remember where we have come from and how far we have gone under Jay's leadership. We have much to celebrate and to remember, and we are setting aside a time to honor Jay and his family, as well as a time to pray for them and send them with blessing into the next phase of their life and ministry. (Please stay tuned for further details.)
Chris+
As we behold the face of God in the face of Christ, we are transformed into his image. This is what it means to be fully human—to become like Jesus, the truly human one, and to grow more and more in the freedom of the children of God.