April 8, 2010

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

The mystery of Christ's resurrection is so profound that the Church devotes fifty days to this season known as Eastertide. To learn more about Eastertide, please click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastertide.

This Sunday we celebrate New Member Sunday. If you have been attending for a while and you have found our parish to be nourishing in your spiritual journey, we invite you to claim this as your spiritual home. During the 10:30 am service, you may come forward to be accepted as a member of the parish and to join in affirming the mission of the parish:

The Mission of All Saints Parish is to be a Community — searching to know and accept God's purpose for us, uplifted by worship together, sustained by a sense of Christ being in our midst, and inspired by the Holy Spirit to become more than we are, here and in the world.

All Saints Parish is committed to environmental stewardship. In the next few weeks parishioners will join with Brookline Climate Action to form eco-teams to share ideas about reducing our carbon footprint. The first meeting with be at a luncheon on April 18 at 11:45 am. For more information, please click here.

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR tHE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents Peter's faith in Christ's resurrection: "We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." (Acts 5:27-32)

Psalm 150, the last psalm in the Bible, is a joyous acclamation of praise: "Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy temple; praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him for his excellent greatness. Praise him with the blast of the ram's-horn; praise him with lyre and harp. Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe. Praise him with resounding cymbals; praise him with loud-clanging cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Hallelujah!"

The reading from the Book of Revelation asserts that Christ will come in triumph to bring creation to fulfillment: "Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:4-8)

The Gospel of John tells the story of Thomas, who was led by the risen Christ from "unbelieving" to "believing": But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (John 20:19-31)

We believe that the risen Christ is present in our community to lead us from unbelieving to believing. Please join us for our worship services on Saturday at 5:00 pm and on Sunday at 10:30 am. May the blessings of the risen Christ fill your life this holy season.

Sincerely,

David A. Killian
Rector

Worship Services for

The Second Sunday of Easter, April 10-11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, at 5:00 pm: Preacher: Mr. Philip Major
Sunday, April 11, at 10:30 am: Preacher: Mr. Philip Major

We want your feedback!

Please tell us :

• if you find All Saints Weekly a helpful spiritual resource
• if you have trouble seeing this email or opening the links
• or if you do not wish to receive this e-newsletter.

Please let Barbara know at office@allsaintsbrookline.org. THANK YOU