April 14, 2010

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Last week I shared the mission of our parish with you. People remarked that our mission is open, inclusive, and adaptable to new circumstances. Our mission statement reflects the experience of the early Christian community after the Resurrection of Christ. The first generation of Christians were "searching to know and accept God's purpose." They were "uplifted by worship together" as they met in homes and in the Temple. In the days after Easter, they were sustained by a sense of Christ being in their midst and "inspired by the Holy Spirit" to be Christ's Body in the world. Like the first disciples, we too have experienced the risen Christ in our lives.

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.

All Saints Parish is producing a Parish Photo Directory. To schedule an appointment to have your photgraph taken for the directory on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, please call Olan Mills at 1-800-866-2263.

All Saints Parish is one of the sponsors of "Opening the Psalms with Rabbi David Lazar" on Sunday, May 2, at 7:00 pm. All are welcome to this interfaith study of the psalms at Temple Beth Zion, 1566 Beacon Street in Brookline.

David Lazar holds a BA in Biblical studies from the Hebrew University and an MA and Rabbinical ordination from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Fee: $10. For information, please contact Rabbi Claudia Kreiman at ravclaudia@tbzbrookline.org or 617-566-2277.

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR tHE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the conversion of St. Paul: "Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' He asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' The reply came, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.'" (Acts 9:1-20)

Psalm 30 is a song of praise of the person restored to health and wholeness: "I will exalt you, O LORD,because you have lifted me up and have not let my enemies triumph over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health. You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead; you restored my life as I was going down to the grave. Sing to the LORD, you servants of his; give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness. For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning."

The reading from the Book of Revelation presents a vision of the risen Christ triumphant over all adversaries: "I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'" (Revelation 5:11-14)

The Gospel of John tells of a post-resurrection appearance of Christ: "Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.' They said to him, 'We will go with you.' They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, 'Children, you have no fish, have you?' They answered him, 'No.' He said to them, 'Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.' So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, 'Who are you?' because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead." (John 21:1-19)

Like the disciples in Sunday's Gospel passage – and as we assert in our parish's mission statement – we are "sustained by a sense of Christ being in our midst." We believe that the risen Christ is sacramentally present in our community to nourish us with the bread of life. Please join us for our worship services on Saturday at 5:00 pm and on Sunday at 10:30 am.

Sincerely,

David A. Killian
Rector

Worship Services for

The Third Sunday of Easter, April 17-18, 2010
Saturday, April 17, at 5:00 pm: Preacher: The Rev. David A. Killian
Sunday, April 18, at 10:30 am: Preacher: The Rev. David A. Killian

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