​March 24: Due to multiple spring breaks overlapping, all Sunday School classes will meet as one class in the Youth Room from 9:00-9:50am with NO Youth Group in the evening.
 
March 26-April 23: The Way of Love Lenten program continues! Thank you to all who have joined so far! We gather in Room 22 for a light dinner beginning at 5:30pm, have a brief teaching with discussion to follow, and our night wraps up around 7:00pm. Please join us. If you can bring a light soup dinner, please contact Erin Wolf HERE.
 
March 31: Medieval Knight at St. Thomas, open to grades 6-12 & adult leaders. 5:00-7:00pm with dinner included! This will take place of our usual Youth Group gathering.
 
April 7: Service Project for Youth Group. Details pending.
 
April 14: Camp Worship: This particular evening for Camp Worship will include Stations of the Cross and will be better suited for grades 2 and up. Younger students are invited to participate with a parent/guardian/family-connect adult assisting. Plan to meet in the Chancel (choir area of the church) at 6:30pm.
 
April 21: Easter Sunday—No Sunday School or Youth Group. Children’s Sermon at the 10:00am service with Easter Egg hunt for ages 11 and under following. More Holy Week details to be coming soon—stay tuned!
 
April 28: Youth Sunday/End of Year Celebration! Join as we celebrate the end of another year of Youth Ministry at All Saints! Students will be active within many parts of the 10:00am service, and the Youth Choir will sing again. Erin Wolf will serve as guest preacher, and all Youth Ministry volunteers will be recognized as well.
 
June 10-23: Diocesan Summer Camp Registration & Staff Applications are open! Please visit diofdl.org/camp for Camper Info, and diofdl.org/campstaff for Volunteer Staff Info! All camp-related inquiries may be sent to camp@diofdl.org. (Please note date change for Senior Camp.)
 
More Information for Youth Ministry can be found at the All Saints Youth Ministry website.
 
Upcoming Events
March 26: The Way of Love (Learn), 5:30-7:00pm, Room 22
March 31: Medieval Knight at St. Thomas, grades 6-12 & adults, 5:00-7:00pm with dinner
April 2: The Way of Love (Bless), 5:30-7:00pm, Room 22
April 7: Youth Group service project, details TBA
April 9: The Way of Love (Rest), 5:30-7:00pm, Room 22
April 14: Camp Worship, 6:30-8:00pm, Chancel
April 16: The Way of Love (Worship), 5:30-7:00pm, Room 22
April 21: Easter Sunday—No Sunday School or Youth Group. Children’s Message & Egg Hunt.
April 23: The Way of Love (Go), 5:30-7:00pm, Room 22
April 24: Unity Night at Fox Cities Exhibition Center, 6-8pm, grades 6-12 & adults
April 28: Youth Sunday/End of Year Celebration at 10:00am service
June 10-23: Diocesan Summer Camp at Camp Lakotah

​You probably have not noticed, if you attend any Liturgy at All Saints except the 8:00am on Sundays, but I thought it might be interesting to others also. When I arrived at All Saints a few months ago I noticed that the Nicene Creed called for at the 8:00am on Sundays began on page 327 and was called the Traditional Form. Unfortunately I saw this in the middle of the Liturgy and meant to change this in the bulletin, but, by the time we finished I had forgotten. I just automatically used the Creed on p. 326 and continued for a long time just to use what I have always used at Rite I. But then I remembered that I wanted to tell everyone why I use the Creed on page 326 and never the one on 327. And the people at 8:00am were very nice to humor the old guy (me) and not say anything. I told them why last Sunday.
 
You do deserve to know why any change happens, and it is also a little teaching about the history of the Church’s use of the Creed; so I thought I would do it here. As originally written and passed by the Council of Nicea in 325 AD ( a significant time ago) the Creed was written to take care of the controversy over the nature of Christ. Simply put, was Jesus God or just a man? It was written for the whole Church and not as a personal statement of faith. That has always been the Apostle’s Creed, used at Baptism. In the 1928 Episcopal Prayer Book the Creed was changed to “I” believe, which is a nice thought but historically inaccurate. And it is used in the Eucharistic Liturgy as a corporate statement of the Church’s faith and thus inappropriate as well as historically incorrect. 
 
Mistakes are made in the Church, but when they are enshrined in the Prayer Book, it can take decades to undo them. We are in Lent and these lessons can be used to help us know that we too often make mistakes, but it should not take this long to say, “I was wrong and I want to change and make things right.”
Sometimes it is pride that keeps us from correcting things, but often it is because it takes too much work to correct what is done. Never feel like an apology makes us less than we are. It is rather a sign of us not being perfect. We know that already and should never shy away from getting back on the path of righteousness and truth.
 
Lenten blessings to all.

Giving statements for 2018 are at the back of the church, alphabetized by last name. Please pick yours up.

Hello fellow parishioners,
 
Great news ~ Pledges are slightly over budget for January (Thank you for your contributions!!) and the market recovered since December so the endowment balance has increased due to unrealized gains. I have been very busy getting up to speed on the details of All Saints’ Finances. I appreciate everyone’s kindness and patience with my questions as I learn the role. Please find above the January 2019 Income and Expense Summary. The January budget is 1/12 of the 2019 total budget and as you know income and expenses do not occur in a straight line fashion. We incurred a ($10,427.78) loss for January primarily due to not yet pulling the 5% planned disbursements from the endowments, resulting in lower income of ($3,989.17) and building maintenance exceeding 1/12th of the budget by ($6,033.78) due to boiler work ($6457.78) and gutter repairs ($996). I believe the boiler work is semi-annual so we will get caught up by mid-year. We continue to have enough leftover cash from 2018 to cover the deficit and will work out a plan for taking the budgeted endowment distributions over the next few months. 

A question I have heard many times at All Saints is: what can I do to help? Here are a few easy suggestions on items that require minimal time but will have a big impact:
 
1.      Buy Scrip cards! – You can either buy cards online or from Suzanne Fischer. By setting up Presto-Pay on https://www.shopwithscrip.com/ the payment is pulled directly from your checking account and you do not have to worry about remembering to pay Suzanne. Suzanne and I are both available to help you set up an online account.

2.      Submit cost savings ideas to allsaintstreasurer@tds.net – a small idea can have a big impact. A few ideas we’ve already started working on are to use volunteers for lawn care, rebid our sidewalk snow removal vendor, have potlucks at church events instead of catered dinners, review the telephone and internet expenses, increase credit card bill payment to earn more 1.5% rewards, review energy costs, and many more. What ideas do you have to help us save?

3.      Volunteer to organize or assist with fundraising events like the Epiphany Dinner, Valentine Bake Sale, and Lambeau Concessions help – All Saints earned over $1000 from these small but easy activities. I hear a leprechaun calling for a St. Paddy’s Day event..
 
Thank you for placing your trust in me. I am committed to helping All Saints have a sustainable financial future for years to come.

I have been asked a lot of questions in my years of ordination. Some are simple and some almost seem like “they should know that”. But all have been important to those who asked and everyone deserves an answer. I have said many times that if you cannot explain why you do something, then you should not be doing it. I have answered several questions in my recent articles and I pray a few more might be helpful for some one.

As a bishop I have been asked why I take off my hat, whether the purple zucchetto ( small skull cap) or my miter, when I am at the altar leading the Eucharistic Prayer. First, it is a prayer and Miters are removed for prayer, but I do not put it on until after Communion. But the zucchetto is also removed at the Communion. The second reason that a head covering is removed here, for a clergy person, is humility and reverence. I also remove my bishop’s ring at the Altar. I hate to disappoint some, but it has to do with the ring getting in the way and invariably hitting the metal that is used. There is nothing like a loud bang in the middle of things. So I take mine off. Sorry, no sound theological reason.

Also concerning the Communion, I also say, “Jesus Christ was made known to His disciples, in the breaking of the bread.” before the Fraction anthem - “ [Alleluia.] Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. [Alleluia.]”. The phrase is a paraphrase of Luke 24:35 in Scripture that I picked up from Bishop William Stevens, Bishop of Fond du Lac in the 1980s. For me, it always was a good explanation of why we break the bread. And Christ is shown to us in the Communion.

In a recent article I talked about why I do not say, when speaking, the Great Amen at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer. But, if you notice, I rarely, if ever, say the words in italics either. They are almost always a rubric (instructions which are not said out loud, except in teaching), or they are a response for the congregation gathered, to the action or words proclaimed. 

Join us for an evening of contemplation and song in the style of the community of Taizé in France!  The services will be held at 5:00 pm on Sunday, February 24 at All Saints.

All Saints partners with Lawrence University and area churches to hold Taizé services throughout the school year. See calendar or click here for details.