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ADVENT AND CHRISTMASTIDE DECEMBER 2013

News from All Saints’ Episcopal Church, ministering in Palo Alto since 1892

Calling All Saints!

Kings Cross is Sydney’s red light district; its

neon and sparkle, its end-less makeovers and renova-tions, never entirely mask its residual sadness and danger and futility. A while back, ten-year-old Louis Regan asked his mother if she liked living here; she replied that she thought it was “kinda scuzzy,” and asked him if he liked it.

He responded, “I love everything about it.” He went on to describe what he saw: the hanging flower baskets, the local characters, the lights shining through the trees at night—a place charged with elegance and joy and enchantment. Sur-rounded by decay and despair, he saw only beauty. His moth-er had imagined it was her responsibility to open her son’s eyes to the wonder of the world around him, only to realize her child’s unerring capacity to discover it for himself.

Perhaps this is why, once a year, we need the Christ child to visit the “kinda scuzzy” world we have created, a world that to us can seem so scarred by broken promises and shattered dreams, and see it through fresh eyes, eyes alive to good-ness. The eyes that looked at Peter at his calling and in his betrayal, that gazed on the rich young man and loved him, are also fixed on us—not in judgment or condemnation, but admiration and encouragement. We need someone to mar-vel at what we have accomplished, not at how we have failed; someone who delights in our idiosyncrasies rather than de-riding them; someone who is awed by how far we have come, not how far we have yet to go. Every one of us is doing our best to live with integrity and generosity and kindness; every one of us is striving to be faithful and honest and thoughtful. And perhaps one of the greatest graces of the Advent season is to know that our God sees and loves all this, enough to want to become one of us, and make a home among us.

From Our RectorThis morning Chiara was dressed, ready for school and

waiting by the door long before I had had breakfast: she ex-plained that she wanted to go early so she could be with her friends. From the first moment we saw her, she has been fas-cinated and absorbed by people: she studies faces, she en-gages strangers, she notices any injuries or old scars. For her the highlight of Halloween is not candy but ringing every doorbell on the street and starting a conversation. Could this be the first lesson of the God who first comes among us as a child, who cannot wait to be among friends, a God eager to knock on our door, who notices and engages and remembers, and a God whose fascination with us has never changed?

—Rev. Terry Gleeson

2 Calling All Saints! December 2013

VARIA

“Friends are Angels who lift us to

our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how

to fly.”

Mabel’s Corner

CallingAll Saints!

The quarterly newsletter of All Saints’ Episcopal Church

Palo Alto, CaliforniaDiocese of El Camino Real

The Rev. Terence P. Gleeson, Rector(650) 322-4528

[email protected]

From the editorsIt is our great honor to take over the editor-ship of Calling All Saints! from our dear friend Mattie Scott. Mattie has left some pretty big shoes to fill, and we hope we are up to the task. We dedicate our first edition to her.

A good parish newsletter is truly the work of many hands and minds. Thanks to every-one who contributed so generously to this edition. If you have feedback, ideas for sto-ries, announcements, or would like to con-tribute photos or art work to future editions, please talk to us at coffee hour or email us at [email protected]. Thanks!

—Heather Hadlock & Kathy Veit

“For I am under the same accusation with my Saviour.For they said, He is besides himself.”These haunting lines come from the poem Jubilate Agno writ-ten by 18th-century English poet Chris-topher Smart while he was incarcerated in an insane asylum. The poem was not published until 1939, and in 1943 it was set to music by Benjamin Britten in the cantata “Rejoice in the Lamb,” which All Saints’ choir performed at our fall Evensong. For more on our music program and observance of Brit-ten’s 100th birthday this year, see pages 6-7.

Homelessness has been a particularly divisive issue in Palo Alto this past year. For more on what’s been going on in our commu-nity and All Saints’ outreach to the homeless, see pages 12-14.

Photo/Illustration Credits:Page 1: D. Manalo, A. Borgognone : J. Foster, J. Sack, S. Barkan, S. Rice/SF ChroniclePage 3: K. Van BreePage 4: D. Foster; Page 5: J. Sack, K. VeitPage 6: D. Foster; Page 7: M. SpeaglePages 8-11: J. SackPage 12: E. Westervelt/NPRPage 13: K. Veit, V. Weber/Palo Alto Online, A. Stover/MetroActivePage 14: K. DreherPage 15: D. Foster

C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s and best wishes to Debbie Miller and Carol Nast, who were married in All Saints’ Chapel by our rector Terry Gleeson on Thursday, No-vember 7!

What in the world is going on in this picture? Hint: it involves Bishop Mary, a wetsuit, and global outreach. For more on this question and the November 9 Diocesan Conven-tion, see page 10.In Memoriam: David Fairbank

As we were going to press, we learned of the death of long-time parishioner David Fair-bank. David passed away unexpectedly during the week of November 17. It seemed appropri-ate that we learned of his death on November 22, the feast day of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. David was the longest-serving member of All Saints’ choir, and his curiosity about all things musical was boundless. On any Sunday, he was likely to arrive at church eager to discuss a recent symphony or choral concert. (He was also beloved for his trade-mark green-mint-frosted brownies!) We will miss him in the choir, at hospitality hour, and at gatherings of the “Just Us” dinner group. As requested by family, there will be no memori-al service, but next Sunday’s service (Dec. 1) will be dedicated to David, and his ashes will eventually be interred in All Saints’ Memorial Garden. A lengthier remembrance of David will be included in the next edition of CAS!

Calling All Saints! December 2013 3

PEOPLE

We at All Saints’ bid a bittersweet farewell this fall to two of our most stalwart and beloved members, Mattie Scott and Charlie Weigle. Though happy that they have found a wonderful new home in Oakland, we are sad for ourselves that we’ll no longer see their warm smiles on Sunday mornings.

Heather first met Charlie “pre-Mattie,” when they worked together on the parish Long-Range Planning Task Force in the late 1990s. Kathy met Charlie and Mattie as Heather’s Mountain View neighbors in 2006. Kathy and Charlie found they shared a connection to her former church in San Francisco, St. John’s, where his great-great-grandfather had been senior warden for many years. Charlie generously shared archival mate-rials he had found in his attic for St. John’s 150th anniversary in 2008, and Mattie and Charlie joined us for the anniversary Eucharist and din-ner. It was one of those unexpected connections that emerge if you spend any time talking with Charlie and Mattie. They have so many interests and experiences and are so full of life—it is hard not to connect with them.

The Weigle family had been pillars of All Saints’ for three generations. Continuing this legacy, Mattie and Charlie have been leaders of our par-ish in countless ways, stepping up to the plate in almost every ministry. But perhaps most importantly, they have been spiritual leaders—icons of God’s love in our midst—in how they regard each other and in their deep compassion and caring for all whom they meet and even those they don’t know. It is an exceptional gift that they have, to so perfectly mod-el Christ’s love in the world. In this season of thanksgivings, we asked Ken and Gloria Van Bree, two of Charlie and Mattie’s oldest All Saints’ friends, to share a view thoughts following a recent visit.

—Heather Hadlock & Kathy Veit

Thanksgiving for Good FriendsLong-time Members Mattie Scott & Charlie Weigle Move to the East Bay

Mattie and Charlie shared their many talents with our community in innumerable ways. . . . It’s hard

to believe that such fixtures of All Saints’ won’t be walking in the door

on Sunday morning . . . Berkeley to Mountain View. The match was a perfect fit for every-one. Mattie and Charlie shared their many talents with our com-munity in innumerable ways.

Charlie was a founding mem-ber of the All Saints’ Men’s Group back in the days when the Rev. Rod McAulay was Assistant Rec-tor. Charlie shared his many tal-ents with us, including his cook-ing, his guided meditations, his knowledge of All Saints’ history, and his love for poetry.

Gloria has many fond mem-ories of two separate Rector

Search trips that she took to the East Coast with Mattie. You know that your traveling companion is special when what you remember is the fun and not the cold winter weather of those trips.

It’s hard to believe that such fixtures of All Saints’ won’t be walking in the door on Sunday morning unless we are graced with a visit from them.

—Gloria & KenVan Bree

As you can see from the photo above, the Weigle family is happily settled

in their new home in Oakland. They have met the challenge of downsizing from their home in Mountain View into a much smaller but lovely two-bedroom apartment. Their decision to move to a senior residence in Oakland was driven by two fac-tors. One is that the facility is in a lovely urban environment with a wide array of services for the residents. The other is that it is near Charlie’s son and his family, so they will be able to be actively involved in their grandchildren’s lives.

Ken’s visit to Charlie and Mattie in mid-October found them already grateful for their change in residence. The night before Ken’s visit, they were out walking in the neighborhood and Mattie stepped into a hole in the sidewalk. The resulting fall put her in so much pain that she was unable to drive. Rather than

having to make multiple arrange-ments for rides to and from the clinic, they just made one call to the front desk and had had two trips to and from Kaiser before Ken showed up at their door the next afternoon. [Though Mattie was not able to compete in the marathon for which she had been training, she was doing well and on the mend as of the time we went to press.]

Charlie was blessed to be in-troduced to Mattie by a former All Saints’ member. The story goes that Laurie Reynolds, a mu-tual friend, got the idea that Mat-tie and Charlie might hit it off during a blessing of the animals, as she looked across the circle at Charlie and his dog. Charlie an-nounced his pending first date with Mattie at a Men’s Group breakfast by telling us that “Char-lie is in Play.” Apparently the play went well because it wasn’t long before All Saints’ reaped the ben-efits. They married seven years ago, and Mattie moved from


PEOPLE

This fall, we were pleased to welcome back for-mer All Saints’ member Robin Poppoff. She is back among us for a two-year Field Education placement as part of her preparation for ordi-nation as a deacon in the Episcopal Church. Robin grew up in Palo Alto and now lives in Mountain View. Heather Hadlock recently had a chance to catch up with her.

When did you decide to become a deacon?Many years ago, when I was a member of All Saints’, Gloria Van Bree asked me if I’d thought about becoming a deacon. At the time, I had some choice words for Gloria. Now, I take great pride in “blaming” Gloria, and she takes great pride in accepting the “blame”! Due to a series of major life events, it was several years before I could formally start toward ordina-tion, but here I am!

What is a deacon? A deacon is often called a bridge, with one foot in the church and the other in the world, calling God’s people to live out the servant ministry of their baptismal covenant. In the Episcopal Church, deacons are one of three ordained ministries, together with priests and bishops.

There are two types of deacons. “Voca-tional deacons,” the path I am on, have be-ing a deacon as our final goal. “Transitional deacons” are on the road to become a priest. Both types are “full and equal orders” and are distinct calls from God.

What stage are you at in the ordination pro-cess?I am about halfway through my schooling. The School for Deacons in Berkeley is a three-year program, but I go part-time because I work full-time. Including this year, I have three more years of school, plus several ad-ditional steps in the diocesan ordination pro-cess. I am delighted to have All Saints’ as part of my discernment group!

What ministries have you been involved with at All Saints’? I’ve served as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Visitor, a Vestry member (buildings & grounds), a labyrinth helper, and a healing prayer team member, and I helped a little bit with the Adult Ed committee. [Editor’s note: One of Robin’s major projects in prior days at All Saints’ was refurbishing the nursery. Her handiwork is still in evidence today!]

Called to Love and ServeWelcoming an Old Friend & Our New Deacon-in-Training, Robin Poppoff

A deacon is instructed to “serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and

the lonely . . . to make Christ and his redemptive love known by your word and example, . . .

to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world . . . to assist the bishop and priest in public worship and in the ministration of

God’s Word and Sacraments.”From the Service for Ordination of Deacons,

The Book of Common Prayer

How does Field Ed placement work? How long is your assignment? In our diocese, Field Ed involves two years in a parish setting. The first year focuses on Community Organizing skills, and I will be working with Joaquin Sanchez from Indus-trial Areas Foundation (IAF). [Editor’s note: Founded in 1940, IAF is the country’s largest and longest-standing network of local faith and community-based organizations. It partners with religious congregrations and civic organi-zations at the local level to build new capacity in a community for leadership and action.]

What do you hope to do as All Saints’ stu-dent deacon? My ministry will be to learn to be a parish deacon, with everyone’s help and unique gifts! I hope to help people figure out what their ministries are—what excites each per-son about serving God and God’s people, and how s/he can live out that calling. This often leads to helping with some group outside of the church walls. I will also assist Terry in any way I can.

If you’d like to learn more about the role of deacons in the Episcopal Church, Robin will be holding a forum on the diaconate in early 2014. In the meantime, visit the School for Deacons: www.sfd.edu.


WORSHIP & PRAYER

Advent Day of ReflectionSaturday, December 7, 10 am-2 pm

For many of us, the pressure of gifts, cards, baking, parties, entertaining, and decorat-ing makes us feel besieged and leaves us too exhausted to ponder the deeper meaning of the season. Advent was designed to be a quiet time of reflection. Sometimes it is difficult to carve out a few hours to look inward—unless we have some structure. The Rev. Penelope Duckworth has agreed to lead us in such a quiet day. As many of us know, the life and significance of Mary is Penelope’s area of ex-pertise and her passion. This time, she will lead us in a series of meditations on the An-nunciation. Questions? Contact Gloria Van Bree.

Worship & Prayer CalendarSunday, December 1Advent 18 & 10 am Eucharist

Wednesday, December 4Noon Healing Service

Saturday, December 710 am-2 pm Day of Reflection

Sunday, December 8 Advent 28 & 10 am Eucharist

Sunday, December 8 4 pm Choral Evensong for Advent

with All Saints’ Choir



Tuesday, December 24 Christmas Eve5 pm Family Service with Carols10:30 pm Prelude with Choir, Carols,

Britten “Ceremony of Carols”11 pm Candlelight Midnight Mass

Wednesday, December 25Christmas Day10 am Festival Eucharist with Carols

Sunday, December 298 & 10 am Eucharist

Sunday, January 5 Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord8 & 10 am Eucharist

On Sunday, October 4, we gathered round the Labyrinth and celebrated the Feast of St. Fran-cis with a beautiful outdoor liturgy honoring all God’s creation. About 20 dogs (and their human companions) were blessed by Fr. Terry. No cats, birds, geckos, or rats this year.

Liturgy Notes: The Season of AdventAdvent is newest of the liturgical seasons,

and the most fluid in its meaning. Easter has been celebrated from the very beginning of the church: the time of preparation for those being baptized during the Great Vigil was eventually extended to the whole church and became the season of Lent. Christmas was not celebrated until the fourth century, and in the fifth century Advent appeared, partially as a time of preparation for those being baptized on the Feast of Jesus’ Baptism in January.

Advent quickly took on the violet vest-ments and penitential mood of Lent—Lent’s “Laetare Sunday,” with its rose vestments and Gospel of joy, appears in Advent as “Gaudete Sunday.” Advent also came to match Lent in length, beginning, as it once did, in mid-No-vember on the feast of St Martin. This great feast became a type of Mardi Gras, antici-pating the long Christmas fast. “Martinstag,” brought to the United States by Dutch and German settlers, became the nucleus of our Thanksgiving Day. Within the last few years The Church of England has restored the length of Advent to six weeks.

Advent is still observed in the Orthodox churches as it once was in the West, as an austere season of prayer and fasting. In me-dieval times, however, a lightening of the Ad-vent mood became apparent in Europe: blue vestments were introduced in churches in England and Spain, perhaps as an allusion to Mary, and customs emerged such as the Ad-vent wreath, with its circle of candles and ev-

ergreens promising a resurgence of light and life. Now the season speaks more of hope and anticipation.

Advent comes from venire, to come, but there is a thoughtful ambiguity in the name: Jesus is coming towards us, but it is just as true that we are moving towards Christmas. In this season we can feel overtaken by events, or we can move with intention towards the God who comes to greet us. The collects, or opening prayers, of Advent show us how: by casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armor of light, by heeding the call of the prophets to repentance, by preparing for the coming of our Lord both in mercy and in power, and by making a place for him in our hearts and lives. —TPG+

We observed Día de los Muertos on Sunday, October 27, remembering those we have lost. Members brought in photos of departed loved ones to lay upon an altar de muertos adorned with traditional ofrendas such as skulls, mari-golds, and homemade pan dulce. The altar stayed up throughout the week until All Saints’ Sunday. Special thanks to Joan and Jodi Scher-er and Marianne Witscher for creating the altar and serving an amazingly creative feast!


MUSIC

Anniversary Gifts Support Special Musical Projects

I am extremely grate-ful to so many in the parish who donat-

ed to a special fund in honor of my five years as your music director. Your generosity has allowed us to complete four special projects to support the musical life of the church.

First, we replenished the Memorial Fund after last year’s purchase of new English Ca-thedral-style surplices for the choir. With the growth of the choir, we also added several more new robes this summer.

Next, we replaced our Flentrop Organ bench with a new bench built by Paul Fritts, a world-class builder in Tacoma, Washington. Paul fashioned the bench out of mahogany to match the wood of the organ case. He tells me he procured the wood some 18 years ago and had been waiting for a chance to use it, as ma-hogany is rarely used by organ builders.

Third, we installed a state-of-the-art music recording system. This was a longtime dream of Mark Allendorf, parishioner and regular guest organist, who kicked off the fundraiser with an initial gift. The system includes two high-quality microphones suspended be-tween the cross and the altar rail, connected to a new mixer and compressor and finally to a digital recording device. The mixer also connects to the audio system for speech, so that the entire service can be recorded at high quality. A supplemental system allows for the “house” audio system to be turned off in case there is unwanted sound coming through the speech microphones.

The system was designed by a prominent Bay Area recording engineer (and fine mu-sician in his own right), Mark Lemaire. Our choir convened one evening during the sum-mer (off-season!) to make test recordings so that Mark could find the optimum position for the microphones. Local contractor Mark Seevers spent a long and careful day install-ing the new system. The expertise and care of these three Marks has given All Saints’ new capacity to record services and events, and made our church an even more valuable ven-ue for Peninsula musicians.

Finally, we found a way to honor the in-credible service of our adult choir, some of whom have served for over 40 years! After much discussion, Father Terry suggested we order pewter medallions for the choir

and Junior Choir from Danforth Pewterers

in Middlebury, Ver-mont. Our medal-lions feature the All Saints’ seal and hang on inch-wide rib-bons whose colors indicate length of service: 0-5 years is

light blue, 5-15 years is red, 15-30 years is

green, 30+ years is gold.

All Saints’ enjoys the great luxury of owning two pipe organs, both built by Flentrop of Zaandam, Holland. In addition to the large instrument installed in the sanctuary, we have a smaller portable organ, fondly known as “Ju-nior.” Junior was originally built and tuned in the “equal temperament” system that has been standard for organs and pianos since the 19th century. This year I decided to retune Junior in a way that would make it uniquely suited to earlier keyboard, choral, and chamber music by composers like Monteverdi, Purcell, Char-pentier, Vivaldi, and early Bach and Han-del. That music was composed for an older tuning system called “meantone.”

Our ears don’t hear it as unpleas-ant, but modern keyboard instru-ments are deliber-ately slightly out of tune. Modern tun-ing, called “equal t e m p e r a m e n t ,” makes the full range of keys available by dividing the octave into twelve equally spaced half-steps. This is achieved by narrowing ev-ery fifth a tiny bit, which in turn creates very sharp thirds. In the older “meantone tun-ing,” by contrast, the home key of a piece was tuned so that its defining intervals were pure (neither flat nor sharp). The overtones of the purely tuned thirds lined up in a very beauti-ful way, and higher pitched stops on the organ sounded especially radiant. The downside of this “meantone” system was that certain other intervals sounded sour and some pitches out-side the home key couldn’t be used. But in the home key, meantone tuning created an un-matched intensity and brilliance. Early music sounds fresher and brighter in meantone, like an Old Master painting that has been restored

“Junior” Organ Retuned for Early Musicto reveal its colors’ original depths and nuanc-es.

Retuning “Junior” involved meticulous analysis, measuring, and re-cutting of its pipes to produce new (or old) relationships between their sounds. The work was done by organ builders Aaron Reichert and Tom Kar-affa, from the fine firm of Taylor and Boody of Staunton, Virginia.

I premiered Junior’s new tuning on Sun-day, October 27, with two pieces by Jan Pi-eterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), the great

Dutch Baroque organ composer (for our Dutch organ!) The first piece featured a chro-matic (half-step) theme, which sounds partic-ularly colorful in meantone: in order for the thirds of “good” chords to be pure, half-steps are not equidistant. This creates extremely lively, interesting sounds which early com-posers loved to exploit.

I’m very pleased that Junior will be much more frequently heard in its new incarna-tion. I look forward to sharing a great deal of glorious music in its proper tuning. After the 10 am service on January 12, I will offer a demonstration on Junior of the characteris-tics of meantone tuning and compare it with the equal temperament of our larger Flentrop organ. —Rodney Gehrke

The Junior Choir’s ribbon color is bright green. Father Terry blessed the medallions in the morning liturgy of September 29. We are grateful to Danforth Pewterers for their craftsmanship and a generous discount on the medallions, and to chorister Linda Quon, who sewed the ribbons.

Your generosity made all these enhance-ments possible. I am humbled by your sup-port and grateful to you, to Terry, the Vestry, and ultimately to God for our ongoing part-nership in music ministry!

—Rodney Gehrke


MUSIC

Autumn EvensongOur quarterly Evensong (September 29) cel-ebrated the Feast of St. Michael and All An-gels with the cantata “Rejoice in the Lamb” by Benjamin Britten. The text of this wonderful choral piece comes from the long and singu-lar poem “Jubilate Agno,” which the English

poet Christopher Smart wrote during his confinement in a madhouse between 1759 and 1763. The poem reminds us that God is accessible in every place and through every thing that can be contemplated: Old Testa-ment warriors, a companion cat, a pair of res-ident mice, flowers, the letters of the alphabet, the sounds of musical instruments. The poet’s own memories of public mockery, torment, and rejection draw him close to Christ.

Music lovers could hardly have missed that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of British composer Benjamin Britten, born November 22, 1913, in Suffolk (died 1976). Britten

festivals and programs have dominated concert calendars around the world throughout the year. All Saints’ has joined in the Britten centenary celebra-tion in a number of ways. Our fall choral evensong featured Britten’s canta-ta “Rejoice in the Lamb,” and on November 24, we hosted the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir, with our own Rodney Gehrke as guest organist, in a program of Britten’s choral works that included his “Festival Te Deum” and “Jubilate Deo in C.” We’ll conclude our observance of the Britten cen-tenary on Christmas Eve with his “Ceremony of Carols.”

All Saints’ Observes Britten Centenary

Music CalendarSunday, December 14 pm New Esterhazy QuartetHaydn & His Students VIwww.newesterhazy.org

Saturday, December 7 8 pm The New ChoirChristmas with the New Choirwww.newchoir.org

Sunday, December 8 4 pm All Saints’ ChoirChoral Evensong for Advent

“For the Mouse is a creature

of great personal valour.“

Saturday, December 14 8 pm California Bach SocietyChristmas with Peter Warlock & Henry VIIIwww.calbach.org

Thursday, December 19 8:30 pm Voices of MusicVenetian Christmas Vesperswww.voicesofmusic.org

Saturday, December 21 7 pm Ragazzi ContinuoChristmas Concertwww.ragazzicontinuo.org

Tuesday, December 24 Christmas Eve10:30 pm Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist:Britten Ceremony of Carols

Sunday, January 5 4 pm New Esterhazy QuartetHaydn & His Students VIwww.newesterhazy.org

Thursday, February 13 8:00 pm Voices of MusicThe Art of the Recorderwww.voicesofmusic.org

Sarah Wootton sang exquisitely the sopra-no solo, “For I will consider my Cat Jeoffrey,” followed by Margaret Wootton’s endearing alto solo, “For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valor.” Tenor Chris Kelly meditated on the flowers, and bass Michael Beetham on the inner meaning of the letters H, K, L, and M. The choir captured the range of emo-tions in Britten’s music, including jubilation, anguish, shame, and glowing serenity in the “Hallelujah from the heart of God,” which closes the cantata.

Joan and Jodi Scherer provided a festive fall reception after the service.

Special Music for Advent and Christmas EveOur next Evensong service is on the Second Sunday of Advent, December 8, at 4 p.m. The main musical elements will be the Evening Canticles in A Major by Herbert Sumsion (1899-1995), whose main post was music di-rector at Gloucester Cathedral (1928-1967), where he helped foster the Three Choirs Fes-tival, one of the oldest ongoing music festivals in the world. The service will be followed, as is our custom, by a lovely High Tea in the Parish Hall. Invite your friends and family!

On Christmas Eve, during the pre-ser-vice at 10:30, we conclude our celebration of Britten’s 100th birthday year with one of his greatest works, the beloved “Ceremony of Carols.” Originally composed for three-part treble choir and harp, the work was arranged for full choir and harp in 1955. It is in Middle English, largely based on carols of the 15th and 16th centuries, and framed with a beau-tiful processional and recessional chant, an adaptation of the Gregorian antiphon “Hodie Christus natus est.”

Amazingly, this work as well as two other large works we have offered this year (“Re-joice in the Lamb” and “Festival Te Deum”) were composed during World War II. In fact, “Ceremony” was completed as Britten sailed back to England from the United States in 1942. That such joyous music (with one or two darker movements) found the light of day during such dark times attests to Britten’s genius and optimism. (That he was an ardent pacifist perhaps helped, though that attitude was hardly ascendent during the war.)

We will be joined by harpist Kristal Schwartz, who will also accompany the choir in two other anthems by Dale Wood (“Carol from an Irish Cabin”) and Bob Chilcott (“Je-sus, Jesus Rest Your Head”). —RG


VESTRY MATTERS

Looking Toward the Coming YearParish Elects Three New Vestry Members, Financial Picture Strong

Vestry Changing of the Guard

At “Part A” of All Saints’ an-nual meeting (October 20),

the parish elected three new ves-try members, Leslie Bannerman, and Jeff Rensch. They will take up their three-year term of service in January 2014. A huge thanks to them all for agreeing to serve the parish in this important role!

Incoming Vestry MembersLeslie Bannerman is a school psychologist working at a high school in San Jose. She was born and raised in California and grew up surrounded by the Catho-lic faith. She was invited to All Saints’ by a friend in November 2011. Says Leslie, “The minute I walked into the church I felt the spirit and core of the church and I returned the following Sunday. I had found the place of worship that exemplified a true mean-ing of community of faith and a benevolent spirit.” Within in a year, she decided to be baptized and a week later she was con-firmed. We’re so glad she found All Saints’!

Mary Burt Blume is a cra-dle Episcopalian originally from Manhattan. All Saints’ became her spiritual home in 1973, when she moved to Palo Alto. In the years since, she taken part in a virtually every parish ministry: Altar Guild, choir, and Vestry, where she became Junior War-den for part of her term; and with the Outreach effort that brought about the Opportunity Center. “All of these endeavors have been filled with joy, as I realize that more than half my life has tak-en place here! Three daughters went through the Sunday School. Here, I was married to Henry Blume in 1997, the same summer that Margaret Irwin married my daughter Kate to Brian Edwards. Just weeks ago, Kate’s four chil-dren were baptized here, creating a continuum of relationships in the circle of faith that All Saints’

All Saints’ PeopleMolly Spencer is serving on the parish Strategic Plan Com-mittee. She and her family—Dave Parker, Ben (12), Andy (10), and Laura Kate (7) (the kids are Parkers, too :))—came to All Saints’ about a year ago.

Dave is senior director at LSI Corporation, a chip-maker in San Jose. Molly is a poet. Ben loves basketball and books. Andy loves Tae Kwon Do and books. Laura Kate loves ballet and making art.

“Dave and I grew up in Michigan, lived in St. Paul, Minneso-ta, for 13 years (that’s where the kids were born), and moved to Mountain View in July 2011 for Dave’s work.

“The liturgy and the music drew us to All Saints’. Terry’s won-derful, thought-provoking homilies and the warm, welcoming community are why we stayed.

“I am looking forward to my work for the strategic plan. I also have my eye on the choir . . . maybe someday. We’re very grate-ful for the youth group, and Ben has enjoyed being a part of that. We’re looking forward to becoming more a part of the communi-ty as time goes on.”“All Saints’ People” will be a regular feature where we can get to know each other better—through stories from both newer and “older” members of the parish.

Planning for the Future at All Saints’

In the mix of regular business over the last several months,

your All Saints’ Vestry is looking ahead as well. We have begun a planning exercise to discern the parish’s needs and hopes for the future and create a process to ad-dress both.

This idea initially grew out of a Vestry retreat with Bishop Mary last December. At a subsequent July 27th retreat with the Rev. Canon Brian Nordwick, we spent an entire day laying the foun-dation for a new strategic plan for All Saints’. We devoted the morning to a review of our recent history with a focus on Sheridan Harrison’s transformational peri-od of healing among us through the calling of Terry as rector and growing into new ministry with him. We also reflected on the progress and accomplishments of the last two years that have resulted in a stable, functioning church. Brian then shared with us the concept of rolling strategic planning, a process in which our vision, mission, and objectives are continually under review and evaluation. It is also a process based on consultation with the entire congregation—both in its creation and implementation.

Following on that day’s work, the Vestry has since convened a strategic planning group of eight: Diane Frankle, Terry Gleeson, Phil Palmer, Dennis Romley, John Sack, Barbara Sawka, Joan Scherer, and Molly Spencer. In-cluded are Vestry and non-Vestry members as well as long-time and newer parishioners. Building on the Vestry’s preliminary efforts at the retreat, this group is now working to describe who we are and what we value at All Saints’ and soon will seek input from the entire parish about where and how we focus our energy and re-sources over the next year or two. Stay tuned for more information

about the planning group’s work and how you will be able to re-view and contribute to it.

Parishioners are always wel-come at the monthly Vestry meeting, held the third Tuesday at 7:00 pm in the Conference Room (the next two are Decem-ber 17and January 21). Also, be sure to mark your calendars to

attend the Annual Parish Meet-ing, Part B, at 9:15 on January 26, 2014, at which we’ll elect Diocesan delegates, approve the 2014 budget, and welcome new Vestry members Leslie Banner-man, Mary Burt Blume, and Jeff Rensch.

—Barbara Sawka,Senior Warden

The Vestry at the Annual Parish Meeting (Part A), October 20


VESTRY MATTERS

has come to mean to me.” We are very lucky to have someone with Mary Burt’s experience and long history with All Saints’ serve again on the Ves-try.

Jeff Rensch is a self-described “English major to the fingertips.” Retired from tech-related jobs at Stanford and elsewhere, he now volunteers for a number of local groups. He serves on the board of the Com-munity Working Group (joint landlords of the Opportunity Center) and chair the League of Women Voters Palo Alto Housing committee. He also volunteers with InnVision Shel-ter Network. He has held many volunteer posts at All Saints’ as well, including prior service on the Vestry, and some of us have memories of him wearing a choir robe. Jeff is married to another All Saints’ member, John Sack.

Outgoing Vestry MembersWe owe a huge debt of gratitude to our three outgoing Vestry members. Please be sure to thank them next time you see them!

Chris Gandel worked on helping All Saints’ prioritize and identify buildings and grounds

Financial Summary YTDAfter completing 75% of the year, All Saints’ is slightly under bud-get for Plate & Pledge and Rent-al Income (1-2% under budget). However, if we stay on track for our Pledge Income, we should be able to finish right on budget for the year. We are also under bud-get on Expenses by about 3% due to significant savings in Buildings & Grounds (9% under), Office (6% under), and Program & Wor-ship (12% under). As we head into the busy holiday season, we expect Program & Worship to finish exactly on budget, but the Buildings & Grounds and Office expenses look like they will finish the year under budget. Combin-ing the projections for Income and Expenses gives us a forecast that we may add slightly more to the Reserve Fund than we had budgeted. As a reminder, our Re-serve Fund should be about $95,000, so it will still be about $20,000 be-low the amount required by our Financial Policy. While All Saints’ is in a much better place than before, it was the substantial reserve we had built up over the years that enabled us to weather the chal-lenges of the last five years.

InnVision: Good News UpdateI had mentioned at the annual meeting Part 1 that InnVision Shelter Network was slightly be-hind on rent and had some issues with their welfare exemption sta-tus in their new merged organi-zation. Because of these welfare exemption issues, All Saints’ re-ceived a property tax bill for the portion of the Parish Hall that is used by the Food Closet. We have been working with InnVision to file their forms with the State of California and just received word this week that the state approved their welfare exemption status. At this point, InnVision will file the

appropriate claims with the San-ta Clara County Tax Assessor’s Office. We hope that it will be in time to receive an amended tax bill prior to the December dead-line.

IMPORTANT: New church credit cards and expense reimbursementsYou may have heard Father Terry share news about his trip to Mex-ico this past summer. Well, on the practical side of the trip, Fa-ther Terry used the church credit card to pay for some expenses, and the credit card company didn’t like that it was being used outside of our normal stomping grounds. So, the card purchase was blocked, which led to a flurry of conversations with the credit card company. The good news is there were no issues with credit card fraud, but I’ve learned that

credit cards have been quite a prob-lem for churches nationwide. In working with our credit card com-pany, we have now set up a more correct business account where

cards are issued in each individ-ual employee’s name as if it’s their own personal card. (That means we can’t loan out cards anymore.) I fully understand that this may be an inconvenience when pa-rishioners make purchases on behalf of the church. So, along with this, we have set up an ex-pense reimbursement program to ensure that purchases are re-imbursed promptly and possi-bly before any personal credit card statement is received. If pa-rishioners need to make a large purchase that they do not want to put on their personal credit card, then it’s likely that purchase needs to be discussed with Ter-ry and/or the vestry. Please keep this in mind as we head into the Christmas holiday season.

—Lauren Bonomi

Treasurer’s Report

We are on track to finish the year

on budget. We need to continue

to rebuild our Reserve Fund.

Leslie Bannerman

Outgoing Vestry Members

Incoming Vestry MembersChris Gandel Barbara Sawka Margaret Weil

Mary Burt Blume Jeff Rensch

improvements needed in the coming years. Chris has been the note-taker and minutes-re-corder extraordinaire at all re-

cent annual parish meetings, and also served as the clerk and note-taker for Vestry meeting minutes. She will be sorely missed.

Huge kudos to Barbara Sawka for being a great and responsive Senior

Warden this past year. She took on this leadership position while also juggling many other respon-sibilities on our campus, not the least of which was making sure that the nursery and Godly Play happen each Sunday.

Margaret Weil has quietly and efficiently moved many big projects forward during her term on Vestry, many of them first con-ceived several years ago as part of the Vision Fund. These include lighting the walkways around the building and the design and in-stallation of new signage to make our campus more visitor friend-ly, and a vastly improved and low-maintenance lighting system within the church. These are all natural consequences of Mar-garet’s commitment to welcome and hospitality to all.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude

to our Vestry members—incoming

and outgoing. Please be sure to

thank them!


VESTRY MATTERS

Hospitality and the fellowship shared after the 10 am Sunday ser-vice help make All Saints’ a welcoming church.

If you are new to hosting hospitality, or even if you have provided hospitality many times, it may help to know current guidelines. Some of the suggestions below are new or have been updated.

• Usually two people or families are responsible for each Sun-day.

• Please drop food off in the kitchen and put it out before the end of the service.

• A selection of sweet treats, breads, crackers and cheese or dip, fruit and vegetables is the norm. Your selections need not be extravagant—anything you serve is greatly appreciated by all!

• In our continued efforts to be a GREEN CAMPUS, please pro-vide compostable paper plates and napkins. Not sure what is compostable? Feel free to ask. Definitely no Styrofoam.

• It is always easier to bring your selections plated and ready to serve. However, you may use those in the kitchen.

• Hosts are expected to wash and put away the things that you used from the kitchen, to tidy the kitchen and serving area, and to wrap up the remaining food.

Renee and Debi put out and put away the coffee and tea set up, and they will do the final clean up that is necessary for the parish hall and kitchen to be ready for its next activity. All parishioners are asked to please place discarded items in the proper recycle-compost-garbage containers. Cleaning up after ourselves and putting away chairs and tables will help Renee and Debi do their work more quickly. Thank you for your support! —Marianne Witscher,

Junior Warden & Hospitality Chair

Ministry of the Month

To acquaint parishioners both old and new with the ministries that make up our parish life, the Vestry is inaugurating a new

Ministry-of-the-Month outreach. This is an opportunity to highlight a ministry or related group of ministries each month in various ways—through announcements, written articles, kiosk displays, forums, or any other creative way of sharing ministry activities. We hope this will introduce newer parishioners to the wealth of pos-sibilities for getting involved at All Saints’ as well as encouraging long-time members to explore new paths. Ministries featured thus far (and contacts):

• Children & Youth (Barbara Sawka & Marianne Witscher)• Outreach (Gloria Van Bree & Jake Warde)• Altar Guild (Sheila Baraze, Mary Cloutier & Arlene Leslie)

One of the most exciting things about attending the Diocesan Con-vention is seeing so many Episcopalians gathered in one place.

And it’s always a treat to be with Bishop Mary. This year’s gathering was held Nov. 8-9 at St. Andrew’s, Saratoga.

In her keynote speech “Living the Question,” the Bishop drew on images from the film Gravity, in which astronauts, separated from their ship, float helplessly in the darkness of outer space. We, too, sometimes feel adrift when bombarded with doubts and questions about our faith. Sometimes we may not be ready for the answer when we ask the question. We must allow ourselves to float in wonder, to look inside and outside, and ponder the most important question of all: How will we live? Remember that Jesus is our home, our gravity, and this knowledge will ensure that we never give up, never lose hope.

The bishop emphasized that we should not fear questions; they can lead to deeper faith. Spiritual growth comes from “holy friction.” The Creeds are not a conflict-free zone, and Scripture can be a platform for dialogue leading to new ways of communicating the truth. In short: Detach, listen, focus.

Fortified with this inspiring message, we sailed through the busi-ness of the convention, voting on and passing resolutions and budgets unanimously. Some highlights:

• The Mission House will be moved to Salinas • Funds from the Bishop’s Appeal will supplement those

collected from Fair Share contributions• A future capital campaign will help reduce the cost of clergy

health care• Secret written ballots will no longer be required to elect Vestry

when candidates are unopposed• Fr. Terry was elected as a delegate to the National Convention,

which will elect a new Presiding Bishop.

Reports on various missions and projects demonstrated how much good can be generated by small faith communities:

• Family planning in Tanganyika. The Diocese is working in re-mote villages and has so far succeeded in helping birth rates drop from an average of 5-12 per mother to 7-8.

• Churches in Milpitas and San Jose are working on a ministry in the County’s Elmwood Correctional Facility to counsel inmates in job training, anger management, drug control, and impulsivity. Other churches using a similar program report a 10% recidivism rate, while the state average is 50%.

• St Michael’s by the Sea in Pacific Grove is working to establish housing for over 300 homeless local women who have lost their jobs and their homes; nearly all are drug-free and have no crim-inal records.

One of Bishop Mary’s passions is mission trips for youth. To raise funds, she donned a wetsuit and swim cap and challenged people to pay $10 for three chances to dunk her into a tank of cold water. (One could also buy a “Don’t Dunk the Bishop” ticket for $20.) She raised $1,300!

We delegates are grateful for the opportunity to attend this festive and meaningful event and to see at first hand how well Bishop Mary is running our diocese.

—Susan BarkanDiocesan Delegate

Vestry Member

Diocesan Convention Highlights Unity, Value of Questioning, and Help for Those in Need

Hospitality Update


EDUCATION & FELLOWSHIP

Godly Play Sunday School NewsWith the arrival of Advent on Decem-ber 1, we will be on the way to Bethle-hem with Mary and Joseph, the angels and shepherds, and the three kings to welcome the Christ Child! This jour-ney will unfold the first three Sundays in December and culminate with the arrival of the Magi on January 5. All children three and older are invited to join us upstairs in Room 21 at 10 am on December 1, 8, 15, and January 5 to join in the journey.

There will be no Sunday School on December 22 and 29, though child-

care and seasonal activities will be available in the Small Saints room at the back of the courtyard. The regular Sunday School schedule resumes on Jan. 5. For more information about Godly Play Sunday School and Small Saints childcare or volunteer opportunities in either, please contact Barbara Sawka or Marianne Witscher.

Youth Group Plans New ActivitiesThe Youth Group ministry at All Saints’ is in its first year. We came together initially in response to requests for informal fellowship and discussion for kids age 10-17. Thus far we’ve met to bake a tasty pic-nic lunch together, enjoy a thought-provoking movie night, and go on another movie + pizza outing to see The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire during Thanksgiving week. We look forward to planning a year-long program of events that will be both entertaining and enriching. To that end, we would love to hear any feedback you might have. We welcome all youth!

We’re planning a 6-week pilot program of a youth-oriented Service of the Word during the 10 am Sunday service, to begin in January 2014. Your thoughts and participation would be most welcome: please contact Vicky Greenbaum, Rozi Lopez, Grace Lane or Sarah Wootton.

Building Bridges between Faiths and CommunitiesThe “Building Bridges” dinner-discussion series invites members of All Saints’ and Congregation Beth Am in Palo Alto to explore the values, beliefs, and differences of Judaism and Christianity, and our potential for working together toward peace and justice. Series founder Diane Frankle describes the pilot program in June-July 2013.

My husband Bob and I worked with Mel Kronick from Congre-gation Beth Am, a Reform congregation in Los Altos Hills, and

Phil Palmer from All Saints’ to develop the Building Bridges series. We used a curriculum developed by the Union for Reform Judaism, together with videos created by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bish-ops and the National Council of Synagogues. The four of us served as co-facilitators for the inaugural series, which had 10 participants from All Saints’ and 12 from Beth Am. The group included Jews by birth, Jews by choice, “cradle” Episcopalians, and Christians from other de-nominations, as well as some who also were Buddhists.

We alternated our meetings between All Saints’ and Beth Am. Senior Rabbi Beth Marder and Father Terry provided opening com-ments and a grace for our first meal. The clergy also led wonderful

tours of the sacred spaces of each congregation. The clergy did not take part in our discussions, so that we could talk without a perceived “expert” in the room. Participants were not expected to be experts in or ambassadors from their religion, but only to bring a willingness to share and listen.

We opened each session with a prayer and a dinner discussion of prompts supplied by the facilitators. We enjoyed our meals together–some catered, some potluck–and learned about Jewish dietary restric-tions. After dinner, we often watched a 15-minute video, followed by more discussion. One participant commented on the “well-structured, thoughtful discussions to help us understand ourselves and each other.” Another complimented the “fascinating, eye-opening, even breathtaking discussions.”

We all felt like part of something bigger than ourselves, building a community that honored our own faiths while reaching out positively and constructively. The community continues as several Bridge Build-ers from Beth Am are now attending the New Testament Study Group at All Saints’.

A number of Building Bridges alumni attended a November program at Stanford featuring Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and Rabbi Steven Greenberg, national leaders at the intersections of the faith and LGBTQ communities. A new Building Bridges series begins Sunday, January 12. Contact Diane Frankle for more information or if you are interested in joining.

All Saints’ youth (left) helping to lead wor-ship during a recent visit by our bishop. (Below) Youth group surfing outing in 2012.

We all felt like part of something bigger than ourselves . . .


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A Place to Call HomeHomelessness & Affordable Housing Issues Continue to Challenge Our Community

Homelessness is not the first thing that pops to mind when we think of Silicon Valley. The af-

fluence of our area and of All Saints’ immediate neighborhood—the multi-million-dollar homes, upscale stores, and trendy restaurants—plus the re-lentless focus on success and the “next big thing” can keep homelessness hidden from the eyes of those who don’t know our community well or who aren’t paying attention.

But in recent months, issues of homelessness and affordable housing were hard to miss—at least in Palo Alto. In early August, the Palo Alto City Coun-cil passed an ordinance that bans people from sleep-ing in their cars. A couple weeks later, the council voted to prohibit people from vis-iting the city’s community center campuses between 10:30 pm and sunrise. Both steps were in response to neighborhood complaints about the increasing number of homeless people car-camping in the midtown Cubber-ley Community Center parking lot to take ad-vantage of the restrooms, showers, and WiFi

there. Rising numbers had allegedly brought an increase in criminal activity and violence.

In November, Palo Alto voters defeated Measure D, which would have provided 60 af-fordable apartments for lower-income seniors at a site in Barron Park. Critics objected to a “high-density project” in a neighborhood of single-family homes and the traffic problems it would potentially create, while proponents

believe that the project turned unfairly into a referendum on development in the city over-all.

At press time, the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, one of the few remaining afford-able housing options in Palo Alto for families, continued to be threatened with closure. The owner wants to sell the Barron Park site to a developer who plans to build a luxury apart-


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ment complex. Buena Vista’s low-income, mostly Latino residents, some of whom have lived there for generations, are fighting to stay and keep their kids in the high-ranking Palo Alto Unified School District.

Needless to say, these headlines—some of which have garnered national media atten-tion—do not paint the most flattering picture of our community. However, we at All Saints’ know the story is more complex. Despite the predominance of NIMBY-driven stories this fall, there is also a caring network of individ-uals and faith communities in the Mid-Pen-insula area committed to affordable housing and to helping those who face homelessness find secure shelter, food, and other services.

A huge bright spot this year was the open-ing of 801 Alma Street. A project of the Com-munity Working Group (CWG) and Eden Housing, 801 Alma provides 50 much-need-ed affordable apartments for working families who earn between 30 percent and 50 percent of the median income for our area ($20,700 to $51,750 for a family of four).

All Saints’ helped to found CWG in 1998, and parishioners continue to be involved in leading the organization (see accompanying story). CWG serves the needs of the homeless and those at-risk of becoming homeless in the Mid-Peninsula through the development and operation of housing and services, and through alliances with community partners who are likewise committed to the promotion of human dignity. CWG’s partners include Downtown Streets Teams, Eden Housing, Peninsula HealthCare Connection, InnVision

Shelter Network, Palo Alto Housing Corpora-tion and Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara.

Support and services like these are of growing importance in our community. Ac-cording to a recent Stanford study, rising housing costs are driving more and more of our Mid-Peninsula neighbors into poverty. Indeed, the very success of our area makes it increasingly challenging for folks of middle and lower incomes, the unemployed, and the disabled to find and maintain an affordable home. Life here can be precarious for many people.

As All Saints’ history with CWG makes clear, our parish is in it for the long haul. In partnership with InnVision and other faith communities, All Saints’ continued this past year to host the Food Closet, Breaking Bread, and Hotel de Zink, and participated in and provided a meeting site for the Downtown Streets Team.

Serving the homeless is a foundation-al tenet of our faith and vital to our role as a downtown church. While we can’t reverse the challenging economics of our area or heal the personal ills that lead vulnerable people to lose their housing, we can try truly to live into the slogan of our well-known national church signs: “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You.” We open our doors to all, no questions asked, and, through our partnership with homeless organizations and other churches, we aspire to walk in solidarity with all our brothers and sisters.

—Kathy Veit

The Community Working Group (CWG) was born in our own sanctuary in 1998,

when our then-rector, the Rev. Margaret Ir-win, led a town meeting that fostered our city’s commitment to a center for the homeless and at-risk. Larry Brown, an All Saints’ member, served on the CWG from its very first day and helped raise private and public money for what became the Opportunity Center, which opened in September 2006.

The CWG now co-owns the Opportu-nity Center, which features drop-in services for homeless singles and families as well as 89 permanent apartments at very low rent. We are proud that a significant percentage of the original tenants are still living in the OC and successfully rebuilding their lives. InnVi-sion Shelter Network and Downtown Streets Team both provide productive support for the building, and we have a clinic, Peninsu-la Healthcare Connection, providing medi-cal care free of charge. CWG offers rent-free space for the both IVSN and the clinic.

Building on the OC’s success, we have looked for oth-er ways to serve the most disadvantaged folks in our com-munity, by helping build or rehabilitate other affordable housing, includ-ing the new fam-ily housing at 801 Alma.

Some time af-ter Larry moved to Minnesota, I was honored to join the CWG Board. I do not directly represent All Saints’ there, but I pray that I can faithfully repre-sent the principles given to us at All Saints’ by Margaret, Rev. Terry, and the other spiritual leaders we have had.

—Jeff Rensch

Top: 801 Alma Street, a CWG project.

Facing page, upper: Terman middle school stu-dent Jennifer Munoz Tello (right) stands outside her family’s Buena Vista trailer with her mother, Sandra, and 2-year-old sister, Cynthia.

Facing page, lower: Erika Escalante is a program coordinator for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. She grew up in the threatened Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and now lives there with her husband and 6-year-old son, Andre.

Above, top: Vickie Boone, a lifelong Palo Altan and alumna of Gunn High School, has been living in her Geo Metro for two years to escape from domestic violence. She wants people to know, “I’m not a criminal.”

Above, bottom: A former teacher, Chuck Jagoda moved to Palo Alto from NYC to be closer to his grandchildren. A falling out with his children has left him without affordable housing. Both Chuck and Vicki serve on the board of Heart and Home Collaborative in Palo Alto, which has close ties with InnVision. Vicki has been a guest at Hotel de Zink.

Community Working Group


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For the last seven years, All Saints’ has been the Octo-ber host church for Hotel

de Zink. This program, run by our ministry partner InnVision Shelter Network (IVSN), shelters 12-15 men and women month-to-month in 12 churches in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. IVSN se-lects individuals who are working their way back into housed living situations to participate in the program. Hotel de Zink clients receive case management, job training, and other services.

Hotel de Zink, organized by the Outreach Committee, in-volved more than 80 All Saints’ parishioners this year. Our efforts were rewarded many times over by the experiences of meeting, collaborating with, and learning from the guests and each other.

Each evening, our guests were greeted by an evening cap-tain who served a dinner of sal-ad, entrée, side dish, and dessert prepared and dropped off by vol-unteers. Many guests report that All Saints’ serves the best meals of any of the churches they visit (just sayin’). In October 2013, 31 dinner teams volunteered their culinary talents. There were more cooks than we can thank indi-vidually, so please know that the clients greatly appreciated your efforts!

We served and ate dinners in the kitchen, because the guests preferred to set up their living spaces in the parish hall where they can unwind after a long day. The kitchen was therefore the communal place where people

gathered to break bread, shared stories from the day, and enjoyed the great food.

Evening captains usually ar-rived around 8:30 PM to warm up the meal and prepare for the guests’ arrival. The captains stayed until the IVSN on-site staff person arrived, and often remained to enjoy conversation. This year’s evening captains in-cluded Nancy Cohen, Chris Gan-del, Jeff Rensch, John Sack, John Tinsley, Marilyn Tinsley, Kathy Veit, Jake Warde, and Sandy Wil-bourn. Thanks all!

Hosting Hotel de Zink also required extra efforts from our facilities staff. Renee Reeves, Debi Torres, and Susan Reaves made and kept track of extra keys, bought extra supplies for the month, let volunteers in to drop off meals throughout the month. Thank you, Renee, Debi, and Susan!

For the past several years Joan Scherer and Mary Cloutier have coordinated a special Halloween evening event. On this night we gathered to celebrate and wish everyone well as they transi-tioned to their next host church, Menlo Presbyterian. Thanks to Joan and Mary for hosting anoth-er festive evening.

Hotel de Zink allows All Saints’ to serve our community directly and also to collaborate with other local churches. The combined efforts of 12 church-es operate the only year-round shelter program in the Palo Al-to-Menlo Park area. Current participating churches are: All

All Saints’ Hosts October Hotel de ZinkSaints’ Episcopal, Trinity Luther-an, Wesley United Methodist, First Congregational, Church of Christ, St. Mark’s Episcopal, First United Methodist, First Pres-byterian, Christian Reformed Church, Unitarian Universalist, and Friends’ Meeting (all of Palo Alto), and Menlo Park Presbyte-rian.

Phillip Dah, the Peninsu-la Program Director, estimates that about 15% of Hotel de Zink residents end up in a permanent housed situation within a year of entering the program. InnVision is working on ways to improve this rate, but in the meantime, even 15% is significant. Thanks to everyone who made Hotel de Zink a great success at All Saints this past October!

—The Outreach Committee

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Hot lunches are served in our Parish Hall every Thursday and Friday as part of InnVision Shel-ter Network’s Breaking Bread Program. To help, please contact Sally Cadigan.

Members of All Saints’ are invited to

A Holiday Posada

Saturday, December 14, 5:00-9:00 PMHosted by Residents of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park

3980 El Camino at Los Robles in Barron Park

What’s a Posada?As sweet as pan dulce (sugary buns), this Mexican folk celebration

includes traditional food and drink. Angel-children lead Mary and Joseph in a candlelit house-to-house procession in search

of a place to stay. Finally, shelter is found and celebration ensues.

5:30PM Candlelight ProcessionAfterwards, enjoy Posada Tamales, Pozole, warm Ponche,

& Pan DulceRSVP number attending by Dec. 6: [email protected]

If rain, Posada is cancelled.

H u g e thanks to all who v o l u n -t e e r e d to shop, cook, and serve for the annual InnVision Thanks-giving Meal served at All Saints’ on Thanksgiving Day.

Season of GivingMembers of All Saints’ are gen-erous throughout the year, but if you are considering some special year-end gifts, here are some or-ganizations that would welcome your support:Tanganyika Scholarship Fund,

Episcopal Diocese of El Cami-no Real

Episcopal Relief and Develop-ment: for aid in the Philppines or Southeast Mexico

Local Homeless Organizations:InnVision Shelter NetworkCommunity Working GroupDowntown Streets TeamPeninsula Healthcare Connec-

tionProject WeHOPE


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To make a positive change in a child’s life—that is something each of us

would do, given the chance! All Saints’ is doing that for many children, through your donations to the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real’s (EDECR) Schol-arship Fund for children in our Partner Diocese of Western Tan-ganyika.

A student who received one of these scholarships wrote to the Diocese: “I consider this a mira-cle.”

EDECR’s Scholarship Fund is part of our Diocese’s innovative tri-partite relationship—called “Indaba”—with the Diocese of Gloucester in England and the Diocese of Western Tanganyika (DWT). In January 2009, the

Our jam-making project started with an outing to pick plums and apricots on a lovely sunny day in August. The smell of the fruit was so tempting that we sampled a few pieces as well as picking sev-eral pounds for jam.

Joanne, the boss of the jam making, had collected fruits (including our plums and apri-cots) and recipes. First we de-cided which jams to make, and then moved on to the chopping, squeezing, peeling, washing, grating, and measuring. We had fun deciding who was going to do what, and then—once the fruit was prepared and put into a big pan—we spent lots of time stirring over the stove. We liked checking to see if the jam was ready: we would drop a spot of jam onto a cold plate and push it to see if it wrinkled. When it was done, we could put the jam into jars.

We really enjoyed making the jam and the effort was worth it to raise money for children in Tang-anyika. It meant a lot to us to help

Indaba: Joining Dioceses in England & Africa to Help Tanzanian Youth Attend School

Jammin’ for Scholarships

children be able to go to school. It shows that doing something for others can make us feel good. We like the jam we made, and hope you did, too.

—Emma and Jessica Foster

Bishop of DWT asked our Bish-op Mary if we could help sup-port the education of qualified

students in DWT who had lost parents to disease and thus were not able to pay the fees required

to progress in school beyond 6th-grade level. Bishop Mary said, “Yes, we’ll help!” and since 2009 the number of students receiving scholarship assistance has grown steadily. In 2013, the fourth year of the Fund, 577 students attend-ed school with EDECR’s help, including 23 students who are at-tending university or specialized professional training.

All Saints’ contributed to the scholarship fund this fall through jam sale proceeds and gifts. Your contributions for education will nurture these children and ben-efit their communities for many years to come. The students’ grat-itude is reflected in the drawing above, recently received at the Diocesan Office.

—Becky Mikkelsen

Emma and Jessica Foster, Becky Mikkelsen, and Joanne Westendorf joined forces in late summer and early fall to make a variety of jams, which they sold with proceeds going to support scholarships for children in the Diocese of Western Tanganyika.

In Tanzania, primary school is free (except for uniforms),

but secondary schools require students to pay

tuition and all other expenses, making education

beyond reach for the majority in a country where 60% of the population lives

on less than $2 per day.

All Saints’ Episcopal Church555 Waverley StreetPalo Alto, CA 94305

Address Correction Service Requested

This Congregation Welcomes

EVERYONEDignity-El Camino Real Welcoming Parish

REMINDERSDec. 8: Ingathering Sunday—Please don’t forget to make your

pledge so that it can be blessed and included in the 2014 budget!Dec. 8 (4 pm): Advent Evensong & High TeaDec.15 (5:30 pm): Parish Christmas PartyJan. 19 (11:40 am): Newcomers’ BrunchJan. 26 (9 am): Annual Parish Meeting (Part B)

N u e s t r a Señora de la Soledad, the patron saint of the city of Oaxaca, Mexi-co, has her feast day on December 18. Whereas the more widely known Virgen de Guadelupe is the predominant santa in most of Mexico (her feast day is December 12), in the state of Oax-aca and nearby areas, it is María de la Soledad, the portrayal of Mary alone in the period between her son’s death and resurrection. She is typically depicted wearing a black or dark purple robe, which is often adorned with a combination of lilies, instruments of Christ’s passion (such as nails), and IHS and other monograms of Christ’s name. Here, she is pictured in procession in the streets of Oaxaca.

In conjunction with our bishop, Fr. Terry has begun to explore a companion relationship with the Diocese of Southeast Mexico, which spans the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. Look for more on this dis-cernment process in our next edition. In the meantime, be sure to check out the statue of María de la Soledad that Fr. Terry brought back from his recent trip to Oaxaca. Made in the barro negro pottery style unique to Oaxaca, it’s on display in our Waverley Street “All Saints” window. If you’d like to support relief efforts in southeast Mexico, you may do so via Episcopal Relief and Development.

CLOTHING DRIVEAll Saints’ is holding a clothing drive December 1-8 for Loved Twice (LT), a non-profit that provides clothing for newborns-in-need. The clothes are distributed through social workers in hospitals and shelters. Based in Oakland, LT was founded to help Katrina victims, but has grown in less than 10 years into a national organization. Over 900,000 children will be born into poverty in the US in the coming year. All of LT’s clients live

200% below the national poverty level, and most are single mothers.

Loved Twice accepts new and quality gently used baby clothes in sizes up to 12 months. Blankets, hats, socks, bibs, and board books are welcome, too. Due to space constraints, Loved Twice cannot accept any other types of items. There will be a drop-off bin at church.

If you’d like to help but don’t have baby items any longer, Loved Twice also ap-preciates cash donations to help support the organization. Checks can be mailed to: Loved Twice, 4123 Broadway, Suite 815, Oakland, CA 94611 or you can make a gift online at www.lovedtwice.org.

“My husband lost his job as a janitor. These clothes are a gift from God that will allow us to

afford food.”—Claudia & Ernesto

“I am a single mom living in a shelter. I never thought I’d be here with my baby girl. I wept when I opened the box of baby clothes. Thank you for helping someone you don’t even know.”

—Anonymous

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