J-STREET AND ADVANCES IN MIDDLE EAST PEACEMAKING
Please join us at this exciting and important event on Tuesday, November 24. Print out the flyer here.
















































THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION RELEASED ON NOV. 12
The first ever “Charter For Compassion” was released on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Read the Charter in English, or lea la Carta por la Compasión en Español. 

The brain child of Karen Armstrong and signed by a wide variety of people from Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra, Goldie Hawn, Peter Gabriel, Isabel Allende, Queen Noor, Quincy Jones, Eboo Patel, to Kenneth Cole, the Charter notes that “The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.”

We will focus on the Charter this Sunday, Nov. 15, at All Saints in all our worship and work – adults and children. The rector's sermon is entitled, “I Pledge Allegiance to Compassion and the Human Family for Which It Stands.” We will recommit ourselves, in the words of the Charter, “to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate," and “to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world.”

See the catalog of all the exciting book and discussion groups currently being offered. These groups provide a great opportunity to get involved and connected at All Saints!

PASADENA WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE!
The City is updating the General Plan, the blueprint for the City's future which lays out specific strategies to accomodate growth and new development, including the transportation networks that support the City. This is the first major update since 1994.

Please visit www.cityofpasadena.net/generalplan for details about the four ways to participate in the General Plan update process. All Saints' future is the future of the City, so please participate in this important process!

  

"ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO BLOG!"

The All Saints Church News Blog is a place to go for news about the mission and ministry of All Saints Church; for stories from within the All Saints community and reports from the wider community. It's a place to stay up-to-date with reports about All Saints in the news media and to read features on events and actions written by members of the All Saints community. Visit our new News Blog through the link on the "News & Actions" page on the All Saints website or check it out at http://allsaints-pas-news.blogspot.com. Whether it's the latest about Ed Bacon on Oprah or Betty Cole on the Crop Walk, there's always something going on at All Saints Church!



CALLING ALL YOUTH PARENTS

This year, the parents of All Saints Youth will host potluck dinners on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month.
     
We ask that each youth family sign up to bring food for the potluck ONCE PER MONTH. Families with the last names beginning A-L are asked to bring food on the first Wednesday of the month and those with last names beginning M-Z are asked to bring food on the third Wednesday of the month. You may sign up to bring a main dish or a side dish serving ten.
     
The Youth Dinner Committee will send out email and phone reminders. Email Kirstin McDonald at mcdonaldK@cee-school.org or Nancy Naecker at npn@naecker.com to learn more or SIGN UP HERE.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT BEGINS NOV. 9
The Bereavement Support Group offers opportunities to develop a better understanding of grief, learn healthy coping skills and share feelings with others who are experiencing loss. The program is coordinated by Pastoral Care and Spiritual Growth.

Evening meetings will be every other Monday starting November 9, 2009 in the Vesting Room at 7:00 p.m.
Morning meetings will be every other Wednesday starting November 11, 2009 in the Small Lounge at 10:00 a.m.

For more information, please call Ana M. Camacho 626.583.2737.

HELP SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Over the last year and more, the staff of the Children, Youth and Families Ministries has been increasingly working to develop resources to help us work with children and youth with special needs in our parish community. We need to continue to fulfill our commitment to inclusion by better addressing the diverse needs of our children and youth. This continues to be a challenging task! We seek to respond to a wide range of individual strengths and challenges with strategies that will enrich our programs for all of our children. This group is looking for members of the parish who could help in this effort by being a part of a resource team. The team will be composed of parishioners who have skills in areas of children’s physical, cognitive, motor, language or social development and have experience working with children with diverse needs. The team will be available to provide consultation and support to our program staff and volunteers in addressing specific needs as they arise.
     
We are also looking for people who can be “buddies” for children and youth with special needs during the various program times. Parishioners with only limited time to offer can still be a great help in this effort.
     
If you would like to find out more about participating in this resource team please contact Isabel Leus at ileus@allsaints-pas.org or 626.583.2733.

IN MEMORIAM

 




No memorial services are currently scheduled .

BUILDING PROJECT UPDATE

At a specially called meeting on July 21, the Vestry unanimously voted to approve the recommendation of the Building Project Team to begin the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process.
     
At the time our project was submitted to the Planning Commission in December 2008, with the approval of the city’s Planning Department, both the City Attorney’s office and the Planning Department had determined that the environmental impacts of our master plan would be negligible and could be mitigated without a full evaluation and report. The Planning Commission concluded otherwise and determined that All Saints should prepare an EIR to address the issues raised at the Planning Commission meeting.
     
Although we could have appealed directly to City Council for approval of the master plan without an EIR, we opted to continue in dialogue and discussions to determine if a compromise could be effected which would address the issues raised at the Planning Commission and avoid the considerable expense and time of an EIR. At the invitation of the head of the city’s Planning Department we have participated in continued discussions with city staff and members of Pasadena Heritage. We have been open to suggestions and changes, except for those which would compromise our mission and programs. Our architects have worked diligently in making changes which have addressed many of the concerns we have heard, and all this effort has resulted in a better project.
     
Unfortunately, it has become clear that further dialogue will not result in a successful compromise. The Building Project Team, after carefully weighing all options has determined that the EIR process is our best alternative at this point. The EIR will reflect the extent to which we have brought the community into the discussion from the start and how we have responded substantively to virtually every concern raised. It will put us in better stead in going back to the Planning Commission and ultimately to the City Council for approval. Though these delays and additional costs are frustrating, we continue to remain fully confident that we will be successful in bringing world-class architecture to All Saints and Pasadena in furtherance of our mission.



ALL SAINTS IS SEARCHING FOR A YOUTH MINISTER

All Saints Church is seeking an energetic, joyful, progressive, organized and experienced person to be a full time Youth Minister. This individual oversees the spiritual formation and overall wellbeing of all youth in the parish and beyond, in the 6th through 12th grade. S/he has responsibility for the management and overall planning, creation, development and operation of all Junior and Senior High youth programs, including small groups, and the Acolyte and Seekers confirmation programs. S/he will foster young people’s personal and spiritual growth, age-appropriate theological and interfaith awareness, ethical insight and community engagement, as well as take pastoral responsibility for the youth and their families. S/he must be present for Sunday services and other weekend duties. See a job description here, or contact Wilma Jakobsen at wjakobsen@allsaints-pas.org or 626.583.2762, or Anne Peterson at apeterson@allsaints-pas.org or 626.583.2713.



ENJOY PHOTOS FROM ED'S JOURNEY TO WASHINGTON, D.C.
Check out the photos taken by parishioner Rachel Niles during the rector's visit to Washington on June 11. Ed joined religious leaders from around the nation to talk to Administration officials about the need for an official inquiry into torture practices by the U.S. following 9/11.

 

Rector Ed Bacon is appearing regularly, twice monthly, on Oprah's Soul Series radio show. The series, airing on Sirius/XM Radio, features Ed and co-host Elizabeth Lesser.  The shows air on Mondays at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

Listen to a five-minute excerpt of Ed's show from Oprah.com.

ALL SAINTS VESTRY PASSES MARRIAGE RESOLUTION
At the monthly Vestry meeting on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, the Vestry unanimously passed a marriage resolution stating that All Saints is called to, and will, make the sacrament of marriage equally available to all couples, and that All Saints clergy will not sign civil marriage certificates for any couples, until the right to civil marriage is available to all couples. Read the full resolution here.