The past few months, many parishioners have noticed a dramatic surge in the parish's energy levels. It feels good, doesn't it? But it's not only good feelings, as nice as they are. Energy is bursting out with practical results:

• A surprise $5,000 gift to fund a Family Spirituality program through the end of the year.
• 100 people showing up for a mid-August service.
• Many new younger families finding their way to us.
• Claire Burke volunteering to bring back the adult choir for the fall.
• The Fall Auction team having a ball putting together the "All Saints Road Show."
• The Food Pantry going stronger than ever -- recently winning a totally unexpected $1,250 grant from FEMA.

And to top it off: the Retire the Debt (RTD) capital fundraiser just passed $40,000 in cash and pledges. That's right: more than $40,000 has now been committed by All Saints member households -- people making real sacrifices to keep the parish financially (and physically) sound now and in the future. Thank you so much to the team: Connie Camp, Mary Kincaid, Donna Lack and Karen Taylor!

In these times of financial struggle, when so many parish families face so many requests (often with fewer resources of their own), the generosity of those who can and do find a way is especially important. The parish is very grateful -- as am I -- for everyone who chooses to sacrifice for their church. And we pray that all our families find the faith and courage to weather the storm. It's not likely to be over soon.

Now, on to the fall. Here are some highlights:

Fall Fundraiser
The RTD campaign was intended to be, and was, a summer effort, so it's done now. In September, we will move quickly to our annual fall fundraiser to help pay for all our efforts for the rest of the year. With a chili cook-off, diner food, talent show and silent/spoken auction, The All Saints Road Show promises to become a classic. Everybody come and bring friends and family!

9/11 Anniversary
The very next day, we'll observe the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We'll have an opportunity to reflect on the past decade and consider what God is calling us to do next. At the 10:00 service, we'll have tunes from Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, with a special piece from a new opera, "The Heart of a Soldier," which was commissioned for this anniversary and is now being performed by the San Francisco Opera Company.

Family Spirituality Program
On September 18 we will launch our Family Spirituality Program/Fall Semester. Recent gifts to the parish made it possible to contract with the Rev. Stephanie Green to work intensively with us. She has already been hard at work putting together programs that will strengthen the spirituality of all of our families here: supervising nursery care, facilitating Godly Play, organizing the Fireside Youth for older kids, and more. Because all members, not just children, are part of families, the program will have an adult component and Rev. Stephanie will regularly preach and celebrate at the 8:00 service. The program is scheduled to run to the end of the year.

And On To Advent!
October, November and December, we'll move into a more typical schedule. We'll have our fall stewardship campaign, celebrate All Saints Day the first weekend of November (complete with baptisms), move into Advent in late November, celebrate St. Nicholas, then Christmas with Lessons and Carols, Midnight Mass and Christmas Day.

CALL is the Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Join Episcopalians from across the country in one of their 7-week online courses, starting September 6 through October 21. Courses include:

• Facing Choices: Ethics in the Anglican Tradition
• Financial Management for Parishes
• Introduction to Anglican Liturgy
• Early Church History
• The Diaconate

Bring your bidding skills

Bring your friends

And enjoy the evening!

Come join the fun at the Road Show and Auction at All Saints Saturday, September 10, 2011, at 5 pm.

Things get started with a social hour, a chili cook-off, and an informal diner-style potluck supper. Partygoers have ample opportunity to bid for quality items at a silent auction during the first part of the evening. Then, we move into performances that feature live music, spoken word, and a magic show. The evening's concluding highlight is a rousing live auction by a professional auctioneer.

Items up for bid include a week stay in Tahiti Village in Las Vegas, concert tickets to the San Francisco Symphony with Itzhak Perlman conducting Tchaikovsky (April 2012), golf outings, dining out, hosted gourmet parties, gift baskets, hair styling, and much more! If you are planning to offer an item for the auction, please contact Donna Lack.

Advance discounted tickets ($15 for adults, or $45 for a family of four) are available to parishioners, for your own use or to give to others. Tickets will be on sale at all services from now until the auction day. You also can phone the church office at 569-7020 to arrange pick up discounted tickets prior to the event. We ask that parishioners please bring a covered dish to add to our supper.

Donations request at the door that evening will be: adults -- $25, children 6 to 17 -- $10, and under six free.

Dear All Saints Family,

I'm pleased to announce that All Saints Choir is about to resume a regular schedule under my leadership. If you have already been in the choir at All Saints or have other choral singing experience, you are invited to join the choir. If you like to sing but aren't sure if your skills are up to singing in a choir, I will be offering small group classes in music reading and sight singing. You can learn how to navigate through our hymns and service music and see how your skills develop.

All Saints Choir will meet from 8:45 to 10:00 on Sundays beginning on September 18. On October 2 we'll put on our vestments and begin singing at the 10:15 service. The schedule for the music reading classes will be arranged at a mutually convenient time. Classes will begin the first week of October and meet weekly, with a small fee to cover cost of materials.

Dylan Snodgrass has graciously agreed to accompany the choir in addition to his regular position as our parish pianist and organist.

What can you expect when you come to choir? I believe that the first purpose of a choir is to lead the congregation in raising up "the liturgy of song." We'll be worshipping as we sing and helping the congregation to experience the hymns and service music more fully. If we can also produce wonderful anthems, mount a performance of an oratorio or cantata, combine with other choirs in a festival, etc. . . . Well, one thing at a time!

Please give your prayerful consideration to joining the choir or enrolling in a class.

Thank you all who have worked to help Altar Guild stay on course during my recent bout of turmoil and illness. Things are much better and I appreciate all your help.

I invite all church members to an Altar Guild introduction and training September 24 from 9:30 to noon. There will be refreshments, a short program and a devotional. If you are searching for new ways to get involved in the life of the parish and to participate more actively in worship services, then this is the place to "come and see."

Food Pantry -- Moving Forward with Faith

Several months ago, I reported that the food pantry was running nearly $700 in the red through the first half of the year. Did this mean that we curtailed our service? Of course not. Hungry people have come to depend on us.

Now, I am ever so pleased to report that, like manna falling from heaven, just over $1200 in grant money has been awarded to us from the Alameda County Community Food Bank. The money came from FEMA to ACCFB, which then distributed the funds to all of its members based on how much food they had been purchasing at the Food Bank. All of this coming as a complete surprise to us!

This does not mean that you should stop your financial support of our food pantry! The deficit had been growing, and we will once again hold two pantries in November and December. There is much feeding to be done, and with God's grace, we shall do it.

God is so very good.

Tom Breckenridge, Social Ministries Team leader

SOCIAL MINISTRIES CALENDAR

Saturday, 9/3
 Food Pantry 11:00-2:00, All Saints 

Sunday, 9/4
 April Showers 11:00-2:00, San Leandro Boys and Girls Club 

We are in much need of PRAYER BOOKS and HYMNALS. If you have any extra that are usable of either, would love to have them. We have new 'Pew Chairs' (30) with ergonomic padding and book racks. But we can't fill even half of them, especially BCP's. If you have any of these you would like to discard, please send them UPS to St. Mary's in the Mountains, Attn: S.Coppel, 18910 Tiffeni Drive, Twain Harte, CA 95383. Please advise us of any expenses, and we will promptly reimburse you. Blessings.

The Retire the Debt Committee has wonderful news to share!

The ingathering last Sunday brought our building fund to a projected balance of about $40,000 which includes the current cash, gifts, and commitments. Our treasurer reports that that we now have the resources to pay the debt to Union Bank incurred when we renovated and repaired the building.

Further, we've made significant headway in raising the money needed to complete our family-friendly restroom.

Thank you for your prayers and gifts towards making this happen!

As many of you know, Anne Harris led us for many years in our support of Sunrise House, an orphanage in Uganda. At that time, many of us made contributions of $5 per month and we would regularly send money to Sunrise House.

Anne was also the reason that a group of us traveled to Uganda to work at Sunrise House a couple of years ago. People were very generous in their support of our fundraising efforts so we could do a number of projects while there. Anne died this year and we mourn her loss.

However, instead of just remembering Anne, I would like to return to our regular giving toward Sunrise House. This orphanage is a private one which generally takes in children who have lost one or both parents to the AIDS epidemic in Uganda. It has been financed by donations from a couple of groups but they do not receive anything on a regular basis except for a few children who are sponsored through Hope4Kids International.

While there, we spent a lot of time discussing possible plans to help Sunrise House become self-sufficient. We have just recently sent $3,000 to them (funds remaining from those raised in 2009) in order to operate and expand their poultry farm. They will start out with chicks; some will become happy hens laying eggs, and some will be butchered and eaten there or sold. We hope to see this plan progress, as it is an important component of their work toward self-sufficiency.

I am personally taking on a separate fundraising project to collect money for a sewing teacher and fabrics with hopes that the children will learn sewing on treadle sewing machines that were purchased with donations from several of my friends. Once they have learned sewing, they will be in a position to make their own uniforms for school and shirts that can be sold.