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1 Return to All Saints Home Page S. Spruce Street Spokane, WA All Saints Gather Monthly Newsletter January 2013 P a s t o r s M e s s a g e Our end of the year Advent and Christmas time of waiting and watching and celebrating has been interrupted by deep sorrow for the children and teachers of Newtown, for all who died and all who mourn. We can make no sense of such violence, so our only option is to cry out for mercy. And we trust and know that God hears our prayers. Our prayers are for all the innocents in the world that suffer at the hands of injustice and unreasonable behavior by those in power. President Obama, in his address to the country this past Sunday evening, said we can do better and he is so very correct. We can do better, as a nation we must take what we have and where we have been and promise the world that we will do better from this point on to the future. It starts in our own homes and spreads to our neighborhoods and city and finally to the state we call home and to the country we all love. We must side with the weakest and lowest that need our help. Of course we can never know or deal with all the abuse and illness nor prevent all the horrific crimes but I would like to think that we could help or prevent some of the pain. I do know that we can do nothing if we don t try. When confronted with a world of need and want we are called to respond with love and prayer. God answers with His promise, "I am with you. This time of year we celebrate Advent, God coming to us in Jesus, and Christmas, the birth of the child lying in a manger. This is God with us; Emmanuel, who bears our grief, and is ultimately with us in Jesus on the cross. God's promise is that He will always be with us nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love in Jesus Christ. So amid the pain and trouble of a broken world, even amidst the terrifying suffering of children, we can sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace." Working together that which is well pleasing to our God, we can and must strive to bring about peace and justice in the space where we live and build on it and take it out into a world that so desperately needs to hear about salvation. Because our hope and joy and trust is in Jesus Christ, we can rejoice in the wonder of His birth. I pray for all of you to have a sacred experience this season, to enjoy the full twelve days of Christmas and then embrace the light of the Lord at Epiphany. I wish all of you and your families a blessed Christmas and wonderful future in the arms of our gracious God! Pastor Alan

2 Pastor... Reverend Alan B. Eschenbacher Lay Ministers... All Members of All Saints Congregation Organist... Worship Leader/Choir Director... Parish Administrator... Altar Guild Directress... Newsletter Editor... Council President... Council Vice President... Council Secretary... Church Treasurer... Financial Secretary... Willie Graf Mary Johnson Teresa Freund Cora Jelinek Verne St John Bryce Eschenbacher Dean Treichel Maynard Ross Eleanor Olson Cora Jelinek

3 "People of Christ, Living in Community, Working in Partnership, Doing the 'Stuff' of Local Ministry" ALL SAINTS LUTHERAN CHURCH has witnessed God in action in our congregation, and in the world. We seek to proclaim the Gospel that all may know the depth of God's love. We thankfully exercise our abilities, time and material assets in service to our neighbor. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same LORD, and there are varieties of workings, but it is the same GOD who inspires them all in every thing. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-6 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind... love your neighbor as yourself. MATTHEW 22:37-40 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY SPIRIT, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. MATTHEW 28:19-20

4 For the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the future of All Saints For Pastor Alan Eschenbacher as he serves All Saints For Bishop Martin Wells and the Synod Staff For ELCA presiding Bishop Mark Hanson For Divine Guidance for our Country For Thanksgiving and time with Family Brian Dickerson, Jane Clayton, Shirley & Homer Evers, Arlene O Brien, Judy Shoaf, Roberta MacKay, Trayci Ballin, Connie Jelinek, Janice Johnson, Dave Schaefer, Linda Schaefer, Betty Ledbetter, Steve Taulbee, Shannon, Matthew, Kass, Forest, Craig Davenport. Jack Renford For our Members in the Military Paul Billings, Ben Coles, Robert Guyton, Aaron Jelinek

5 God's beloved people, Cross Connection-January 2013 It seems unlikely that regular readers of this column would need encouragement but I want to take advantage of the turning of the year to encourage those of you who may have been missing church to return to regular attendance. There really is nothing like a home congregation! I discovered this for myself after missing church at my home congregation, St Mark, Spokane, for most of the fall. I ve got a good excuse of course, because most Sundays I m visiting another congregation of the synod or otherwise traveling on business. Let me tell you what I discovered on the hope that it might rekindle your own attendance. I discovered beloved people! Few of us know everyone in the congregation so it isn t as if I were returning to close friends. What I discovered was a return to familiar faces, often in the same seats as I saw them last, some more frail, some young ones having grown what looked like several inches! These are my people, I thought, the sturdy Lutherans, and I know them and they know me. These are the ones I follow in the newsletter prayers. These are the brothers and sisters of the great procession up the aisle to Holy Communion, eyes down, hands out. These are the beautiful and sometimes off-key singers! These are the ones with whom I sing and speak in unison, confessing the faith or responding to prayers. We kneel together. We greet one another with warm It s so good to see you again sentiments. We shake hands, look one another in the eye, and wish one another the Peace of the Lord. Beyond the people of course were more signs of belonging, baptismal belonging, ancient and new symbols of the faith in colors and worship committee creativity. I felt lucky to be present for a choir anthem from Messiah that I knew had been prepared for the Advent season. There were announcements about life and death and after the mention of one name I searched the congregation until I could account for beloved friends. With three pastors on staff you d think there was enough variety in the preaching voices, but one of the geniuses of St Mark is their regular use of other invited preachers. On my day of return we heard a heartfelt proclamation from ELCA Pastor Jeff Solheim, an Air Force chaplain. I thanked God for my pastors Dick, Eric, and Kate. The point is this: There is a home that we sometimes forget about and under-appreciate. I was welcomed home after a time away and it was very good to be linked in the company of fellow members. I was re-membered in multiple ways! This week all across our synod these home congregations wait for us to make them whole. It was good to sing with gusto knowing my voice always has a place in the St Mark song. It was good to smell the candles and see the smiles that meant my presence was deeply welcomed. If you ve been away for awhile come on home! It s good to be home in the community of Jesus people! And Blessed New Year! Pr. Martin Wells, Bishop msmmwells@aol.com or

6 Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear Friend! Happy Birthday to You And Many More! January 1st Mavis Michael January 14th Bekah Eschenbacher January 4th Brianna Babcock January 16th Nathan McGuire January 5th Harry Michael January 18th Jordan Voss January 7th Erik Eschenbacher January 19th Muriel Harmer January 8th Wally Phillipson January 21st Marie Voss January 9th Carter Babcock January 30th Jaak Juhkentaal January 9th Frieda Jacholkowski January 30th Keely McKinley Jack and Betty Renford January 17th

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9 will meet 11:00am on January 9th in the All Saints LC Fellowship Hall will meet Saturday, January 12th at 10:00am at All Saints Lutheran Church Connie Miles - host / Tamie Evers - leads lesson will meet 7pm, Friday, January 18th at Ben and Laurel Gittings home. Please bring a Favorite Snack to Share Annual Congregational Meeting And Potluck All Saints will be holding their annual congregational meeting on January 27, 2013 following worship service. We will be voting on new council members at this time. It is important that all who are able please plan to attend. A potluck is scheduled before the meeting so bring your favorite dish to share. Annual Reports It is that time of year already!! Annual reports need to be in the church office by Thursday, January 17th. ing them to the church office would be best. If you don t have access to a computer, could you please get them to me a little earlier so I have time to retype them. Thank you so much. Teresa allsaintsgather@gmail.com Free Film Showing Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor Wednesday, January 30 at 6pm at The Book Parlor 1425 W. Broadway Ave Description: This is the true story of Mother Teresa, beginning in Calcutta, India, where she faces adversity from every direction and where she lays the foundation for her crusade to help the poorest of Gods poor.

10 Happy New Year! Uncommon Imagination... As a staff we re reading through Walter Brueggemann s book Journey to the Common Good. In it, he draws comparisons between our current capitalistic economy and the empire of Pharaoh from which God freed the Israelites. Brueggemann talks about how God called the Israelites in the Old Testament to a counter-cultural and counter-empire way of being, the framework of which was set down at Sinai. This book is full of great wisdom and challenging thoughts. One section we talked about recently in staff meeting said this: The prophets were not great liberals. There were, rather, poets outside the box who were rooted in Sinai, who were gifted with uncommon imagination, and who operated on the astonishing notion that the claims of the exodus God who had created heaven and earth were not easily overcome or dismissed. They were, each in a distinct style and context, convinced that the common good was ill served by Solomon s chambers of qualification or by pharaonic notions of cheap labor in the interest of a predatory economy. Walter Brueggemann, Journey to the Common Good (emphasis mine) That phrase uncommon imagination stuck out to us. How can we as Christians use uncommon imagination to live for the common good? How can The Book Parlor be a place of uncommon imagination that fosters others to join into this counter-empire way of living that frees us to be good neighbors? Well, in an attempt to answer those questions, The Book Parlor is going to be focusing all year on fostering uncommon imagination. One way we ll do so is to look at the lives and teachings of those that have done so in the past. In the Lutheran tradition we have examples such as Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but church history has many examples of people that showed uncommon imagination and we can learn from their examples. People like Teresa of Calcutta, Francis of Assissi, Martin Luther King Jr., John Wesley, and many more. The Book Parlor will be offering film showings and book clubs throughout the year with a focus of creating uncommon imagination that can spur us to lead lives not by the standards of empire but by the promises of the Exodus. Promises that are embodied in the person and life of Jesus of Nazareth.

11 FOR JANUARY 6th Greeters / Ushers... Greeters Altar / Ushers Guild... Roger Bagby, Dean Treichel, Jean Goeringer Coffee Hour... Altar Guild... Verna Bagby, Dee Priest Counters... Coffee Hour Robert & Leona Chenault, John Holzendorf, Brianne Hill FOR JANUARY 13th Greeters / Ushers... Altar Guild... Greeters Coffee / Ushers Hour Roger Bagby, Robert Chenault, Jean Goeringer Counters... Altar Guild... Verna Bagby, Dee Priest Coffee Hour Eleanor Olson, Dean Treichel Greeters / Ushers... FOR JANUARY 20th Altar Guild... Coffee Hour... Greeters / Counters Ushers John Holzendorf, Erik Hill, Jean Goeringer Altar Guild... Verna Bagby and Dee Priest Coffee Hour... Marie Voss, Shylah Voss, Mark Nelson, Nelma Johnson Greeters / Ushers... Altar Guild... FOR JANUARY 27th Annual Congregational Meeting Coffee Hour... Counters... Greeters / Ushers... Howard & Nadine Kelly, Jean Goeringer Altar Guild... Verna Bagby, Dee Priest, Brianne Hill Coffee Hour... Potluck Worship Group #3 for January 2013 consists of: Roger Bagby, Verna Bagby, Leona Chenault, Robert Chenault, Jean Goeringer, Brianne Hill, Erik Hill, John Holzendorf, Brad Johnson, Janice Johnson, Nelma Johnson, Pat Johnson, Howard Kelly, Nadine Kelly, Rev. Mark Nelson, Eleanor Olson, Camilla Phillipson, Wally Phillipson, Dee Priest, Bernice Rosendahl, Reider Rosendahl, Dean Treichel, Marie Voss, Shylah Voss

12 Scripture Readings for January 2013 Monday, December 31st: Psalm 147:12-20 / 1 Kings 2:5-14 / John 8:12-19 Name of Jesus Tuesday, January 1st Numbers / Psalm 8 / Galatians 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11 / Luke 2:15-21 Wednesday, January 2nd: Psalm 147:12-20 / Proverbs 1:1-7 / James 3:13-18 Days around Epiphany Thursday, January 3rd: Psalm 72 / Job 42:10-17 / Luke 8:16-21 Friday, January 4th: Psalm 72 / Isaiah 6:1-5 / Acts 7:44-53 Saturday, January 5th: Psalm 72 / Jeremiah 31:7-14 John 1:[1-9] Epiphany of Our Lord Sunday, January 6th Isaiah 60:1-6 / Psalm 72:1-7, / Ephesians 3:1-12 / Matthew 2:1-12 Monday, January 7th: Psalm 72 / Daniel 2:1-19 / Ephesians 4:17 5:1 Tuesday, January 8th: Psalm 72 / Daniel 2:24-49 / Ephesians 5:15-20 Wednesday, January 9th: Psalm 72 / Numbers / Luke 1:67-79 Epiphany 1 Thursday, January 10th: Psalm 29 / Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 / 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Friday, January 11th: Psalm 29 / Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 / 1 Corinthians 2:1-10 Saturday, January 12th: Psalm 29, 2013/ Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 / 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, January 13th Isaiah 43:1-7 / Psalm 29 / Acts 8:14-17 / Luke 3:15-17, Monday, January 14th: Psalm 106:1-12 / Judges 4:1-16 / Ephesians 6:10-17 Tuesday, January 15th: Psalm 106:1-12 / Judges 5:12-21 / 1 John 5:13-21 Wednesday, January 16th: Psalm 106:1-12 / Numbers 27:1-11 / Luke 11:33-36 Epiphany 2 Thursday, January 17th: Psalm 36:50-10 / Jeremiah 3:1-5 / Acts 8:18-24 Friday, January 18th: Psalm 36:5-10 / Jeremiah 3:19-25 / 1 Corinthians 7:1-7 Saturday, January 19th: Psalm 36:5-10 / Jeremiah 4:1-4 / Luke 11:14-23 Second Sunday after Epiphany January 20, 2013: Isaiah 62:1-5 / Psalm 36:5-10 / 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 / John 2:1-11 Monday, January 21st: Psalm 145 / Isaiah 54:1-8 / Romans 12:9-21 Tuesday, January 22nd: Psalm 145 / Song of Solomon 4:1-8 Wednesday, January 23rd: Psalm 145 / Song of Solomon 4:9 5:1 Epiphany 3 Thursday, January 24th: Psalm 19 / Isaiah 61:1-7 / Romans 7:1-6 Friday, January 25th: Psalm 19 / Nehemiah 2:1-10 / Romans 12:1-8 Saturday, January 26th: Psalm 19 / Nehemiah 5:1-13 / Luke 2:39-52 Third Sunday After Epiphany January 27th Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 / Psalm 19 / 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a / Luke 4:14-21 Monday, January 28th: Psalm 119:89-96 / Jeremiah 36:1-10 / 1 Corinthians 14:1-12 Tuesday, January 29th: Psalm / Jeremiah 36:27-32 / 2 Corinthians 7:2-12 Wednesday, January 30th: Psalm 119:89-96 / Jeremiah 36:27-32 / Luke 4:38-44 Epiphany 4 Thursday, January 31st: Psalm 71:1-6 / 2 Chronicles 34:1-7 / Acts 10:44-48 Friday, February 1st: Psalm 71:1-6 / 2 Chronicles 35:20-27 / Acts 19:1-10 Saturday, February 2nd: Psalm 71:1-6 / 2 Chronicles 36:1-21 / John 1:54-51 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany February 3rd Jeremiah 1:4-10 / Psalm 71:1-6 / 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 / Luke 4:21-30

13 All Saints Calendar for January 2013 Unless otherwise noted ASLC Office is open Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:30pm Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday All Saints Annual Congregational Meeting January 27th after Worship Please plan to attend We will be voting for New Council Members 6 9am 10:30am All Saints Worship w/communion 11:45am Coffee Time 9:30am Russian Church Wishing You and Yours a Blessed and Happy New Year 2:45pm Yoga Class for Isabella House 6:30pm Al West 8pm Addicts in Action 7 1 ALL SAINTS OFFICE CLOSED 2:45pm Yoga Class for Isabella House No Community Dinner 6:30 pm Council Meeting 5pm Community Dinner 8 6:30pm Martial Arts 7pm Al West pm House Church 3-7pm Neighbor- Hood Report Event 6:30pm Martial Arts 7pm Al West 8am-Noon Homeless Coalition 9am Quilters NW Harvest Delivery pm Potluck at Salem w/walnut Corners Neighbors 4 Pr. Alan s Day Off Noon 3rd Dist. Legislative Conf. 3:15pm Music Lessons 9pm AA Meeting Pr. Alan s Day Off 3:15pm Music Lessons 9pm AA Meeting am Women of The Church 12-4pm Germans From Russia 13 9am 10:30am All Saints Worship w/communion 11:45am Coffee Time Worship Group 1 9:30am Russian Church 20 9am 10:30am All Saints Worship w/communion 11:45am Coffee Time 9:30am Russian Church 2:45pm Yoga Class for Isabella House 6:30pm Al West 8pm Addicts In Action M. L. King Day 2:45pm Yoga Class for Isabella House 6:30pm Al West pm Addicts in Action 5pm Community Dinner 5pm Community Dinner pm All Team Meeting for Isabella House 6:30pm Martial Arts 7pm Al West 6:30pm Martial Arts 7pm Al West am Quilters ANNUAL REPORTS DUE by TODAY!! Newsletter Submissisons Due by Today 9am Quilters :15pm Music Lessons 7pm All Saints Gittings home 9pm AA Meeting Note: Pastor Alan will be at Byberg Preaching Conf from January 14th to January 19th Pr. Alan s Day Off 3:15pm Music Lessons 9pm AA Meeting am 10:30am All Saints Worship w/communion 11:45am Potluck & Annual Congregational Meeting 9:30am Russian Church 2:45pm Yoga Class for Isabella House 6:30pm Al West 28 8pm Addicts in Action 5pm Community Dinner 29 6:30pm Martial Arts 7pm Al West 30 9am Quilters 31