All Saints Gazette, Week of the Second Sunday after Epiphany
Greetings and blessings from All Saints Amsterdam!
"O ye frost and cold, bless ye the Lord," says one of the Anglican canticles, the winds having been mentioned in the previous stanza. We hope that you are thriving in body and spirit, whatever the weather, and will be able to join us for Prayer Lab on Wednesday at 6:30 and Worship on Sunday at 6:00.
Abundance Inventory!
Every time Kyle or Mpho talk to any of you, we are always amazed by what gifts you have, and we wonder if you yourselves know what amazing work God has done with you, and with the other people in our church. Find out so you can give thanks, connect with each other, and find new ways to be awesome. You'll get a prompt each week until Lent. Think about it. Pray about. Make a quick video and share it with us by email or on our WhatsApp group. Not a big video person? Neither are we, so no pressure. (You can also write something down).
This week's prompt:
We didn’t have a service this week, but you can read the scriptures here. In John 1:43-51, Phillip introduces Nathaniel to Jesus. Nathaniel is skeptical, because Jesus is from Nazareth. And really, “can anything good out of Nazareth”? Nazareth was a dump. But Nathaniel is impressed because Jesus recognizes him in the most profound of ways, and promises him he will see greater things than these.
Where are you from? Who are your people? Have you ever felt like nothing good can come from where you come from? In what ways does your heritage, family, and life experience help you perceive the divine where others might not? Tell us some of what you are seeing.
Housekeeping
Prayer Lab--Wednesday at 6:30, Old Catholic Rectory (Ruydaelstraae 37), ring the bell left of the sanctuary to get in
Why do we always read the Bible aloud in church? Why not just give you a link and let you read it silently on your own? Both speaking and hearing the words of the Bible do something. What exactly? Well, come and play around with it. This Sunday's scriptures include a short passage from the (already short) Book of Jonah. While we eat, we'll hear the whole book read aloud (did I mention that it's very short?) and listen to a(n even) short(er) portion of it chanted at a Jewish Yom Kippur service. Fun is mandatory; bringing a dish or snack to share is encouraged, but optional.
Readers, Intercessors, Children's Activity Leaders!
Sign up for these essential worship roles here (or if Google Docs gives you trouble, just call, text, or email Kyle or Mpho). If you can read this newsletter, you can read scripture or lead prayers at our services! And if you can open a glue stick or even halfway color inside of lines, you can help with the children's activity.
All Saints People Elsewhere
Mpho is leading an online form on "Racial Justice and the Beloved Community" for the Episcopal churches in Europe. Register here for the event on Saturday, February 10 from 10:00-12:00. Support our own priest, learn about how we can live into a more beautiful word than we have been taught to imagine, and get to know some of the other Episcopalians in Europe!
Speaking of All Saints People Elsewhere, what do you have going on that we should know about? Is one of your other communities hosting an event? Do you have an opportunity for learning or action that could use some more people? Know of something someone in our church has done that we should celebrate? Are you just planning on going to something and would welcome company? Tell Kyle so he can feature it here!
There is always a video!
Except when there isn't. Tying into the theme of speaking and hearing scripture that we will explore tomorrow at Prayer Lab, here is an insightful video of Rev. Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago on the topic. The first scholar he cites (Dr. Alisha Jones of Cambridge University) was getting a Ph.D. in the music department of the University of Chicago when I (Kyle) was doing the same thing at the Divinity School. Anytime someone starts by quoting her, whatever follows will be worth your while.
The scientific power of frequencies in worship: "Setting the Atmosphere" is the title of the introduction in my book Flaming? and I have an entire... | By Alisha
The scientific power of frequencies in worship: "Setting the Atmosphere" is the title of the introduction in my book Flaming? and I have an entire...
That's all for today!
Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church/
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
