Got this forwarded by a friend? Hey! We’re All Saints, a young Episcopal church in Amsterdam centred around radical inclusion and reconcilliation. Come join us for a service and good food every Sunday at 6 at Vrijburg.

From Kyle

Dear Friends,

It was a greater blessing to be back among you this Sunday than I can say.

I should say more in this space than I can at this moment. But let me get three things across as strongly and clearly as I can. The big, actionable item takeaway is:

1. Please, please, please come to church on March 1 at the usual time. We need you. Bishop Mark is coming to help us gain some clarity about our vision, our plan, and our spiritual and worldly leadership. The bishop is the pastor of the whole Convocation. He is coming to listen to us, especially to you. The service will be lay led evening prayer the way you have learned to do it, and it’s a pretty big deal in The Episcopal Church for a bishop to forgo leading Eucharist during his visitation, but Mark is committed to listening to you tell him who we are. And we will then listen to him, where he thinks we are and how the Convocation can support us in moving forward. This will include arrangements for clergy leadership.
   To review: March 1, 18:00, Evening Prayer. Usual dinner routine afterward, including conversation with Bishop Mark. Come! We need you.

2. Thank you! When I told you in September that I needed some time away, I knew it was not an opportune time for the community. Thank you for understanding, for giving me what I needed ungrudgingly, and for really going out of your way to respect my need to be on leave. I did not guess just how big and sudden the changes would be while I was away, which means I must emphasize again how grateful I am for the space you gave me, and leads me too..

3. Point #3 is also: Thank you! Thank you for carrying on with this church without a regular priest. I will always maintain that the priest is the least important person in a congregation, but it is hard for a church—especially an Episcopal church—to be without one. You rose to the occasion. You’ve done some awesome things. In some ways, you accomplished more in two months with no priests than two priests managed to do in two years. Thanks in particular go to Zinzy. It it is of course sad not to have her active presence in our midst for a time, but I cannot be less generous with her than she was with me. Please respect her needs as you did mine.

So, am I “back”? Well, let’s not make any pronouncements about anything until we’ve met with the bishop on March 1. But at the very least, you are welcome to reach out to me if you need to talk to a priest. I will be on vacation for the next few days, but I will start checking my church email again.

This rest of this newsletter is a bit of a cut-and-paste job. I am writing this initial note, and all of the content that follows is from a draft that Zinzy made before beginning a leave of absence.

Hello church family,

It’s February, which means we’re slowly venturing into the season of Lent (what is that?). Lent is a wonderful time for reflection, for letting go of comfort, and for reimagining our way forward. At All Saints, that’s very much what we’ve been doing these past few months.

As we continue to gather around the table, lay members leading us in evening prayer, we’re all invited to consider the impact of lay members of our church. We’re been doing an excellent job of embodying various informal leadership roles, and it’s time we begin thinking and talking more seriously about what lay leadership

Meanwhile in Europa,

As a mission church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, we’re lucky to belong to a broader community of people drawn to the story of Jesus. Scattered across Europe are dozens of parishes and missions each devoting time and effort to bringing people together. There’s a quarterly online book club on racial justice, pop-up talks, annual youth and young adult retreats, and all sorts of other events that you can take part in, usually for free. Here are a few highlights we thought you might like:

• During the upcoming season of Lent, join online for Convocation-wide morning prayer (calendar details)

• Learn more about the various ministries in the European Convocation, and let us know about the role you think you might be able to play in them at All Saints

Sign up for the convocation’s newsletter

February at All Saints (Kyle again)

• 22 Feburary, 18:00, Vrijburg, Evening Prayer with potluck afterward

• We won’t have an Ash Wednesday service this year (Wednesday, 18 February), but feel free to visit any of our friends. The Old Catholic parish in Amsterdam has a service (in Dutch) at 19:00; our fellow Anglicans at Christ Church have one (in English) at 17:00. We are in full communion with both of these churches, so you are welcome to participate fully.

• 1 March, 18:00, Vrijburg. Not February, but you did catch this from point #1 above? Very important! Evening Prayer, dinner, conversation with bishop.

Wanna see All Saints continue to thrive? (back to Zinzy)

• 🤝 Do a thing: want to lead evening prayer, help build our online platform, join a city cleanup brunch, make music, or read Scripture? You can! (And let’s face it, given how awesome you are, you should.)

• 🙋🏽‍♀️ Organise a project: we currently rely heavily on grants, which are difficult to get. Offering meaningful projects that serve the community makes it all a little easier.

• 😎 Officially join the club: as a member of All Saints, your impact on our future can be more profound. It shows us why being here for you is relevant. Sign up next time you’re at church. Alternatively, 👉🏽 download this form, fill it out, bring it by.

• 🤓 Bring a friend: we love welcoming new faces, hearing their stories, and sharing a way of doing church they may not have seen before.

• 🤲🏻 Contribute monthly: your financial support helps us pay our pastors and build fellowship. If you’re able, consider setting up a monthly donation to All Saints. Our details are right here. Don’t forget, we have ANBI status!

We need you because you need us

All Saints is a young community relying on the contributions of the people who spend time with us. Please consider sharing what you can so that we can continue to be there for each other, and grow into the community we know we can become.

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