__________________________________________________________
Parish Breakfast
Sunday, October 7
If you would like to help please call
Debbie (226-0306) or Dale (228-0249) or Ram (226-5880)
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MOTHER TERESA AND HER DARK NIGHTS
 --I have trodden the winepress alone (Isaiah 63)
  Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known (Psalm 77)

 With the publication against her will of any number of her letters, one could have predicted the outpouring of scorn from certain corners toward Mother Teresa regarding her "long dark night of the soul".  Witness this pearl of wisdom from the seemingly omnipresent Christopher Hitchens paraphrasing Karl Marx's barb about religion being the opiate of the people:  "She was no more exempt from the realization that religion is a human fabrication than any other person."   What these avowed atheists share with so many of the religiously challenged, is the false assumption that human beings initiate their relationship with God.  In fact, God calls us to enter into fellowship with Him -- wherever, however, and especially whenever He wills.

 No man need make light of Mother Teresa's loneliness, but one wonders what help she had through these years and decades of what she calls spiritual dryness.  After all, the greatest of all human saints was told that her child was set for the rise and fall of nations, and that a sword would pierce her own soul.  Indeed, anyone who sets his mind, heart, and will to follow our Lord's way cannot help but be buffeted by the world, the flesh, and the devil.  It seems that Mother Teresa's greatest battle was with the devil himself, who did his best to convince her that she truly was totally alone.  The prophet and psalmist quoted above experienced that same terrible sense of darkness and blindness.  Thank God for all three.  Each in his own way helps us appreciate our own dark nights -- and yet, at least with those lines quoted above, one cannot help but feel a certain nearness to God, the same way one might know Him in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm.  "I have trodden the winepress alone."  "Thy way is in the sea... and thy footsteps are not known."  And yet, somehow they are known.  Christians interpret the former as coming from none other than our dear Lord, seeing we read this passage (as well as the psalm) during Holy Week.  Should we feel alone, we are in the best of company.  Further, even though God's footsteps are not always known, in some wonderful and mystical way, we don't feel alone.  Indeed, Mother Teresa eventually learned that her sense of abandonment mirrored the experience of Christ Himself, who on the Cross felt the Father had forsaken Him.  She would eventually write:  "I came to love the darkness."

 In the wake of her now published letters, perhaps three observations are in order for us "mortals".  First, -- not to imply that Mother Teresa necessarily expected them; nevertheless, we don't love God and attempt His will in order to be recompensed by His comforting us with warm fuzzies.  Indeed we love God, simply because He is God.  He does in fact allow us to experience Him in quite wonderful ways at the beginnings of our journeys with Him and to Him.  But as any parent must eventually remove the training wheels from a child's bicycle so that he'll be able to spread his wings to a greater degree, God purposefully backs away from us so that we might learn to love Him not for what He does for us, but to love Him simply because He is.

Second, one must never measure the validity or effectiveness of his or her relationship with God by how he feels.  The heart is defective and deceitful --forever an inaccurate barometer of one's faith.  Better to take refuge with St. John:  "Beloved, God is greater than our hearts."

Third, Mother Teresa's long dark night in no way inhibited the incredible work she did on behalf of hundreds of thousands.  Her initial encounters with God had to be of an unspeakably profound quality, such that Something caused her to persevere through those dark seas.  Her actions, if not her feelings, indicated the overwhelming presence of hope: the virtue which helps us continue our pilgrimage and our vocation, even when we are not sure precisely where we're going.

Again, not to ignore her very real pain, but everyone has dry spells when we don't feel the way we think we ought.  And yet, who among us is able truly to venture what or how we ought to feel.  The heart is deceitful above all things, yet God is greater than our hearts.  Most important, the fact that we may not  feel Him doesn't by any means indicate He is not there.  We are never alone.   FAB   

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL

The Purgatorio is the second of the three great poems which comprise The Divine Comedy.  It recounts Dante's and Virgil's trek up the mountain of Purgatory which comprises seven terraces, each one devoted to the purgation of one of the Seven "deadly" or "capital" sins.

While people seem to be more familiar with part 1 The Inferno, The Purgatorio is far more beautiful, uplifting, and edifying.

We are using Dorothy Sayers translation (Penguin Books) which are available in our library.  Please join us on Sunday morning 9:30 - and you need not have attended the first two classes.  FAB

VESTRY

The October meeting will be held Sunday, October 21 at 8:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall Library.

CONFIRMATION

Bishop Louttit will be here November 4, All Saints Sunday for his annual visitation and Confirmation.  We look to have an especially large class this year for which we are more than grateful.

Further, this All Saints "tide" marks the 25th anniversary of the consecration of our church (November 1, 1982).  In honor of this, we will have a special gourmet parish dinner Saturday evening November 3, so please mark your calendars.  We will send out more information about this later on this month.

Confirmation rehearsal is scheduled for Thursday, November 1 at 6:15 p.m.
 
EYC NEWS

Below is a tentative calendar for this group from October 1 through December 31.  This year we plan to meet every Sunday beginning with the 6:00 PM service followed by supper and a program.  Anyone else who would like to help as an advisor for this 7th-12th grade group is urged to speak to Fr. Buechner or Mr. McQueen.

September 29  (H.O.T.C. - Meet at Humane Society at 9:00 AM)
October 7 Prayer - Fr. Buechner
October 14 "Episco-Jeopardy" - Rachel Grooms
October 21 "Episcopal Polity" - what sets us apart from other denominations –    Mr. McQueen
October 28 Halloween Carnival

November 4  (All Saints Sunday)  "Saints' Days" - Mr. McQueen
November 7 ECW Auction - Waitstaff
November 11 Lunch or Supper at Grandaddy’s, followed by Balloon Volleyball - Chip and Andrea Hancock
November 18 "Predestination" - Fr. Buechner
November 25 Ram Singletary on the Role of Being a Verger
December 2 Advent Sunday New Years Party - Kathleen Kelley and Rachel Grooms
December 9 "The Church Calendar" - Mr. McQueen
December 16 Christmas Party - Braggs
December 23 Caroling - Mr. McQueen
December 24 Help Ram decorate the church - with important help from all of the Sunday School

We will also be adopting a family at Thanksgiving and Christmas

We have volunteers for the Sunday night dinners for October and November.  Please let us know if you can help.

WISH LIST ITEM:  ONE POWERPOINT PROJECTOR

EYC SPONSORED HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL
SUNDAY OCTOBER 28
4:30-5:30 IN THE PARISH HALL

FROM THE SENIOR WARDEN

We are in the process of replacing the shutters on the church.  The wood is being prepared at this point and I have no definite timeline for completion.
 
David Grooms

ADULT CHOIR

The Adult Choir is still in need of more members.  The Nursery is available for those who would like to join and need a place to drop off your child/children.

Margit Miller

ALTAR GUILD

Anyone interested in serving the Lord as a member of the Altar Guild, please contact Nicki Sanders at 229-225-1581 or email cnlcsand@bellsouth.net.  The Altar Guild is divided up into 4 teams. Each team is assigned one week a month to be responsible for preparing the Church and Chapel for all services during the assigned week, including weddings and funerals.  It is a great group of ladies dedicated to this integral part of our church.  With everyone's busy schedule, we really need more loving hands to learn the traditions of service in our church. 

Nicki Sanders


MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Silver Anniversary of the Consecration of the Church
Parish Dinner - Saturday, November 3

Bishop Louttit's Visit - Sunday, November 4

ECW Community Outreach Auction - Wednesday, November 7

"I'LL SEE  IT WHEN I BELIEVE  IT"

Most will no doubt notice the reversal in word order of the common phrase, "I'll believe it when I see it."   Many things in life require seeing them first in order to believe.  One very well known dialogue in the New Testament involves St. Thomas and his reaction to the disciples when they told him that they had seen the risen Christ.  We all know what Thomas' response was in that scenario -- "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25b).  I would have probably reacted the same way.  We do know that the next week Jesus did in fact appear to the eleven, with Thomas present, and he granted Thomas his request to physically touch the nail prints, and place his hand in his side.  Jesus wanted him to believe, and if seeing was the only way to make that a reality, Jesus does just that.  He also offers a teaching that is clearly applicable to us today -- "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29b). 

Thomas of course is blamed for his doubting and the nickname 'doubting Thomas' has stuck ever since.  If we look back at St. Luke's Gospel, all of the disciples display a sense of doubt concerning the resurrection and have Jesus standing right in front of them.  Their doubt stems from joy and wonderment, but the text clearly states that they "believed not" (Luke 24:41).  Sometimes seeing doesn't immediately lead to believing.

Since we all exist in a post-Ascension world, our Christian journey requires belief first, with sight to follow.  For 2,000 years since Jesus' life on Earth, we have been required to believe the tenets of our faith first.  Our post-modern, post-Enlightenment minds tell us to question everything, and only that which can be proven by means of science, mathematics, etc. is worthy of our belief.  There is nothing about Christianity that can be "proven" in this light.  We can only accept the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and allow it to penetrate every fiber of our being.  When we do this, our lives begin to change.  We begin a process of transformation of being like Christ.  We must be different.  The people in whom we come in contact should begin to see us as different persons.  They can begin to see us in light of the fruit that we bear.  As Scripture says, true disciples are known by the fruit they bear, and we are to bear the fruit of the Gospel.

In looking back at the text from St. John, Jesus does not condemn Thomas for his doubt, but rather He wants him to believe.  Jesus gives him permission to have doubts, but He does want him to see the truth and believe it when it is right in front of his eyes.  If we place our trust and belief in Jesus first, our sight will come.   Then we can say that we both see, and believe!

WNM,III

SERMONS ON CD

If you are ever away from All Saints' on a Sunday, we are going to begin making audio recordings of the sermons available.  We will upload those that we might consider "worthy" to the website on a regular basis, but we will make every effort to record all of them from week-to-week.  This will all depend upon the ability of Fr. Buechner and me to remember to hit the record button when we begin our sermons!

If you would like to receive a copy of a sermon, please notify the church office.  Nikki will be able to send this to you by e-mail as a file attachment, or burn it onto a CD.

CHOIR LOFT RAIL

With the increasing number of children as well as adults in our parish choirs, the Vestry has decided for safety reasons to install a guard rail on top of the wooden rail which already runs behind the organ bench and across the width of the choir loft.

John Hand has designed a very handsome black iron guard which would include a brass top.  We have placed John's design for this, as well as a sample of the brass in the church vestibule.  The Vestry has approved this to be manufactured as soon as possible.

The cost very necessary but extremely handsome addition to the church should be between $4,500 - $5,000, and it is available as a memorial.  If anyone has any questions about this, or if anyone is interested in purchasing it as a memorial or thanksgiving, please contact me or any vestryman.   FAB


USHERS FOR OCTOBER

October 7     
Paul McCollum     
Buck Mitchell

October 14
Rick Nudd
Charles Olson

October 21     
Richard Parvey     
Clayton Penhallegon    

October 28
Raleigh Rollins
Charles Sanders

ST. CECILIA AND ST. DAVID CHOIRS
 
What a fantastic beginning! The choirs have been busy rehearsing for their first Sunday singing September 30.   Thank you parents for all your support and encouragement to these young singers.  We have a record number of young musicians this year - twenty-nine choristers in all.  There will be no rehearsals Fall Break, October 10; the choristers will sing October 28, November 18, and December 9.  The St. David Choir only will sing Evensong on December 24.
 
 This year's choristers are:
 
 
St. Cecilia Choir
 
Curry Brinson
Sam Bruhn
Lilly Jackson
Simms Ladson
Jackson Leverett
Ethan Myers
Reid Myers
Eliza Parvey
Lewis Patton
Raleigh Rollins
Maryam Sibley
Ella Simmons
Henry Todd
Parker Watt
Preston Young


St. David Choir
 
Jack Brinson
Jacob Bruhn
Madi Bruhn
Ford Faulk
Neel Gurley
Ali Hall
Meme Hand
Annalee Jackson
Virginia Jackson
Will Ladson
Mariah Miller
Max Patton
Caroline Sewell
Christopher Watt
 

ECW UPDATE

We invite all ladies to please come join us...

  ECW Knitter's Guild  every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

  ECW Book Club meeting Wednesday, October 10 at 11:50 a.m.  Love in the time of Cholera hosted by Henrietta Walter.  Please call her directly or Nikki at the Church office if you plan to attend.  Henri is making a special soup for lunch; if you forget to call come anyway...

  ECW Monthly meeting Wednesday, October 10 at 5:00 p.m.  The guest speaker is our own Organist and Choir Director, Margit Miller -- also, our own "Pampered Chef extraordinaire"  There will be a cooking class featuring hors d'oeuvres.  Please join us  and enjoy!

  The ECW Community Outreach Bazaar has been rescheduled by a unanimous vote at the ECW meeting in September to:  January 30, 2008.  Mark your calendars!

  The ECW Community Outreach Auction is scheduled for Wednesday, November 7.  Please contact Jenny Ladson or Liz Parvey to volunteer for this important project.

As Episcopal Church Women in the Diocese of Georgia our purpose is...

...to unite the women of the diocese in allegiance to our Lord, Jesus Christ, and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, through a program of worship, study, and service which will deepen and strengthen our spiritual lives and lead us into Christian service in the parish, the community, the diocese, America, and the world.

Lee Mitchell
Lee Chubb 


TRANSITIONS:

Happy Birthday in the month of October to:

Elaina Kavouklis   10-5-94
Alisha Kavouklis   10-5-94
Caroline Penhallegon   10-16-93
Ali Hall    10-20-95
Roy M. Lilly, III    10-23-86
Mary Lawrence Lilly   10-25-84
Caroline Buechner   10-26-86
Eleanor Stubley   10-30-95

Happy birthday in November to:

Chip Sanders    11-2-89
David C. Chubb   11-5-93
Harrison Jackson   11-7-04
Preston Chubb    11-8-92
Reid Myers    11-9-00
Christopher Bragg   11-11-91
Wilson Young    11-14-05
Ethan Myers    11-20-02
Robert Taylor Bragg   11-20-93
Lolo Mason    11-26-88
Addison Faith Kelley   11-29-02
Kinsey Grace Kelley   11-29-02
Carsyn Trace Kelley   11-29-02

Baptism:

Sarah Kathryn McQueen received the sacrament of
Holy Baptism on September 16, 2007.

Marriage:

                     Harold Thomas Akins, Jr. and Anna Maria Balducci
                  were united in Holy Matrimony on September 22, 2007.