Fall Gathering has come and gone and it was a wonderful event! Thanks to all of the volunteers, to parents that shuttled their kids as well as friends kids back and fourth, and all of the hands that helped make Fall Gathering come to life! We learned about Jesus as bread, light, and The Good Shepherd. We had wonderful conversations around these and created videos which are still being uploaded to our Facebook page. Thanks to all of the youth that make the All Saints' community what it is, a safe community to discover self and faith all while having fun and creating new and lasting relationships. I look forward to seeing you all at Convention in Owensboro and at Spring Gathering! 

View our Fall Gathering 2014 photo album on our Facebook page to see all of the fun we had.

A couple of years ago in seminary I was in a Godly Play class and our instructor told the story of the Good Shepherd. I had heard it before but this time it left an imprint on me. You can read it below:

John 10: 11- 18.

'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.'

It is a powerful piece of scripture about the unconditional love of Christ and how he protects us. He protects not only those who are a part of his herd, but also those that do not belong to his fold. This really struck me, especially in relation to Diocesan Youth Ministry. In this ministry we have youth who are deeply embedded in the fabric of their churches, and we have those who participate periodically yet have no tie to a particular church. They may have a teacher or friend who is an Episcopalian and who reached out and invited them to an event. Youth can have a number of ways they were invited to participate, but one thing remains true throughout, our community is practicing evangelism in these contexts. The welcomed stranger (youth) received an invitation, felt the call of Christ, and witnessed it in community. Christ says, "I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice." 

 Sometimes when we reach out and evangelize to people, they may be in need. As Christians we can and should help them meet this need with our resources, so they may hear the voice of Christ in community. My challenge to you is to discern how you can share your resources with those not part of your church's fold? Ask yourself what does evangelism in the context of a child/youth look like?

Many of you will be discerning college soon and some of you may have already made your decision or know someone who has made their decision. We currently have 3 college ministry programs around our diocese. Murray State being lead by The Rev. Matt Bradley, Western Kentucky University being lead by The Rev. Ben Badgett, and University of Louisville being lead by Erendera Jiminez-Pike. If you would like more information on their programs, please visit our Young Adult & Campus Ministries webpage.

Annual All Saints Offering

By the All Saints Board

The Rev. Mary Abrams reading the Gospel at Summer Camp.

Dear Friends in Christ:

 "I sing a song of the saints of God...." This joyous, familiar hymn is sung on All Saints Day around the world on every All Saints Sunday since its introduction to "The Hymns of Children" in Great Britain in 1929. It is a song that reminds us all of the diversity of all our saints...."and one was a doctor and one was a queen and one was a shepherdess on the green."

 Our All Saints Camp and Retreat Center has continued to embody the ministry of diversity through hospitality and grace for the past forty-nine years. As we journey towards our fiftieth anniversary in 2015 we are amazed and encouraged by the people whom have found their way to our doors.

 Not only have our children, pre-teens, and teens come to enjoy the opportunities of Summer Camp, Gatherings, and other activities, many groups from outside our diocese also participate in the All Saints experience. Universities and Colleges from the region, like Western Kentucky University, Centre College, Indiana University, and the University of Kentucky have brought their students and faculty to experience All Saints' ministry of hospitality. Groups from other faith traditions, like the Temple in Louisville and the Baha'i from Lexington, as well as area non-profits, like the Home of the Innocents and Sanctuary House, have experienced the peace and serenity of our beautiful campus.

 Yet, no matter how wide our reach might become, you, the members of our diocesan family, form the core support for the mission and ministry of All Saints. That's why we're asking you to participate in the annual All Saints' Sunday offering.  This year we've set an ambitious goal of raising $20,000.  To date, we have received pledges of $10,000 from anonymous donors with a passion for All Saints, for which we are truly grateful.  We're half way to our goal, but we'll need the help of everyone in the Diocese to make it the rest of the way.

 We'd like for your congregation to consider taking up a special offering for the benefit of All Saints this month.  While we've designated All Saints' Sunday for the collection in the past, we'd appreciate your support on whatever Sunday works best for you.  If you're unable to take up a special offering, please consider another way to support this crucial ministry.  We need your help now more than ever for All Saints to continue to its ministry to our region.

 The song of the Saints of God continues to be sung here in Leitchfield as more and more people experience the love of God through the ministry of All Saints.  The support of the people of our Diocese has been "faithful and brave and true" for nearly fifty years.  Thank you in advance for making sure that the song continues.

 Yours in Christ,

 The All Saints Board

To Donate

Donations can be made online or via check.

• Online donations may be made via the button below or by visiting www.allsaints.episcopalky.org/give-to-all-saints.html. 
• Checks should be made out to All Saints Center and include All Saints Offering in the memo line. All checks should be mailed to: Attn: All Saints Sunday Offering, Diocese of Kentucky, 425 S. 2nd Street, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40202.

Any questions about the annual All Saints Day Offering should be directed to the Rev. Suzanne Barrow at info@allsaintscenter.org.

Convention is around the corner. Be thinking if you would like to be a representative of your parish. Convention gives you an insight into the polity of the church. You will have a first hand look at how the church is run and how we come to agreement on the pressing issues of the day. Some youth will even get the opportunity to vote. If you are interested, approach your priest about the notion of going.

Youth can participate in one of two ways:

• Youth Representatives- youth 14-18 years of age can represent the youth of the diocese as a whole as a youth representative. All youth representatives have seat and voice during convention, but they will choose 5 among themselves who will also have voting power. 
• Lay Deputy - your church's lay deputy delegation can include youth 16 years or older who are communicants in good standing. These youth should show capacity for leadership within the local church community as they will be representing your local church.

"I said get up right now."  "Stop touching your sister."  "Yes you have to wear that."  "If you don't get in the car in five seconds you're not playing outside this afternoon."  "Buckle your seat belt."  And then we arrive at church on a typical Sunday morning.  Sound familiar?  Is it worth it?

Getting children up and ready for church can try a saint's patience.  You're tired; they're tired; and it would be so much easier to just give in and stay home-stay in your pajamas, read the paper, and let your children play.  Many times as we arrived at church I would say to my husband, "Thank goodness we're here after a morning like this we need absolution."  Truth is we needed so much more.

We needed to be around other parents who may have also had a similar morning-or they will at some point.  We needed to be around other people who believed it was worth it, who despite other differences, believed that a community of faith was important.  We needed to know that we weren't alone in rearing these children in a world that could be lonely, isolating, and frankly sometimes scary.  We needed to be reminded that there was and is goodness in this world that God created and called it "good."  And perhaps most importantly we needed to give our children a foundation of faith and a pattern of worship that they could fall back on throughout their lives even if they fell away from organized religion for awhile.

Our oldest is attending UVA where a young girl has gone missing.  One night she called me very late scared and unsettled.  "Monkey," I said, "Go to church this weekend.  Let the liturgy soothe you."  And she understood, and she did. 

Here are some things we tried that made Sunday mornings slightly easier:

1. Put clothes out the night before
2. Have special Sunday morning breakfast-it was the only day of the week they ate poptarts
3. Have special Sunday bags they can have during church and only during church.  Switch out "surprises" in the bag.  They only get them once you're seated in the pew.
4. Connect with another family or another parishioner (people with grown children are excellent choices) so you can say, "It's Sunday we get to see______."
5. Breathe...you're not alone.  We've all been there, and believe me it's worth it.