From Rev. Karen 

Lenten Worship and Study on Wednesday Evenings

The All Saints Lenten program this year will begin on Wednesday, March 4 and continue through March 11, 18, and 25. Each evening will begin with a worship service at 7 p.m. in the church, followed by a class in the Fireplace Room from 7:30-9:00 p.m. We will focus on understanding church and family systems, and how individuals can contribute to their health and well-being. In particular, the writings of Edwin Friedman will be considered. Child care will be available.

Plan Ahead for Holy Week and Easter Services

Palm/Passion Sunday                  Sunday, March 29 at 8 and 10:15 a.m.

            Palms will be blessed and distributed, and the story of the Passion will be read in parts by the congregation

Tenebrae                                         Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m.

            A reflective service of light and darkness with psalms and readings will be offered.

Maundy Thursday                         Thursday, April 2 at 6 p.m.

           A Mediterranean meal will be shared, feet will be washed, and communion will be shared in a family friendly atmosphere in the Parish Hall. The church altar will be stripped bare as the evening draws to a close.

Good Friday                                                Friday, April 3 at noon

            An ecumenical San Leandro service will be offered at St. Leander's Church. Rev. Karen will be one of the seven preachers.

Good Friday                                                Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m.

            The Good Friday service from the Prayer Book will be offered at All Saints.  

Easter Vigil                                      Saturday, April 4 at 6 p.m.

            Members of the church will share in telling the stories of our faith, a child will be baptized, and the first Eucharist of Easter will be celebrated in an informal and joyous service.  

Easter Day                                       Sunday, April 5 at 8 and 10:15 a.m.

A Day of Discovery   

Report by The Search Committee  

We continue to meet every two weeks as we plan our

This will be an all day (don't groan!) fun-filled day of discovery about ourselves and our parish. It is also important that our teens be a part of this experience with us. We will start with our joint prayer service at 9 am and then begin our break-out groups. During this time snacks and coffee/tea will be available. We will stop for lunch together and then move on to our next phase. We will end our day with Eucharist at about 3:30 before leaving after a very fulfilling day. We encourage all members to come. If some member is too frail to be with us for the day, please arrange for care for that person so that as many as possible can participate. Child care will be provided.

So what is a Day of Discovery? The Search Committee must put together a document regarding who our parish is, what our values are, what things are we currently doing, how do we worship together and reach out to others, and what are our dreams. This document, along with other specific information will go to the diocese and in turn be published for those priests who are seeking new calls. Each applicant in turn will fill out the same document about their own experience. From there, we review the applicants and begin our search for the right person to come to All Saints. This process will result in the Search Committee proposing three candidates to the Vestry who will then interview them and finally make an offer to one of the applicants, leading us to the beginning of working with a new rector.

Each step of the way, the Search Committee is prayerfully seeking guidance from God as we go through the steps necessary to complete this process. We are all excited and happy to be going through this process together.

As we move to learning about applicants, please understand that the Committee is bound by confidentiality and will not be able to provide any information about who we are looking at or who has applied. We thank the parish for it's continued prayers for the Committee and for your

participation in our Day of Discovery.  

 Spring Clean up Morning 

All Saints has a tradition of "sprucing-up" our wonderful facility to make it look even more "cared-for" and inviting for Easter Week celebrations. We typically wash the windows, scrub the Narthex, dust and mop the Nave and Chancel, sweep the decks and clean weeds and debris from the parking lots and make the kitchen sparkle.

This year, Spring Clean-up is scheduled for Saturday March 28, 2015 from 9:00 AM to Noon. It is Ok to come for only an hour if that is all the time you have. Coffee, pastries and all cleaning supplies are provided. It is a lot of fun and a good time together so please join us.

SPECIAL REPORT FROM  

your RECTOR'S WARDEN

CORAZON HOUSEBUILDING TRIP JUNE 19 - 21, 2015

Corazon is a volunteer-run, nonprofit, nondenominational corporation formed in 1978 to meet the needs of Mexican families with food, clothing and housing. The volunteer teams from our Southern Alameda Deanery have traveled to Mexico for several years to assist in an amazing all-in-one-day house building for and with the family who will live in the house. Volunteers from All Saints have reported having a life-changing experience helping families so directly. .

     This year's trip begins with a drive on Friday, June 19, to Chula Vista, near the Mexican border. St. John's Episcopal Church in Chula Vista will host us on Friday and Saturday nights, or you may stay at a nearby motel. On Saturday a bus will take us across the border to the house building site and back to Chula Vista at the end of the day. We will worship with our host congregation on Sunday morning before returning home.

     A fact sheet with complete information is available. Please send an email to clairenote@msn.com and a fact sheet will be sent to you.

     This trip offers a wonderful service opportunity to our members. I hope that we will have many participants!

Claire Burke  

Altar Guild Needs Helpers

Dear Ones, once again we have lost members of altar guild due to family circumstances and we are in need of new helpers. It takes on average 2 hours per month to set up and clean up for communion.  If more people would sign up that "per month" would extend to six or seven or maybe 8 weeks.   Training is readily available and all you have to do is contact Connie Camp, Rev. Karen or any of the other altar guild members to offer your help. Please don't hesitate to lighten the load of other altar guild members.  If you can wash a dish and sweep a floor, you can do this job.  Thank you for prayerfully considering it.  

Sing For America

submitted by Joy Graham-Korst 

Sing for America, Sing for Artful Steps. That's my mission - to raise my voice in song to support a program that has been serving the community since 1975.  

Sing for America (SFA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on supporting the arts. Unlike other organizations, SFA allows their members to influence where their contributions go.  

Artful Steps is offered through the Stepping Stones Growth Center in San Leandro, CA. Their mission is to teach individuals, of every level of ability, self-expression through the visual arts.

To support Artful Steps and the SFA Foundation by making a tax-deductible donation, go to singforamerica.org.  The process is fast, easy, and secure.

You can hear Sing for America in concert on April 19, 2015, 7PM, at the Palace of Fine Arts. One performance only! The concert's featured guests will be the Oakland Interfaith Choir and Livingston Taylor. You can buy tickets to the show by using my unique box office code, SFA030. Half of the ticket price will go directly to Artful Steps. You may also write a check, made out to Sing For America, including my special code, SFA030, in the memo area.

Thanks you for your support.

Joy Graham-Korst

Coffee Hour

In 2014, Coffee Hour welcomed 40 to 50 adults and children after the 10:15 service.

The fellowship shared at Coffee Hour is just terrific. It is a warm and welcoming place not only for parishioners but also for those who are repeat visitors and first time visitors.

People at Coffee Hour usually linger for 45 to 60 minutes after services and do lots of table hopping.

The Coffee Hour hosts are free to choose whatever treats they wish to serve and we encourage simplicity in the menu. We hope that a simple menu will keep costs down for the hosts and also encourage others in the parish to be volunteer hosts.

In 2014, we have had a Coffee Hour host for every Sunday and we are grateful to the 20 different families that have volunteered. But, in order to fill every Sunday slot, the Coffee Hour coordinators have had to host seventeen Sundays. We need more help from more families.

How to be a host is spelled out in detail (i.e. ratio of coffee to water) on a Helpful Hints sheet posted in 3 places in the kitchen. There are also several copies of Helpful Hints on the Coffee Hour sign-up clipboard in the church entry.

In addition, we thank 3 individuals who supported Coffee Hour with money. We also thank the Youth Group who hosted Coffee Hour twice.

We are committed to continue as Coffee Hour Coordinators for 2015 and look forward to working with you.

 submitted by Rosemary Lake and Don Siefkes - volunteers 

A Pelargonium, Dusty Miller and Day Lily have been planted on the east side of the front of the church next to Roosevelt School. We removed a dead Escallonia bush from that area.

At the front entry to the church, we have been cutting out dead wood from the very old Rosemary bush and have removed the dead Escallonia bushes on the left (east) approach to the church entry. The yellow African daises in the flower pots have not fared well this year and some have died. We have replaced the four pots with a variety of pansies. We just planted a large jade plant donated by Mary and Jack Kincaid at the front entry.

Our big project this year has been the west garden on Merle Court.   We have removed the overgrown Fortnight Lily and Hebe bush that was blocking/choking the sprinkler heads. Jack Kincaid and Don Siefkes tuned up the sprinklers and replaced some sprinkler heads throughout to prevent water run off.   The aggressive Lily of the Nile plants are being cut back and the open areas are being planted with succulents and drought resistant decorative grasses.

The paid gardeners continue to do a nice job trimming the hedges and cutting/edging the grass.

Anyone wishing to join the gardening group is most welcome.    

The Facilities Care Committee Report for 2014

The FCC is the committee of the vestry that is responsible for the care and maintenance of our buildings and grounds. It has several sub groups which specialize in the care of certain areas, eg.  Landcaping group, We-Can-Do-It-Ourselves special projects group and the Liturgy-of-the-Steward monthly prayer and maintenance group. These are all part of our ministry and help to make our beautiful facility even more welcoming.

This past year, we did a number of important projects such as Spring Cleaning for Easter Week, installation of water saving landscapes and new Irrigation controls, a 10 ft x 20 ft Shade Cover for the tots play yard, new silent fans in the sanctuary that were donated by Don Siefkes and Rosemary Lake. There were many small repair and maintenance items that were looked after by a lot of folks on many occasions. For 2015 we are especially in need of someone who will lead the Liturgy-of- the-Steward monthly maintenance group. It is only two (2) hours on the first Saturday each month and only does light but important cleaning and repairs.

Jack Kincaid for the FCC