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"Give thanks to the Lord
call on his name; make known among the nations what
he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.”
(Isaiah 12:4
NIV)
April 2007
Dear All Saints' Family,
Spring has arrived, and
Easter is just around the corner, making this is a
very special time for us to celebrate new life.
Though I am writing this in mid-March, soon the
bulbs will burst through their winter home and
emerge in all their beauty. On Easter we will erupt
with Alleluia’s and give thanks to the Lord for the
promise of eternal life assured to us by his
resurrection from the dead. Alleluia! Christ is
Risen! The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!
We have good reason to celebrate what the Lord is
doing at All Saints’. Last Fall Fr. Dan and I were
talking about how we both were sensing a new move of
the Spirit. Since that time we have welcomed a
number of new families and have seen a remarkable
increase in ministries that reach out to our
immediate community, our nation, and the world. Some
have asked why we reach out when we have our own
struggles with resources right here? Bishop Rabb
articulated it best when he said, “Because Jesus
tells us too”. Both the Great Commission (Matthew
28) and Jesus’ instructions to his disciples
(Matthew 25) are clear teachings of God’s will for
his people. Our vision statement defines our mission
as a place where people come to know Jesus,
(evangelism) are transformed to his glory,
(discipleship), and are witness to his unchangeable
Word, (outreach).
There are many examples of the way we are reaching
out to our neighbors. God’s Older Children has
initiated the Prayer Shawl Ministry to reach out in
compassion and prayer to those who are in need of
God’s comfort. The response has been phenomenal. We
continue to support the needy in Reisterstown
through the Community Crisis Center. Our youth
raised over $5000 during their 30 hour famine to
feed the hungry through World Vision. Twenty-six of
our members traveled to Harrisburg, PA to share the
gospel of salvation to over 600 people in a day. We
welcomed the Rev. Michael Lubowa and heard about
Afinnet, an empowerment ministry to the poor in
Uganda, and we will enter into a companion
relationship with St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Mityana
to explore how we can support women and children in
need. We raised enough money to build a new
dormitory so that 20 orphaned children will have a
chance to escape extreme poverty and homelessness.
We fed 450 children for three months at Kabule
Parish School. We heard from KC Bersch, a missionary
we support in Haiti, and the wonderful work she is
doing there. We have also seen miraculous answers to
prayer. The really great news is that during the
first quarter all of our financial obligations are
current and we did not need to transfer any funds
from the portfolio! Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Let us give thanks to the Lord, for he has indeed
done great things.
Fr. David +
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