We are delighted to welcome new people to any of our Ministry Teams. To get connected, email Margaret Astesano, our Parish Administrator at Contact Us. For more Ministries, check Outreach. (The 2024 Ministries Fair will be on Sunday, November 17th, after the service. Please come and learn about these Ministries and sign up for one or more.)
Altar Guild
Everyone who enters our sanctuary or chapel to attend Sunday, Easter or Christmas services, First Wednesday Chapel Eucharist, baptisms, marriage ceremonies or memorial services witnesses the work of the members of the Altar Guild. The Guild members arrange altar and chapel flowers, care for the linens, brass and silver, and assure that the vestments and banners are ready for each service and season. During Christmas and Holy Week they beautify the church with special decorations.
The Guild is divided into rotating teams comprising two or three members. Each team determines its own preparation schedule; however, most teams meet for 30 – 40 minutes on a Friday or Saturday. On Sunday morning one team member cleans up after the 8am service and the others clean up after the 10am service.
Mary Cloutier coordinates the altar flower donations, contacting people who have given flowers in the previous year, communicating with the florist and providing Grace Notes bulletin announcements. If you’d like to donate or arrange flowers, please talk with Mary.
Sheila Baraze (sbaraze@pacbell.net), Mary Cloutier (cloutier_34@yahoo.com), and Arlene Leslie (arleneleslie@comcast.net) serve as co-directors and share the responsibilities for coordinating Guild activities.
All interested men, women, people, and teenagers are invited to join this ministry. We’re seeking additional members so there can be 3 and possibly 4 members per team.
Book Club
The All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto Book Club meets irregularly, but tries to meet every 6 – 8 weeks to read modern popular literature selected by members. We select both fiction and non-fiction. In the past few years, we read The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and The Pearl That Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard and Solito by Javier Zamora.We meet on various Sundays after church, after coordinating with adult forums.
The Book Club will meet again on February 9, 2025. The book that has been chosen is James by Percival Everett. This book has won the National Book Award for fiction and is shortlisted for the Booker Prize. James is a retelling of the story of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the escaped slave who was a friend of Huck’s.
The next book is Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
Discussion on March 23rd in the Library after Spiritual Formation.
Please feel free to join us. We are an informal group and members are welcome to just listen or to speak about the book. Please Contact Us or Ann Lane (annmlane@gmail.com) to sign-up.
PLEASE COME TO OUR FIRST COMMUNITY CONVERSATION FOR SVACG!
All Saints is hosting a Community Conversation on Sunday March 16 from 3:30-5pm sponsored by Silicon Valley Allied for Common Good (SVACG), which works to improve the lives of Silicon Valley residents through community organizing.
Through our Community Conversations we hope to build relationships with our neighbors and hear stories and concerns from those in our community. Sharing our stories is an important step in building relationships and learning what concerns may be actionable. Questions? Contact Diane Frankle, Bill Steigelmann, Nancy Cohen, Dennis Romley, or Ajung Sojwal for more information. via the Office
If you missed this session, please join one of the other sessions. See flyer.
Sharing our stories is an important step in building relationships and learning what concerns may be actionable.
Building and Grounds Team (BAGS)
This team is responsible for maintaining and developing our physical space and information technology. Contact John Sack or Margaret Weil. margaretweilpa@gmail.com
Eucharistic Visitor Ministry
The Eucharistic Visitor Ministry to the sick and home-bound at All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto is carried out by men and women who have been trained for this ministry. Eucharistic Visitors (EVs) are first trained as Eucharistic Ministers (EMs – lay persons who assist the priest at the altar during services). Eucharistic Ministers usually serve as EMs for two years before they take EV training. After the Sunday service, the EV takes the Blessed Sacrament to persons confined to home or hospital, so that they are linked not only to Christ but also to the gathered worshiping community. The EVs serve an important role in augmenting the sacramental ministry provided by the clergy. EVs also coordinate with the pastoral care team to facilitate other needed services to parish members. This ministry was authorized by the national church in 1985 and All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto has had EVs since that time. If you would like to join this ministry or receive EV services, contact Margaret Astesano our Parish Administrator at Contact Us.
Lay Assistants
All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto is blessed to have dedicated Eucharistic Ministers (EMs). Every Sunday one EM assists at the 8am service and two assist at the 10am service. If anyone (man or woman) is interested in becoming a Eucharistic Minister, or just interested in learning more about this ministry, please contact Mother Ajung (Contact the Rector) or Arlene Leslie (arleneleslie@comcast.net). Training will be provided! Come be a part of this important ministry!
Men’s Group
All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto Men’s Group is an open forum where men can talk with other men about common issues of living in a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-faith community such as Palo Alto. The Men’s Breakfast Group meets the fourth Tuesday morning each month from 8-9:30 to enjoy coffee, pastries, and conversation. As men we share spirituality and support for each other in personal difficulties and triumphs alike. We bear witness to each other’s lives. Together, the men also prepare the parish Christmas dinner and Easter meal, along with at least one dinner for Hotel de Zink.
Contacts: Ken Van Bree or John Tinsley,
Mail: jtinsley@usgs.gov
Music Ministries
Liturgy and music making at All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto inspires us and holds us together. We are a congregation that loves to sing and to listen, both of which are assisted by our wonderful acoustic and our two fine Flentrop organs (as well as the grand piano and harpsichord). Our adult choir now numbers 26 members supporting the weekly Eucharist through hymns, descants, canticles, and anthems.
Anyone interested in joining the choir or otherwise contributing to the music of All Saints Episcopal Church Palo Alto, please contact Margaret Astesano our Parish Administrator at Contact Us.
Sunday Hospitality
Hospitality, the providing of snacks after the 10:00 service, is a work of all our members. A signup sheet in the parish hall is always available, and with it a list of suggested foodstuffs. Vestry members provide timely reminders to the congregation when it looks like lean times ahead. Thank you all who contribute – your continued support is welcome and an important element in building and enhancing our common life.
Please contact Margaret Astesano our Parish Administrator at Contact Us.