Dear saints,

"Habemus papam!" "We have a pope!" What an exciting moment that must have been for Roman Catholics around the world yesterday, shortly before Pope Leo XIV walked onto the balcony of St. Peter's, Rome. It is hard to imagine what must have been going through Robert Prevost's mind between the moment it was clear that the conclave had voted for him, and that moment of appearing before the thousands in St. Peter's Square and the billions of Roman Catholics around the world. His world has changed, and yet ours has remained much the same with all of its fissures and fidelities, all of the ways we love and disappoint one another. We should pray for Pope Leo's church and its ministry and let us pray also for the man. He is unlikely to succeed if we are to measure him by the standards of the world. Yet, he does have the opportunity to live according to the calling of his office: he has the opportunity to be faithful.

Faithfulness is different to success. Success is a word we tend to use when we talk about how much wealth someone has accumulated, or how high their SAT score is. Faithfulness is more hard to measure, but sometimes it can be possible to recognize it when we come across it. Pope Leo's first words, with which he chose to introduce himself to the world, sounded a lot like faithfulness to me. Echoing the words of his predecessor, Francis, he said, yesterday: 'Humanity needs us to be the bridge to reach each other...we must build bridges, coming together, uniting, becoming one single people'. They were to me a reminder that our vocation is not to put any person or nation first in our ordering of the human family, but to see our calling in this world as reaching across to one another.

When your job description includes leading an institution of 1.4 billion people spread across the world, I suppose the thoughts you have on the nature of human cooperation should have some credence. Indeed, Leo's call for us to be bridge-builders echoes not only the mind of the previous pope, but also of the previous century. You and I have been richly blessed by the construction of a global community of nations. The 20th century saw unprecedented human suffering, yet it also saw unprecedented human cooperation. As any visitor to global bodies in New York or Geneva may know, there is something gloriously chaotic yet beautifully hopeful in the attempt of people separated by language and custom and religion to forge a union with one another. That used to be this country's story, but it seems, like several other countries experimenting with the value proposition of authoritarianism, we are losing our confidence in the promise of plurality. What has for so long felt like an open hand or an outstretched arm to the rest of the world now has the appearance of something else. What a gift, then, to receive the faithfulness and confidence of Pope Leo. What a balm to hear his belief in the possibility that we can indeed be more than our own self-interest. I take that as heartening news for our world, and I also take it as encouragement for my own life.

It is easy, I find, to see the toil in the world as the consequence of somebody else's bad behavior. Yet, if I am also going to walk the path of faithfulness I know that I must turn to look at my own part in the world’s life. 

I wonder if you, like me, have ever chosen to accommodate rifts between yourself and others? I wonder if you have elected to live with the woundedness of certain relationships, as I have in, rather than seek to pursue that which may lead to healing? It may feel expedient, or simply all you or I can manage to do at the time. Yet, the danger is that when we settle for an ongoing state of estrangement, we choose to live with a wound that will never close up and heal. Wounded as such, I know that I will always reach my limit as someone who is capable of being a bridge. 

An Easter people is not one that receives the gift of resurrection cheaply. Resurrection only comes by way of the cross. To live into the vocation of Easter, we must tend to those wounded relationships and to the wounds we carry within ourselves. We must uncouple ourselves from a self-serving life if we are ever to taste the true freedom of the self-donating love of God. It is true for you and I, it is true for this nation and any nation, and it is true for the church.

I pray that Pope Leo will know deeply the company of a loving and gracious God all the days of his life. And I pray that these first words of his pontificate will be words that the world will remember because they helped us to wake up to the generous vision of human flourishing the world needs. May we reach each other.

Peace,

This Sunday

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Sunday, May 10

Weekly Service Times

• 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I (Traditional Language, no music)
• 9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II and Confirmation (Contemporary Language, choral music)
• 11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II and Confirmation (Contemporary Language, choral music)
• 5:00 p.m. The Welcome Table (Contemporary Language, jazz music)

**Be sure to join us between the 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. service in Ellis Hall or via Livestream for the Rector's Forum with Bishop Wright

ANNOUNCEMENT: Please worship with us online! Our 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services will be available live, as well as the Rector's Forum with Bishop Wright at 10:20 a.m., at allsaintsatlanta.org/live, facebook.com/AllSaintsATL and on youtube.com/@AllSaintsATL. Feel free to join us via your preferred platform and be sure to give us a follow! Please note: Recordings are immediately available on our YouTube channel.

PARKING: Overflow parking for is available at the Bank of America—please enter on North Ave. Please request an additional validation ticket from an usher in the church narthex upon arrival or exit. Use both validation tickets upon exiting the Bank of America parking deck to park free of charge. Be aware, also, that on Sundays in Midtown Atlanta, street parking is free. 

Midtown Race for MAC

Saturday, May 10, 8:30 a.m., Piedmont Park

Join us for the 11th Annual Midtown Race for MAC on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Piedmont Park! Walk or run to support the work of Midtown Assistance Center as we fight hunger and homelessness in our community together. Register here: https://www.active.com/atlanta- ga/running/distance-running-races/11th-annual-midtown race-for-mac-5k-run-walk-2025. 

Bishop's Visitation This Sunday

Confirmation

Sunday, May 11, 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Church

Join Bishop Wright for his episcopal visitation as we celebrate as a parish with youth and adult candidates as they are confirmed, reaffirmed and received into the Episcopal Church.

Rector’s Forum with Bishop Wright

Sunday, May 11, 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., Ellis Hall & Livestream

Join our diocesan bishop, Bishop Wright, in conversation with Simon, our rector, as they explore All Saints’ vision for the future and their shared theological imagination for the urban church.

For more information contact Simon Mainwaring at smainwaring@allsaintsatlanta.org. 

Dignity Sewing Center Pop-Up Shop Service

Sunday, May 11, 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., Ellis Hall Entrance

Through a partnership between the Diocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Cape Coast, twelve women are living for two years on the Bishop’s Close in Ghana, where they are learning sewing skills and preparing for lives of entrepreneurship. Support this partnership by visiting the Dignity Sewing Center Pop-Up Shop, featuring beautiful, handcrafted garments. All proceeds go directly to the women in Cape Coast, Ghana. 

The Welcome Table: Sunday Evening Worship Service and Dinner  

Sundays at 5:00 p.m., In the Chapel and Ellis Hall  

Before your busy week begins, the Welcome Table is a place to join with others and find rest and refreshment. Come to the Welcome Table: a service with a jazz trio, singing, communion and prayer (together and in ways that speak to us individually). A community dinner for all participants follows the service. 

Jesus on the Front Page 

Sundays, 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., Parish Hall 307 

In this weekly Sunday morning discussion of a current news story, participants reflect on how we are called to live as faithful people. In a nonpartisan reflection, we explore how we might be called to pray differently, think differently or act differently in our private and public lives. We ask where God might be found in this story and learn to name our lament as well as our hope. Email Clark Lemons (clemons@emory.edu) if you have questions! 

After a multi-year discernment process and input from hundreds of parishioners, All Saints’ is bringing that process to its exciting conclusion. Last Sunday, Simon presented the master plan for the future of our block to an overflowing Ellis Hall.

If you would like to be reading your own copy of the Campus Master Plan, be sure to click the link or image below!

Remember a loved one, honor a graduate or welcome the baptized with a gift to our Memorials and Gifts Fund. All Saints’ notifies your honoree or family of the deceased of the gift you gave. Make checks payable to All Saints’ with “Memorials and Gifts” in the memo line or for online giving, click the “Memorials and Gifts” dropdown choice. Questions? Please contact Charlie Boyd, Chair of the Memorials and Gifts Committee, at chsboyd@aol.com.

Please give generously to our All Saints’ offering plate, in-person and online. 

All Saints' offers easy ways to pay your pledge or to make a gift:

Give online: allsaintsatlanta.org/give

Mail a check: to All Saints’ Church, 634 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308

Text to Give: text AllSaintsAtlanta to 73256

Put a check or cash into the offering plate during the services, gift stocks or securities

Discover more ways to give at: allsaintsatlanta.org/give. 



If you have questions, please e-mail them to:

Julie Lockhart, Director of Development, jlockhart@allsaintsatlanta.org. 

Music Notes

Thomas Matthews (1915-1999) was longtime organist, choirmaster and resident composer at Trinity Episcopal Church, Tulsa. His music is beloved by church choirs and congregations around the world. All of Matthews’ music was written to be performed as a part of worship in the Anglican tradition, combining the poetry of the Scriptures and the Book of Common Prayer with rich vocal harmonies and the majesty of the pipe organ. Today’s setting of the 23rd Psalm has sold over a million copies of sheet music. 

Midwives of Justice: Hospitality and Resistance in an Era of Mass Deportation

Wednesday, May 14, 6:15 p.m. - 8:15 p.m., P305/306 and on Zoom

Join us for this School of the Spirit workshop hosted by Anton Flores-Maisonet, executive director of Casa Alterna, a non-profit that practices radical hospitality by offering short- and long-term housing to vulnerable immigrants from over fifty countries. The workshop will focus on a series of questions and activities grounded on scripture from Exodus that leads participants to examine what they might be willing to do for our threatened immigrant community. For more information contact Jenny McBride, jmcbride@allsaintstatlanta.org.

The Journey Bible Study - Prophets & Kings 

Weekly on Mondays, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., on Zoom 

First the history and then the prophetic response will be our format for Bible study through May. The history of the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, will be read including the stories of the prophets Elijah, Elisha and Amos.  For more information or to sign up for the class, please contact The Rev. Karen Evans kevans@allsaintsatlanta.org.

PARISH LIFE

Please Note: Wednesday Night Supper takes a break for the summer and will return on August 20th.

Men's Crawfish Boil Dinner

Sunday, May 18, 6:30 pm, Kennedy Courtyard

Please join us for a New Orleans Crawfish boil, complete with an organ trio in the beautiful Kennedy Courtyard. We’ll move to Ellis Hall in the event of rain. This dinner is hosted by Kevin Lyman, Trav Carter, and Harvey Eisenberg, and you can register on Realm. Cost is $25 per person, and financial support is available upon request. If you don’t know how to register, just come to church on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Marcia Mayfield, mmayfield@allsaintsatlanta.org.

CHILDREN & YOUTH

Vacation Bible School Registration is Open!

All Saints' VBS 2025: God’s Love

Monday, June 2 through Friday, June 6, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Aftercare until 5:00 p.m., The Attic

Rising Kindergarteners-5th grade are invited to come see what God’s Love is all about! All children are welcome! VBS is such a different and wonderful time for the kids. They go deeper in their formation, deeper in their friendships - old and new, and deeper in their connection with God and this community. They form friendships with all ages that keeps them wanting to come back on Sundays throughout the year. 5th graders will be counselors-in-training, but still do all the camper stuff! Register for VBS here: https://bit.ly/AllSaintsVBS2025

6th-12th graders can be counselors. To sign up to be a counselor, please email Kathy Roberts with your interest and T-shirt size, kroberts@allsaintsatlanta.org.

Weekly Children & Youth Formation (Sundays)



Nursery/Little Saints: Birth-Pre-K, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 1st floor of the Pritchett Center

Children’s Church: K-5th Grade, 8:40 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., 2nd floor of the Pritchett Center

Join us for the last children’s formation class before summer break!

Children Formation:  K-5th grade, 10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m., 2nd floor of the Pritchett Center

Join us for the last children’s formation class before summer break!

Youth Formation: 6th-12th grade - Takes a break for the summer.

SNL (6th-8th grade) and Y’all Saints’ (9th-12th grade): Takes a break for the summer.

Children's & Youth Choirs

Bravo to all our Children’s and Youth Choir singers on a wonderful year! Thank you for your energy, growth, and joyful musicmaking. Children’s Choirs return August 20, 2025, and Youth Choir will kick off with a Retreat in August—details coming soon!

For more information, contact Emily Halbert, Director of Youth & Children’s Choirs, at ehalbert@allsaintsatlanta.org.

YOUNG ADULTS

Young Adult Fellowship Online! 

Are you in your 20s or 30s and interested in fellowship, discipleship and service? Reach out to Tasia Blair at youngadults@allsaintsatlanta.org to receive our monthly newsletter, get added to the WhatsApp group chat and find out what events we have coming up! 

Bring and Share a Meal with Covenant Community Residents

Mondays, 6:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m., Tate Hall

What better way to get to know the residents at Covenant Community than breaking bread together? Sign up for a Monday Insight Dinner, where parishioners bring and share a meal with approximately 15 men. Most residents arrive after detoxification to live in Covenant Community for six to nine months, building a new life without addiction, while learning new life skills to enable their success. Sign up at covenantatlanta.org and contact Arjun Srinivasan at arj6950@gmail.com. 

Volunteer Opportunity Respite Care Atlanta Information Session

Monday, May 19, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church

Looking for a fulfilling volunteer opportunity with flexibility? Respite Care Atlanta, a daycare for those with dementia, is the answer! It’s held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Second-Ponce, 2715 Peachtree Rd NE. There are multiple ways you can volunteer…come see what the fun is all about! An information session will be held May 19 from 10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Please contact Susan Virgin at sdv20@bellsouth.net for more information.

Threads Welcomes Families for Shopping 

Threads welcomes families for in-store shopping Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Interested in volunteering? Contact Marcia Mayfield. Threads needs you! Contact Marcia Mayfield at threads@allsaintsatlanta.org.

You may purchase items please via the Threads Amazon Wishlist:

bit.ly/ASECThreadDecember2024 

NEW! May's Faith & Justice Newsletter! Here are the highlights:

• Small Groups Forming for a Better Way
• Community Building Amidst Challenging Times
• Hallelujah for Refugees!
• Join MAC’s Annual Midtown Race 
• Midwives of Justice: The Work of Casa Alterna
• Novel Theology Reviews James
• Recommended: Video of the Rev. Jennifer Butler Presentation

• Novel Theology >> Meets one Wednesday a month on Zoom from 7:00-8:00 p.m.. Click the link above to learn more and register.

• The Journey Bible Study >> Meets every Monday at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom. Register here

• Jesus on the Front Page >> Meets every Sunday morning at 10:20 a.m. in P307 in the Parish House.



• Sports and Spirituality >> Meets the third Thursday of each month on Zoom. Register here

Share Your Photos! Share Your Expertise!

Did you know that you can submit photographs of All Saints’ events to share with the Communications Team? If you want to make a habit of it, join the Photography Guild! Contact Kathy Powell at communications@allsaintsatlanta.org.