In the church calendar, the long stretch between the great festivals of Easter and Advent is called “Ordinary Time.” It doesn’t mean it’s unimportant—it’s from the Latin ordinalis meaning counted, or ordered. As a church we count our way—week by week—through the summer and fall only slightly altering our rhythms of work, prayer, and rest.
We all know there is nothing ordinary about the time we live in.
Wars across the world continue, exacting catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences. In communities across the US, including our own, migrant families live in fear of leaving their home, or a knock on the door. Gun violence continues its relentless toll. The climate crisis deepens and our political system teeters. We are carrying a weariness that we find hard to name: the bone-deep fatigue of holding grief, outrage, and hope all at once, day after day, year after year.
No, there is nothing ordinary about these days. We live in the tragic gap between the world God dreams (and the world we know it could be) and the world as it is. And Christ calls us to work and witness…to reflect and connect . . . in this world; to hold our post, and to remind each other of all the reasons there are to keep going.
Because in the midst of all that is hard, there are moments. A bus full of kids laughing their way through New Hampshire on a summer field trip. Volunteers rearranging their schedules and coming to church on a bitterly cold night to welcome strangers. An assembly line of cheerful pie-makers creating delicious treats for people who needed to know someone cared. Neighbors meeting for the first time across a bag of delivered groceries. These moments are not escapes from the tragic gap. They are pathways through it. They are glimpses into the world God dreams, made briefly tangible and unmistakably real. To remember them, reflect on them, share them with others is to take a hopeful stance in the midst of the world’s pain. Not to look away from what is hard, but to remember where God is leading us . . . and to find in those moments the courage to keep going.
Since 2022, here at All Saints, we’ve been calling the summer season “No Ordinary Time,” and this summer the Outreach Steering Committee has added “Reflect and Connect” to that title. It’s their invitation to all of us to reflect . . . to make space amid all the noise for honest reckoning and genuine hope, to let the moments of real community do its sustaining work; and to connect . . . to show up for the work that makes those moments possible for others. As you shift into your own summer rhythm of work, prayer, and rest, you’re encouraged to weave both reflection and connection into your summer plans. As it has for the past several summers here, the ancient practice of tithing offers a frame: commit to giving 10% of your vacation time—roughly four hours for every week away—or 10% of what you spend on vacation, to one of the four partnerships that will be highlighted in the coming weeks.
To help guide you, the four summer issues of the Parish Notes will take a closer look at each of our four outreach partnerships: St. Stephen’s Youth Project, Migrant Ministries, the Brookline Food Pantry, and MANNA (Many Angels Needed Now and Always). Each has something specific to ask of you—time, money, presence, advocacy. Each has something to offer: a glimpse of the beloved community, already taking shape.
The world will continue to need our hands, our dollars, and our voices when September comes, but this summer, join us in reflecting on why that matters—and connecting in ways that make a difference.
OUR FOUR FOCUS PARTNERSHIPS THIS SUMMER
Profile beginning 12 June
All Saints has partnered with St. Stephen’s Youth Programs for 17 years, sponsoring field trips, monthly grocery deliveries, and a summer counselor for young people ages 5 to 25 in Boston’s South End and Roxbury. This summer we are working to raise $2,400 to complete funding for a trip to Canobie Lake Park for more than 60 children and counselors. Look for a full profile and specific ways to help in the 12 June issue of the Parish Notes.
Contact: Beth Bourgault, Eileen Sweeney
MIGRANT MINISTRIES
Profile beginning 3 July
Since December 2024, All Saints has offered shelter, food, and support to migrant families arriving in the Boston area. Our ministry has shifted with the situation: we are now working with Episcopal City Mission and LUCE, a Massachusetts immigrant justice organization, to ensure that migrant neighbors know their rights — and that those around them know how to stand with them. Look for a full profile and specific ways to help in the 3 July issue of the Parish Notes.
Contact: Linda Jones
Profile beginning 24 July
All Saints volunteers have been delivering donated food to the Brookline Food Pantry for more than 30 years, and every November a cheerful assembly line of parishioners makes 50 apple pies for Pantry clients. The Pantry now serves more than 800 households a week, with Monday home delivery routes that especially need summer coverage. Look for a full profile and specific ways to help in the 24 July issue of the Parish Notes.
Contact: Bradley MacDonald,
Profile beginning 14 August
MANNA—Many Angels Needed Now and Always—is a ministry formed with and for the unhoused community of downtown Boston, hosted at St. Paul’s Cathedral. All Saints has been a supporting parish since MANNA’s founding in 2010, providing a home-cooked meal on the fourth Monday of each month. Look for a full profile and specific ways to help in the 14 August issue of the Parish Notes.
Contact: Mary Urban Keary