All Saints is seeking a priest
All Saints Priest Position Description
All Saints Church is seeking a priest for a one half time position. We are open to either a half of a full-time position being shared with another local parish or a dedicated half time position. Our previous rector retired in January 2022 after twelve highly successful years of half-time ministry.
All Saints was established on March 2, 1964. THe church building is an excellent example of Mid Century Modern structure. There is a beautiful Memorial Garden, a successful Parish Community Garden, and a Labyrinth on site.
We are a thriving church community. Our Children's Education model is like a one room schoolhouse lead by a creative and dynamic individual. We have an Adult Forum which is, again, led with enthusiasm and well attended and diverse in its ministries.
The South Burlington area is an exceptional and desirable place to live for many reasons. The schools are excellent, and we are close to Lake Champlain, Montreal, the mountains, museums, shopping, and great restaurants in addition to an active usic and theater venue.
We are looking for an energetic individual to lead us forward, someone who has ideas on growing the congregation and our outreach programs.
Salary and benefits are consistent with Diocese guidelines. Please send a letter of introduction and resume to the Rev. Canon Linda Grenz at: transition@diovermont.org with a copy to Arthur Hessler, All Saints MDC chair at arthessler@gmail.com.
All Saints Parish Profile and Statistics can be found under Facts and Figures which is in the More menu
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sign Posts of Faith
On Wednesday, May 11, by chance Art Hessler and I happened to be in the church office at he same time. Art needed the church credit card so he could get a new metal post to replace the one a city snowplow had demolished at the corner of the entrance to the parking lot.
As we talked, the idea came up of digging up one of the three posts at the edge of the lot near the church and using that to replace the demolished one at the entrance. Then we thought, why not dig up all three posts? There were also the five posts with yellow panels on spear Street blocking the old entrance, and everyone was used to the new entrance, so we didn't need the three signs at the edge of the lot anymore.
We got Julie Bonanno's blessing, and on Friday, in the time we had, we dug up the two smaller of the three posts and the demolished post at the entrance, and started on the big middle post, but ran out of time. On Saturday we met again to tackle this last post. We dug and dug, pried and pried, pushed and pushed it from side to side back to front, lifted and lifted, but the post, stuck two feet in the Champlain Valley clay, would not budge.
We talked about how it had been Art and Sean Chagnon, with some help from David Hamilton, who had installed these posts in the first place, with Sean standing on the back of a truck and pounding the posts with a sledge hammer. And now Art was digging them up. The morning was getting late and hot, and I had to leave. I said, "Let's stop for today and come back next week." I was certain we weren't going to get anywhere with this post.
Art said, "Let's give it one more try." I thought it would be useless, but didn't say no. So we tugged again.
And there was a difference. \: the post was on a slant this time, rather than straight up and down. And lo and behold, as we tugged, it started to give a little, then more and more, and we pulled it out. I couldn't believe it. Mission accomplished. Art had been right. I had been wrong. On the spur of the moment, I said jokingly "O ye of little faith!" referring to myself.
But the next day, this mundane post experience got me thinking about faith - the big faith Jesus talks to us about. I have friends who would say it's ridiculous to leap from having faith when you're removing posts to having religious faith, but that's what happened. Something unexpected had blossomed out of an everyday event into the blessing of thinking about what faith is and means. (I wonder if the post's being an "All Saints post" had anything to do wit it!)
Pray for All Saints, for our staff, the congregation, the Vestry and the MDC. Someone told me recently that we have been fortunate in our sticking together during our transition. Thank you for your part in that, for your faith that we will make it through this uncertain time, and for being faithful with your pledges and offerings.
In Faith,
Ed Darling, Senior Warden
