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At my ordination as a deacon, the bishop gave me a charge to work with my brothers and sisters in Christ to search "for the sick, the poor, and the helpless, that they may be relieved." Each Wednesday, we find them at JACOA, an alcohol and drug dependency treatment facility here in Jackson that serves West Tennessee.

As God continues to bless All Saints with more people, no doubt you've felt our walls close in a bit tighter. Our church is full of life, but it's also feeling a bit cramped! Such growth is exciting to be a part of, but it does raise the question of how we are to be good stewards of it.

The story of All Saints is a story of God's provision, a story of the Holy Spirit working miracles in our midst. It was true twelve years ago; it remains true to this day. God has and continues to look with favor upon this wonderful parish.

As God continues to bless All Saints with more people, no doubt you've felt our walls close in a bit tighter. Our church is full of life, but it's also feeling a bit cramped! Such growth is exciting to be a part of, no doubt, but it can also raise some unsettling questions: How much longer can we all fit in here? How will this growth affect who we are as a church? Will I ever get to know these new faces?

The celebration of Pentecost marks the completion of the Easter Season, which began on Easter Day, the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. This is the "Sunday of all Sundays," the highest and holiest day of the year. The Easter Season is celebrated for seven weeks or fifty days. Within the Easter Season, forty days after Easter to be exact, the Church celebrates the ascension of Jesus on Ascension Day. Pentecost simply means "the fiftieth day," and this celebration marks the end of the Easter Season.

On a sunny Saturday, the weeds that had grown all winter were removed and new plants made their home in St. Patrick's Place. Last year, All Saints donated over $300 of organic produce to the Jackson Harvest Share, and we hope to do even more this year.

In the more solemn season of Lent, St. Patrick's Day breaks our small acts of self-denial with a day of celebration. St. Patrick's Day is often equated with Irish heritage parades, shamrocks, leprechauns, and beer. Recently, Benjamin, my six-year-old, asked me, "What's the day people pinch you if you don't wear green?" Here's a little bit about the life of St. Patrick that might help us turn St. Patrick's Day 2016 from a holiday to a Holy Day.

Over the last few months, our church calendar has led us to anticipate and prepare for the coming of our King during Advent, and then to celebrate his humble arrival during Christmas, and then finally to gaze at the light of Jesus' kingdom ministry during Epiphany. But as each of the four accounts of the Gospel attest, something significant happens at some point during Jesus' ministry when he begins to turn his face toward Jerusalem and the looming fate that awaits him there: "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). As the Gospel reveals, the path of life is through the cross.