Letter from the Rector

                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         January-February 2025

 

Dear All Saints’ Family and Friends,

I hope that you and your loved ones had a blessed Christmastide. Here we are at the beginning of another year, and I pray that God will continue to bless and guide us in the days, weeks and months ahead.

All Saints’ Church is commemorating a very special milestone this year. June 18, 2025, will mark 75 years since the dedication of the building in which we currently worship. Let me use this opportunity to briefly review our history. The first service of the Episcopal Church in Baldwin was held in January 1921 in a home on Eastern Parkway in Baldwin Harbor. Developments in the next two years resulted in the establishment of the congregation of All Saints’ Mission, Baldwin Harbor and of All Saints’ Mission, Baldwin. In 1923, the congregation purchased the present site for All Saints’ Mission and in June of that year a building was erected and dedicated on All Saints’ Day. In November 1938, the mission was incorporated as All Saints’ Episcopal Church. The congregation raised $25,000 in 1939 to build a larger church, but building was stopped during the war. Ground was finally broken on All Saints’ Day 1949 and the new sanctuary was dedicated on Sunday, June 18, 1950. Since then, the congregation has been led by five rectors and has included hundreds of people who chose to make us their church home for a time.

The 75th anniversary of an institution is sometimes referred to as its “diamond jubilee.” We plan to observe our diamond jubilee with a special service as well as a grand gala. We look forward to being able to reflect on how far the church has come, what it has achieved, its current ministries, and where it plans to go next. We will keep you informed about the events which will take place around June 18. We will also be sending out invitations to clergy who have served here, to members who have moved away, to friends who have supported our church and, of course, to you and your family. Be sure to mark your calendar for this great celebration of how God has blessed All Saints’ Church community in its life and mission these 75 years!

 

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Maxine Barnett, Rector