The Pathfinder: January 8, 2026
Mercy and Solidarity
Writing a letter supporting someone I’ve never met is not something I usually do, but the call to participate in this event was particularly strong. Perhaps it was being aware that Kaki and several other members of our community had traveled to an ICE facility in Bakersfield earlier in the fall in support of detainees who are being held in deplorable conditions that motivated me.
Maybe it was offer of a lunch of soups and sandwiches made by Margaret Sparks. However, I suspect it was my curiosity. How could writing letters to Governor Newsom requesting a state pardon for an individual possibly result in his being released from a federal facility?
While waiting in line for food and sitting around the lunch table, I quickly learned that I was not the only person who wondered about the value of a state level pardon in this case. The individual’s nickname is “Moose,” and his wife spoke with us following our meal. She told her story of growing up in the care of Child Protective Services, of attending multiple schools, living on the streets, of eventually graduating from Cal, and of meeting, marrying, and establishing a life with Moose. Her husband came to America at the age of 7 as a refugee from Laos, had bounced around the East Coast as a child, and eventually moved to California, where gang activity led to his committing a serious crime. Although he could have been imprisoned for life, the system worked for him, and he was paroled after fifteen years.
Out in the world, Moose established a good life and became a contributing member of his community. It was through the madness of our current political situation that he has been detained and is facing expulsion from what is now his country. A pardon from the state crime could very well help Moose be released from the detention center.
Prior to retirement, I worked in music teacher education at UCLA where social justice is a quality we want to nurture among future educators. As a result, I’ve read an enormous amount of research literature on the topic and feel well-versed on issues of justice among diverse populations. Thirty years of academic reading were insignificant compared to the real-life story told by Moose’s wife.
Walking out of the Common Room after I wrote my letter, I knew why I had been called to church that day. The importance of this work of social justice came home as I realized that I should have shared this story on Sunday. These two moments at All Souls clarified what thirty years in academia could not. It showed how essential it is to actively be “part of a citizenship defined by mercy and solidarity with vulnerable members of our greater Community,” as Phil recently preached. We are truly fortunate at All Souls to live in a Blessed community that is dedicated to helping all God’s children.
–Frank Heuser
Discerning Sacred Rhythms
Tuesday marked the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings' Day — the visitation of the Magi to the Christ child and the manifestation of Christ to the world.
As I reflect on the journey of the Magi, the sacrifices they made, and the trust in sacred mystery that inspired them, I'm reminded that we are called to journey and seek Christ's manifestation in our lives and communities, just as the Magi did. This invitation to sacred discernment is continual. Discernment is a process we often journey through, more frequently than we might think, to be honest. Our lives are composed of a million small choices that are subtly woven into our core values and the daily rhythms of our lives. How do we make the choices that make up our lives? What influences our choices or gives shape to our values? What processes or practices do we have in place to continually slow down or pause long enough to consider the values and character that drive our desires and devotion? Where might Christ be calling us? Where might this star - the light of Christ - be manifest in our midst?
Last Sunday morning, with rain pouring down, a group of All Soulsians gathered for our adult formation workshop on discerning sacred rhythms. In this workshop, we practice different prayer practices (one per week) and reflect on them together in small groups. Last Sunday, we explored the practice of visio divina, praying with the block print image of the dream of the magi by Kelli Latimore, based on the sculpture by Gislebertus, a 12th-century French sculptor. After praying with this beautiful piece of art, we spent some time in small groups sharing our experiences with the prayer practice. We explored what we felt in our bodies, experimented with giving language to our personal experiences of prayer, and were curious about how we communicate and engage with the divine in prayer and meditation within community. It was spirit-filled and beautiful.
Over the next two weeks, we will spend time in this workshop experimenting with two additional contemplative prayer practices, with the intention of discerning sacred rhythms in our daily/weekly lives. Our intention is to foster a deeper connection with God and our community through shared prayer and meditation. Spiritual transformation often occurs over time through community engagement and the practice of personal spiritual disciplines or practices. This workshop is designed as an invitation to explore prayer and meditation within the Christian tradition with the intention of developing life-giving spiritual practices to contour the rhythms of your daily life.
It's not too late to join this workshop. Join us on 1/11 and 1/18 @ 9:15 AM in the Common Room. Please get in touch with Mother Rachel at rachel@allsoulsparish.org with any questions.
Happy Epiphany!
–Mother Rachel
Pulpit Sweep
As part of Building Interfaith Bridges this Sunday, Rabbi Rebekah Stern, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beth El, and Pastor Anthony Hughes, Senior Pastor at St. Paul’s AME, will be our guests and our teachers at the 10:30 am service.
In addition, members of Congregation Beth El and St. Paul’s AME will join us for this very special opportunity to learn together.
For the sermon, Sunday’s teaching will be a shared interpretation of a single scripture passage, Isaiah 42:1-9. Rabbi Bekah, Pastor Tony, and Phil+ will engage in conversation about the passage. What an amazing opportunity to learn from three different clergy who have devoted their lives to biblical study. Congregants from Beth El and St. Paul’s AME will also join us on Sunday morning for this unique opportunity for shared learning.
Also, mark your calendar for Friday, January 16, for the last of the Pulpit Sweeps. Join the congregants at Beth El for their Shabbat service at 6:15 pm where Rabbi Bekah, Pastor Tony, and Phil+ will make their final scheduled pulpit sweep, at least for now. Congregation Beth El is located at 1301 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA.
We hope to see you in church this Sunday to welcome Rabbi Bekah and Pastor Tony. If you can remember, wear your name tag–a great help to visitors. Consider sitting in a new place where you can pass the peace to someone you have not already met. In other words, let’s mix it up on behalf of our visitors for a very warm welcome. The rains are over for a few days, so stay for coffee hour in the courtyard and strike up a conversation with our visitors. This may be a one-time opportunity. Don’t miss it!
–Bonnie K. Bishop on behalf of Building Interfaith Bridges
All Souls Vestry and Deanery Candidates
On behalf of the All Souls Nominating Committee, we are pleased that these four All Soulsians have offered their candidacy for the four three-year positions on the Vestry (Class of 2029): Lia Deihr, Dan Hardy, Mark Mattek, and Deirdre Nurre. Please read the bios they’ve submitted below.
I began attending All Souls in the summer of 2021. Since then, I have enjoyed serving as lector, and in the fall of 2023 was privileged to co-lead an adult formation class with Fr. Phil on the Greek of the New Testament. In these settings in particular—at the lection each Sunday and in formation classes—I see the collective energy and intent that inform both our liturgical practice and our care for one another and the world.
I am in general interested in the liturgical and administrative logistics of parish life, so serving on the vestry feels to me like a natural step. I feel very grateful for the home I have found at All Souls; I would be elated at the opportunity to reciprocate some of that grace and fellowship in this way.
–Lia Deihr
My dad was an Episcopal priest and theologian. I was deeply affected in my early childhood by the church my dad assisted with in a working-class parish in Birmingham, U.K. In adulthood, I drifted away from the church. Since my 20s, I've worked for several housing nonprofits and am currently the Director of Systems & Tech at Resources for Community Development (RCD) in downtown Berkeley.
I came to All Souls in 2022, longing for Christian Community. and have been touched by the people here. I hope to get more involved in helping on the Vestry, especially with systems as well as kinship. My wife Kristen and I live in El Cerrito and have 3 grown children, Amanda, Sarah & Matt, and spend a lot of time these days playing with our first grandchild, Freddy.
–Dan Hardy
My name is Mark Mattek, and I am very excited to be part of the Vestry at All Souls. Growing up in a parsonage as the son of a Lutheran Minister in Wisconsin, I witnessed firsthand the inner workings of a church community - and supporting its workers and congregants is a value I try to live out. After some time away from any kind of church body, I found the Episcopal church while living in Phoenix - and after moving to the Bay Area in 2019 with my husband Leo, became a part of All Souls’ welcoming and dynamic community. Professionally, I worked in Human Resources in various industries for a few decades before establishing my own HR consulting business. I also recently became a licensed therapist, also now in private practice, where I help adults cope with burnout and stagnation in their careers. Leo and I live in San Leandro with our two rambunctious terriers, Noodle & Serena.
–Mark Mattek
I’ve attended All Souls for nine years with my husband, Tim Ereneta, and our sons, Liam and Ronan (24 and 21). Until March 2025, I worked with tribal governments in the Pacific Southwest on solid and hazardous waste needs and renewable energy for US EPA Region 9 and the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy. Throughout my career, I worked for EPA on programs including brownfield cleanup and redevelopment, military base closures, California’s gasoline oxygenate phaseout, and emergency response actions. Additional highlights included the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the New York City Board of Correction. Now that professional activities have receded, I’m participating in two national reading groups and training with an Ironman team. At All Souls, I’ve appreciated singing a huge variety of music under three different music directors. I’ve also led or participated in several annual operating fund (aka stewardship) campaigns and staff hiring committees. I believe in All Souls’ mission to create supportive, authentic relationships. May our love for one another mirror the earliest Christians communities to chart a path through dark times.
–Deirdre Nurre
Join us in thanking all of these All Soulsians for their willingness to serve in this capacity.
Deanery and Diocesan Delegates
The Deanery and Diocesan Delegates for 2026 (elected in 2025) are Gretchen Donart, Annie Hayes, Alan Schut, and Kathleen Summerland Heuser. The nominees for the 2027 Deanery and Diocesan Delegates and 2026 Alternates (to be voted on at this Annual Meeting) are Kaki Logan, Richard Page, Grace Telcs, and Dean Williamson.
Per our parish bylaws, if any other members of the parish would like to nominate themselves for any of these positions, they must submit their names to the Nominating Committee by the end of the day on Wednesday, January 14. Our election will be held at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 25.
Respectfully Submitted,
–Ryan Greene Roesel, Michael Lewis, Grace Telcs, and Mark Wilson - Nominating Committee and Outgoing Vestry Class
Announcements & Events
Sunday
7:00 am, Reading Between the Lines Bible Study in the Common Room or click here to join by Zoom.
8:00 am, Holy Eucharist in the Chapel. Please enter through the copper doors downstairs on Cedar Street.
9:15 am, Adult Formation in the Common Room downstairs.
10:30 am, Sung Eucharist in the Nave. Join us via livestream here. Sunday School in the Godly Play room.
12 noon, Coffee Hour in the Courtyard (unless there is rain).
7:00 pm, Youth Group
Tuesday
8:00 pm, Taize in the Chapel.
Thursday
5:30 pm, Reading Between the Lines Bible Study in the Common Room.
Since Monday, I’ve been participating in a contemplative prayer retreat with some of my fellow bishops in Schuyler, Nebraska. The time we’ve spent has been meaningful, and I am particularly grateful to have begun this new year focused on prayer—this most essential part of our Christian discipleship that can often fall by the wayside as the concerns and crush of the world mount.
Like many of you, I awoke on January 3 to the shocking and disheartening news that our country invaded Venezuela, forcibly removed their president, and unabashedly stated that the U.S. was going to run the country and control its oil production. For an administration that promised many things, including the end of our involvement in “forever wars,” this action is especially alarming. The fact that our duly elected representatives in Congress had absolutely no involvement in this decision is beyond troubling for such a weighty and consequential action.
I asked myself, “What can I do as a Christian, as an American citizen, and as a child of God who values the hard-won democracy that generations of our forebears bled for, marched for, and sought to perfect?”
Click here to continue reading. See the “Serve This Us” section below for more ways to stay informed and take action.
Learn With Us
ADULT FORMATION
Discerning Sacred Rhythms with Mother Rachel Dykzeul
Spiritual transformation often happens over time through community engagement and partaking in personal spiritual practices. This class is designed as an invitation to explore prayer and meditation within the Christian tradition with the intention of developing life-giving spiritual practices to contour the rhythms of our daily lives. The class aims to help parishioners connect their everyday spiritual experiences to their theological understanding of what it means to live a Christian life. Classes will be held at 9:15 am in the Common Room on the following days: January 4, 11, 18. Please join us!
Worship With Us
TAIZE TUESDAYS RETURNS JANUARY 13th!
Please join us in the Chapel on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm beginning January 13 for a community-led, half-hour program of silent meditation, prayer, and chants from the Taize tradition. This spring series will run through Tuesday, May 19th.
NEW THURSDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY STARTS TONIGHT, JANUARY 8th!
All Souls hosts two weekly Bible Study Classes each week. In addition to our Sunday morning group (meets from 7-8 am), we are now offering another group on Thursday evenings from 5:30-6:30 pm. Both groups meet in our Common Room and use the Reading Between the Lines curriculum. Join us! Drop-ins are always welcome too!
CHILDREN & FAMILIES
Sunday School: Sunday School (for kids pre-K through 5th grade) happens every week during the 10:30 service. Meet outside of the main Cedar St. doors at the start of the service; teachers will lead you around the corner to our temporary classroom space. (If you’re late, ask an usher for directions). Children return to church at the “Peace.”
To join our Children and Family mailing list, email Emily (emilyb@allsoulsparish.org).
YOUTH
Youth Group (for grades 6-12) generally happens each Sunday from 7-8:30pm.
Join us on Sunday evenings from 7-8:30 pm for games, art, reflection, and prayer. We alternate between a middle and high school group with some all-grades events.
COMING UP:
Jan. 11th: First Youth Group of 2026 (All grades)
Jan. 18th: Youth Group (High School)
To join the weekly youth mailing list, email emilyb@allsoulsparish.org.
Serve With Us
Stay Informed and Take Action
The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations represents the church’s priorities to the US government in Washington, DC, and offers several ways to connect to their work:
Weekly network calls, Thursdays 10-10:30 a.m. Pacific time, provide information about current events, policy developments, and legislation coming before Congress. Register here.
Weekly immigration update, Tuesdays, 10-10:30 a.m. Pacific time. Register here.
Weekly prayers, released every Friday, prayed aloud on Mondays at 8:45 a.m. Pacific time, name concerns, offer prayer for those who are vulnerable, and seek God’s guidance as we respond. More information here.
Global Partnership monthly calls, 1st Wednesday of the month, 10-11 a.m. Pacific time, consider how the church can address human needs, engage in peacebuilding, and build healthy, mutual relationships. Register here.
Take action by writing to your legislators and other government officials, with Action Alerts. Learn more and sign up here.
All Soups ‘N’ Such Cookbook
The All Soups ‘N’ Such Cookbook is ready for purchase! 100% of the proceeds will be donated. There are a small amount of copies still available, so get your copy before they are gone! You can pay ($20 suggested gift) in the following ways:
during coffee hour (cash or check)
pick up one (or multiple copies!) at the Orinda Bookstore: 276 Village Square, Orinda
Questions? Email Cathy Goshorn.
Coffee hour isn’t just about coffee and cookies—it’s about community. After worship, we gather not only to enjoy a bite to eat but also to welcome newcomers, catch up with friends, and strengthen the bonds that make our parish family so special. To keep this ministry thriving, we invite everyone to take part, as they are able.
Each week, we ask a few parishioners to bring refreshments—homemade treats, fruit, or simple snacks—to share. Your contributions help make our hospitality warm and abundant. Please click the Coffee Hour Sign-Up link to support this ministry. We ask for someone to lend a hand (literally) as “host” in support of Scott, and folks to provide some treats (enough to feed 10-15).
Your help will make coffee hour a joyful expression of Christian community and welcome!
Food Bank collection is active. Please bring non-perishable food on Sundays and use the baskets in the Narthex. We also need drivers to deliver food. If you want to help, click here to e-mail Cathy G.
Meal Train delivers food to others. If you are in need of meals, or if you’d like to join this team to deliver to others, click here to email Sarah O.
Open Door Dinner (ODD) will be making a warm jambalaya meal THIS SUNDAY for anyone who is hungry. If you are interested in joining the ODD team, click here to email Jennifer A.
Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach (USMO) is a Cal student group that organizes outreach events every Saturday to bring food and resources to homeless encampments in Berkeley. They are especially seeking donations of the following items:
Bottled water, or water filtration devices
Clothing, particularly large shoes, socks, and jackets/sweaters
Hygiene supplies and toiletries, particularly wet wipes, toothbrushes, soap
Menstrual pads and diapers
Please bring these donations to the red bin in the Narthex. Click here to email Beth Christensen for donation and other direct volunteer opportunities with USMO.
