As many of you may have heard, due to the shutdown of the federal government, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is expected to expire on November 1st. Over 750,000 Alabamians rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families, including one in four households in the Birmingham community. While we continue to pray for those affected by this pause in benefits, we at All Saints want to be proactive in responding to what could become a major need in our community. To that end, All Saints has already approved financial support for Homewood Helps to increase support for local families as well as financial support for those affected in rural parts of Alabama through Sawyerville. If you would like to contribute to these financial gifts, you may do so on Realm by selecting Homewood Helps or Outreach Fund or dropping off a check at the church and indicating the purpose for the funds on the check. In response to the pause in SNAP benefits, Homewood Helps is opening up a Wednesday afternoon Homewood Helps Market shopping day starting November 12th at the Outreach Hub, for Homewood families to come shop for free weekly groceries. In addition to financial support, All Saints will be collecting breakfast items to deliver to the Trinity HUB on November 10th. If you would like to contribute to this effort , please bring any of the following breakfast items to the Great Hall before November 10th: oatmeal, cereal, granola or breakfast bars, or grits . Finally, we will share opportunities for you to give your time in helping these ministries in an upcoming announcement. As always, thank you for all you do to support our neighbors.

All Saints has elections each year for new Vestry members. Here are our 2026 Vestry nominees:

Bring your heat! Or mild, for those of us with heartburn issues. Our 'Annual Chili Cookoff' will take place Wednesday Nov. 12th, from 5:30-6:30pm in our Great Hall! Bring your homemade chili in a crockpot, container, whatever you have. We will provide cornbread and drinks. Come hungry and ready to vote!

A Contemplative Service of Remembrance for All Souls and All Saints Wednesday, November 5, 2025 6:00pm Choirs in the All Saints Choir School help present music in this contemplative service. Through prayer and silence, light, and music we remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died. At the service, you may bring a photo of your loved one for the altar and/or light a candle for them. You may also submit the name of your loved one to be read in the service. To submit a name the week before the service, email office@allsaintsbhm.org

Alert! To be clear, All Saints' Clergy, Vestry, Warden's or staff will NEVER ask for money or gift cards from you! If you receive any communication asking for money in any form at all, it is a SCAM! Or if you get texts asking for a private conversation, it is a scam! These scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so it’s important to approach texts and emails with caution. One quick way to spot a scammer is to check the email address it came from. No matter the name, look at the email address. Emails from All Saints staff will always end with "@allsaintsbhm.org" (i.e. office@allsaintsbhm.org). Never reply to, click on, or enter any information if you receive one of these suspicious EMAIL/TEXT messages. Most schemes involve scammers mimicking church staff, typically posing as someone in a position of authority asking you for money transfers or gift cards. Many times, the scammers will manipulate the email address, name, or even the area code of phone numbers, so that it appears to be coming from someone you know. Even if the email or text seems legitimate, if a request seems even remotely “off” or is asking for anything from you, don’t act on it until you confirm it with a phone call ( 205-879-8651 ) or face-to-face conversation with someone at All Saints. Some general suggestions: Check sender details carefully. Any suspicious emails or text message should be investigated before replying. Pay attention to the message content, including attachments and URLs. When in doubt, call: If there are questions about any email, do not reply. Instead, call our office - 205-879-8651 Label it spam: If your email service has the ability, report the email as spam. Here’s how you can report these scams: Report Phishing Attacks: the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has an Incident Reporting page to report email phishing, as well as an email to forward them to, at https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing . Forward all emails to the Anti Phishing Working group at phishing-report@us-cert.gov . Report text scams to through the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant which helps the FTC detect patterns of fraud and abuse.