The Weekly News
February 1, 2018
Feast of the Presentation
Saturday, February 3, 2018
5:00 pm
Pres ider: Frank Krebs
Homilist:  Frank Krebs
Readers: Erin Duffy-Burke, Karen Diehl
Eucharistic Ministers: Barbara Harris, Helen Gennari, Art Maines
Sacristan: Lorraine Tiffin
Location: 204 East Lockwood, 63119

Sunday, February 4, 2018
9:00 am
Presider:  Frank Krebs
Homilist:  Frank Krebs
Sacristan: Elizabeth Seitz
Location:  Mead Center, 1 7 Selma Avenue, 63119
Parish Renewal
Friday evening, February 2, 2018 and
Saturday, February 3, 2018

Registration and more information are available on our website at: http://scfecc.org/upcoming-events.
First Saturday Reception

There will be no First Saturday Reception after Mass this Saturday due to the Parish Renewal Retreat.
Pizza and a Movie!
 
Join us on Saturday, February 10 in Fellowship Hall for wine and appetizers, followed by pizza and the movie "an inconvenient sequel: TRUTH TO POWER" immediately following Mass. The movie highlights climate change and the solutions that are available to us. The movie is approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. Our year started off with a talk about why climate change involves our faith. Join us to learn more about this important issue.

What do I have to do to attend?

1) Please  REGISTER  by contacting Diana Burnson by e-mail at  [email protected] , or by phone or text at  314.341.7101 .
  
2) Please bring your reusable cup, plate, napkin, and cutlery.

3) There will be a container for free will offerings that evening if you would like to contribute.
Wednesday Evening Learning Time During Lent at Peace UCC

During Lent this year, Peace will focus their Wednesday evening learning time on White Privilege. Their guide on this journey is the United Church of Christ’s curriculum called “White Privilege let’s talk.” It will gather each Wednesday evening during Lent for six weeks. The first session will be on February 21st. The Learning Time will begin at 6:30pm and end at 8pm. Since each week builds from the week previous they are asking for people to be committed to attending when they sign up. This is important work. They hope some of us will join them. If you are interested, want to sign up or want to learn more about the curriculum, please contact Pastor Wendy at [email protected] .
Lenten Witnesses Needed: Share the Gift of Your Sacred Story

Sts. Clare & Francis is continuing our tradition of having parishioners offer brief but graced witness talks at Mass during Lent (five minutes or less right after the Prayers of the Faithful). We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to come forward and do this. One may volunteer for Saturday only, Sunday only or both Saturday and Sunday (which at your option may or may not be on the same weekend). Guiding questions for these witness talks are:

a) what attracted you to SCF?
b) what keeps you coming back to SCF? and
c) what is your dream for SCF? 

If you are interested in doing this or would like more information, please contact Clarence Heller ( [email protected] , 314.258.9066) or Nancy Emmel ( [email protected] , 314.753.9395).
Open Parish Council Meetings

The monthly meetings of the Parish Council are open to all SCF members. The Council meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:45 pm in one of the Peace UCC classrooms. If you have a question for the Parish Council or just want to learn how it operates, you are encouraged to attend a meeting.
Save the Date: Our Choice to Be Catholic

Save the date for Our Choice to Be Catholic , a convocation on March 10 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm in the Fireside Room. At this gathering we will invite a dialogue among all present pertaining to such questions as “How Catholic do we wish Sts. Clare & Francis to be?” and “What do we mean by Catholic?” 
Homilies

Hear Frank Krebs' homily from January 27:


The text of archived homilies can be found here .
Sponsored by Friends...

Deep Tides: A Morning Dive into Music, Movement, and Meditation
Saturday, February 17, 2018
9:30 a.m. – noon
Cost: $32.23
Poetry is the ancient language of human culture, the language of myth and hymn and story from earliest times.

Something in the rhythm, musicality and symbolic imagery of a poem invites us to touch into the deeper places of the heart, drops us into a more intimate space with ourselves, and there we may find the mother tongue of our souls.

A poem can be medicine as well as an ally and wisdom teacher to sail with us through troubled seas.

You don’t have even have to like poetry to find this Dive into poems a deeply transforming process.

Over the course of the morning’s Dive into Music and Poems, you will be invited to immerse yourself. to allow the tidal wash of music, movement, meditation, and poetry take you into an energized, restful and transformative space. During this process you can let yourself sink deeper into the flow of sound and poetry as into a mythic sea. Nothing is required of you. As we re-surface from the depths onto solid ground again, the group will be offered the opportunity to do a little journaling, and to share anything about the experience they would like. All is entirely voluntary.

Wendy Sarno has been serving as a spiritual guide for many years. She leads retreats and workshops on a variety of topics designed to nourish the soul and lead toward greater wholeness. She is a founding associate with woman’Space. Much of her work with groups involves the use of writing to facilitate the collecting of individual stories and aid in spiritual exploration. She is a devoted initiate in Kim Rosen’s Poetry Depths Mystery School. Her greatest joy is working with others as they allow a poem to open and reveal the deepest language of soul. Wendy recently published her first book Writings from Wild Soul available at  Blurb.com.

Suggested reading: Saved By a Poem, Kim Rosen

.....
Tree House

Prayer Circles  
 
First Wednesday of the month
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Sts. Clare & Francis Ecumenical Catholic Community
204 E. Lockwood Avenue
Webster Groves, 63119

Third Wednesday of the month
1:00 - 2:30 pm
Library Headquarters
East Room
St. Louis County Library
1640 S. Lindbergh Boulevard
Frontenac, MO 63131

.....

Mercy Center

Sacred Water: Precious Gift & Critical Concern
Saturday, February 17, 2018
8:30 am – 3:00 pm

Based on Pope Francis’ Laudato S í , this reflection day will focus on the sacredness of water, the water crisis, and our call to respond. Presenter Carolyn McWatters, RSM.
Cost: $40 (includes lunch)
This special rate is possible due to the generous support of the South Central Community of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Register online ( mercycenterstl.org ) Payment requested by February 10. For assistance with registration call: 314.966.4686. For a flyer, click here .

Walking the Lenten Journey
Presenter: Mary Katherine Doyle, RSM
Tuesdays: 2/27, 3/6 & 3/13
Registration 8:30 am
Program 9:00 - 11:00 am

Throughout the Lenten season the Word of God invites us to three movements of the heart. These movements will be explored in this three part series.
Tuesday, February 27 - The first movement is to pay attention, to set down all that pulls us away from God and see God's living waters. Tuesday, March 6 - The second movement is one of seeking to see more clearly the path of God's desire. Believers are invited to allow their eyes to be opened so they may see the presence of God around them.
Tuesday, March 13 - The third movement is one of surrender and entrustment. We are invited to lay down our lives that we might find life in Jesus.

Package of three sessions: $90 / Individual Session: $35
Registration appreciated by the Friday before the session(s) you wish to attend. For assistance with registration call: 314.966.4686. For a flyer, click here .
  random sightings
 wisdom...reflection...insight...amusement
Telescope


Saw these two on the same day last week.
Parish Council News

To see Parish Council meeting minutes or the Parish Constitution and Bylaws, click the appropriate link:




 
Members 
(click name to contact by e-mail)

Ecumenical Catholic Communion


ECC Financials



ECC Midwest Partner Communities 
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Chicago, Illinois
Little Rock, Arkansas
Tulsa, Oklahoma 
Prayer List
The Sts. Clare & Francis Prayer list is available for you to share prayer requests from you to your sisters and brothers who are walking this faith journey with you. Praying for one another when there are specific needs is one of the greatest ministries we can provide to one another. But, we cannot pray for events and happenings that we do not know about. Please share your prayers requests with the community. You can be as specific or general as you would like. Contact Jim Schratz with all prayer requests.
Caring Ministry
The Caring Ministry at Sts. Clare & Francis brings the loving presence of God, through a caring companion on the journey, when life is difficult. When we find ourselves struggling with illness, grief, depression, relationships, stress, the Caring Ministry is a supportive and listening presence - not counseling or problem solving. Don't go it alone; contact Sue Self or one of our priests to find out more, and see if it's a fit for you. We want to care for you.
  All Saints ECC
Our Mission Church
 
We meet at:
Trinity United Church of Christ
47 North Douglas Avenue
Belleville, IL 62220
 
Our Metro East ECC Mission Church meets every Sunday at 9:30  am. 
Our chapel is in the lower level of Trinity UCC.
 
Directions from St. Louis: 
Hwy. 64 East to Exit 12; 
RIGHT onto #159/IL St. Continue 5 miles to Douglas Ave.
(railroad crossing)
LEFT on Douglas Ave. to church.
 
For information, contact:
Rev. Frank Krebs (314.740.1160) or Rev. Kay Schmitt (314.620.9511). Contact Kay if you wish to ride with her.
All are welcome.
General Info

Want to get connected and involved? Start by taking a look at our  Ministries Brochure  or check out our website at www.scfecc.org
  
The Parish Office  is located at Eden Theological Seminary, 483 East Lockwood, Suite 3, St. Louis, MO 63119.  
Frank  or Jim are available for appointments. You can also reach Frank at 314.740.1160 or Jim at 314.896.0125.
 
To Schedule Meetings at Peace UCC:
 
Contact Kelly, the church secretary, to get it on their calendar.   
314.968.1727
 
Matthew 25
The Matthew 25 Fund helps members in our community who need financial assistance. All information concerning the people with whom we work is held in the strictest confidence. If you would like to contribute to this fund, make your check payable to Matthew 25, and place it in the collection basket. If you need assistance from the fund, contact  Peggy Montgomery
 
We have a SafeChurch Policy to protect our children and other vulnerable populations .
The Sts. Clare & Francis
Lands’ End Store
In partnership with Lands’ End, you can now purchase clothing and other items embroidered with the Sts. Clare & Francis logo (below). Just follow the link above. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] .  
Fundraising

Please keep our Schnucks E-Scrip fund raiser in mind when you shop. If you don't already have an E-Scrip card, please call Marilyn Tenholder (314.323.1467) and she will get one to you. There is no charge and all you have to do is activate it by either a phone call or by going online. Simply show the card when you check out and a percentage of your purchase cost will be rebated back to Sts. Clare & Francis. Thank you!!
Sts. Clare & Francis offers information about other organizations and activities that we feel is useful or relevant to our members and to the public. As an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) organization, Sts. Clare & Francis is required to abide by certain rules. Sts. Clare & Francis is prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Sts. Clare & Francis is also prohibited from devoting a substantial part of its activities to attempting to influence legislation. As a result of these rules, we do not specifically endorse these organizations or activities nor do they specifically represent the views of Sts. Clare & Francis, to the extent that doing so would jeopardize Sts. Clare & Francis' standing as a Section 501(c)(3) organization.
If you have an item that you wish to submit for publication in the Weekly News, please send it to Steve Campbell  no later than noon on Wednesday of the week you would like it to appear. If you cannot send an e-mail, you may call or text Steve at 314.603.9991.
Sts. Clare & Francis ECC
Church : 204 East Lockwood Avenue | St. Louis | MO|63119
Office : 483 East Lockwood Ave. | Suite 3 | St. Louis | MO | 63119