Field Notes

689 Sugartown Road * Malvern, PA 19355 * 610-647-0130
 

November 2026

Monthly Newsletter of St. Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church

A Great Cloud of Witnesses
 

As we approach the Feast of All Saints on November 1st, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a “Communion of the Saints”. I think about the people of St. Francis, gathered for worship, celebration and feasting on that day. I imagine the Church, gathered in worship around the world. I think about the photos of our loved ones who have gone before us, lovingly placed on the Altar, reminding us of their presence as we share together in the life of God. It’s an incredible blessing to know yourself as one among billions, and not to experience that knowledge as a diminishment, but as part of a deep and profound identity. There is boundless grace in knowing God counts each of our stories, among the countless stories of humanity, precious. Individually, we are not just “one among many”, but valued and cherished parts of a great host; a host brought together to serve as witnesses to God’s salvation:

I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)


It’s fitting, I think, that the Feast of All Saints occurs just as we are making our “final descent” of the liturgical year, preparing to take up again the hope and expectation of Advent. It’s fitting, because we never take up that hope and expectation alone. To “watch” and to “wait”, as Advent calls us to do, is not to watch and wait only for ourselves or for our age, but rather to take up the cry of watching and waiting that has marked the prayer of every soul longing for peace, and justice, and love - longing, that is, for salvation promised by God to all humankind.


The early Church had a way of expressing this watching and waiting; a simple, one-word prayer, full of expectation and hope, offered in the midst of suffering and pain. The Greek word maranatha - Aramaic for “Lord, Come!” - is

found only once in the New Testament, in 1 Cor. 16:22. But by the 2nd century, the cry Marana-tha! had become an identifying oration: the mark of those who trusted God’s faithfulness. Who was a Christian? It was someone who, in word and deed, looked for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As musician Michael Card wrote in song back in 1988:



Maranatha is a cry of the heart

That's hopeful yet weary of waiting

While it may be joyful with the burdens it bears

It's sick with anticipating*


Understandably, this longing for the second coming of Christ, so central to the praying imagination of early Christians, is not en vogue for many contemporary Episcopalians. The reductionist theology of fundamentalist dispensationalism and the abuses of modern Christian apocalypticism have rendered the powerful, poetic visions of the prophets, a silly caricature. How can we pray with a vision of the future that has become little more than a punchline? And yet, the absence of this prayer, this cry of our heart - Marana-tha! - has become our loss; a witness at the heart of our faith that is now desperately missing.


My beloved of St. Francis-in-the-Fields, as we near the season of Advent, which begins November 29th, I encourage us to take up the “praying imagination” once again, as the late Eugene Peterson so aptly described it. To pray Marana-tha! - “Lord, Come!” - isn’t just to watch for Christ’s salvation in our own hearts, but to join with the Great Cloud of Witnesses - past, present, and future; from every nation and tribe and people and language - who yearn for God’s justice, and the liberation of all God’s children from suffering.


If our praying truly shapes our believing, then the time has certainly come to let this cry arise from our lips again, until this ancient witness finally bears its intended fruit.



Marana-tha!

~Fr. Kevin+

*https://lyricsondemand.com/michael_card/maranatha


There will be an Election-Eve Prayer Service on Monday, November 2nd at 6:30 PM. All are welcome. As a reminder, the Church is used as a polling place; therefore, it will be closed for all church-related activities on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Memorial to the Lost recognizes Local Gun Violence Victims

The Memorial to the Lost will be featured on the front lawn of the Church to bring attention to Gun Violence in Chester County and across the Diocese.

Throughout the month of November, the Episcopal Church recognizes the devastating losses associated with gun violence and seeks resolutions to end gun violence in all communities. Here at St. Francis, we will be focusing on this important issue from November 7th - November 20th with our Memorial to the Lost, a display that includes brightly colored t-shirts with the names of those individuals in Chester County who have died as a result of gun violence.


Deacon Diane is a member of the Commission on Gun Violence, a diocesan commission with members from the diocese who are committed to ending gun violence in our communities. This Commission seeks to build peace by actively resisting gun violence and providing resources to the Diocese to address and reduce this destructive force.


Help is needed to install the exhibit on Saturday, November 7 at 9 AM.  If you can spare about an hour or so at 9 AM, your help will be greatly appreciated! Contact Fr. Kevin or Deacon Diane if you will help! Volunteers also will be needed to help take down the exhibit on November 20th at 9 AM.

Pastoral Care and Flower Delivery Ministries foster Connection

During a recovery from surgery at home, Nancy Needhammer was on the opposite side of the Pastoral Care Ministry that she coordinates for St. Francis. She received a pastoral care visit from lay ministers, John and Sarah McGovern who brought her Holy Communion and visited with her for about 30 minutes. Pastoral Care is a way to experience God's love through shared presence, listening, support, and communion. If someone is unable to attend St. Francis for worship, the Pastoral Care Team wants to bring St. Francis to them. Like all parishioners who have benefitted from this Ministry, Nancy was able to stay connected to our Church community while still receiving the Holy Eucharist at home.


There often are misconceptions as to who is eligible for this very important ministry and what exactly is involved with it. In short, all members of St. Francis who are not able to attend services at Church, no matter if this inability is a temporary or more permanent situation, are eligible for this ministry. You do not need to be in palliative or hospice care, nor is there any expectation for you to share any personal or health information with the clergy or lay ministers who visit.


Each approximately 30-minute pastoral care visit includes conversation, prayer, and Holy Communion in a judgement-free environment. There are two ways to arrange for a pastoral care visit - either contact the Church Office or Contact Nancy (nneedhammer@gmail.com). Once an individual in need of Pastoral Care has been identified, Nancy Needhammer will

contact that person to see how they are and to arrange a Communion visit with Fr. Kevin or one of the 10 lay ministers who have been specially trained for this pastoral care ministry.


In addition to the pastoral care visits, one of the members of the Flower Ministry, coordinated by Susan Thomas, also will make a delivery altar flowers, on a different Sunday, to those members who are unable to make it to Sunday service. Like pastoral care visits, there is a rotation of flower delivery to those parishioners, generally occurring every 6-7 weeks. In most cases, the flower deliverer is another friendly St. Francis visitor who also gets to know the recipient and/or their family members and helps to keep that parishioner in touch with the St. Francis community. The Altar Flower Team, separate from the Flower Delivery Team, shops for and arranges the flowers each Sunday and they make the bouquets for the Flower Delivery Team after the service.


The Pastoral Care Ministry will host a parish-wide Christmas Party during the day on Wednesday, December 16th. This event is designed to give people who cannot get to church on Sundays, an opportunity to come to a party and make connections with other parishioners.

~ Paula Turocy

In Giving, We Receive .......

November 22: West Chester Food Cupboard Quarterly Drive 


50,000 people are currently experiencing food insecurity in Chester County. We can help. Our next quarterly drive is Sunday November 22nd. Our focus is canned soups. Unexpired, easy opening, hearty soups would be welcome! Thank you for caring!

Community Garden Fall Update


As we approach the end of the growing season, the activity in the garden is slowing down. However, the peppers, especially the jalapeno peppers, aren’t ready to stop growing yet, and they keep providing a weekly harvest. And our fall crop of spinach, cilantro, scallions and turnips are starting to produce, so we should have about one more month of vegetable

contributions to the West Chester Food Cupboard.


Our contributions thus far this year now total 883 pounds. The St. Francis Garden has produced an abundance of healthy food for us to share with our local community.

~ Judy Culver

Thank you to Nancy Orlando for her continued ministry with the American Red Cross and for the 16 donors from St. Francis who participated in this October's Blood Drive. Please keep your eyes open for announcements to sign up for the next blood drive in early 2027.

Book Review of Wendell Berry's Given: Poems

Wendell Berry passed from this life into eternity earlier this fall, and I have been drinking deeply of his writing ever since. For me, the loveliest part of this book of poetry is its latter section entitled “Sabbath Poems.” These poems ponder ultimate reality and were written during an especially interesting period in recent history from 1998 to 2004.


I was reading this in the wake of our recent 25th remembrance of the tragic events of 9/11. The impact of the terrorist attacks and their aftermath during the years Berry was writing reveals the before-and-aftereffects of trauma on our collective psyche in ways I have not previously seen documented. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Berry’s poetry offers the tenderness and assurance we needed when so much had been lost. After his pastoral poems, those that followed were more harsh, revealing his prophetic lament for our nation’s collective reaction to 9/11—a response that included two elective wars, fabricated evidence presented to rally our allies’ support, bigotry, and the justification of state-sponsored torture. While Berry is often viewed as a voice calling us back to a simpler past, his Sabbath Poems express a deep commitment to faith, grace, and peacemaking—principles that remain timelessly relevant in addressing the profound deficits of our contemporary world.

~ Tom Ridington, Adult Discipleship

Committee Updates

Landscape Committee adds Perennials and Trees to Grounds

Landscape Committee Members Tom and Meridith Ridington and Phil Taylor with one of our newly planted Brandywine Maple trees.
 

Over the past few months, the Landscape Committee has enhanced St. Francis’ grounds with the addition of 80 perennial plants in the sign garden on Sugartown Road, the circle garden in front of the church and the garden at the main entrance. More recently, an additional planting included five perennials in the bed to the left of the front portico and three large trees near parking lots at the front and rear of the church. More plantings will take place in the spring.


Following the Sunday, October 25th service, Fr. Kevin and Deacon Diane did a Blessing of the Trees - a liturgical rite used pray over trees. This blessing is a symbolic act of hope, healing, and connection to creation as part of environmental stewardship, seasonal liturgies, or community gatherings.

~ John Groch

Annual Fall Clean Up

The annual Fall Clean Up was held on Sunday, October 25th after the 10 AM service. Thank you to all who were able to participate in this very important ministry.

Spark Ideas for your Next Adventure - New Zealand

November 17 Brown Bag Lunch Series


We’d love for you to join us for Part Two of Connie Black’s travel log to New Zealand. Part One, held on May 16, was so informative and inspiring that we’re excited to welcome her back. Almost 30 years ago, Connie Black (Scanga) set off for Wellington, New Zealand, where she lived, worked, and explored the Antipodes for three and a half years. When she returned to Malvern, she brought home a lasting case of the travel bug—and has spent much of nearly every summer since then exploring new corners of the world. At the Brown Bag Lunch, Connie will share highlights from her journeys and perhaps spark ideas for your next adventure.


Connie Black lives in Malvern and has been a member of St. Francis for more than 40 years. She sings in the Choir, previously served as Rector’s Warden, and recently retired from a long and successful teaching career at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. Please save the date and join us for her presentation on Tuesday, November 17, at Noon. We’d love for you to hear highlights from her remarkable journeys.


Please bring a bag lunch and a drink, and plan to arrive by 11:45 AM to allow time to mingle so we can start promptly at Noon. Thank you. We look forward to seeing you.

~ Shirley Warren

November Book Group - The Christmas Train

The next Book Group meeting will be on November 20 at 1 PM in the Library. We will be reading The Christmas Train by David Baldacci. Tom Langdon, a disillusioned journalist, must get to LA in time for Christmas. Traveling by train, he begins a journey of rude awakenings, thrilling adventures, and holiday magic where he rediscovers people’s essential goodness and someone special he thought he had lost.

~ Elizabeth Pitt

Vestry Meeting Report - October 2026

Meeting Minutes

  • Accounting Warden Lisa Buono reported that St. Francis’ finances remain in a sound position, with some areas overbudget, but offset by other areas underbudget. Lisa will continue to monitor income and expenses closely to maintain this balance.
  • Fr. Kevin commended Deacon Diane and Roberta Torian for their efforts to promote recognition of women ministers in the Episcopal Church and for their support and contributions to the development of the National Center for Courageous Women of Faith, an exhibit of the Episcopal diocese.
  • Fr. Kevin offered an update on the Murder Mystery Night at St. Francis on October 23. Ticket sales are good.
  • Vestry approved the revised policy on rental of the church space when alcohol is served.
  • Vestry reviewed a detailed report from the Accessibility For All Committee of the Episcopal Church which offered observations and recommendations regarding access to the church for persons with disabilities. St. Francis has done well in providing access and will follow up with implementation of further improvements.
  • Vestry member of the month, Roberta Torian, summarized feedback from ministry leaders in charge of Church School, Adult Discipleship, Vegetable Garden, Stewardship/Pledge Drive, Newcomers Ministry and Outreach. Ministries were performing well, and chairpersons appreciated the recognition and support from Vestry.
  • Vestry members will conduct visits to area Episcopal churches that recently renovated their naves to gather ideas for enhancing St. Francis’ nave.

~ John Groch

Announcements and Reminders
  • Weekly Lectionary Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 10:00 AM, in person and on Zoom to discuss the readings for the upcoming Sunday. In person Holy Eucharist follows at 11:15 AM. If you are not receiving the weekly email announcements, contact the Church Office.


  • Weekly Contemplative Prayer group meets in the Library on Sunday evenings beginning at 6:00 PM. The service includes simple prayers, singing, and 20 minutes of Centering Prayer. Everyone is welcome.


  • The deadline for submissions for the December Field Notes edition must be received by Paula Turocy, Field Notes Editor, (turocyp@gmail.com) by 8 AM on November 24th. All submissions are welcomed.

St Francis in-the-Fields Episcopal Church | 689 Sugartown Road | Malvern, PA 19355 US

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