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Sunday, Oct. 13 – 11:30 am Antiques Show Wrap Up Meeting in the Board Room. Committee Chairs please bring written reports. All are welcome to attend!
Monday, Oct. 14 – 7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal
Tuesday, Oct. 15
6:00 pm – Finance Committee Meeting
7:00 pm – Vestry Meeting
Wednesday, Oct. 16
10:00 am – Healing & Reconciliation Holy Eucharist
11:00 am – Good Grief Support Group
Thursday, Oct. 17 – 1:00 pm Quilters and Knitters Group
Sunday, Oct. 20 – 11:30 am – Today’s Sermon Talk
Monday, Oct. 21 – 7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal
Tuesday, Oct. 22 – 7:00 pm Taizé Service in the Chapel with reception to follow
Wednesday, Oct. 23
10:00 am – Healing and Reconciliation Holy Eucharist
5:00 pm – Good Grief Support Group
Thursday, Oct. 24
1:00 pm – Quilters and Knitters Group
Tuesday, October 29
Save the Date: Trunk or Treat!
5:30 - 7:00 pm in the lower parking lot. More information to come!
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The Nominating Committee of the Vestry is looking for church members who might be interested in serving St. Francis church in several capacities. One is as a member of the Vestry.
The Vestry is the governing body of the church and is made up of 12 members of the congregation. The Vestry is responsible for approving the yearly budget, making sure the buildings and grounds are kept in good repair and other things to help the church run smoothly. Each Vestry member is elected to a 3-year term, so every year at the Annual Meeting, 4 members “retire” and 4 new members are elected.
Other opportunities include serving as delegates to the yearly Diocesan convention and potentially as back-ups to some other important positions held by lay leaders.
Please prayerfully consider whether you would be interested in serving St. Francis in a deeper way. If you have any questions or want to talk more about any interest you might have in serving the church this way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, Fr. Jason, or any Vestry member.
Thank you,
Joyce Alley
jaballey7359@gmail.com
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St. Francis Scholarship Outreach recipient sends thank you | |
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"Today was the first day of my fall quarter at UCLA. The MacBook has been extremely useful and took a huge load off me and family. I just wanted to thank you for all your help."
Johnathan
UCLA Freshman
Major: Math and Economics
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Rector's Reflection
Stewardship
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Clergy tend to either get antsy or puffed up when talking about giving money to the church; it’s a rare thing to find a pragmatic priest who unflinchingly and calmly talks about the divine call to give. (I’m one of the antsy priests, if you couldn’t tell already).
Church leadership typically reverts to the Mosaic command to give ten percent of our total wealth to God, and even then we don’t demand a tithe (like some denominations) but instead talk about how it’s something to work towards. But the tithe is part of the Old Covenant, and we are no longer under the auspices of the Old Covenant or the Law; Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. We are under grace, which is far more nebulous. We no longer live in a world of “thou shalt and thou shalt not.”
In the gospel for this Sunday, a man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus tells him to go, sell all that he owns, give the money to the poor, and then follow Jesus. The man walks away disheartened, for he owns many possessions. Moses commanded the Israelites to give ten percent, but Jesus calls on his followers to give everything, even our lives, “for those who love their life will lose it, and those who lose their lives for my sake and the sake of the gospel will gain eternal life,” (Mark, 8:35).
A gospel-centered stewardship campaign would have us giving our lives to the church, which is a big ask. So what do we do, and where do we start? My starting point is being honest with myself and God about giving. I don’t want to give my life to the church, whatever that means or looks like. I like my life. I don’t want to sell all my possessions and give the money to the poor. First off, selling all of my stuff would be a huge pain; it would be way easier to give it away. And that is the crux of it: Jesus isn’t calling us to do the easy thing. Jesus is calling us to do the right thing, the good thing, the loving thing. Jesus is calling us to exercise our souls, to do the hard work of wrestling with the Word, ourselves, and our place in the world.
Talking about money can be terribly uncomfortable, but not talking about it doesn’t make it easier; it’s like putting an overdue bill in a drawer and expecting it to go away. We owe it to ourselves and one another to have these hard conversations, and to honestly say to God, “I’m not ready to give you my whole life or wealth, but I will give you this…”
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The southeast has been hit hard by two hurricanes in the last two weeks. At the bottom of this article will be several links that will lead you to ways you can help the people affected by the hurricanes. We can of course pray for all those affected, and in addition to our prayers, we can do our best to be a calming presence in the world around us. As St. Paul reminds us, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you,” (Ephesians 4:29-32).
Episcopal Relief and Development
Hurricane Relief Fund
Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina
Hurricane Helene Relief Info Hub
Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
Hurricane Helene Relief
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Fr. Jason's Week in Review | |
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October 4: Day off.
October 5: Funeral and reception for John Shultz.
October 6: Sunday services, with a wonderful St. Francis/Italian style coffee hour; Blessing of the Pets, where several dogs, two cats, one bird, and a baby stroller full of stuffies were blessed.
October 7: Met with senior warden; took Rachel to the dentist; admin tasks; I went to the dentist.
October 8: Pastoral calls; deanery lunch at the Canterbury; admin tasks.
October 9: Healing service; pastoral visit; lunch with parishioner; wrote for the newsletter and the stewardship letter.
October 10: Wrote for the newsletter. (Incidentally, it would be interesting to hear about y’all's writing process, and to find out if it involves long periods of staring into space or backspacing more than you write.)
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A few photos from our Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, October 6. | |
Get Involved at St. Francis | |
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Good Grief Loss Support Group: Alternating Wednesday mornings (11 am to noon) and evenings (5 pm to 6 pm) in the St. Francis Library. For people suffering loss of any kind including death, divorce, loss of health due to an illness or accident, et al.
Men’s Corner: Monthly for dinner at Corner Bakery. Contact Ed Hinz (kn6jn@yahoo.com).
Quilting and Knitting Group: Thursdays at 1 pm in the Board Room. Contact: Anna Eakins (annatkozaki@gmail.com).
SAGES (Senior Adult Group of Episcopalians): Group outings, social gatherings, guest speakers, and more.
St. Anne’s Guild: Meets on the 4th Monday of Sept-June at 6pm. Join us for fellowship, plan church events (like the Rummage Sale and Antiques Show), potluck dinners, and our Christmas charity event! Contact Anna Eakins.
St. Teresa’s Guild: Meet a few times a year to raise money for charities that support women and children through dues and our famous Chinese New Year event. Contact: Robin Pano.
Friars: Meets as needed to cook meals for Parish events (e.g. Lenten Suppers). Contact: Dick Briggs.
Yoga: All Levels Hatha Yoga for Strength and Mobility: Mondays, 11 am to 12:30 pm. All Levels Gentle Yoga for Vital Mobility and Balance: Wednesdays, 9am to 10:30 am. Contact: Jill Lynch (jillfenskelynch@gmail.com).
Download our 2024 Get Connected booklet (PDF) for a list of all our ministries and small groups.
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Consider making a donation of altar flowers in honor of a special occasion or in memory
of someone you love. (The suggested donation is $50.) Contact Jessica Salazar in the church office at 310-375-4617 or by email.
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Each week we change the photo in the header of this weekly email newsletter. But we need more up-to-date photos... Get your photo featured! You can submit your photos of the St. Francis campus, events, and people to us at social@stfrancispalosverdes.org for consideration. We'll even run your name as a photo credit. So get snapping—we can't wait to see what you create! | |
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Liturgy and Worship
Sundays at 8:00 am
Holy Eucharist Rite I with hymns in the Chapel.
Sundays at 10:00 am
Holy Eucharist Rite II with choir and music in the main church.
Wednesdays at 10:00 am
Healing & Reconciliation Holy Eucharist Rite II with hymns in the Chapel.
Taizé: Last Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm
A meditative service of music and prayer in the Chapel. (No communion.)
For other worship services and parish events, visit our calendar.
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Livestream Worship and Sermons Online
We livestream Sunday 10am worship on Facebook and YouTube. You can view past sermons or entire livestreams on our YouTube channel.
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Nursery School and Sunday School
Sunday school for children in kindergarten through fifth grade will be held in the Parish Hall from 9:50 am to 10:40 am (ish ... the kids typically come in at the Peace). There is a nursery for children 6 months to 5 years old.
Contact: Kristina Pelá
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Pastoral Care
In need of prayer? Send prayer requests to Fr. Jason.
Contact Kristina Pelá to arrange for a Lay Eucharistic Minister to safely bring you communion.
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Parish Directory
Our directory is available online. If you need the password, contact the church office or email Jessica Salazar.
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Calendar of Events
All of our worship services, events, and small groups are listed on our church calendar.
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Communications
and Notices
Please send all notices you wish to be included in the enews or bulletins to Father Jason and Wayne Hastings.
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Coffee Hour
Ministry
To volunteer to help one week after the 10am worship service, see the sign-up sheet at Sunday coffee hour.
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Yoga with Jill
A spiritual mind and body practice led by Jill Lynch in the St. Francis Parish Hall.
Mondays 11:00-12:30 pm – Level 1/2 Hatha for Strength and Mobility
Wednesdays 9:00-10:30 am – Level 1 Gentle Yoga for Vital Mobility and Balance
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