St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church

Weekly E-Blast

January 26, 2023

Forward Day by Day - Psalm 44:24 

Why have you hidden your face and forgotten our affliction and oppression?

When I teach about the Bible, I like to say that every human emotion can be found in the Bible. More than that, every human emotion can be found in the psalms. I love that these texts—the songbook of King David—express human joy, adoration, anger, love, and deep sorrow. The early monastics used to recite all 150 psalms every single day through the Divine Office; later, this was spread out over the course of a week.

My favorite psalms are deeply sad. At the stripping of the altar every Maundy Thursday, we recite together Psalm 22, which begins with the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus himself cries out these words upon the cross. Today’s psalm likewise captures someone who feels abandoned and forgotten by God. The last verse reminds God of the promise to be steadfast in love. What comfort we can find in Christ himself who knows the feeling of God-forsakeness in the midst of suffering.

Moving Forward: What’s your favorite psalm? Share it with us at #ForwardDaybyDay.

This Week at St. Francis

Thursday, January 26

10:00 am - Book Group

1:00 pm - Threads of Love

7:00 pm - AA Men’s Group

Friday, January 27

10:00 am - Al Anon

Sunday, January 29

8:00 am - Spoken Eucharist

9:00 am - Adult Formation

10:30 am - Sunday School

10:30 am - Eucharist, Live Eucharist on YouTube/Facebook

12:00 pm - Annual Meeting

12:30 pm - Misa

Monday, January 30

7:30 pm - AA

Tuesday, January 31

1:00 pm - Caring Ministry Meeting

3:00 pm - A Man Called Otto at the Wilsonville Regal

7:00 pm - RA

Wednesday, February 1

12:00 pm - Noon Eucharist

1:00 pm - Staff Meeting

7:00 pm - Choir Rehearsal

7:30 pm - AA

Thursday, February 2

7:00 pm - AA Men’s Group

Friday, February 3

10:00 am - Al Anon

Sunday, February 5

8:00 am - Spoken Eucharist

9:00 am - Adult Formation

10:30 am - Sunday School

10:30 am - Eucharist, Live Eucharist on YouTube/Facebook

12:30 pm - Misa

Annual Meeting & Lunch

The St. Francis Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, January 29th at noon. Lunch will be served. Help us to know how much lunch to prepare by signing up in the Narthex. Also, feel free to bring your own lunch, if you would prefer. We look forward to gathering together.

Movie Tuesday

Join us on Tuesday, January 31st, to see A Man Called Otto. We will meet at the Wilsonville Regal on Town Center Loop. The movie begins at 3 pm, so please arrive by 2:45 pm.

Greeters

The Welcoming Ministry is looking for more greeters to welcome people to our Sunday morning services, and then to follow up with them. Please reach out to Father Brendan if you can help.

Ladies Lunch

Let’s do lunch! We hope you can join us on Tuesday, February 7th at 11:45 am. We will meet at Langdon Farms. A head count is helpful so there is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Contact Peggy Danford or Sandi Thompson

Lenten Booklets

St. Francis will produce a Lenten booklet again this year. Please send your submissions to Jodi at saintfranciswilsonville@gmail.com. 

Memorial Gardens Update

Calling all garden lovers with pruning tools! On March 10, our teacher of fine pruning, Masa Mijuno, will be at St. Francis to work with us. He is a gifted gardener and master fine pruner. We’ll be working in the memorial gardens from 8:30 am until about 2:30 pm (depending on how awful the weather is) and we’ll take about an hour for hot soup and bread at about 11:30 (bring some if you can!). You are welcome to come for all or any part of the day. The gardens will be beautiful (we’ll likely be drenched) and we will learn great techniques from Masa. Bring your best pruning tools and dress for the weather! Questions? Contact Terri Hoffmann.