Weekly News: November 5, 2026

Weekly Worship

Sunday at 8:00 am - Worship in person at St. Francis In-The-Fields



Sunday at 10:00 am - Worship in person at St. Francis and online through YouTube Live

View or download the Sunday bulletin at this link.

November Children & Youth Sunday

Date Change

Although originally scheduled for Sunday, November 1st, November's Children & Youth Sunday has been moved to Sunday, November 15th. This means it will line up with the send-off for those attending the Diocesan Youth Retreat at Waycross. November 15th will also be our Ingathering Sunday for our Annual Fund Campaign; our children and youth will participate in the Blessing of the Pledges.

Ingathering Sunday

On Sunday, November 15th, we will celebrate Ingathering Sunday for our 2027 Annual Fund campaign. Join us after the 10 am service for a parish lunch celebrating our shared commitment to the year ahead! Fried chicken will be provided, and parishioners are invited to bring a side, dessert, or drinks. Sign up at this link to bring something.

Our annual St. Francis Student Service Day will be this Saturday, November 7th from 9 am to noon in the Gathering Space. Youth will be decorating Christmas bags, making ornament kits, and performing other assembly tasks needed for our annual Christmas Bags ministry supporting Hattie B. Stokes Elementary School in Lebanon. Doughnuts, juice, and coffee will be provided, and adult volunteers will be onsite with the students. This event is open to all students in grades 5-12. Click here to register!

Bishop-Elect Whitney Rice

The Rev. Canon Whitney Rice, who served as Associate Rector of St. Francis from 2016-2019, has been elected the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas! She will be consecrated as bishop on Saturday, April 17th, 2027 at Grace Cathedral, Topeka. Read the full announcement of her election here.

If you missed the switch last week, St. Francis will be livestreaming the 10 am Sunday service on YouTube from now on, rather than Facebook. Follow the link in the newsletter or on our website, and it will take you straight to that week's livestream. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel; all livestreams will be under the "live" tab, and on Sundays while the stream is running, it will be on our channel's front page. Contact the church office with any questions.

Tomorrow, Friday, November 6th, St. Francis will host another Life Line Screening event. Life Line Screening has been a premier provider of stroke and cardiovascular disease risk screenings since 1993. As the host of this event, the St. Francis community is eligible for a special offer for a screening package that enables you to get peace of mind or early detection.

Pre-registration is required: Go to WWW.LLSA.SOCIAL/HSCA, call 800-324-9458, or text "circle" to 216-279-1607 to schedule your appointment. A simple screening can be worth a lifetime.

The Gray Havens

Concert at Zionsville Presbyterian Church

Zionsville Presbyterian Church (ZPC) will host The Gray Havens on Saturday, November 7th at 7 pm, as part of the band’s Ghost of a King 10 Year Anniversary Tour. Known for their distinctive blend of storytelling, rich musical arrangements and thoughtful, poetic lyrics, The Gray Havens create an immersive concert experience centered on story, longing, and wonder. This concert will feature an intimate acoustic performance celebrating the 10th anniversary of Ghost of a King, along with songs from throughout The Gray Havens’ catalog, including music from their newest album, This Is Not The End. The evening will also include stories behind the songs.

Doors open to the public at 6:30 pm, with music beginning at 7 pm. General admission tickets are $29.50, with tickets for college undergraduates and younger available for $19.50. Day-of-show tickets are $34.50. An early-entry ticket with a pre-show Q&A and meet-and-greet is also available.

Tickets are available through The Gray Havens’ website at thegrayhavensmusic.com.

An Update From The Caring Center

In October, the Caring Center totaled over 5,876 lbs of donations, received 373 hours of volunteer help, and gave away over 200 coats! Coat donations are still being accepted as the Caring Center continues to give them away. Expanded volunteer hours are being offered on the second Thursday evening of every month. In 2026, 1 in 10 people are experiencing food insecurity in Boone County, so your food pantry donations make a real difference. Click here for the Caring Center's full November newsletter.

On Sunday, November 22nd, St. Francis will collect pies for the Caring Center's Thanksgiving Baskets! Pies can be homemade or store-bought, but cannot be frozen or require refrigeration. Homemade pies should have a list of ingredients for families with allergies and be packaged well for transport. Please drop pies off at St. Francis on Sunday 11/22 from 8 am to noon. Then, on Monday, November 23rd, we will meet in our parking lot at 8 am to load the pies into cars and caravan together to the Caring Center.

If you have any questions or would like to be a delivery driver, please contact Ann Palmer (mpalmer71552@gmail.com) or Priscilla Holder (pholder4383@gmail.com).

Youth Formation

Calling all 6th-12th graders! Join youth from across central and southern Indiana for the Diocesan Youth Fall Retreat at Waycross Camp & Conference Center on November 20th-22nd. This year's theme, God Meet Us Here: Our Faith + Mental Health, explores how God meets us in life's challenges through worship, small groups, fun activities, and community. Cost is $100 for youth. Registration closes this Sunday, November 8th; click here to register!

Sunday School

One More Volunteer Needed

Due to the date change for November's Children & Youth Sunday, Sunday School has been canceled on November 15th. This means there are two remaining Sunday School sessions for the fall semester: November 8th and December 13th. Both volunteer teacher slots are filled for Nov. 8th, but we are still in need of an assistant teacher for Dec. 13th. Please sign up at the link below! As a reminder, volunteers must be Safe Church certified and have a current background check.

Please note the updated November dates.

Adult Formation

Guest Preacher & Adult Forum

On Sunday, November 29th, we will be joined by The Rev. Dr. Amy Lindeman Allen, Associate Professor of New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary, for the First Sunday of Advent! She will preach at both services and lead a 9 am Adult Forum on the following topic:

Faithful parenting is challenging in today’s world. It was challenging in Jesus’s world too! Join Rev. Dr. Amy Lindeman Allen to learn more about some of the biblical parents in Mark’s Gospel and their unique and faithful approaches to living out their vocations as parents. And if you really want to dive deep, you can check out her latest book: Parenting Beyond Boundaries in Mark’s Gospel with co-author Sung Uk Lim (Amazon link). Click here for more information about the book!

Ladies' Bible Study: Stories in Exile (Part 1)

All ladies are invited to join us on Thursdays at 10 am in the Hybrid Room and on Zoom for our fall Ladies' Bible Study. We are studying the Bible stories of those who experienced exile, exploring the meaning of—and solution for—exile. If you have questions, contact Pam Wampler (pdwampler@aol.com).

Youth Confirmation Cohort

The Diocese of Indianapolis is excited to announce that there will be an Indianapolis-based Confirmation Cohort in January and February. Trinity Episcopal Church, Indianapolis will be the hosting campus, and Heather Campbell, Diocesan Youth Minister, will be the primary facilitator, with all clergy and youth leaders invited to co-teach. This cohort is open to all high-school-aged youth in the Diocese and will meet each Sunday from 3-5:30 pm in January and February (with the exception of Feb. 14).

More information and registration can be found here.

All Ages, One Church: Intentional Intergenerational Ministry

Youth Ministry University

Many of our churches are intergenerational by default – but what would it look like if we were intergenerational on purpose? In this Zoom workshop on Tuesday, November 10th from 7-8:30 pm, we’ll explore how to move from passive coexistence to active discipleship across generations. You’ll leave with practical tools for shared leadership, meaningful relationships, and creating worship and formation spaces where every age is valued. This workshop will be facilitated by Sarah Bentley-Allred, Project Director for Roots & Wings: Intergenerational Formation Collaborative.

Register at this link.

Click here to subscribe to the Diocese of Indianapolis General News!

Get the Word Out with the St. Francis Newsletter

Each week, we do our best to make sure every announcement makes it into our newsletter. If you've got an announcement you'd like to make to the community, please send it to us by Wednesdays at 9 am so that we can review and publish your message. Thank you!

Calendar

What's coming up at church? Check out the St. Francis Calendar online. Are we missing an event or meeting? Please reach out to info@stfranciszionsville.org to let us know what needs to be included.

Office Hours

Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call our office, wait for the audio prompts, and press 7 for pastoral care.

(317) 873-4377

info@stfranciszionsville.org

Please note that Hannah will be out of the office on vacation from November 16-20. She will respond to emails and messages upon her return on Monday, November 23.

This Week's Readings - The Feast of All Faithful Departed

• Wisdom 3:1–9
• Psalm 130
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
• John 5:24-27

This Week's Ministry Team

Presider & Preacher: The Rev. C. Davies Reed, Rector

Altar & Flower Guild: Barb Russo, Kenny Winget, Elizabeth Fischer, Sue Wyatt

Music: Robert Bolyard, Music Director; Lynnly Schroeder, soloist

8 am LEM & Lector: John Lanie

10 am LEM & Acolyte: JT Voris, Hazel Murphy

10 am Lectors: Steve Doyle, Jeff Voris

Ushers: Perry & Priscilla Holder

Greeter:

Sunday School: Erin Bell, Laura Hardy Noel

A/V Specialist: James Dillon

Virtual Usher: Lesley MacKellar

Counters: Elizabeth Selm, Maureen Murphy

If you are scheduled to serve and can no longer do so for any reason, you are responsible for finding your substitute and contacting your ministry's lay leader and the parish administrator to inform them of your replacement. For a full schedule of serving team members, please contact your lay leader.