Weekly News: October 29, 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 our youth 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.

First Sunday Food Collection

Blessing Box & Caring Center

Even though we have moved Children & Youth Sunday, this coming Sunday, November 1st, will still be our First Sunday Food Collection. Specific items have been requested:

for the Blessing Box:

• canned fruit
• cereal
• canned corn
• canned peas
• canned chicken
• jelly
• mac and cheese
• pasta
• hearty soups
• spaghetti sauce

for the Caring Center:

• cans of: chicken broth, corn, cranberry sauce, evaporated milk, fruit, green beans, pork and beans, pumpkin pie filling, yams/sweet potatoes
• baking needs: cake mix, flour, oil, sugar
• egg noodles
• assorted Jell-o flavors
• pudding mix
• shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream
• size 4-6 diapers
• Christmas wrapping paper and tape

This Sunday, November 1st, will mark the end of Daylight Saving Time, and as we change our clocks back an hour, we will celebrate another Day of Change! Dig around for those loose coins and bring them to our collection pot at both services (bills and checks also accepted). The funds collected will be donated to a local organization chosen by our children and youth later in the month.

SFZ Presents: Alec Holcomb | A Panorama of Classical Guitar Music

Our next SFZ concert will be this Sunday, November 1st at 4 pm and is for anyone curious about just how much one guitar can do! This program brings together familiar favorites, overlooked gems, and rarely-heard heavy hitters of the guitar repertoire. Some works cross over from other instruments, transformed for guitar; others were composed to push the instrument to its full potential. This concert is free to the public, with a suggested donation (as you are able) of $15 per person or $30 per family, and will conclude with a sparkling reception in our Gathering Space.

Pumpkin Patch

In case you weren't in church last Sunday to hear John's announcement: we sold all of the pumpkins for a total of $19,514 and a profit of $12,634 for our outreach ministries! This is the largest profit from the Pumpkin Patch fundraiser since 2013. We are so grateful to everyone who volunteered, spread the word, and bought pumpkins, and we look forward to doing it again next year!

This Sunday, November 1st, St. Francis will be switching livestreaming platforms from Facebook to YouTube. Recent updates to Facebook have made it so that you cannot watch livestreams without an account, so in the interest of remaining as accessible as possible to everyone, we will be moving to YouTube, where an account is not required to watch.

The direct link to the livestream in the newsletter and on our website will be updated every week as usual; it will simply go to the YouTube streams starting this week. Throughout November, there will also be a post on Facebook with the link to the YouTube stream.

YouTube livestreams have a chat function just like Facebook, so as long as you log in to YouTube (which can be done with a Gmail account), you will still be able to comment as usual. Feel free to reach out to the church office with any questions.

On 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.

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. Please sign up to bring something at this link.

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

Thank you to our EYC youth who represented St. Francis at Trunk or Treat this past Sunday! They handed out candy and helped over 100 kids decorate pumpkins at their "Halloween Minions" trunk.

EYC: Student Service Day 11/7

Our annual St. Francis Student Service Day will be 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. Please 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

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).

Diocesan Youth Fall Retreat

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. Click the button below to register by November 8th!

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

This Week's Readings - All Saints' Day

• Revelation 7:9-17
• Psalm 34:1-10, 22
• 1 John 3:1-3
• Matthew 5:1-12

This Week's Ministry Team

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

Altar & Flower Guild: Lele Casalini, Kenny Winget, Anne and Larry Boley, Megan Olson, Jenny McGraw

Music: Robert Bolyard, Music Director; The St. Francis Choir

8 am LEM & Lector: Anne Foster

10 am LEM: Thomas Sullivan

10 am Lectors: Meg Hoke, Gigi Nicholas

Ushers: Alison & Jason Lanie

Greeter: Gigi Nicholas

A/V Specialist: Kate Unroe

Virtual Usher: Chris O'Brien

Counters: Erin Bell, Shannon Dillon

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.