Frank: 314.740.1160.

We have an initiative to connect people to small faith sharing groups. If you are interested in joining a small group, please contact Jessica Rowley (314.918.2766 or email).

We Tithe as a parish and we need your recommendations
We donate 10% of our collections to worthy causes. We do this as an act of faith, trusting that, in doing this, we will still be able to meet our financial needs. Please let the Parish Council know about worthy organizations that you would like us to contribute to. Information needed: your name, name of organization you are suggesting, to whom check should be made payable, where to send check and to whose attention. Please send your suggestions to Marilyn Tenholder.

Matthew 25

The Matthew 25 Fund helps members in our community who need financial assistance. All information concerning the people with whom we work is held in the strictest confidence. If you would like to contribute to this fund, make your check payable to Matthew 25, and place it in the collection basket. If you need assistance from the fund, contact Peggy Montgomery.

Membership Care Prayer List
If you have a joy or concern you would like to share on the prayer list please contact someone on the pastoral team.

Jessica Rowley 314.918.2766;

Frank Krebs 314.740.1160;

We have a SafeChurch Policy to protect our children and other vulnerable populations.

Fundraising

Please keep our Schnucks E-Scrip fund raiser in mind when you shop. If you don't already have an E-Scrip card, please call Marilyn Tenholder (314.323.1467) and she will get one to you. There is no charge and all you have to do is activate it by either a phone call or by going online. Simply show the card when you check out and a percentage of your purchase cost will be rebated back to Sts. Clare & Francis. Thank you!

ECC Midwest

Partner Communities

Emmaus

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

San Damiano

Little Rock, Arkansas

St. Jerome

Tulsa, Oklahoma

COMMUNITY CORNER...

our family news

(It is good for us to know what's happening in each other's lives. If you have any news you'd like to share with the community, please email Steve ).

The Weekly News
January 16, 2104

Second Week of Ordinary Time

Saturday, January 18, 2014

5:00 pm

Readings: Is 49:3, 5-6; 1 Cor 1:1-3; Jn 1:29-34

Presider: Jessica Rowley

Homilist: George von Stamwitz

Readers: Luke Veltz, Marty Campbell

Eucharistic Ministers: Kay Schmitt, Joan Switzer, Mary Jordan

Sacristan: Sheila Leander

If you are not able to serve in your scheduled ministry, please let Steve know when you get a substitute so that we can publish the correct names in the newsletter. Thanks.

scampbell@ppcsinc.org or call or text 314.603.9991.

Parish Council News I

(Bill sent the following letter to the Parish Council last week.)

Dear Members of SCF Parish Council,

Over these past months of service on the Council, it has become obvious to me that perhaps working on the Council is not where my gifts lie. So I am writing to let you know of my decision to resign from the Parish Council, effective immediately. My decision to leave the Council was made only after serious prayer and deliberation. I certainly plan to continue as an active member of SCF and will pursue other opportunities to be of service to the community.

I have been blessed working with all of you and I am grateful for that. It is my hope that you will accept my decision in the spirit in which it is offered. I wish the entire Council only the best as you continue to build the vibrant faith community St. Clare and Francis is meant to be. Please be assured of my prayers in this regard.

Peace to All,

Bill Schwindt

Parish Council News II

We are accepting nominations for membership on the Parish Council until February 1, 2014.

There are currently two Parish Council positions open. Nomination Forms will be available in the church vestibule. You can nominate someone by completing a form and placing it in the box in the back of church or by contacting one of the members of the Parish Council.

Do You Have Clare & Francis Photos?

We are updating our website and we need updated photos of SCF people and events. Did you take some good pictures at an SCF event that you would like to share? If so, could you please send them to our administrative assistant, Laura Tiffin, at churchoffice@stsclareandfrancis.org. If there are several photos from one event (e.g., Father Dickson's Cemetery or an SCF BBQ) please indicate that so we can organize them into "albums." Thanks.

BATTERY RECYCLING

This Saturday, January 18 will be the last day for me to pick up dead batteries and small electronics for recycling here at Sts. Clare & Francis . (I have to say there are a lot of batteries in my tiny garage at this moment that are grateful to be saved from our polluted landfill.) I will be renting a truck (joke) to haul everything to the Maryland Heights Center for their big recycling event!

In case you have larger items (that won't fit in my little box) to offer for recycling, or forget to bring the final haul of batteries to church, that grand event is Wednesday, January 22 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the Maryland Heights Center on McKelvey, next door to the Waterpark.

Sue Stolze

Healing Our Wounds and Finding

Our Way Forward

January 25, 2013

1:00 to 4:00 pm

All SCF Members are encouraged to participate in a Healing Our Wounds and Finding Our Way Forward gathering on Saturday, January 25 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. It is hoped that this event will mark the beginning of a new defining attribute for Sts. Clare & Francis as a community committed to exercising the graces of reconciliation, compassion and forgiveness with each other.

The facilitator for this gathering will be Dave Ebenhoh - husband, father, spiritual director, artist, writer, consultant, coach and friend (www.stillwaterspeaks.com).

Let us together mediate the love that God is offering through the community we continue to build and nurture.

Communal Work of Service

KIVA

The Sts. Clare & Francis Micro-lending Group met last fall to begin this communal work of service. We made ten small loans to individuals worldwide. The loans were made through Kiva, which combines micro-finance with the internet in the effort to alleviate poverty by empowering entrepreneurs.

One of those loan recipients is Mercedes, whose business is the sale of second-hand clothing, shoes and other items that her customers order.
She requested a loan of $625 to buy bales of merchandise and take advantage of the holiday months. She has been a merchant for 16 years. Her store is in her home. We extended a loan of $100 toward the total. The loan was fully funded and Mercedes is already on a plan for repayment.

She is thankful for the support that Kiva has given her through this loan and one she had previous to this, which has been repaid. The average annual income in Nicaragua is $3,636.

On February 1 at 3:15 pm in the Fireside Room we will join as a community to extend loans. Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in choosing loan recipients at this meeting. During our first loan session we loaned a total of $1000. On Feb 1 we plan on loaning the rest of the funds collected from the community, approximately $1700.

If you have any questions or want further information, please contact Clarence Heller (636.256.6516, marclar123@aol.com).

Homilies

George's homily from January 5, Voices From The Margins, and all homilies from Sts. Clare & Francis, can be found at http://scfhomilies.wordpress.com/.

Identity Theft Awareness Week

Michelle Smith wanted to share this with the community...

Federal Trade Commission's Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week Offers Consumers Advice, Guidance

Next week, January 13-17, is the Federal Trade Commission's Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week.

Identity theft has been the top consumer complaint to the FTC for 13 consecutive years, and tax identity theft has been an increasing share of the Commission's identity theft complaints. In 2010, tax identity theft accounted for just 15 percent of the FTC's identity theft complaints from consumers, while in 2011 it made up 24 percent of the overall identity theft complaints. In 2012, tax identity theft accounted for more than 43 percent of the identity theft complaints, making it the largest category of identity theft complaints by a substantial margin.

"This week's events are designed to teach consumers more about how to protect themselves from tax ID theft and how to respond if they become victims," said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "As consumers begin making preparations to file their taxes, now is the right time for them to learn more about this important issue."

On Jan. 15, the FTC will host webinars in English at 1:30 p.m. ET and in Spanish at 3:30 p.m. ET. Links to the webinars will be available from the Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week webpage at ftc.gov/taxidtheft. At 2 p.m. ET on Jan. 16, the FTC will co-host a Twitter chat on @FTC with the Identity Theft Resource Center using the hashtag #IDTheftChat. At the same time, the FTC will also host a Spanish-language chat on @laFTC using the hashtag #roboimpuestos.

The FTC has created consumer education materials on tax identity theft as well as information for consumers about how to protect yourself from identity theft and what to do if you become a victim of identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC's website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information:

Lisa Schifferle

Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3377

For Consumers

Sponsored by Friends of SCF

Month of Guided Prayer

An Ecumenical Retreat in Everyday Life

Meet one-on-one with a prayer guide one hour each week for four consecutive weeks. Morning, afternoon and evening meeting times available. Co-hosted by First Presbyterian (in Kirkwood) and Webster Groves Presbyterian Churches. Starts January 26, 2014. For more information, or to register, visit www.weekofguidedprayer.org or contact Clarence Heller at 636.256.6515 or marclar123@aol.com.

~~~~~

Mary Magdalene - The Road Less Traveled

February 7 - 9, 2014

Retreat presented by SCF member Marilyn Koncen

Il Ritiro

For information, go to www.il-ritiro.org.

For registration info, e-mail il.ritiro@gmail.com, or call 636.274.0554.

Marilyn's phone contact is 314.776.0554.

random sightings

wisdom...reflection...insight...amusement

Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies."

It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals.

That's why Jesus says, "Love your enemies." Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they're mistreating you.

Here's the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don't do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can't stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they're mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they'll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load.

That's love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There's something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dexter Avenue Baptist Church

November 17, 1957

Sts. Clare & Francis offers information about other organizations and activities as a way of providing information that we feel is useful or relevant to our members and to the public. As an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) organization, Sts. Clare & Francis is required to abide by certain rules. Sts. Clare & Francis is absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Sts. Clare & Francis is also prohibited from devoting a substantial part of its activities to attempting to influence legislation. As a result of these rules, we do not specifically endorse these organizations or activities nor do they specifically represent the views of Sts. Clare & Francis, to the extent that doing so would jeopardize Sts. Clare & Francis' standing as a Section 501(c)(3) organization.

If you have an item that you wish to submit for publication in the Weekly News, please send it to

Steve Campbell no later than noon on Wednesday of the week you would like it to appear. If you cannot send an

e-mail, you may contact Steve at 314.603.9991.