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 30, 2104

Presentation of the Lord

Saturday, February 1, 2014

5:00 pm

Readings: Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

Presider: Jessica Rowley

Homilist: George von Stamwitz

Readers: Jenn Lay, Art Maines

Eucharistic Ministers: Mary Ellen Kruger, Joann Noll, Kay Schmitt

Sacristan: Lorraine Tiffin

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

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.

Good News From Our Mission Church

The Metro-East Mission Church has a new home! As of Sunday, February 2, 2014 we will be gathering for Mass (and have office space) at Trinity UCC (United Church of Christ), 47 North Douglas Avenue, Belleville, IL 62220.

Mass is still at 9:00 a.m. and we're maintaining the every-other-week schedule. Upcoming dates are February 2 and 16; March 2, 16, 30; April 13 and 27. Kay Schmitt is happy to give rides if people would like, and since the church is only about 1/2 mile from the Belleville Metrolink station, John and Ginny Dahlberg can pick up visitors there and get them back later. We're very excited about this move, and ask that the community continue to keep us in prayer for new life and growth.

Baby Shower

Sunday, February 16, 2014

1:00 pm

Therese & Judy's

We are hosting a baby shower for Jessica at our home on Sunday, February 16 at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. All the ladies are invited...please RSVP to Therese or Judy, 314.607.7087 or 314.839.2225.

Communal Work of Service

KIVA

On Saturday February 1, 2014 at 3:15 pm we will meet in the Fireside Room to extend loans using the remainder of the community KIVA donations collected over the past 6 months. Anyone who is interested is welcome. The KIVA web page will be projected onto a screen. We will actually log into the website and view the loan candidates, deciding together and completing the loans at the same time. Those planning to attend are asked to preview the KIVA website, if possible, and come with a few candidates in mind. This will speed the process since our hope is to complete about 17 loans.

~~~~~

We want to share the story of the last of our ten loan recipients from the first gathering. This borrower is unique. It is a group of women in Guatemala called Trust Bank, Mujeres Las Estrellas (The Stars Women).

They are eight enthusiastic and empowered women who run businesses that revolve around agriculture and textiles in a lush village in a rural area in Guatemala. A year ago they requested their first loan and have completed repayment. They again asked for funds through KIVA for a new loan. The group originated three years ago when one member began a loan and training through a local Guatemalan micro-credit organization.

The women receive training in business administration, money management, women's health, children's rights, and health, among other issues. They borrow as a group, forming Trust Banks (groups of 7-25 women who serve as co-guarantors of the loan and act as a self-regulating support network).

Mujeres Las Estrellas Group's request for a $5,925 loan was fully funded through 203 participating lenders. We loaned them $100. Currently the loan is 16% repaid.

~~~~~

We hope you will come this Saturday to participate in this gratifying experience. If you have any questions or want further information, please contact Clarence Heller (636.256.6516, marclar123@aol.com).

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.

Homilies

Frank's homily from January 11, Unmoored or Grounded, and all homilies from Sts. Clare & Francis, can be found at http://scfhomilies.wordpress.com/.

Sponsored by Friends of SCF

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.

~~~~~

L'Arche St. Louis

Dinner Dance Fundraiser

February 21, 2014

$50.00 per person, $400 for a table of 8

Immaculate Conception Church (Maplewood)

The L'Arche St. Louis annual "I Love L'Arche" Dinner Dance Fundraiser will be held February 21, 2014. Go to www.larchestlouis.org for a reservation form.

~~~~~

Coalition to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex

Get involved in the movement to end Mass Incarceration with the Coalition to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex. Meetings are the first Saturday of every month from 1:00 - 3:00 pm and held at Centennial Christian Church, 4950 Fountain Avenue, 63113 (Off Kingshighway). All are welcome and needed to work together to make a difference in our community!

random sightings

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

Running in the rain

A little girl had been at the store, shopping with her Mom. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the store.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, "Mom let's run through the rain," She said.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited a minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent.. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain... We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.

Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God lets us get wet, well maybe we just need washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked.

They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day.

Author Unknown

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.