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A Prayer As We Seek Our Next Rector
O Lord of infinite grace, we come to you in confidence and hope. As we week our next rector, we
ask that you grant us the gifts of openness, mindfulness and gratefulness.
Openness, that our eyes may see your work, our ears may hear your voice, and our minds and hearts may fill with the boundless possibilities you place before us.
Mindfulness, that we may be aware of your presence, alert to your will, and sensitive to the
needs of our leaders and all members of our community.
Gratefulness that we may give thanks for what has been, what is, and what is yet to come.
Help us to find a rector who will join us in our mission to be instruments of peace, and lead us in
new ways of bearing witness to the love of God for all people. We ask this, in the name of Jesus
Christ, with humble gratitude for the many blessings you have bestowed upon our community.
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A Message from the Associate Rector
 In the past few months at St. Francis there has been a lot of talk about transition as we said our good-byes to Rich, Hathy, Graham, and James and began to prepare to search for the next rector. Most of our focus during this time has been on those two big pieces of this time of transition - the ending of our ministry and time together with Rich and the Simpson family and the beginning of our life together with a new rector. Often in times of transition we tend to focus on what is ending and what is beginning as the significant parts of the change that is happening. And of course, these are very important aspects of the changes that happen in our lives. However, I think we often tend to neglect or discount the equally, if not more important, "in-between" times - that space between the ending and the new beginning. Rich touched on this a bit in his sermon for the Sunday after Ascension, but I think it deserves a little more of our attention as we now begin to adjust to life in that "in-between" time.
William Bridges in his book, Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, says this time between the ending and new beginning is "a time of lostness and emptiness before 'life' resumes an intelligible pattern and direction." (Kindle location 290) This helps us to see that although by now we have said our good-byes to Rich and the search for a new rector is in its beginning stages, we can't expect that we are now completely ready to pick up and move on after fifteen years of ministry together. We may be looking forward to where God is leading us next as we search for a new rector, but it is also normal that we continue to struggle during this time with a variety of conflicting emotions - grief over what we have lost, joy and hope for the arrival of a new rector, and fear and uncertainty for our future as we try to figure out who we are without our longtime leader, where we are headed, and how we are going to get there.
As I have struggled in my own life through such in-between times, it has helped to understand them in terms of them being "liminal" or "threshold" moments in life. Wikipedia defines liminality as "the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of rituals, when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they will hold when the ritual is complete. During a ritual's liminal stage, participants 'stand at the threshold' between their previous way of structuring their identity, time, or community, and a new way, which the ritual establishes."
The ritual we currently face at St. Francis is the calling of a new rector and we can expect that the liminal time as we prepare for it will at times be a disorienting process as we remember our past with Rich with grief and nostalgia, while at the same time we look forward to our future with joy and trepidation for what is to come with a new rector's arrival. This will not be a process without bumps in the road and it cannot be expected to happen overnight. It is a process that will take time to move through as we first call an interim rector, create a congregational profile to let candidates for the position know who we are, search through multiple candidates to find the right future rector for St. Francis, and prepare for his/her arrival.
It is important at this liminal time to give ourselves and our wardens, vestry, and the Search Committee, the gift of time and patience so that God can use this time to prepare us for what is next and so we can make this journey thoughtfully and prayerfully guided by the Holy Spirit. At the times when fear and anxiety may arise and cause us to get impatient and want to push ahead with the process too quickly, we might find comfort, hope, and strength in remembering that it took the Israelites forty years of travelling through the wilderness to be prepared by God for their entry into the Promised Land. So, though a year or so may seem like a long time in our human passage of time for God to prepare St. Francis for our future with a new rector, maybe in God's time it isn't much time at all!
During this liminal time in the life of St. Francis we can also find comfort, hope, and strength in the knowledge that we don't go this alone. We are led by Bishop Fisher and his staff, our wardens - Craig and Bev, our vestry, the Search Committee, the Profile Committee, the Transition Committee, and one another. As Rich said in his sermon from the Sunday after Ascension using Bono's wise words, "we get to carry each other." In whatever way you need this community to carry you during this time, please do not hesitate to reach out to the staff, wardens, vestry, or one another. We are not alone in this journey, we have one another for the comfort, strength, and support that might be needed, and we will carry each other as we journey through this threshold time to a new beginning that the Holy Spirit is preparing us for as a community.
In Christ's Peace,
Karen
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 A Message From Your Wardens
SIMPSON SENDOFF
On Friday evening, May 17th, we gathered to honor and thank Rich for his years of faithful service as our rector and also to say goodbye to Rich, Hathy, Graham and James. On the first Sunday of Pentecost, we not only heard Rich's last sermon to St. Francis, but we also joined together after the 5:00 PM and 10:00 AM services to say our personal farewells.
Attendance was fabulous and the support for the Simpsons and St. Francis was both touching and uplifting. As one St. Francis member so aptly observed: "We provided the best possible exit for Rich, his family, and the parish; one deserved by all."
We are truly thankful for the amazing collaboration of all of the members of St. Francis and the wider community for bringing together last weekend's events. It was decidedly a group effort with so many people contributing. Our special thanks go to Melanie Amaral, Nancy Pope and Kathy Diehl.
LISTENING EVENTS - JUNE 1ST AND JUNE 2ND
Our preacher for Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd  will be Ed Farrell, the Transition Ministry Officer for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.
Ed has been working for the church for over twenty-five years as an Associate Dean of one of our seminaries, as the Academic Dean and Chaplain of an Episcopal boarding school, on diocesan staffs in two dioceses, and on a variety of church bodies at the local, regional, and national levels.
Ed is married to the Rev. Barbara Thrall, who is the rector of St. Paul's Church in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Mr. Farrell will invite everyone at St. Francis to attend a listening event immediately following each service. Babysitting will be provided following the 10:00 a.m. service.
The purpose of Mr. Farrell's visit and of the listening events is to provide a forum for discussing transitioning to a new rector. This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to ask questions and express ideas regarding our transition. We urge you to attend so you can ask questions, provide input, and develop a better understanding of the transition process.
SUPPLY PRIESTS
As most of you know, Rev. Karen Safstrom, our associate rector, is a half-time associate and also has a half-time position as a pharmacist. Karen will be celebrating and preaching when she is available, but we all need to be cognizant that she has other responsibilities. So during the transition process, we will also be hearing from supply priests - clergy we have invited to celebrate and preach at St. Francis. As it is likely that on some weekends you will not recognize the clergy, we ask you to keep in mind a couple of things. First, that person is not our new rector and is not "trying out" for rector but rather is helping us by filling in as our clergy. Second, please welcome our supply clergy as you would a guest or new parishioner - and show each who we are. We have posted a schedule of the supply priests that will be serving St. Francis in June and July on the bulletin board in the hallway between the Narthex and Fellowship Hall.
INTERIM RECTOR
Over the past several weeks, we have been actively seeking an interim rector. An interim rector is the clergy that will serve during a transition until a new rector is called. Similar to supply clergy, an interim is not "auditioning" to be a rector at St. Francis, but will, along with Karen Safstrom, be the St. Francis principal clergy, until St. Francis calls a new permanent rector. We have already had meaningful conversations with three persons about being an interim at St. Francis, but for various reasons, none will be able to serve as our interim rector. We continue to work with the Diocese to help us in our interim search as an interim rector is chosen in conjunction with the Bishop's office. We will keep you updated regarding our interim rector search.
OUR TRANSITION
We encourage you to read and think about what Karen Safstrom has laid out for us in her Message from the Associate Rector in this edition of the Little Portion. Also please consider a similar reflection written by Sandra Clark Colb:
Understanding the difference between change and transition is important. Change is the event itself - it occurs at a specific point in time - an "outward and visible sign." Transition is a psychological process; the internal response people have to the change. It is "inward and spiritual" and occurs in three stages: ending (letting go of the old), in-between time (wilderness), and a new beginning. It starts when the congregation learns their rector is leaving and continues until it seems as though the new rector has been there all along.
St. Francis is now in the in-between time - the wilderness. Navigating the "wilderness" is an important step, one we must be intentional about. In other words, the challenges of navigating our transition are far greater than racing out of the wilderness as soon as possible.
The Profile Committee is settling on its first meeting date at this writing and will shortly begin the process of building a profile that is a fitting one for St. Francis.
We invite you to contact us with your questions and thoughts as we begin navigating the transition.
Bev Giarusso, Junior Warden
bgiarusso@verizon.net
Craig Stanovich, Senior Warden
cstanovich@austinstanovich.com
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Thank you...
Friends in Christ,
Where to begin? What a gift Pentecost weekend was to us! We are so grateful to everyone who provided hospitality on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. We are grateful to everyone who shared their gifts in worship: singers and bell ringers and Lord's Prayer pray-ers.
To the Church School children: thank you so much for the beautiful prayer beads and each prayer that went into making this thoughtful gift.
To the Rite 13 and J2A kids: thanks for the video and confirmation binder. (Wa wa wa wa wa wa...Bruce Springsteen!)
To all of you: thank you for the generous check and the beautiful flowers. For the emails, cards, slide show, notecards, breads and bottles of wine (how Eucharistic!) poems and thoughtful remembrances, icons, pictures, gift cards and so many other generous acts of kindness: thank you.
All of these in a flurry of activity over about forty-eight hours: all outward and visible signs of something inward and eternal, something that has taken hold within each of us over fifteen years and will leave a mark forever. Thank you for opening your lives and hearts to us over these many years. You have changed us all for good and we have been richly blessed.
Wishing you the very best as life continues to unfold.
Peace and good,
Rich, Hathy, Graham, and James
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High School Graduations
Congratulations to our High School Graduates:
Kevin Boyan will attend Umass, Amherst
Hannah Evangelidis will attend Fordham University
Anna Lindfors will attend Umass, Lowell
Claire McIntyre will attend Wheaton College
Nathan Melzar will attend Ohio State University
Marcus Papandrea will attend Umass, Amherst
Corie Welch will attend Clark University
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Mission to Maizal Update
Tom and Dianne Wilson will be returning for a week in June. They will be at the 10:00 a.m. service on the 9th and the 5:00 p.m. on the 15th, and are looking forward to seeing all their St Francis friends!
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Wilson's New Home
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Wednesday Worship in the Memorial Garden
in July & August
Join us on Wednesday evenings in July and August for a midweek summer worship opportunity at St. Francis. We will gather at 7:00 P.M. in the Memorial Garden (weather permitting) for either evening prayer or compline - leader's choice! The service will be led on a rotating basis by Julie Mankowsky, Karen Safstrom, Laura Caswell, and Robin Carlo and will be followed by a time for fellowship and s'mores! While these services will not include the Eucharist because they will be mostly lay led, they will offer an opportunity for prayer in our beautiful Memorial Garden, fellowship and community-building, and did we mention the s'mores!?! In the event of rain we will meet in the Nave of the church. If you have any questions about these gatherings please feel free to approach any of the worship leaders. Grab your lawn chair (if you have one) and we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday evenings for worship in the St. Francis Memorial Garden!
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From the Bishop.....
Dear Rich,
May God's grace and peace be with you. Thank you for the generous check in the amount of $347.00 from the loose plate offering when I visited St. Francis on Sunday, April 28, 2013.
Please know the donations from my visitations will be used as seed money for 'Episcopal Charities' serving our Diocese.
It was my pleasure to be with the people at St. Francis. My prayers are with all of you as we enter this next chapter in our Diocese!
Gratefully yours,
Douglas J. Fisher
Bishop
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Church School
Sunday, June 2nd
Year-end banner party!
This is a special time to recognize our fantastic volunteer teachers
and to wrap up our year in a fun way. The children will be making a new banner to display in Fellowship Hall. We will sing, dance, and eat watermelon to celebrate another wonderful year of learning and growing together!
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El Salvador ~ Next Transformational Trip
November 11 - 18, 2013
There will be brief informational meetings after the 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. services on June 8 & 9 for the next trip to El Salvador. Cristosal has reorganized the trips to be more like field courses with lectures followed by visits to communities. The focus of the trip in November will be Social Justice. Since Cristosal can now handle groups of up to 20 people, we will be opening the trip to people from other parishes as well as members of St. Francis. If you would like more information but can't attend one of the informational sessions please contact Dick Welch at (508)829-0562 or MaryAnn DiPinto at (978) 928-5874.
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Interfaith Hospitality Network
St. Francis will be partnering with Immanuel Lutheran Church the week of June 9-16th to support Interfaith Hospitality.
The Interfaith Hospitality Network is an organization that unites the religious community in an effort to serve and nurture homeless families regardless of income and family structure. Twenty-six congregations, many with assistance from additional congregations, provide meals, shelter and hospitality. Families receive case management, assistance with housing and employment search, and access to support services and advocacy at the IHN day center. IHN now has a 3 family home at 91 June St. in Worcester
We are asking for donations of food gift cards or monetary donations for the families to purchase groceries for the week. Gift Cards or cash can be dropped in the offering plate, with IHN noted on the envelope.
We also need hosts from 5:45 p.m. until 6:30 a.m., during the time the staff is not onsite. This can be done in two shifts, 5:45 p.m. the hosts will join the families for dinner and visit until 7:30 p.m. The next shift would arrive at 7:30 p.m. and spend the night until 6:30 a.m. when the staff returns.
If you are interested in participating in the ministry, please sign up in the Narthex or contact Kathy Diehl, khdiehl@charter.net
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EfM Open House
June 15 and 16
Immediately following the services
Every baptized person is called to ministry. The Education for Ministry (EfM) program provides people from all walks of life with the education "to be" Christians and to carry out their ministry. EfM is designed to support adults as they seek to live out their faith at home, at work and in the world.
The course covers the basics of theological education in the Old and New Testaments, church history, liturgy, and theology. Our St. Francis class, now entering its 10th year, meets weekly on Thursday evenings from September to May. Students sign up one year at a time for this four-year program, and it is not necessary to commit to all four years. The program was developed by the School of Theology at the University of the South.
The Open House will provide the opportunity to speak with current and past EfM students and mentors, take a look at the materials and ask any questions you may have about EfM. If you'd like to attend, or would like more information about the program, contact Robin Carlo at rcarlo5@mac.com or 508-829-0363 or check out the EfM website at http://www.sewanee.edu/EFM/
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Military PackagesIn June, we will be sending packages to our military men and women serving overseas. Needed items are listed below. Copies of this list will be available on the Mission Table. These packages will be filled with items that can fit easily into a pack, and that can withstand extreme heat.
There will be a footlocker in the Narthex over Father's Day weekend for collection of items to fill these packages. Drop off contributions after services on June 15th or 16th.
Granola/protein bars (solid ones - no filling or frosting)
Dried fruit & Dried tuna/meat in vacuum packed containers
Life Savers - bulk bags of individually wrapped Life Savers
Canned nuts
Chewing Gum
Dry soup
Baby Wipe refill packages
Lip Balm with sunscreen
Sandwich size zip lock bags
Small rolls of duct tape
Old Guideposts magazines
Note cards/envelopes
Items need to be in the original packaging, including any safety seals. Food items need to be checked for expiration dates, if available.
We focus on the military personnel found in our Prayer List. We would be happy to include others. If you know someone serving overseas who might enjoy a package from the St. Francis family, please contact Ruth Webb at ruthpwebb@aol.com, or contact Karen Heath in the Church Office with the name/address information.
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Monthly Lectionary
If you enjoy reading the scripture readings ahead of time they can be found by clicking here. You will find the Propers that we use for each weekend, as well as the Lesser Feasts and Fasts that happen through the week.
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Prayers of the People/Prayer Chain
If you would like to receive the individual prayer requests that are included in the Prayers of the People that are read aloud during worship, please send an email to Karen Heath in the church office at stfran@verizon.net to be added to the prayer chain. If you do not have email, please call her at 508-829-3344. The full prayers that are read aloud are mailed and emailed each Thursday morning to those on the prayer chain.
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Seniors Birthdays ~ June
3 - Rich Farrell
4 - Joe Ribeiro
5 - Dave Lajoie
7 - Karen Mahoney
9 - Frances Daley
13 - Bill Lasher
19 - Kay Geoffroy
29 - Paul Harges
30 - Peter Glanville
30 - Mary Jane Wilson
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ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
70 Highland St., Holden, MA 01520
Worship: Wednesday - 7:00 p.m., Saturday - 5:00 p.m., Sunday - 8:00 &10:00 a.m.
Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday
Office Phone: 508-829-3344 Fax : 508-829-6211
Email:
Associate Rector: karen.safstrom@gmail.com
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