A Message From Your Wardens

 Listening Events

June 1st and 2nd

The Diocese's Transition Ministry Officer, Ed Farrell, preached at all three St. Francis services on Saturday, June 1^st and Sunday, June 2^nd. He also conducted listening events that immediately followed each service.

Not only was the attendance excellent at each session, the questions asked of Mr. Farrell were outstanding. We found the experience both heartening and reassuring, especially the deep caring of the members of the St. Francis faith community as reflected in both attendance and the thoughtfulness of the questions.  

If you were unable to attend the listening sessions or if you would just like to revisit our discussions, click here to read a brief summary written by Mr. Ed Farrell, summarizing our transition process, with some questions and answers that arose at the listening session.

Profile Committee

The profile committee has already had two meeting and is proceeding with its mission. See the Profile Committee Chair Cynthia McIntyre's update on the Profile Committee in this newsletter.

Interim Search

The wardens, with the help of Robin Carlo (chair of the Search Committee) and the Diocese, have had serious discussions with five interim candidates. One interim candidate has already visited St. Francis for an interview and another candidate will visit us in late June.

We will keep you up to date on the interim search. We are hopeful that St. Francis will have an interim rector starting shortly after Labor Day.

Supply Priests

Kathryn White is retired clergy and has twice helped us out and we are very thankful for her doing so.  We hope you had an opportunity to greet and speak with her. Lindsay Hills, Associate Rector of All Saints', Worcester will be with us this weekend. Our supply clergy for July is as follows (supply priests are in bold):

We invite you to contact us with your questions and thoughts as we continue navigating the transition.

Bev Giarusso, Junior Warden     

bgiarusso@verizon.net

Craig Stanovich, Senior Warden

cstanovich@austinstanovich.com

Profile Committee

The Profile Committee's mission is to write an up-to-date, accurate and honest profile of St. Francis, of who we are today.  The Profile will be used to communicate who we are to clergy who may feel called to serve as our next rector.

The Profile Committee met twice in June to begin this work.  Over the summer, we will be interviewing the many ministries and missions of St. Francis to learn more about what each group does well, what they feel they could do better, and what they might like to try that they've never done.

We are also communicating with Ed Farrell, the Transition Ministry Officer for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, who will facilitate a St. Francis listening event in the fall.  We'll provide details as soon as they're available.  We look forward to hearing from everyone as we create a St. Francis profile.

Cynthia McIntyre, Chair

Dick Delorme, Caroline Galvinhill, Jane Howell, Julie Mankowsky, Greg McGurin, Nancy Pope, Dawn Rooke

Summer Worship begins.....

We begin our summer worship schedule on the weekend of July 6/7.

Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. and Sundays at 9:00 a.m.

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 by the Labyrinth!  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!

2013  Wachusett Church

League Softball

We begin the season on Sunday, June 30th and end on Sunday, August 25th.  All games will be held at 4:00 p.m. at the Davis Hill School.

Due to the lack of complete teams last year we will have two teams this year....East and West.  St. Francis members will play on Team East.

If you are interested in playing softball this summer please sign up in the narthex.  Rules and Schedules are available there as well.   

It's Lemonade Time!

Beginning Sunday, July 7, and continuing through the months of July and August, we will be serving lemonade after the 9:00 a.m. service.  Please consider signing up to host one of the "Lemonade" hours.  It's easy (all supplies are in the kitchen, instructions posted on the refrigerator) and fun! The sign-up sheet is on the table in the narthex.  Questions? Contact Dawn Rooke at dtrooke@gmail.com or 508-829-7124.

Summer Picnic 

The Saturday Night Musicians are hosting a picnic after the 5:00 p.m. service on August 10. All are invited to bring your own sandwich, a dish to share (i.e. appetizer, salad, chips, dessert, or beverage), and a lawn chair to sit on. Do you play an instrument? Please bring it! There will be a sing-along after the meal as we gather around the fire bowl for music, stories, and s'mores (s'mores will be provided).  Please sign up on the list in the narthex to let us know how many are coming and what dish you will bring to share.  

Confirmation Class 2013/2014

Confirmation at St. Francis is open to those going into the 10th grade or older.  Letters will be going out to this  fall's 10th graders.  If you are going into the 10th grade or higher and do not receive a letter, and would like to be in this year's class, please contact Karen H. in the church office at 508-829-3344 or email stfran@verizon.net.

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.