St. Francis Episcopal Church

We seek to be instruments of God's peace, bearing witness to the love of God in Jesus Christ for all people.

Little Portion

Week of July 14, 2014

Prayer of Thanksgiving for St. Francis...

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it". The Holy Spirit has accomplished the work of ministry for the sake of St. Francis. We celebrate the coming of our new Rector, Rev. Patrick R. Perkins, his wife Carol, their two children, Ryan and Meagan, and their two loveable dogs. We are especially thankful for the faithful work of our Search Committee and their openness to the leading of the Spirit. God has blessed Patrick and he comes to serve our congregation and community with an open heart. May the years ahead prove to be the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams for St.Francis. Prayers Ascending as we transition into this new beginning.

Summer Worship Schedule...through the weekend of August 30/31 (Labor Day weekend)

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

S'more Wednesday Worship...During July and August we will gather by the labyrinth behind St. Clare House at 7:00 p.m. for Night Prayer (compline) from A New Zealand Prayer Book followed by s'mores and fellowship around the fire bowl. Be sure to bring your lawn chair and your appetite!

Summer Office Hours...through Labor Day.

Monday through Wednesday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursday 8:00 a.m. to Noon.

Summer Vacation...The office will be closed from August 1st through August 10th.

It's Lemonade Time!...Please consider signing up to host one of the "Lemonade" hours following the 9:00 a.m. service. 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 508-829-7124 or

dtrooke@gmail.com.

If you find yourself at church and are able to serve lemonade and no one is signed up, please feel free to do so!

Church Softball League... Every Sunday through August 24th at Davis Hill School at 5:00 p.m.

As they did last year, the teams will be East Side vs. West Side pick-up teams. No need to sign-up to play, however players should be 16 years of age or older.

Youth WorkCamp News... Please keep them in your prayers and join us on Sunday, July 20th at the 9:00 a.m. service as we bless them with safe travel and commission them to do the work they are sent to do.

We fly out on Saturday, July 26, make our way to camp on Sunday, July 27, work until Friday, August 1, and have built in time at the end to rest and decompress and enjoy California. We will fly home Sunday, August 3. We will be doing community service (to be determined).

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Lori, Andrew and Kati Churchill; Gino, Isabel and Sofia Polletta;

Sydney and Alexis McKeon; Erynn and Katie Sheehan

Kyle Deane, Ellie Wright, Lucy Evangelidis, Erin Chisholm, DJ Hutchins, Sara (Rayworth) Allegretti and Heidi Kuchenbaur

Mission Committee News...

Clothing drive for Nu Day Syria Relief. Many thanks for your generous donations of clothing. We will be accepting donations through the summer and into the fall. Please don't hesitate to bring any linens such as sheets, towels or otherwise.

Nu Day Syria is a non-profit humanitarian organization focused on providing aid to the over 9 million refugees who have lost their homes and have been displaced. It is now a fact that Syria has the largest refugee population in the world most of whom are women and children with no financial or emotional support. The great thing about Nu Day is that it gets the containers with the necessary items into the mist besieged areas. Brochures are in the narthex with more information on where the clothes can be left. In the fall we hope to focus on food items.

Hope for Housing Cards Summer is a busy time for everyone. Purchasing a Hope for Housing card is an easy way to give back to the community as the Central Mass Housing Alliance gets a percentage for each card sold. We will be selling cards in the narthex after the 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. services the weekend August 23-24. We have them for The Big Y, Shaws, Stop & Shop, CVS and now Panera. Stock up and buy a bunch. We all shop and this is a great way to give back to a wonderful cause.

From the Transition Committee...

Weed really appreciate your help!

Please join the Transition Committee in preparing the rectory grounds and gardens for the arrival of the Perkins family. There are two ways you can help: Join us for one or both of our "Spruce-up" days; Sunday, July 20 and Wednesday, August 27th at 10:00 am, or, stop by at your convenience during July and August for a "Drop-in" session to do any light weeding, pruning, or clean up that you notice needs doing. Please bring your own gardening tools. Questions? Ourgardening contact is Marge Tremblay: mbtremb@verizon.net or 508-829-2414. We ask that "Drop-in" volunteers contact Marge prior to visiting.

SAVE THE DATE!!

The annual St. Francis picnic will be held, rain or shine, on Sunday, September 14, from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. Please join us for food, fellowship, and fun while reconnecting with each other and welcoming The Perkins family. Fall weekends fill up quickly, so mark your calendars now! Suggested donations of $5.00 per person/$10.00 per family will be accepted. Please sign-up in the Narthax or by contacting Melanie Amaral at 508-981-7421 or smamaral@charter.net, or Dawn Rooke at 508-829-7124 or dtrooke@gmail.com.

Good-bye and Thank You Randy and Karin!

Please join the Transition Committee in saying "good-bye" and "thank you" to Randy and Karin for their service to St. Francis this past year. This interim time has passed quickly and successfully with many thanks going to Randy and "all of the ministers of St. Francis Church." Receptions will be held after the Saturday and Sunday services on the weekend of August 23-24, 2014.

EfM - Come Think With Us!... Interested in deepening your knowledge of Scripture and church history? Wondering how it all applies to your daily life? Trying to determine what your "ministry" is? Come and explore the Education for Ministry program at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Holden.

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. The St. Francis class, which will begin its 12th year in the fall, meets weekly on Thursday evenings from September to May. There is a possibility of establishing a 2nd group that will meet on Wednesday mornings.

If would like to learn more about the program, contact Robin Carlo at rcarlo5@mac.com or 508-341-1698 or check out the EfM website at www.sewanee.edu/EfM. You can also sign up in the narthex.

Stewardship... "The Lord loves a cheerful giver".

Well, depends on the giver and how cheerful one can be. Your stewardship team has been meeting together to pray, reflect, learn, and plan. Ten people have given and continue to give of their time and skills to support the ministry of St. Francis. The other day, a man strolled into my office and asked if he could make a pledge for half the year. He lives elsewhere but when he is here at St. Francis, he is vested and wants to participate. Of course I said, "Yes, and Thank You". Then I thought, that's it! We say "yes" to God and "thank you". That is our act of worship and an expression of our stewardship. Remember St. Francis as you enjoy your summer, here or away. And of course, "Yes, and Thank You" to you. Prayers Ascending,

Randy

Pictorial Directories... We plan to do a reprint in late September or early October, once our new rector is on board. If you didn't get your family picture in this time please consider it for the fall issue. It will greatly help our new rector to learn names and faces. If you're on vacation this summer and get a family photo you can email it to the office, stfran@verizon.net to be included.

Mustard Seed... Many thanks to all the Mustard Seed Bakers and cookie shoppers who helped to complete our dinner on a hot summer evening.

Our guests were very thankful!

Many Thanks... We are very grateful for all the shoe donations from the parishioners at St. Francis. My sincere thanks to everybody for supporting my "Save the World" project. You have all helped to make this project a huge success.

Connor Glasier

Serving July 19/20, 2014:

Altar Guild: Gloria Goewey, Persis Hamilton, Sharlene O'Connor, Sarah Ribeiro

Saturday, July 19 - 5:00 p.m.

Ushers: Bev Giarusso and Carolyn Schmidt

LEMs: Dick Delorme and Ann Tripp

Sunday, July 20 - 9:00 a.m.

Nursing Home: Bev Giarusso

Ushers: Phil Styffe and Paul McIntyre

LEMs: Nancy Gundersen and Jonathan Phelps

Lectors: Tom Miller, Erynn Sheehan, Nancy Gundersen

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