Newsletter, December 2004, Volume 11.12

FROM THE RECTOR:

Well, a new year is upon us. This time of the year always affords us the opportunity to look both back and forward. Looking forward, of course, is tricky. It involves a bit of prognostication and most of us aren’t very good at that. Looking back is much easier. So I’d like to spend a few moments reflecting on 2004.

In many ways, 2004 was our best year ever. Both numerically and financially we had a great year. New members came to us in record numbers and we have just reached the one hundred fifty mark for the first time. Many of our new members have already been confirmed in the church and there are others who are seeking membership even as I write this. Your pledges and contributions for 2004 will also set a record for our church and although I don’t have the exact figure, our income this year will be well over $150,000. Thanks for your generosity.

2004 saw the beginning of two new ministries at St. Francis, one internal and one outside of our parish. Early in the year, a group of women from the parish created St. Clare’s Guild to assist with needs of members who are sick or have some other urgent needs. Eileen Cole is coordinating this ministry and needs should be referred to her. In August, volunteers from St. Francis began working in the kitchen at Caritas of Austin, a local ministry attempting to meet the needs of poor people on a much larger scale than we could ever do on our own. My wife, Nancy, has taken charge of this outreach ministry that we intend to continue in 2005. In the coming months we will be looking for new opportunities to bring Christ to others in a very practical way.

All of this leads me to one very important conclusion. A parish is all of its members working together to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, hopefully in as many ways as possible. This takes the talent and the willingness of a great many people. We have so many who have given selflessly to bring these things about and God has blessed our efforts and I believe will continue to do so.

I want to thank everyone who has served the parish in any capacity at all this year. Many have provided extraordinary service in several different areas and others have offered their time, talent and treasure to see that God’s work will continue. I do not intend to name names. You know who you are and your contribution is deeply appreciated by God and by me.

Look for the construction work that I spoke to you about last month to begin the first full week of January. You will recall that we intend to open up the kitchen area for overflow seating. This will be done only on an as-needed basis. I’m told that the entire project can be done between Sundays so that there will be no disruption in our worship, and I hope that will be the case. When it is finished we expect to have another twenty to twenty-five seats available for worshippers on Sunday morning. The Vestry will continue to discuss a more permanent solution to our attendance situation.

May God provide you with a happy, healthy and holy 2005.


CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NEWS



December was a very busy month for the children and youth at St. Francis -- all was exciting and fun. The trip to Burnet to see Main Street, Bethlehem was a major time commitment that involved waiting in line for nearly two hours, but well worth the wait. Next year's event is planned for Sunday evening, the 11th of December, 2005, so mark your calendars! Classes were held through the fourth Sunday in Advent with each class having a short Advent Wreath service at the beginning of the class time. On the 19th, many of the kids visited the Retirement and Nursing Home to read the Christmas story with carols interspersed. James LaRoux, Wes Stults, and Ellen Stults did a super job with the readings. Thanks to Nancy Giacolone for supplying the cookies and to Sylvia Werner for playing the piano. The activities director sent a very nice card after our visit. The next Nursing Home outing is scheduled for Feb. 13 from 3:30 -4:30. Thanks to Mary St. Martin for volunteering to bake cookies for this visit.
January classes will begin on the 9th after a two week hiatus for the Christmas vacation.

Christmas Pageant
The grand finale of the December activities was the Christmas Play -- Away from the Manger. This humorous play was designed for disjointed, short practices, which is what happened. Nearly every child and youth member of our parish participated in the production and did a very good job. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Shirley Ellis for sewing nearly all of the costumes seen in the production. We are slowly building up a Christmas Pageant wardrobe. Look for a more formal presentation of the Christmas story next year.

The 2005 Ordo Kalendars will be arriving some time this month. Payment of $5.00 can be made when you receive your calendar. For questions, please see C. J. Wright

SERMON OUTREACH PROJECT

As many of you know, St. Francis has been working to develop ways to get the Word out by enriching people’s lives through Father Len’s weekly sermons.

We have made great progress and have actually created a CD of 2004 Lenten and Easter sermons. We decided to start small, with 25 copies ready for sale. The good news is that these copies have already sold out and we are now making more.

We will continue developing this project (I’m waiting for Father Len to appear on the 700 Club) and welcome any suggestions from you.
Please keep praying for a successful endeavor!

Theory into Practice

If a man accepts the fact that the Character of God is focused in Christ, if he accepts as true the Act of Reconciliation and the Demonstration with Death; and if he himself is willing to abandon self-centered living and follow the way of real living which Christ both demonstrated and taught, he is still not out of the wood. For…he is not spiritually robust enough to live life on the new level. Christ therefore promised them a new Spirit who should provide them with all the courage, moral reinforcement, love, patience, endurance and other qualities which they would need.

The follower of the new way is therefore called to do all he can to spread “the good news of the Kingdom”. The religion of Jesus Christ changes people (if they are willing to pay the price of being changed) so that they quite naturally and normally live as “sons and daughters of God,” and of course they exert an excellent influence on the community. But if real Christianity fails, it fails for the same reasons that Christ failed – and any condemnation rightly falls on the world which rejects both Him and it.

Your God is Too Small
J.B. Phillips
The Reverend Father Len Giacolone, Rector

The Reverend Father John Stults, Assistant Rector
Newsletter Archive