December Christmas Day Sunday, December 25th 10:00am- Christmas Eucharist with music and Blessing of Toys

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1 December 2016 Our Christmas Pageant will be on Sunday, December 18th during the 10:30am service. ALL CHILDREN are welcome to participate! While a few key roles will be assigned, all other children are invited to come at 10am, choose their role, put on their costumes, and be a part of this pageant! If you have any questions please contact Amanda at amanda@stfrancisgreensboro.org. DECK THE HALLS On December 18th we will have the traditional greening of the church for Christmas immediately following the 10:30 Service. This year we will be decking the Nave and the Day School with greenery and candles. Adults will hang the garlands and wreaths and step away from the commercialism of Christmas to focus on church and family. Please join us in making our worship space beautiful for Christmas. Christmas Eve Saturday, December 24th 6:00pm- Special Music (Nursery available) 6:30pm- First Christmas Eucharist (Nursery available) 11:00pm- Christmas Eucharist Christmas Day Sunday, December 25th 10:00am- Christmas Eucharist with music and Blessing of Toys Lessons and Carols Sunday, January 1st 8:00am- Holy Eucharist, no music 10:30am- Traditional Service of Lessons & Carols, No Eucharist

2 A R O U N D S T. F R A N C I S EPIPHANY CELEBRATION On Friday, January 6th, we will mark the Holy Day of Epiphany with a parish-wide dinner, and celebration. This event will take place at 6:00pm in our Parish Hall. The youth will provide a spaghetti dinner, and donations will be gratefully accepted to further the Youth Ministry programs FLOWER CHART The 2017 Flower Chart is posted in the hallway beside the Sacristy. Altar flowers, given to the glory of God, are provided each Sunday through your generous gifts made in memory of, in celebration or honor of the important people or events in our lives, and we are grateful for this beautiful support of St. Francis worship. Guidelines: More than one family may sign up for each Sunday. Please use your first and last name when signing up. The donation is $ Specific flower requests may be honored for an additional fee. Local and seasonal flowers will be the preferred choice. Please note that as the flowers are a gift given to the glory of God, arrangements will be broken down at the end of the service and distributed to those in need in the parish family by loving volunteers, and therefore will not be available to be taken home by the donor. The wording of the flower dedications are requested from the donor the Monday before the Sunday which you are giving flowers. Editing may occur with the wording and final arrangement decisions to keep them consistent with Church tradition. 2

3 A R O U N D S T. F R A N C I S OUTREACH HONOR NOTECARDS FOR SALE Don t forget to pick up yours! These lovely new cards are blank inside and may be used for notes, special occasions, or thank-yous. They sell for $3 apiece, or $10 for a gift set of five. All proceeds go to support Outreach projects, like Stop Hunger Now, StepUp Greensboro, and the food pantry at Greensboro Urban Ministry to name a few. They are available in the office between 9:00am - 5:00pm Monday thru Friday. END-OF-YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS Please feel free to call the church office ( ) to find out your pledge balance. All 2016 contributions are due into the office by Sunday, December 25th to make the end-of-the-year deposit. Thank you for your timely commitment to these matters. CONFIRMATION Our Confirmation program will begin January 8th, and is open to all students in at least the 8th grade! We will meet right after the 10:30 worship service each week in St. Mike's, with lunch to be provided. If you would like to sign your student up for Confirmation, please Amanda Harmon Owens at amanda@stfrancisgreensboro.org. 3

4 T HE R E A C H F R O M T H E O U T R E A C H C O M M I T T E E At our November meeting, the Outreach Committee voted to send funding in January to faith-based PEAK Adventures Journey program a landscaping endeavor to meaningfully engage needy high school students in the Glenwood neighborhood; an additional donation was given to the Episcopal Tuesday Morning Breakfast; and a gift was sent to the Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry for flood relief for the farmworkers in Eastern NC, who have lost their sweet potato crops as well as their housing and possessions in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. More funding requests are awaiting Vestry approval so we may report those in January. The Outreach Survey What was that all about? Knowing that we have many new families at St. Francis, and some veteran families who might be unfamiliar with Outreach, we wanted to assess the Parish s knowledge about what the committee does and how we can keep you better informed. Our group might be described more aptly as the St. Francis Charity Giving Committee, but the name was not up to us. We are not the Book Sale Committee. Our group is charged with distributing funds, which are raised by the Book Sale, and working with the Book Sale Committee to focus on meeting the unmet needs of our community. If you are reading this report in The Franciscan, you are on the right track! You will find this report here once a month. The Parish has responded to our survey, and though we wish we d had more participation, here are the takeaways from your responses. You can read the compilation below this narrative if you are interested in all the comments. Some of you really were not aware of what we do, while some of you are very aware and believe we are fulfilling the mission of the church. We learned that the best way to keep you informed is through updates via the service order. We will make an effort to update you monthly on what we do in the service orders, as well as usual, in the Express and in our monthly newsletters that have been running in The Franciscan for two years now. We will have hard copies of The Franciscan available in the Narthex for your review. Ask the ushers if you need a copy. Monthly financial statements are available for review at the request of any parishioners who contact us. The Outreach Committee is reserving half of last year s Book Sale proceeds for a larger project, which we are in the process of discerning. We encourage all parishioners to volunteer with the Book Sale, either on Wednesday sorting days, researching vintage titles, or during the sale at the end of April. If you would like to respond to the survey questions (which are listed below) or get involved with our committee, please contact us at: outreach@stfrancisgreensboro.org. Results of the survey: 1.Are you aware of what the Outreach committee does for the community on behalf of St. Francis? Yes_29 Somewhat 7 No_4 Comments:_somewhat; remember baby bottles; very impressive; continue to fund agencies in our community. Large project that takes half the budget is a good decision and know it will be researched carefully. I hope it is an agency that many people from SF can support with volunteer hours as well as dollars. I think that Sanctuary House is such a project. I have visited there and met the staff and clients. 4

5 T HE R E A C H F R O M T H E O U T R E A C H C O M M I T T E E 2. How are you keeping up with what Outreach does? Express_29_ Weekly service orders 19 Franciscan 17 From fellow parishioners 14 Other (explain) church friends 3. What would make you feel more informed concerning Outreach? Comments: Paying more attention (3); OR newsletter; specifically highlighted in some way; more frequent information; more info in church bulletin (3); direct contact; well informed (3); summary of meeting minutes; more effort on my part; knowing criteria used to determine support; quarterly visit from recipient on how funds are used; brief announcements in church; quarterly OR Summary (3); monthly updates (ratating Sundays) in church would be helpful; love the bulletin boards, love the garden sign post; mini reports during Sunday Services 4. Are you interested in volunteer opportunities with ministries in our community that Outreach supports? Yes 11 No 16 Comments: Don t know what they are; already involved (6); already do (4); can try to do GUM on Saturdays with notice 5. Are you interested in hearing directly from ministries and agencies that Outreach supports? Yes 16 No 14 Comments: Already do 7; but not bombarded by s; would be nice to know how the money was actually spent 6. Would you financially support a charity created in the name of St. Francis? Yes_9 No Would depend on the charity - 18 Comments: if it was truly an unmet need or one that would touch many lives 7. What do you think the Outreach committee of St. Francis could be doing differently to make more of an impact in the community? No idea; monthly moments highlighting an opportunity; more work with refugees; more active communication; too many projects consider a few with greater impact (2); already doing great job (4); have bigger budget; give 1 or 2 bigger donations; get more input from parishioners; facilitate volunteer involvement with parishioners; share more info on results; one large major project; do more in area of education (2); offer Sunrise Easter service; include others in our community garden; do more with refugees; I like what OR is doing in our community. I believe that we are making a tremendous impact. Each agency that receives support is worthy and I feel they are very appreciative of the funds we supply. Small amounts going to many agencies helps a very broad segment of our community. 8. Would you be willing to serve on a fund raising team if the Outreach committee proposed a large charitable project that would benefit our community? If yes, may we contact you? Yes 9, Possibly 6 No 19 Comments: I m fund-raised out; not now, maybe in future; need to avoid other SFEC fund raising efforts; would work on a team project, but not raising money; depends on timing The Outreach Committee wishes each of you a very Merry Christmas! 5

6 P H O T O S A R O U N D S T. F R A N C I S St. Clare s Mary Plybon along with Linda Allgood gave a presentation in November on their pilgrimage trip to the Camino in Spain. If anyone has an interest in getting a group of Franciscans together for a pilgrimage somewhere. Please contact Mary Plybon at Advent Wreath Making Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make the journey with us... And the blessing of God who made us, who loves us and who travels with us be with you now & forever... Day School Holiday Market 6

7 P H O T O S A R O U N D S T. F R A N C I S Stop Hunger Now Stop Hunger Now was incredibly successful this year! We had interfaith participation from our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, and many Cub Scouts came to help as well! We packaged 25,000 meals that were quickly shipped to an orphanage in Haiti. Ladies Christmas Gathering and Carol Singing 7

8 S T. F R A N C I S E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H A Parish of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, Bishop Suffragan & Bishop Pro Tem The Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, Assisting Bishop P A R I S H S T A F F The Rev. Milton C. Williams, Jr., Interim Rector Amanda Harmon Owens, Director of Children's and Y outh Ministry Sam Doyle, Choir Director Jane Woody, Junior Choir Director Benita McFarland, Interim Assistant Choir Director Kit Hargett, Day School Director ST. FRANCIS VESTRY: Jim Cox: Senior Warden, Michelle Koehler: Junior Warden, Dennis Barry: Treasurer, Cindy Patterson: Clerk, Patrick Marshall, Claudia Reich, Grant Haviland, Geoff Wehe, Pat Russell, Mary Dator, Bruce Lyon, Dick Maxwell, Virginia Summerell On the web at: Phone: Fax: St. Francis Day School: Linda Allgood, Parish Administrator Bonnie Thyer, Communications Coordinator Jack Steelman & Bo Edwards: Sextons Rigoberto Bautista, Custodian 8 ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 3506 Lawndale Drive Greensboro, NC 27408