January 2015

My Dear Franciscan Friends,

As Christmas yields to the New Year, the Season of Epiphany re-

minds us to be on the lookout for the new manifestations of God’s

presence in our lives and in the world. Epiphany begins with the

Magi who followed a star in order to find the sacred presence of

Jesus. Bearing unusual gifts on their quest and no doubt having un-

usual conversations in the desert night, their spiritual journey is a

reflection of our own.

We too are looking for and developing our spiritual lives. For those

of us who are new to St Francis and the Episcopal Church and for

those who are wanting a bit of a refresher course, I will be offering a

series of conversations on Sundays at 9:15am in the Library. In this class we will think about

our liturgical life, Sacramental and Incarnational theology, the culture of the Episcopal

church, how we relate to other denominations and faiths, and, of course, your questions.

We will convene on the following Sundays: January 11th, 18th, 25th and February 8th, 15th

and 22nd.

Personally, I always enjoy these Inquirers classes as they are both inspiring and fun. New

people get to know each other and begin to build a deeper relationship one another. Insights

are shared. Questions are asked that lead to interesting and surprising conversations.

May God bless us all with new insight and new eyes to perceive the new things that God is

doing.

Peace,

Michael

MICHAEL MOULDEN RECTOR

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The Book of Common Prayer defines the rite of Confirmation as "a

mature public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities

of Baptism." Confirmation signifies the passage into adulthood within the

Church, and we want our confirmands to be able to make adult decisions

about their faith and their involvement in their parish.

Taking this as our foundation, we are excited for this year's Confirmation

class to begin very soon, on January 11th! The class will be open to any

person in at least the 8th grade. We will be using the "Confirm not

Conform" curriculum, which emphasizes the need and right of youth to forge their own faith

identity. We will meet each Sunday afternoon from noon-1:30pm, with lunch provided. We

will not meet as regularly scheduled on Parish Hall Eucharist Sundays (first Sunday of each

month), but will instead use those Sundays as make-up days for those who have missed

sessions. The cost is $75 per student, to cover the lunch expenses.

If you would like to sign up a youth for the Confirmation class, please email me at

amanda@stfrancisgreensboro.org or call me at the church office at 336-288-4721, ext.13. This

should be a wonderful class, and I look forward to exploring our faith identity with these

students!

C H R I S T M A S P A G E A N T

2014

Practice

C O N F I R M A T I O N

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I ’ V E M A D E P L E D G E S T O T H E

C H U R C H , N O W W H A T ?

First of all, please be aware of our gratitude for your generosity, love for St. Francis and God’s

ministry here.

With the new pledges to the Capital Campaign in addition to the annual Stewardship pledges, we

want to offer suggestions for helping to keep your pledges straight.

Checks or cash are ways to give to the Church in which 100% of your money goes to the cam-

paign of your choice. If you give by check, please write separate checks for Stewardship and

Capital with the correct designation on the ‘Memo’ line. (The Capital Account is a different

St. Francis bank account.) If you give cash donations, please put it in an envelope with your

name on the outside as well as the campaign designation, either capital or stewardship.

Setting up an automatic bank check (bill pay) at the bank is an easy way to give regularly.

When setting up the bank check, please be sure to designate to which fund you are giving, even

if you only give to one. Also include your envelope number if you know it.

Online giving has also been established for your convenience. To set up an online account,

please go to the St. Francis website and click on the link labelled ‘Franciscan Connection’ on

the right hand side of the page. This is a newly established website since days of old and there-

fore old passwords and account names will not work. If you are a first timer on the system, the

software will ask for your name and email address as it is on file in the office. If something

doesn’t work please call the Church office to confirm the information we have on file.

If applicable, please establish a separate online giving record, for your regular pledge and one

for the Capital pledge, choosing the appropriate fund listed for each gift. If it’s a recurring gift,

select the appropriate beginning and ending times for which you’d like your gift to be given.

If you regularly give online, please review your entry yearly to be sure the beginning and end-

ing dates selected, as well as the amount, match your current pledge. Online giving pre-selects

an ending date of the calendar year in which it was established unless you select otherwise.

As always, thank you for your contributions to St. Francis however you give them. We are grate-

ful for your support of God’s ministry here.

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A R O U N D S T . F R A N C I S

New dinner groups will be starting up in February 2015. If you are in an existing dinner group

who would like to continue as is in the new year, please feel free to do so. However, we know

that many folks want the opportunity to get better acquainted with a variety of fellow

parishioners and would like to be in a different group for the coming year.

If you would like to be a part of a new dinner group, please email

Sonia Haslam at shaslam@encompass-inc.com or call the church

office at 288-4721 by January 12th with your contact information. The

kickoff event will be Sunday, January 25th at 5:30pm in the Parish

Hall. Even if you can’t be at the kick off, we still need your name and

contact information so we will know to make you a part of a new

dinner group. These are adult only events for singles and couples of

all ages. Stay tuned for more details!

Christmas

Potluck

Sing-A-Long

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D A Y S C H O O L

At the Day School in the Pre K Class-

room, the children practiced their

handwriting technique using their faux

snow (shaving cream) ! While the

weather outside was frightful, the

hands were so delightful, using our

faux snow as a squishy, messy medi-

um for hands-on learning!

Featured in the above photo

is Elle, delightfully playing

with her snow cream!

Faux Snow Handwriting

Featured in the above photo

is James delighted to show

us his messy hands!

Featured in the above photo is

Lylah, having a crazy, good

time with faux snow!

Featured in the first photo above from left to

right: Paxton & Donovan; on the left side: Logan and

Karina. While our other classmates worked at play.

Featured in the back part of the photo are: James,

Caleb, Teagan and Sophie.

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C H A P T E R S I N O U R L I V E S

DEATHS:

Grover Godwin, parishioner

Charles E. Fetter, Sr., father of Charlie Fetter, Jr.

Carlton Hall, father of Lori Holt and grandfather of Kesley and Kendall Williams

Charles Allen Leonard, grandfather of Kesley and Kendall Williams

Michael Yurosko, uncle of Pete Koval

TRANSFER OUT:

Mark Kaley - St. Andrew's Episcopal Church - Greensboro, NC

AFFILIATED:

David, Stacee and Kaitlyn Chaplin - St. Joseph Catholic Church, Starkville, MS

John, Tami and Caitlin Chanas

Your prayers and presence are requested at

The Celebration of New Ministry between the Reverend Robert W. Black

and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 6:30pm at 131 West Council Street Salisbury, North Carolina

The Right Reverend Michael Curry and The Right Reverend Anne Hodges-Copple, presiding

The Reverend Dr. Luis León, preacher

Reception to follow in the Parish Hall

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S T O P H U N G E R N O W

P A R I S H S T A F F

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. Michael B. Curry, Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, Bishop Suffragan

ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 3506 Lawndale Drive

Greensboro, NC 27408

ST. FRANCIS VESTRY: Jim Cox: Senior Warden, Michelle Koehler: Junior Warden, Dennis Barry: Treasurer, Jim Tanner, Kris Cooke, Robert McDowell, Susan Tysinger, Jim Cox, Patrick Marshall, Brian MacKenzie,

Grant Haviland, Cindy Patterson, Pat Russell, Geoff Wehe

The Rev. Michael Moulden, Rector

Amanda Harmon, Director of Children's and

Youth Ministry

Rae Augustin, Day School Director

Sam Doyle, Choir Director

Pat Copley, Organist

Jane Woody, Junior Choir Director

Linda Allgood, Parish Administrator

Bonnie Thyer, Communications Coordinator

Linda Lambe, Bookkeeper

Ken Cressman, Facilities Manager

Rigoberto Bautista, Custodian

On the web at: www.stfrancisgreensboro.org

Phone: 336-288-4721 Fax: 336-288-4760

St. Francis Day School: 336-288-4740