My Dear Franciscan Friends,

Recently my daughter Becca said she and a friend were talking religion

and tithing came up. She asked me for my take. Surprised and de-

lighted, I responded back to her and realized that there was an Easter-

tide message embedded in what I wrote. So here is an abridged version.

Tithing is a concept that is contained in the bigger idea of stewardship.

While tithing refers mostly to our money, stewardship is a radical no-

tion that runs counter to our nature and culture while addressing our

identity and purpose in life. Instead of our lives simply being ours, a

steward understands that everything is a gift from God to be nurtured

and shared. Think about the earth. We are invited by God to care for

creation while using its resources. So stewardship raises the question

how do we do that? With billions of people creating waste each day, how can we adjust, or make

choices and sacrifices to protect the sacred gift we have been given by God. Stewardship

Another way to look at stewardship is to put into use the spiritual gifts God has given us. If the

gift of compassion is withheld, two things happen: the individual suffers because the joy of shar-

ing the gift has been buried and others suffer because one of the sources of God's compassion

has been withheld from people who are hurting.

Putting this in a positive light stewardship is really about finding our meaning, purpose and

value in life as individuals who live in community as God's joyful friends.

Tithing then flows from the idea that we are stewards. Scripture says that God loves a joyful

giver. Both concepts are about finding joy. If our money controls us, say by having too much

debt, then we are stressed and worried. If we have a lot of resources and keep them to ourselves,

the joy of giving and helping others is buried and our joy is lost. Both concepts call us to think,

ponder and ask questions about how we live.

For me tithing is less about math and percentages, and more about trying to find a sacred bal-

ance of joyfully giving and receiving that opens us up to the mystery of life in a different way.

Eastertide and our season of celebrating the gift of the Resurrection tie it all together. The real

joy of this season lies in the invitation and challenge to live differently and more joyfully. As

God’s resurrection power flows into our lives there is a different kind of pain that is part of our

new birth: the pain of letting go of our tight grip on fear, anxiety, and other things that eat away

at our joy. Let the bells of freedom ring as our lives become increasingly joyful and godly.

Peace, Michael+

May 2012

MICHAEL MOULDEN

RECTOR

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F R O M R E V . R O B E R T B L A C K

Play ball! Those words announce the arrival of Spring. I’ve always been

a huge baseball fan. I’m not sure what, but something about the game

just captivates me. Perhaps it’s the experience of going to games and

playing catch in the backyard. Maybe the way that even the best teams

lose to the worst teams over the course of a 162 game seasons, and the

way that the best hitters fail 65% of the time. It might be that baseball is

such a simple game (hit the ball, score runs), but has enough statistics to

keep statisticians busy for a life time.

I’m reading a book called Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Every-

thing You Know About the Game Is Wrong that takes a very in-depth

look at statistics and probabilities and compares it to the “common” wis-

dom of the game. If you’ve seen the movie Moneyball, then you have an

idea about what this book covers. As I’m reading this book, I’m also

reading Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awaken-

ing, by Diana Butler Bass, along with Episcopalians all across the Diocese. In some ways, they

are similar books.

Both take a subject that is very American, and something that everyone knows something about-

baseball and Christianity. But both books claim that there is something deeper going on, numbers

are challenging our “business as usual” approach. Those who are connected to a church can rather

easily sense that something new is afoot. Religion is treated skeptically by the public, many

young people run from the Church in favor of “spirituality,” and we wonder if European church

attendance is a foreshadowing of our own. What is going on?

While I won’t try to respond in a few sentences when it takes Bass an entire book to do so, the

simple answer is that we don’t know the story anymore. This Easter season, we’ve had several

readings that talk about doubt, questioning, and Jesus’ “revealing to them what was said in the

Scriptures.” Christianity, as much as we’d like it to, doesn’t transfer by osmosis; but instead it

takes work, and hard work at that.

You can go watch a baseball game, eat a hotdog, sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and have

a good time. But you can do all those things, and also have a deeper understanding of the game,

such as why the manager made that decision, and somehow the game becomes richer. Our faith is

the same. It’s fairly easy to be “Christian” in the American-cultural sense- just takes showing up

to church a handful of times per year. But then there are things like daily prayer, reading the Bi-

ble, serving those in need. And that in doing those sorts of things is where Christianity becomes

much more than a game.

Blessings,

The Rev. Robert Black

ROBERT BLACK ASSISTANT RECTOR

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D A Y S C H O O L

The Pre-K and 4's class enjoyed a spring field trip to All-A-

Flutter Butterfly Farm in High Point. Hunter (left) and Olivia

(right) holding their precious butterflies during our visit in April.

St. Francis Day School is finishing the 2011/2012 school

year with 72 children enrolled. We will send 22 of them on to

kindergarten, such as Hunter and Olivia, pictured. Our gradua-

tion ceremony will be held in the church on May 24th fol-

lowed by end of year festivities. We wish them well and look

forward to enrolling their younger siblings in the fall.

S U M M E R A C T I V I T I E S

The Day School is now accepting registrations for our Little Franciscan Summer Camp! Eligi-

ble campers have completed a 2 year-old program. Camps for rising 3’s, 4’s, Pre-K & Kindergar-

ten and 1st grade are $110 week. Camp starts at 9:00 am and ends at 12:00 pm. This summer we

are offering Space Camp: June 25-29- Join us for fun that is out of this world, Pirates & Prin-

cesses: July 9-13 - Sail the seas with us in search of magical lands, Dino Dig: July 16-20 - Just for

the budding paleontologist, and Garden Party: July 23-27 - Get down and dirty in our community

garden. Our special guest star is Farmer Bruce! Please contact Rae for more information at

rae@stfrancisgreensboro.org.

Please join us for our Music and Art Camp on June 18th – June 22nd for a fun-filled week of mu-

sic and fellowship at the 3rd Annual St. Francis Music and Art Camp led by Jane Woody, Jamie

Dickens and Allison Mize. The camp will include age-appropriate instruction in the following ar-

eas: singing, music theory, rhythm sticks, Orff instruments and handbells. In addition, children who

participate in the camp will have the opportunity to hear music demonstrations by adult and youth

members of the parish, as well as take part in arts and crafts and playtime with other campers. The

camp is open to children age 4 (by August 31st) through rising 6th grade. The camp hours are 9am

to 12 noon, and the registration deadline is June 11th. The cost of the camp is $55.00 per child ($35

each for siblings). Please let us know if you would like to participate but are unable to afford the

cost of the camp. We will work with families to make sure all children who want to participate are

able to regardless of ability to pay. Registration forms are available in the church office and on the

website. Please email Jane Woody at jane@stfrancisgreensboro.org if you have questions or need

additional information.

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S H E P H E R D S S T A F F

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

DEATHS:

Jimmy Hathcock, brother of Ruby Weathersbee

Ervin Cook, father of Doris Bradley

Tonie Shout, cousin of Wanda Brannon

Marjorie Doolittle, Parishioner

Elizabeth Marion, sister of Billy Martin

Ernie Bonner, the father Chris Bonner

TRANSFER IN:

Helen and Bill Blyshak from The Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, Clearwater, FL

Jane Ihrke from Grace Episcopal Church, Madison, WI

TRANSFER OUT:

John, Leslie, Lorleigh and Ayden Nagy to Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Southern Pines NC

The Shepherds Staff volunteers each take a month at a time to be on call as needed by FFSF to

provide a meal for families of the parish during illness, hospital stays, birth of babies, and deaths.

We contact the family as requested by the clergy or FFSF to set up an appropriate meal (dietary

needs, # of people, etc.) and the best day and time for the delivery. Our goal is to nourish both the

body and the spirit with love, kindness and care from the St. Francis Family to our fellow parish-

ioners, and good food, too! Any member of the parish who would like to assist us with a meal from time to time can contact

me and we will be happy to include them in meal planning, as it is convenient for them. Agreeing

to help does not mean they must respond to every call we make to them, only when it fits their

schedule. We are always happy to have another helping hand. Food items do not always have to

be homemade; they can be bought from our great store choices.

Shepherds Staff

Claudia Reich, Bet Frassineti and Ann Crandall.

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T R E A S U R E R ’ S R E P O R T

A comparison of the First Quarter ending March 31, 2012 and 2011 is below:

Revenue is up due to parishioner payments in 2012 of 2011 pledges and early payments of 2012

pledges. Thank you! Expenses, while more than last year, result primarily from the removal of

“Claire Cottage” which cost $5,000.

The Day School continues to be successful financially. The year to date gain is attributable to the

March Fund Raiser that resulted in over $2,000 more than expected. This is great news. Con-

gratulations to Rae, Kit, Staff and all who have helped and continue to make the Day School a

success.

Peace.

Larry Upson

LARRY UPSON

V E S T R Y H I G H L I G H T S

The Treasurer reported that parishioners’ contributions outpace 2011.

The Day School made a gain of $3700 with excellent results of the March fundraising event.

The Property Committee plans an All-Parish Workday on May 5th and encourages all parish-

ioners, especially younger members, to lend a hand. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

The Vestry is examining the possibility of expanding staff to include a full-time youth/

children’s director and a contractual parish life event coordinator. If adopted, the changes

would allow Robert to establish a new focus on evangelism, including newcomer and mem-

bership duties.

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B O O K S A L E

55th Annual St. Francis Book Sale April 25th – April 27th, 2013!

St. Francis community

at its best! Enjoying

time together, sharing a

meal and buying books!

We love our

Volunteers!

Thank you to all

who helped with

the Book Sale this

year.

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O U T R E A C H

To My Franciscan Family,

First, a word of thanks. Many of you have enthusiastically and encour-

agingly supported me over the past two years in my pursuit of giving and

heart for missions- financially, through prayer, with wisdom and well

wishes. It has all been such an incredible blessing to me. Though I am now

in New York permanently, my heart is with you all in Greensboro at the

church where I grew up, the church that I was raised in and sent out from, and I am blessed to be a

representative of St. Francis in these endeavors. Sharing the love, hope, and truth of Jesus Christ

on this past trip to Nepal and India has been absolutely life changing- for myself undoubtedly, but

also for the students that I was able to lead as well as the thousands of lives that were touched in

our two month outreach.

As you can imagine, both countries were unequivocally beautiful in their own manners- from

the Himalayas to the Indian plains to the tea gardens and terraces that were cut so perfectly into

the side of many hills. But more than that, always more than that, were the people whom we

worked with and served. We taught English, served alongside two American midwifes providing

healthcare for pregnant women that otherwise had none whatsoever, re-built a school, and several

other ministries, witnessing to countless hundreds as we went. The healthcare was so important

and necessary and needed, the English taught by Americans was a unique opportunity for the chil-

dren to learn, the Sherpa villages where we helped harvest potatoes and tea and build a school-

they were and will continue to be most assuredly blessed by that work and those establishments in

the future. I must say without even an ounce of reservation or apprehension that the hope and tran-

scendental promise of the Gospel that we shared was the most valuable, important, and crucial

work I was engaged in and likely will ever be. Thank you for touching my life with your various

givings and for touching the lives of many others through me. How lucky I am to have a family

like you all to come home to. ~Meredith

O U T R E A C H C O M M I T T E E

We want to thank all of our parishioners who participated in the book sale. By doing so, you are

participating in Outreach for St. Francis. Our focus is to inform our parish about how these

funds are being utilized, and to welcome questions, suggestions, and offers to support these ef-

forts. Please feel free to contact any of our committee members.

The Outreach Committee members are: Dan Jones, Melinda Madtes, John Teer, Emily Moss,

Sandra Shields, Doris Bradley, Jacob Bouser, Susan Tysinger, Melissa Sandlin, Millie Ronemus,

Mike Warrick, Marilyn England, Anna Clare Allen, Betty Barry and Mary Plybon. Lynn

McNair is our Vestry liaison.

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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. Albert (Chip) Marble, Assisting Bishop

The Rt. Rev. William Gregg, Assistant Bishop

P A R I S H S T A F F

ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 3506 Lawndale Drive

Greensboro, NC 27408

The Rev. Michael Moulden, Rector

The Rev. Robert Black, Assistant Rector

Rae Augustin, Day School Director

Liz Harvey, Youth Activities

Sam Doyle, Choir Director

Pat Copley, Organist

Jane Woody, Junior Choir Director

Linda Allgood, Parish Administrator

Bonnie Thyer, Communications Coordinator

Linda Lambe, Bookkeeper

Mike Taylor, 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