Thursday Announcements for September 3, 2020

FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Crummy News! This week our local COVID-19 cases have risen above our benchmark of 4/day, and so we are once again SUSPENDING PUBLIC WORSHIP until they fall back below that number. This is not a huge surprise, with schools back in session, and I don’t think it will be all that long before we are re-open, but we will continue to track and follow our plan. Once again – NO PUBLIC WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY OR ANY SUNDAYS IN SEPTEMBER – PLEASE CONTINUE TO JOIN US ON OUR LIVESTREAM ON FACEBOOK OR YOUTUBE. YOU CAN FIND THE LINK ON OUR WEBSITE WWW.SAINTF.ORG.
2. Better News! John and Peggy Wymore will be leading a bible study on the book of Hebrews beginning Thursday, October 1st from 6:00-7:30 P.M. in the parish hall (10 or fewer, masks required). For more information contact John and Peggy at jpwymore@charter.net. 
3. Church Family News – Recently we have celebrated the life and laid to their final rest two saints of our church, Dixie Amateis on Aug 14th and Julia Gilman on Aug 28th. Yesterday granddaughter Adriane and I scheduled the funeral of another dear sister in Christ – Vonnie Rubottom. Although we are closed for large gatherings during the month of September, I anticipate our planned date for Vonnie’s church funeral of October 23rd to hold and will communicate the particulars when I have them. 
4. Remember that Mo. Karen, Fr. Bob, and I are available for all the sacraments, even during this time of COVID. Maybe I should say especially during this time. Those sacraments are Baptism (we’ve done several lately, call the office to schedule,) Holy Eucharist (obviously on Sundays, but we regularly take Communion to shut-ins,) Confirmation (the Bishop is working on a distance Confirmation if he isn’t able to make it to every parish this year,) Marriage (working with a couple this afternoon,) Reconciliation (offered by individual appointment,) Unction (anointing the sick in the hospital is difficult these days, but doable.) Bonus question – “Which sacrament is missing from this list and why?” 

 
I miss you all terribly and it has been so great to see some of you in-person, even masked! It has started to feel more and more like “church” lately. We've had a setback for sure, but we are making it, and we will be back in the sanctuary and praying and singing and (gasp!) maybe even shaking hands someday!

GINA’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
Did you know???? The Thursday Announcements are posted every week on our website, too? Just go to www.saintf.org , then click on “PARISH NEWS”.
So, if you misplace your email or lose the mailed copy, you can still access the information.
 
Happy Birthday!!                                 Happy Anniversary!!
Elsi Nielsen        September 6                   Clark & Amy Wisniewski   September 4
                                                                  John & Peggy Wymore     September 5

Prayer Requests: The prayer request sheet is still just outside the office in the church and is updated weekly. Anyone may still email your prayer requests to me at stfrancis@allophone.com. If you do not have email, just call the church and leave a message. Since, I am back in the office, the requests must be received on by Wednesday at the latest, for them to be included in the Sunday Bulletin for that week. If the request is received after Wednesday, they will be added to the next Sunday Bulletin. We will follow the same process and keep the names on for two weeks.
Once the prayer request is received, it is added to the prayer list and then I email the names to have them added to the Prayer Chain and to the Daughters of the King.

Daily Devotion for Thursday September 3, 2020
Rules for Relationships
The 5 Steps – Pause * Listen * Think * Pray * Go

Pause
Some pride themselves on being rule-followers. Others see rules as made to be broken.
Think of these “Rules for Relationships” like a ruler – helping us get things straight, connecting two points, allowing us to be level and aligned.
When it comes to loving one another, God knows we need every tool we can get!

Listen
The commandments, Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t desire what others have, and other commandments, are all summed up in one word: You must love your neighbor as yourself.
Romans 13:9

Think
Do you remember when you first learned the Ten Commandments? One Sunday School teacher I know calls them “The Ten Best Ways to Live.” In today’s text, Paul says that those last five commandments God gave to Moses can be summed up in how we care for our neighbor. Don’t cheat, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t try to get what’s not yours.
These laws are both literal and figurative. We may pride ourselves on not being murderers, but Jesus says that even hating your brother in your heart is the essence of killing. Even looking at someone lustfully is the essence of adultery.
Without God’s grace, these can be hard commandments to follow! But Paul says it really comes down to loving our neighbor as ourselves. You wouldn’t want someone to cheat off your test at school, so you choose to keep your eyes on your own work. You wouldn’t want someone to break the rules during a soccer game, so you play fairly too. It’s important to see that loving your neighbor as yourself only works when you actually do love yourself.
Cari Pattison

Pray
“God, help me believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is.”
Amen
Marcrina Wiederkehr

Go
Being human together can be hard.
Be gentle with yourself.
Be generous to others.

Love might require effort.
It might mean saying “no”.
It might include “I’m Sorry,”
Or “I don’t know”.

And when it comes to down to it, loving your neighbor as yourself simply means paying attention to what you feel and need and offering the same to another person.

Go in love,
and God be with you.
 
Gina’s Office Hours
Tuesday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.