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St. Francis Times

February 4, 2007
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Presiding Minister    Pr. Paul Brenner
Preacher                  Robin Ressler
Assisting Minister     Barbara Kling
Healing Minister       Fr. Evan Ardley
Sacristan                  Paul Johnson
Crucifer                   Stephen Lawson
Lector                     Jack Kling
Ushers                    Leona Lee & Chuck Hancock
Coffee Hour Host    Brian Border & James Infusino
Counters                 Paul Knutson & Grant Burger
Altar Flowers          are given to the glory of God from Marsha White

First Reading:      Isaiah 6:1-13
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Holy Gospel:        Luke 5:1-11
Psalmody:            Psalm 138

WE REMEMBER IN PRAYER:

• Robert and John Goldstein, as they celebrate the life of their mother, Vera Goldstein who passed recently;
• Bill Hunter;
• Ollie Payne;
• Parker Nolen, at home
• Ollie Payne;
• John Duffy;
• Rick Anderson;
• Mary, cousin of Michael Petrelis
• Dorothy Smith, of the childcare center, recovery from major surgery;
• David Belcher, son of Fr. George Belcher, hospitalized in Calgary;
• Chris Wogaman and family, on the news that the grandmother of Chris, Doris has inoperable cancer;
• Pastor Bradley Schmeling and St. John's; Lutheran Church, Atlanta, Georgia, who awaits the verdict of the trial by the Southeastern Synod, ELCA.

Those serving in the world:

• The Rev. Megan Rohrer, Missionary to the Homeless of SF through The Welcome Ministry;
• The Rev. Pieter Oberholzer and his partner, Fanie Zondagh, and the staff at Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) in South Africa, serving LGBT people and allies;
• Catherine Coon and the Children of Hope Project in Uganda.

Mrs. Vera Sinclair Goldstein, mother to Pastors Robert and John Goldstein, was called to her maker on January 27, after suffering a massive stroke the previous Saturday. John and Robert Goldstein are currently in Australia. They celebrated their mother’s life on February 2nd.

Flowers were sent for the funeral of Vera Goldstein on behalf of the congregation.

An email was received from Pastor Robert who said, "my thanks to the congregation for the beautiful arrangement of white roses and native plants that arrived for the funeral. The St. Francis flowers were placed next to my mother's coffin and it meant a lot to me seeing them there as we said our final goodbyes. Weather here is very dry and getting very warm. 96F today. We expect temperatures in the 100's on Sunday and Monday with very low humidity.

Pastor Robert returns February 7th.

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING NEXT SUNDAY

The Annual Meeting for 2007 will be held on Sunday, February 11, following worship service in the Parish Hall. The Council will host an expanded coffee hour preceding the opening of the meeting. A $4 donation is suggested and requested.

All voting members of St. Francis are expected to attend this once-per-year meeting to conduct the business of the Congregation that only a quorum of its voting members are authorized to do which includes adoption of the annual budget and election of Congregation Council members and other congregational committees.

The voting members of the congregation will be also asked to renew the term call to the Reverend Pieter Oberholzer as Missionary at Large for Inclusive and Affirming Ministries in South Africa for another year.

The annual report will be available this Sunday, February 4th, and voting members are encouraged to pick up their copy to review it during the week.

NEW WAY TO CONTRIBUTE

St. Francis can now accept credit card payments through the Simply Giving program for your contributions to Mission & Ministry, Capital Campaign, Senior Center, St. Vincent DePaul, Music Program, and Youth & Family.

We will be able to process MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. You can have these contributions deducted automatically. There is a processing fee associated with using a credit card.

If you have any questions, or would like to sign up for Simply Giving, please contact Dale Leininger, Treasurer at 415-621-2635, extension 14, or by email at TreasurerSFLC@sbcglobal.net.

GODSPEED TO ROB AND ROY

Today we send Rob Zampetti and Roy Matlofsky with our well-wishes as they move to London this week. There will be a special ceremony during today’s worship service.

EATING OFF THE FLOOR

On Tuesday, Diane and Jim DeLange, and Clifton King, stripped the floor of the Parish Hall, and put on a new finish of wax. This work took all day to complete. The floor looks so good, one could eat off of it, but let’s use the tables anyway.

Thanks to Diane, Jim and Clifton for their hard work!

We also have installed new toilets in the front bathrooms with power-assisted flushing. No more clogs!

CALL COMMITTEE

The call committee for the Pastor of Parish Programs expects to make a recommendation to the Council at it’s regular February meeting regarding a candidate to be recommended to the congregation for call. Shortly thereafter we will schedule a time to introduce the candidate to the congregation, including a presentation by the committee, and a question and answer session with the candidate. A congregational meeting should soon follow to vote on the call.

PR. MEGAN ROHRER'S COMMISSIONING SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25

St. Francis will formally commission Pr. Megan Rohrer as Missionary to the Homeless of San Francisco through the Welcome Ministry on Sunday, February 25th during the 11 AM worship service. Come to this celebration.

SUNDAY CLASS

We are reading Diana Bass' Christianity For the Rest of Us, a real alternative to the religious right and a model with which to test St. Francis' vision.

NEW MEMBERS

We will be receiving new members on Sunday, February 11th and then at Easter. If you would like to consider joining in the mission and vision of St. Francis please see Pr. Robert.

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE WEEKLY CALENDAR

Lectionary For Next Week Epiphany 6C