Weekly News from St. Francis Lutheran Church for April 20, 2008

BEN AND CHUNG MOVING TO OZ

This Sunday, April 20th, will be the last week in church for Ben Sloan and Chung Bae for some time. They are relocating to Perth, Western Australia for a few years. Ben is working on a gas field and greenhouse gas capture project for Chevron. They are keeping their house in Orinda (rented to a proper Swedish family no less) and plan to maintain the Bay Area as their permanent home base and St. Francis as their home congregation.

With the considerable assistance of Pastor Goldstein and Chevron, Chung has been granted a work visa as Ben's "defacto partner" for the duration of their Australian stay.

This is an exceptional domestic partner recognition only possible in a handful of progressive countries in the world (NOT including the U.S.A. to date).

It has been an even more complicated expatriation for their doggy, Lulu, who has been undergoing a six-month battery of tests and inoculations and will undergo 30 grueling days of quarantine down under. Chung and Ben will keep in touch via the weekly Times and hope to make return visits as frequently as feasible. They will miss everyone at St. Francis and hope friends, finding themselves on the opposite side of the planet, will plan to drop in to sunny Perth for a visit.

BP. KRISTER STENDAHL DIES

Krister Stendahl, whose illustrious career included being Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden and Professor of Biblical Theology at Harvard University, died this past week at age 86.and brought the apostle alive as a dynamic Christian Jew who translated early Jewish Christianity into the Gentile world.

Bishop Stendahl’s book on Paul freed St. Paul from Lutheran angst pietism and brought the apostle alive as a dynamic Christian Jew who translated early Jewish Christianity into the Gentile world.

He was a leader in freeing the church from itself and first used "extra ordinem" and "extraordinary" to describe the ordinations of Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zilhart, and Jeff Johnson in 1990.

Stendahl, then the Myra and Robert Kraft and Jacob Hiatt Distinguished Professor of Christian Studies at Brandeis University,

wrote celebrating St. Francis Lutheran and First United Lutheran congregations for the courage to call openly gay and lesbian pastors.

In a letter to the three ordinands, he said "Since I cannot be with you at your ordination which--it seems--must take place 'extra ordinem,' I want to send you a greeting affirming my conviction that the steps that your congregations and you are taking stand well before God."

Bishop Stendahl preached at Immanuel Chicago in 2003 in celebration of its 150th Anniversary. Pastor Robert, who went to seminary with his son John, remembers the particular delight shining in Bishop Stendahl’s face when he read a letter of congratulations from the (first) female bishop of Stockholm to the people of Immanuel.

WINE & CHEESE PARTY FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO FREEDOM SCHOOL

Ken Hedrick & Walter Huxley would like to invite the congregation and their special someone, on Saturday, April 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, at 25 Sierra Street, #W106, on Potrero Hill, for Wine & Cheese (and other treats) to support the San Francisco Freedom School. The Freedom School was started by Kathy Emery and Sylvia Braselmann, and has received support from the St. Francis Foundation as well as from members of the church. Classes are held in the St. Francis Parish Hall.

The mission of the SF Freedom School is to help activists, educators, students and adults develop their understanding of how social movements happen. SSFS is where people network, develop strategies and skills that can help them be more effective agents of social change. SSFS meets on Saturdays in the summer and every session is free.

In addition to the summer program, the SFFS is expanding to organizations locally & nationally. The 2008 program begins Saturday, July 12th.

If you are unable to come but would like to make a donation, please make checks payable to Organize! Training Organization and mail the check to Kathy Emery 4828 19th Street SF CA 94114.

Please RSVP by April 23rd to kenhedrick@aol.com or call 415-824-8119. We look forward to having you at our home.

Directions from St. Francis: Take 16th Street towards the East Bay, right on Missouri then left on Sierra. Entrance to the complex is on the right. Sierra Street is between 20th and 22nd, Texas & Missouri Street on Potrero Hill. Parking is available on Texas.

Lutherans Concerned/North America invites people of all sexual orientations and gender identities to assemble with members of Reconciling in Christ and prospective RIC congregations at San Francisco State University July 3-6 under the theme, Hearts on Fire.

We’ll worship together, using a rich variety of traditions of the worshipping community. We’ll provide a blend of the familiar and the unique drawing on our Lutheran heritage and the wealth of liturgical practice in the area. We’ll network with one another, hear stories of joy and frustration, and make decisions together about the future direction of Lutherans Concerned/North America.

Hearts on Fire. is more than a conference. We take pride in nurturing our participants. Many see the biennial assembly as a family reunion. In 2008, we hope to expand that family feeling by offering some new and exciting aspects to the assembly. Assembly Pre-Events offer extra education and edification before the assembly begins. Vacation Bible School will be offered for children of Assembly attendees and local RIC congregations. This will allow children to have a meaningful Assembly experience along with parents. Keynote Speakers include the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire.

Information and Registration are at http://www.lcna.org/assembly/ This event is right in our backyard. We have been asked to provide many volunteers -the more the merrier. If you able to assist to any degree, please talk to the pastors. We also need to consider whether St. Francis will be a hospitality center because we are on the Muni line that goes to and from San Francisco State. Many attendees could stop at St. Francis as their beginning point for visiting the Castro community.

GET $75 OFF IF YOU REGISTER FOR HEARTS ON FIRE IN APRIL!
Forms are on the ushers desk. Or contact the office for a form.

MAY 3RD
CHOIR CONCERT

The St. Francis Choir will hold a concert on Saturday, May 3, 8pm at the Church.

Our choir’s program includes Palestrina's Missa Aeterna Christi Munera, one of the composers' most noted settings of the mass texts, and a very varied selection of motets. Admission is free. Plan to attend and invite your friends.

THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKET

SPRING FLING COMING UP

The Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center's Spring Fling will be held on the evening of May 3 at the Swedish American Hall. Jeannine Janson and her family will be honored for their incredible support and commitment to the center over the past ten years.