Weekly News from St. Francis Lutheran Church for January 4, 2009

EPIPHANY SUNDAY

First Reading:      Isaiah 60:1-9 Second Reading  Ephesians 1:1-12 Holy Gospel:        Matthew 2:1-12 Psalmody:           Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
	WE REMEMBER IN PRAYER:
Damaris Copperud, hospitalized; ex-wife of Richard Copoperud the father of Ted Hyrons Ron Merk Bruce Jervis Evan Ardley Bill Hunter Bob Douglas Sophie Barron, mother of James Barron Lisa's daughter Amber, with addiction problems, and son Aaron serving in Iraq Humberto Valle, friend of Dale Leininger, diagnosed with lymphoma Mary, cousin of Michael Petrelis our shut-ins Robert Gardiner, friend of Pastor Robert Those who use our facilities, especially our Seniors, and those attending the 12-step programs that meet here. We pray for their continued health, happiness and success. 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; Catharine Coon and the Hope Alive Project in Uganda. The congregation of Holy Cross Lutheran, Newmarket, Canada, and their Pastors Hutchings and Ketola, recently suspended by their synod of the Evangelical Lutheran of Canada for installing Pastor Lionel Ketola who is openly gay

DEACONS ENTER TRAINING SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2009

The deaconate program was included as part of the vision plan for St. Francis dated September 12, 2004. The deacons will be trained and commissioned to assist with pastoral care, programs, worship, and education.

During the preparation period, job descriptions for three different types of deacons were developed and include a liturgical deacon, visitation deacon and community outreach deacon. In a special ritual on January 11 Grant Burger and Bruce Jervis will be received into training for the liturgical deacon and Marsha White will be received into training for the visitation deacon. After the training process they will commissioned as deacons.

If you have an interest in joining this exciting new program or have other questions, please contact Pr. Dawn.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER OF ST. FRANCIS?

New member classes will take part on Saturdays January 24, February 7, and February 22 in the Saint Clare’s room from 10:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. The new members will be received on Transfiguration Sunday January 25th. For questions contact Pastor Robert.

A PERSONAL NOTE TO START THE NEW YEAR

As the year 2008 comes to a close, I want to express my personal thanks to all of you. You welcomed me in as your pastor and have given me support in the time I have been at St. Francis. As I continue to develop my ministry here, I look forward to a deepening relationship with you and uncovering the direction God would have us take as a congregation. I wish all of you many blessings in the upcoming year.

Pastor Dawn

SENIORS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS WITH SANTA

The seniors had their annual Christmas/Holiday celebration that included a visit with Santa. Gifts were exchanged and a good time was had by all.

Santa and his elf visit the seniors

The kitchen help enjoys Santa too

2009 Offering Envelopes are now available. You can pick your envelopes up in the Parish Hall following service.

If you don’t want to fuss with an envelope or be bothered trying to remember if you brought your offering, Simply Giving is available, an electronic funds transfer service free of charge, that will automatically deduct any amount you designate from your checking or savings account. The amount deducted from your account is automatically deposited to the account of St. Francis, who receives a report when the transfer occurs.

You can also use your credit card to make contributions. Under the Simply Giving program, electronic funds transfers from your Visa, MasterCard or American Express account can be made directly to St. Francis.

If you are interested, contact Janet Thuesen, Treasurer, or Dave Walda in the office for more information.

Contact the church office if you need forms or go to the homepage to access them.

Your pledge helps us plan the 2009 budget.

THE ALBS ARE NOW ORGANIZED

Assisting Ministers, and Crucifers

Dividers for the albs have been set up in the Sacristy closet, and the albs segregated according to size. Please take a few minutes to find which albs fit you and put your name on the sign-up sheet according to the number on the alb’s tag. This will make things easier on Sunday morning! Thanks to Susan Tucceri for bringing in the dividers and Pastor Dawn for setting up the closet and organizing the albs.

Dear Friends at St. Francis Lutheran Church,

We will soon face a change…on January 1, 2009, the address of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries will move from our long-time home at St. Francis Lutheran Church to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square in Chicago.

The new office is located at St. Luke’s where Pastor Erik Christensen was extraordinarily ordained and called as pastor in October 2006. Thanks to an E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and several special donors (including St. Francis members Jim Kowalski and Bruce Jervis) ELM was able to hire a part-time operations coordinator for this office. Rachael Johnson manages the daily operations of the office and assists with communications and development work. After January 1, Rachael will handle all mail and deposits for ELM at the new office.

Our new address is 2649 N. Francisco Ave., Chicago, IL 60647…we are glad there is still a bit of “St. Francis” in there!

Let your light shine brightly,

The Covenant Circle & Staff of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries

Note to St. Francis members: Checks for ELM should be mailed directly to their new address in Chicago. Please do not leave them at St. Francis or in the offering plate.

ANOTHER ELM ORDINATION

Steve Keiser (pictured) has been called by Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Philadelphia where he has worked as a pastoral associate. Steve is a graduate of Wheaton College and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Prior to entering seminary, he worked in branch management for fifteen years at Bell Savings Bank and Meridian Bank (now Wachovia). He has taught at Cabrini College and the Lutheran Seminary.

The ordination is scheduled for 4 P.M. Sunday January 25, 2009 at Holy Communion Lutheran.

USHER TEAMS
1st Sunday	Brian Border William Brogan Chris Buchanan Steve Casavant Lawrence Mortensen Timur Muhrlin
2nd Sunday	Dave Walda Leona Lee Susan Tucceri Rose Woodvine
3rd Sunday	Janet Thuesen Sarah Wells
4th Sunday	Max Kirkeberg Gabriel Proo Eric Shifler Carl Tebell
5th Sunday	Scott Beckerley Gene Clark

The Sign-up list for January through March 2009 is on the Parish Hall bulletin board. Please take a moment to sign up and help at worship service. Thanks.

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CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

The church office is open from 8:30 am to 5 PM, It is highly recommended that appointments be made when visiting Dave Walda, the Senior Parish Administrator to insure that he will be available to assist you. Thanks!

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EXTRAORDINARY LUTHERAN MINISTRIES GATHERING
Saturday, February 14, 2009 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco
9 A.M. - 5 P.M.

All Are Welcome!

A day of Fellowship, worship, Music, Workshops and Community Meal

This gathering will bring together members of the ELM roster, volunteers, donors, supporters, congregations and new friends. Our focus for the day will be learning more about the diverse ministry being done by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

And we’re thrilled to announce special musical guests, Coyote Grace! (www.coyotegrace.com)

No charge for this event; donations accepted.

To stay up to date on the latest developments email: Rachael at operations@elm.org.

January 6 Nancy Record

Lectionary for next Sunday

• First Reading: Genesis 1:1-15

• Second Reading: Acts 19:1-7

• Gospel: Mark 1:4-11

• Psalmody: Psalm 29

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Safeway parking permits are available in the back of the church. The permits allow parking for Sunday services ONLY.

St. Francis Lutheran Church

A Place for Gathering: Memory, Presence and Promise

152 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-1111

(415) 621-2635, FAX (415) 621-8819

Contact us:

Directions to St. Francis: Ext 21
Worship Service schedule: Ext 20
Pr. Robert Goldstein: Ext 11
Pr. Dawn Roginksi Ext 12
Dr. David Schofield, Music Director: Ext 23
Senior Center Coordinator: Ext 12
Dave Walda, Senior Parish Administrator: Ext 10
Clifton King, Sexton
Susan Tucceri, Congregation President
Treasurer: Janet Thuesen

Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday

General Email: St.FrancisSF - at - sbcglobal.net

The Rev. Robert Goldstein: RevRGoldstein-at-sbcglobal.net
The Rev. Dawn Roginski RevDRoginski-at-sbcglobal.net
Dr. David Schofield StFrancischoir-at-sbcglobal.net
David Walda, Senior Parish Administrator: St.FrancisSF-at-sbcglobal.net

Deadline for Times material is Wednesday at 2 p.m. Every effort will be made to accommodate all submissions according to space availability.
 

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Go back to the St. Francis home page

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Last updated Jan 6 2009 by DW