St. Francis Times St. Francis Lutheran Church San Francisco

You have probably heard and celebrated the historic decisions at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Assembly in Minneapolis, MN. If you haven’t, then let me celebrate with you the fact that the ELCA Assembly accepted a new Social Statement on Sexuality. This document, while not perfect, opens the door widely to affirming sexual minority rights. It becomes a theological basis for church policy on these issues for the future.

An expression of this effect was the four ministry recommendations that were also voted on at the Assembly. These resolutions called for patience and understanding over disagreement in the church; for congregations to recognize sexual minority marriage and life; for allowing gay and lesbian clergy who have partners to serve , and to revise the church’s standards for ministry to reflect these changes. All four passed.

What does this mean? That the ELCA has formally welcomed LGBT couples into its life, formally approved the ordination and ministry of gay and lesbian clergy who have partners.

What does this mean for St. Francis? That the ELCA has caught up to what St. Francis stood up for in 1990. St. Francis, in faithful response to the needs of ministry of the Castro community, called a lesbian clergy couple, the Revs. Phyllis Zillhart and Ruth Frost. For this the ELCA put St. Francis on trial and eventually removed us from the roster of congregations in 1995.

Where do we go from here? From now to November the ELCA leaders will be busy getting all the details in order to move forward with these historic policy changes. We will be looking at those details carefully. Furthermore, we will be holding three sets of small group discussions for you, members of St. Francis, to study Scripture and to include conversation on whether rejoining the ELCA would be in keeping with St. Francis’ values and vision. A council member will be present at those meetings. The meetings will begin the week of September 14 and the hosts will soon be announced. The scripture study and conversation will also be part of Sunday morning’s Adult Forum during those three weeks.

When the historic votes were taken there was a lot of rejoicing at the Goodsoil Center at the Assembly. Tears we shed. And many of us noticed that we were in a sort of daze, shell-shocked so to speak, at this new reality. Some of us have been working for this for 40 years. All of us have been in the struggle for justice such that it was hard to believe that our dreams had become reality. But it was very evident that the ELCA leadership had turned the corner on this issue and were doing all they can to make it happen. Remember, ELCA Assemblies have a majority of lay people voting who come from all parts of the country and the Caribbean. About 1/3 of voting members, clergy and laity, were adamantly opposed to this change. The ELCA will pay heavily for this in terms of congregations leaving and stopping benevolence support.

But the ELCA leadership, most Bishops, staff and lay leaders indicated that the change had to come. Emily Eastwood, the leader of our struggle, met with Presiding Bishop Hansen and the ELCA Secretary after the voting. . They asked how Emily felt about what had transpired, then asked about St. Francis and First United Lutheran Churches. The purpose of those small group discussions is for St. Francis to be able to respond to such concern for us.

The stewardship committee has designed a three-week small group discussion group series, “Greeting the Fall with Thought and Purpose” where we can begin to dialogue about the outcome of the ELCA's new policy of ordaining LGBT clergy in committed relationships and what that may mean for St. Francis. While no final decisions will be made during the discussions, the groups will give us the opportunity to discern our faith community’s identity and purpose, to grow in our spirituality and to learn about one another. The groups will meet at 6 p.m., and hors d’oeuvres or a light meal will be provided. If you would like to participate in one the groups, please contact the host directly:

Keith Skelly and Bob James will host a group at their home in Cole Valley on the following Tuesdays: September 15, 22, and 29.

Paul Johnson will lead a group at the church in the St. Clare Room (the small room upstairs near the church office) on the following Wednesdays: September 16, 23, and 30.

Gene Clark will host a group at his home in Glen Park on these Thursdays: September 17, 24, and October 1.

The St. Francis and Friends team are hosting coffee hour today. Donations will be accepted. There will also be a raffle to help with the fund raising. The race will be held on Sunday, September 27. To register online go to www.komensf.org and join our team---St. Francis and Friends. See Barbara Kling for info details.

THANKS FROM THE KLING’S

Barbara and Jack Kling thank everyone who attended their art sale on August 16th. They will be donating over $150.00 to St Francis for the Thanksgiving Community Dinner.

MODERN DAY FEEDING OF 5,000 NEEDS YOUR HELP

Did you know that the Welcome Ministry changed it's name to WELCOME - a communal response to poverty, after we helped more than 155 chronically homeless guests move indoors? Now we are no longer a homeless ministry. We continue to work with the same individuals to continue to help them to improve their quality of life. But, the demand for food has increased this year and we cannot afford to feed everyone. Help us feed an additional 5,000 this year. In additional to financial support we also need: toiletries, men's clothing, socks, gardening tools and produce seeds. If you want to clean out your house you can donate items to Community Thrift (623 Valencia St) in the name of the Welcome Ministry and we'll receive cash when your stuff sells. We also receive cash for recycling your used printer/toner cartridges, mp3 players and cell phones (bring to our office). Donations can be mailed or dropped off at WELCOME: 1751 Sacramento St, San Francisco CA 94109 866-999-3596 megan@welcomeministry.org.

National Equality March Washington DC October 11, 2009

From the Facebook Page: "We must do everything in our power to enlist our straight allies, family members, co-workers to march side by side with us on October 11 for the National Equality March on Washington." If you are Straight, if you are LGBT, COME OUT to March on Washington this October, to demand equal protection under the law for EVERYONE!

See their website: www.nationalequalitymarch.com which includes a blog and the Facebook page for more information.

LAST AIDS-WALK NOTICE OF ‘09

I just heard from AWSF. Our final total raised is $37,730 (up $255 from our last report). Up is good. Even better news is that we remain a gold team, winding up at #9 (last year our total was $43,202 and we ranked #17). That means relative to other teams, our decline was less than most.

Again my thanks to all who participated—as walkers, fundraisers, or sponsors. My guess is that just about everyone at St. Francis is included in those categories.

USHER TEAMS Click here

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!

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

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

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.

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

View the full Worship Participant Schedule here.

You can view the worship particpant schedule on-line for the upcoming months. See who has signed up for future Sundays, and check your calendar from home.

Sunday's Readings

WE REMEMBER IN PRAYER:

Those serving in the world:

HISTORIC POLICY CHANGES

THANKS FROM THE KLING’S

MODERN DAY FEEDING OF 5,000 NEEDS YOUR HELP

National Equality March Washington DC October 11, 2009

LAST AIDS-WALK NOTICE OF ‘09

USHER TEAMS Click here

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

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:

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

View the full Worship Participant Schedule here.

You can view the worship particpant schedule on-line for the upcoming months. See who has signed up for future Sundays, and check your calendar from home.

Sunday's Readings

WE REMEMBER IN PRAYER:

Those serving in the world:

HISTORIC POLICY CHANGES

THANKS FROM THE KLING’S

MODERN DAY FEEDING OF 5,000 NEEDS YOUR HELP

National Equality March Washington DC October 11, 2009

LAST AIDS-WALK NOTICE OF ‘09

USHER TEAMS Click here

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

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:

A Place for Gathering: Memory, Presence and Promise
152 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-1111