Weekly News from St. Francis Lutheran Church for February 14, 2010

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS

Sunday's Readings

• Exodus 34:29-35
• 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
• Luke 9:28-36
• Psalm 99

WE REMEMBER IN PRAYER: To improve our ministry to those members of the congregation remembered in prayer, we are indicating those who would be open to a visit (v) phone call (p) and/or card (c). Contact the church office for further information.

• Chris Marckmann, brother of Brandee Marckmann
• Steve Casavant
• Brandy, sister of William Brogan
• Karen Olesen (c) and the husband and son of Cathy May (Karen’s cousin) who passed away in Seattle
• Richard Copperud (c)
• Glenda Lisk (v,p,c)
• Susan Tucceri
• Bill Hunter (p,v)
• Bob Douglas (v,c)
• Les, father of Richard Peterson
• The father of Rob Zampetti
• Sylvia Beckerley, stepmother of Scott Beckerley,
• Sophie Barron, mother of James Barron
• Mary, cousin of Michael Petrelis
• Grace, mother of Dan Jones
• our shut-ins
• Those who use our facilities, especially our Seniors, and those attending the 12-step programs here, and the Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center. 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.
  

  ---

  
  
  
  

  PR PHYLLIS PREACHING

  This Sunday, February 14, Prs. Phyllis Zillhart and Ruth Frost will be present with us. Phyllis has kindly agreed to preach and Ruth to read the Gospel. Ruth and Phyllis are in San Francisco to celebrate, along with Pr. Jeff Johnson, the 20th Anniversary of their ordinations. Welcome back and congratulations on the 20th Anniversary of your ordinations!

  
  **********************************************************
  
  

  WELCOME, BISHOP HOLMERUD

  We welcome to worship this morning Bishop Mark and Debbi Holmerud. Bishop Holmerud leads the Sierra Pacific Synod, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in which St. Francis resides. May you both enjoy your visit with us.

  
  
  
  
  

  ---

  MEXICO CITY LEADS

  Elisabeth Malkin, New York Times, February 6, 2010

  
  
  

  A new Mexico City law goes into effect March 4 that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, propelling the city to the forefront of the global gay rights movement. But Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera said, “Today the family is under attack in its essence by the equivalence of homosexual unions with marriage between a man and a woman.” Roman Catholic groups asked the conservative federal government to intervene.

  President Felipe Calderón said the Constitution defined marriage as between a man and a woman, although legal experts disagree. His attorney general filed a challenge before the Supreme Court of Mexico.

  Under its left-wing mayor and city assembly, Mexico City has stretched the nation’s limits in acknowledging just how much the conceptions and realities of family have changed here. The city legalized abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, untangled its cumbersome divorce laws and recognized civil unions.

  
  

  ST. FRANCIS WILL DOUBLE YOUR HAITI RELIEF GIFT

  The Congregation Council has agreed to match our contributions to the Haiti Relief campaign up to $1,000. The matching funds will come from our 2010 Benevolence. By making your checks out to St. Francis and putting Haiti Relief on the Memo line, your gift doubles. It will be sent to the ELCA Disaster Response who will put 100% of our donations into relief. We also can accept credit cards. Also, if you are a Thrivent member, Thrivent will add $1 to every $2 given by Thrivent members, up to a total Thrivent Financial contribution of $1 million. Just add “Thrivent” to memo line along with “Haiti Relief.”

  Lutheran World Federation offices and staff on Haiti survived the earthquake, making it possible to begin work immediately. The ELCA has long been in Haiti through the Lutheran Church in Haiti. Staff there will focus their efforts on issues of water safety and sanitation, assisting with medical triage, and providing shelter for the many who are now homeless.

  ---

  ELCA HAITI FUND NOW $3.6M

  CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Gifts by congregations and members sent to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for response to the earthquake in Haiti total are not at $3.6 million , according to ELCA Treasurer Christina Jackson-Skelton.

  The ELCA, through its International Development and Disaster Response (IDDR), increased its total commitment to earthquake response efforts to $925,000, wrote Megan Bradfield, IDDR associate director, ELCA Global Mission, in a Jan. 29 memorandum.

  The ELCA has committed $600,000 to three partner organizations working on the ground in Haiti: The Lutheran World Federation/Department for World Service (LWF/DWS), based in Geneva; Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore; and Church World Service, New York.  It also provided $25,000 to Lutheran Services Florida for direct assistance to Haitians coming into the United States -- those who are U.S. citizens or Haitian nationals seeking medical services.

  ---

  We received a Certificate of Appreciation from Lutheran World Relief (LWR) for our past contributions to national and international causes. LWR is is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and individuals and parish groups international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.

  
  

  ---

  
  

  MISSOURI CONGREGATION UNCENSURED

  LC/NA and Lutheran True Confessions

  
  

  Bishop Gerald Mansholt	Pastor Donna Simon

  
  

  Bishop Gerald Mansholt, ELCA Central States Synod, lifted the censure against Abiding Peace Lutheran Church of Kansas City, Missouri, which had been imposed in March 2001 when the congregation called and ordained Pastor Donna Simon. Pastor Donna is rostered with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) and was ordained extraordinarily (meaning outside the normal rubrics of the ELCA) under a provision in the Lutheran Confessions allowing such ordinations when bishops can't or won't.

  Pastor Simon has served that congregation since her ordination and call…Her ministry drew praise from the bishop. In his letter to the congregation, he said of Pastor Donna, a lesbian not yet on the roster of the ELCA, and her service as pastor for nine years: "...though ordained outside the established processes of the Church, Pastor Simon has been a gracious witness among us in this synod as well as in the larger Church. She has spoken the truth in love, and shared her witness and struggle as a baptized child of God, even as she has prayed for a day of wider understanding and acceptance in the Church."

  Bishop Mansholt, in notifying the synod of the lifting of the censure, repeated the above praise and commented on the faithfulness of the congregation at Abiding Peace: "As the Church studied, prayed and conversed with one another over the matters of gay and lesbian people in the Church, Abiding Peace Church might have walked away. But they remained in the Church and stayed in dialog with brothers and sisters who were trying to make sense of these issues in the light of the Gospel. They kept on praying for a better day, a time of wider awareness and acceptance. . . . I know the congregation also longs for the day when their pastor might be welcomed onto the roster of the ELCA."

  
  

  APPROVED FOR ORDINATION

  Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) Roster News

  Julie Boleyn and Matt James have been approved for ordination. Julie and Matthew's approval is contingent on completion of the Masters of Divinity degree later this spring. Both attend Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminaries.

  Julie Boleyn Julie is a senior at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. She interned at United in Faith Lutheran Church in Chicago last year (a congregation Pastor Robert helped create). Julie and her partner recently celebrated the first birthday of their daughter, Madelyn.

  Matthew James Matt is a senior at Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia. Matthew interned at a congregation in New Jersey in 2009. Matthew's fiancé is the Music Director at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Worcester, MA.

  TRANSFER TO ELM ROSTER

  We welcome Vince Lavieri to the ELM Roster. Pastor Vince is a transfer candidate from the United Church of Christ. Pastor Vince previously served in the Lutheran Church in America, a predecessor of the ELCA, and transferred to the UCC when he was banned from serving because of his sexual orientation.

  The ELM Roster was created for candidates for ordained ministry who refused to sign the ELCA demand that sexual minority persons had to remain celibate, while heterosexual candidates in practice did not. The ELCA is in process of removing that demand as a result of the Churchwide Assembly vote last August directing the ELCA to do so.

  ---

  POPE ATTACKS BRITAIN’S GAY EQUALITY LAWS

  The Age, Melbourne, Australia, February 3, 2010

  Pope Benedict has attacked Britain's reform of human rights and equality legislation, saying religious employers should be allowed to discriminate against homosexuals.

  In an unprecedented move, the Pope commented directly on the laws of a Protestant state, claiming the proposed new human rights legislation threatens religious freedoms and violates ''natural law''.

  In a speech made during a visit to Rome by England and Wales' 35 Catholic bishops, Pope Benedict urged Catholics in Britain to fight against the legislation with ''missionary zeal''.

  ''Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society,'' he told the bishops. ''Yet … the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.

  ''In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.''

  ---

  IMPORTANT CENSUS INFORMATION

  Phil Soucy, LC/NA

  Prior to the 2010 census, the Bureau had gathered some data on the prevalence of same-gender couples in society but had been prevented by the Bush Administration from reporting it. This past summer, the Obama Administration instructed the Bureau the restriction was no longer in effect.

  The form you will get in the mail asks how many people live in the residence. It asks that one person be designated Person 1 and then that the relationship of others in the household to Person 1 be reported, along with demographic data like gender. If Person 2 is indicated as Husband/wife, the Bureau will count them as a married couple. If Person 2 is indicated as Unmarried Partner, the Bureau will count them as living together in a relationship not as committed as married. If the genders of the reported couple are the same, that relationship will be reported as same-gender.

  Gender, race/ethnicity, married/partnered, all are how the persons think of themselves, regardless of what legal documents may say or whether the relationship is recognized by any legal or religious authority.

  The information you report to the Census Bureau is by law kept confidential and may not be released in any way that could point directly to you or your household. Therefore, you are encouraged to report information about your household as accurately as you are comfortable doing. (The same-sex couple statistic would have a powerful educative effect. —editor.)

  
  
  

  USHER TEAMS Click here
  
  
  
  

  • Feb 18 Tom Metz
  • Feb 19 Greg Egertson
  
  
  

  Lectionary for next Sunday

  • Deuteronomy 26:1-11
  • Romans 10:8b-13
  • Luke 4:1-13
  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
  
  

  ---

  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
  Senior Center Coordinator: Ext 12
  Dave Walda, Senior Parish Administrator: Ext 10
  Clifton King, Sexton
  Brandee Marckmann, 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.
   

  ---

  Go back to the St. Francis home page

  ---

  

  Counter provided by digits.com
  Last updated 3/11/ 2010 by DW