The AssisterNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Minds to think Hearts to love Hands to serve

3545 CAHABA VALLEY ROAD, INDIAN SPRINGS, AL (205) 988-4371 STFRANCHURCH@BELLSOUTH.NET WWW.STFRANCISINDIANSPRINGS.ORG

We welcome you without concern for race, color, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age.

Maggie’s Meanderings

Here we are at another new beginning, one of many in the next few months! After the start of school and my new presence in the life of the parish, now we are at the “new year” of the church’s life – Advent! The church year is followed by Episcopalians, Catholics, Lutherans, and increasingly by some non-liturgical churches as well. We begin at the beginning with – not the birth of Christ – the preparation for the birth of Christ and for the second coming. These four Sundays are quiet and introspective: the color is blue, flowers are replaced by greens, the liturgy is a little more somber, and we do not sing Christmas carols until Christmas! Christmas itself is a 12 day season [contrary to popular perception that those 12 days are the last days of shopping for Christmas!] and we continue to sing carols throughout that time. The color is white as are all “Christ holidays.” Epiphany is another season, this one of “manifestations,” of

revelation that Jesus is the Son of God. Epiphany is followed by Lent, penitentially purple, as we make our own way to Jerusalem and the Cross, and then we experience the glorious reality of the Resurrection in yet another season when we live the Great Fifty Days of Easter. Following that is Pentecost [red for the gift of the Holy Spirit] and virtually all the following Sundays are green for growth as we focus on Christ’s teachings.

There is another way Advent can be seen as a new year, because as we begin again our walk with Christ, we begin with a clean slate. The sins and sorrows of the past year are erased, and we can start our life’s journey anew. What a gift, what a joy! Shalom! Maggie+

Deacon’s Corner - Judy Lee

A Busy Thanksgiving, the Season of Advent, and more…

Advent. Such a busy time of year. We are so caught up in the excitement of Christmas. Parties, shopping, gathering with friends, gathering of family, travel and presents, presents and more presents! And somewhere in the midst of all the excitement (and exhaustion too), we need to hang on tight to why we have Advent - Why your clergy wears blue (or purple) - Why greens replace flowers - Why there are special Advent blessings stated by Maggie just before the closing blessing during these four Advent Sundays. We are waiting. We are expectant. Soon we will celebrate the glorious birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God. The prophet, the teacher, the one who will lead us closer to God’s wisdom and love for us. I pray that each and every one of you takes time each day to sit quietly and pray to our heavenly father who sends us this enormous gift of his overreaching care for us. Busy times for St. Francis during November: We had the Bishop visit. We had seven people confirmed, reaffirmed, received (and one of the seven was baptized). The Men’s breakfast group, along with several others, helped brine 40 turkeys and then smoked those same 40. Several other volunteers showed up to sort all the canned and dried foods gathered by parishioners and the scouts. Twenty baskets showed up too. Twenty families arrived in the afternoon of Thanksgiving Eve to receive their smoked turkey and food to feed a family on Thanksgiving Day with plenty left over for future days. Several other volunteers joined me at Episcopal Place to celebrate those folks who live there and have birthdays during the month of November. We have a generous parishioner who bought Walmart gift cards for those with a birthday. The volunteers made wonderful food that fed 80 people. We nearly ran out of food! The Beattitudes played that day as well. The residents love our music. As I understand it, the Beattitudes are going back on Valentine’s Day! I do hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends. I pray that this season of Advent and Christmas will bring each of you joy and peace. We will soon begin a new year but before it actually ends – I would like to say thank you, thank you, thank you for all that St. Francis does to help me be the best Deacon that I can be. Thank you for your overwhelming generosity, for your sense of humor, for your willingness to always step up and make things happen. Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20,21). Shalom. Shalom Deacon Judy Lee St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church Indian Springs, AL And Chaplain Episcopal Place

Thank you, St. Francis, for allowing me to be part of the last three years as a vestry member (one year) and Senior Warden (two years). For the most part, it’s been a time of healing and growth. Being without a settled rector for the past three years has been a challenge. But even that has its silver linings. We’ve had the opportunity to have Martin Baguay and Maggie Taylor as our interim rectors. I’m not sure if you could find two more different rectors that Martin and Maggie, but each came to us bringing God’s Love and Spirit and the clergy skills that we needed at the time. I am thankful for both of them.

We are nearing the end of our discernment for our new settled rector. The Discernment committee, led by Larry Parton (now known as St. Larry) has worked many hours to choose a priest to be our new settled rector. It was disappointing when we were unable to find a settled rector in our first round of the search. But, again a silver lining….. the candidates we have spoken with in the current round of the search are all wonderful. They are loving and spirit filled and energizing and eager to lead a congregation in restoring all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. I am grateful to have been a member of this committee and thankful to the other committee members for their love and dedication to St. Francis.

Our deacon, Judy Lee, has been the glue that kept me sane and has worked tirelessly to keep St. Francis as a vibrant community. As we all know, she is an extraordinary deacon who has gone far beyond what most churches expect from their deacon. Her work does not stop with outreach, pastoral care, and serving at worship services. She continues to support our child and adult education programs, works with the SFMA, and many other areas of the church. I know I am speaking for all of us at St. Francis when we say thank you to Judy Lee.

Through this time, St. Francis has continued to be an active community of prayer, communion, study and outreach (recognize that statement? It’s part of our mission statement).

Our Christian education programs for adults and children are growing. Our youth program, while small in number, have had a direct impact in bringing God’s love to the world. Our music program at St. Francis continues to be excellent, providing music for worship and pleasure. Our outreach programs continue to serve many in the Shelby County by working with Habitat for Humanity, Oak Mountain Missions, Safe House of Shelby County, Shelby County DHR, other established service agencies in the area, and by direct assistance to families in need.

This year we decided to have only one worship service on Sunday mornings. While many of us have missed our “normal” worship time, it has been good to be together as a whole community.

When not being used for worship and other church related business, our space is used by a number of other groups. If you come to St. Francis you may find cub scouts, or a TOPS meeting, or rug hookers, or music lessons, or meditation in progress. Its wonderful to see our space used by the community.

So, as we celebrate Advent and wait in anticipation of Christmas, this year grows to a close. My heart rejoices for the wonderful people who are the community of St. Francis of Assisi.

Senior Warden - Judy Franklin

Vestry meetings are open to all who wish to observe. If you wish to address the vestry during the

meeting, please contact the Senior Warden, Judy Franklin,

beforehand so she can add you to

Vestry Meeting – November 16, 2016 Vestry members present: Judy Franklin, Irene Lanca, Eric Holmes, Betty Bond, Karen Valencia, the Rev. Maggie Taylor. Vestry members absent: Jessica Manfredi, Lara Patterson.

Maggie opened the meeting with a prayer. Judy presented a devotional reading.

Rector’s Report 1. This coming Sunday, November 20, marks the official end of this year’s pledge season. All pledge cards received by or on that date will be

blessed at the altar. 2. The Annual Parish Meeting will be held following the service on Sunday, December 18. Three vestry positions will need to be filled and a

number of names were mentioned as possible candidates. The vestry approved a motion that Maggie, Judy Lee, and Judy Franklin will contact these persons to ask if they are willing to serve. Three delegates to next year’s Diocesan Convention will also be elected.

3. The vestry needs to appoint two new members to the Finance Committee at the end of the year. Jim Lewis will remain on the committee and Dave Gifford will continue to serve as Treasurer. Several names were suggested to fill the open positions.

Junior Wardens’ Reports 1. Inside (Karen)

a. The heat in the parish hall is not working. Judy will call the repair company. b. Chipmunks have been observed coming and going into the area above the parish hall through a hole in the underside of the

eaves. c. A cleaning service has asked to be allowed to submit a bid to take over the contract currently held by White Gloves. The vestry

voted to allow the company to submit their bid. 2. Outside (Irene): The landscaping company currently working for the church was asked how much they would charge to trim the bushes and

cut all of the grass, including the banks along the highway. Their quote was $485/month. Irene will ask them for another quote which will include only the area they currently mow, plus the playground and embankments, and trimming the hedges; volunteers from the parish would continue cutting the remainder of the grass.

Financial Business (Eric) 1. Expenses for the year have been lower than the amount budgeted because we have not had to pay a full-time rector. Receipts, particularly

from plate income, are also lower than expected. 2. To date twenty pledge cards for 2017 have been received. Maggie urged vestry members to stress to the congregation that this is a pivotal

time in the life of the parish, as we prepare to call a new settled rector. 3. At the Finance Committee’s recommendation, the vestry approved a motion changing the name of Deacon Judy’s Discretionary Account

(#888-200-100) to the Deacon’s Human Need Fund. 4. The transfer of $10,000 from the “Fundraisers, not restricted” account to the operating account has been completed. 5. The Finance Committee recommends that the church replace our current financial software, ACS, with the Power Church software. One

major advantage is that the new program allows for remote access to the system, which ACS does not. The cost will be $495/year, plus a $200 conversion fee. Holly Dubois, our Financial Administrator, is already familiar with Power Church so the transition should not be difficult. The vestry approved a motion that the church begin using it in January, while keeping ACS through February to allow for transfer of data from the old system to the new.

Discernment Committee (Betty): Since the last vestry meeting the committee has had a face-to-face interview with one of the three candidates. Interviews with the other two are expected to take place in the next few weeks. The committees hopes to make a recommendation to the vestry before the end of the year.

Outreach (Judy F., reporting for Deacon Judy Lee) 1. Members of the parish have donated the twenty turkeys needed for the Thanksgiving baskets for Oak Mountain Missions, but more non-

perishable foods are still needed. 2. The Angel Tree project will get underway right after Thanksgiving. We will be collecting gifts for both children and seniors. Senior Warden’s Report (Judy) 1. Last month the vestry approved a motion that the signer for payroll checks be changed to “Current Treasurer.” Judy checked with our

auditor, Tom Damon, and was told that this would not be appropriate. The vestry approved a motion authorizing Betty Bond as the signer for this account.

2. The vestry voted to approve the minutes of the September and October vestry meetings. 3. The Taize service planned for December 4 will now be a service of music and meditation. 4. Because the Annual Parish Meeting will take place on December 18, the vestry agreed to cancel that month’s regular vestry meeting that had

been scheduled for December 21. The meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Betty Bond, Acting Clerk of the Vestry

KEEP US IN THE LOOP! Please send newsletter information and pictures to the st. Francis Newsletter editors, Ginny MacDonald, at left (vbmacd@gmail.com), and Kathy Seale, at right (ksseale@gmail.com).

Assister photographer, Janet Griffin

Ornament Party!

Confirmation and Reaffirmation