Stewardship Reflection by Samuel Moss

When a poor widow dropped her offering of two copper coins into the great urn on the Tem-

ple Mount, Jesus declared to the crowd (some of whom had poured tens or hundreds of coins

into the Temple coffers), “She has given more than all of you. For you, out of your abun-

dance gave only a little, while she, out of her poverty, put in all the living that she had.”

Interesting…

One Sunday morning, as a 10-year old eating breakfast and getting ready for church, I

glanced at the newspaper and was drawn to an article concerning a man in Texas who had

given a $50,000 gift to a church in that state. As you might expect, the donation was greeted

with much fanfare and publicity. The benefactor was spoken of in terms and tones generally

reserved for saints. I was impressed.

Later that same week, the monthly Reader‟s Digest arrived in the mail. It included an article

about the very same man who had given away $50,000 just a few days earlier. This time,

however, attention was drawn, not to his gift to the church, but to his net worth: $1 billion.

The number was staggering to my young imagination, so my older brother provided me with

a visual illustration. “Just imagine,” he said, “how many bank books he would need if he

kept all that money in regular banks.” (At the time, individual bank accounts were insured

by the FDIC only up to $25,000). “If he can only put $25,000 in a single bank,” my brother

continued, “it would take 40,000 banks to hold all his money.” “Forty thousand?” I ques-

tioned. “Yep. It would take a dump truck just to carry all of his bank books. And remem-

ber: we aren‟t talking about a dump truck filled with $40,000. We‟re talking about a dump

truck filled with 40,000 bank books – and each bank book represents $25,000. I was im-

pressed.

But then it dawned on me. This man‟s gift to the church was the equivalent of taking 2 of

his bank books and giving them away – while keeping 39,998 bank books for himself. I

was not impressed. And out of that revelation an idea was born: Perhaps the litmus test for

“stewardship” is not how much we give, but how much we keep for ourselves.

Jesus said, “She has put in all the living that she had.” She put her whole life into being a

good steward. How can we do that? How can we find balance in our lives – between what

we keep of ourselves and what we give of ourselves? Between what we earn and what we

(Continued on page 7)

October 2012

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Dear Franciscans,

As we feel the cooler weather coming and watch the leaves fall, we

know that change is in the air. As previously mentioned, I have some

new duties at St. Francis now that oversight of the Youth Group has

moved to Amanda. And I‟ll take this opportunity to say that Amanda is

doing an amazing job with the children and youth (and parents too) at

St. Francis. There is great energy in St. Mike‟s and the Sunday School

wing. My duties now include serving you all through the ministries of

Evangelism, Stewardship, and Adult Formation. So here‟s what is going

on in those areas:

Stewardship: It has a been a true joy working with Linda Allgood,

Ross Cos, Jane Anne Hayber, Samuel Moss, Jim Tanner, and Susan

Tysinger on the Stewardship Committee. By now you have received your invitations to join

the ministries of St. Francis through pledging. The Committee worked innovatively to remind

us all of the true nature of stewardship- responding to God‟s blessings by being a blessing to

others. We will continue the work of Stewardship throughout the year, realizing that steward-

ship is a life style and not a campaign. You‟ll continue to hear from us throughout the year

about Stewardship of all kinds- financial, environmental, and volunteering.

Evangelism: If you haven‟t yet watched Bishop Curry‟s 2012 Convention Address, I would

highly commend it to you. The work of Evangelism is two-fold: 1) working within our current

structures to market and let our community know about the Good News happening at St. Fran-

cis and 2) take the Good News of Jesus Christ into our community. Towards the first goal, I

have begun work with our Welcoming Committee, and Marketing Committee to build upon

the solid foundations we already have in place. In the coming months, we will also be adding

new ways for us to address the second goal of Evangelism. This is all of our tasks, so be sure

to invite your friends and neighbors to Church or events at St. Francis.

Adult Formation: We have kicked off another year of Adult Forums with a greater emphasis

on Bible study this year. Please be sure to check the schedule online. We have added Illumina-

tions (introductions to readings on Sundays morning) to our liturgy as another learning oppor-

tunity. Be on the lookout for materials for Advent and Lenten opportunities for discipleship.

In all the ministries and people whom I serve at St. Francis, I am continually amazed and inspired

by your sense of compassionate and faith. It is a joy walking the road of discipleship with you.

Blessings,

The Rev. Robert Black

F R O M R E V . R O B E R T B L A C K

ROBERT BLACK ASSISTANT RECTOR

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C H R I S T I A N F O R M A T I O N

Our Christian Formation programs are

off to a great start this year! Children's

Chapel, which now meets in the Church

at 9:15am, has been an excellent way to

engage our youngest parishioners in the

liturgy, including music and a Gospel

lesson. The Children's Sunday School

classes, meeting during the 10:30am

service, have been talking about how we

are called by God to live in loving com-

munity with one another. The children

are learning what constitutes God's be-

loved community, including the gospel

values of welcome, compassion, forgive-

ness, and justice.

Our Middle School class, meeting at 9:15am in St. Mike's, has been discussing biblical examples

of boldly living out our faith, and relevant ways for our Middle Schoolers to do so as well! The

Middle School Class is using new and innovative ways of communication with one another, and

providing a great atmosphere for students to be engaged and learn! Coffee Talk, meeting at

9:15am in the Coffee Talk room, is expanding on relevant topics around the statement: "Life--it's

not that simple." The High School students and Coffee Talk leaders talk together about issues

that these teenagers face everyday, facilitating open conversation about a wide range of topics.

Children's Chapel

Our Youth Group year has officially started, and I'm so excited about the upcoming year! We've

been talking about the Beatitudes, as found in the Gospel of Matthew. What does it mean to be

blessed? Who in the world are the poor in spirit? How can we share the blessings we've been

given, with those around us? The goal is to take these biblical principles, and make them relevant

to our youth and their lives. Each Sunday, the youth are given various tasks to do throughout the

rest of the week, as a means of living out their faith and understanding what Jesus was saying in

that Sermon on the Mount. For example, to better understand Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor

in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," students were told to be intentionally generous this

week, giving of their time and energy to those around them. This is a fantastic group to work with,

and I am looking forward to the rest of the year!

Blessings,

Amanda

Y O U T H G R O U P

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V E S T R Y H I G H L I G H T S

• The following parishioners were named as delegates to the diocesan convention in January:

Emily Ragsdale

Lynn Sandlin [alternate]

Lynn McNair [alternate]

• Volunteer opportunities on the outreach committee, at all-parish workdays and on the new

parish life committee were discussed. Contact any vestry member or committee chair to get

involved.

• Upcoming Memorial Garden improvements include reseeding of the grassy areas and cleaning

of the hardscape elements and interment markers.

St. Francis Day School invites you to our Third Annual

Holiday Market on Saturday, December 1st from 10:00am

until 4:00pm. FREE ADMISSION.

Unique arts & crafts, pottery, metal sculpture, wreaths, jew-

elry, gourmet food, quilts, original art, stationery, hand

crafted furniture, home décor, ornaments, tote bags, photog-

raphy, chicken pies & more!

Table rentals benefit St. Francis Day School. Tables are

sold out but come enjoy!

Cathy Sternberg

Bill Sternberg

Bruce Barnes

Martha Shafer

D A Y S C H O O L

The Pre K Class was all about dinosaurs! Every-

thing from the various types of dinosaurs, to

their habitats and digging in our sand pit for

small replicas of these enormous creatures! To-

day, we excavated our vary own fossil contain-

ers using our Paleontologist Kits that we made!

Featured here holding her Paleontologist Kit is

our pint sized paleontologist, Gianna.

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T R E A S U R E R ‟ S R E P O R T

A comparison of the first eight months of 2012 and 2011 is below:

We are eight months into the year and have a $40,000 shortfall. Based upon

the Vestry approved budget we actually expected a shortfall at this time of

$80,000. So why are we in better shape? Revenues are ahead of estimates

because parishioners have kept pledges current and we‟ve received more than

expected in non-pledge amounts. Expenses were also expected to be higher at

this time and this is largely due to timing of expenses. We do expect to incur

all the expenses as estimated and, our whole year budget assumes a shortfall of

some $30,000. We now have an additional unplanned expense of an HVAC

system that needs replacement and it will affect total expenses for the year.

The Vestry has approved a budget for the Day School‟s new 2012 – 2013 school year. The

budget is based upon 78 students and currently have 76 enrolled. Rae conducts tours weekly to

prospective parents. The staff and Advisory Board have confidence that the number of students

will increase and that the targeted number will be achieved. Successful completion of the

budget would not have been possible without the dedication of Rae, Kit, Advisory Board, Linda

Allgood and Dennis Barry; our sincere thanks to all!

In God‟s Peace.

Larry Upson

LARRY UPSON

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O U T R E A C H

In May Housing Greensboro worked on one of the projects

that Outreach funded this past year. This particular project

was a home where volunteers repaired roofs, installed

hand rails, replaced the front door, repaired a rotten floor,

installed new floors, tub and trim. Below are photos of the

project that Outreach funded.

They can always use willing hands to work. If you would like to sign-up to volunteer please

email jlimbaugh@housinggreensboro.org. For more information visit their website at

www.housinggreensboro.org.

Before and

After Photos

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spend, what we save and what we tithe? Between what we have and what we share? Here, I

think, our Franciscan disciplines provide some much-welcomed guidance:

Simplicity: In this age of million-dollar homes, Hummers and standing in line for four days

because we MUST be the first to obtain the latest incarnation of the appropriately-named I-

phone…perhaps more than ever we need to hear the words, “live simply.” Whatever else we

may say about the New Testament, it is – throughout its pages – a radical renunciation of ego

and the accumulation of stuff. Live simply – that allows us all to be good stewards. If steward-

ship is measured, not by how much we give, but by how much we keep, everyone can make a

commitment to keep less…use less…consume less…and thereby become better stewards of all

that we have been given.

Compassion is living unto others…with passion…DOING something on behalf of others.

Throughout the Gospels, it is noted that Jesus had compassion. And, in every instance, Jesus

does something for others. His compassion is not a feeling of sorrow, or pity, or angst; it is not

a wringing of hands or a worrying over social or religious convention. Our brothers and sisters

are hurting and they need our help. And we need balance in our lives to be the disciples we

are called to be. We need to live simply unto ourselves and compassionately unto others.

Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is not based on luck. Hope is grounded firmly in the belief

that the God who created us also will sustain us. It is placing our trust in One other than our-

selves. It is believing that, truly, „it is better to give than to receive.‟ And in that giving, we

reap more than we could ever sow.

(Continued from page 1)

C H A P T E R S I N O U R L I V E S

DEATHS:

Josette Bannister, sister of Sheila Lee

Martha Harris, sister of Nancy Roberts

TRANSFERS IN:

Tara, Megan and Joey Talluto

TRANSFERS OUT:

Pamela May Bensing Valentine to St. Anne's Episcopal Church - West Chester Ohio

C O N ‟ T S A M M O S S

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S T . F R A N C I S E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H A Parish of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Albert (Chip) Marble, Assisting Bishop

The Rt. Rev. William Gregg, Assistant Bishop

P A R I S H S T A F F

ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 3506 Lawndale Drive

Greensboro, NC 27408

The Rev. Michael Moulden, Rector

The Rev. Robert Black, Assistant Rector

Amanda Harmon, Director of Children's and

Youth Ministry

Liz Harvey, Youth Ministry Assistant

Rae Augustin, Day School Director

Sam Doyle, Choir Director

Pat Copley, Organist

Jane Woody, Junior Choir Director

Linda Allgood, Parish Administrator

Bonnie Thyer, Communications Coordinator

Mike Taylor, Facilities Manager

Linda Lambe, Bookkeeper

Rigoberto Bautista, Custodian

On the web at: www.stfrancisgreensboro.org

Phone 336-288-4721 Fax 336-288-4760

St. Francis Day School 336-288-4740