the spirit of st. francis
TRANSCRIPT
The Spirit of St. Francis
2016
WEAR ORANGE ON JUNE 2nd!
Why?
June 2nd is National Gun Violence Awareness Day - a day that began in January of 2013, when Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago. She was 15 years old. Her friends chose to remember and honor her on what would
have been her 16th birthday, June 2nd. They chose the color ORANGE as the color that recognizes the sanctity of life, the color that hunters wear to ensure their safety.
What and Where?
Local gun violence prevention groups are bringing the community together to
WEAR ORANGE ON JUNE 2nd
El Presidio Park
160 W. Alameda Street 7:00 to 8:30PM
In This Issue
Wear Orange on June 2nd!
A Word from Our Pastor
Library News
Endowment Fund News
Sunday Night at the Movies
4625 E. River Rd. Tucson, AZ 85718
(520)299-9063 www.stfrancisumc.org
SUNDAY CELEBRATIONS: 7:45, 9:00 & 10:30 AM
ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES: 11:30 AM IN THE CENTER
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Bulletin & Newsletter:
(520)299-9063, Ext. 101
for a time of reflection, remembrance and commitment to work together to save lives.
Please SAVE THE DATE and plan to join us!!
WEAR ORANGE ON SUNDAY, JUNE 5th!
Why?
To show our commitment as a community of faith to work toward making our city, our state, our country safe from
gun deaths and injuries.
And, it was so much fun last year, we should make it a tradition at St Francis!
A Word from Our Pastor
Going Home Again
By the time many of you read this, I may already be in Peru! And I hate to be mean about this, but I may not be missing you very much, for every time I go to the Refuge of Hope in Pucallpa, Peru, I return to a space that is like a second home for me. The people and the work they do there glitter in my heart because they speak the same language as I do. And I don't mean Spanish.
Contribution/Pledge Questions:
(520)299-9063. Ext.102
Membership Information, Prayer Requests:
(520)299-9063, Ext. 105
Room Reservations: (520)299-9063, Ext. 101
International School for
Peace (520)299-8908
FOR PASTORAL HELP
Reverend Jim Wiltbank (520)299-9063, Ext. 106
The Desert Southwest
Conference of the UMC
Resident Bishop Bishop Robert Hoshibata
(602)266-6956
District Superintendent Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank
(520)325-2775
South District Lay Leader Marjie Hrabe
(520)579-1602
Victor and Ana Izquierdo speak a language of love, one they have been speaking at the Refuge for twenty-eight years, an effort that began literally on a dream and a prayer. Without having even the money to live on, let alone to start a school for disabled children in the rainforests of Peru, Victor and Ana held on to, and gave a voice to, a strong conviction that in this remote enclave of our earth,
they could change the world. And they have done just that! That love sends them into even more remote areas of Peru searching for children who have been rejected and pushed to the far edges of society because of the handicaps of their bodies or minds. It speaks to them a message of caring, acceptance and completeness from a community that chooses to help them see that their spirits are whole and wonderfully free. When Gloria became sick and was confined to a hospital bed for most of a year, the Refuge chose to open their hearts and their doors to let her four young children stay without cost. Today her oldest son, Diego, is a police officer and Gloria runs a small store on the Refuge campus. The dream that Victor and Ana started so many years ago has grown to include both an elementary school serving over four hundred students and a new high school with fifty students. Most exciting of all to me is the boarding school that operates in the afternoon, bringing in disabled young people from throughout the country, letting them stay there free for months at a time, and teaching them a trade that they can bring back to their
1 Bruce Simon 1 Bill Monk 2 Don Gest 2 Tanya Glover 2 Jim Wiltbank 3 Haley Ageton 3 Loti Gest 3 Marjorie Martin 5 Patricia George 7 Douglas Robson 7 Mary Sue Schusky 8 Katarina Leon 8 Kristen Cameron 9 Earl Mason 12 Jan Parker 12 M. Beth Haas 12 Peg Flaherty 12 Nancy Garcia 13 Ian Holehan 15 Rebecca Hogle 16 Jim Bowen 16 George Villec 17 Linda Schmidt 17 Shannon Morrison 18 Patty Fallwell-Bowers 19 Warren Strubbe 19 Hans Huth 21 Craig Wunderlich 22 Marianne Schloss 26 Steven Dvorak 26 Rosie Meyer 27 John Wilson 27 Jim Jensen 28 Jane Merrifield 28 Cory Young 30 Charlie Cooper
villages in order to become an important part of their home communities.
And that dream has included me in its embrace . . . and so I return home to a city that contains a piece of my heart and a family that has loved unconditionally. Please pray for the twelve travelers who go with me on June 3rd to the Refuge of Hope!
List of those going to the Refuge
Suzy Smith
Becky Peterson
Nancy Wilkinson
Ginny Jones Laura Greenfield
Daniel Viehland
Beth Haas
Doug Robson
Andy Robson
John Everhart Diane Everhart
Joannie Wiltbank
Jim Wiltbank
Welcome to St. Francis in the Foothills!
We're glad you're here!
The St. Francis Welcome Team has a table every
Sunday near the refreshments, and are
available to answer questions or help in any way.
Please remember:
*Wear your name tags.
*Greet visitors and those you don't know. In fact,
why not just greet everyone?!
*Sign the Ritual of Participation books
every Sunday.
All are welcome here!
You did it, St Francis! 260 intentional acts of kindness!
The range of kind acts reflected everything that St Francis is known for. Some examples include giving food to the homeless man who sells newspapers on the median strip, stocking a neighborhood borrowing library with books for kids, making a prayer shawl for a friend who'd had surgery, letting mom sleep in, delivering a space heater to a friend in need, doing a sibling's chores. The list goes on and on! We were part of a multi-city challenge that generated nearly 140,000 acts of kindness, creating a virtual chain 11 miles long!! Thank you to all you St. Franciscans doin' what comes naturally! Special thanks to Pastor Jim for his enthusiastic kickoff of this challenge and Sue Gemoets and Cynthia Langston-Kirk for helping our children have fun while doing good deeds. Meg Pradelt
Join us for our Summer 2016
Adult Education series -
First Light: Jesus and the
Kingdom of God
Sundays, June 5th - August 28th
11:30 am in the Center
This twelve-week DVD study, filmed on location throughout Galilee and Jerusalem, will not provide you with easy
answers, but will challenge you to think in new ways
about your faith.
June 5 - Session 1: The Matrix of Jesus
June 12 - Session 2:
The Advent of the Messiah
June 19 - Session 3: God's Great Clean-up
June 26 - Session 4:
Collaborative Eschaton in a Share-Community
The Library for Peace volunteers L-R: Martha Pankratz, Becky Wilson,
Norm Weber, Robbie Dick, Ginny Jones, Melissa Mitchell.
New Arrivals:
*Rain: A Natural and Cultural History
by Cynthia Barnett
*When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
*Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy
by John Shelby Spong
*Foxcatcher (DVD)
*Blackfish (DVD)
*The Kid Stays in the Picture (DVD)
*Roses In December (DVD)
*They Killed Sister Dorothy (DVD)
Elder Circle . . . The Wisdom Journey.
A safe, respectful place to harvest your life
Friday, June 10th, 10:00 - 11:30 am
in the Center
For more information, contact: Del Jones 298-6542
[email protected] Elder Circles is a project of the
Center for Community Dialogue, Our Family Services.
Newcomers are always
welcome!
This month in the Ravenscroft Gallery -
Cards, Prints and
Original Watercolors by Tracy Foltz
Zinnia Sky Studio makes art from the heart into greeting
cards. We add a little humor and a lot of whimsy to the
desert so you can brighten your corner of the world.
Originally from Illinois, Tracy Foltz is now a full-time
watercolor artist in Tucson offering her work at local art
shows, retail stores, online and the Green Valley Farmers
Market. Cards are $3.50 each or
5+ for $3.00 each. Notecard sets of 6 are $12.00.
*It Happened Here (DVD)
*Schindler's List (DVD)
Thinking of staying for the Adult Education programs? Why not relax in the library or on our patio with a book or magazine? With all that we have to choose from, we guarantee the time will fly!
Check us out - literally!
The Library for Peace is open on Sunday mornings
from 10:15 to 11:30 am. We are open during the week, but hours vary.
Please call 299-9063 for availability.
Endowment Fund News
The St. Francis Endowment Fund Committee is pleased to announce that four grants of $500 each were approved for the following individuals:
Sunday Night at the Movies Sunday, June 12th,
5:30 pm in the Center
Notes on a Scandal (2006, 92 minutes, R)
Schoolteacher Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) is a frumpy,
friendless spinster who lives with her cat, is stand-offish with her colleagues, and not one for
students to trifle with. When new, overwhelmed art teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchette) arrives, Barbara cultivates a
Megan Holehan - to assist with college tuition and expenses. Nancy Masland - to publish her book and promote awareness of Mental Health issues. Mari Sorri - to improve facilities with the purchase of blinds needed for Rm. 43. Joshua Poe - to improve facilities by partially paying to replace the carpet in Ravenscroft. The Endowment Fund Committee supports the needs of St. Francis by distributing earnings from our account with the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation. The principle (the original gifts and bequests) remains in the Fund and is invested to produce a return that is available annually. Applications for financial support within the congregation or outreach in the community will be accepted twice a year. The next deadline for applications will be Oct. 15, 2016. Applications will be made available in September. The St. Francis Endowment Fund was established in 2008 for the purpose of providing members and friends with the opportunity to make charitable gifts to St. Francis in the Foothills. Gifts are always accepted to our Endowment Fund. You may give an honorary gift or a memorial gift at any point in time. Or, you may choose to remember our Endowment Fund in your will or trust. Endowment Committee Members: Karen Bliss, Jim Wiltbank, Chuck Adams, George Daranyi, David Daniell, Ed Morton, Joe White.
friendship and insinuates herself into Sheba's chaotic life. When she discovers that Sheba
is having an affair with a student, she seizes her chance. She does not turn Sheba in but rather says she wants to "help" her. However, as time goes by,
Sheba begins to realize that Barbara's "help" is more
calculating than she realized.
We will begin with a potluck dinner at 5:30 pm. Please bring a dish to share with six people.
This is a free event but donations are always
appreciated.
No Fruit Left Behind!
If you have more fruit than
you can use, we will harvest and distribute your fruit to families in need in the the
community. Contact us for:
*Donating local fruit and/or veggies.
* Harvesting of your produce.
* Inclusion in our database for future harvesting.
*Volunteer opportunities.
Call 440-0100 or email
St. Francis Creative Arts and
Arizona Youth Chamber Ensemble present
A Three-Week Summer Theater Camp!
Laughter Yoga
A Complete Workout for the Mind and Body!
Tuesdays, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Room 30/31
We combine laughter exercises with some deep
breathing and the relaxation of yoga.
This brings more oxygen to the brain and body, making
us feel healthier, happier and energetic.
Reduces Pain Relieves stress
Eases depression & anxiety
Overall sense of well-being.
All ages and abilities are
welcome! Free of charge, but donations
are appreciated!
For more information contact Jana at
[email protected] or Loti at (520)490-5500 or
PLEASE HELP RESTOCK THE SHELVES AT TIHAN:
LAUNDRY DETERGENT & BLEACH NEEDED!!! Laundry detergent & bleach are two of the highest
priority items that Care Partners living with HIV hope to receive in monthly Care Packages, but they are some of
the most costly and least donated items. Right now the TIHAN shelves are empty of both of these products. Please help us restock by donating one, a few,
a case or a gift card to a store that sells these products.
Donations can be dropped off at the St. Francis Church Office during business hours -
(Monday - Thursday, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Friday, 8:30 am - noon)
Thank you!
Weekly Breakfasts
Sophia's Circle Women's Group Wednesdays, 6:45 - 8:00 am Church Center
Chrysalis
Men's Round Table Thursdays,
6:30 - 7:30 am Church Center
Newcomers are
always welcome!
Volunteers Needed:
We are looking for volunteer drivers this summer to help
deliver Mobile Meals or provide a ride to someone in
need.
The number of volunteer drivers
drops drastically as people leave town for the summer, yet the number of people in need
does not change. Can you help?
This is a great opportunity for
Shop with Scrip has got everything you need to make summer a whole lot easier!
Going on vacation? We've got handy gift cards for:
*Car rentals (Avis, Budget etc.) *Hotels (Comfort Inn & Suites, Econo Lodge, Four
Points, Fairmont Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Hotels, and more!)
*Gas cards (ARCO, Exxon, Mobil, Shell etc.) *Cruises (Carnival, Celebrity, Princess) *Restaurants (too many to print here!)
and of course STARBUCKS!
Staying home? *Movie theaters (AMC, Cinemark, Cineplex Odeon,
Century, Regal) *Restaurants (Still too many to name!)
*Ice cream & sweet treats (Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, The Cheesecake Factory)
For more information,
contact Lorelei Kaczmarski at [email protected]
or stop by the Scrip table on Sunday at 10:00 am.
parents with a child age 10 or older. Be a driving angel for
someone in need of a ride to a doctor's appointment or the
grocery store.
We also need volunteers to work at the Eastside ICS Job
Resource Center. Our next volunteer orientation is Monday, June 6th from 9:30 am to noon at the ICS Main Office
on Ina Road. Contact Toni Carlson at [email protected]
or call 297-6049, Ext. 217.
New evening hours continue at the ICS Food Bank on
Tuesdays from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. The new Tuesday evening
schedule adds to the existing daytime operating hours of 9:00
am - 1:00 pm Monday - Saturday. Our new hours are
being well-received. Please help spread the word!
Awareness Through Movement
(Feldenkrais) Class
Monday evenings, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Room 30/31 Facilitated by David Taylor
Find out how easy it is to feel lighter and freer, yet more
grounded and connected doing this form of gentle, almost meditative non-exercise.
Dear Reader, I hope you've enjoyed this month’s newsletter. I'm always interested in any submissions that have to do with the people, ministries and activities of St. Francis. If you have something you'd like to share, please send it to [email protected].
For the July 2016 newsletter, the final date for submissions is Friday, June 17th.
Anything submitted after that date may not be included.
The Spirit of St. Francis staff: Editor/Writer: Melissa Mitchell
Photographer: James F. Palka
Wear comfortable clothing and bring a mat to lie and move on.
Contact David at 529-1913 or
Professional, reliable
Pet Sitting
*Reasonable Rates
*Nurturing, loving and dependable.
*Has completed Pet First Aid program at the Humane
Society. *Current volunteer at the
Humane Society. *Take the worry out of leaving your pets when you go away.
Call Catherine at 909-3425.
Paid advertisement.
Did you know that St. Francis is completely powered
by the sun?
