From the Rector
Fr. Len Giacolone
First of all, I want to wish all of you a blessed and wonderful new year filled with all good things and especially the blessings of the Lord. Last year at this time I believed that we would be in our new church by the end of the year. This year I am certain of it. It has certainly been a lesson in patience, but we are close. Please continue to pray that the last few steps in this process will go smoothly.
Secondly, I want to thank everyone who made our Christmas celebrations wonderful again this year. Becky Hunt and the Altar Guild, Paula Blaha and the musicians, Amy Crandell and the choir, our Lectors and Acolytes all contributed to yet another wonderful experience of worship for us on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
Now on to what is to come. Our annual parish meeting will take place on Sunday, January 22. As always, there will be reports from the Senior Warden and yours truly and we will need to elect two new members for the Vestry. The terms of Grady Collins, who has served on the Vestry for a number of years and as Senior Warden this past year, and Mike Ready who has been our Treasurer for many years, are expiring. Five fellow parishioners have agreed to stand for elections for these two positions. They are Dinah Arce, Missy Bernard, Jim Britt, Bryan Gentsch, and Randy Scheer.
Dinah is a Senior Auditor at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and has worked as an auditor for the past 28 years in county and state government. She is certified as a Public Accountant, Fraud Examiner, Internal Auditor and Investments and Derivatives Auditor.
Melissa Bernard holds an MA in Library and Information Science from UT Austin and is currently the Service Desk Supervisor at Perry-Castaneda Library at the university. For the past three years Missy has been the Coordinator of our Sunday School and Nursery and teaches our young children in the Sunday School.
Jim Britt has been a member of St. Francis for more than a decade and a high school teacher since 1974. For the past 26 years, Jim has taught at the Travis County Juvenile Detention Center where he has served as Lead Teacher and as Social Studies teacher. Jim will retire from there at the end of January.
Bryan Gentsch, one of our ushers at the 9:30 service, is the managing director of Association Strategies, a public affairs firm in Austin. Bryan consults with and facilitates training for U.S. based and international corporations, various Texas Councils of Government as well as U.S. National, and International agricultural Organizations.
Randy Scheer is a former Presbyterian minister and holds a M. Div. from Bob Jones Graduate School of Religion. Randy has served in a number of congregations around the country and has chaired the Committee on Ministry that resolves conflicts between ministers and churches, and has served on the board of Habitat for Humanity.
I want to thank these fellow parishioners for being willing to serve as well as all those who currently serve or have served on our Vestry. This is an extremely important ministry of the parish and the selection of new Vestry members should be given due consideration.
Although I have not yet made arrangements for the annual appreciation dinner, be assured there will be one. Details will be forthcoming.
Anglicans for Life
Steve McCown
Rory Motl, president of our St. Francis chapter of Anglicans for Life sends out a big “Thank You!” to all who contributed toward the Angel Tree gifts. Below is a picture of the presents, all nicely wrapped and ready for delivery to a family of one mom with four children. Your generosity will ensure that this family knows they are not forgotten this Christmas.
Two important pro-life events are coming up that you can participate in. One is the Roe Memorial Mass, Rally and Dallas March for Life. The Mass will be held at St. Francis Anglican Church (3838 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas) on Saturday, January 14th at 10:00AM. Following the mass, participants will take DART downtown for a 1:00PM Rally and 4-block March for Life. Our Diocese will be quite visible with a large “Diocese of Fort Worth” banner for you to walk behind.
Locally, join thousands of Texans at the Texas Rally for Life on Saturday, January 28, at the Capitol. This rally will feature pro-life speakers and leaders from across the state. Your presence will reaffirm recent pro-life gains from the sensational 84th legislative session, including passage of House Bill 2; as well as the passage and upholding of the Sonogram Bill, the strongest in the nation; the defunding of Planned Parenthood by as much as $30 million per year; the creation of the Choose Life license plate to promote infant adoption; protection of parent's rights through reforming the judicial bypass process; guaranteeing a patient's right to food and water at the end of his or her life; and also a law that requires abortion facilities to train workers to identify and assist victims of sex trafficking. You will also help promote other greatly needed pro-life bills in the Texas Legislature, including a bill to eliminate wrongful birth lawsuits in Texas. Show the media and our elected officials that Texas is PRO-LIFE!
Schedule
12:00 pm – Meet at 18th & N. Congress Ave. for Ministry Fair
1:00 pm – Gather at 18th & N. Congress Ave. for the march to the Capitol
1:30 pm – Begin march to the Capitol
2:00 pm – Rally on South Steps of Capitol
For more information visit TexasRallyforLife.org
Epiphany Feast
All are welcome to join in the festivities for our celebration of Epiphany on January 6 beginning at 7 pm.
After completing the celebration of Christmas, the Epiphany marks the revelation Jesus Christ as God's son to the world with the visit of the magi to the Christ Child.
At St. Francis, we will celebrate this day with sung Evening Prayer followed by an Epiphany Feast - or dinner with dessert.
January Readings
1/1 Holy Name of Jesus
- Exodus 34:1-8
- Psalm 8
- Romans 1:1-7
- Luke 2:15-21
1/6 The Epiphany
- Ephesians 3:1-12
- Psalm 72:1-2, 10-17
- Matthew 2:1-12
1/8 1st after Epiphany
- Isaiah 42:1-9
- Psalm 89:20-29
- Acts 10:34-38
- Matthew 3:13-17
1/15 2nd after Epiphany
- Isaiah 49:1-7
- Psalm 40:1-10
- 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
- John 1:29-41
1/22 3rd after Epiphany
- Amos 3:1-8
- Psalm 139:1-11
- 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
- Matthew 4:12-23
1/29 4th after Epiphany
- Micah 6:1-8
- Psalm 37:1-6
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
- Matthew 5:1-12
Church Calendar
Sundays
- 9:30 AM Said Holy Communion
- 9:30 AM Sunday School (except 1/1)
- 10 AM Choir Practice (except 1/1)
- 11 AM, Holy Communion On the first Sunday, this service is sung Morning Prayer with Holy Communion.
Thursdays
- 7 PM, Evening Prayer (except 1/5)
Friday, January 6, Epiphany
- 7 - 9 PM, Evening Prayer and Epiphany Feast
1st Saturday, January 7
- 9 AM, Prayer Service for our Nation
2nd Monday, January 9
3rd Sunday, January 15
- 12:30 PM, Anglicans for Life Meeting.
3rd Friday, January 20
- 12 PM, Mothers' Prayer Group
Sunday, January 22
- ~12:30 PM, Annual Parish Meeting
Sunday, January 29
- ~12:15 PM, 5th Sunday Potluck Luncheon
- 3:30 PM, Worship Service at the Retirement & Nursing Center, 6707 Burnet Lane.
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays
1 Audrey Woodgate
4 Allan Parker
5 Doug Cooper
19 Arthur Woodgate
22 Matt Donnowitz
31 Ben Ellis
Anniversaries
11 Grady and Michelle Collins
19 Bryan and Denise Gentsch
25 Brendle and Teresa Glomb
St. Francis Anglican Church of Austin
A parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
Diocese Office: 2900 Alemeda St.
Fort Worth, TX 76108
Bishop: The Rt. Rev'd Jack L. Iker, D.D
Rector: The Rev. Canon Len Giacolone
Music Director and Organist: Paula Blaha
Parish Administrator: Mark Rambin
Vestry Members: Senior Warden, Grady Collins; Junior Warden, David Norris; Treasurer, Michael Ready; Secretary, Kevin Burnette; Brendle Glomb, John Hatley, Don St.Martin, Ed Sandlin
Church Group Leaders
Acolytes: Fr. Len Giacolone
Altar Guild: Becky Hunt
Anglicans for Life: Rory Motl
Christian Education for Youth: Missy Bernard, Denise Gentsch, Doug Cooper
Christian Education for Adults: Fr. Len Giacolone
Evening Prayer: Jim Crandell
Home Group Hosts: Claire Ducker, Doug Cooper
Hospitality: Kim and David Norris
Intercessory Prayer Group: Fr. Len and Nancy Giacolone
Mothers' Prayer Group: Charlotte Ready
Newsletter & Pew Sheet: Amy Crandell
Nursery: Missy Bernard & Grace Rowse
Prayer Service for Nation: Amy & Jim Crandell
Prayer Shawl Ministry: Charlotte Ready
Readers: Mark Rambin
St. Claire's Guild: Eileen Cole
St. Polycarp's Guild: Jim Crandell
Ushers: Al Parker
Webmaster: Jim Crandell
Women's Bible Study: Becky Hunt
Women of the Church: Leanne Read
5th Sunday Nursing Home Service: Amy & Jim Crandell
This editor is not much of a tweeter.
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