From the Rector
Fr. Len Giacolone
Episcopal Visitation
For those of you who weren’t in church a few weeks ago, I announced that Bishop Iker has been gracious enough to change the date of his visitation to June 18. This, of course, is the result of the delay in our building process. Since it is his intention to consecrate the new church when he comes, it is necessary that we be in the new building for that to happen. I am deeply grateful to the bishop for his kindness in rearranging his schedule for us.
Lent
Wednesday, March 1, is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. There will be two services on that day at 12:00 noon and at 7:00 pm. During each service I will distribute ashes to each participant as a sign of your willingness to enter into the discipline of Lent as a preparation for the celebration of the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection. Everyone should enter Lent in a spirit of penance. No one is excused from the observance of Lent, at least in some way. The purpose of the Lenten season is to recognize our need for repentance and forgiveness and to draw closer to the Lord. Regardless of what you do to observe Lent, it should be directed toward that end. The Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday talks about prayer, fasting, and acts of charity. That’s a very good beginning. More scripture reading is also of great benefit.
There will be two additional opportunities for your observance of Lent. On Wednesday evenings from March 8 through Holy Week I will celebrate Holy Communion at 7:00 pm and will offer my reflections on the Collect for Purity, the prayer with which we open the Holy Communion service. Also during Lent we will have our annual Lenten food drive for the benefit of The Storehouse in Pflugerville. This is a long-standing tradition at St. Francis. You have been very generous in the past and I hope that you will be so this year. Any non-perishable food items are appropriate and donations of money are also gratefully received. The food drive will begin on the first Sunday of Lent and run through Palm Sunday.
Stained Glass Windows
For those of you who have been following the progress of the church building on the website, you will undoubtedly have noticed that there are a lot of windows in the place. They are large windows befitting the size of the building. When we left our place of worship on West 9th Street, we took the stained glass windows with us in the hope that we would be able to use them in the new facility. It appears that that will not be the case. They are simply too small to be of any use to us for the new church. I have been advised that it would be far more expensive to break them down and recast them than to build new windows. That being said we have to move forward. I have engaged the services of I.H.S. Studios of Fredericks-burg to do the stained glass for the new church. Due to the generosity of a donor we have some money to use for these windows. I have already commissioned the stained glass windows for the sanctuary. However, there are fourteen large windows in the nave of the church that will also require stained glass. These windows will cost approximately $5,000 per window. Obviously, if anyone wants to purchase one (or more) of these windows there will be the opportunity for a dedication or memorial if you so desire. Please see me if you are interested.
That leaves us with a dilemma. What to do with the old windows. I have been advised that there is really not much of a market for this kind of thing. However, if you might be interested in having one of more of them, we would be glad to sell them to you. There are fourteen small windows approximately 10 x 14 inches and two large windows, approximately 30 x 36 inches. I’m going to ask Jim Crandell if he can place photos of these windows on our website so that you can look at them. At the risk of stating the obvious, this is also intended to be a fund raiser. If someone has a better idea for them please let me know.
Just two more quick items. Sunday, March 12 is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time. Please turn your clocks forward one hour on Saturday, March 11. Also, Sunday April 9, Palm Sunday, will also be the day for the Austin 10/20 race. Our access to the church will be cut off for the early service. Therefore, there will be no 9:30 service on Palm Sunday.
40 Days for Life
Amy Crandell
40 Days for Life is a volunteer based prayer campaign that draws attention to the injustice of abortion through three simple avenues: Prayer and fasting, Community outreach & Education and Constant peaceful vigil.
Prayer volunteers commit to pray for one or more hours each week during the 40 day vigil in front of one of the abortion facility Planned Parenthood off of Ben White near south 1st Street.
The spring 2017 campaign begins Wednesday, March 1 and ends on Palm Sunday, April 9. If you are interested in participating in this life-saving campaign or in helping to coordinate the campaign, email
info@CentralTexasCoalition.com or call the Central Texas Coalition for Life office at 512.296.2071. You can also commit to an hour a week at http://centraltexascoalition.com/.
Lenten Food Drive
Amy Crandell
During Lent, St. Francis is conducting a food drive that benefits The Storehouse, a Christian-based food pantry in Pflugerville. The food items they always accept
- Beans, Rice, & Pasta
- Tomato products: sauce, diced, spaghetti sauce
- Peanut Butter/Jelly
- Fruit juice
- Crackers & cookies
- Boxed dinners (e.g. macaroni & cheese)
Bring your donations to the office until Palm Sunday, April 9. A printed copy of the above list is available on the table outside the worship space, as well as bags to transport the items.
Jack and Sandra Cochrun who founded The Storehouse have an amazing story of the path that brought them to founding this food pantry. Go to www.thestorehousenetwork.com and click on Our Story.
Annual Sausage and Pancake Supper
Lent starts on March 1st with Shrove Tuesday on Feb. 28. This means the Annual Sausage and Pancake Supper will be held on the last Tuesday of February from 5:30 - 7:30 in the Fellowship area. This event is sponsored by the Polycarp's Men's Guild with David Norris heading the cooking and the rest of the men donating the food and labor in setup and cleanup. Come indulge in this all-you-can-eat event the night before the penitential season of Lent.
March Readings
3/1 Ash Wednesday
- Joel 2:1-2, 2-17
- Psalm 103:8-14
- 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
3/5 1 Lent
- Genesis 2:4b-9,15-17,25-3:7
- Psalm 51
- Romans 5:12-19
- Matthew 4:1-11
3/12 2 Lent
- Genesis 12:1-8
- Psalm 33:12-21
- Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
- John 3:1-17
3/19 3 Lent
- Exodus 17:1-7
- Psalm 95
- Romans 5:1-11
- John 4:5-42
3/26 4 Lent
- 1 Samuel 16:1-13
- Psalm 23
- Ephesians 5:8-14
- John 9:1-38
Church Calendar
Sundays
- 9:30 AM Said Holy Communion
- 9:30 AM Sunday School
- 10:00 AM Choir Practice
- 11:00 AM, Holy Communion On the first Sunday, this service is sung Morning Prayer with Holy Communion.
Ash Wednesday, Mar.1
- Noon and 7:00 PM Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion
Wednesdays (Except Mar.1)
- 7:00 PM, Holy Communion with a reflection on the collect of purity.
Thursdays
Friday, March 3
- 700 - 9:00 PM, Games Night
1st Saturday, March 4
- 9:00 AM, Prayer Service for our Nation
2nd Monday, March 12
3rd Friday, March 17
- 12 PM, Mothers' Prayer Group
3rd Sunday, March 19
- 12:30 PM, Anglicans for Life Meeting.
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays
2 Hannah Hatley
5 Bill Palmer
7 Penny Sandlin
14 Marilynn Palmer
15 Shirley Ellis, Melissa Nelson Bernard, Kolby Glenn
23 Jim Orr
26 Grady Collins
31 Stephanie Brail
Anniversaries
1 Larry and Eileen Cole
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
Treasurer: Grady Collins
Senior Warden: David Norris
Junior Warden: John Hatley
Secretary: Kevin Burnette
Vestry Members
Class of 2018: Don St.Martin, Ed Sandlin, John Hatley
Class of 2019: Brendle Glomb, David Norris, Kevin Burnette
Class of 2020: Missy Bernard, Dinah Arce
Fr. Len Giacolone
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: Susan Rambin
5th Sunday Nursing Home Service: Amy & Jim Crandell
This editor is not much of a tweeter.
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