Dear People of St. Francis, 

Some of you will remember that for several years we financially supported a South Sudanese student while he studied to become a priest. Not many years after his schooling and priesthood, Fr. Moses was elected Bishop of a brand new Diocese in South Sudan. We rejoiced when he visited us at St. Francis. He thanked us for our help with his education and invited us to continue partnering with him in his new ministry. We stepped forward by supporting a ministry that supplied women with cloth so they could help support their families and neighbors. We also helped with getting fresh water into the community.
 
Last Wednesday night I received a note from our contact person with Bishop Moses. He is no longer a bishop  - 
HE’S NOW AN ARCHBISHOP! It is rare that a church lifts up a priest or deacon (we have done that with Beth!). It is rarer still that a church is instrumental in supporting a new bishop in a new diocese. But to also know that we’ve been instrumental in that bishop becoming an Archbishop is simply amazing. Please keep Archbishop Moses in your prayers. He is a dear person, a wonderful pastor, and now has responsibilities that are truly daunting. What a wonderful way to enter into the Advent Season this year—anticipating God doing more than we ask or imagine.
​
Thank you for your faithfulness. Fr. Tony

​Introducing the Threads of Love Sewing Ministry
In early Fall 2019, a group of parishioners who like to sew came together to make some additional Comfort Quilts for the parish collection. Our original plan was to sew together, enjoy fellowship, learn from each other and continue the lovely tradition of having Comfort Quilts available to loan to parishioners in a time of need. 
 
So much has happened since we began this project! First, there was a need for angel costumes for the Christmas pageant followed by the need for Passion Play costumes. Then March and Covid arrived and there was an immediate need for cloth facemasks, both locally and throughout the US. The Comfort Quilters responded to all of these requests and five Comfort Quilts, over 2,000 facemasks and various costumes later, we find that our original name, The Comfort Quilters, no longer describes our mission. We also learned that we can involve more participants and be more productive if we both sew together and sew at home.
 
Hence our name change to Threads of Love Sewing Ministry. We found that every project we undertook involved thread and sewing and was infused with a love to share our creations with those in need. Our current project is making flannel receiving blankets for the Salud Medical Center in Woodburn. This year we are partnering with the Knitting Ministry to provide new families with a receiving blanket and a coordinated knitted cap in early January.
 
You are invited to join us and participate in one of many ways: sew together, sew at home, knit infant caps, make a donation to help fund the cost of fabric, etc. We will provide the blanket pattern and fabric if needed. Donations should be earmarked for Threads of Love Sewing Ministry.
 
If you have questions or are interested in joining this effort, please contact one us. We look forward to expanding this ministry!
Jean Atwell, Carole Biskar, Traci Cronkrite, Mary Kirk, Betsy Yacob

Today, we celebrate All Souls Day. There will be a service at church at 7:30 pm, and the service will be broadcast via YouTube.
All names submitted for the service will be read.
The link to the service is below. Just click on the button, and you can be with us.
There is also a link to the bulletin below.
 
There will be no compline service tonight.

Join All Souls Service
All Souls Bulletin

You can watch the live broadcast of our 10:30 am Sunday service by clicking on the link to the right. And, you can watch a replay of the 10:30 am service, by clicking the lower link. I look forward to seeing you.
Watch Live 10:30 am Eucharist and Baptisms
Watch a Replay of our 10:30 am Eucharist
A bulletin for Eucharist is here: Eucharist Bulletin

You can join a live Zoom morning prayer service at 9:00 am by clicking on the lint or by accessing the call with these Zoom details: 
Meeting ID: 413 422 335
Password: 939504
Join Morning Prayer
A bulletin for morning prayer is here: Morning Prayer Bulletin