FIELDNOTES
April 2022
The Monthly Newsletter of
St. Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Malvern, Pennsylvania
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Our Vision:
We aspire to be a growing community, worshiping together, celebrating our diversity & lay ministries, and offering God's healing love to all people.
Our Mission:
We seek to foster spiritual growth & renewal while spreading God's message of love, healing and peace.
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Holy Week
Holy Week is coming! Palm Sunday is April 10. Weather permitting, we will begin the 10am service in the front circle drive with the Liturgy and Procession of the Palms.
For safety reasons, the circle drive will be closed that morning at 9:45am. Please arrive early if you require a handicap space or need to drop someone off at the front doors.
Maundy Thursday, April 14 at 7 pm
Good Friday, April 15 at Noon
Holy Vigil, April 16 at 8 pm
Easter Sunday, April 17 at 8 and 10 am
All services of Holy Week will be streamed live except for the 8am Sunday services.
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Membership and Discipleship:
The Baptismal Covenant
As I wrote about in Fieldnotes last month, when we talk about membership in the Episcopal Church we are usually talking about certain technical details about names and dates. When and where were you baptized? Has your name been recorded in our Register? Did your former parish send your membership records so our books can be updated?
But membership in a church community does not necessarily translate to discipleship. Membership puts our names in the church rolls, but it doesn’t by default or on its own inspire us toward spiritual growth or Christian maturity. At a rudimentary level, the church recognizes this by differentiating between the terms “Member”, “Communicant”, and “Communicant in Good Standing," often used with the modifier "Confirmed", which I'll write about another time. (For definitions, click HERE.)
That said, the difference between “membership” and “discipleship” in the Episcopal Church is more than checking off certain boxes or fitting a particular definition. Being a follower of Christ means putting what we confess on Sunday morning into practice in our lives every day of the week. So as Episcopalians, our fullest confession of the Faith doesn’t stop with the historic creeds, but continues on into a statement of our commitment. We call this “The Baptismal Covenant,” and it is the heartbeat of our communal life.
If you have a Book of Common Prayer, take a moment now to turn to page 304, or simply go to bcponline.org, click “Holy Baptism” and scroll down. (If you don’t have a “BCP,” come see me and I’ll get you one.) Notice how The Baptismal Covenant is laid out. It should look familiar. The first three sections are simply the ancient Apostle’s Creed set in question and answer form. This is our foundation. The soil in which we’re planted.
But the Covenant doesn’t stop with the Creed. Keep reading, and you’ll see five carefully-crafted questions that call us to live out the continuing story of Christ in our own lives. Each question encapsulates the Faith we profess in a profound and probing way. We are not simply people who hold rigidly to certain ancient tenets. Those tenets propel us toward a certain way of life: with our faith community, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and even with people we don’t know and have never met. These questions are the promises we make to live as the body of Jesus Christ.
When Easter Sunday rolls around, only a few short days from now, we will once again say The Baptismal Covenant together. And I hope you’ll be there, excited to renew these questionsin your heart and mind. Because Jesus did not say, “Go into all the world and make members,” but go and make Disciples. So we confess together, and encourage one another, and we grow into all that God created us to be.
Fr. Kevin+
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SPRING IS COMING! Come help beautify our gardens and grounds of the church in preparation for Easter and the coming season.
After a two year hiatus we are going to call on our wonderful congregation to come with tools in hand on Sunday,
APRIL 3 after the 10:00 service to clean out our garden beds, plant pansies and otherwise spruce up areas of need. Food and drink will be provided!
This is a great way to connect with those you may not have seen for a while and have fun at the same time. Kids and teens welcome too!
Bring garden gloves, rakes and any other tools you think you might need. Please contact Laura Petersen if you can come or with any questions.
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Lenten Rector's Study: Braving the Wilderness
(ending Easter week)
Throughout the season of Lent, Fr. Kevin is leading a two-part Dr. Brenè Brown's Braving the Wilderness (2017).
The study is held in two-parts, with theological reflection on Sunday mornings from 9 to 9:30, and a 1-hour Zoom discussion during the week on Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 8pm.
An email with the discussion Zoom link and other information was emailed to the parish in March.
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Youth Group
The Youth Group will be collecting items for the Thistle Hills house in Coatesville sponsored by Trinity Episcopal Church, Coatesville. Please be as generous as you can. Delivery will be once a month.
Thank you very much from the Youth Group of St. Francis-in-the-Fields. All donations are greatly appreciated!
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Furniture for Afghans
Furniture in good condition is being collected for the Afghan refugees. Please contact John Groch for more information at 610-547-3583.
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Easter Flowers
Flowers to decorate the church for Easter in memory/thanksgiving/celebration of a person or event are available for a donation of $30.
You can find the form in the Narthex of the church, on the website or by calling the church office at 610-647-0130.
The deadline for the donation and the form is Friday, April 1, 2022.
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Calendar
For the calendar of events, please click the link below to the website.
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Transportation Ministry Opportunity
St. Francis is in need of volunteers who can transport members who cannot or do not drive to and from worship on Sunday mornings.
Typically, drivers work on a 4 or 6 week rotation, assisting members who live in communities such as Bellingham and Dunwoody.
If you are interested and able to assist, please contact Shirley Warren or Fr. Kevin.
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Coffee Hour Hosts Needed!!
We need people/families/couples to host and set up. Please consider being the host/hostess of a coffee hour.
See you in church and coffee hour!! Thanks, Sue
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Fellowship Event
Mark your calendars for Friday, May 6 as
St. Francis celebrates Cinco de Mayo.
Dinner will be served downstairs starting at
6 o’clock.
More details to come!
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St. Francis Night at the Reading Fightin’ Phils!
Mark your calendars for June 18! St. Francis will return to Reading this year for a night of fun, and to sing the National Anthem before the start of the R-Phils home game against the Portland Sea Dogs. Game time 6:45.
This year we will be joined by members of our sister parish, St. Peter’s in the Great Valley. You do not have to sing in order to participate!
Tickets are be $12.00 each. A sign-up sheet is now available in the Narthex!
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Book Group
Friday, April 8, 7:30
Please note this is the second Friday
The Hope of Glory:Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross, by Jon Meacham.
Last month we watched a video of Jon Meacham’s interview with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. We will follow with this book by Meacham. A good lead up to Easter.
A former vestryman of Trinity Church Wall Street and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Meacham delves into that intersection of faith and history in this meditation on the seven phrases Jesus spoke from the cross.
Beginning with “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” and ending with “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,” Meacham captures for the reader how these words epitomize Jesus’s message of love, not hate; grace, not rage; and, rather than vengeance, extraordinary mercy. For each saying, Meacham composes an essay on the origins of Christianity and how Jesus’s final words created a foundation for oral and written traditions that upended the very order of the world.
Writing in a tone more intimate than any of his previous works, Jon Meacham returns us to the moment that transformed Jesus from a historical figure into the proclaimed Son of God, worshiped by billions.
Friday, May 20, 7:30
The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
Based on a true story, this is a novel set in the depression of a woman who becomes one of the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
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Facebook and Instagram!
Thanks for the terrific response to our Facebook and Instagram efforts! People as far away as California are commenting on our content! Keep it up!!
Snap those photos, jot down an email, do your thing and help us let the world know what St Francis is all about!
"As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way." (Mary Rademacher)
Contact Eileen Jenkins at (610) 639-8721 or eileenjenk@gmail with any questions.
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Circle of Friends
Circle of Friends is a pastoral care ministry of note writing (birthday, get well, thank you, encouragement, etc.)
The Circle of Friends will meet in person on Wednesday, April 27 at 6:30 pm. We hope you will join us!
For more information please contact Sherri Lewis.
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Lectionary Bible Study
Lectionary Bible Study meet on Wednesdays at 10 am to pray and discuss the readings for the following Sunday.
The Bible Study is both in-person and virtual. To join virtually, see the weekly email link.
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Altar Flowers
Did you know that you can dedicate the Sunday Altar Flowers in honor of a friend or family member, in remembrance of a loved one, or for some other special recognition?
Altar Flower dedications are just $50.00, and helps provide a fresh arrangement each week.
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St. Francis-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
689 Sugartown Road
Malvern, PA 19355
610-647-0130
stfrancisfields@stfrancisfields.org
stfrancisfields.org
The Rev. Kevin Dellaria, Rector
The Rev. Diane E. Faison, Deacon & Parish Administrator
Mr. Joe Perry, Music Director
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Want to know more about us?
St. Francis-in-the-Fields is an active parish, even during COVID-19. For more information about our worship, outreach, and other ministries, visit our parish website, www.stfrancisfields.org. Our monthly parish newsletter, Fieldnotes, may be found by clicking HERE. Stay current on events by following our parish on Facebook.
Our Global Communion
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St. Francis-in-the-Fields | 610-647-0130 | 689 Sugartown Road, Malvern, PA 19355 |
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