The Monthly Newsletter of 

Dear Friends in Christ,

Thank you so much for your warm welcome to Nina and me these past couple of weeks!! It has been a special time for you as a parish and for us as your “summer supply” priest and spouse. We look forward to getting to know more of your stories of faith, hope, and love in this place!

By way of reminder, we have just celebrated the Ascension of Jesus from this earth (someone has called it “the day they/we were left behind”), and sent Fr. Kevin and his family off on sabbatical for the summer. This past Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost, “the birthday of the church,” when we read about the day the Holy Spirit was poured out into the whole world. This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the day we ponder the mystery of God in Three Persons.

As we move into the summer months of Sabbatical (Refresh; Rest; Refocus), I wanted to mention a few suggestions of resources that have been a blessing over the years. These items are sort of like a “buffet” of possibilities; hopefully, they are a blessing to you as well.

John Baillie: A Diary of Private Prayer (1949)

Eugene Peterson: Praying With The Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words of David (1993)

Eugene Peterson: Praying With Jesus: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words and Actions of Jesus (1993)

A web-site containing the Daily Office (Morning & Evening Prayer): missionstclare.com

Netherlands Bach Society (their YouTube channel playlist contains hundreds of Bach’s pieces)

Celebration of Discipline; Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home; Streams of Living Water; Humility; all by Richard Foster

The Jesus I Never Knew and Where The Eye Alights; by Philip Yancey

Caring For Words In A Culture of Lies by Marilyn McIntyre

Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn

Gilead; Home; Lila; Jack; four novels by Marilynne Robinson

Jayber Crow & The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry (two of many!)

May God bless and renew each of you in special ways this summer!

Fr. John

St. Francis-in-the-Fields Calendar 

The next Men’s Fellowship Breakfast will be held on Saturday, June 3, at 9:00am, at the West Chester Diner (1147 West Chester Pike). This is BYOB (“Bring Your Own Bucks”).

All men of St. Francis are welcome to attend.

Walking with St. Francis & Friends will kick-off June 5th at 10 am. We'll determine the best time & day for everyone at that time. This will be no pressure, easy walking, approximately 45 minutes - no sign up required. 

West With Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge

Our selection for September is The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd.  Ana, the heroine of this historical novel is a brilliant woman with a daring spirit.  She meets, falls in love with Jesus, and they marry.  

St. Francis will host our next blood drive with the American Red Cross on Tuesday, July 11 from 2-7 pm. 

Please consider donating blood to help patients in need in our community. If you are healthy and eligible, roll up your sleeve, book your appointment at www.redcrossblood.org (search St. Francis Malvern) and become a part of the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross!

With questions, contact Sue Lenkaitis.

We are excited to announce that St. Francis is offering Vacation Bible School this summer! It will be held Monday, August 14th thru Thursday, August 17th from 9:00 am to 11:30am. Our curriculum is from Grow Kids and the theme is On the Case. The children will act as detectives to solve the mystery of how to grow with God through some of Jesus' Parables.

Mondays at 5 pm, weather permitting.

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, in the library, on Wednesday, June 28 at 5:30 pm. If you are unable to join us in person but would still like to participate, please contact Sue Lenkaitis. Packets can be prepared for pickup or delivery as needed.

Anyone interested in providing additional assistance to NSC can visit nscphila.org for details about ways to help refugees. 

As you know by now, we have planned a sendoff celebration luncheon for Fr. Kevin and his family on Sunday, May 21^st before he leaves on his Sabbatical on May 22^nd. We hope to make this celebration memorable, not only for the Dellarias, but for our Parish family so be sure to join us.

As mentioned in Issue #1 of the Sabbatical Newsletter, the congregation began our own renewal activities on Sunday, May 1^st with a guided bird-watching tour conducted by Willistown Conservation Trust along with our own Tony Fernandes; Sunday, May 7^th, a photo tips workshop presented by Ed Damerau; Tuesday, May 9^th, a special brown bag lunch, featured four Afghan immigrant speakers from Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia, arranged by John Groch and John Woodcock, and on Saturday, May 13^th a mini workshop organized by Jill Quinn and Laura Petersen who assisted attendees with designing their own container pots while helping to beautify St. Francis gardens.

The Sabbatical Committee wishes to thank everyone who helped to organize and set up these activities, especially the sub-committee members and brown bag lunch volunteers. Please know how much we appreciate each of you.

We will be announcing more congregation renewal activities in July and September; however, in the meantime, please mark your calendars for Thursday, June 29 (5:30PM-7:00PM) for our second guest speaker, Rabbi Jon Cutler. Jon served Beth Israel Congregation of Chester County for eight years and served as a Navy Chaplain for 32 years, including service as chaplain with Marines in Desert Storm and Iraq. He and Beth Israel are very active in the Interfaith Action Community of Northern Chester County. A light dinner will be provided.

As mentioned by Nancy Needhammer, and included in Fr. Kevin’s sermon on May 7th, we announced our Congregation Collage Project, “Finding God in our Everyday Lives”, which runs from May through September and everyone is welcome to participate. See below for more information.

“Finding God in Our Everyday Lives” is the theme of our Congregation Collage Project, which mirrors one of Fr. Kevin’s sabbatical activities. How is God reflected in work, nature, music, art, and industry? Or even when we play? Fr. Kevin plans to capture this through photo journaling to share upon his return with the congregation. We are inviting everyone to engage in a similar activity by capturing their own pictures, over the summer months, which St. Francis will then use to build collages reflecting God’s presence. Please consider taking pictures from May through September and send these to photos@stfrancisfields.org.

The Rev. John Whitnah was introduced in April as our Sabbatical Interim Priest while Fr. Kevin is away. You can read his bio in the May Fieldnotes.

 

The list below is prepared by the Sabbatical Planning Committee to share information on “Who Does What” while Fr. Kevin is away May 22 – September 10.

The Very Rev. Kevin Dellaria, Rector (On Sabbatical)

The Rev. John Whitnah, Sabbatical Supply Clergy

 Diane Faison, Parish Administrator & Deacon

Joe Perry, Music Director

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.

St. Francis-in-the-Fields is a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, a member of The Episcopal Church, and part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.