The Monthly Newsletter of 

The problem is not an attention deficit, I think, but attention overload. This time of year we are trained - conditioned, we might say - to turn our attention to any number of things. Too many things. As Thanksgiving approaches, our to-do lists get longer and more complex. Shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and even visiting with friends and family can start to become another line item to be completed. Office party? Check. Sale at Target? Check. Salvation Army bell-ringing? Check. It may all be done pleasantly. (Even joyfully!) But our time is precious, and our days are crowded nonetheless.

This is one reason, among others, that Advent is such a perfect counterpoint to the “Holiday Season”. While the run-up to Christmas tells us to speed up, the message of Advent - ironically - bids us to slow down. While our Christmas preparation fills our lives and our shopping carts, the message of Advent invites us to make space. And while the glorious and artful decorations of the season may leave us “breathless,” the message of Advent encourages us to breathe deeply.

When you receive this newsletter, Christmas will be 24 days away. Each of those days are the same 24 hours of every other day in the year, and each will come and go, just like the others. But how they go? That’s up to you and me. We can let them rush by, jammed with all the bits and pieces of the “Holiday Season”. Or we can savor the season, not letting Christmas take us unaware, but instead slowing down to let all those joyous parts of the season become part of the watching and waiting of Advent.

Christmas is coming. But let’s not let it come too quickly, or take us by surprise. There is a whole season - 24 days now - which is set aside for us to watch and wait. Let’s enjoy every moment we can.

St. Francis-in-the-Fields Calendar 

The Cookie Walk is back!!

St. Francis' annual Cookie Walk will be held Saturday, December 4 in the church school area of the church, along with the St. Clares Wreath & Poinsettia Sale pickup. The Cookie Walk begins at 9 am.

All proceeds will be donated to the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County. Contact: Michelle Samet.

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Grillo at 610-613-5433 or carolynhgrillo@gmail.com.

Please join us for A Festive Christmas Cocktail Party. It will be held downstairs at St. Francis on Friday, December 10 from 6 PM to 8 PM. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be provided. 

Please sign-up by clicking HERE using the SignUp Genius.

Advent and Christmas tell the story of the Holy Family seeking safety and shelter in troubled times, a tale that is all too familiar for millions of displaced persons around the globe. Over the last several months, thousands of our Afghan sisters and brothers fleeing the turmoil of their homeland have been received by the United States and are being resettled across the nation. Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), a ministry of the Episcopal Church, USA, with its affiliates, partners, and supporting churches, is one of only 9 national agencies through which refugees enter the United States. If you feel called to respond to this crisis, please consider making a financial donation to support the EMM Afghan Allies Fund. For more information about EMM, to learn how your gift will used, and to make a donation, visit the Episcopal Migration Ministries website: https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/give-welcome. 

 Thank You!

If you have any questions, please contact Diane in the office at 610-647-0130 or stfrancisfields@stfrancisfields.org. stfrancisfields@stfrancisfields.org. 

Your donation will help us fulfill our mission to make sure that "...no one should go hungry!"

Members of the St. Francis parish family are again being asked to remember the homeless people who seek shelter and a way to improve their lives at Our Brother’s Place, a unit of the Bethesda Project in Philadelphia, as you do your Christmas shopping.

St. Francis has supported this very important outreach program for over 25 years, and the needs of those who are helped are as great as they have ever been. Personal articles most needed include: backpacks or duffel bags, winter jackets and rain ponchos (all size Large or Extra-large), flannel shirts, sweaters, sweat pants and sweat shirts, underwear (especially long-johns), warm socks, knit caps, scarves, gloves or mittens, and sneakers (size 9 to 12).

Also needed are towels, deodorant, anti-bacterial soap, canned coffee and sugar packets, as well as cleaning supplies such as liquid dishwashing detergent, Pine Sol with lemon, bleach and liquid toilet bowl cleaner.

PLEASE DO NOT WRAP GIFTS! Collection bins are in the Narthex. The deadline for bringing your Backpack Project gifts to the Church is Sunday, December 19, 2021.

If you would like more information regarding this very meaningful Christmas outreach project, please contact Jim Crowley. Many thanks!

I’ll Mature When I’m Dead, by Dave Barry

The Annual Parish Meeting of St. Francis will be held on Sunday, January 30, following morning worship.

Here is the slate of nominees for Vestry. Anne Crowley will serve another term on Vestry.

Ed Damerau is a native of South Jersey but has lived in Chester County for 31 years. He is a musician and electrical engineer by training and a software engineer by vocation. Many of you have heard him as the Voice of Jesus during the annual Passion Play. Ed serves as a lay reader and chalicist, as intercessor, and as a contributor of photographs to the St Francis art show and restrooms. He coordinates and schedules St Francis’ lay readers and is a member of the bass section of St. Francis choir.

When covid struck, Ed volunteered to help St Francis’ Facebook and YouTube streaming efforts. He owes everything he knows about streaming to Everett Warren - and everything he knows about Texas to Father Kevin!

Roberta G. Torian is a "cradle Episcopalian" having been baptized, confirmed and married in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut where she grew up in the town of Milford. After graduating from law school in Boston she moved to the Philadelphia area, Berwyn. Here she began her career as a corporate lawyer advising the largest U.S. banks and becoming a wife and mother.

Delegate to Convention and Deanery Representative: Earlier this year, Ted Wingfield resigned this position upon moving out of the area. Jim Crowley was appointed by Vestry to fulfill the remainder of Ted's 3-year term. No election for this position needs to be held in 2022.

Circle of Friends is a pastoral care ministry of note writing (birthday, get well, thank you, encouragement, etc.) Our next “Circle” wi1ll be in January 2022. Stay tuned for more information.

Letters for Rose is a volunteer opportunity to bring cheer to residents in retirement communities, and a special project of Sophia Schnackenberg, one of our St. Francis youth.

A collection box is near the Letters for Rose poster in the narthex and collections will continue through spring 2022.

 Letters for Rose is not associated with Circle of Friends, the note-writing ministry of St. Francis.

More information can be found at lettersforrose.org.

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.

The form for dedicating Altar Flowers can be found on our parish website, www.stfrancisfields.com.

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.