Dear Community and Friends of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi,

May the Lord give you peace.

I thank you for the privilege of ministering with, to, and for you. It has been a great grace for me to be here with you. I have enjoyed these three years. You have generously shared your lives with me and the friars. It has been a great blessing to participate in the ministry of healing experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick. The honesty and the spiritual depth of the sharing in those moments are experiences of the Lord’s presence for me. Likewise, the celebrations of the Eucharist and preaching are blessings. You have responded graciously and been engaged in these celebrations. We, St. Francis Church, are quite popular with the live-stream community.

The pastoral ministry team and the entire staff are remarkably dedicated to ministry. They are committed to you and to using their gifts to build up the Body of Christ as realized at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The spirit of St. Francis thrives here in the energy and joy that abounds.

I honestly did not know what to expect when I was asked to leave Hartford and come here. I found incredible goodness and a gracious welcome (however socially distant in September 2020). I am grateful to have had the privilege to be with you, even for a short time. I ask your continued prayers for the friars and your welcome of your new pastor, Fr. Joe Juracek, ofm. I will remember you in my prayer with gratitude.

I will head to St. Petersburg, Florida, to minister with our senior friars next week. This is a significant change in ministry for me. I was surprised to be asked to pick up and go south! I have packed my sunscreen and my hats!

I am sure I will be back to visit.

Blessings and peace,

Fr. Tom, ofm

Dear Community and Friends of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, May the Lord give you peace.

I hope you had great celebrations for the Fourth of July. Summer is upon us; perhaps you will have time to get away. It is good to take a break from our regular routines. With the longer days and good weather, get together with family and friends. Enjoy some time alone.

We also welcome many tourists and visitors during the summer months. Thank you for your hospitality. The energy and beauty of this community invite people to be at home and marvel at the opportunity to pray with such a dynamic church.

The Prophet Zechariah speaks of a time of peace. This is a message his hearers longed for. The gift of peace and the end of war was the dream of a people who had known struggle. Like the first hearers of this message, we, too, long for peace. This is a message of hope for us all.

Paul’s letter to the Romans invites us to recognize the grace of God’s Spirit freely and generously given to us. Through the Spirit, we belong to Christ; we are sharers in God. Paul invites his hearers to be faithful to the gift of God, to allow their lives and their vision of the world to be shaped by the breath of God, the Spirit. The Spirit calls us to compassionately just relationships with one another. The Spirit recognizes God’s presence in the stranger. One of Edward Schillebeeckx, OP’s great images is of Jesus’ message and engagement with the poor and disenfranchised “without forgetting the others.” All are invited to this experience of God’s presence.

The message of the Gospel is for all. In the Gospel this week, Jesus praises God for making the message and mission simple. The revelation is welcomed by the childlike. We sometimes make a project out of the simple call to love. Then Jesus invites us to be yoked with him in the mission of affirming God’s love. We are indeed blessed to share in God through the Spirit and to share in the mission of the Gospel with Jesus.

Please continue to pray and embody peace. This is our gift to the church and to the world.

Finally, I thank you for your continued financial support of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. We are struggling as we come out of the experience of COVID, and your generosity makes a huge difference. Thank you.

Peace and all good,

Fr. Tom, ofm

Starting Monday, July 3 we will celebrate the 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM daily Masses, Monday through Friday, in the lower church.  The daily Mass will return to the upper church after Labor Day.  The Saturday and Sunday Masses are not affected by this move.

We do each year in the summer to keep the air conditioning off in the upper church Monday through Friday. By only turning on the air conditioning in the upper church on weekends, we are able to be better stewards of creation and parish funds.  This saves us tens of thousands of dollars each summer in electric bills.   The lower church is much less costly to keep cool.

For those who come in person we hope you enjoy the change of venue and the intimacy that the lower church offers since it is a smaller worship space.

Those of you who join us vitally on livestream will notice a slight difference in quality as we only have one camera in the lower church.  The upper church has three cameras and better sound integration which allows for a better livestream experience of Mass.  You will be able to see and hear the Mass however. We thank you for your patience. We hope you understand that this small sacrifice is part of our efforts to responsible with our energy consumption and for the greater good.

Thank you.