Laudato Si Circle Tip of the Week to Care for our World 7-7-2024
Art for Our Sake
You still have time to catch the Coal + Ice exhibition at the Asia Society Museum on view through August 11th. This is a Photography and Video exhibition that brings together artists from around the world to help us visualize the climate crisis – causes, consequences, and creative solutions.
The Museum partnered with over 30 organizations to bring this to us and many of these organizations’ efforts are ongoing such as the Climate Wall at the American Museum of Natural History, the Billion Oyster Project, Brooklyn Grange, and WALTER which stands for Working And Learning Together Electronics Recycling. To learn about all these organizations visit asiasociety.org/coalandice .
The Museum is located on 70th Street and Park Avenue and is open Tue thru Sun 11-5. Admission is Free on Fridays and otherwise $15 or less.
“These collaborations aim to inspire deeper engagement and meaningful dialogue on how the climate crisis affects our global and local communities.” from the exhibition brochure
For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis or to share your own tip of the week, email: stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
Click here to go to our page on the website for St. Francis Church.
Catholicism 101: The Gospel of Mark
Catholicism 101—Summer Session: The Gospel of St. Mark
Catholicism 101 is an adult faith formation series Intended for anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith.
Instructor: Mr. Joseph Nuzzi, Pastoral Associate, Church of St. Francis of Assisi
Schedule:
Wednesdays, July 10 – August 14, 2024
12:30 – 1:30 PM in the Clare Room or
6:30 – 7:30 PM in the Clare Room and on Zoom
In this 6-week course, we will be studying in depth the Gospel of Mark.
Themes we will study will include:
- For whom was the Gospel of Mark written?
- What issues may Mark’s church have been facing when this gospel was written?
- What is Mark’s theology of who Jesus is? (Christology)
- What does it mean to follow Jesus in Mark’s gospel? (Discipleship)
- What is the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in Mark’s gospel?
This course is offered for both new students as well as people already accustomed to studying the bible. Inquirers and neophytes from the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults are encouraged to attend. It will also be an excellent course for catechists, lectors, deacons and priests who want a refresher course as we journey through Cycle B this year, and anyone interested in learning more about the Christian faith.
Please register below. Scholarships are available for anyone with economic hardship. To inquire please email: jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org
Fee: This Adult Education Summer course is offered free of charge.
A free will offering is requested. (Normal course fee is approx. $10 per week of the class, or $60)
Visions and Revisions: A Poetry Workshop
Visions and Revisions: A Poetry Workshop
This class will include strategies for writing and revising poetry. The first part of each meeting will consider tools of poetry and types of poetry which will include some set forms like the sonnet, particularly the terza rima sonnet, the cinquain, particularly the American cinquain, and the ghazal. as well as ekphrastic poetry and the monologue poem. Each class will include some time for writing and sharing poems.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus
Mondays July 8 – August 5
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
on Zoom.
Fee $60.00
Limited to 15 students
Daily Mass is moving to the Lower Church for the Summer
Our daily Masses Monday through Friday are moving to the Lower Church for the summer starting Monday, July 1, 2024 and will remain in the lower church until after Labor Day.
Why do we move Mass to the lower church in the summer?
It has been our tradition for the past several years to celebrate the daily Masses Monday through Friday in the lower church to save a significant amount of money on our summer electric bills. Cooling the upper church with air conditioning is an expensive proposition. The lower church is much less costly to cool and since the number of people who attend our daily Masses fit in the lower church, we move the Masses there. This allows us to shut off the air conditioning in the upper church until the weekend for Saturday and Sunday Masses. Typically, this saves the church tens of thousands of dollars in electricity over the course of the summer. We feel this is good stewardship of your donations and it is good for the environment.
Will there be AC on during the Saturday and Sunday Masses?
Yes! We will have a cool worship space in the upper church for Masses on the weekends when we have our largest crowds.
Can I still pray in the Upper Church?
Yes, upper church will remain open for private prayer, and it usually stays relatively cool despite the AC being off, since there are not large numbers of people entering and leaving.
Can I help with St. Francis’ summer electric bill?
Actually, yes please, we could use the help! All of us know the crunch of additional electric bills in the summer. The church is no different except we have a huge open space to cool, and it is expensive. If you would like to make an additional special donation to help offset the summer electric bills it would be a big help and we would greatly appreciate it. We try hard to keep our church open for prayer, keep it clean, well maintained and welcoming. Your donation helps us continue to keep this house of prayer open and accessible… and cool!
Soul-Searching: A Novel Approach
Soul-Searching: A Novel Approach
Who are we and what do we value? How are we shaped by family, faith, cultural traditions, history and current events? These are among the questions characters grapple with in our three novels. Our first meeting will include an introduction to our authors and the texts and a discussion of two short stories which are available online. Our first novel will let us follow Philippa Talbot into a cloistered Benedictine convent at a time when religious life is beginning to change because of Vatican II; we will next join Father Declan in Ireland where he struggles with his conscience after a parishioner reveals a long-held secret; finally, we will visit a Minneapolis bookstore where Tookie is haunted by the ghost of a recently deceased customer as well as the history of our country’s indigenous people the experience of COVID and the murder of George Floyd. Fittingly, the novel begins on All Souls Day in 2019 and ends on All Souls Day, 2020.
Course texts, in order of reading, include: short stories “Desired Things” by Alice McDermott and “The Empty Family” by Colm Toibin; In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden, The All of It by Jeanette Haien and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus
Thursdays, June 27 – August 8 (No Class July 4)
12:30 – 1:30 PM
on Zoom.
Fee $60.00
Laudato Si Circle Tip of the Week to Care for our World 6-30-2024
I’m Not Here Right Now
One vacation you could take that won’t cost you anything is a vacation from your phone and social media. For a designated period of time, unplug and unwind. Maybe you’ll like it so much you’ll do it on a regular basis. Your friends and family will get used to the idea and they may even try it themselves. See what it feels like to be in the world without distraction. How are your encounters with people different? Do your senses of taste and smell sharpen? Ask yourself what this has to do with the climate crisis.
“When media and the digital world become omnipresent their influence can stop people from learning how to live wisely, to think deeply and to love generously…we should be concerned that, alongside the exciting possibilities offered by these media, a deep and melancholic dissatisfaction with interpersonal relations, or a harmful sense of isolation, can also arise.” Pope Francis (LS47)
For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis or to share your own tip of the week, email stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
Evening of Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land
Faith Leaders from Metro New York and New Jersey will be gathered to offer prayers for Peace in the Holy Land. This evening will feature prayers, songs, poem readings and reflections centered on peace that all people of goodwill hope for.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
6:00 PM
Upper Church
The Laudato Si Circle here at the Church of St Francis of Assisi has been very busy lately.
The Laudato Si Circle here at the Church of St Francis of Assisi has been very busy lately.
On April 27th in honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day they hosted “Let It Begin with Trees” which was both a presentation and a hands-on experience of caring for trees. Assemblymember Tony Simone stopped by to say hello and the group went out into the neighborhood to care for some of our city’s trees. They cleaned up the beds, aerated the soil, hung signs, and laid mulch.
Then on May 25th, a group gathered together for a walk on the Highline. After receiving a blessing from Fr. Joe the group headed out in perfect weather to simply be together in nature and experience this gem of a park in the heart of New York City.
Stay tuned for more events coming up in September.
If you would like more information about our ministry, please email: stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
Laudato Si Circle Tip of the Week to Care for our World 6-23-2024
Chic, Smart, and Trendy
According to the UN, the fashion industry is responsible for more global emissions than aviation and shipping combined. In NYC, 6% of residential waste is clothing, shoes, and textiles. How we shop and care for our clothing has a huge impact on the environment and building an earth-friendly wardrobe is more than fashionable. You can save money in the long-run by choosing quality over quantity. Choose natural fibers instead of synthetics which are made from petroleum. Above all, keep the clothing you already own out of landfills. Swap with friends. Donate, trade, or sell clothes to organizations like Dress for Success https://newyork.dressforsuccess.org/; Crossroads Trading https://crossroadstrading.com/; Buffalo Exchange https://buffaloexchange.com/; or Beacons Closet https://beaconscloset.com/. Wearable collections https://www.wearablecollections.com/ will accept and deal with clothes in ANY condition.
Now that is good fashion sense.
“It is our humble conviction that the divine and the human meet in the slightest detail in the seamless garment of God’s creation.” Pope Francis (LS9)
Expect to hear more from us about the fashion industry and the climate crisis. For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis email stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
For more information about the Laudato Si Circle here at St. Francis or to share your own tip of the week, email stfrancislaudatosi@gmail.com
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