Veteran’s Day Holiday Schedule
Veteran’s Day Holiday Schedule
Mass: 12:00 NOON
No confessions
The church offices are closed today
Veteran’s Day Holiday Schedule
Mass: 12:00 NOON
No confessions
The church offices are closed today
Vespers will be celebrated at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi as we pray about the issues facing our nation and our world and our responsibilities as followers of Jesus as we prepare to vote.
Monday, October 26th to Friday, October 30th
at 6:00 PM
in the Upper Church and on Livestream
As the election approaches we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city, our nation and our world, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.
The livestream will be available on this page below, at St. Francis Live, and on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/stfrancisnyc.
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi Church and Parish,
May the Lord give you peace.
This weekend we celebrate the feast of All Saints. We can look back at those children, women, and men recognized by the church as saints. We can also recall with St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesian Christians, “you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” With this in mind, let us consider the many saints of our day. We can think of men and women who worked for the dignity and grace of all people. We can consider the educators who provide book knowledge and also tender the care and wisdom that forms gracious ways of thinking and being. We recognize medical personnel who offer healing and peace. We might consider the men and women who challenge us to face our racism, sexism, and limited understanding of gender and sexuality. We are also blessed with those children, women, and men who live simple, humble lives open to God’s continued call to transformation in grace. Pope Francis invites us to consider the holy men and women of other religious or non-religious traditions. We think of so many who give themselves in service to our world with compassion. I invite you to take some time to consider the saints of your life, those children, women, and men who have loved you, nurtured you, challenged you, held space for you, and were present for you. We can give thanks to God for all whom we know and the many we have already forgotten.
Many of us are anxious about the election. We are challenged to choose leadership as Catholic Christian voters. We think of the Pro-Life dimension of our call to social justice, and we remember that Pro-Life is not simply pro-birth; it is the whole of life. Within our Catholic Social teaching, we consider a large picture. The right to life continues beyond birth. The right to life beyond birth includes our transformation/conversion as a culture and church in the areas of human dignity. These areas of conversion include racism, ecology, care for families, care for the poor, quality education for all, affordable medical care, nutrition, homelessness, refugees, and migrants. To be Pro-Life calls for an economy that places people over objects. Our hidden wealth is found in our relationships, our faith, our willingness to dialogue, and our respect for diversity. We are responsible for electing leaders who see beyond the narrow confines of limited imagination. We seek leaders who are open to the vista of participation in a world that, while divided, is filled with children, women, and men created in the image of God, loved by God. Please pray for our nation.
Pray for peace during this election. Pray for those who are elected and those who are not. We seek to unite the divisions that often seem overwhelming. To do this we must put bitterness and resentment aside, work for the values of the Gospel within the way of the Gospel.
Finally, please stay safe. The virus is spiking in many places. Follow the prescribed protocols, avoid crowds, and encourage one another.
Peace and all good,
Peace and all good,
-Fr. Tom Gallagher, O.F.M
Our annual All Souls Day Mass of Remembrance will be celebrated on: Monday, November 2nd at 7:00 PM in the Upper Church This celebration will be celebrated in Church and on Livestream
This annual liturgy is an opportunity to remember our loved ones whom we have lost, especially in this time of the Covid pandemic when so many have lost loved ones without the chance to say goodbye or have a proper liturgical celebration.
We also know that many people in our community come to New York from other places in the country and around the world, and at times our members and visitors cannot travel home for the funeral of a loved one who has died.
We hope this liturgy allows people to pray together with members of the Church and remember those lost at a Mass dedicated to commemorated our faithful departed. REGISTRATION REQUIRED: In order to insure everyone’s safety, we are limited to welcoming a maximum of 100 people to this event. Everyone must register here to attend this liturgy. Please wear your mask and maintain social distancing. Click HERE to reserve your seat. We invite everyone to bring a photo of your loved one which will be placed in the sanctuary during the Mass, or if you will be watching from home you may email a photo to jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org. Your photo will be printed and placed in the sanctuary during the Mass.
Please join us for this special annual celebration.
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi,
May the Lord give you peace.
I thank you for your generosity and your many ways of caring for one another. While I have only been here a short time, I have come to see the many gifts of this community. We are indeed blessed. I am delighted by the number of folks who watch our live stream services. I am hoping that we can increase the options for your participation from home or office. We have been training folks to work the cameras.
I invite you to join us in person or on-line for a week of prayer for our nation. We will gather for Evening Prayer, Vespers each night Monday – Friday at 6. This is an opportunity to reflect on our call as disciples during this election cycle. We will listen to texts from the Sacred Scripture and from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (We are all Sisters and Brothers). I hope you will find time to join us for the entire week or often as you are able.
With attention to the upcoming election, I offer you this talk given by Bishop McElroy of San Diego in February for your reflection: https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/bishop-mcelroy-voting-faith-and-conscience. I find it particularly helpful that Bishop McElroy’s presentation offers a broad view and calls us to prudent decision-making rooted in our conscience. The bishop invites us to incorporate all aspects of life in our considerations as we elect those we entrust with leadership. Please read this talk, reflect, consider other sources of Catholic Social Teaching documents, pray and vote. Your wisdom is a great gift.
We will host a celebration of all the deceased on November 2nd. This annual time of prayer engages us in remembering our loved ones who have gone before us. At 5 and 7 PM, the services will be live-streamed for your participation at home or office. We also welcome those who are able to join us in person. Remembering that we can only accommodate 100 participants in church, please register here if you are able to be here in person.
Later in November, we will offer an opportunity to pray as we consider the struggles of Suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, AFSP, designates the Saturday before Thanksgiving, this year, November 21st, as a day of prayer and education. Many of us have had our lives touched by suicide. There are those who mourn the loss of friends or family members, those who live with constant thoughts of suicide, those who fear the phone call that confirms the loss of a loved one, and those who have survived attempts at suicide. At this service, all are welcome. We will share in the scripture, reflect on God’s faithful love, and share in the Eucharist. Please invite others to join us. AFSP sponsors annual walks to raise money for suicide awareness and prevention. I have participated in 8 of the overnight walks, two here in NYC. There is strength in our coming together in the grace of God to give peace, healing, and life.
Peace and all good,
-Fr. Tom Gallagher, O.F.M
The St. Francis Bereavement Ministry offers an opportunity for the bereaved to connect with others who grieve, and to seek a path of healing as they come to terms with their loss.
A Bereavement Support Group will meet on six Tuesdays from
Tuesday, October 27th to December 15
from 6 to 7:30 pm in the lower church
Social distancing measures in effect: Please wear a mask
Please call Fr. Brian Smail, O.F.M. at 212-736-8500, Ext. 204 to inquire.
Interested persons should be at least three months into the grieving process. Pre-registration is required.
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi,
May the Lord give you peace.
I thank you for your participation and support of the ministry of St. Francis of Assisi. It is good to see so many of you who are able to join us for the public masses and to know that many of you are choosing to participate via the live stream. We want to stay connected. It is also good to know that many of our parishioners, who no longer live nearby, are joining us on the live stream. Given the current technology, we are able to continue many parts of our mission.
Within the next few weeks, we will offer some new chances for reflection on the scripture via Zoom. Please keep an eye out for the registration and Zoom link.
We will also begin a week of prayer for our nation as we consider the upcoming elections. From Monday-Friday, October 26-30, we will host a Vesper service in the Church and live stream at 6:00 PM. This service will include psalms, readings, and time for quiet reflection. The readings will come from the scripture and from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. This is an invitation to prayerfully consider how we will vote and the challenges to our nation. I hope you will be able to join us. For those who are not able to participate at the scheduled time, the live stream will be archived on our website and the service may be downloaded for private prayer. I would ask that you set aside a space for your prayer, perhaps a table with a cloth, cross, and candle. It might also be something for a family or small group to pray together.
In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus is quizzed on paying taxes to Caesar. He enjoins his hearers to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God’s”. Our participation in our government through voting is our joining of these two dimensions of our lives. Voting is our rendering to the civil government what is due. Voting is also rooted in the Gospel, that speaks of care for the poor, of servant leadership, of the welcoming of the stranger, (cf. Matthew 25:31-40 “Whatever you did for the least one, you did for me.”) renders to God what is God’s. Our voting is not a single issue, nor based on what someone in authority has said. It is the act of an adult conscience that looks at the broad picture of human life and development. Our voting is participation in the compassion of God. Please vote wisely and compassionately.
We are also planning for our Mass of Remembrance on All Souls Day. Please check the website for more information. This will be a public mass as well as available on the live stream. Too many of us were unable to gather with family and friends at the passing of loved ones during this pandemic. The mass of remembrance is a chance to pray for that person and for all who grieve. As we remember, I invite you to call to mind the gifts of the person. Their shared gifts are a grace from God that continues to speak to our hearts. As Schillebeeckx wrote, “we cannot believe that all that they have meant for us will be lost forever; You are their life, now and always.” We remember. We celebrate. We believe.
Peace and all good,
-Fr. Tom Gallagher, O.F.M
Supporting You When Your Employment Status Changes
We here at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi recognize that many people have encountered significant changes in their job status, and that those changes may be temporary or perhaps permanent.
To accompany them during this time, SFA is hosting online (Zoom) Unemployed Together small groups, which are support groups led by two co-facilitators over a period of six (6) weeks. For parishioners who have faced significant changes to their work status, these groups can provide the opportunity to gather in small groups of 6-8, and process these changes and feelings of uncertainty in a safe, comfortable, and faith-filled environment.
Our small groups will begin in the fall of 2020. Our facilitators are Meredith Augustin, who holds a MS degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Edward Trochimczuk, who has done extensive work in Human Resources. As a framework for our sessions, we’ll be using the Unemployed Together workbook, published by The Pastoral Center. An initial Orientation session will last for about 1 hour. Each of the subsequent six sessions will last 1.5 hours, and group members are asked to commit to attending all sessions. All are welcome.
If you are interested in joining this small group opportunity, please register here online: