The Pastor’s Corner – Sunday October 25, 2020
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
Bereavement Ministry Support Group – New Series
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.
The Pastor’s Corner – Sunday October 18, 2020
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
Unemployed Together
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:
Let’s Talk About Racism Zoom Event
“Racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims, and it corrupts the souls of those who harbor racist or prejudicial thoughts.”
– United States Council of Catholic Bishops
Join parishioners from Franciscan parishes in Boston, New York, and New Jersey in a six-week long Zoom conference to educate ourselves and discuss ways to recognize our privilege, confront racism, and enact change in our society as faithful Catholics in the world.
This program is open to anyone 18 years and up.
This is a free event.
Pre-registration is required.
The group meets on
Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m.
from Oct. 15 to Nov. 19.
Please email Maria Hayes at mhayes@hnp.org to join this free program.
RCIA 2020 Meeting in Person
Are we preparing people for Baptism and Confirmation during the Coronavirus pandemic?
Yes we are and it’s not too late to join.
The pandemic has caused so many problems in our nation and around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Many more are mourning the loss of their loved ones. People are out of work. Kids and young adults are out of school. People are distanced from people they love. Life is not easy right now.
The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic is part of our life’s journey whether we like it or not.
But God is not taking the pandemic off.
God is not quarantining far away
God is not keeping socially distant from us.
God is always with us, even in a pandemic, and God might even use this difficult time to call us to something new.
How do we prepare adults for Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion?
God calls people all the time, even in a pandemic. When God calls people to the Church, it is the Church’s responsibility to welcome them and prepare them to be disciples of Jesus. The main way we do this, is through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. You will often see this referred to simply as the “RCIA.”
Why do people ask about our RCIA program?
People give all different reasons for exploring Catholicism. Some people come to the Church because they fall in love with someone Catholic and they are interested in exploring their partner’s faith. Some people come from a nominally Catholic family but were raised by their parents to have no religious affiliation and they are looking to reconnect with a lost family tradition. Some people move to the US from a country where religious practices are surpressed and they want to learn about spirituality. People give all kinds of reasons for expressing interest.
But why do people decide to convert to Catholicism?
This is a different question than why people call or email about a program. People actually decide to convert because they feel closer to God in the Church. That is it. That is why they join and why they stay.
What is it that makes them feel closer to God here? The anwer to that is probably the same given 2000 years ago in the Acts of the Apostles:
They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.
(Acts 2: 42)
They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles – in other words to the Gospel. They learned about Jesus and Jesus’ teachings directly from the people who knew him, who listened to him and who ate with him, the people who were there when Jesus died. They heard the witness of the people who first experienced Jesus’ resurrection. They felt close to God in the message.
They devoted themselves to the communal life – in other words they joined the community of people who gather to live out Jesus’ commandment to love one another. Community is an integral part of the Catholic experience of spirituality. During this pandemic we were all given a painful reminder of how important community is to all of us when we were been forced to socially distance ourselves to stop the spread of the virus. Ancient Christians felt closer to God in the community.
To the breaking of bread – this is an ancient reference to the ritual celebrations of the church (what we call the “sacraments”) and specifically to the Eucharist. In other words, they felt closer to God in the Church’s rituals.
…and to the prayers. So many people who ask about the RCIA express that they do not know how to talk to God. In other words, they don’t know how to pray. That is OK. It’s part of what we teach. Ancient Christians felt closer to God in their personal prayer life and in the communal prayers of the Church.
These reasons reaons for becoming Catholic, which were given by the first generation of Christians, are the same reasons given today by people who convert.
Are you interested in exploring Catholicism or completing your Confirmation?
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- If you or someone you know is not Catholic but is interested in learning about our believes and practices, feel free to contact us. There is no pressure whatsoever to join. You are welcome to ask questions, learn, investigate and then choose to either stay or go.
- If you are already Christian but raised in another Christian community and are interested in possibly becoming Catholic, call us.
- If you are an adult Catholic who never received Confirmation or First Communion and are thinking about completing your sacraments, we can prepare you for that.
If any of these apply to you, feel free to contact us.
How will the Program work in 2020 with the pandemic?
First: we will absolutely have our program this year. It is called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA for short). We will work as best we can to keep people safe. We will observe all recommendations from the medical and scientific communities.
Right now, we are planning on holding our classes in person, with appropriate social distancing and safety measures in place. If the recommendations change and we can not to hold the classes in person, we will hold them on zoom.
What is the Schedule?
Our RCIA will begin Tuesday, September 15th. We meet every Tuesday from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
The RCIA at St. Francis of Assisi is free of charge.
If you would like to find out more about our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, please contact:
Joseph Nuzzi
Director of Evangelization
212-736-8500 x365
jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org
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