We are still building a team of volunteers to help us with our livestream of the daily 12 noon and 5 PM masses and our Sunday 11:00am and 5 PM masses.  In addition we have special celebrations throughout the year, like Christmas, Holy Week, Easter and other Masses, which we want to make available to everyone via livestream.

We are also available to livestream your wedding or a funeral.

We are looking for volunteers who want to help with our media ministry team.  It is not difficult and we will train you if you are interested.  You only need to have an average comfort with computers and a basic understanding of the order of the Mass. We will train you on how to livestream even if you never have before.

This is a great way to serve the Church and meet others who are interested in this ministry.

Please consider joining our team.

Contact Edward Trochimczuk at etrochimczuk@stfrancisnyc.org for more information.

FREE DACA ASSISTANCE

Contact us for your free in-person or virtual assistance

The Migrant Center of New York, Inc

135 West 31st Street New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 736-8500 Ext 305/377 Email:migrantcenter@stfrancisnyc.org
or visit our website:  www.migrantcenterofnyinc.org

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DACA ASISTENCIA GRATUITA

Contáctenos par recibir asistencia gratuita en persona u online

The Migrant Center of New York, Inc

135 West 31st Street New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 736-8500 Ext 305/377 Email: migrantcenter@stfrancisnyc.org
www.migrantcenterofnyinc.org

Christmas welcome from St. Francis of Assisi Church, New York

Blessed Christmas, everyone. During this holy Christmas season, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Thank you for joining us. At this blessed time and every day, St. Francis of Assisi Church welcomes the Christ who comes among us in you.

Come all ye faithful, joining us with family and friends come all who are alone. Come you have recently lost someone close to you. Come you who are with someone special. No matter where your life journey has led you, come to this celebration.  Come… Christ is here, and you are welcome.

Come you who are treasured parishioners. Come most welcome guest. Come, you for whom it has been some time since you have entered a church. Come you who are of another faith tradition. Come you who are you seeking a faith tradition. Come… Christ is here, and you are welcome.

Come, all ye faithful, Single, Married, Divorced, or Widowed. Come you who are Gay or Straight. Young and old, rich or poor come, do not delay. Come… Christ is here, and you are welcome.

Come you who have experienced abuse or violence or natural disaster. Come all who have been hurt in the past and feel unable to move on. Come you who are struggling in life, financially, emotionally, or spiritually. Come you who have been away. Come you who have been living in darkness, be light with us. All are welcome to come in Christ. Come with shepherds, magi, angels, saints, and sinners. Together we walk in the joyful hope of our God’s welcome! Come… Christ is here, and you are welcome.

2020 has been a difficult journey for many of us. Yet, we are truly blessed and humbled to be sharing in this joyous moment together. We celebrate the birth of Christ, the Son of God, who was born long ago in Bethlehem and is still among us today. Let us, in the silence of our hearts, wish our family and friends those near or far away, the living and the deceased, a Blessed Christmas. (allow for some silence)

In a manger, in a town far away, among shepherds, and in the dark of night, Jesus was born. Our salvation dawned. We celebrate this great feast of God’s love: a love so great that God sent his Son to dwell among us. Let us again hear the song of the angels.  Come… let us adore him together.

During the final weeks of Advent, we have listened to John the Baptist. Like some of those hearing him for the first time, perhaps we found ourselves asking a genuine listener’s question: “What must we do to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord?” On a personal level, we may find a way to pour oil on the troubled waters of a tense and fractured relationship; to ask pardon from someone hurt by a broken promise; to soften the hardheartedness that makes it so difficult for us to offer or receive forgiveness after a quarrel. Perhaps there are injustices on a larger scale, at home or further afield, on which we should take some action. Would now be a good time to take a stand for what is right? We live in an age of increasing ecological awareness, and we recognize that our planet has suffered serious damage, caused by human exploitation of the good things of Creation. Do we need to extend our concern for the oppressed and the vulnerable and include the Earth itself? In addition, what of the pandemic? Do we realize our obligation to stay safe by following protocols recommended by the CDC and the NIH? We are not alone during this crisis. These are thoughts for listening to the Word of the Lord through the prophetic voice of John the Baptist.

by David McBriar, O.F.M.

For Christmas this year, we have added doves to our Christmas trees in the sanctuary. Each dove is a symbol of our prayer, our hope, and our remembering.

Some doves bear the names of people who are suffering from this pandemic: Those who have died from the virus, those struggling with the virus right now, and those who are out of work due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

Other doves bear the names of the humble heroes who continue to put themselves in harms way to make sure the rest of us are OK during this difficult time:  medical personnel, first responders and essential workers.

Here are the names submitted by members of our community to be remembered:

Angie Edwards
Gloria Gannon
Norma Ordonezp
Angel Julbe
Maria Mercado
Joan Melone
Andre Solomon
Mark Broadway
Louise Hansen-williams
Gloria Gannon
Andrea Zeluck
George W Hunkele
Daniel Lynch
Nery
Bronislawa
Teresa E Frees
Adam Brenner
Fabienne Krotkine
Nurses of The Cleveland Clinic
Shilpa Shah
Andrew
Ramonita Ramos
Mary Kunert
Diane Deverau Long
Andrea Figueroa
Pauline
James Schmittlrr
Michael Reilly
John Kunert
Victor Morales
Asterio Martin
Walter
Cherie La Pelusa
Dr Costanza

The Christmas flowers and wreaths which adorn our church at Christmas are offered to honor the birth of Christ and to glorify God. Thank you to everyone who donated toward our Christmas decorations.

In Memory of:

Carlina Apolinaris Acevedo
Francisco Castro Astacio
Dennis and Kathy Borecki
Brown Family
Robert Carter
Bertha and Charles Degnan
Deceased members of the Diaz family
Thomas and Theresa Dolan
Mary Dunleavy
James Dunleavy
Michael Dunleavy, Sr.
Anna Dunleavy
Dunleavy Family
Caroline M. Fagan
Deceased members of the Fisco Family
Deceased members of the Foley Byrne and Quirke Walsh Families & Poor Souls of all times
Thomas Aquinas Gilbride
Joan Dorothy Gilbride
Ruth Anne Gilbride
Peter and Ferdynand Hanusek
Edward and Cecila Harlan
Liz Healy
Billy Heuser
Jane R. and Charles Janiak
Lizurej and Kolej Family
Ania Lozowska
Padre Santiago Mallen, CSSR
May Kathleen Mark
Richard Mark
Helen McKeon
Joan Melone
Lafcadio Molina
Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Jr.
Bill and Morgan
Giti Neuman
George Lee Rexing
Victoria, Owen and Donovan Robertson
George Soresco
Paul Starzey
Anne Taylor
Kenneth Taylor
Suzanne Veljovic
Dorothy Wendt
Charles Wildes, Sr.
Jennie Wildes

And for the Special Intentions of:

Providencia Castro Apolinaris Gilbride
Michael Thomas Gilbride

The Bread and Wine for the Christmas Masses was donated in memory of:

Robert Carter

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This is our season of prayerful hope and our time of remembering.

Yet, the pandemic is very much with us. Our solemn recall of Jesus’ birth during this time invites us to remember our sisters and brothers whose lives are touched by COVID-19.

For Christmas this year, we will add doves to our Christmas trees. Each dove is a symbol of our prayer, our hope, and our remembering.

We would like each dove to bear the name of a person who has died from the virus, those struggling with the virus, medical personnel, and essential workers. We will include one dove in each group for those who have no one to remember them.

We invite you to send names that you would like included on our tree this year. (We only have 150 doves.) The dove is a sign of peace.

Please submit names by December 21st.

May the peace Christ, whose birth we recall, be with you.

Fr. Tom, ofm

Even in a pandemic, we can celebrate the birth of Christ.

We might not be able to be with all of our loved ones in person this year, but we can be together in the spirit.  And whether you come to visit the church in person, or you join us on our livestream, we will still prepare the sanctuary to celebrate Christ’s birth. The Christmas trees, the wreaths and the poinsettias will again adorn our sanctuary this Christmas.  We offer them to honor the birth of Christ and to glorify God.

It is also a way to remember your loved ones and share the beauty of the season with the whole community.  We invite you to memorialize members of your family, friends or other loved ones with a donation for our Christmas decorations. Donations and the names of those received by December 18th will posted on our parish website for Christmas.

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi was temporarily closed to protect everyone after we discovered a potential exposure to Covid-19.  We have good news to report:  all the friars have tested negative and we are free to re-open our doors.

Confessions will begin again at 11:00 AM on Monday December 14th in the lower church and in person Mass will resume also on Monday, December 14th at 12:00 PM in the upper church.

See our special schedule due to the Coronavirus at the links below:

CURRENT MASS SCHEDULE                                       CURRENT CONFESSION SCHEDULE

Original Post of 12/9/2020:

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi Church,

May the Lord give you peace.

One of our staff members has tested positive for the Coronavirus. The friars are going to quarantine until after all of us have been tested. At this point, the friars are all healthy.

For the safety of all, we will suspend public services.

I will update you on Monday, 12/14.

Until then:

• The upper church is closed.   
• The daily 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM masses and the Saturday 4:00 PM, Sunday 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM will be live-streamed only. They will not be open for congregations.
  
• We will live stream Vespers for Monday 12/14 at 5:45 PM.  
• Confessions are suspended as well.   
• The Lower Church will be open for private prayer from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday.   

I regret the inconvenience and hope to be back on schedule soon. Please continue to pray for all who are sick with the virus, for those who have died, those who mourn, for caregivers, medical personnel, and all essential workers.

Blessings,

-Fr. Tom, ofm

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Francis of Assisi Church,

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