The Church of St. Francis of Assisi will be holding a special liturgy for people affected by suicide. This will take place on Saturday, November 21, 2020, at 6pm.

This liturgy is for anyone that may have been affected by suicide – those of all faiths or none, you are welcome.

People of all races, ethnicities, social classes and gender take their lives. At times there are warning signs while other times there are not. But no matter what, nothing can prepare us for the loss of a beloved family member or friend from suicide. It leaves us with so many questions as well as feelings of guilt and loss. While we will never fully know why a person ends his or her life, we can turn to prayer for comfort. Through prayer we can voice our pain, loss, anger and confusion. In prayer, we must also remember to lift up those who battle depression, isolation and hopelessness. Everyone is fighting a battle of their own, some are visible and others are not, let us come together and pray with one another.

If you would like to have someone remembered who has been affected by suicide we will speak their names during our prayer of the faithful at this Mass.  Please feel free to fill out the form below with their first name.

All are welcome.

Join us for a Week of Prayer for Our Nation

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.

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.

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:

“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.

Novena to St. Francis of Assisi
(virtual)

Join us daily on our Facebook page for a virtual novena to our patron saint.
Friday, September 25th to Saturday, October 3rd

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Week of Prayer in honor of St. Francis
(in church and livestreamed at 12:00 Noon daily)

Monday, September 28, to Friday, October 2, at all of our daily Masses: 7:30 am, 12:00 noon, and 5:00 pm

In an era of doubt and uncertainty, let us pray for the grace to be instruments of peace in our world.

Click here for the Novena prayers.

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Transitus
(virtual)

LIVESTREAM Only – Saturday, October 3, at 7:00 PM  (see our livestream on our homepage or our Facebook page)

The commemoration of the Passing of St. Francis from earthly life to Eternal Life.

Click here for Worship Aid for the Transitus

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Blessing of Animals
(in church)

Sunday, October 4, at 1:00 PM

Please gather with your pet near the entrance of the church on W. 31st Street.

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Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
(in church and virtual)

Festive Masses on Sunday, October 4, at 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM (in person and on livestream)

Click the image to go to St. Francis Live to watch all liturgies and special events.

Do you love your pet?  Well, God does too!

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and it’s part of our Franciscan tradition to bless our furry or feathered friends on or near Francis’ feast day.

So bring your cat or dog, fish or frog, or any pet you have to get blessed.

Sunday, October 4, at 1:00 PM

Please gather with your pet near the entrance of the church on W. 31st Street.

Don’t forget your mask!

The St. Francis Adult Education Center will hold a very limited Fall Semester starting October 2020.  Our center continues to be closed to in person groups, classes and meetings.

The following classes will be help remotely on Zoom:

Catholicism 101: The Sacraments – A Spirituality of Encounter

In this eight week course we will study the seven sacraments of the Church and what it means to be a sacramental people. We will investigate the history and development of each sacrament as well as how they are currently understood and celebrated in the church. In this difficult time of the pandemic, coupled with this tense time of division and strive, we will also explore how the sacraments are moments of real contact with God’s love, justice and mercy and, as such, are concrete encounters with the one who saves us.

New York Friction and Factions: A Study of Three Novels by Edith Wharton

This year marks the centenary of the publication of Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence, the first Pulitzer Prize winning novel written by a woman. We will study three of Wharton’s New York novels in chronological order, beginning with The House of Mirth, the story of the animated and beautiful Lily Bart who was at once created and condemned by high society. A satirical view of society and personal relationships, The Custom of the Country follows the ambitions and self-centered Undine Spragg as she navigates relationships and American and French customs.  We will conclude with The Age of Innocence, highlights the extravagances and the restrictions of New York’s Gilded Age as Newland Archer finds himself attracted to his fiancée’s cousin Ellen, who comes to America in the wake of her failed marriage to a Polish count.

Pablo Neruda’s Poetic World

We will sample the works of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda whose work demonstrates a wide variety of styles and subjects that range from lyrical love poems to surrealistic works to political poetry.  Appointed as consul to several Asian countries and then to Argentina and later Spain, Neruda wrote from a global perspective shaped by appreciation for various cultural traditions and sympathy for those suffering from poverty or political oppression. Our discussion will include the problematics of the style and subjects of political poetry.  For the first hour and a half, we will discuss Neruda’s poetry.   The last half hour will include an optional writing opportunity in which students will be given a prompt and will be invited to incorporate some of the themes or styles into their own writing.  Students will have the option of revising their work during the week for comments by the instructor.

Text:  The Poetry of Pablo Neruda.  Ed. IIan Stevens.  2015 (available in Kindle and paperback formats from Amazon.)

Sr. Fran McManus, RSM, MA

Mondays 6:00 PM- 8:00 PM
Oct. 19-Nov. 30

$70.00*

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