The Song of Saint Francis

Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church, Salter Path, North Carolina December 2019

It’s a Date!

December 2019

12/1 - Art Gallery Opening

following service

12/7 - Carolina East Singers

Christmas Concert,

4:00pm

12/8 - Carolina East Singers

Christmas Concert,

4:00pm

12/10 - Christian Education

Class, 5:30pm

12/11 - Poetry Class,

11:00am

12/12 - Angel Tree Potluck

& Sing-Along,

5:30pm

12/14 - Project Christmas

Cheer Luncheon,

11:45am

12/17 - Christian Education

Class 5:30pm

12/31 - Christian Education

Class 5:30pm

Rev. Everett Thomas will resume

his monthly article in January,

but in the meantime, he and the

entire St. Francis by the Sea

family bid all a Merry Christmas

as we come together during this

Advent season.

Page 2 Vestry View

Hello Dearest Friends, As the end of 2019 is drawing near, it has brought reflections of the past three years that I have had the honor and privilege to serve on your vestry. I learned so much; thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Friendships enhanced and new ones created. An inner look at all the work and dedication that is ongoing week after week and mostly by gracious volunteers. Sundays filled with joy and camaraderie. A sense of purpose and belonging. The overwhelming realization of just how kind and generous our parish really is.

As I leave the vestry with my friends George and Barb, I’m grateful for the time we served. St Francis’ legacy is in sound hands with the new vestry. They are kind, smart and very capable group of parishioners therefore we all can look forward to all the good they will accomplish during each of their terms. I’m pleased and proud of our little church and so look forward to see the wonderful things that await us.

I leave the vestry and all leaders with this quote from Jim Rohn:

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid;

be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”

Peace+ Layne Helwig

Music & Art Ministries

December is Parish Family Art Exhibit! This month we will highlight a

variety of our talented parishioners who produce various kinds of art! Two- and

three-dimensional art will be featured. The opening for this exhibit will be Sunday, December 1st during coffee hour, hope to see you there!

The Carolina East Singers, under the choral direction of

Susan Gillis Bailey, will perform their Christmas Concert on

Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8, 2019. The

concert will begin at 4:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church,

Morehead City.

The 60+ voice choir will be performing Dan Forrest’s Lux: The Dawn from

On High and many classic Christmas favorites such as The First Nowell, Silent

Night and Sleigh Ride. The choir will be accompanied by an orchestra.

Tickets are $10.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door.

They are available from any choir member or at these local organizations:

Morehead City: First Presbyterian Church or Williams Hardware

Atlantic Beach: The Pool & Patio Store, Atlantic Station Shopping Center

Beaufort: First Bank located at 1503 Live Oak Street

Events and event information can always be found on stfrancisbythesea.org or on our Facebook page!

In the Gallery

BLESSING BAGS. On November 7, a gathering of ladies at St Francis assembled 56 Blessing Bags that were presented to the folks at Family Promise in Morehead City who were more than thrilled at receiving them. The blessing bags contained a variety of items from socks to hand sanitizer to food snacks. They will be given to those in need in Morehead City throughout the winter. Thank you to all who participated by donating items, assembling the bags, delivering the bags, and praying for those who will receive them.

ST. FRANCIS ANGEL TREE

Look for the St. Francis Angel Tree on Sunday, November 24th! We will be adopting the students at the Carteret County Pre-K program. Each student will be depicted on a paper angel with their name, age, and gift suggestion. Gifts should be wrapped with the student’s name on a gift tag affixed, then returned to church on Thursday, December 12th (save the date!) when we will have our gift return and potluck supper. We will also put together a basket of snack stockings for the children & a basket of school supplies for teachers. The Outreach Committee will provide a variety of snacks to fill

stockings for each student. We ask that you please donate school supplies for the teachers. Details on the St Francis Angel Tree will be published in the church bulletin the Sunday before Thanksgiving. If you have any questions, please see Denise Throckmorton, Patty Gares, or Geraline Castle.

Music & Art Ministries, cont. Page 3

Outreach Ministry

Project Christmas Cheer! St. Francis by the Sea Live Choir Performance

Please join the St. Francis by the Sea Choir at First United Methodist Church in Morehead City for the Project Christmas Cheer Luncheon at 11:45

a.m. Each year, our choir leads the singing of both sacred and secular holiday favorite songs for all who are in attendance. (The full event is from 10:00am - 1:00pm). Project Christmas Cheer was, and is, an outreach service to the residents of Carteret County who are experiencing financial need around Christmas time, and are unable to provide Christmas presents, food, and other needs for family members for the celebration of Christmas. The needs in Carteret County for the services provided by Project Christmas Cheer expanded over the

years to the point when it outgrew what could be provided through the office of the Carteret County

Department of Social Services, without jeopardizing the ability of the department to provide for the

federally mandated services for which they must provide.

Page 4 Outreach Ministry, cont.

HOPE MISSION COOK AND SERVE When you strengthen any single part of your community, the community as a whole is the beneficiary. St. Francis is committed to supporting our communities in part by feeding the hungry at Hope Mission soup kitchen several times during the year. The first time of the year for 2020 will be Saturday, January 11th. We will cook and serve Jesse’s world-famous meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls and dessert. We will be needing volunteers to cook, serve, clean up and provide desserts. Please join us for a rollicking good time and a most rewarding

SOUPER BOWL OF CARING Beginning on January 12th and continuing through February 9th, we will be collecting non-perishable food items as part of our annual Souper Bowl of Caring food drive to benefit Hope Mission. Please leave your donations on the table in the Parish Hall beginning January 12. On Sunday, February 9 we will be serving a variety of delicious, hot soups during coffee hour. Any questions, see Denise Throckmorton or Geraline Castle.

“Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love.” – Mother Teresa

BUNCO! You are cordially invited to join us for Bunco at 5:30pm on Thursday, February 6th, 2020, in the Parish Hall at St. Francis of the Sea Episcopal Church, located at 920 Salter Path Road, Salter Path, NC 28512. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be provided by the church women. A love offering of $15 from each participant will be donated to a local soup kitchen. Door prizes will be awarded. All are welcome and please bring your friends! For more information, please contact Geraline Castle via email, call, or text (lcastle1@ec.rr.com, 252-725-2552).

WINTER WARMTH DRIVE

From November 1st to January 11th we will be collecting new, either handmade or store bought, warm hats, scarves, gloves, and socks. Our goal is to collect 100 items which we will distribute to those in need of warmth who will be enjoying lunch at Hope Mission on January 11. We collected these items last year and it was a huge success at Hope Mission! A flyer is posted on the office window with more information.

Page 5 Kids of St. Francis

Sunday school for youth is held every Sunday at 9:30am!

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” - Matthew 18:5-6

Working with young people is wonderful and rewarding. It is also challenging, exhausting and sometimes scary. I know that each one of us has our own passion or calling. For me, it’s working with young people. There is so much joy and love in working with children, but it’s serious business. One thoughtless word or action can scar a child for life, or even put them in danger. The appropriate word or action may secure a life for Christ. What an awesome responsibility.

Fortunately, we have incredible support and direction for the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina. One of the first documents I was asked to read when I started my journey with the Kids of St. Francis was The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina Standards for Youth and Children’s Ministries in our parishes. At first read, it’s intimidating. But I read as Father Everett does…3 times. By the third read, it begins to make sense. Now I review it at least once a year, more as new people join our ministry or a new experience makes me wonder what is the best way to deal with it. It covers everything.

Occasionally a young person or a parent has asked me to speak with them or their child about a problem or concern. It is not as simple as it sounds. There are strict guidelines about how a youth worker must handle such a request. Fortunately, the Standards explain exactly how to proceed while protecting the youth and the worker.

The Standards speaks to our commitment to inclusion and safety and directs us on how to screen and train adults working with children. It explains when it’s acceptable for older youth to assist in supervising younger children and when it’s not. Overnight activities and transportation have clear guidelines.

One of the guidelines that I’ve had to defend on a few occasions is the one that states: “At parish events designed primarily for youth or children there can be no participant or leader in possession of or using alcohol, illegal or illicit drugs, nor any tobacco products.” While it is normal and customary for adults to serve wine at church events, it is not OK when it’s a youth event.

The Standards give direction regarding internet safety. Who would have ever imagined that would be something we’d have to consider? At a recent Acolyte Festival the adults and youth had some excellent training on internet safety. There are some dangerous things happing on-line and we all need to know how to protect ALL of our children.

Finally, the last paragraph of the Standards deals with INCIDENT REPORTING. We know that sometimes problems arise and we need to know how to deal with those too.

I encourage every parishioner to check out this document on the parish website under Youth and Children’s Ministries. Even if you never work directly with our youth program, as a member of our church family, your interaction with our children is very important.

Information for this article was taken for The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina Web-site at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/dfc_attachments/public/documents/3188231/Standards_for_Youth___Children-in_Parishes.pdf

Currently we are working on getting all the information and individual pictures of our youth group to be included in our on-line church directory; (with parents’ consent of course). Watch for that and get to know who they are. They are your KIDS too.

Miss Martha is working on a pageant for Sunday, December 15th that will involve our children and our teens. I can’t wait. Plan to be here at our regular worship service for that. ~Marian Goetzinger

Page 6 In Other News, cont.

ECW NEWS

The second meeting of ECW was held on Wednesday, November 13th at 5:30pm in the Parish Hall. Ten women met and built a salad for dinner

and then listened as Robin Smith presented “The Zero Waste Church”. After a brief quiz about recycling, ideas were shared for the future of St. Francis “going green”. There

are several websites that address this issue, including: https://nativityonline.org/ (Church of the Nativity, Raleigh, NC) and https://www.zerowastechurch.org. Look at these two sites and stay tuned for more information soon!

Another issue discussed was the Safeguarding Our Children training for parishioners, parents and volunteers. If you are interested in working with any youth this training must be completed. Please see

Geraline Castle for more information.

A podcast that might interest many of you is The Way of Love, a weekly podcast with stories and

practical advice from Bishop Michael Curry and other who are putting the Way of Love practices. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-way-of-love-with-bishop-michael-durry/id1463972318.

Another excellent website for reflections is https://wayoflove.episcopalchurch.org/ Bishop Curry talks about how we can use The Way of Love Beyond the Church Walls. The next ECW meeting will be in conjunction with the Souper Bowl of Caring (Feb 9th after

church) and will be held on Thursday, February 6th at 5:30 pm. This will be a Bunco fundraiser for the local soup kitchen, with a donation of $15 for each player. We will have heavy hors d’oeuvres and

desserts so bring your friends! More information will be coming in January.

Poetry Class Series Wednesday, December 11th, 11:00am

Please join us for each month at St. Francis by the Sea for a poetry class led by Penn Perry, Director of The Trinity Center. Attendance is free, and all are welcome!

This class focuses on works of Robert Frost, and is created for the lover of

poetry who wants to appreciate the art even more. It is also created for

anyone who has ever wondered about poetry but been afraid to dive

deep. We will talk about how to read poetry and how poetry relates to our

own lives. We will spend 4-6 sessions on a given poet, looking at specific

poems with an eye towards how they were created and what techniques were used in their

creation. More than anything, this class should be fun for all involved!

Page 7

Lay Ministry Schedule for December

December

Birthdays

Dec 1

Dec 8

Dec 15 Sunday School

Pageant

Dec 22

Dec 24 5:00pm

Dec 29

Vestry

Stover Morris

Stover Morris

Katherine Hidecavage

Layne Helwig

George Hirasawa

Barbara McCreary

Lector

Libba Shelton

Marian Goetzinger

Kids

Meg Bradford

Terry Smith

Meg Bradford

Prayers

Pat Jones

Robin Smith

Kids

Robin Smith

Robin Smith

Pat Jones

Crucifer

Pat Jones

Marian Goetzinger

Kids

Marian Goetzinger

TBD Pat Jones

Chalice

Pat Jones Marion Morris

Jolene McCann

Tim Bradford

Marian Goetzinger

TBD

TBD Tim Bradford

Richard Seale

Pat Jones Marion Morris

Altar Guild

Linda Seale Bobbie Hill

Meg Bradford Betsy Randall

Linda Seale Bobbie Hill

Meg Bradford

TBD

Meg Bradford

TBD

Meg Bradford

Linda Seale Torch-

bearers Scott Shelton Marion Morris

Tim Bradford Sarah

Haigwood

Kids

Gay Lea TBD

Scott Shelton Tim Bradford

Marion Morris

TBD

Audio

Gary Keeter

John Clarke

Stover Morris

Larry Castle

TBD

Jim Turner

Nursery

Bobbie Hill

Terry Griffin

Beth Beswick

Beth Beswick

TBD

TBD

Coffee Hour

St. Francis Artists

Pam Ball Terry & Craig Griffin

Stover & Marion Morris

NO COFFE HOUR

TBD

Greeters

George Hirasawa

TBD

TBD

George Hirasawa

TBD

TBD

George Hirasawa – 1

Andy Culpepper–3

Linda Keeter–9

Jesse Randall–9

Marilyn Smetana–9

Dee Fearrington–10

Sadie Pruitt–12

Chris Walters–25

Nancy Carpenter – 27

Debbie McLean–27

Matt Dressel – 28

Rick Van Benthuysen–28

John Clarke – 30

Lu Snipes – 30

Tracy Pruitt–15

Braylen Venable – 17

Sandy Skirving – 17

Ellen Marriott–18

Libba Shelton–18

Claudia Sulloway–18

John Park – 24

The Song of St. Francis is a monthly publication of

St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church.

Sound side of NC 58 between Mile Marker 10 and 10½

920 Salter Path Road ● Salter Path, North Carolina ● 28512

(252) 240-2388 ● © 2019 All rights reserved

St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church

920 Salter Path Road

Salter Path, NC 28512

First Class Mail Save the dates!

Rector The Rev. Everett Thomas, Ph.D.

Priest in Residence The Rev. Chris Carlin

Vergers Tim Bradford Marion Morris

Parish Administrator Vivienne Sieker

Treasurer Sharon Watling

Asst. Treasurer Stover Morris

Sexton Frank Barrett

Vestry Class of 2019 Layne Helwig

George Hirasawa, Junior Warden Barbara McCreary

Vestry Class of 2020 Ted Goetzinger Sharon Watling

Stover Morris, Senior Warden

Vestry Class of 2021 Korin Gagnon

Tom Haigwood Katherine Hidecavage

Clerk of the Vestry

Korin Gagnon

Music Director Craig Everett

Art Gallery Director Tim Bradford

ECW Chairs Meg Bradford Libba Shelton

Outreach Chair Denise Throckmorton

Director of Youth Ministry Marian Goetzinger

Sundays

9:30 am - Sunday School ages 5-12

10:00 am - Eucharist Service

Nursery available; casual dress welcome

Wednesdays

12:00 noon - Celtic Eucharist

St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church is a parish in the Diocese of East Carolina

St. Francis Art Gallery Opening - December 1st, coffee hour following Sunday service

Carolina East Singers Christmas Concert, December 7th & 8th, 4:00pm

Tuesday Christian Education Class: The Bible and Beyond - December 10th, 5:30pm

(additional dates: December 17th & 31st at 5:30pm), no classes December 3rd & 10th

Poetry Class with Penn Perry - December 11th, 11:00am

Angel Tree Potluck & Sing-Along, December 12th, 5:30pm

Project Christmas Cheer Luncheon, December 14th, 11:45am