| St. Francis
of Assisi-Meadowvale Groups
Anglican Church Women The Anglican Church Women (ACW) are central to the service, fund-raising and social aspects of our parish life. Profits from our fundraising ventures go towards numerous outreach projects, including support for Interim Place, and help for local needy families. All women who are members of the parish are automatically members of the ACW; there are no dues or fees and you are welcome to come to as many or as few meetings or events as you like. But chances are that once you sample our hospitality and friendship, you’ll want to be back for more -- whatever we do, we do with joy and gladness!
Sidespersons Our roster of sidespersons has the duty of greeting parishioners and guests and ensuring the smooth running of all services. Working in teams, they take turns week by week in this worthwhile ministry. Advisory Board The Corporation of our Parish consists of two Wardens, one elected by the people of Vestry (regular members of the parish 18 or over) and one appointed by the Incumbent (the Rector, or priest). The Incumbent, Wardens and Deputy Wardens meet monthly with the advisory board, whose members provide the lay leadership and advise on the future directions of the parish. The Advisory Board consists of heads of organizations, members of Synod, and other representatives of the parish. This is not only a decision-making body, but an intensely rewarding involvement as well. Meetings are open to any parishioners who wish to attend, and are held the third Tuesday of the month. Christian Education From Baptismal Preparation Classes through Sunday School, to adult study groups and Logos courses, St. Francis offers Christian Education opportunities for young and old alike. Baptism is considered the sacrament that brings about full membership in the Body of Christ, so that Confirmation is no longer required to receive Communion. Despite this change, all are encouraged to be confirmed, so Confirmation classes are offered for young people as well as adults. If you’ve an interest in young people and or education, why not volunteer to be a Sunday School teacher or assistant? This is a very rewarding ministry. Youth As well as Sunday School and other opportunities for education in the Faith, we strive to involve our young people in all that we do at St. Francis. Our children are the Church of the future, and as such must feel that they are an integral part of our Christian family. Various fun outings, fundraising events and get-togethers take place during the course of the year. Our Youth Group meets every other Friday evening during the school year from 6:30 to 8:30pm for a casual drop in and to make their own dinner. All Youth ages 10 and up are invited to join. Choir Our constantly growing choir leads us in choral worship every Sunday
at our 10AM service. Once per month we have contemporary music at the 10AM service.
Altar Guild The Altar Guild through their quiet, behind-the-scenes work of preparing and maintaining the Lord’s Table, helps to inspire our worship. This dedicated group’s duties include setting up the Altar for all regular and special services, and caring for the vessels, linens, and vestments as well as the furnishings which adorn the sanctuary. Like to serve the Lord quietly, in a regular and loving ministry? Give the Altar Guild a call. Servers St. Francis has four LayReaders, and a Servers’ Guild drawn from the ranks of both adult and youth members of the congregation. The servers play an integral part in our worship services, assisting at the Altar. What a marvelous learning experience for them all, as they gain a greater knowledge of our liturgy. Here is another vital ministry in which you can share your time. Communications Our Communications Committee is responsible for maintaining communications both within and outside the parish: bulletin boards of upcoming events, advertising to the media, and publication of our bi-monthly newsletter, The Franciscan. Upcoming projects include updating the parish photo directory, building our data base with useful information such as job skills, talents and interests of our parishioners. This is a newly formed committee, who would be most happy to have new members join them. Have a creative bent? Like to write? Perhaps you like to phone people? Come on out and help! Calling and Caring Another newly formed group, these cheerful folk are responsible, among other things, for greeting newcomers to our services, updating our name badges, visiting the sick and arranging pastoral visits where requested. They will be coordinators of our various social events, and will be undertaking regular visiting of our parish list as well as new areas of our community. Friendly, outgoing members are always welcome. Feel too shy for visiting? No problem -- we’ve lots of behind-the-scenes, more quiet tasks with which you can help! The Calling and Caring Committee host a pot luck dinner on the first Wednesday of every month.Prayer Chain This is a small group of parishioners who regularly pray privately or in small groups for the special needs of the parish. Taking their focus from the Prayer Request Book available at every service, they offer their support and love to fellow parishioners in this very special way. Prayer requests can be phoned in to them or to the church office at any time. During the course of the year, each family on the parish list will also be prayed for by name, and letters are sent out each week to those for whom we will be praying the following Sunday. This has been a great source of comfort and strength for many of our families, who call to thank us and share their special requests for prayers of thanksgiving or need. Other Organizations and Activities There are many other activities at St. Francis, both ongoing and occasional, and too numerous to be detailed here. To find out more, read The Franciscan, or the weekly bulletin, and make sure that your name and address are on our parish list. Like the very important services of Sunday worship, the services of baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial we expect to be available when needed. But all these take the resources -- time, talents, and treasure -- of many people to be offered at all. Your support is most welcome and makes all our efforts worth while. |
