FROM THE RECTOR:

Thanksgiving Service
Each year the country celebrates Thanksgiving Day. It is, of course, a national holiday and for most people, an opportunity to be with family and friends for a great meal and in this part of the country, watching the Cowboys on TV. But the purpose of the day is to give thanks to God for His blessings in many different ways.
Every parish in which I have served has had a Eucharistic celebration on Thanksgiving morning. In one particular parish, however, Thanksgiving Day was something very special. It was almost a holyday. The church was filled and everyone who was having dinner that day brought the bread or rolls they were going to serve at dinner to church so that it could be blessed. I would like to do that this year for anyone who is willing to bring their bread with them to church on Thanksgiving morning. Needless to say I would also love to see a full church. The Eucharist is a celebration of thanksgiving and there is no more appropriate way to begin the day than by attending our Holy Communion service at 10:00 a.m.

Render to Caesar. . .
A few weeks ago I spoke to you about our duties as Christians in civil society. One of those duties and privileges is the opportunity to participate in governing ourselves in our representative democracy by voting for candidates and on propositions that are placed before us for our consideration. On Tuesday, November 8, Texans will have the opportunity to go to the polls to vote on several proposed amendments to our state constitution. We have made available some voting guides on the proposed amendments. The voting guide explains the individual amendments in language that is fairly intelligible and adds some pros and cons for each amendment.
Of course, the amendment that is getting the most attention is one that would add a definition of marriage to the Texas Constitution. It will be Number 2 on the ballot and it defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman and excludes all other possibilities under the definition of marriage. This, of course, should not even have to be written into the law, given its self-evident nature. But necessary it is since there are those who would wish to include same gender couples under the definition. I realize that God’s opinion on the matter isn’t often seriously considered in society anymore. But God has spoken on the issue and that should be enough for Christians. Because this is an issue and not a candidate, I can take a stand on this and as your pastor have no qualms in telling you to vote for the amendment. I believe that both sides of this issue are expending much time, effort and money to see that their side wins. But there is really only one side to this one, saints, and I encourage you to vote to support marriage God’s way on November 8.

Pledge Drive
On Sunday, October 23, I spoke to those assembled in church about our annual pledge drive. Each of you by now has also received a letter from me along with a pledge card for fiscal year 2006. Please fill out and return the card to church in the mail, in the collection plate or directly to our Treasurer, Mark Rambin by November 30. As I mentioned to you last month, we have started our pledge drive a little earlier than usual in order to give the Vestry the opportunity to develop next year’s budget by the end of this year. Thanks for your cooperation in this. Especially, thank you for your generous support of our parish in the past and what I know will be your generous support in the coming year.


CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NEWS


We are blessed at St. Francis with families committed to attending Sunday school classes and adults willing to teach a class. Thanks to John Stults for continuing to lead the youth class and Kay Francis for her work with the youngest children. Thanks to Pam and David Stephan for stepping in to work with the children in grades 3-6 while I switch over to work with the youngest class.

This is a time of outreach activity for the children and youth at St. Francis. On October 30, the children and youth are scheduled to visit the Retirement and Nursing Center on Burnet Lane from 3:30-4:30. These visits will now be on the 5th Sunday -- in combination with the Potluck luncheon. These visits to the nursing home are the primary outreach project for our youth and all children and youth are encouraged to participate. The residents and staff are very appreciative of what we do. A certificate for one year of service from the Retirement and Nursing Center is on the wall in the meeting room. Last time we visited, I purchased some cookies, but know that the residents enjoy home baked cookies. If anyone is interested in baking about 3 dozen cookies for this visit, please let me know.

This year we will continue the participation in Operation Christmas Child by assembling the Christmas boxes for Samaritan's Purse. These boxes go all over the world, including to the victims of Katrina and Rita in Louisiana and Texas. The children and youth will assemble the boxes -- but I ask the parishioners of St. Francis to donate a few items for the boxes.

Below is a list of items needed. Each box will be for a boy or girl aged 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Please pick an item and purchase enough of the item for four boxes. Bring to the meeting room by Sunday, November 20. The boxes will be assembled that day as part of the Sunday school activities.

20 Shoe Boxes
2 big rolls of wrapping paper
Toys: small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, plastic kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky, etc.
School supplies: pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, coloring books, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, etc.
Hygiene items: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, comb, washcloth, etc.
Other: hard candy, lollipops, mints, gum, sunglasses, flashlights with extra batteries, ball caps, socks, T-shirts, toy jewelry sets, hair clips, watches, small picture books, etc.

Do NOT include the following items:
Used items
War-related items (toy guns, toy soldiers, knives, etc.)
Perishable items (chocolate, canned foods, crackers, etc.)
Liquids (shampoo, lotion, bubbles, etc.)
Medicines (vitamins, cough drops, ointment, etc.)
Breakable items (mirrors, china dolls, etc.)

Finally, please mark your calendar for December 11 -- on this Sunday evening all interested families are invited to visit Bethlehem Town in Burnet. More details will follow later.