Grapevine the St. Francis
September 2018
Building Our Future:
A LOOK AT THE SFA CAPITAL CAMPAIGN It has been almost a month since Campaign Kickoff, and we’re in the home stretch with about a month left before Commitment Weekend and the end of the campaign. You should have received a pledge card in the mail or one of our volunteers will be reaching out to you if they have not already to discuss your pledge. We have surpassed our Celebration Goal of $1.2 million, which covers the renovation of the Family Life Center, bathroom upgrades, refurbishment of the sanctuary, adding confessionals, adding a counseling room, additional office space, and the resurfacing of the parking lot. We are well on our way to the ultimate Victory Goal of $5.7 million to fund ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI the formation building with adoration chapel at its fully intended size, but we still need your support. Pledges may be mailed or turned in to the church either at the office or in the collection basket. Thank you for your continued prayers for the success of the Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future Capital Campaign. Special thanks to all our A Campaign of the Advancement Foundation volunteers who have contributed to the capital campaign. For more information regarding the campaign and to KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN: watch the campaign videos, visit sfatx.org/campaign.
sfatx.org/campaign
A NEWSLETTER OF ST FRANCIS CATHOLIC CHURCH • 861 WILDWOOD LN, GRAPEVINE TX • SFATX.ORG
FROM THE PASTOR Dear Parish Family,
OFFICE HOURS Monday - 9:15 am - 8:30 pm Thursday (closed for lunch from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm)
Friday Sunday
9:15 am - 12:00 pm 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
CHURCH HOURS Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
8:00 am - 8:30 pm 8:00 am - 6:00 pm 8:00 am - 6:00 pm 7:00 am - 5:30 pm
MASS SCHEDULE WEEKENDS (nursery/guardería) Saturday Vigil 5:00 pm Sunday (no nursery) 8:00 am 10:00 am (en español) 1:00 pm 4:30 pm WEEKDAYS Monday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8:30 am 6:00 pm 8:30 am 8:30 am
We had a wonderful and busy summer this year! It all started with the Picnic and BBQ Cook-off, which I think had our biggest turnout to date. Everything was wonderful, from the band to the BBQ. I would like to thank all the people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the BBQ Cookoff a huge success and congratulations to the winners. Our Middle School and High School Young Church were very busy this summer. They went to Georgia for camp, had several social and fun events, and helped out with the Feed Our Kids program. We also welcome Sam Ford to the staff as our new Coordinator of Middle School Youth Ministry. He is going to be a great addition to our already amazing youth ministry team. Our PK - 6th Grade Ministry has been doing some great things. We had a really fun and faith-filled Vacation Bible School and we are moving forward in our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program by hosting training for new and existing catechists. One of the most exciting events of the summer was the kick-off of our Capital Campaign, “Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future.” We are trying to do some much needed renovations to our existing sanctuary, classrooms, and offices, and build a new formation building that will help us serve the over 950 children we have in catechesis. This is a very exciting endeavor for the care of our parish and the needs of our children. I pray you will make a meaningful and sacrificial gift to our campaign. For more information on the campaign, visit sfatx.org/campaign. I am very excited about the upcoming Fall. Please continue to pray for me and the staff as we continue to serve the Lord at St. Francis of Assisi. Please stay connected to the parish through our website and social media! God bless, Fr. James Flynn Pastor ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING COMMUNITY FEST
St. Francis of Assisi Church
861 Wildwood Lane Grapevine, Texas 76051 817.481.2685 // 817.488.3169 (f)
sfatx.org //
After much prayer and careful consideration of the on-going capital campaign and upcoming construction, Father Flynn and parish leaders have decided to forgo the annual Community Fest event this October. The goal is to focus on the campaign efforts this fall, then to revamp the event into a true parish celebration of the Feast of St. Francis in the Fall of 2019. As part of this renewal, the Parish Picnic & BBQ Cookoff will likely be moved to October as part of this celebration, while a Dinner Auction or Gala in support of our St. Francis Outreach Ministry will be established in 2020. Thank you for your support as we continue to further our Mission as a parish family!
Parish happenings PARISH HAPPENINGS
VBS: Another successful year!
In July, several staff and volunteers from St. Francis attended the Making Disciples 101 and 201 conferences in CO, put on by the St. Catherine of Sienna Institute and Sherry Weddell. This training dealt primarily with how parishes can answer the call to form missionary disciples and evangelize not only the people that are in the pews but the people in the cities these parishes reside. While praying and conversing at this conference, the St. Francis attendees determined three main initiatives to focus on over the next 6 months.
CONVERSION &CATECHESIS Now that our RCIA process is in full operation it is possible for anyone who comes to our parish inquiring about becoming a Catholic to begin their journey in faith with us almost immediately. We offer three “Candidate cycles” for those who are baptized and desire full communion with the Church, and the usual single “Catechumenate” grouping for those who are unbaptized. All the meetings for Candidates and Catechumens are held on Sundays throughout the year. Candidates can begin in June (“A”), September (“B”) or January (“C”) and Catechumens begin in September. Any parishioner who desires to learn more about our faith is welcome to come to any of the scheduled meetings, each of which has a specific topic. The times and topics are all found in the “Conversion & Catechesis” section in the weekly bulletin or at sfaxt.org/conversion. All meetings are currently being held in Room 113 and are scheduled either just after or just before a scheduled Mass. We are blest in having strong catechists who are skilled in presenting and facilitating discussion on the topics covered. Please join us for prayer and study and get to know those who will soon be joining our community as fully initiated members. Better yet, volunteer to serve our parish Mission by becoming a sponsor for a new member!
MAKING DISCIPLES: THE NEXT 6 MONTHS
Thank you to all the amazing volunteers that made this year’s Vacation Bible School a fun, Spirit-filled week of learning and community! We "Paraded Around the Our Father" and learned from it that God Listens, God Provides, God Forgives, God Guides, and that Priests Serve God. We also lived our faith by collecting over 700 food items for the St. Francis Outreach Food Pantry!
Focus #1: Break the silence around the invitation to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We are working as a department to figure out creative and engaging ways to break the silence around a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to encourage all our parishioners to be open about their experience of God, creating a culture where people can hear constantly about a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Concretely, you could participate by spending the first 10 minutes of any meeting with fellow Catholics reflecting on a scripture passage and sharing how Jesus is calling you to a deeper relationship with him through it. Focus #2: Lay a strong foundation of intercessory prayer. We would like to rally parishioners at St. Francis to join us in intentionally praying and interceding for revival and conversion at our parish and in our city. We will begin working to build teams of intercessory prayer around our ministries and events so that people can be called upon to pray specifically and intentionally for the efforts to build a parish of missionary disciples. Our department has a weekly habit of meeting at 2pm every Thursday to pray together, and we will begin using this time to intercede for our parishioners and for the city of Grapevine itself. Focus #3: Build multiple evangelizing opportunities at our parish. We are already beginning to refocus all our ministries, programs, and efforts as a parish towards evangelization and inviting people to encounter Jesus Christ and a personal relationship with him. We are going to double down on our efforts to build multiple evangelizing opportunities that explicitly and directly invite people to encounter the love of Jesus Christ and invite them to make a decision to follow him. One of the biggest initiatives is Discover Christ, which we will be piloting in the Fall. the St. Francis
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Ministry spotlight
YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY The Young Adult Ministry at St. Francis was coined Veritas in January 2016. Veritas is the Latin word for Truth. "We chose this as our moniker for several reasons, chiefly our pursuit for The Truth in our Lord and Catholic faith," says Dawn Hensley, one of the ministry coordinators. "We are a weekly gathering of adults (ages 20-39) who are looking not just for fellowship but for increasing our understanding of what it means to be followers of Christ in an ever-changing stage of life." The group seeks to live out the parish mission within the specific young adult demographic by offering weeekly bible, book or topic studies, social events, and routine prayer. As one of the most fluid demographics in the Church, Veritas is open to the the college-aged, the single, the engaged, the newly married, and the married with children, all within the 20-39 age range. "At St. Francis we are blessed to have so many ministries to help reach the microcosms of this demographic.... We encourage anyone who meets the parameters to join us but to also get involved in other ministries to
meet all the different life stages young adults can find themselves in, " says Reid Hensley, Dawn's husband and co-coordinator. "Our group has really sought to focus on the 'Grow' aspect of the 'Encounter, Grow, Serve' model here at St. Francis. We have done many different bible and book studies that have helped us to develop our faith and knowledge of the Lord... we plan to do an intense Theology of the Body study in the fall. We hope to grow in the Serve portion of our ministry with more projects throughout the year." Dawn continues, "This ministry has created Family. These are not just people I see at church on Sundays, these are my brothers and sisters that reach out to one another in prayer. No matter if you come weekly, monthly, or only when you are in town: you know you are welcome and that you are missed." The group meets regularly on Monday evenings at 6:30pm in Room 115 at the parish. "Don't feel shy to just show up. There is never a bad time to jump in to what we are learning!" To get involved with Veritas, contact Dawn at sdh610@yahoo.com.
All of the music ministers here at St. Francis – choir, cantors, instrumentalists – bring their special gifts of music to serve the liturgy. Our ministers work hard to add beauty through music to help others enter the liturgy more fully and experience a relationship with Jesus. Our choir, which sings at the 10am mass every Sunday (except the summer months) as well as many special litugical celebrations, plays a special role in this endeavor. "We are blessed to have a large choir, made up of volunteers, who lovingly share their time and talent to serve God and this parish." says Denise Brooks, the director of music & liturgy. "They love God and music, in that order, and practice diligently to always present their best, with humility." The choir enhances the liturgy with a variety of music that they hope speaks to everyone present at mass. "Most times we are singing harmonies with the assembly singing melody, but we also sing choral pieces that are reflective of the readings of the mass to support the scriptural message. And as with all ministry, we try to bring people closer to Jesus," Denise
continues. While a prerequisite to joining the choir is a good singing voice, just as important is the willingness to commit time, as singers give at least 3 hours per week for rehearsal and mass. "I joined the music ministry during a low time in my life," says Michele Hoffman. "I now look forward to Sunday mass, practices and special events we are called upon to sing. The music recharges my batteries each week preparing me for whatever God and life may bring." Raul Soto notes, "For me, singing in the choir is a way to converse with God and it strengthens my relationship with the Lord." "Music ministry and this choir have been the bedrock of my faith experience. These are my friends and companions on the journey," states Denise. To inquire about the choir or other music ministries, contact her at dbrooks@sfatx.org.
THE CHOIR & MUSIC MINISTRY
YOUTH MINISTRY
A SUMMER WITH YOUNG CHURCH: CONFERENCES, CAMPS & CRAZY FUN Reflection by Steubenville Lonestar AIsabella Falcon
When my parents first spoke to me about attending the Steubenville Conference I really did not know what to expect. They wanted me to experience the same thing they did when they attended a similar conference when they were both in High school, “it changed our lives,” they said. This summer I had the opportunity to attend the Steubenville Youth Conference in Irving. This was my first time attending a Catholic conference and I can honestly say it was incredible. When we first arrived at the convention center it was nothing like I expected , it was so much better. One of the first things I said was “ I didn’t know there were so many Catholics.” There were so many people my age, it was so cool how everyone treated each other. It was as if we all knew each other. The music was amazing and very inspiring. I loved the band and how the music they played was upbeat and happy but slow and loving when it needed to be. My favorite thing about Steubenville was the Girl talk with Emily Wilson. It was very heart felt and true, everything she said was just beautiful. If I had to recommend a way to feel better about yourself, being a girl of faith, I recommend her talk. She didn’t just give me confidence , she gave me answers to questions I didn’t even know I had. Hearing her speak was probably the best part of the conference. During the conference I learned that God reveals his love differently to each person. The way He revealed his love for me was through Eucharistic Adoration. Father Mike explained why Eucharistic Adoration was done; the way he talked to us about it was inspiring. He mentioned Eucharistic adoration is when Jesus walked in the crowds, when He saw everyone , including those that felt invisible. When I saw It, the Blessed Sacrament , I felt Jesus’ presence. I felt Him looking at me, listening to me, loving me. It was , honestly, the closest I have ever felt to Him. He opened my eyes at that exact moment. If you have never been to a Steubenville Youth Conference, I highly encourage you to go. It was the best thing that happened to me and I would love to share that with you. Maybe God will talk to you like He spoke to me. Anything can happen, but you will only know if you attend.
Camp Covecrest
A Reflection by Andrew Heidemann My time at Covecrest was unlike anything I had ever experienced. When you go to Covecrest you can really feel God's presence. I connected with God through the people he put around me. The week is full of fun activities, such as white-water rafting, messy games, and rock climbing. During the week, you are given a series of powerful talks. All week we talked about how good God is in our lives. Then we got into small groups to talk about it more. Small group really brings you closer to the people around you. Later in the week you do team building exercises that help you bond with the people around you. At the end of the week you have adoration. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking to meet new people and wants to get closer to God. the St. Francis
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CIS OF A N A
SS ISI
ST. FR
SCHOOL NEWS
P RESCHOOL MORE INFO:
sfatx.org/preschool
St. Francis of Assisi Preschool is about to start its 25th year of classes and care for the children of our parish and community! Our program is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am - 2pm for children 18 months - PK4. We have a few remaining spots, so contact the Director, Karen Bedore, for more info or to schedule a tour at 817-481-2685 x230 or preschool@sfatx.org. The preschool was extremely busy as we finished out last school year in May! We had our May Crowning, talked about all the wonderful things our parents do for us, and made both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts. We had a special End of the School Year Blessing with Father Flynn, and our Pre K4 graduation ceremony was fun, joyous, and bittersweet as our students move on to kindergarten in the fall. It is wonderful to see how much the children have grown in 9 months. As is tradition, our school year ended with a fabulous Tropical Splash Day, complete with sand table, water play, bubbles and popsicles! We were all busy this summer preparing for the start of preschool again, and can't wait for the students to return the first full week of September. We know this year is going to be wonderful as we continue to watch our students flourish in their studies and faith!
Donate and Join the Fun! September 20th @ HTCS HTCS Back To School - 2018
Food, Drinks, Bounce Houses and more
As our summer break comes to a close, the Holy Trinity faculty and staff look forward to partnering with you in your child’s education for the 2018-2019 school year. We renew our commitment to providing a challenging and exciting academic environment in which students grow daily in their Catholic faith and become community members who learn, serve, and lead. This year we welcome five new teachers and one new staff member: Pon Dixon: Grade 4-5 Math and Grade 5 Social Studies Heather Mason: Grade 5 English/Language Arts and Religion Kristine Placencio: First grade Michele Todd: Music Teacher, Grades PK-8 Ed Palazzetti: Technology Coordinator Kristine Webb: Development Director Enjoy your remaining days of summer break, and we look forward to seeing you on August 13th for Meet the Teacher!
WATCH YOUR BULLETINS FOR MORE DETAILS ON NTGD AND HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT YOUR PARISH SCHOOL
STAFF Q&A
OUTREACH IN ACTION
SaM FORD
In May, we welcomed Sam, our newest staff member. Sam has been busy all summer getting to know the youth of our parish. If you haven't had the chance to meet him yet, here is a bit to help you start a conversation: Describe your role AT THE PARISH. I’m the Coordinator of Middle School Young Church, which basically means I organize most of the events we have for our 7th and 8th graders here at the parish, often lead praise and worship for both our middle and high school events, and I help recruit and equip volunteers to join me in the work of ministering to our teens. Tell us a bit about your BACKGROUND. I graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2015 with a BA in Theology and Catechetics with a concentration in Youth Ministry. I recently finished two years of missionary work on college campuses in the Kansas City area with Saint Paul’s Outreach. What IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Green FAVORITE Food? Blue Bell cookie dough ice cream FAVORITE BOOKS? “The Father’s Tale” and “Strangers and Sojourners" by Michael D. O’Brien, “Fathered by God” by John Eldredge, “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton, “Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain MOVIES? The Dark Knight, Blues Brothers, Muppet Treasure Island FAVORITE PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN? Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park What'S A Favorite Bible Passage? 1st John. It’s so rich with the Father’s love. What is your fAVORITE THINGS TO DO ON YOUR DAYS OFF? Play disc golf, work out, and read a good novel. What is AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOURSELF? Most people don’t know that I’m a certified personal fitness trainer, although I’ve never used my certification in a professional capacity. What is your favorite part about working here? Giving Joseph Barringhaus and David Trigleth a hard time. What ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? I taught myself how to play guitar and bass guitar in high school, and I still play both with some regularity. My next goal is to learn how to play drums!
OPERATION ADOPTION: Outreach is Preparing for the Holidays While it still feels like we are in summer and the cooler weather will never arrive, St. Francis Outreach has already begun preparing for the Holiday Season! In fact, plans are already underway to ensure local families in need and soliders on active duty from within our community will get some special love from our parish family when Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around. Here is everything you need to know about this year's Adopt-aFamily and Adopt-a-Soldier Programs:
• Adopt-a-Family sign-ups, for those families who need assistance, begins October 16. These families must qualify as they would with any agency, where financial need is determined according to federal income guidlines after meeting with our Outreach caseworkers. • Over the next several months, we will be conducting special food drives to collect the food specifically needed for the Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. Keep an eye on the bulletin for the specific food needs. • The Angel Trees will go up in the Narthex and Foyers on the weekend of November 17-18. The unwrapped gifts will be due back by December 8, ensuring enough time to distribute the gifts to the families before Christmas. We ask that the gifts are unwrapped so that the parents can share in the joy of giving the presents to their children. • The adopted families are also assisted with any financial needs for utilities, rent or unforeseen expenses during the holidays, as well as into the New Year. Look for angels on the trees that specifically list some of these needs. • Adopt-a-Soldier will also be underway this fall for those who will be deployed during the holidays. You can contact the parish office to submit a military serviceman or woman for this special project. The lists of items needed to send care packages will also be in the bulletin. These programs would not be possible without the tremendous generosity of our parish family. Those who volunteer and work at St. Francis Outreach love this time of the year and we are so very thankful for your support! the St. Francis
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Staff Blog Samplings
The 44
Edmund Mitchell Director, Catechesis & Evangelization Here’s a statistic that may come as a surprise: it is estimated (nationally) that 4% of those present at Mass on a given weekend are *not* Catholic. Of this 4%, 2% were never Catholic and 2% were baptized Catholic but no longer consider themselves to be Catholic (CARA, 2011). Our church sanctuary at St. Francis sits around 1100 people. This means that every Sunday, at a Mass you attend, there are 44 people who find themselves at Mass but do not consider themselves Catholic. Some of the 44 are at Mass because they wanted to come “check it out”. Some of the 44 are at Mass because their spouse dragged them. Some of the 44 are just barely hanging on to the faith of their parents. Some of the 44 are hurting and looking for God. Some of the 44 have questions, and don’t know when to kneel, and are just inches from the door listening for something, anything, to keep them in our church. You may have heard grumblings about the decline in mass attendance in America. Maybe you’ve heard priests forcefully insist (borderline threatening) in a homily the importance of Catholics attending Mass. But the trend continues and if we don’t do something different, we may get more familiar with an empty church as the older generations get older and the younger generations stop believing. Here’s another thing to consider: these 44 are not as easy to spot as you imagine. They are behind you in line at the fish fry. They are married to someone who sits near you at mass. We see their kids in first communion class or confirmation prep. Do we speak in a way that would make the 44 WANT to continue coming to Mass? Do we speak in a way that would make the 44 WANT to become Catholic? Do we speak in a way that makes someone curious about the God we believe in? Do we speak about God in a way that makes someone who knows very little interested to encounter the love and mercy of Jesus Christ for themselves personally? I am sad to admit that I’ve heard Catholics speak in a way that would completely turn away the 44. I’ve often heard nice Catholic people talk negatively and slam “Chreaster Catholics” (Christmas and Easter
Catholics) not realizing there is a non-Catholic standing a few feet away from them. What a horrible way to encourage people who are barely attending to come more often! I’ve heard Catholics speak openly at events and meetings about “people who just don’t 'get it'” and “people who leave our church for Gateway or Fellowship just looking for entertainment”. To be quite honest, this is an uniformed opinion and is flat out wrong. Sherry Weddell, in the book Forming Intentional Disciples, makes it clear the data shows most people who leave the Church do so because they felt “their spiritual needs weren’t being met.” And they don’t leave upset or angry at some hard truth we believe. Instead, they “just gradually drift away.” It has nothing to do with them not “knowing the truth” or being “self-centered.” I believe the 44 leave because no one is encouraging them to stay. Imagine for a moment you are just barely hanging on to your faith, unsure where to turn, and unsure if you are Catholic. Then compare the experience of the 44 at a normal Catholic Mass in America and the 44 at a church like North Point Community Church in Atlanta, who state in their mission: “We want to be a church unchurched people love to attend.” Ask yourself which experience you would drift towards. For this very reason, Pope Francis said: “I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”
Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel) ¶ 27
I don’t believe we should all start wearing skinny jeans and serve mountain dew at Mass. I do believe that, as Catholics, we rarely ever speak directly to the 44. We are maintaining the peace with the faithful few. How can we as a Church create a culture that speaks directly to the 44? How could our events, conversations, bulletins, ministries, classes, and communities ensure that the 44 not only stay but move a step closer towards Jesus every Sunday?
"I AM"
Danielle Milliken Coordinator, Digital Media & Communications
Jesus says: “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35) “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
Over the past few months, I have been blessed to attend catechist training for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. If you aren’t familiar with this catechetical method, it is a Montessori-based curriculum of helping the youngest child fall in love with Jesus through an experience of scripture and the liturgy (you can find out more at sfatx.org/cgs).
“I am the Gate.” (John 10:9)
I have been in awe as the program has drawn me into the truths of our faith in such a deep, yet simple, way. This method is all about creating a space for the child to come to know God through their own wonder and experience. Amazingly, the training has forced me to wonder about our God in ways I have never really thought about before.
“I am the true vine.” (John 15:1)
At one point in the training, the instructor said something really profound. She said, “As adults, we feel like we have to provide an answer when we are asked a question. But that isn’t always the case.” She continued, “In fact, we might be doing the child a disservice by directly answering their questions about God rather than letting God speak to their hearts through His own words. As catechists, we must be silent; we must answer their questions with ‘I wonder’ or ‘What do you think?’ We must let the child come to discover Jesus intimately in the depths of his or her own soul. If anything, we must only give the child the answers about God that God Himself gives.”
“I am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11&14) “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
If we are being honest, each one could take days, weeks, or even a lifetime for us to unpack. Most of them harken to real, tangible objects (bread, light, gate, vine) yet contain so much depth beyond the tangible. Each time I read the phrases, a new message from God speaks to me. I have truly taken to heart the CGS trainer’s advice: I wonder what God is telling me about Himself? I am grateful that He defined Himself fairly clearly. But I am also in awe of how much meaning lies behind each statement. What an amazing God we have! I encourage you to pray with one of these “I Am” phrases daily. Print (or cut) out the list above and put it in your bible, or on your mirror, or next to your bed. When you see it, focus on one of the statements and then ask yourself, “I wonder what God wants to tell me about Himself today?” You will likely be surprised and grateful for the the answer.
The instructor made this point while we were discussing the Parable of the Good Shepherd. Specifically in this passage, Jesus says “I Am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11). He tells us who He is. In fact, Jesus uses the phrase “I Am” only 7 times in the Gospel of John, but each time He is revealing something powerful and intimate about Himself. He knew the Jewish people would recognize the significance of the “I Am” statement because God revealed Himself to Moses as “I Am Who Am” in Exodus 3:14. The words “I Am” have importance; they compel His followers, who were good Jews, to listen.
TAIZÈ PRAYER
But I really think He wants us to listen, too. What is He trying to reveal about His person or His love or His power in each simple, yet deeply profound statement?
MORE INFO: sfatx.org/taize
"Can we do this every night?" - First-time Attendee Come experience this beautiful, contemplative prayer!
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St. Francis Families Do you have any fun or interesting family traditions? We literally fell in love upon the first sight of each other and had our first date a few days later on a 20th of March. Every month since that first date, we have lovingly competed with each other to be the first to remember it’s the 20th, and then to wish the other a “Happy 20th."
HuntFamily Tell us a bit about your family. We (Ana & Chris) have two daughters in their 40s. One lives in Washington State and the other in Hawaii. Each has two sons, all four of whom are now in their 20s. We also have a great grandson. Ana was born and raised in Costa Rica, coming to the United States some 50 years ago as an exchange student. She is a retired professional floral design artist and member of the American Institute of Floral Designers. Her artistry earned her a national reputation for elegance in simplicity. She was more recently certified as a master gardener and is active in the Denton County Master Gardeners Association. Retiring three years ago, Chris spent 41 years as an executive with the Boy Scouts of America. During the last six years of his career he directed the Scouts’ advancement program from the BSA national office here in Irving. In this role, he authored 2 books, including the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, required for use by all Eagle Scout candidates. Ana is a cradle Catholic; Chris was baptized protestant, but Ana provided the inspiration for his conversion some 40 years ago. What drew you to St. Francis of Assisi Parish? We were looking for a change and attended the 10am mass at St. Francis in January 2016. We laughed so hard during Father Flynn’s homily that we carried that happy upbeat feeling with us through the week. It had been FUN to go to mass! Hearing the music was important, too, and within a few weeks Chris had met with Denise and began singing with the choir in February. What do you love most about the parish? Father Flynn is one of us. He had a life away from the church and through experience, understands what we all face. His preaching is based in a logical reality.
What is an interesting fact about your family that people may not suspect or know? Our garden was featured in the 2018 Denton County Master Gardeners Association garden tour in May. More than 400 people visited throughout the day, admiring the results of Ana’s nurturing and garden design creativity and Chris’ architecture in the hardscape. The garden tour leaders chose the name, ‘Hidden Paradise,’ for our garden, which we think suits it. It’s a private haven where we so often find ourselves in contemplation and gratitude for the beauty of God’s creations, His love for us, and our love for each other. Now that Chris is retired, he has gotten back to work on the novel he began many years ago. He expects to wrap up final editing in a few more months. What is one way your family prays together? The Taizè prayer service has become an important part of our prayer life—a time to unwind from our busy lives and commune with God and with each other. What is a favorite scripture passage for your family? The teachings in the Gospel of John 4 and elsewhere, that suggest as we love one another we are in essence, sharing God’s love—allowing Him to love us through our love for each other. The smiles, the warm thoughts, the help, and so forth, that we direct toward others, are thus, God’s smiles, God’s thoughts, and God’s help. What parish ministries are your family involved in? Chris leads the parish Chesterton Society and sings in the choir for the 10am mass, while we both are enjoying one of the new Connect Groups and and are helping as committee members for the parish capital campaign. We were very active in our previous parishes serving on various councils, and have also served together in Engaged Encounter and Marriage Encounter. How would you explain our parish to an outsider or fallen away Catholic? Whatever happened, set it aside and join us at St. Francis where we have fun at mass and leave inspired, joyful, and ready to minister to those around us who need some love and a listening ear.
Cerone Family Tell us a bit about your family. We (Sean & Christine) have been married for 23 years. We moved to Texas in the mid-1990’s and to Grapevine in 1997. Both of us graduated from Creighton University, Christine from the School of Pharmacy and Sean from the School of Dentistry. Sean has a dental practice in Southlake, which he opened in 1996. Christine has been a pharmacist at several locations within Baylor Scott&White Health since 1994. Our two daughters, Cecilia and Natalie, will begin 8th and 6th grade this year at our parish school, Holy Trinity Catholic School. They both attended the preschool program at St. Francis before starting kindergarten at Holy Trinity. Cecilia plays soccer, basketball and the piano. Natalie dances at Lifesong Studio and also plays the piano and the trumpet. What is a favoirte scripture passage for your family? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 — Several years ago (Natalie wants to emphasize several), Natalie made and decorated a small piece of paper with “Love Never Fails – Father Flynn” written on it and pinned it to her bulletin board. A few weeks went by before it was noticed. When asked, she explained she made it after one of Fr. Flynn’s homilies because “it is really important.” Although she has since clarified the origin of the quoted phrase, her understanding of the passage needed no clarification. God’s love is eternal, it never ends, it is unconditional, and we must all love the way Jesus loves. Our challenge as a family is to follow Jesus more closely, to prepare our daughters to make the world a better place. What is one way your family prays together? We try to eat breakfast and dinner as a family as our schedules allow. We pray and give thanks before eating and love our time at the table to prepare and catch up on our days.
What drew you to St. Francis of Assisi Parish? We were drawn to St. Francis when we moved to Grapevine in 1997. Father Ken had just begun as pastor at St. Francis, and we felt our timing was good to begin a new church at the same time a new pastor was taking over. At the time, we were young, at least relative to our age now, and without children, had time to get involved in church ministries that Father Ken recruited us to. This included the wedding ministry, where we both were fortunate enough to get to know some other young couples and their families getting married at St. Francis. We also worked on a capital campaign, and Christine has served on the Stewardship committee. What parish ministries are your family involved in and what Mass do you typically attend? Our family generally attends the Sunday 8am Mass. We have long enjoyed seeing the same early morning risers each week and having our choice of seats. Currently, our focus has been supporting the parish school. Christine is the Vice Chair of the Holy Trinity Advisory Council. She has also served on several other school committees including the Gala committee and the Parish Connections committee. The Parish Connections committee is tasked with communicating updates and coordinating activities to unite the school to each of its three parishes. Look for us standing behind a Holy Trinity table after Mass at least a couple times each semester! What do you love most about the parish? During our years as parishioners at St. Francis we have met, served with and formed friendships with so many wonderful people. We can’t say enough about how blessed we are to have Holy Trinity connected to our parish, and the great Catholic faith formation and quality academic education our children have received at the school. We are grateful that they begin and end their school day in prayer and are encouraged to think, learn, serve and lead. It is evident at Holy Trinity, as it is at St. Francis, that “Jesus is the reason for the school…. and the inspiration for its students." These featured families, along with all our parish families, contribute to what makes St. Francis a thriving community. We are honored they call us home. To nominate a family to be featured, email Dani Milliken at dmilliken@sfatx.org. the St. Francis
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861 Wildwood Lane Grapevine, TX 76051
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The annual Parish Picnic & BBQ Cook-off on June 9 was another great success! Thank you to the 700+ people who attended, especially the teams who competed in the BBQ competition and anyone who volunteered!
ALL PROC EEDS BEN EFIT OUR ST. FRAN CIS OUTR EACH!
A special congratulations to our winning teams: 1st - Knights of the Holy Grill 2rd - The Notorious P.I.G. 3rd - Smokin' Ags
Thank you to everyone who assisted with the GRACE Feed Our Kids Program! Your generosity is appreciated!