A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM FR. DAVE
WORSHIP & PRAYER
- Memorial Day Mass Unfortunately the annual outdoor Memorial Day Mass at St. Joseph Cemetery has been cancelled. Please join your prayer with ours for all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and all of our nation's active and veteran service men and women.
- Change in Liturgies Next Week Please note the following changes to our live stream celebrations on our YouTube Channel:
- Our usual Thursday Eucharistic Adoration is cancelled and is replaced with a live stream of our annual 8th Grade Mass & Graduation on Thursday, 5/28 at 7 pm. All are welcome to join us to celebrate the St. Francis de Sales Class of 2020 live on YouTube.
- Sunday Mass on 5/27 will remain at 10 am.
- On Sunday, 5/31, our live stream Mass will move to a new time at 10:45 am.
- Today's a Good Day for a Novena Today is the anniversary for the first novena prayed by the Apostles between the Ascension and Pentecost. As we prepare to return to the celebration of public Masses on Penecost weekend, please join us in this prayer. Download the Bishop's Novena prayer guide here or check out Pray More Novenas to sign up for a daily email prayer reminder!
- The Return Plan On May 30 & 31, we will begin offering again our 4 weekend public Masses at St. Francis! Thanks be to God! We have missed seeing you, our parish family, and can’t wait to offer the Eucharist to you again, and to celebrate and live our faith together as a community. Below are attached documents with some guidelines that we're implementing and a letter from Bishop Brennan. Please carefully read these documents as you discern joining us on our opening weekend.
FAITH FORMATION
- Adult Faith Formation
- Holy Spirit Lunch with Padre Grab your lunch and live stream with Fr. Dave and all the Alpha Online participants on Pentecost Sunday, 5/31 at noon on our YouTube channel. Father will share his talk, How Can I Be Filled with the Holy Spirit? helping us to discover the power and grace given to each of us by the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
- Unbound Virtual Retreat Live Free Ministry is presenting a FREE virtual retreat on May 26 - 28, offering options for morning or evening blocks each day. Last year, we had 150 people participate in this life-changing experience where they learned three steps clear the way for the Holy Spirit to enter and restore what was lost, mend what was broken, heal what was damaged, unlock what was bound, and raise what was dead! Learn more and register here.
- Youth Ministry
- Teaching Tuesday Do you know who St. Corona is? Guess what?! She's the patron saint of pandemics! Yep, we've got a saint for that. Find out more on Instagram.
- Friendship: True or Toxic? The movie Mean Girls shows us the difference between toxic friendship and true friendship and it gives us a reason to look at our own friendships. Now is as good a time as any to ask the hard hitting question: is this a true friendship? Watch now.
- Elementary Faith Formation
- Virtual VBS Save the date for our first-ever Virtual VBS the week of 7/13. Details to come! If you would like to help with planning or have ideas, please let us know!
- The Great STEM Toy Giveaway The Works has seven pallets of toys to give away to children ages 10 and under. The drive-through event will take place on Friday, 5/22, 4 - 7 pm in front of The Works buildings on 2nd Street. In partnership with toys for Tots and DOMI 7, our goal is to continue STEM learning at home. See flyer below for more details.
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!
PARISH & COMMUNITY NEWS
- St. Francis 8th Grade Mass & Graduation Plan to join us online for Mass and the 8th grade graduation program on Thursday, 5/28 at 7 pm on our YouTube channel. We are looking forward to celebrating the achievements of this class and honoring them before the summer. Please note: our regularly scheduled Thursday Eucharistic Adoration for 5/28 is cancelled.
- Open Position: Director of Youth Ministry Our parish is seeking a Christ-centered, innovative and passionate visionary to lead the Youth Ministry Core Team overseeing the parish’s Middle School (6th -8th grade), High School (9th-12th grade), and College/Young Adult initiatives. Learn more here then submit your resume and cover letter to Tina Burtch, Director of Faith Formation & Evangelization.
- Beautify Our Holy Grounds Help spruce up our outdoor space in advance to our first weekend back into the parish. We're gathering on Saturday, 5/30 at 8 am. Donuts and coffee provided. Feel free to bring your own tools. Please contact our new Building and Grounds Team Coordinator Rocky Carr by email or by calling 614.205.1188.
- Cemetery Maintenance Help Needed All the rain has backed us up our maintenance and we would love your help this weekend. Meet us at Mt. Calvary on Saturday, 5/23 at 9 am, bring your weed trimmer and/or mower. For info please contact Bill McWilliams at 740.405.7427.
- Reconciliation Fr. Dave is offering his next opportunity for Confessions on Wednesday, 5/27, 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Beginning 6/3, our regular Confession times will be on Wednesdays, 5:30 - 6:15 pm, Saturdays, 4 - 4:30 pm and by appointment. All confessions are temporarily held in the Dominican Library (inside Lamy Center). Appointments during open Confession times are no longer necessary, but we do ask that you practice our safety guidelines when you arrive:
- Do not come if you are sick or running a fever.
- Please wear a mask.
- Use provided sanitizer.
- Practice social distancing by standing a minimum of 6' apart in the line (the floors will be marked to help you.)
- Please remain standing for your confession.
- Bringing Eucharist To You For those not ready to return to public Masses on 5/30, we are offering to have Holy Communion brought to you at home. Learn how we're ensuring the highest level of safety in bringing this service to you, then contact Deb Shelly at 740.366.6924 to add your name to our list to have a Eucharistic Minister come to you!
- Parish Festival With the continued uncertainty of the COVID-19 virus lingering upon us, ever-changing guidelines, and the desire to keep our community safe and healthy, the Parish Festival Core team, along with Parish Council made the very tough decision to cancel this year's August event. We feel this decision is in the best interest of all concerned. Thank you for your past support and we look forward to next year's Parish Festival 2021 which we hope to be twice as exciting.
- Parish Office Updates Beginning June 1, the parish office is moving to the new Faith and Family Center building. On this day, the parish office will resume limited hours Mondays - Thursdays, 10 am - 4 pm and Sundays, 9 am - 12 pm. To avoid crowding and to maintain social distancing, we ask that you please make appointments should you need to meet at length with a specific staff member.
- Return Team Volunteer Training We are offering several options, both in-person and virtual, for training in your new role(s) on the Return Team starting as soon as tomorrow. See dates and sign up here.
- Volunteers Needed We need your help for reopening the parish for public Masses beginning on 5/30 for our AV Tech, Sanitation, Greeter and Usher teams. If you're able to help us keep everyone safe while worshiping together, please contact Grace Wright. Training begins this week!
- Class of 2020 Baccalaureate Mass Please join Bishop Brennan as he live streams the celebration of the Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2020 in honor of our 11 Diocesan High Schools on Wednesday, 5/27 at 7 pm. Watch here!
- Adoration Reopening Adoration will resume on Monday, 6/1. Anytime is a great time to sign up to adore our Lord, but special prayers are requested for our parish, our community and the world as we navigate our "new normal." Reach out to Julie Muetzel by email or by calling 614.302.6711 with any questions or to schedule a time.
- Parish Grant Forms Families seeking a grant to offset the cost of Catholic education are encouraged to complete the elementary school grant form or the high school grant form. For more information please contact Parish Accountant Ernie Loy.
- Prayer Requests Fr. Dave, the staff and volunteers of St. Francis ask that you pray for the following intentions:
- Our planning and implementation of guidelines for The Return to Mass on Pentecost weekend.
- For all of our Alpha Online participants and those planning the upcoming Holy Spirit Week. May all of those on the course feel called to fully immerse themselves in the experience and may the volunteers lean into the Holy Spirit to guide them through this new way of presenting Alpha.
- As we draw to the close of our academic year, that our school children are granted a fun and safe summer and that we can return in the fall to a program that allows us to gather safely within the school building.
JUST FOR FUN
PASSING THE VIRTUAL OFFERTORY BASKET
Father made an appeal during last Sunday's homily, stating that our offertory has been down by 20% over these past few months. We really need everyone to make an ongoing pledge to support our mission. Electronic giving is currently the most consistent way to give, safest and most reliable. Will you consider how you can help us during this time?
- Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) - MOST RECOMMENDED - For reoccurring gifts, you can set up automatic debit to one’s bank account or charges to one’s credit card. Please fill out this Offertory Commitment Form to set up recurring payments.
- One-Time Online Donation If you normally donate by envelopes or the basket, we have set up a link to donate online with a one-time donation by credit card. Click here to complete the form. You may use this link as often as you like.
- Text-to-Give Another option is through our new TEXT-to-GIVE number. Donate simply by texting SFDS to 740.240.6093. You can also use this in place of your normal offertory basket giving.
- US Mail If you would like to continue using your envelopes, please mail your contribution into the parish office at 40 Granville Street, Newark, OH 43055. Checks are preferred as cash is not a safe or secure way to fulfill your offertory through the mail.