My Dear Franciscan Friends, Ilia Delio, O.S.F.writes in her book about St. Francis titled Compassion that conversion is the grace of letting go and turning in the dance of life. “It is the awakening to the fact that old habits must die for new vision to be born. Francis was no stranger to the idea, nor to the cost of conversion. As a youth he was deathly afraid of lepers and would run away at the sight of one. He certainly wouldn‟t touch one or eat with one. This continued into his adulthood and his ministry. After suffering from a prolonged illness, he felt compelled not only to touch a leper that he met on the road, but to kiss the leper‟s disfigured hand and to give him alms.” We have all heard about the “flight or fight” reaction. Perhaps, in a more spiritual sense it could be envisioned as the “flight or conversion response.” Francis trusted the voice of God that he heard coming from the cross of the ruined church of San Damiano, “go rebuild my house.” He trusted enough to enter the unknown love of the God of the Universe. We too are responding to God‟s voice calling us to rebuild his house. Is there ever a time when reno- vation is not required? We are taking several important steps. We are continuing to upgrade and physi- cally repair the house of God while at the same time we have hired Amanda Harmon to help us rebuild and develop or children and youth ministry. We are also shifting Robert‟s responsibilities so that we are able to not only to welcome our many visitors, but also invite people into the heart of St. Francis. He is also going to work in the fields taking the ministry of Jesus and St. Francis into the city, to the crossroads. We get the word “crossroads‟ from an early practice of English Bishops who would ride to a place where two paths intersected in the country or villages. The Bishop would then use his staff to make the sign of the cross and proceed to baptize, confirm, and pray with the people of his Diocese… whoever they might be. In order to grow, to rebuild God‟s house, to go to the crossroads, we need a plan, the staff and the community of St. Francis too. We need the unified Body of Christ to pull together. I know we will and I pray for the Holy Spirit‟s empowerment, for the presence of Jesus to guide us and for the creative power of God to lead us in conversion that only comes from taking new directions. May God‟s Peace be with you, Michael+ September 2012 MICHAEL MOULDEN RECTOR
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My Dear Franciscan Friends,
Ilia Delio, O.S.F.writes in her book about St. Francis titled Compassion
that conversion is the grace of letting go and turning in the dance of life.
“It is the awakening to the fact that old habits must die for new vision to be
born. Francis was no stranger to the idea, nor to the cost of conversion. As
a youth he was deathly afraid of lepers and would run away at the sight of
one. He certainly wouldn‟t touch one or eat with one. This continued into
his adulthood and his ministry. After suffering from a prolonged illness, he
felt compelled not only to touch a leper that he met on the road, but to kiss
the leper‟s disfigured hand and to give him alms.”
We have all heard about the “flight or fight” reaction. Perhaps, in a more
spiritual sense it could be envisioned as the “flight or conversion response.”
Francis trusted the voice of God that he heard coming from the cross of the
ruined church of San Damiano, “go rebuild my house.” He trusted enough to enter the unknown love
of the God of the Universe.
We too are responding to God‟s voice calling us to rebuild his house. Is there ever a time when reno-
vation is not required? We are taking several important steps. We are continuing to upgrade and physi-
cally repair the house of God while at the same time we have hired Amanda Harmon to help us rebuild
and develop or children and youth ministry. We are also shifting Robert‟s responsibilities so that we
are able to not only to welcome our many visitors, but also invite people into the heart of St. Francis.
He is also going to work in the fields taking the ministry of Jesus and St. Francis into the city, to the
crossroads. We get the word “crossroads‟ from an early practice of English Bishops who would ride to
a place where two paths intersected in the country or villages. The Bishop would then use his staff to
make the sign of the cross and proceed to baptize, confirm, and pray with the people of his Diocese…
whoever they might be.
In order to grow, to rebuild God‟s house, to go to the crossroads, we need a plan, the staff and the
community of St. Francis too. We need the unified Body of Christ to pull together. I know we will and
I pray for the Holy Spirit‟s empowerment, for the presence of Jesus to guide us and for the creative
power of God to lead us in conversion that only comes from taking new directions.
May God‟s Peace be with you,
Michael+
September 2012
MICHAEL MOULDEN RECTOR
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Dear Franciscans,
I hope that you can feel the excitement that is in the air at St. Francis, I certainly feel it! We‟ve
taken a great step in hiring Amanda Harmon as our Director of Children‟s and Youth Ministry.
This move both helps us in getting to a right-sized staff for the needs of our parish and will
also greatly benefit our ministry with the young people of St. Francis.
You might wonder what this means for me since I‟ve been overseeing these ministries since I
was hired in 2010. I will continue to manage these programs, but will not be involved in their
day-to-day operations. My role in planning Adult Formation opportunities, such as the Forum
and Lenten series, will not change. The major shift in my duties will be to include work in the
area of Evangelism.
Evangelism comes from a Greek word which means “good news,” and is where we get the word “Gospel” from. As
Christians, we have much good news to share- love, hope, redemption, Resurrection, grace. And this good news isn‟t
just for the world to know about, but it is for us to abound in on a daily basis. I will be working on ways in which we
all, those at St. Francis and those who can‟t imagine entering a church, can know and live in the midst of this good
news.
This is important ministry for St. Francis and for the wider-Church. Bishop Curry has talked a lot recently about Galilee
(see his 2011 and 2012 Convention addresses online for more) and how the Church can be vital and relevant in a post-
Christian, anxious, and spiritually-hungry world. I don‟t have the answers, but I‟m excited to do this work with you all
at St. Francis as we strive to continue living the good news.
Blessings,
The Rev. Robert Black
F R O M R E V . R O B E R T B L A C K
ROBERT BLACK ASSISTANT RECTOR
Fall schedule starts on
September 9th with services
at 8:00am and 10:30am.
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Nursery Care (Ages 0-3) is available beginning at 9:00 and
runs through the 10:30 service.
Sundays during the 10:30 Service Children: (PreK-5th Grade) Classroom #10/12 . The children
will join the congregation at the Peace before Communion.
Sundays 9:15-10:15 am Children's Chapel: (PreK-5th Grade) Chapel
Middle School Class: St. Mike‟s
Coffee Talk: (High School) Classroom #3
Adults - Forum: Parish Hall
Bible Study: The Psalm
September 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th:
This study will explore the wisdom and worldview of the Psalter. We will take an in-depth look at the Psalms
of lament and will focus on praying with the Psalms. Led by the Rev. Robert Black
Forum: Politics & Religion
October 14th: Faith of Our (Founding) Fathers. Led by Dr. Michael Kennedy, professor of History at High
Point University
October 21st: The Constitution as a Religious Document. Led by Dr. Frank Thomas, professor of Religious
History at Wake Forest University.
October 28th: Politics in the Bible, led by the Rev. Robert Black
Forum: What Does It Mean to Be Episcopalian?
November 11, 18: Exploration of our history and liturgy as it defines us. Led by the clergy of St. Francis.
Bible Study: Advent Stories
December 9, 16, 23: A study of John the Baptist, the Holy Family, and the birth narratives of Jesus as a way of
preparing for Christmas. Led by Ryan Mails, aspirant for ordination at St. Francis.
O P P O R T U N I T I E S F O R D I S C H I P L E S H I P
Sunday Adult Forums The Adult Forums take place on most Sundays from 9:15-10:15 am. The forums are held in the Parish Hall.
There are two types of forums held throughout the year.
Bible Study– We will focus on particular genres, books, or themes found in Holy Scripture. These forums will
be interactive and provide opportunities to engage the Biblical texts.
Topical Forum– These forums focus on current issues in the world and theology. Theologian Karl Barth once
said that the Christian should read the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other. We strive to follow
this wisdom. Topics often have religious undercurrents and themes that stimulate and strengthen both our in-
tellectual and our spiritual awarenesses.
For more information about the forum series, please contact the Rev. Robert Black at