“Messy” Kinds of Conversations

There is an intriguing story of St. Francis of Assisi traveling to Egypt during the bloody medieval crusades to meet with an important Islamic leader, the Sultan Malek al-Kamel.  At a time when Pope Innocent III referred to Muslims as enemies of Christ and his people” and the prophet Mohammed as a “son of perdition” and excommunicated anyone who provided “the enemy” with supplies, the story goes that Francis entered the Muslim camp as a “brother,” approached the Sultan with the greatest reverence, and had a conversation with him that deeply affected them both. In fact, some scholars have shown that when Francis returned to Italy, he composed a poetic prayer to God inspired by his experience of Islam and respect for the devotion of the Sultan. If this story is true, Francis acted courageously and boldly, navigating outside the prejudices of the dominant culture of his day.  Through a spirit of fraternal service, he found some kind of common faith with the Sultan, someone the Church called the “enemy.” It’s hard not to see Francis taking the lead from Jesus himself who, as seen in today’s Gospel, seemed to constantly be interacting with the so-called “impure” and marginalized with compassion and dignity.  We have many experiential opportunities in our parish to engage in this “messy” kind of conversation embodied by Jesus and Francis.

We have ministries that provide delegations to an indigenous Mayan community in Guatemala, delegations to inner-city Philadelphia with one of the highest homelessness rate in the country, and a ministry that provides transportation and companionship to migrant workers less than an hour away from our homes.  In addition to the experiential, there are also a number of educational opportunities on the horizon for engaging in this kind of “messy” conversation.  I’d like to highlight three. One is a special presentation of the award-winning documentary film called Budrus on August 17 that narrates how Palestinians and Israelis are coming together nonviolently to save a Palestinian village from destruction. See website for more details. Also, starting in September, we will begin Just-Faith, a 30-week opportunity to engage a number of social issues in light of our faith tradition. Through books, videos, prayer, discussion, and immersion trips, this formational opportunity provides a safe space to talk about increasing compassion and justice in our world.  Contact Kathleen Owen at 847-8205×225 for more information.  To cross into unfamiliar territory and meet someone “on the other side” is by no means easy, but overcoming our prejudices to help someone in need through “messy” conversations seems to be what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

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Feeding the Multitudes through our Abundance

by Trevor Thompson

Director of Pastoral Ministries

Through this incredibly generous sharing of bread we hear about in today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us that in the Kingdom of God there is always abundance.  In other words, with Jesus, breaking bread always means twice as much, not half as much.  It’s so difficult, however, to live this truth.  We are so prone to scarcity-thinking, seeing life as a zero-sum game where we need to out compete, win over, accumulate, and then horde.  When we live out of this place, we are reluctant to share anything, whether it’s sharing recognition for a job well done, or sharing “my” monthly earnings or tax dollars, or sharing any of the basic necessities of life that we so enjoy.  At its worst, my neighbor in need even becomes my enemy.  But today we hear of different approach to life.  We hear a God who gives richly without counting the costs and his Son who calls his disciples to believe in this abundant living.  Truly, in Christ, the more food is shared, the more food there is.  Can we join Jesus in this generous sharing of our abundant gifts?

Through the financial generosity of our parish and the many parishioners who volunteer their time and talent, our parish is sharing in this feeding ministry of Jesus.  Adding up all our efforts, this past year we prepared and served around 15,000 warm meals, donated nearly 10,000 pounds of non-perishable foods, and through our volunteer hours, saved places like Interfaith Food Shuttle and Catholic Parish Outreach nearly $200,000 in staffing costs. 

Consider joining one of these feeding ministries in our “Food and Hunger Cluster.”  For more information about any of them, call Kathleen Owen in our office of Peace and Justice ministries, 847-8205×225

• Brown Bag Ministry – prepares and distributes brown bag lunches on a bi-weekly basis to an identified community area in Durham, NC
• Catholic Parish Outreach – is the largest food pantry in the Triangle area.  Volunteer opportunities range from working in the warehouse, food sorting and packing “orders,” clothing sorting and distribution, and greeting/interviewing clients.
• Interfaith Food Shuttle – develops systems to recover, prepare and distribute wholesome, perishable food for those in our area who are poor, hungry, undernourished and homeless.  Volunteer opportunities range from picking up food to delivery of food to packing and sorting foods. 
• St Francis Feeds – is a feed ministry where volunteers prepare meals each month and serve them to the neighborhood near the Safety Club on Branch St. in Raleigh.
• St Francis Inn, Philadelphia – is a ministry that offers delegations from St Francis of Assisi to Philadelphia several times each year to participate in this Franciscan community that feeds over 300 meals a day to some of the most hungry in our country.
• Franciscan Community Garden – is a garden on the parish campus that donates all of its harvest to the needy in our community.

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Youth Delegation Returns from St. Francis Inn

A delegation of 8 teens and 2 adults from St. Francis traveled to Philadelphia to minister with the poor and homeless at St. Francis Inn on June 27 to July 1, 2011.    The last youth delegation to visit the Inn was in 2006.   The group of 10 who made the visit this year returned filled with stories and inspiration from the people we met and ministered with.   Overall, the comments from the youth who participated were very positive and they supported recommending the trip to their peers.    

The delegation and staff at the Inn works to meet the immediate daily needs of the people they serve with food, clothing and hospitality.   On the four days of the trip, we prepared and served over 350 evening meals and over 150 morning meals each day to the guests.   A typical day started with breakfast at the house we stayed at next to the Inn, followed by morning Mass offered by one of the resident friars and then on to food pickups, breakfast service and evening meal preparation.    After a light lunch break we would return to the Inn for completing the evening meal preparation, take an afternoon break and then serve the meal from 4:30pm to 6:00pm.   While the days were long, the teens always seemed to have enough energy to enjoy evening trips to Dave & Buster’s, Italian Ice, and the too good to pass up visit for a Philly Cheese Steak.

By interacting with the guests at the Inn and getting to know their personal stories we started to understand them better and the light of Christ emerged.   It enhanced our knowledge that many folks right here in this nation go hungry and are homeless.   It also showed us that by trusting in God and His providence and serving as instruments of His mercy and peace we can address this situation and actually have an impact on people who are in this situation.   One of the youth commented that he was left with a sense of respect for the courage and perseverance for the people who were attending the nearby substance abuse meetings and had been able to quit using drugs and abusing alcohol.     Another youth was given a journal that one of the guests had written about his life and the people he interacted with at the Inn.   We all left with a feeling that we received as much as we gave by ministering with and getting to know the guests at the Inn.

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Homeless Family moves into Adopted Apartment

 

Before WIHN

 

After WIHN

 Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:25-30

These words from the Gospel of Matthew are being lived out as the burden of homelessness was lifted from the shoulders of a family who moved into the St Francis of Assisi ‘adopted’ apartment in the transitional housing program of Wake InterFaith Hospitality Network (WIHN). On Friday, June 24, Tonya and her five children found a warm and welcoming home that was the result of many in our community who gave selflessly of their time, talent, and treasure so that others might find comfort and stability in their lives.

What was once a dark and dismal apartment is now a bright and welcoming environment and will provide the opportunity for a family to thrive. Thanks to the generous support and participation of many, the SFA-WIHN apartment is filled with basic furnishings and, more importantly, with hope.

To name only a few of those who have helped along the way:

  

Claire Moss and Laurie Potts – coordinated furnishing of
the apartment; collaborated with WIHN organization and SFA-WIHN

SFA Parishioners- generously gave Advent Giving Tree gifts of kitchenware, furniture, home accessories, and
gift cards

Stacy Kababik – linked the TFS 3rd grade classes with this
WIHN initiative

Marcy Henehan – coordinated 3rd grade students, parents,
and teachers to collect needed items and ‘stock the pantry’

SFA Prayer Shawl Ministry – created a blanket and hat
as a welcoming gift for the baby

Samantha Austin and Mercy Camp kids – unloaded and
delivered furnishings to the apartment

Many community organizations – contributed linens,
furniture, services

Thank you to all who worked to make this opportunity for a family to thrive, a reality.

If interested in volunteering with this beautiful ministry with St. Francis of Assisi, contact Sherry Oliver at sherry4wihn@hotmail.com

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Parish Gatherings Goods for Migrants

Leading up to the Feast of Pentecost, parishioners donated a sundry of goods to support the return of migrant workers in and around Louisburg, North Carolina, a small community around 40 miles away from the parish.  As the migrants return to the fields and their camps, their living conditions leave much to be desired.  Their needs are many.  In light of this, parishioners have donated the following items for the second straight year:  books, clothings, TVs, bicycles, household dishes, furniture, hot plates, microwave ovens, and beds and frames.  After filling the 8x8x16 POD, these goods were delivered to Louisburg where they will be appropriate distributed by the parish’s ministry called Migrant Ministry and a committed volunteer from the parish in Louisburg, Our Lady of Rosary, named Mary Lou Illingworth. 

The mission of Migrant Ministry is to serve our migrant brothers and sisters who labor in the fields and farms of North Carolina from May through October.  St. Francis parish provides a hot dinner to seasonal farm workers and their families four times a year, and parishioners drive the migrant farm workers to Mass weekly seventeen weeks of the year at our Lady of the Rosary parish in Louisburg, NC.

The ministry could use more drivers to drive the migrant farm workers to liturgy.  To sign up, go to http://www2.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=migrant_drivers_2011

For additional information, please contact Gary Burnette at 846-8715 or Terrence McDonald at 538-4627.

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Students write Legislators at annual TFS Justice Fair

As part of The Franciscan School’s annual Justice Fair on June 8th, Director of Pastoral Ministries Trevor Thompson and Coordinator of Justice and Peace Bonnie Angel offered a workshop to sixth and seventh graders on “Doing Justice through Advocacy.” 

As part of the workshop, students wrote letters to Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan and Representative David Price urging them not to cut hunger-reducing programs in the midst of a difficult fiscal year.  St. Francis of Assisi has participated in several Bread for the World Offering of Letters.  Inspired by this model, over eighty letters were sent to Washington DC for our school youth.

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St. Francis of Assisi visits Haiti to Continue Rebuilding

Members of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and Disaster Recovery Ministry traveled to Fondwa, Haiti as part of delegation with Family Health Ministries, Inc. to continue the ongoing rebuilding of Haiti after the devasting 2010 earthquake.  This St. Francis’ second trip to Haiti but the first with Family Health Ministries.  Their main task was to help build “Kay Professeurs” or a home for secondary school teachers who regularly commute from Port-au-Prince.  

 

Parishioner delegate John Budway reflects on this experience, “Whether it was putting together bunk beds, painting Boss’s house, repairing/reinforcing  a staircase, nailing together the teachers’ dormitory, fixing the water leak/runoff in the sisters’ home  or spending quality time getting to know the school kids, the orphans or the sisters, everything you did was appreciated. You really made a difference in the lives of others.”

 

If you would like to be part of future callings to serve in disaster recovery efforts, please contact Janet Mintel at jmintel@nc.rr.com

See pictures below from the trip:

Friday, May 13, 2011
Team in front of house, almost complete. 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, May 12, 2011  

The team is feeling some pressure to finish the “Kay Professeur” so all painting work has come to a halt

most of the team with Madame John and her daughter Valencia on Wednesday morning

 

Raising the last wall of the house late Wednesday eveningThe team installs rafters Thursday am Wednesday, May 11, 2011

 Wednesday, May 11, 2011
A couple of heavy rain showers inspired part of the team to rework a gutter system inside one of the sisters’ homes. 

Tim with phase 2 of the new inside gutter system

 

JT and Jen helping load the lining

The professors’ house team worked an extra hour on Monday to finish the footings so they could cure overnight. By Tuesday evening, they had completed the plywood floor and raised one wall.

Se Simone surveys the progress

 

 

 

JT passing out albendazole

 

Liz passing out candy

 

Lisa collecting wrappers

Monday, 9 May
After attending mass with Father Joseph, the team got to work on three different projects. Rain interrupted some of the work, and made the trek down and back up the mountain to and from the new orphanage a real challenge. 

Tim

 

JT sanding

 

prep walls for painting

 

John, Jen and Bob Langley, worked with locals to measure the breathtakingly beautiful house site on the mountainside

 

 

Meanwhile, Liz, Lisa, Gil and Tom assembled bunk beds for the replacement orphanage with help from Sister Simone and Guilleume.

 

 

Sunday, 8 May
The team traveled to Fondwa after stopping Leogane briefly. They enjoyed two meals, unpacked, and met with Father Joseph to learn more about his work in Fondwa.

 

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Coalition Conversation: Wake County Schools

The Franciscan Coalition hosted a series of three conversations on the current school assignment issue in Wake County schools in what are being billed as “Coalition Conversation:  Searching for the Common Good – Wake County Schools.”  The intended outcomes to this series: 

1. To foster discussion that shows respect and mutual understanding among participants; 
2. To gain a deeper and more informed understanding of this complex issue; 
3. And to help our parishioners and our other community members better understand the Church’s social teaching, the moral dimensions of public policy, and the importance of their participation on matters affecting the common good. 

The line-up for this series: 

 Thursday, April 28 Theme:  “Informing”

T. Keung Hui, News & Observer, Staff Education Reporter

Cash Michaels, The Carolinian, Editor

Thursday, May 5 Theme:  “Sharing Perspectives”

Dr. Rev Barber, President NC NAACP

Dr. Tim Tyson, Historian and Duke University Senior Research Scholar

Wednesday, May 18 Theme:  “Listening”

C. Steve Parrott, President Wake Education Partnership

Tony Tata, Superintendent Wake County School System

This series builds on a very successful March 2010 panel conversation we hosted that included members of Great Schools in Wake Coalition from WakeUP Wake County and Wake Schools Community Alliance.  Each session includes an introduction to Catholic Social Teaching by Fr. David McBriar, OFM, presentations by the guests of honor, Q&A moderated by Jeanne Tedrow, a St. Francis of Assisi parishioner and the co-founder and CEO of Passage Home, a nonprofit community development corporation in Raleigh, and small group discussions by the attendees. 

Here are a few pictures from this series:

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Community Garden Plants Vegetables and Blesses Ground with Service

On April 30th, under beautiful sunny skies, the volunteers of the Community Garden gathered together to plant the summer vegetables in the two beds in front of LaVerna center on the St. Francis of Assisi campus.  Already they have harvested several times the spring crops and donated to Interfaith Food Shuttle and Our Lady of Rosary Outreach.  With tomatoes, basil, squash, beans, and many other crops, this looks to be a very productive garden. 

One of our local Girl Scouts troops led by parishioner Lisa Curran continues to be of service to this project in planting herbs and flowers around the land and painting ceramic garden plates that identify the plants.  

Later that morning, Fr. Mark Reamer, OFM led a prayer service and ground blessing of the community garden.  During the service, everyone participated in a reading from Genesis of the creation story and in a ritual soil sprinkling with prayers of fertility for the garden.  The morning ended with a celebratory potluck.  

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Short Course on Voluntary Simplicity Provides Community and Inspiration

In March and April, parishioner Tracy Hurley, a member of the Care of Creation ministry, facilitated a short course for the parish on “Voluntary Simplicity” using a text from Northwest Earth Institute.  These session allow parishioners to addresses the distractions of modern society that keep us all from caring for ourselves, our relationships, and our environment.  Many participants came to this topic wanting to simplfy their lives materially and spiritually, especially during this penitential season of Lent.    

As the course finished, the participants formed a Google group to continue to share information and resources, and even possibly to plan trips or other events, so that they can continue to support and encourage each other in this quest to living more simply.  Participant Bonnie Wolf noted that finding like-minded individuals who want to live with less was one of the best of aspects of this course.  Another participant Diane Steinbeiser sees herself (and her family) committing to paying more attention to where her food comes from and is looking at joining a food cooperative for fresh, locally-grown produce.  Participant Janice (Ryan) Marchok also wrote a column “Why are We Obsessed With Stuff” for the North Raleigh News about her experience in this course.  You can read it here. 

For future short courses on Voluntary Simplicity or other peace and justice topics, contact Kathleen Owen in the Franciscan Coalition for Justice and Peace, 847-8205 or kathleen.owen@stfrancisraleigh.org

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