Good News for 4/14/13: St. Francis of Assisi Men’s Ministry and The Way of Francis

The St. Francis of Assisi Men’s Ministry gathered for our monthly breakfast on April 8. It was a great morning together of sharing in fellowship, sharing our requests for prayer and support with one another.

We also took a look at an introduction to The Way of Francis, a new self guided pilgrimage of discipleship and stewardship here at St. Francis. Many of us are planning to participate in this, and are looking forward to how our ministry can participate in this new ministry opportunity.

You can see Fr. Bill’s video introduction to this pilgrimage on our parish website, www.stfrancisraleigh.org. We invite all men of the parish to join us for this chance to grow in our faith, and to join us for our monthly breakfast meetings.

An introduction to The Way of Francis will be held on April 25 at 11:00 am and 7:00 pm. Our next breakfast will be held on May 6 at 7:00 am. Ron Monti will
present on Faith and Science, and how one doesn’t have to rule out the other. Come join us!

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March Men’s Minsitry Breakfast with Fr. Bill McConville – Healthy in God and Robust in Love: The Six P’s that Challenge and Shape our Lives

On March 5, 2012, Fr. Bill McConville joined 15 men from our parish at the monthly Men’s Ministry Breakfast. He shared with us 6 challenges that shape the life of faith and draw us closer to God.

1. Presence: Everything is rooted in the profound reality of God’s Nearness
2. Purposeful: Love is an action word. If we waited until “we feel like it”, we wouldn’t do much of worth
3. Prayer: Being present to God as God is present to us
4. Patience: Our lives are lived in time and with others, which can be both blessing and burden
5. Persistence: With God, we commit to doing the right, just, and charitable thing even when it isn’t emotionally satisfying
6. Peace: A vital and life-giving communition exists when the inner and external life work in concert

The St. Francis of Assisi Men’s Ministry meets for breakfast on the first Monday of each month, and hosts a retreat each fall.

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Names and the Promise of Love

By Jason Lillis, Family Life Coordinator
For Trinity Sunday & Father’s Day

As we celebrate Trinity Sunday and Father’s Day, I am particularly struck by the portions of today’s readings focusing on the importance of names and naming. There is a beautiful moment Moses experiences with our God in the passage from Exodus, where our heavenly Father blesses Moses to hear the proclamation of God’s true name and the named virtues of mercy, fidelity, love, grace, and fellowship that come with that proclamation.

I see the importance of names and these named virtues playing out daily in the intimate relationship of father and child, between son and parent, between brother and sibling. Hearing our names spoken and speaking others’ names can be a reminder that we belong to one another in love and in a common faith. As God shares God’s name, so we cry out our names in Baptism, longing that as we come to know God, we might be more fully known.

This Father’s Day, I’d like to highlight the Men’s Ministry here at St. Francis, and invite the men of our parish to share in God’s promises of love and fellowship with each other, our families, and the whole community.

Men’s Ministry
The St. Francis Men’s Ministry offers men the opportunity to minister to one another in the spirit of Christ, providing a setting for men to meet other Christian men for friendship, advice, and the sharing of our journey through life. The Men’s Ministry gathers the first Monday of each month from 7:00 to 8:00 am for breakfast, and holds an annual retreat each fall.

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