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It all started with a song by the Beastie Boys.
Shadrach is the thirteenth track on the Beastie Boys’ second album, Paul’s Boutique. The chorus is, “Shadrach, Meshach, Abendego,” the names of the three men put into the furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, who remain untouched and unharmed by the flames. (Daniel 3) The song doesn’t tell the story of the three men, nor the angel they were talking to in the furnace. Instead it recounts the genius of the Beastie Boys and extols their ability to rap, drive cars, and appeal to women.
One of the lines is, “Because I got more stories than JD’s got Salinger / I hold the title, and you are the challenger.” When I heard this I was 18 years old and I’d heard of JD Salinger. But at that point, I hadn’t read anything by him. (He wasn’t assigned in high school and I was still reading A LOT of science fiction and fantasy.) I remembered one of my friends talking about The Catcher in the Rye, and when I realized it was by the same man that was in the Beastie Boys rap I decided I needed to read it.
So I read The Catcher in the Rye and enjoyed it, and soon read everything else by J.D. Salinger except Franny and Zooey. I didn’t like the title, which is a silly reason not to read a book. I was also mispronouncing Zooey; I thought it was pronounced Zoo E, not Zo E, and I thought Zoo E was a dumb name. I was 19 by then but I was 19; rational thought was not my forte.
I eventually got around to reading Franny and Zooey when I was in college, and it was Franny’s part of the story that especially intrigued me. Franny is reading a book called The Way of the Pilgrim; it’s about a Russian peasant who wants to learn how to pray without ceasing, as Paul instructs us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. The pilgrim meets a spiritual guide who teaches him the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.”
There are variations of the Jesus Prayer; many people add, “Son of God the Father,” or “Son of Mary.” It’s a prayer meant to be said without ceasing, to the point that we are breathing the prayer in and out of our lungs, that our heartbeats match the rhythm of the prayer, and we enter a trance-like state where we achieve oneness with God. Franny (remember her) is trying to pray the Jesus Prayer in imitation of the pilgrim so that she can escape the phoniness of her upper-class college society. Her efforts largely involve smoking a lot, not eating and taking baths, if I remember correctly.
It turns out that the Jesus Prayer isn’t a quick fix or easy way to escape superficiality. It’s not something that happens overnight; in The Way of the Pilgrim the peasant is on the road for years, working to learn from different spiritual masters the best way to fully integrate the prayer into his life.
I ended up reading The Way of the Pilgrim and its sequel, The Pilgrim Continues His Way, both of which were written in Russian and translated by an Anglican priest (I read the translations).
The Jesus Prayer has been part of my prayer life since 2001; it’s never become part of my breath or heartbeat, but it has been a HUGE help when I’ve sat in the dentist’s chair or been cut off in traffic. It all started with a B-side track from a band most people think of as a joke. But it led me to a prayer that is foundational in my life.
God is working all the time, through all things, but we don’t often see it until the event is long passed. This isn’t a huge God moment, but it’s a fun one, and one I’m glad to have it in my life.
— Fr. Jason
Record breaking Antiques Show!
The final numbers are in and we are proud to announce that the Antiques Show netted $32,359 for the ECW. The parish has received and deposited the $10,000 annual pledge from the ECW to St. Francis!
With her booth full of treasures, Gloria Jones raised $6,108 towards her rummage sale funds! Additionally, proceeds from one of the Opening Night Silent Auction items were split with the Outreach Scholarship Fund giving it $875! This brings the total funds raised at this year’s Antiques Show to $39,342!
A very big thank you to all who helped make this year’s show such an overwhelming success!
We will be having an Antique Show wrap-up meeting on Sunday, October 13 at 11:30am in the Board Room and all are welcome!
Anna Eakins, ECW President
Jamie Bellows, Antiques Show Chairman
St. Francis hosts Blessing of the Animals in honor of patron saint
Annual parish event open to all faiths and traditions and anyone who has a beloved pet!
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. (September 25, 2024) — St. Francis Episcopal Church located at 2200 Via Rosa in Palos Verdes Estates is hosting its annual Blessing of the Animals in honor of patron saint, Francis of Assisi, on Sunday, October 6 at 4:00 pm. The 30-minute outdoor service in the St. Francis Garden is open to all faiths and traditions and anyone who has a beloved pet. Bring your pets in a cage or on leash for their own safety. For more information, call (310) 375-4617.
We look forward to seeing you (and your pets) there!
Small Group Project Summary 2024
The Vestry Members held Small Group Meetings with members of St. Francis to enable us to move in the best direction for our parish. Approximately 50 members participated on a volunteer basis to answer 5 questions posed by Fr. Jason Shelby during the 2024 Vestry Retreat. The questions are as follows:
- What do we really love to do?
- How has God gifted us to do those things?
- If we focused more on doing what we love, so that we do it really well and share it with others, what are the best things that could happen?
- What might boost our ability to achieve each of those things?
- Where do we start?
Mary Deley and Mary Ann Cronin then gathered the information provided by the Vestry Members and created this summary. The responses are listed in order of popularity, particularly under Question 1. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like an explanation in more detail for any of the responses.
QUESTION 1 – What do we really love to do?
Parishioners said the following which they enjoy and love:
- Fellowship – spend time together
- Music – listening, playing, singing
- Puzzles, games cards
- Attend church on Sunday, enjoy the traditions
- Exercise/Sports – playing and watching
- Gardening, campus cleanup
- Hiking/Being outdoors
- Reading/Writing
- Being/Serving in our community (outside of church)
- Photography/Art
- Youth programs/Mentoring
- Adult education/Guest speakers
- Homeless support
- Sewing/Knitting/Quilting
- Healing/Illness support
- Grief group
- Travel
- Guilds
- Genealogy
- Helping the homebound
- Technology
- Being with our pets
QUESTION 2 – How has God gifted us to do those things?
We have the gifts of:
- Welcoming community at St. Francis
- Enjoy working and serving together
- Beautiful grounds
- Great staff to enable us to provide fellowship and joy
- Various Guilds, Ministry Councils, etc.
- People who see a need and do whatever it takes to fulfill it
- Vision to make something happen (i.e. Designs for Dining, Rummage Sale, etc.)
QUESTION 3 – If we focused more on doing what we love, so that we do it really well and share it with others, what are the best things that could happen?
We would:
- Build more connections between current parishioners
- Bring more people to the church to do God’s work
- Build connections with our outside community
- By fellowship events increase opportunities
- Build a Youth Program
- Have more empathy towards the homeless
- Have our passion rub off on others
- Develop coffee hour further by adding music
QUESTION 4 – What might boost our ability to achieve each of those things?
Ideas shared include:
- Name tags for Vestry members, Ministry Council Leaders, Sunday School teachers, etc.
- Funding for Youth Leader
- Music at coffee hour
- Visiting other churches to inspire ideas for St. Francis
- Reinstitute Acolyte Program for children and adults
- Information page about St. Francis history for people to take in pews at weddings, funerals, etc.
- Use St. Francis as venue for community events and advertising them (i.e. Bag Pipe Concert, Music Concerts, Evensong, etc.)
- Restaurant fundraisers
- Individual discussions and/or invitations to get involved (i.e. baking for the Antique Show, decorating for holidays, singing in choir for special occasions, etc.)
- Presentations by different Groups, Guilds, Ministry Council, etc. in church on monthly or bi-monthly basis (i.e., Loaves & Fishes, Caring Cards, Outreach, Sages, etc.)
- Mentoring others to develop future leaders (i.e., Antique Show, etc.)
- Sport watching parties, game nights, etc.
- Participating on peripheral of events wearing St. Francis T-shirts or hats (i.e., passing out water bottles at Village Run, booth at local festival, etc.)
QUESTION 5 – Where do we start?
Answers to this question dovetailed with Question 4 so those replies were not included. Other responses were:
- Joint service with Wayfarer’s Chapel
- Kris Kringle Christmas Show
- More staff for Rector
- Engage Youth Leader
- Visitation of homebound aging population
- Reinstitute Lay Eucharist Ministers
- Provide Christian education to support faith and address doubts about faith
- Humor in bulletin and/or Bellringer
A Friendly Reminder for Flu Season at St. Francis
Dear St. Francis Family,
As we enter the flu season, we want to ensure that everyone in our community stays healthy and safe.
If you are feeling ill or are running a fever, we kindly ask that you take care of yourself at home and join us in spirit through our livestream worship on Facebook or YouTube.
For those who are immune compromised or concerned about their health, we encourage you to consider wearing a mask during in-person worship services for added protection.
We appreciate your understanding and care for one another during this time.
Blessings,
Sue Ferme
Safety Chair
Fr. Jason Shelby
Rector
Outreach Scholarship Fundraiser
Dine at California Pizza Kitchen in Rolling Hills (25306 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90505) on September 16, and 20% of your check will go to the St. Francis Outreach Scholarship Fund. Show this flyer (download PDF) or mention the St. Francis Outreach Scholarship Fund to support our cause.
Time to Change the Healing Surface
On Wednesday, August 28, the Healing Service will be at 10:00AM in the chapel, and will continue to be held at 10:00AM unless otherwise noted or announced. But why, you may be asking yourself, is it being moved? Because it will accommodate Father Jason’s schedule better if it is at ten instead of twelve. The healing service itself will remain the same, only now it will happen two hours earlier.
Why a “Week in Review”?
Each week, our Rector submits his week-in-review for publication in our email newsletter, The Bellringer. When asked how this got started, he replied with the following:
“What do you do when you’re not working on Sunday?” asked James, in between bites of chicken tenders. “Do you sit in the church by yourself?” “Sometimes,” I replied. James was in the fourth grade, and I was sitting with him and several other kids from the church during one of our Wednesday night dinners at St. George’s, Clarksdale. The other children looked at me with interest, wondering what I did with my time when they didn’t see me. I said, “Well, I help plan the services and work on my sermon, and a lot of people call or come to the church office who want to talk to me.” “What do they want to talk about?” I explained that most needed help paying their bills and some needed food or a safe place to stay for the night. I told them about hospital visits, taking communion to the homebound, and preparing for vestry meetings. My bishop at the time kept a journal detailing his day-to-day activities, and it was published every month in the diocesan newspaper. I decided to follow suit, thinking that James and the other kids weren’t the only ones curious about how I spend my time during the week. When I arrived at St. Francis, it was suggested that I do a week in review rather than the whole month, and so I did.
To subscribe to The Bellringer and see an archive of previous editions, click here. The Bellringer is published weekly on or around 4:30pm each Thursday.
Annual Rummage Sale is coming!
We are now accepting donations to our Annual Rummage Sale.
Bring your donations Monday through Friday, August 5-19, 9:30am to 2:00pm. (Sale dates Friday, August 23 and Saturday, August 24.) We will need lots of helpers to sort, wash, price, put items in proper location. No need to sign up, just show up for a couple hours and spend the day with our friendly crew. We would like sign-ups for sale days. Needed: cashiers, baggers, security wanderers (or sit and watch), will call station, kitchen help for crew lunch.
Bicycle enthusiasts: please help! We need someone to check two donated bikes to see if they are worth repairing.
For more info: call Gloria Jones at 310-415-8240. Thank you!
St. Francis Parish Small Discussion Groups
You serve the best by doing what you love most!
Fr. Jason has invited the Vestry to host a series of small group meetings with our parish family. This is an opportunity for us to come together and explore what we love that brings us joy in church and our daily lives and to understand how it can further the Kingdom of God in our community.
The gatherings will be in July and August for 8-10 members per group. Sessions will be held in the boardroom following the 8 am and 10 am Sunday services or at other times in the home of a Vestry member. (See the list of dates, times, and places below). Sessions will last approximately one hour or as long as needed so that everyone can participate.
You are invited to talk with any Vestry person to ask questions. These discussions are intended to help deepen our relationship with God and each other as we share our experiences, joy, and love.
Please don’t miss out on this chance to grow together. Select a date and time that works for you. Call the church office at 310-375-4617 to reserve your spot or email Claire at claire.erbeznik@stfrancispalosverdes.org.
We will also have a signup sheet after the 8 am and 10 am services for the next several weeks.
Planned meeting times:
- Tuesday, July 9 – 2:00 Zak Residence (near Pt. Vicente School)
- Sunday, July 14 – 9:00 am and 11:30 am church boardroom
- Sunday, July 21 – 9:00 am and 11:30 am church boardroom
- Tuesday, July 23 – 6:00 pm Deley Resident (near Hesse Park)
- Sunday, July 28 – 9:00 am and 11:30 am church boardroom
- Sunday, August 4 – 9:00 am and 11:30 am church boardroom
- Tuesday, August 6 – 11:00 am Zak Residence (near Pt. Vicente School)
- Sunday, August 11 – 9:00 am and 11:30 am church boardroom
- Wednesday, August 15 – 6:00 pm Cronin Residence (PVE between La Venta and Malaga Library)
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St. Francis Episcopal Church
2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274
Phone: 310-375-4617
Fax: 310-791-2740
St. Francis is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.
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