Welcome Visitors and Newcomers!
A special welcome to you if you are a newcomer, or visitor,
at St. Francis. As we grow and begin
plans for our new church, we hope you’ll feel welcome and find St. Francis your
spiritual home!
Please call the office if you have needs or special
questions, and call Fr. Spencer if you’d like to arrange a visit.
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St. Francis Church School Growing
Thanks to all who have been
participating, and those instructing, our church school classes on
Sundays.
We welcome new members and drop-in
visitors.
Bring a friend to church this week!
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Book Study of New
Heavens, New Earth, Fr. John R. Spencer
Fr. Spencer has begun a
study of his recent book, New Heavens, New Earth, Wednesday evenings
after the 6:00 PM Eucharist at St. Francis.
Please join us. Copies of the
book are available at St. Francis or may be purchased at Lagron-Miller in
Peoria. It is also available online at www.iuniverse.com,
www.bn.com, www.amazon.com or
from BooksAMillion by clicking on the following link:
New Heavens, New
Earth, Fr. John R.
Spencer Paperback, ISBN 0595262279 New
Heavens, New Earth
$19.95
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Alpha Begins March 1st
The Alpha
Course will be offered at St. Francis on Monday evenings beginning March
1. Alpha is a great
opportunity to ask questions, explore the Christian Faith, and grow in your own
faith while sharing with others. Take
advantage of this well-respected program as a part of your walk deeper into
Faith.
The course will run 12 weeks, including a Saturday
retreat (date to be determined by the group).
Each evening will begin at 6:00 PM with a light supper (provided),
followed by a teaching presentation and small group discussions.
Registration forms are available at the church.
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New Anglican Network Forms
Fr. Spencer was
privileged to take part in the charter convocation of the Network of Anglican
Communion Dioceses and Parishes in Plano, Texas, January 19-20. The convocation formally chartered the
organization as a missionary alliance within the Episcopal Church that seeks to
call the wider church back to scriptural orthodoxy and obedience to the
historic faith and practice we have received.
The Network was
formed at the urging of Anglican primates around the world, including the
Archbishop of Canterbury, who are trying to resolve the present crisis of faith
and order within the worldwide communion brought on by the actions of our
General Convention last summer. All 12
dioceses who came together to form the network had already taken formal action
to repudiate the new, unbiblical policies about human sexuality that were
adopted by the 2003 General Convention.
Contrary to some
reports, the Network has not “left” the Episcopal Church. Rather, we have made our position very clear: it was the General Convention and the
official leadership of our Church that in fact “left” the bounds of Christian
faith, and violated its own constitutional promises to uphold the historic
Faith and Order of the holy catholic church.
The Network will try to reform our Church from within, calling all
Episcopalians back to the truth of the Gospel and to a missionary focus that
seeks to transform the world, not mimic it.
Will this approach
work? We cannot know the outcome. Presiding Bishop Griswold and other church
leaders have made it clear they oppose the formation of this Network. Nevertheless, the Network has formed and
will work to heal the tragic divisions brought on by the General Convention —
divisions that multiply daily — around the country, and around the world.
We are blessed in the Diocese of Quincy to
be under the leadership of a faithful Bishop who has stood up and said “No” to
unorthodox and unscriptural ideas and practices. Bishop Ackerman has prepared a videotaped Pastoral communication
which is available at St. Francis and St. John’s. If you missed seeing it after church, please call the office to
view the tape.
The Diocese was represented at the
convocation by Bishop Ackerman and by our four General Convention
deputies: Fr. Robert Munday, Fr. Sandy
Herrmann, Mrs. Lynn Funk, and Mr. Tad Brenner.
Fr. Spencer and Fr. Charles Flinn attended as advisors at the bishop’s
request, along with Mr. Ron Funk as an alternate.
Please take time
to learn more about the Network and support its mission and work. Fr. Spencer will be happy to talk with
you. You can visit the Network website
at:
http://www.anglicancommuniondioceses.org
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It’s game night at the vicarage on
Saturday, February 21 at 11:30 a.m.
We’ll start off with a Potluck at 11:30 a.m. Bring your favorite dish.
Joan Quigg is bringing her famous pies again. So, plan for a delicious meal, then games, games, games!
We have the games so just bring your
enthusiasm, and off to the board games we go.
Bring a friend or two,
for as they say, “the more the merrier.”
See ya there.
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