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Spreading Love & Hope...
Welcome to Saint Francis Parish and Outreach!
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We are a resisting church!
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In the face of the darkness around us, Saint Francis Parish seeks to be a beacon of light and hope. We are a sanctuary for all those who need it. All are welcome!
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Join us every Sunday at 3:00 PM at 557 Greene Street in Augusta Georgia in the sanctuary of the MCC of Our Redeemer.
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March 30, 2025: Fourth Sunday of Lent
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Mass Intention: For the strength to help the poor and marginalized.
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April 6, 2025: Fifth Sunday of Lent
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Mass Intention: For the strength to stand firm against evil.
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For the St. George family; Fr. Bryan Wolf; Mary Nehls; for Kelesh’s daughter; James (Cancer); Linda (Cancer); Jacob (Cancer); James Long (Cancer); Mickey; Jacob Williams; Valarie and Boyfriend; Julie and Bill Cowitt; Kelesh and family; Lindsay; Sherlock Bones; Tatum Johnson (Job); Bishop James Long; David; John; Bishop Ben and Darlene Williams; Ryn Ingells; growth for our parish family; all those in the path of the wildfires and severe weather, end of hostilities in Ukraine and the Middle East; for an end to gun violence.
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Fourth Sunday of Lent - Rejecting the sanctimonious spiritualization of the Gospel
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As we continue our look at Becoming a Resisting Church, we are confronted with the story of the blind man Jesus healed. The religious leaders of his day (the Jewish Nationalists) believed that the man was born blind because of his own sin or that of his parents. Think about that for a moment. A child who was born blind somehow committed a sin while still unborn that warranted their God to punish him with blindness.
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Or even worse, the parents did something so horrible that God punished them with a blind child. Their God cursed the child to live a life of pain and suffering, not for anything he did, but because he wanted to get back at the parents for their sin.
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All too often modern Christian Nationalist and evangelical fundamentalist want to have a vengeful and hateful God. They want a God that condemns innocent people to pain and suffering to prove a point.
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In Rev. Detrich Bonhoeffer’s day, the German Nationalists (Nazis) believed in this same God. He called them out for that abusive and incorrect view of God when he stated:
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“That is precisely the frightening thing about this story – there is no moralizing here at all, but simply talk of poor and rich and of the promise and the threat given to one and the other. Here these external conditions are obviously not treated as external conditions but are taken unbelievably seriously. Why did Christ heal the sick and suffering if he didn't consider such external conditions important? Why is the kingdom of God equated with the deaf hear, the blind see? --- And where do we get the incredible presumption to spiritualize these things that Christ saw and did very concretely? We must end this audacious, sanctimonious spiritualization of the gospel. Take it as it is, or hate it honestly!” (The Sermon on Lazarus, Detrich Bonhoeffer)
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Today, many Christians continue to uphold this sanctimonious spiritualization of the Gospel that Bonhoeffer decried. They want to punish those they see as unworthy of God’s love. However, true Christians continue to call out that kind of hateful message as it is completely contrary to the message of Jesus.
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Jesus showed loved and compassion to those most in need. He healed the blind man and called out the Jewish Nationalists for their incorrect and immoral teachings about God. He set them straight when he told them that this man was not being punished by God for sin but was a beacon of God’s light and love in the world.
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We need to be that kind of Christian. We need to show the love of God to all people, especially those who are disabled and those that are marginalized in our society.
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Saint Thomas Merton made this clear when he stated:
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“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business, and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbor’s worthy.”
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I hope you will join us in preaching the true Good News of Jesus to the world around us.
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Can't make it to Mass?
You can still join us virtually, you can by using any of the following outlets:
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Support our Parish!
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You can support our parish by using the following services:
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Our Parish Outreaches
Human First Outreach
This ministry focuses on providing food and toiletry supplies to the homeless in the Augusta, Georgia area. We provide feminine hygiene products to those that need them and food for the pets of our homeless friends and family.
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We are working to bring a human touch to this ministry as we encourage volunteers to engage with the individuals we are helping in a compassionate and loving way. We expect all volunteers to refrain from proselytizing and preaching to those we serve. Instead, take a hint from Hamilton “talk less, listen more”.
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If you would like to donate to this important ministry, you can visit our Amazon wishlist and purchase items to be sent directly to us.
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Reclaiming the Cross Outreach
Check out our newest outreach in which we work to set the record straight on what the Bible says about many of the issues facing our society today!
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Reclaiming the Cross is an outreach of our parish headed up by Subdeacon Luna Godsey.
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Podcast Outreach
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Our Parish goes social...
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