Saint Francis Parish and Outreach

Can you feel that? The excitement and anticipation of Christmas is upon us. Even the church takes a moment out of our time of anticipate to REJOICE!

This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday which means the Sunday of joy or rejoicing. We take a moment to look with joy at what is coming. The joy of the one who John the Baptist said he was unworthy to unfasten his sandals. And I so feel John the Baptist’s feelings!

John felt so unworthy. I know that feeling. I feel unworthy to accomplish the tasks that our Lord set before me 26 years ago. As I sat at the college Thursday evening getting ready to receive my Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology, I found myself in a moment of profound sadness. I only had my wife and my daughter there to cheer me on.

It brought back all the fights to get to this moment. I was reminded by all the people who said I wasn’t smart enough or an education would be wasted on me. I grew sadder by the moment. Here I was surrounded by students so very happy to hold their degree in their hands and I was sad.

As I sat there, slowly the images of people who supported me came to mind. Dr. Butler, Dr. Terlizzi, Dr. C, Dr. Miller, Dr. Swain, Bishop St. George, Bishop Ben, Rev. Marc. The list kept growing and I started to feel that same happiness. The clouds started to part and I felt the sunshine of joy.

John likely dealt with the same “imposter syndrome” that we all suffer from. No amount of education can prepare you to run a church during a pandemic. It cannot help you when you are standing there with a grieving wife who just lost her husband and two children in a car wreck. The only thing that helps in those moments is the Holy Spirit.

So here I am. Proud holder of yet another degree and continuing to fight to build a parish in Augusta Georgia. Have we succeeded? Maybe not in the conventional terms. Yet, hundreds watch our mass online and listen to the message of the Gospel over vast distances. So, I think that is pretty amazing.

I hope you will join us this Sunday to celebrate a church that celebrates you!

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

We start the season of Advent this Sunday. As part of our commitment to helping our community and to standing up against injustice, we are offering a class on December 3, 10, and 17 on How to be a Resisting Church. This study will focus on the teachings of Rev. Detrick Bonhoffer and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We will learn how to resist injustice in a non-violent and peaceful way.

Also, we will focus on preparing the way of the Lord. This series will focus on various ways me can be more Christ-like all year long, but also during this Advent and Christmas season.

We start off this journey with the call to be vigilant. We are called to look at the signs of the times and to not allow them to drag us down, but to help us hope for the future to come. Jesus reminds us that we are not to be discouraged by all the evil in the world, but to take up our cross, to follow him, and to continue to do the work of the Gospel.

It is in this message that we are reminded that we must continue to help the poor, the homeless, as well as the widow and the orphan. Our mission to make a positive change in the world does not stop because others have decided to be evil. No, our mission is more important now more than ever.

So, we renew our commitment to those who need it most. We continue to call for help to maintain our blessing bag ministry. We will continue to bring services to those who cannot attend any other way. And we will continue to work to build up a congregation in the CSRA to offer an affirming and welcoming liturgical church.

We ask you to consider what you can do to live this message more each and every day.

Won’t you help us to the Prepare the Way?

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer