At the invitation of friends, Beverly O'Daniels and her husband, Brent, began attending Saint Francis in 2016. Since then, they both have participated in a variety of ministries at the church. In worship last Sunday, Beverley shared that they've felt truly blessed in every area they've served and encouraged others to find same by becoming involved in Saint Francis' ministries. Beverley's message is the final part of a 3-part series of testimonies offered by members of our congregation in response to our current generosity emphasis, "God's Grace, Our Gratitude." Hello – my name is Beverley O ..read more

Our Staff Parish Relations Committee is pleased to announce that Bishop Shelton and the cabinet have reappointed Pastor Anne to Saint Francis.   We are equally pleased to share that they have appointed Jonathan Sobel as our new part-time associate pastor.  He begins his ministry with us on July 9th.   While there is great excitement at our church and attendance continues to grow, we are still recovering both in membership and giving from the pandemic and other challenges.  Given where we are today, we felt it best to ask for a part-time associate with the hope of ..read more

In worship on Sunday, April 23, 2023, Saint Francis member Merritt Flexman shared with the congregation about her involvement with our Refugee Resettlement Welcome Team and how she's experienced God through this ministry. Merritt's testimony is part 2 of a 3-part series of testimonies offered by members of our congregation in response to our current generosity emphasis, "God's Grace,  Our Gratitude." Eighteen months ago, the Refugee Resettlement Welcome Team was formed in order to restart a Saint Francis mission that had been dorma ..read more

Dear Church Family, We give thanks to God for another faithful year in ministry here at Saint Francis United Methodist Church and for God’s grace that inspires and equips us to be the church. Evidence of God’s grace abounds in the pictures and stories of our recently released 2022/2023 Narrative Budget. Please take a moment to check it out and celebrate all that was accomplished as the body of Christ by our congregation. Over the next three weeks, as part of our Generosity campaign, “God’s Grace—Our Gratitude,” members of our congregation will offer stories highlighting the impact Saint ..read more

New to our congregation and interested in learning more about our church and its traditions, Mary Lou Vergara (right) met with Carol Mason,( left), one of the co-ministry leaders of Saint Francis' Worship Ministry, and took a deeper look at the significance of the cloths and banners used to adorn our sanctuary.   Perhaps you, too, were at the Worship Ministry Fair after the church service on Feb. 19.  I was one of those who came to look and ended up volunteering to work on paraments!  So, what captured my attention and interest?  What is a parament? W ..read more

Lately, I’ve heard a lot of chat among my friends about their growing-up years when Mom said, “Just be sure to be home when the streetlights come on.”  They walked a mile or sometimes more to school and the same route home after practice/clubs/rehearsals – when it was dark. A generation later, our oldest daughter remembers mounting her bike after Saturday morning cartoons and, with a vague reference to where she was off to, away she went.  Ahhh…those were the days.  We even thought it was perfectly safe to send our kids off to college with relatively simple worries like flunki ..read more

Signs of spring are already appearing, but as Christians we await the arrival of a different spring season.  Ash Wednesday (February 22), marked the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent, which is the Anglo-Saxon word for “spring.” Lent is a season of 40 days, excluding Sundays, during which we prepare for our Easter celebration. Just as Jesus prepared for ministry by spending 40 days in the wilderness, Christians prepare to remember Christ’s passion and resurrection during Lent. Lent invites us to take on a reflective, penitential posture and reflect on our sin and our need ..read more

Saint Francis member, Mike Keyes, shares his personal experience with joining a Saint Francis UMC Common Table group. Really? Every week? Those were the first thoughts my wife Kim and I had about joining a Common Table group. Yes, we had heard Pastor Cameron explain the necessity of meeting that often, but it’s not like we weren’t involved with Saint Francis outside of Sunday worship. We had been on and led several committees, participated in a number of giving events, and had driven back to church around a zillion times to take our boys to Youth Group and other activities. Weren’t we d ..read more

On Tuesday, Church Council approved Saint Francis to become a Lighthouse Congregation in the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church. Lighthouse Congregations are local churches which have committed to remaining part of the United Methodist Church and have also committed to be a caring and hospitable place that welcomes anyone whose church has closed or disaffiliated. Saint Francis will partner in this work by: providing worship opportunities, online or in person, that are intentional about engaging and welcoming new people into the fold, creating space to learn and grow, through s ..read more

Saint Francis is in a place with much to celebrate! There is an air of excitement in the work of our ministries and we are blessed to have a committed, dedicated congregation who love Christ and want to serve him and grow in their love of God. We love our church. But, like every church, we have some challenges. Some of those challenges center around our facilities, maintenance that was deferred for the right reasons, but deferred, nonetheless. We’ve also experienced pastoral and denominational changes, not to mention, a global pandemic. It has been over 15 years since Saint Francis last did a ..read more