Welcome
We are delighted that you have found our website, and invite you to find US, and the warmth of our faith community! We are a country parish with a rich history at the Orangeville crossroads, dating back to a missioner named Bernice Jansen who came to Orangeville and set up a community center, Neighborhood House, for kids in 1941. Those ”kids” were our parents, and us. From a house to a lovely parish church, we have lived through thick and thin, as the area around Orangeville has changed, from farms to resort properties around Gun Lake.
Today we worship and pray together, celebrating the Holy Eucharist every Sunday, and each Wednesday we provide space for the distribution of fresh food to hungry people in the Orangeville community.
We also host disc golf players – year round, believe it or not – on our regulation course, “Where Angels Play.”
Please visit us, if you live in the area and are looking for a loving community of faith, if you are vacationing and would like to worship in a small but inviting space, or if you are just curious about the Episcopal Church, what we stand for, and how we express our love for God.
Worship Times
Regular Schedule
Sunday, 10:00am — Holy Eucharist, Rite II – followed by a light meal and conversation. On months with five Sundays, Morning Prayer, Rite II is offered on the 5th Sunday at 10:00am.
Children are always welcome at our Sunday Liturgy. We have a small soft space area that can be used; quiet activities are available.
Christmas Schedule
Christmas Eve Service is on Saturday, December 24th at 5:30pm, officiated by Rev Terry Haughn. No Christmas Day service.
Location
11850 9 Mile Road, Shelbyville, MI 49344
Congratulations to Irv and Eleanor McCullough who recently celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary. Yes, this fine couple married July 23, 1955 at St. Francis Episcopal Church and are still active members of St. Franicis.
Serving at the Liturgy
The Rev. Terry Haughn
supply clergy
Father Terry is a retired Episcopal priest who celebrates the Eucharist with us, generally on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.
The Rev. David Brower
supply clergy
Father David celebrates the Eucharist with us every 2nd, 4th and 5th Sunday of the month.
Sylvia Senchuk
Music Director
St. Francis welcomes our new Music Director, Sylvia Senchuk. Please join us for Sunday Service at 9:30am and hear her beautiful music.
Members
Junior warden James S. Senchuk
Junior Warden
Our Mission
St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church is a community of Christian faith centered in God’s grace. With Jesus Christ as our example and by the leading of the Holy Spirit…
We Seek to:
- Be inviting and accepting of all people without exception.
- Respect and encourage one another’s faith journey.
- Be a witness of Christ’s love and compassion.
- Further the cause of justice and peace in our local community and in the world.
What to Expect
Books
We use books in our worship. The most important one is the Book of Common Prayer, foundation of Episcopal and Anglican worship since the 1500s, with revisions, of course. The 1979 BCP, the small red book, contains prayers and forms of worship for Morning and Evening Prayer, daily prayers for individuals and families, the Holy Eucharist, Holy Baptism, Marriage and Burial. It also contains the complete Psalter, the Psalms. We use a Hymnal, the larger blue book. The hymn numbers are listed in the bulletin, and also on the “hymn board” in the front of the nave, to the right of the altar.
Holy Eucharist
Our principal weekly service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as Communion or The Lord’s Supper. We receive both bread and wine as a sacrament of God’s own presence with us. And we come up front to the altar to receive.
Color
Episcopal worship is “color-coded.” Episcopalians believe that our physical senses and our human love of beauty can help us be sensitive to the richness of God’s love for the world. We celebrate seasons of the Church Year, beginning with Advent in December, four Sundays before Christmas. The color for Advent is blue, and you will see that the priest’s vestments and the altar frontal reflect this. Holy Days (primarily Christmas and Easter) are white; Lent, the season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter, Resurrection Day, is purple; Pentecost, the day we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit, is red; and the two longer seasons, Epiphany (between Christmas and Lent) and the Pentecost season in summer, are green.
Movement
Episcopalians believe that we worship God with body, mind, and spirit, so we move around in our liturgy. The Cross is carried in at the opening Procession, and you will see the priest reverence or bow before the altar. Others also may reverence when they come to the front of the altar.
At the proclamation of The Peace (“The Peace of the Lord be always with you”), we move about to greet one another in the name of Christ, a sign of the love we share in community. Many people at St. Francis kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer, but both standing and kneeling are positions of prayer, and both are appropriate at this time. Some Episcopalians make the sign of the cross or genuflect; others don’t.
It is a matter of what is meaningful to you. There are no requirements or expectations. All our actions in worship are about inspiring us to say thanks together, the very best way we know how.
Events
Christmas Eve Service
We will be holding a Christmas Eve service on Saturday, December 24th at 6:00pm, officiated by Rev Terry Haughn. No Christmas Day service.
Ash Wednesday Service
March 2 at 7pm Ash Wednesday service with application of ashes
We are back to our regular schedule
1st and 2nd Sunday Eucharist, with Fr. Terry Haughn presiding
3rd and 4th Sunday Eucharist, with The Rev. David Brower presiding
Contact Us
Serving Orangeville, Shelbyville, Wayland, Martin and Middleville.
St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church
11850 9 Mile Rd
Shelbyville, MI 49344
(269) 664-4345
Email: stfrancisorangeville@gmail.com
Website: stfrancisepiscopalorangeville.org
Feel free to dress casually – we do!
Holy Eucharist Rite II April 18: Maundy Thursday, 7 pm
Eucharist April 19: Good Friday, 7 pm
Eucharist from Reserve Sacrament April 21: Easter Sunday, 9:30 am Holy Eucharist Rite II
