Franciscan Sisters Celebrating Fall Festival

A week ago we had temperatures in the high 80’s to 90 degrees. This morning as we welcome our Fall Festival Celebration the high is to be 68 degrees and cloudy. Regardless of the weather the big day has arrived and we are off to meet the day.

Day light arrives as does the day’s activities.

Our Sisters from Mound Bayou surprise us.

While vendors set up their booths and St. Francis volunteers prepared food, the action started for all those in the mood for games.  The grounds were alive with color and motion on the giant inflatables, on horseback, on the wagon ride, at the games of skill, in the game truck, and even on our playground.  The game truck was a large trailer equipped with big screens and game consoles on which the kids could play video games.  There surely was something for everyone!

Students from Mississippi Valley State University volunteered their time to paint faces. Their trusty smart phones provided lots of designs which were beautifully recreated on beautiful little faces.

A large new enclosed tent was the perfect setting for a game of bingo.  Great prizes and great company made for a good time!

The cooler weather was welcomed by our outdoor chefs.  No sweating over the hot grills and fryers this year!

All that good food and more made its way to the cafeteria line where there was no shortage of hungry customers.

In the relative quiet of the classroom area, the Draw Down was taking place.  A $6,500.00 prize was at stake which commemorated St. Francis School’s 65th Anniversary.  Numbers belonging to ticket-purchasers were taken down from the number board one by one.  At various intervals there were $50, $100, and other prize winners.  Finally it was down to the last four numbers.  At this point, those four ticket holders decide whether to split the prize four ways, or take their chances to win the whole sum.

As the day slowly wound down to a close, the children had a hard time accepting the fact that they would have to wait a year before the next Fall Festival!

Though the eventful day was over for the little ones, God’s Little Ones, we Franciscans were not finished yet.  The beautiful Transitus service awaited us in church.  Here friars, sisters and secular Franciscans gathered to commemorate the death and passing over to heaven of our Holy Father, Saint Francis.  The long and busy day didn’t allow for time to change into formal attire, so all celebrated just as they were in true Franciscan style.

The prayers of the service spoke, saying: “We celebrate this night, not only in memory of our Founder St. Francis who has gone before us, but we also celebrate the spirit of Francis in our midst today, in each of us.

As the morning of the Feast of St. Francis dawned, our convent chapel offered a spirit of peace for tired bodies, but joyful hearts.  Signs of Francis spoke from the adorned San Damiano Cross, the highlighted image of our Patron and the beauty of Sister Roses from Sister Annette’s school garden.

Be praised, My Lord, in all things great and small!