Spring 2025

St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, located in a beautiful bucolic setting, in the heart of downtown Novato, California (25 miles north of San Francisco) is seeking a part time Parish Priest.  We are a small congregation of approximately 35 members and 18 pledging units and are seeking a priest who will lead us in the ways of Christ and assist us in accomplishing our goals.  Although members of our congregation are primarily from older adult generations, and Caucasian ethnicity, we strongly believe in diversity and inclusion. With that in mind, we look forward to growing our fellowship with thoughtful goals guided by the inspiration of a spiritual leader.  The goal is for the Priest to build and revitalize the faith community, hopefully to the point where the position would become a full-time one.  Novato is a town of approximately 70,000 residents and ours is the only Episcopal church in town.

Our current vital programs and desirable features include:

• A Food Pantry sponsored and maintained in partnership with the community, hosted by parishioners and community volunteers, serving members of the Novato community dealing with food insecurity
• A newly renovated vicarage being rented by a non-profit organization, the Indigenous Healing Center
• An outdoor chapel where we worship, and can host events
• A social hall providing daily rental for 12-step meetings
• A well-attended pre-school located on the church grounds that employs a dozen teachers and serves over 100 families
• A joyful Music Director leading a small but dedicated group of choristers
•  A diverse and inclusive environment for people of all abilities and backgrounds
• A dog-friendly Sunday service, being true to our patron saint
• A reasonable and well-managed endowment

St. Clare’s Chapel

Goals include for our Priest Include:

• Weekly leadership of Sunday service at 10 am, in collaboration with the Music Director
• Sharing the way of faith through our actions to become more relevant to the Novato community
• Developing ideas to become more financially sustainable such as renting out our newly renovated meeting space, and increasing the usage of our beautiful outdoor chapel
• Developing programs to increase membership and growth
• Increasing collaboration with pre-school families
• Supporting our parishioners in their faith-journeys, as well as their daily needs
• Supporting and growing our inspirational music and choir program
• Attending occasional (estimated at 6 times per year) special events such as Parish clean up days, musical events, pantry events, as the spiritual presence and representative

  St. Francis Episcopal Church Interior

Our History

What began as a humble church in a residential ranch house in 1948 grew into St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church.  For approximately 30 years St. Francis Episcopal Church had a beloved full-time priest who built an active and thriving church, offering up to seven services a week.  After his leaving in 2011 it was difficult to keep up the momentum of multiple services and it was a struggle to form a union between the various service-attendees.  The congregation remained divided in values and ideas, such as service and music preferences, resulting in many parishioners departing. Subsequent priests struggled to help heal this resulting division. 

The Pandemic

Prior to the pandemic the church was attended regularly by approximately 40 people per Sunday.  Virtual services continued throughout the pandemic and, not unlike many churches, many parishioners fell away for various reasons.  Coming out of the pandemic, the Priest in Charge took their leave, and since then we have been without a permanent priest.  We lost all families with children during the pandemic and have not been able to build back a program for children.  After all this fluctuation we were left standing with a core group of parishioners as well as a dedicated vestry.

Living in Marin and Housing

As it is one of the most geographically desirable locations in the country, the cost of living in Marin County, CA is very high.  To assist an incoming priest there is a good possibility of living on the grounds if the priest would prefer this.  Our Rectory needs restoration and there are funds within the Diocese to assist with this.  Should a priest be interested in this possibility collaboration with the Diocese could occur to secure such funds, to eventually lead to a livable Rectory on campus.

Our Present Situation

As a small, dedicated congregation we support each other and are able to let go of the ‘small stuff.’   We have many strengths and attributes and serve members of the community, and each other, in the teachings of Christ.  We have a small group of lay leaders who ‘do most of the work’ of maintaining the institution while seeking the spiritual leadership of a priest.  We hold one Sunday service at 10:00 am which is attended by approximately 18 to 26 people followed by a weekly coffee hour where we joyfully gather. 

St. Francis Episcopal Church and its congregation seek a priest who will provide weekly Sunday services and the Eucharist.  From there we would like a priest who is excited about:

• providing spiritual support to our members and the community 
• increasing our visibility in the community
• implementing programs to build church attendance and pledges

Like many parishes these days, we struggle to build and maintain membership, but we maintain a joyous attitude. We are searching for an enthusiastic collaborative priest to join our team and partner with us in building a program and parish over the next few years. Because there is much ‘to do’ and in order to achieve our goals to prosper, we are open to the ideas, strengths, and wisdom of an enthusiastic spiritual leader who wants to walk with us on our journey.

The Diocese of California

Our Church is located within the Episcopal Diocese of California which was organized in 1850 and originally encompassed the entire state but today comprises of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, as well as a portion of Santa Clara County. It is also known as the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area.

We just installed our 9th Bishop last August, the Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios. Bishop Rios came to us most recently from St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome. Born in Texas, Bishop Austin has served the wider Episcopal Church in various capacities including multiple terms as a deputy to General Convention and as trustee of the Church Pension Fund. He is a dynamic new addition to our Diocese who speaks 3 languages and has a global perspective. We couldn’t ask for a better person to lead us into the future and the opportunity to work with Bishop Rios should rank high on your list of reasons to join our community.