ST. FRANCIS ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC CHURCH
10333 Seminole Blvd. STE 13 Largo, FL 33778
Sunday Mass 10:30 AM
Wednesday Prayer Service 12:30 PM
ALL ARE WELCOME
About us
OUR MISSION
To live by FAITH, be known by LOVE, and be a voice of HOPE in order to give ourselves in service and better the lives of others.
WE ARE A COMMUNITY
We worship as a community of faith, and our community is comprised of both laity and clergy. Although roles may be varied, laity and clergy both have equal voice and importance. Clergy are "called" by the community to serve the community, and we elect our own bishops. Members of the St. Francis community are welcomed and actively participate in various roles with the Sunday Mass as well as our community's governance and ministries.
WE ARE CATHOLIC
We worship and celebrate our Catholic, Christian identity through the seven Sacraments: Baptism, Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) celebrated through the Mass, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Healing of the Sick. While not in union with the Roman Pope, as a member of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, and like our independent Catholic brothers and sisters, we are Catholic. Our roots reach back to the first 1,000 years of the Christian Church. Mass is led by bishops and priests, and our bishops, priests and deacons are ordained through apostolic succession for "Old Catholic," Anglicans, and other independent Catholic traditions.
WE ARE INCLUSIVE
We believe that the seven Sacraments are special occasions for all individuals to experience God's saving presence and love. We also believe the Sacraments are vessels for receiving God's healing and peace. Here, at St. Francis, and as a community within Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC), a person's individuality is believed to be a sacred expression of God the Creator. Jesus did not turn anyone away who sought His counsel or healing. We therefore make all Sacraments available to all who seek them reverently, regardless of your age, ethnicity, gender, marital status, nationality, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or any other man-made exclusion... we make no exceptions.
Every person is invited to the Table of the Lord to receive Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion), and we encourage couples and families to receive Eucharist together. We are all children of God.
Every person called to Holy Orders -- male or female, single, married, divorced, remarried or celibate, has the opportunity to be ordained and to serve.
The Sacrament of Marriage is performed for all couples., including LGBTQ.
WE ARE ECUMENICAL
The Ecumenical Catholic Church (ECC) is a coming together of various strands of independent Catholic churches. We participate in the same apostolic heritage as other catholic branches of Christianity and see a fuller unity with other Catholic denominations who share a common theology and Old Catholic form of governance. Communities within the ECC express their "Catholic" traditions in a variety of ways while professing their faith in Christ and His Church. Our patron St. Francis of Assisi, served others through his steadfastness in FAITH, HOPE and Charity, through LOVE: Our community's FAITH and worship through the Eucharist feeds us and helps to guide and strengthen us.
WE OFFER HOPE
to those who: - Believe they have lost faith as a result of prior religious or church experiences, and to all those who - Believe but yearn to experience their faith through community, where believers are drawn together by the Living Spirit.
The pantry was founded on June 19, 1990, on a simple premise: local hunger was too large an issue for any single church to handle alone. A handful of local Churches spanning Methodist, Catholic, Baptist, and Presbyterian voted to combine their independent, smaller food pantries into one centralized, non-denominational emergency food bank.
The Interfaith Food Pantry legally incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit to serve the broader community. Aldersgate United Methodist Church dedicated space on its campus on Starkey Rd allowing the pantry to build a structure behind the main sanctuary. This gave the operation a permanent home and eliminated the overhead costs that plague many small non-profits.
The Interfaith Food Pantry, Inc. operates as a shared, cooperative ministry governed and sustained by local congregations and civic groups.
The primary governing, founding, and sustaining churches that make up this coalition include:
• Aldersgate United Methodist Church (The physical host site providing the land and facilities)
• St. Matthew Catholic Church (The primary source of ongoing collection via its major "Project Hunger")
• St. Francis Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC)
• Lake Seminole Presbyterian Church
• Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
• Faith Community Church
• Seminole First Baptist Church
• Oakhurst United Methodist Church
• St. Jerome Catholic Church
Together, these congregations supply the financial backing, food collections, and the steady rotation of daily volunteers required to keep the facility 100% volunteer-run without overhead.
The church doors at Aldersgate UMC open quite early Monday mornings, but just behind the main sanctuary, a dedicated ritual of service is already humming into motion. For over a decade, Monday has belonged to the volunteers of St. Francis Ecumenical Catholic Church. While the rest of the world grumbles at the start of the work week, this crew arrives ready to transform a metal-sided building into an engine of community grace.
Mondays at the Interfaith Food Pantry are all about momentum.
The donations need sorting, shelves require stocking, and grocery bags must be meticulously packed to ensure that local families and seniors receive vital support with absolute dignity. For the St. Francis crew, this isn't just a volunteer shift—it is a living extension of their parish’s identity. As one of their very first outreach ministries, this weekly commitment has become a sacred tradition. Side-by-side, lifting crates of canned goods and sorting fresh staples, they put theological differences aside to act as the hands and feet of a church that believes true community is built through service.
I visited the Pantry last week and was incredibly impressed by how efficiently everything runs. Sharon Meade does a wonderful job leading the St. Francis volunteers. On the morning, I was there, I loved getting to work alongside Sharon, Lorraine Kerr, Brenda Grohe, Cheryl Savaria, Linda Miller Tomlins, Rhonda Gillispie and Dominic, a friend of St. Francis ECC.
Over the years many have volunteered for the food pantry. Mother Barb Fichter originally got St Francis ECC involved with the Interfaith Food Pantry. Since then, David Baughman, Kevin Curtis, Linda Hartmann, Steve Grohe, Debbie Faulkner, Teri Winslow, Frank Woods, Natalie Madar, Stephanie Leaf and numerous others have volunteered their time to help those in need.
Interfaith Food Pantry
