The architecture is "simple, pristine, almost Quaker. It reflects the liturgy." Built of bricks and slate, with clear glass windows, St. Francis in the Fields really is.

"Our 12 acres are parklike, a gift of creation in the spirit of St. Francis," said the Rev. Robert Jennings, rector of the church in Harrods Creek, Ky. When the church outgrew its "original colonial-design building, we said we wanted an intimate space" for four times as many people. "You could see the architect break his pencil right there."

Some of the original pews fill the new space, with movable cathedral chairs and a wraparound balcony "for the seven to eight hundred people we have at special services." The new building, which is entered from and continues the old, was dedicated in 1995, the same year "St. Francis' turned 50."

And something about the new church attracts people. Fr. Jennings, who has been at St. Francis' for 18 years as assistant and rector, said, "We had 55 new pledges with the new building, and another 79 with the capital campaign to retire the debt."

While growing to its present membership of about 1,400, St. Francis' also moved from "a Morning Prayer parish to [one that is] Eucharist-centered." When he arrived, Fr. Jennings said, parish practice was Morning Prayer three Sundays per month with the Eucharist on the fourth. Now, he said, the new building allows for "communion in the round" every Sunday.

The congregation's median age is 45, said Fr. Jennings. It has active preschool, youth, and Christian education programs. Music, under the direction of James Rightmyer, is an important aspect. "Our music fills the space left by school cutbacks," Fr. Jennings said. "It brings in people who might not otherwise come to a service."

The church has four choirs - angel, youth, high school, and adult - which sing for various of the three Sunday services. "We mix 'em in and out." A possible addition is a family choir. "Each singer brings in two or three others," Fr. Jennings said. "Choir growth involves more people in the parish."

The children's ministry involves perhaps 300, from babies through 12th graders. Libby Wade, completing six years as head of children's ministry before becoming a full-time seminarian, said, "Families and teachers take a holistic view of [children's] formation. Children are involved in the worship service, in pastoral care to their peers, in outreach." Even 3- and 4-year-olds gather food for families and pantries. Primary schoolers make cards for sick schoolmates and shut-ins, take plants to the local nursing home, and serve as lectors in services there.

The fourth- and fifth-grade class was especially touched by the effect of the Oklahoma City bombing on St. Paul's Cathedral [TLC, Jan. 28]. A St. Francis window had been destroyed there, even as some of their church's windows were being demolished for an entirely benevolent reason. The Kentucky kids wrote to the Oklahoma children, then sent $1,000, raised from the sale of orchid corsages, toward a new St. Francis window.

The 12-15 seventh graders are in charge of the traditional Christmas pageant. "They take the major roles in the Nativity," Ms. Wade said. This group also runs the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper.

Eighth grade leads to confirmation, "which is sort of out of the mainstream just now, and being studied here and elsewhere," she said. About 30 attend.

The high schoolers meet on Wednesday evenings for Solid Rock, a catchy name for Bible study. Youth coordinator Raleigh Langley said, "We goof off for 30 minutes, then have an hour that's incredible. It's a form of family, where they can bring their questions." And like a family, the group has rules. For example, no one is allowed to say things like "shut up" to others.

One Saturday night a month the group has Saturday Night Fever. The youth house is open for movies and games. "Fifteen or 20 attend," Mr. Langley said. "We hope to branch out more into the community." In summer there is an activity each week for the high school students and "middlers" - 7th and 8th graders: whitewater rafting, hiking, a baseball game.

The teen group has adopted Hospitality House, a short-term residence for outpatients or the families of hospitalized children. The young people collected cleaning supplies, went in on Saturdays and put them to use. A teenager, in Louisville for extended outpatient therapy, was invited to the youth group. Their Sunday morning sessions cover such topics as grief, dating and marriage, relationships, and "how faith applies to these things." Teenagers also serve as lectors, litanists and acolytes.

Almost one-sixth of St. Francis' budget is allocated to "work outside," including grants to schools, theological education, and diocesan programs. Two issue groups, Children in Need and Community Obligations, work with various agencies to supply financial and volunteer support.

The newest undertaking, to see daylight in January 1997 after five years of work, will be a Pastoral Care Center on the church's grounds. The church will provide space and financial support for a satellite of Kilgore Samaritan Center, a well-regarded counseling center. The vestry report states, "Such a facility would not only represent an opportunity for outreach in our community at large but would serve the pastoral counseling needs of our own parishioners."

Pastoral care by parishioners for each other is a large part of St. Francis' life. Margy Strange coordinates four areas. The Good Samaritans deliver frozen meals to people in need. The food is prepared by members and stored in the church's freezer. Sunday altar flowers are split up into smaller bouquets and taken to shut-ins and nursing homes. The Third Wednesday group meets at the church for lunch and a speaker, preceded by a celebration of the Eucharist. Finally, lay pastoral visitors meet with volunteers to plan visits to parishioners who are ill, facing crises, or haven't been to church in awhile. Ms. Strange said the group lately has been reaching Alzheimer's patients and their families.

Fr. Jennings described Ed Land as a man with "a very sweet spirit" who "brings the gift of hospitality into the parish. He just doesn't know a stranger. He makes the welcoming effort come alive."

When Mr. Land and his wife, Joan, moved back to Kentucky, he said, "We never thought we'd go to St. Francis'. "It looked stodgy and conservative." Then they met the clergy, and now they are co-chairs of the hospitality ministry. In particular, he wants to be sure newcomers are included and involved. Besides greeting visitors and being hosts for coffee hours, the committee holds newcomers' coffees every two months.

Small groups, mixing newcomers with older members who have similar interests, meet in each other's homes for dinner, or go out to dinner.

Mr. Land said the hospitality committee would like to be more pro-active in approaching the unchurched. From parishioners in real estate, "we hope to get leads on people moving in. This fall we're going to try shepherds for new families. This is a big church; shepherds would show them around, introduce them to people."

Parish administrator/office manager Patricia Neblett described the parish. "We are right outside of Louisville, on the east end," she said. "It's a very fast-growing area. Louisville has the UPS hub, Humana health care, the DeVries cardiovascular team, the University of Louisville - big basketball town. There's a Southern Baptist seminary and a Presbyterian seminary, and the Presbyterian headquarters. St. Francis' has grown by probably 300 people in five years," although during the construction phase, she said, "Growth came to an absolute halt. People aren't going to crawl through mud holes."

Now the mud is gone, the church and its "fields" are beautiful again. St. Francis' Church, that "took root in 1945." is preparing for the next 50 years. o