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News from Nick:

The Newsletter for the Community of St. Nicholas

1072 Ridge Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL  60007

( 847 ) 439 - 2067

www.StNicholasEpiscopal.org 

                                                                                
June 30-July 6, 2011
 


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Upcoming Events

 

Worship

Saturdays - 4:30 pm

Sundays - 10:00 am

 

Children's Liturgy

 First Full Weekend of each Month  

 

Food Pantry

1st & 3rd Wednesdays

4:30-6:00 pm


Prayer Requests
For the repose of the soul of Brian, a friend of Katie and Audry.  May his soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Sr. Marlene, C.S.C., a friend of St. Nicholas, who took a terrible fall and is recuperating in the hospital.

Tim Black

Hal Stratton's mother

Godfrey James Catanus, Paul Swanson's friend who is out of coma and in recovery.


Dolores Lewandowski, a friend to St. Nicholas who has entered hospice.

Zachary and Jacqueline, friends of St. Nicholas who are both ill.

Beth and John Baker, friends of Christine Swanson, who are undergoing  "spiritual setbacks."   

Ken Lopez

Richard Gans 
 

 

Ken Audette

 

Mary Beth Jarvis

   

Paul Brouillette

 

Edmond Feller 

 

For those in transition: those searching for work, those who are moving and those encountering changes in life.

 

For success and blessings during this time of discernment and search for our new vicar.


In This Issue
+Upcoming Events
+Prayer Requests
+Reflection from Manny
+Bishop's Committee News: Small Group Discussions to Begin
+We Knead You . . . to Bake Communion Bread!
+St. Nick's Shout-Outs
+Upcoming Scripture Readings & Resources

-News from Nick Archive-

Miss an issue of News from Nick?  Need to refer to an earlier issue?  No problem--issues are archived and available at any time

at this link.


I have no problem with the Separation of Church and State.  It is, after all, the law of the land.  Yet, when we take a closer look at both subject matters, the Church and the State, we can also see how much both have in common.  Both are clearly defined and identifiable; both have hierarchical structures; both are laden with laws, restrictions and guidelines and lastly, both are dependent upon the people for their existence and survival.  Two subjects that have so much in common could very well work together quite nicely.  The law is in place and has been for some time now.  But, you know, it has been my experience that on the local level, Church and State do work together, quite often, hand in hand and mutually respectful of one another.  Clergy and police department officials meet to solve communal problems and work at keeping our children safe and dare I say it...pray together, too.

 

The Fourth of July holiday provides me the opportunity to share these thoughts and reflections:  our nation was forged through the independent spirit of the colonists, our national forbearers.  Their diligence, determination and their thirst for freedom, which incidentally included religious freedom and a significant reason why ships first crossed the Atlantic and away from England and Europe, is what helped mold, form and give birth to what we now call these United States.  A line taken from the Constitution reads: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union..."  Is our Union perfect?  Hardly.  Is the Church perfect?  Well, this is not as easy to answer.  The human side of Church certainly is flawed as after all, people make mistakes and people 'run' the Church.  Yet, the Divine nature of Church was, is and always will be perfect, for God is unquestionably perfect in all matters.  We have gained, as a nation and a people our independence.  We are a nation unto ourselves, umbilically connected to no one but still dependent upon the world-wide community for trade, commerce and our financial stability. 

 

Perhaps I say this because I'm a "church person," a Christian, passionately in love with Christ and a U.S. citizen who is proud of his Maltese-American heritage, but from where I stand it is clear to me we have always been connected, we, the Church and the State.  We coexist and we work mutually, one with the other, while we respect one another and our legally provided separation.  What better time, therefore, for us to celebrate not just our freedom as a people but our freedom as Church then this Fourth of July?  We certainly have much for which to be grateful.  Our country continues to be a great place to live and remains a beacon of hope for so many deprived and oppressed people in other countries.   And we are free to worship as we wish, when we wish and as loud or quietly as we choose. What a shame it would be if we did not embrace and savor our precious freedom.  My sisters and brothers, let's make sure we take good advantage of our freedom to worship, with full voice, with our full diversity in glorious color and sound.  Blessedly, at St. Nicholas, we have never been bashful about who we are...God's people and one heck of a freedom-loving family of faith!

 

Your brother, with love,

 

-Manny

manny@stnicholasepiscopal.org
Bishop's Committee News
Please be sure to sign up for one of the many small group discussions to be led by members of the Search Team.  The Search Team has put a great deal of thought and work into developing their questions.  They have tried to accommodate your needs by  providing a variety of dates and times for you to choose from.  Your input is very important to our discernment process towards calling our Vicar and to the future of St. Nicholas.

-Pat
Opportunity for Ministry - Baking Communion Bread
Communion BreadAidan Kavanagh, a liturgical scholar, has been quoted as saying that he never had any trouble believing communion was the Body of Christ; he had trouble believing it was bread!  One is not likely to have that issue at St. Nicholas.  Our fragrant and fresh communion bread is baked by members of our community.  We are seeking more hands to bake the bread for our liturgies.  If you are interested, there is a sign-up sheet in Holy Innocents Hall.  If you would like to find out more about what is involved, ask any one of our current bread bakers: Anna Stefaniak, Denise Butera, Hal Stratton, Steve Raftery, Katie Black, Donna Tamaski, Jennifer Garcia, Douglas VanHouten, Manny Borg, Sean Khor and Mike Craig.

Our own bishop, Jeffrey Lee, writes in his book, Opening the Prayer Book that "the quality of a liturgical experience has to do with the quality of its fundamental signs.  Sacraments effect by signifying.  Sacraments make real; they do not make true . . . the bread and the wine of the eucharist do not make the presence of Christ true, they make it real.  And if the purpose of sacraments is to make these things real, then the quality of the signs themselves matters very much."

We knead you!  Please consider joining our happy rota.  There is a sign-up sheet in Holy Innocents Hall.

 

St. Nick's Shout-Outs

Thank you!Thanks to:

To all who silently and quietly do so much for St. Nicholas.

To the good people of St. Simons in Arlington Heights who continue to donate to our pantry.

Upcoming Scripture Readings

 

July 3, 2011 - The Third Sunday after Pentecost 

 

The Episcopal Church uses the Revised Common Lectionary.  When a choice is given for the Old Testament lesson and Psalm, at St. Nicholas we use the first option, or Track 1.  More about the Revised Common Lectionary is at this link.  

News from Nick is published by St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, Elk Grove Village, Illinois each Thursday.

 

Please submit copy to Douglas by clicking here.  Deadline is Wednesday at noon.