God Incarnate: the Word made Flesh and we are all Jesus' Sisters and Brothers.

 

A great Light entered into our mortal existence. The Light shines in the darkness and serves to guide and direct humankind onto the path we are to follow. The Light is the Word...always was, always is and always will be. This is our belief. This is what John, the writer of the fourth gospel proclaimed in such a poetic and loving fashion. It is the Creed all Christians embrace and hold onto tightly and devotedly. What a most blessed and glorious gift we have been given and for this we have reason and cause to rejoice, give praise and celebrate with everlasting joy.

 

We glory in the Incarnation: the Divinity of God, His holiness in our midst and God's presence in our world in the person, the Redeemer, in Jesus the Christ. The Word made flesh and the Light of all nations. We give pause this happy, holy and merry season, to commemorate the birth of the Word, the Light that came into our world, the Light that remains aglow; a beacon to all the children of God.

 

Christmas is a beautiful season. It is not merely a day. It is an event; a miracle that continues to astound and amaze. Jesus was born, oh, so many years ago. Yet, He is reborn, daily, each moment in the hearts of those who cherish all that is good, all that is righteous and all that is holy. Christmas is a year-long celebration, a life time of rejoicing and remembering the peace that was brought low to us on earth from such a lofty place. What a fortunate lot we are. Jesus came to us long before we ever asked Him. And, Jesus chooses to stay, ever so close even when perhaps we stray from Him. This is the glory of the Light. This is the magnitude of the Word. And why? Because Jesus loves us and God can see the worth of each and every one of us.

 

To all my beloved sisters and brothers of the community of St. Nicholas: I wish to offer you, from my limited being yet the unfathomable depths of my heart, a most blessed, joyful and glorious Christmas and a new year that is spiritually and emotionally prosperous. May we all gain what we need, cherish what we have and share with those in need.   And all the while, help to grow and cultivate our community of St. Nicholas.

 

Lastly, a few words from another gospel writer, St. Luke, the physician, whose words still echo the passages of time and the hallways of the world...

                                   

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them and they were

afraid. The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for lo,

I am bringing you good news of great joy, which will be

to every people, for today, a Savior has been born for you,

in David's town who is Christ the Lord. You will recognize

him by this sign. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling

clothes and laid in a manager.' And suddenly, with the angel

there was a heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'In the

highest heights, glory to God and on earth peace to men whose

welfare he ever seeks.'"   Luke 2: 9-11

 

Frohe Weihnachten; Buon Natale; God jul; Joyeux Noel; Vesele Bozicne praznike nony rak; Feliz Navidade; Il Milied It-Tajjeb; Gute Vaynakhtn un a Gut Nay Yos; Feliz Natale; Afishapa; Mutlu Neoller; Vesele Vanoce; Khag Same'ach; Vasal Koleda;

 

However we say it, regardless of the origin or from whence it came, it is from one heart to another, tied gracefully with the ribbons of love and peace and joy. Receive, share, savor and rejoice...Our Savior Has Come.

 

God bless us all and to all, a good night. 

 

-Manny

 

manny@stnicholasepiscopal.org 

Please plan to join us on Christmas Eve and / or Christmas Day. All are welcome!  Here is the service schedule:

Christmas Eve

4:30 P.M. A Service for the Young and Young-at-Heart and the Building of the Nativity Creche

9:00 P.M. A Festival of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist

Christmas Day

10:00 A.M. Festive Christmas Service

I watched in amazement on Sunday, the flurry of activity in our building.  After a beautiful service complete with a stirring sermon, depending upon which room you were in, you might have seen people:

• caring for the vessels used at Communion
•  in the Episcopal Church 101 Discussion Group
• decorating the tree in Holy Innocents Hall
• decorating the church
• positioning angels on our first-ever Angel Tree 
• stringing lighting in the trees and bushes outside
• cleaning the bathrooms and mopping the floors  
• transforming our font into the creche scene
• drinking coffee and eating pizza and shrimp 
• laughing
• changing out ribbons in the choir stalls  
• hugging
• catching up with old friends  
• hanging banners
• counting the offering
• storing the socks donated for New Socks for New Friends
• setting up for the Sunday Twelve-Step meeting
• singing to Christmas music (thanks, Hal--now I'll have Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian Christmas Song) stuck in my head for the foreseeable future  
• copying and folding Christmas bulletins  

And once again, I was reminded of the impact our community has on so many people.  I also was touched that so many give of their time and talents to make our St. Nicholas come alive again and again.  It is a privilege to be on this road, in this place with so many fantastic and generous people.

With love,
Douglas VanHouten

I'm sending a BIG shout out and sincere Thank You to all who participated in our 2011 St. Nick's Caroling Event: To Denise Butera for helping me coordinate with Alexian Brothers Rehabilitation Hospital. I really appreciated your time and attention to make this happen. To Hal and Steve, who put together the music, led us in joyous song, and looked so cute in their Santa hats. We couldn't have done it without you. To all those whose presence added to the fun and meaning of this beautiful ministry (we did have some great laughs!). From the oldest to the youngest - thanks for giving your time and energy to those patients and staff who really needed a lift in their day. How great it was to see those smiles or waves as we caroled past their rooms. So thank you, one and all: Hal Stratton, Steve Raftery, Ginny Gibbs, Bob DeHaven, Paul Swanson, Jay O'Reilly, Carol Kubovy, Laura Lampe, Tom Smith, and Val Gruenwald and her two lovely granddaughters, Rose and Molly.   We really demonstrated that St. Nick's has a heart for others. And at the same time our hearts were lightened considerably by this special experience. Before the day was over we were planning our next performance. It's amazing what we can do as a faithful and energetic community!  

 

With much pride and a grateful heart,

 

Jan Tossman 

 

Ready, set, bake!  The new sign-up sheets for baking the bread used at our Liturgies has been posted and  are ready for signing.  Fear not the kitchen and the kneading of the dough.  It takes a little time, some patience and a little T.L.C.  Please, consider being a bread baker and sharing the gift of baking and the joy of sharing our faith with one another.   Thank you, one and all.

Thanks to:

Val & Steve Gruenwald, who graciously donated pizza and a fabulous veggie tray for our Classic Holiday Movie Night last Saturday and our decorating party on Sunday.  Your editor gladly ran an extra mile so he could indulge in the delicious pizza!

Vince and Jeff for supplying beverages for Classic Holiday Movie Night...cold pop, pizza, pop corn and friends...doesn't get much better!

Carol & Bill Kubovy for the shrimp and snacks they brought on Sunday.

All who caroled at Alexian Brothers Rehabilitation Center last Saturday.

All those who decorated our church and put up exterior lights for Christmas last Sunday.  A special thanks to Mary Fletcher-Gomez for her generous donations which enabled our first Angel Tree.  You won't want to miss this on Christmas!  The Met has nothing on us!

All who donated toward Christmas flowers and Hal Stratton & Steve Raftery for ordering the poinsettias.  Come see the fruits of those donations on Christmas!

Ginny Gibbs, our fearless webmistress, for her tireless efforts in getting our name out to the community.

Fran & Tony Begonja and Hal & Steve for hauling in lumber and boards to construct our nativity platform. 

Tim Black for the elbow grease he used in polishing our silver candle holders and cleaning the overhead light fixtures in the Gathering Space...let there be light!

The Search Committee for their dedicated efforts in leading our community as we call forth our next Vicar.

 

Eunice Dohra

Audrey Cannon

Richard and Mary Gans

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