We are entering the third week of Lent, which means we're entering the half way point of this six week journey of faith. The great Paschal feast is ever so close. Easter is in our site-line. I have to ask: how has Lent been so far? What have we done to distinguish this sacred church season from every other church season and the rest of the year? Have we made an extra effort to spend special prayer time? Have we allowed ourselves the time to meditate, to find some quiet spot and be absorbed in the quiet and solitude? Have we maybe made a midweek visit to St. Nicholas to pray the Stations of the Cross or meditate in the peaceful space of our house of worship? If not...what are we waiting for? If it's an invitation, well, here it is:                    

             ALL ARE INVITED AND WELCOMED TO COME

             AND SPEND TIME WITH JESUS OUR

             MOST HOLY REDEEMER IN PRAYER, IN MEDITATION

             AND IN SOLITUDE. NO NEED TO RSVP. JESUS IS

             WAITING FOR US AND WISHES US ALL TO COME

             AND SPEND TIME WITH HIM. HIS HOUSE IS OPEN

             OR YOU CAN VISIT HIM IN YOUR OWN HOME

             OR THAT SPECIAL PLACE WHERE IT IS JUST YOU

             AND OUR LORD. CASUAL OR FORMAL, JUST COME

             AND SPEND TIME WITH JESUS.

Imagine if we did receive just such an invitation? How would we react? How would we respond? Would we go? The invitation is for real.   We are all invited, every day in fact, to spend time with Jesus and enjoy His divine and blessed company. If we're afraid we won't know what to say...don't worry. We don't have to say any thing. All we need do is sit, be still and listen....shhhh...listen...He is speaking to us and He has some very loving and caring things to say.

Just a few weeks left in Lent. Take good advantage of the Lenten time that remains and open wide our hearts to let Jesus plant the seeds of love, peace and joy. And when those seeds begin to bloom, oh, what beauty there will be. Just in time for Easter, too.

-Manny

manny@stnicholasepiscopal.org

Let us worship the God who calls us.

Let us bring our sacrifices of praise.

Let us declare the wonders of God.

We come from the broken places of the world,

gathering the shards of harried lives,

bringing our offerings of tears and joy.

We gather as the ever-broken,

ever-risen Body of Christ,

our lives poured out for the healing of the world,

our lives made new in the promises of God.

Let us build an altar

from the fragments of these broken times;

let us cry out for those who have no voice;

let us work with what we have

to help bring healing, justice and mercy

to those whose lives are filled with fear and suffering,

and let us know that God is with us

even in the dark of doubt. Amen.

-Seekers Church: A Christian Community, 2001

Flower donations for Easter can now be made to help decorate our worship space for the Easter season. If you are donating cash, please put the cash in an envelope and mark the outside as Flower donation. If you are donating by check, just make a note on the memo line of the check. If your flower donation is being given in memory of someone or in thanksgiving, attach a note with your donation. A memorial/thanksgiving card will be printed and inserted into the flowers placed around the altar.

The Martin Family: Karen, Tom and Katie 

Our sisters and brothers at St. Bede's Church, as they go through the transition of merging with St. Nicholas.  

Hope Smith

Ethel (Corkey) Stratton, the mother of Hal Stratton, as she continues to recover from surgery and a nasty fall. 

Carrie Loos

Paul Brouillette

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