We made it through the great Easter weekend celebrations and we did so pretty much unscathed.

Granted, there were a few more yawns on Sunday morning, in particular from yours truly. However, taking into account the glory of the Easter Vigil and the relative late hour many of us left the church, God, I am sure understood and appreciated our tired state of being.

 

But what a way to exhaust ourselves! Is there a greater cause than in our expressions of worship and faith that we tired ourselves so?  This year's Triduum was, well, in a word, amazing. The music, the sharing, the energy and spirit...God is alive and well and definitely moving all about this special place we love. We were graced with many new faces; friends and neighbors who chose to spend their Easter with us at St. Nicholas. Certainly, we hope and pray these good people ultimately chose to become more permanent fixtures around this place and make St. Nicholas their chosen house of worship and community of faith.

 

My friends, so much positive energy was generated during this most sacred and special weekend. It is incumbent upon us to take all that has been created, the gifts we have gained and put all this into concrete and real measures as we go about our work of building a stronger and healthier St. Nicholas Church.

 

There are many ways for all of us to be part of this rebuilding project. First and foremost, just being here, in person, is a very good step in the right direction. I understand and appreciate how busy we all are. Yet, spending time with our sisters and brothers is a wonderful and loving way to start the week and when we do so in God's house, as a worshiping family, there can be no better starting point, if you ask me. Once here, there are things that keep us engaged and active: the food pantry is open for business and we could always use a few extra hands on deck the 1st, 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of each month to help in this very needed and vital ministry. The church could always use a good cleaning on a consistent basis and there is opportunity aplenty for us to do. Prayer blankets are needed for those who are ill and in need...this is a ministry that is so St. Nicholas and needs to be maintained. Just a couple examples are here provided, but there is more going on.

 

On that note, in May, after the 4:30 and 10am Saturday and Sunday Liturgies, we are invited to stay and discuss, share and openly dialogue the upcoming merger of St. Bede's Church with St. Nicholas Church. This is an opportunity to share ideas, thoughts, and concerns and perhaps implement some of our thoughts and ideas into reality.   We are eager and we anxiously anticipate the arrival of our sisters and brothers. Yet, the joining of two families, in any circumstance, is never as easy as we desire it to be. The more we discuss, honestly and openly, the easier it will be for us and the more welcoming it will be for everyone concerned. I know the good people of St. Bede's are very happy and excited about joining St. Nicholas. There is much for all of us to celebrate and for which we give thanks and rejoice.

 

Let's gather the energy and spirit that is always present as St. Nicholas but more so this past Easter weekend as we harness, capture and then put it all into positive action that will further build upon all that we have accomplished. And we do all this, in God's name and for the greater glory and the greater good. Jesus is risen and is very much alive and well...and we can certainly feel His presence right here as St. Nicholas Church.  

 

-Manny 

manny@stnicholasepiscopal.org

Click below for a video with some highlights of Holy Week & Easter at St. Nicholas.

Holy Week & Easter 2012 at St. Nicholas, Elk Grove Village, IL

 

National Day of Prayer is scheduled for Thursday, May 3rd.  Elk Grove Village will celebrate this joyful day with a Prayer Breakfast at one of our neighboring churches, Christus Victor Evangelical Lutheran Church.  The day begins with breakfast at 7am to be followed with a Prayer Service at 7:45 in the Sanctuary.  Members of the clergy and representatives from Alexian Hospital and Village's Social Services will lead the community in prayer.  All are cordially and warmly invited to come and celebrate.  Tickets are available at a nominal cost of $10.00.  Please see Manny if you are interested in attending. 

St. Nicholas now has it's own Vimeo channel which hosts videos of St. Nicholas.  We plan to build our video library, but if you haven't yet visited our page, please do so:
www.vimeo.com/welcome2nick

 

St. Nicholas will be the site for Life Line Screening to conduct painless ultrasound screenings that can help you avoid a stroke.  The screenings will be offered Saturday, June 30, in conjunction with the Helping Hands program, which will donate $10 to St. Nicholas for every person who signs up at St. Nicholas and attends this screening.  It will be open to the broader community so be sure to tell your friends and neighbors.  We will also be distributing flyers in local churches and businesses.  In addition, each person who signs up at St. Nicholas will receive a $10 discount.  A sign-up sheet is posted in the Gathering Space, along with informational flyers.

Thanks to:

Mary Fletcher-Gomez and our amazing St. Nicholas Choir, who brought such great joy and grace to our Easter celebrations.

Special thanks to Maxine Lange, Alex Schwarz and Michael Scafidi who contributed their musical gifts with us this Easter weekend.

All who contributed to the great Easter Egg Hunt...the smiles on our children's faces was reward enough!

Laura Lampe and John Knepper for being so present in so many ways!

To everyone who came, cleaned, set-up, decorated, and worshipped with us over the great Easter Weekend...God bless us all.