Stewardship has been a blessing in my life, in the lives of those in my family, and in our new family at St. Nicholas, for God is the "steward" of our lives! He has blessed us with the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and through Him, has shown us the Way to eternal life! He has given to each of us His Holy Spirit, unconditionally, who is our constant companion and friend. He has molded all of us into the persons, we are, today, and continues to fill us with the abundance of his love in order to help us grow and mature into His disciples. He utilizes us to help those, whose needs are to be fulfilled by our actions and emotions in our congregational family and those we encounter in our world outside of St. Nicholas, on a daily basis or those we encounter for a brief moment.

Stewardship is about how we care for everyone and everything, which God has given to us. It is about how we care for ourselves, our families, our employment and the people with whom we strive to make our world a more loving and inclusive place, our homes, our communities, and our environment. It is about how we use our preciously short time on our beautiful planet, our talents which have been given to us by God and refined by the Holy Spirit, and our resources which have been a blessing throughout our lives. Stewardship is about how we live our lives in response to God's love for us and how we touch the lives of those who we encounter through God's love.  

Stewardship is our response in gratitude for what has been bestowed upon us. It is our balanced, fair, intentional, and planned giving of our talent, time, and treasure. Stewardship asks us to help each other recognize the gifts and talents with which God has blessed each of us and the ways in which we have been blessed through the gifts and talents of others. It invites us to help discern, acknowledge, and continually encourage one another to use the gifts and talents which God has blessed us according to God's will. Stewardship challenges us to share our talent, time, and treasure beyond what we believe we can do, so we can grow, individually and corporately, as God desires.

Stewardship is about how we care for and support the congregation, the ministry, the mission, and the organization of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church. We are a diverse people of interfaith families, people of color, gay women and men, people in recovery, young and old. We are extremely blessed by the ministries of our clergy and lay people. "We seek to care for all, especially the young and the vulnerable; to feed those who hunger physically or spiritually; to be a healing presence to those in physical, emotional, or spiritual pain." We are fortunate that the structure in which we worship our God and celebrate our lives is the home where we gather as a family of His disciples.

Stewardship is our responsibility as a disciple of Jesus Christ. All of us need to prayerfully involve ourselves in the life of our congregation to sustain the experiential love of God through each other and to grow our resources in order to touch the lives of those we are yet to meet and embrace. Everyone has been blessed to know our God, as a member of the Body of Christ at St. Nicholas. Pledging is one important contribution to the financial planning, growth, and vision of our church and our commitment to its future.

It's that time of year again - how quickly time passes!  Fannie May catalogs and order forms are now available.  This is a wonderful opportunity to raise funds for St. Nicholas and it's easy.  St. Nicholas receives Fannie May at 30% below store prices.  We pass a 10% savings on to our customers and St. Nicholas receives 20%.  In 2011, we made a profit of $450.  Let's keep up the good work.

Please distribute the catalogs and order forms to family, friends, and work mates.  The sale runs through November 11.  Orders are to be returned to St. Nicholas by November 11.  Orders will be delivered to your home the week of December 3.   If you have any questions, please call Pat Kalicki at 847-882-3364 or email pat@stnicholasepiscopal.org.  

Bruce Ogilvie, father of Christy Ogilvie McCreary:  Bruce is to undergo medical testing at Mayo Clinic. 

Hal Stratton who is a bit under the weather: that he regains full and vibrant health.

Bishop James Allan, our Nancy Allan's relation: he has taken a turn for the worse and his health is in rapid decline; pray for his peace and comfort and strength and acceptance for his family. 

Shirley Martinez, a friend of our Scott Cummings: she is battling cancer; pray for her health and well being.   

Vivian, sister to our Thelma Malacek, who is battling ovarian cancer: for successful surgery and a full and complete recovery.  Also, Vivian's friend, Peggy, who has been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer: for strength and peace for Peggy and family. 

Linda Buzard, choral director of St. John the Divine in Urbana and a friend of Bob DeHaven, is battling breast cancer: pray for full recovery and sound health.

Marcia Kizior, sister of Bob DeHaven, who is in poor health.

Pamela Joy DeHaven, in thanksgiving for recovery and continued remission.   

Hope Smith, whose cancer has reappeared: for strength, peace and guidance.

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

Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45