Faith

Here we are: the first weekend of Advent.   The Liturgical calendar has turned from the "Sundays after Pentecost" to this short, yet powerful and sacred, four week season of Advent. The church is bathed in shades of blue, putting aside the green vestments we have seen for the past few months. We await the coming of the Savior; the arrival of the King of Kings, the Lord of lords. We anticipate the arrival of the child-king, the infant boy who is the defender of all that is good and holy. We rejoice, because we celebrate, soon and very soon, the arrival of Jesus, our most Holy Redeemer.

As the community of St. Nicholas, as Christians, as Episcopalians, we share in that which is offered to us; the simple gifts of bread and wine, through God's divine intervention become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.   What we are sharing, my dear sisters and brothers is Faith. Our Faith was born through the labors, struggles and perseverance of our Hebrew ancestors who endured in order to survive. In time, God sent us Jesus; the only Son of God; born of a woman in the human condition and made to understand and experience the nature of being human. Jesus encountered and lived out His life just as we do; that is, only Jesus did so without sin. His death unchained human-kind from the slavery of sin. And we, Jesus' sisters and brothers, all of us children of the God of Abraham, Sarah, Isaiah, David, Mary, Elizabeth, the off spring of Mary and Joseph's little boy, we all are blessed because Jesus' death has given us Eternal Life. Jesus shared Faith with us, in a divine manner as well as in His fully human nature.

This first week of Advent we will call Faith. We will rejoice in the gifts of the teachings of the Church, in the laws that have been handed down to us from our ancient ancestors to our more recent leaders and spiritual guides and teachers. We, in turn, share our Faith with those around us, extending our beliefs as freely, and as lovingly as we share a smile with one another.

This week, members of our community of St. Nicholas will share their Faith with us, as we will extend our Faith and the Faith of the Church with them. What a pleasure and honor it is to be part of such a wonderful and sacred experience: to be part of the spiritual journey of our dear friends and to know, that we all, together, venture forward as we draw closer, every closer, to the Creator and embrace Jesus in a much tighter and loving hold. Welcome to the Episcopal Church to these, our sisters and bothers in Faith and may we all, together, continue to open our hearts and minds to the wonders that are beheld in Jesus the Christ:

Wednesday, November 28
4:30 - 6:30 pm

Saturday, December 1
9:30 am - Panera's
90 Biesterfield Road, EGV

2013 Pledge Ingathering
Saturday, December 1

Sunday, December 2 

Children's Liturgy, Bishop's Visitation, Confirmations & Receptions
Sunday, December 2
During 10 am Worship Service 

Fannie May Orders Delivered to Your Home
Week of December 3

Rodriguez Dance Theatre
Sunday, December 9

During the 10 am Worship Service 

• This Sunday, December 2 will be a joyful day at St. Nicholas.  Help us welcome Bishop Epting, assistant bishop in the Diocese of Chicago, and be part of sharing the faith journeys of many of our community members who will be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church.
   
• We are pleased to welcome back Rodriguez Dance Theatre to St. Nicholas on December 9 at the 10AM service.  Details below.
   
• Varied Voices Weekend, when different voices in our community offer a gift of preaching, is each 3rd weekend of the month.
   
• Children's / Youth formation program takes place on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.  NOTE: Because of the Bishop's visitation, we won't be having this program on December 2.
   
• Healing Weekend, when the Revs Fran & Tony Begonja offer the gift of their healing ministry, is the 3rd weekend of each month.
   
• Children's Liturgy and Celebration Weekend happens the 1st Sunday / weekend of each month.
   
• We ask that you prayerfully consider making a financial pledge to St. Nicholas for 2013.  So that we may budget according to our resources, we'd be most grateful if you could turn in a pledge form by December 2, 2012. 

THE DEACONS' PROJECT 2012-2013

As has become traditional, at the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Chicago, the Bishop announced the outreach task selected by the Deacons of the Diocese for the twelve months beginning with the date of the convention. This year's project is called Keeping Our Children Safe and focuses on stemming (and hopefully eradicating) the epidemic scourge of violence particularly among young people within the boundaries of our diocese.

To start to accomplish this, the deacons are seeking donations of funds via the purchase of "gift cards" which indicate a gift has been made in an individual's name. These gift cards list four suggested charities that have been identified as organizations focused on prevention and aftermath of violence against children. The organizations are: By the Hand (An after-school program emphasizing academics and nurturing mind, body, and soul), CROSSwalk (A program rooted in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago engaging people of faith of several faith communities in addressing the escalating violence within the boundaries of the diocese), The Sheila A Doyle Foundation (An organization providing support and assistance to children aged 7-17 who have lost a member of their family to homicide), Youth Guidance (Supporting BECOMING A MAN and WORKING ON WOMENHOOD both of which are programs within Episcopal Charities). Additionally, a local program whose primary emphasis is reducing violence particularly among teen-agers may be selected.            

The gift cards sell for $10 each. Of course one may choose to contribute more. The payments are to be made to the individual's parish and should designate which beneficiary(ies) are to be credited. This way the contribution will be credited the individual's giving (pledge) statement as"Deacon's Challenge". In conjunction with our treasurer, Retired Deacon Tom Smith will have responsibility for the proper accounting for and the transmission of the funds for our parish.