Hard to believe, but here we are in the middle month of the last quarter of 2013.  I'm still sort of wondering what happened to July! 

We have survived the searing summer heat,though that really was rather limited this year.  We all made it through our annual St. Nick's Knacks Rummage Sale and celebrated yet another successful effort.  The parish picnic was a wonderful time, albeit Mother Nature forgot it was summer and offered us weather more suitable for autumn or early winter.  No problem...we moved our picnic indoors and savored a much warmer climate inside Holy Innocents Hall.  A beautiful new garden took root and provided amazing color and scent...what a welcomed addition to St. Nicholas.  Our 50th Anniversary Liturgy is in our rear-view mirror, now only a vivid and cherished memory. Trunk or Treat was fun even if we didn't see as much "friendly foot-traffic" as we had hoped.  Those that came enjoyed and so did all of us "big kids" who decorated cars, passed out treats and drank our fair share of hot chocolate, too.

Now, just in the distant future, we see yet more events, more St. Nicholas gatherings just before us.  In a few weeks time our choir will provide music, sweet and lively music for our entertainment.  This concert is scheduled for Sunday, November 24th at 4pm.  The last Sunday of the Church calendar year, the Feast of Christ the King.  Pledge cards will be collected and processed to the altar that weekend, too; as both symbol and sign of our commitment to the Universal Church and to St. Nicholas in particular. The following weekend we begin the holy and sacred season of Advent...a time of waiting and anticipation as we look toward the great feast of Jesus' birthday celebration! 

On Monday, November 25th, we will take time to pray, sing and celebrate the life of our friend and brother Tim Black with a Memorial Liturgy at 4pm.  I have to say, each time I glance over to the choir stalls, I expect to see Tim there.  I still do "see" Tim, that is, I see and experience Tim in my heart.  He is missed.

No time for rest as the church needs to be adorned and readied for Advent.  So, the green banners come down to make way for the festive purples and blues, the colors of the holiday/church season.  Wednesday, November 27th, Wednesday night at 6pm, we will gather to celebrate the eve of Thanksgiving with an evening Liturgy.  All are certainly welcome.  What better way to give thanks than by gathering in prayer, in song and in communion with one another. 

Again, as I mentioned earlier, the Sunday after Thanksgiving we begin the season of Advent.  For 4 weeks we will wait and prepare ourselves to rejoice, yet again as Christians have celebrated for over 2000 years the birth and gift of Jesus the Christ. 

We do have much for which to be thankful.  Let's continue to celebrate all the many gifts, the memories and cherished stories of which we are all part and have an equal share in creating.  We have much on the horizon...let us be prepared...let us be ready...and let us continue to raise a happy voice unto the Lord: after all, it is His greater glory for which we engage in all that we do.         

On November 5, 2013, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.  The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor of Illinois, and will take effect on June 1, 2014. 

Click here for a letter from the Bishop of Chicago regarding marriage equality.

  **Josh, Caitlyn and family