The Vicar's Corner

Red, white and blue.  We see these colors in abundance this time of the year; what with the 4th of July just around the corner and the U.S. Soccer Team doing our country rather proud at the World Cup in Brazil, though coming up short against Belgium.  Yet, I wonder; do we really know what these colors represent?  Why red, white and blue?  Well, a little history lesson that, I hope, will keep us all in a good, patriotic state of mind:

In 1777 when the 2nd Continental Congress convened, it was the motion of the Marine Commission's suggestion that the colors red, white and blue be chosen for the nation's flag.  The vertical strips, also called the "pales," are to be used.  RED represents valor and hardiness:  WHITE represents purity and innocence: And BLUE represents the color of the Chief.  The 13 stars and stripes represented the 13 original colonies.

But why these three colors?  Actually, these colors as well as the stars and stripes were meant to be used solely for the Great Seal of the United States.  However, this pattern and these colors were also and ultimately used for the nation's flag, too.  Trust be told, there really was no true reason for the choice of red, white and blue aside from the nature of what these three colors represent and how they would be used to represent the United States of America.  However, it is arguably agreed upon that the new colonies simply chose the colors of the Mother Country's flag, that being the Union Jack of England which of course is red, white and blue.  Then again, the flag of France is also red, white and blue...is there a connection here, too? 

What about our Episcopal Church flag?  How and why the design we currently have?  Here's another interesting story for your reading pleasure:

The year is 1918 and the Diocese of Long Island is to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.  Over 170 banners were flown representing parishes, Diocesan societies and the then three archdeaconries that existed.  These banners and the rather expansive parade that took place was through the efforts of Mr. William Baldwin, a lay member of the Cathedral Parish.  Mr. Baldwin was asked personally to chair this committee by Bishop Frederick Burgess.  Sadly, what was discovered was there was no flag representing the Episcopal Church!

A motion was made at the following General Convention to create a commission to create an Episcopal Church flag.  Mr. Baldwin was again selected to chair this committee.   Now, Mr. Baldwin had already created a small Episcopal flag he used at his Diocese of Long Island's celebration.  However, the flag was far too small and had not been seen by the rest of the country and thus, had no real approval.  Without skipping a beat and as the story goes, Mr. Baldwin went out and purchased fabrics of red cotton, pale blue cloth, some crib sheet, needles, thread and a good pair of scissors.  The convention was held that year in Kansas City.  Mr. Baldwin and the Very Rev. Hubert Woods, the Bishop of Kansas City stayed up all night cutting, sewing and stitching together a "proposed" large and colorful Episcopal Church flag.

The design of the Church flag was a red cross whose symbolism dates back to the 3rd Century.  The white on the flag represents purity and the red symbolized the blood of the martyrs.  Blue, of course, represents the color of the clothing worn by the Blessed Virgin Mary, though it also represents the human nature of Jesus Christ which Jesus received through his virgin mother.  The 9 "crosslets" or Jerusalem crosses represent the 9 dioceses that had gathered and convened in Philadelphia in the year 1789 which was when the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America was adopted.  The 9 "crosslets" are in the shape of a St. Andrew's Cross which is in homage to Scotland (St. Andrew is Scotland's patron saint) where Bishop-elect Seabury of Connecticut (the first bishop of the Episcopal Church) traveled.  The large red vertical and horizontal cross are in recognition of St. George, the patron saint of England (Malta, too)  The flag was delivered by Mr. Baldwin to the Episcopal Convention in 1923 and was finally and at long last adopted by our Church in 1940...some 17 years later. 

So, when we put out our red, white and blue later this week, be mindful from whence and why our colors come.

Happy Birthday, America! 

Long may the Red, White and Blue wave, freely and with much pride.

Saturday, July 19th is our annual St. Nicholas Parish Picnic.  From roughly 12 noon to 4pm, we'll have food, games and fun on the front lawn, culminating with our 4:30 liturgy. Weather permitting, we'll worship outdoors.  St. Nicholas will supply the hot dogs and hamburgers.  We ask volunteers and donors to bring side dishes, buns, snacks and some sweet treats, too.  Please sign up at this link, or on the sign-up sheet posted in the gathering space at church.  Please let us know how many will be attending and what you'll bring to share.  We ask each and all to see how we can participate and share our gifts and talents with one another. 

In advance, thank you one and all.  God bless us.

Prayer Requests

The Community of St. Nicholas is praying

 

For our military personnel who are overseas and engaged in battle:  that they soon return home safe and secure.  

 

 

Shout-Outs

Readings for This Weekend

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67     

Psalm 45: 11-18 

Romans 7:15-25a 

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

This Week at St. Nicholas

As a reminder, the full master calendar is always available online at this link.  Here is the schedule for the next week:

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church
1072 Ridge Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL  60007
847-439-2067
www.StNicholasEpiscopal.org