Join Us This Sunday for Another Big Day!

Bishop Lee will be with us

This Sunday, December 7, we will welcome back our Bishop, Jeffrey Lee.  He will preside and preach at the 10AM service.  Jodie Lloyd will be confirmed, and Jennifer Brundige will be formally received into the Episcopal Church.  So much to celebrate!

Please note that there will be NO 4:30 service this Saturday, December 6.

The Vicar's Corner

We know their names:  Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  Yet, truthfully, how much do we really know about these three most distinguished of people? 

Truthfully, what we do not know about all three far outweighs what we do know.  Certainly, in the historical figure of Jesus, we have an entire New Testament that centers around Him as well as large portions of the Old Testament that foretells the coming of the Messiah who we believe to be Jesus the Christ.  Still, in spite of the four gospels and the 23 other "books" of the New Testament, again, truthfully, we know little of our Savior.  There has been millions of books, texts and countless movies dedicated to the man and divine character we name Jesus.  Still, Jesus remains a mystery...and perhaps that is as is should be.  We need a God that remains "beyond our full understanding."  Jesus remains distant yet and blessedly, Jesus remains ever so close to us.

And St. Joseph, the "forgotten man."  Scour the writings in the New Testament and you'd be hard pressed to find much about this most holy and dedicated man.  He was Jesus' father here on earth. He was the husband to Mary, the young girl he took as his bride though she was already found to be with child.  Imagine the pressure that fell upon this man?  His wife to be is pregnant "though she did not know man."  We know the miraculous and divine story and still, some 2000 years later, we are left to marvel and stand in awe.  In spite of all that stood before Joseph, he did not waver.  He took his beloved Mary, married the women he loved and provided for his little family as best he could.  Legend tells us Joseph lived to a ripe, old age after serving God with grace and strength.  For he, too, said Yes to God: in his marriage to Mary and in taking his family out of danger into Egypt to escape King Herod's command to kill all new born male babies.  Truly, St. Joseph stands tall as a loving example of fatherhood, sacrifice and commitment.

Mary: the Blessed Mother of our Lord and Savior.  No other women has ever been as widely known, written of and had her sacred image grace the cover of magazines the world over as the Blessed Mother Mary.  She is revered in the Christian community as a vessel of grace and faith.  Additionally, Mary is honored with great reverence in the Qur'an.   Our Muslim sisters and brothers pay Mary immense homage and bestow upon her the title "the most righteous of women."  In fact, Mary is the only women who is mentioned, by name, in the entire Qur'an.  The 19th chapter of the Qur'an entitled, "Maryan" is named after the Blessed Virgin Mary and essentially is a story of her life.  Lastly, and perhaps ironic, Mary is mentioned more often in the Qur'an than in the entire Christian New Testament.  Love knows no boundary and in Mary, two great and historical religions find common ground in the veneration of this one, singular women. 

Jesus, Mary and Joseph...a sacred trinity in their own right.  It is the action of Mary and Joseph, their selfless decisions, their courage and faith and their unwavering Yes through which we are able to celebrate and rejoice in the great feast of the Nativity of Christ.  Keep all this in mind and heart my dear sisters and brothers throughout Advent.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph...thank you for the gifts you shared with the entire world, now and forever.

Amen.

-Manny
(Some material found via Wikipedia.)

Each Christmas and Easter at St. Nicholas we invite the community to honor and remember our dearly departed loved ones with flowers.

We are nearing the joyful feast of the Nativity of Jesus.  If you like to provide funding for flowers to festoon the church, please know how grateful we are.

Place your donation in a specially marked envelope with your name, the name(s) of those you wish to remember and the amount of your offering.  You may place this in the collection basket at the weekend services or you can pass it on to Manny.

In advance, thank you one and all.  Let's make Christmas truly merry with beautiful flowers that give honor to our loved ones as well as praise and glory to the New Born King.

A reminder for those who pre-registered for the Build a Wreath activity:  we'll gather this Friday, December 5 at 6PM in Holy Innocents Hall.  Pizza, salad and beverages will be provided.  Join us for a holiday movie, music and fun for all ages!

The New CD by the Choir of St. Nicholas Has Arrived!

The new CD by the St. Nicholas Choir has arrived.  The CD, entitled, "Noel: Christmas at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church" features many beloved Christmas songs. 

The choir has decided that after expenses, all proceeds from the sale of the CD will go to the Capital Campaign. 

CDs are $10 each and are available for purchase after both weekend services.

We greatly appreciate your support!

St. Nicholas' Bishop Committee (our "parish council," if you will) is calling out to the congregation:  it is that time for new members to be elected.

Four people have graciously stepped up.  However, if we wish this to be a "true election," we could use a few more individuals to submit their names for voting.  Of course, we are most grateful for those who have already volunteered...but there's room for more.

The election will take place at our Annual Parish Meeting in early 2015...stay tuned.

In advance, thank you, one and all.  We are only collectively as strong as our individual commitments are to our church.

Prayer Requests

The Community of St. Nicholas is praying

 

To all who worshiped, shared memories and celebrated Thanksgiving Eve at the Holy Eucharist last Wednesday evening.  Nothing like family gathered together! 

To all who helped restock our badly-depleted pantry shelves.  Your generosity will be repaid many times over.

To Bob Kalicki, Hank Mandziara and "Plumberman Joe," who did a super job in fixing our bathroom.  All is well once again.

To Steve Raftery, Hal Stratton and John Knepper for the wonderful transformation of our church for Advent.  Beautiful work, gentlemen. 
 
To Hank who filled in those nasty potholes in our south driveway...you wear many hats Hank and you wear them all so very well!

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