Advent:  The term itself means "coming" or "arrival."  This short, four week season is meant for us to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.  We celebrate Jesus' first Advent, that is, His first "arrival" into our world over 2000 years ago.  We now await His return to us, His Second Coming.  Just when that will be, no one knows except God the Creator.  A number of the readings (Lessons, Sacred Scripture passages) throughout Advent point to the future, reminding us of the Second Coming of Christ.  For this is the true nature of Advent and what we await...Jesus' Second Coming.

Advent is a celebration of God's communicating with humankind and sending to us His only Son: to live as one of us, to better understand our human condition and ultimately, to save us from ourselves by conquering sin and death by His own suffering, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension back to God the Creator.  Jesus' death has secured eternal life, a gift of the highest order.  

There are several, key figures who are most prominent throughout these four weeks of Advent.  This week, we shall focus our attention firstly and appropriately on Mary, who would become the mother of our Savior.

Little is known of Mary.  The name Mary is derived from the name Mara or Miriam, which is also the name of Moses and Aaron's sister.  The name Miriam signifies "one who is highly exalted."  Certainly, of all the Daughters of David, it was Mary, this young, innocent virgin girl from Nazareth who was chosen for such a world-changing event.  Truly, Mary was highly exalted.  Mary was from a town that was of little significance, from a region of Galilee that was most remote and isolated, both geographically and socially.  The region boarded areas that were inhabited by non-Jewish clans.  Thus, the area was called, "Galilee of the Gentiles."  Mary and the man she ultimately marries, Joseph, both were descendants of David.  Theirs was a most royal lineage.  Ironically, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, the writer gives us Jesus' lineage and states in a stylized phrase that Mary is the biological parent of Jesus, not Joseph.  This is the story that was penned so many years ago, handed down to us and it is as glorious and miraculous a story now as it was when it was first penned and read aloud. 

There is very little written of Mary in the Christian Scripture, that is, the New Testament.  Interestingly, we have much more written of Mary to be found in the Qur'an, the Holy and Sacred Scripture of our Muslim sisters and brothers.   She is highly revered and treasured as a holy women who found immense favor and grace with Allah, Yahweh, God the Creator.  Though there is mention of other women in the Qur'an, such as Eve, the wives of Noah, Lot, Abraham, Moses and others, it is only Mary who is specifically mentioned by name.  So highly favored is she that Mary and it is only Mary who garners such high esteem to be named in the holy writings of the Qur'an.  

What it is about Mary that has always kept her in a special place in my heart is her acceptance of God's request.  It was her "yes" to the Angel Gabriel that she, of all the women in the world and at such a tender age, was to bear such a responsibility and the glorious of honors as to bring into the world God made flesh.  It was not a "yes" that lasted for but a short while.  Her "yes" was a decision that would remain part of her entire life and a "yes" that changed the world, forever.

Let us pray that we all have the courage and strength to accept God's calling in our lives.  Let us have the fortitude and faith to carry out what is asked of us, to obey God and always practice our Baptismal promises we made to Christ and one another.  Let our daily "yes" bring much peace, happiness and joy.

(Information gathered from material sponsored by Dennis Bratcher, Dr. Charles Stanley, Greg Laurie, Arqam and Matthew Henry via internet sources for general use.)

All are warmly invited to join us for our annual Thanksgiving Eve service this Wednesday, November 25, at 6PM. 

To the entire church family of St. Nicholas and to our extended community, we share from our hearts a most joyful and Happy Thanksgiving.

Let us all be mindful of the immense blessings we've all been afforded and take time to give thanks to our Loving God for the continued care and love shown us.

Make it a great time; enjoy the time spent with family and friends and let's celebrate the act of giving back so others can share in the thanks, too.

November 23, 2015

 

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the Forde Family, their extended families, friends and myself, I wish to thank the church family of St. Nicholas:

To Tony Begonja who shared his music with us.  To Val and Steve Gruenwald and Pat and Bob Kalicki who brought food to the reception.  To LeWayne, Earl and Eason Williams who helped clear and clean the tables.  To Fran Begonja, Hank Mandziara, Val Gruenwald and Steve Raftery who read the Lessons, Prayers of the People and acolyted.  To Douglas VanHouten who prepared the worship program.  To all who came to the service and took part in this beautiful service.  And, to all who prayed and offered their support, sympathy and consolation.  Know you are all in my heart and I am so very humbled by your continued care and love.  May we always live out our faith with such selfless love.  Truly, the community of St. Nicholas is rare and special. 

God bless us, one and all.

-Manny

The time goes so quickly.  It's time to elect 3 new members to the Bishop's Committee (the governing board of our church). 

We ask each parish member to consider serving our church as a member of the Bishop's Committee.  We meet every 2nd Sunday of the month at 8:15am.  The service is important and necessary and the rewards are divine.

Please think long and hard about having your name submitted.  We will elect our new members at the Annual Parish Meeting scheduled for Sunday, February 7th, 2016 immediately following the 10am Liturgy.  A "Pot Luck" Lunch is part of the equation, too. 

It's that time of year; we're making our lists and we're checking them twice.  Here's a little help that is quite nice...

Shop Amazon and a contribution is made to St. Nicholas.  Talk about a "win-win" deal.  However, in order that St. Nicholas is credited with a portion of the sale, you must first go to our webpage, click on the Amazon icon.  Then, shop away.  Access our webpage through:  www.onebreadonebody.org  or  www.stnicholasepiscopal.org. 

Or, click here to go directly to Amazon with our code already pre-filled.

Every time someone shops Amazon through St. Nicholas' webpage, an angel gets their wings!

For all our St. Nicholas community members who are under the weather and in need of healing and prayers:  may they find peace and be blessed with sound and better health: Joan DeBock, Ruth Yunker, Courtney Adams, Art Lorenze, Karen, Sharon, Elaine and Barry Malas, Lenny Spirek, Jill, Connie Nicholson, Ron Glos, Marcia Kizior, Joanne Mangiaracina, Fran Baylor, Kesha, Mary Gans, Eunice Dohra, Bertha, Payton, Caleb Roth, Rocco, Ron, Tony Begonja, Deacon Tom Smith, Gene FitzPatrick, K.C., Dick Day, Dale Rickey, Phil Cooper, Tim Laughlin, Jackie, Chris, Cathy Walters, Carrie, Tim, Pat, Lenny, Perry, Kathy J. and any one else in need of our continued prayers and well wishes.

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