"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee:  blessed art thou among women.  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary:  for thou hast found favor with God.  And, behold, thou shall conceive in they womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:  and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?   And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she also conceived a son in her old age:  and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.  For with God nothing is impossible.  And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to they word.  And the angel departed from her."
(Luke 1: 26-38 King James Version)

The heavens are filled with these divine, angelic creatures.  In Revelations 5:11, in Hebrews 12:22 and in the Gospel of St. Luke 2:13 are passages found that speak of the immense gathering of angels.  Yet only three angels are mentioned by name in the entire Bible.  Gabriel is one such angel whose name is given.  The others are Michael the Warrior Archangel and the other, well, is Lucifer, who fell from grace.  We won't talk too much about him, shall we. 

Angels have prominent places in both the Old Testament and throughout the New Testament.  Gabriel appears to the great prophet Daniel and explains a vision the prophet had.  (Daniel 8:16)  The word angel, taken from the ancient Greek means "a messenger, an envoy, one who is sent, a messenger from God."  Truly, the role of the angel is just that, to bring news to those to whom they appear.  The name Gabriel means, "man of God" or "strength of God."  In fact, referring back to the Book of Daniel, the second time the prophet encounters the Gabriel, Daniel refers to the angel "as a man."  No other description is provided of Gabriel; no mention of what the angel looked like.  It could be that Daniel paid more attention to what the angel had to say rather than what the angel, who looked like a man, looked like.  Remember...the message is far more important than what the messenger looks like.  Gabriel did have a knack of scaring people.  When he appeared to Daniel, the prophet fell flat on the ground, face down with fear.  When Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, the angel tells him "do not fear."  And when Gabriel appears to the young, innocent Mary, a teenager, he tells her "do not be afraid, do not fear, you have found favor with God." 

Angels are an element of faith.  We either believe in them or we don't believe in them.  Personally, I place my faith in their presence; that they've been with us from ancient of times unto this very day.  For me, angels continue to provide grace and guidance.  They are consistent in making their presence felt.  Angels are God's special agents and God always blesses us with all things good.

Thank you, Angel Gabriel for bringing to Mary such good tidings.  Thank you, Angel Gabriel for bringing calm and peace to the young virgin girl.  We are grateful for that special of messages you delivered some 2000 years ago; a message that continues to inspire, encourage and bring us to our knees in humble prayer and adoration.

The Angel Gabriel From Heaven  

Our annual St. Nicholas Chili Supper is beginning to take shape.  Jeff Westerheide has agreed, God bless him, to prepare the chili and supply what is needed.  We have a few prizes already, too.

We need some one or a few folks to step up, take charge and pull this all together.  We need people to collect gift cards and gift baskets from stores and restaurants in and around the Village. Sign-up sheets will be posted soon, after the holidays, for veggie trays, RSVP and so forth.   If you have the time and are willing, please see Manny and let's get this thing rolling!  I'm more than happy to do my share...how about you?

Mark your calendar for February 6, 2016.  Join us for our 4:30 Saturday Liturgy and stay for some mighty, good chili and the chance to win a prize or two!  Bring friends, the whole family as all are warmly welcome.  Supper starts around 6pm. 

Christmas is such a joyous time.  We at St. Nicholas have a blessed tradition of decorating the worship space with beautiful, seasonal plants and flowers.  This year will be no exception.

We are asking for donations to be made toward the purchase of these plants, flowers and new St. Nicholas Christmas Tree.  Donation envelopes are available in the Gathering Space on the Welcoming Table.  Please mark the envelope with your name.

In advance, thank you one and all for your continued generosity and kindness.  Let's do our best to make this Christmas as bright and beautiful as possible. 

We warmly welcome all to celebrate Christmas Eve with us! 

At 4PM, we'll offer a short service designed for kids, complete with a special gospel and sermon for kids! 

At 9PM we'll offer the beautiful service of Lessons & Carols. 

There is no service on Christmas Day. 

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, Jean 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: