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 Believe me when I say I understand and appreciate how, at times, it is difficult if not impossible to be able to attend services at church. Our schedules get so full and heavy, we scarcely have the time to comprehend "down time" let alone enjoy such.
With that being said, I am making an appeal to one and all: we have much coming up in the next few days. No one event is more important or more pressing than the other. Sure, our gatherings are social in nature but these times together are also business; very important business that will help form and guide our St. Nicholas Church.
We start with our Annual Chili Supper this coming Saturday, Feb. 6th. Consider coming for our 4:30 Service and staying for some mighty good chili, great company and some sweet prizes. We have a ton of good stuff to raffle. Good food, good friends and good stuff to win. It's all here and it's all yours. Bring the whole family, friends and anyone who savors a good, hot bowl of chili and some cool prizes, to boot.
Sunday, Feb. 7th, after our 10am Liturgy, we shall move right into Holy Innocent's Hall for our Annual Church Meeting and Pot Luck Luncheon. This is an extremely important meeting. This time together affords all of us the opportunity to talk, share and express our thoughts about our church, vote for the new members of the Bishop's Committee, discuss our fiscal condition, talk about our future and where we want to take our community of faith. And, we do this with plenty of tasty dishes we share. All are welcome and encouraged to be part of this open conversation. We can put a movie on for the little ones to keep them occupied in the Noah's Ark Space. Rest assured, we will all be home in plenty of time for the Super Bowl.
Tuesday night, Feb. 9th is Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. We gather to celebrate an ancient tradition started in England around the year 1000 where pancakes were served the night before Ash Wednesday. At St. Nicholas, we too will gather and enjoy the simple pleasures of pancakes, pleasant conversation and the company of some wonderful people. All are invited and gentlemen, we do the cooking and serving. This is purely a time for rejoicing and celebrating and we at St. Nicholas choose to do so as a community of faith, family, friends and fun. (Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of "shriving" that Christians used to undergo. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution/forgiveness from their priest.)
And, to cap off a rather busy stretch, we come together, midweek, to celebrate in song and prayer the start of the holy season of Lent. 7pm Wednesday night, February 10th, we shall come to church and begin our Lenten observation as ashes are placed upon our forehead to remind us from where we come and to what we shall return. Again, all are welcome to come and celebrate.
Alright; let's all take a deep breath...hold it, now let it go and relax. Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?
Let's come together and worship, rejoice, eat well and celebrate all with which we have been blessed. The church will be a busy place...and that's exactly as it should be.
Amen. -Manny |
Big Goings On At St.Nicholas...
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All are warmly invited to come, share, eat and celebrate!
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 Chili Supper is this Saturday, February 6th. Come for the 4:30 Liturgy and stay for great chili, great prizes and even greater company! St. Nicholas Annual All Church Meeting and Pot Luck Luncheon is this Sunday, February 7th. We need to hear the voices of all our church family. Come and share a meal and join in the conversation and discernment of where we want to take our church. Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is Tuesday, February 9th at 6:30pm. Our gentlemen will cook and serve a scrumptious, pancake supper. All are warmly welcomed to come and enjoy this "last hurrah" before we begin the holy season of Lent.   |
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Ash Wednesday, February 10
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Join us for Worship at 7pm as we begin Lent
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 We begin the holy and sacred season of Lent this week, beginning with Ash Wednesday, February 10. As a people, we search for a deeper, more intimate relationship with our Creator. As a people of faith, let us gather for communal worship at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, 7pm, this Wednesday night as we begin our Lenten journey, together. |
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Black History Month and our Church
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God Bless our Sisters and Brothers and Their Divine Efforts
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 As a community of faith and a world-wide body, we celebrate Black History Month and the role our sisters and brothers had. These brave and faith-filled women and men shared and sacrificed so much to help create and build the Church we have today. Let us pray for our heroes and heroines, all of whom lived their lives in accordance to Jesus' call to serve one another. The Reverend Absalom Jones, 1746-1818
Absalom Jones was America's first black priest. Born into slavery in Delaware at a time when slavery was being debated as immoral and undemocratic, he taught himself to read, using the New Testament as one of his resources. At the age of 16, Jones was sold to a shopkeeper in Philadelphia where he attended a night school for blacks, operated by Quakers. Following the purchase of his own freedom in 1784, Jones served as lay minister for the black membership at St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church.
The active evangelism of Jones and that of his friend, Richard Allen, greatly increased black membership at St. George's. Alarmed by the rise in black attendance, the vestry decided to segregate blacks into an upstairs gallery without notice. When ushers attempted to remove the black congregants, the resentful group exited the church. This exodus triggered the establishment of the Free African Society by Jones and Allen in 1787 to aid in the emancipation of slaves and to offer sustenance and spiritual support to widows, orphans, and the poor.
In 1794 Jones and Allen, with the assistance of local Quakers and Episcopalians, established the "First African Church" in Philadelphia. Shortly after the establishment that same year, the African Church applied to join the Protestant Episcopal Church, laying before the diocese three requirements: the Church must be received as an already organized body; it must have control over it's own affairs; and Jones must be licensed as lay-reader and if qualified, ordained as its minister. Upon acceptance into the Diocese of Pennsylvania, the church was renamed the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. The following year Jones became a deacon but was not ordained a priest until 1804, nine years later. At 58 years old, he became the first black American priest. He continued to be a leader in his community, founding a day school (as blacks were excluded from attending public school), the Female Benevolent Society, and an African Friendly Society. In 1800 he called upon Congress to abolish the slave trade and to provide for gradual emancipation of existing slaves. Jones died in 1818.
(Sources: The Church Awakens: African-Americans and the Struggle for Justice.) |
Bread Bakers - we need your help
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 The supply of bread we use for our worship is very, very low. We appreciate the time and effort that goes into making bread. So, with immense thanks, we put out the request for bread bakers to come to the rescue. Recipes are be available, placed upon the shelf just outside the church doors. If the pans used for bread baking here at church are unavailable, consider using a traditional cake pan or form a loaf as you desire. Thank you for the care and consideration shown by so many in such countless ways, all of which helps make St. Nicholas the wonderful place it is. God bless. |
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An Invitation from the Order of St. Luke
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 The Healing Journey Chapter OSL will hold a Candlemas Generational Healing Eucharist (tentatively with some Inductions) on Friday, Feb. 5th from 7 to 9 PM at St. Nicholas.
All are welcome to attend. Those wishing to intercede for their family tree (siblings, cousins, parents, aunts, uncles and other ancestors) should create and bring to Mass a copy of their genogram.
According to Wikipedia, a genogram is a pictoral display of a person's family relationships and medical history. It goes beyond a traditional family tree by allowing the user to visualize hereditary patterns and psychological factors that punctuate relationships. It can be used to identify repetitive patterns of behavior and to recognize hereditary tendencies.
The kinds of things we try to intercede for a generational healing Eucharist are inherited patterns of sickness and disease, patterns of sin, patterns of unhealthy and/or abusive relationships.
The genograms will be placed on the altar during the Intercessory prayers and Eucharistic prayer.
Participants can also bring things like photographs and other genealogical material. Space permitting, these too, will be placed on the altar.
There will also be a regular O.S.L. chapter meeting on Fri. Feb. 19th. As always, all are welcome to attend.
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| St. Nicholas T-Shirts Have Arrived |
 The "Follow Me To St. Nicholas Episcopal Church" T-shirts have, at long last, arrived. If you placed an order, please stop by after the weekend services and pick up your shirt. The cost is $12.00 per shirt. Exact change would be most appreciated. Thanks to all who ordered. And, I do believe we ordered some extra ones, too. So, there's still a chance to get one before they're all gone. |
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Remember St. Nicholas before you click...
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The Community of St. Nicholas is praying
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For Mindy, we pray in thanksgiving for good health!
For those who came before us, those women and men who sacrificed and surrendered themselves to help create and build our faith and our Church.
For unity within the Church: Pray that differing views does not create bitterness but paves the way for continued dialogue and deeper discernment.
For those who were violently and mercilessly murdered in Nigeria: Pray their souls are warmly welcomed to Paradise and those who grieve their loved ones' deaths are comforted and consoled.
For the people of Flint, Michigan who continue to endure toxic water in their homes: Pray for those who have been adversely affected, those that have fallen ill as we pray that common sense and compassion rule over greed and apathy on the part of elected officials.
For Bob Chapelle, a friend of St. Nicholas who recently suffered a heart attack: Pray for Bob's quick and complete recovery and a return to his family and friends, all of whom are concerned for his well being.
For prayers answered for members of this community faith: the power of prayer at work.
For those who continue to work, "one day at a time" at reclaiming their lives away from alcohol, drugs and other addictions: Pray their efforts are successful and happiness and peace of mind is theirs.
For our political leaders: Pray they have the nation and her people in their best interests when enacting and implementing laws.
For those who are searching for gainful employment, those who are battling addictions and those who are experiencing depression: Pray all find a better way of life, filled with good health, happiness and success.
For the homeless, those who are without adequate food and sufficient necessities: Pray that all receive that which they need and require to live happy, healthy and productive lives.
For the numerous needs of so many of the members of this community of St. Nicholas: pray for the health, well-being and safety of all our family members.
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, Katie, Elaine and Barry Malas, Susan Lackey, Marcia Kizior, Kesha, Eunice Dohra, Bernie, Ron, Dale Rickey, Phil Cooper, Tim Laughlin, Jackie, Cathy Walters, Lenny and any one else in need of our continued prayers and well wishes.
***Pray for Marvin." "For my sobriety, today, as I have been sober for 11 months."
(***written prayer requests)
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To Thelma Malecek and Jennifer Garcia who led our community in Evening and Morning Prayer. Thank you both for your shared faith and commitment to St. Nicholas.
To Penny Mandziara, Tess, Neal, Jillian and Shannon, aka the Setchell family for the amazing job they did representing St. Nicholas at the Village's Carnival of Exceptional Character held last Saturday. A job very, very well done!
To our friends at St. Simon's and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew who dropped off several bags of groceries for our food pantry and for the financial assistance they shared with us. Your kindness is so graciously welcomed and appreciated.
To our friends at the local Jewel store who came through, big time, with another large food donation last week. 3 trips, back and forth and each time more necessary items that will help fill our shelves.
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This Week at St. Nicholas
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As a reminder, the full master calendar is always available online at this link. Here is the schedule for the next week: |
| Wednesday, February 3, 2016 | | AA Meeting | 12:00 PM | | Food Pantry | 4:00 PM | | Al-Anon Meeting | 7:30 PM |
Thursday, February 4, 2016 | | AA Meeting | 12:00 PM | | GA Meeting | 7:30 PM |
Friday, February 5, 2016 | | Vicar's Day Off | | | AA Meeting | 12:00 PM |
Saturday, February 6, 2016 | | The Principled Group | 7:30 AM | | AA Meeting | 1:00 PM | | Worship Service | 4:30 PM | | 6th Annual Chili Supper & Raffle | 6:00 PM | | AA Meeting | 7:00 PM |
Sunday, February 7, 2016 |
| | | Children's / Youth Formation (during the Liturgy of the Word portion of the 10AM service) | 10:00 AM | | Worship Service | 10:00 AM | | Annual Meeting immediately following the 10AM service | 11:30 AM | | AA Meeting | 7:30 PM |
Monday, February 8, 2016 | | AA Meeting | 12:00 PM | | AA Meeting | 7:00 PM |
Tuesday, February 9, 2016 | | Vicar's Day Off | | | AA Meeting | 12:00 PM | | Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper | 6:30 PM | | AA Meeting | 7:00 PM |
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 |
| | | AA Meeting | 12:00 PM | | Ash Wednesday Service | 7:00 PM | | Al-Anon Meeting | 7:30 PM |
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