Pentecost Sunday Pics

Today was a wonderful day at St. Nicholas. We were all empowered by the Holy Spirit, graced by the music of organ and saxophone, honored by the ministry of Ralph Livingston, saddened by the departure of our friends Briana and Kaitlyn, and inspired by the grace and music of Pat Newton. 

Photos by Lynn Hall.

Amazing

The following is a poem written by retiring organist Pat Newton as her farewell to St. Nicholas. Pat is leaving to devote more time to composing, writing, teaching, and spending time with her husband, Bob. They are not leaving St. Nicholas, thankfully, but are going to take a break for a while. We wish Pat and Bob the best as they follow the Spirit’s guiding. 

Amazing

The grace that gives

The soul that sings

     and says to you and me

We have a gift

It’s here right now

     Don’t you feel a thing?

 

It’s love, it’s love

He died for me

He died for you, it’s true

Now our lives are changed for good,

     for all eternity.

 

It’s not a place

But a Spirit that comes

Alone it says: Look now

     We have each other,

     Our hearts and minds

To share like sister and brother.

 

Can you sense it

   In that look

   Or at the altar rail?

Or in those tiny hands held up

To take a communion wafe

            Don’t you feel a thing?

 

I said your name, He said

     It’s written on my heart

             Love gives and gives

                 And gives some more

             Right from the very start.

 

It’s Isabel and John

      Charlotte and Sue

   Cason and Nancy and Phebe too

       Kathy and Joe, Norma and Ben

       Suzy, Barbara, BoBo and Ken

 

It’s Terri and Bob, Liz and Tai.

          Sharon, Tom, Mike, and Nan

          Linda, Pat, Larry, and Rose

       Sheryl, Michelle, Nick and Anne

           Doug, the Martins, young and old

                  And all those little ones

                                  with feet of gold.

 

It’s Elaine, Trish, Virginia and Jan

Bert, Ralph, Camilla, Joan

Sheila, Steve, John and Collin

    Your name is written on my heart

              He said. 

 

Gene and Susan, Kendra and Jeff

Amy, Katherine, David and Robin

Samantha, Julia, Lynn and Dorothy

Chris, Marci, Andy and Graham

 

All of you I can’t name here

But I see your face

I know your smile

I see your eyes

      You catch me with a wink.

                    Don’t you feel a thing?

 

We can give it a name:

             St. Nicholas…it’s true.

For young and old, sick and whole

       We welcome everyone

Love gives and gives and gives

        again

 

    It’s the great I AM.

              Do you feel it now?

 

Pat Newton, Organist

May 2009

Spirit of St. Nicholas June Issue is UP!

In this issue:

Rector’s Message P. 2

Worship News P.3

Hospitality News P. 4 & 5

Schedules P. 6 & 7

Spotlight on Graduates P. 8

Summer Flicks at St. Nick P. 9

Calendar P. 10

Episcopal 101 Class P. 11

Free Computer Classes P. 11

Christian Education P.12

Meet our Acolytes P.12

Youth Group News P.14 &15

Birthdays , Anniversaries

And Family News P.16

Parish Life Events P.19

DOK News P.20

Outreach Ministries P.20 & 21

Web Site update P. 22

An April Epiphany

I’m not sure what obsessive, compulsive behavior is, but I’m pretty sure that is the way my Mom is with out of date groceries.  On a recent visit, she opened my refrigerator and quickly pointed out that the milk carton indicated it was past the expiration date.  “Did you know that this milk is past the date?”  I replied, “I know, but I’m saving that carton for the cat”.  My Mom explained “when it’s past date, you shouldn’t even give it to your cat”.  My 5 year old Granddaughter quickly came to my rescue.  With hands on hips, she exclaimed to my Mom, “It don’t matter Granny”.  My Mother gently asked, “Why is that sweetheart?”  Now, with her tiny shoulders pinched forward, both arms stretched out, with palms up and with a whimsical grin, she pronounced, “Cuz the cat can’t read”.

I know that everyone has a cute grandchild story, and I think this qualifies.  It was more than that to me.  In a brief instant, as I watched this unfold, I had an epiphany.  My Granddaughters gesture with hands on her hips followed by the outstretched arms, palms facing upward, is a gesture that I’ve seen my Mom make thousands of times.  Not close, or sort of like Mom’s, but more of a patterned replica.  Her smile, the one we call her sly grin, is her Mother’s.  I used to tease my daughter on how she did that smile.  It is one done with only the left side of the face.  I’ve tried, and practiced in the mirror, and I can’t duplicate this smile.  I thought it was uniquely my daughters, but not anymore.  Of course the logic, the smooth, well don’t you get it logic, my Granddaughter gets from me!

The epiphany is a simplistic one.  This was not the life everlasting component of Christianity.  Rather, in this snapshot in time, I clearly saw that through my children, through my grandchildren and through their children’s children, part of me could live forever.  My Granddaughter came over to where I was sitting, and asked me, “Papa Bill – are you crying?”  “No sweetheart, I just have a tear in my eye”.  She asked, “Why do you have a tear in your eye?”  I replied, “Cuz the cat can’t read.”

 

Bill Hogg is  a member of St. Nicholas, and resident writer of poems, prayers, and late-night musings. You can contact him at bhogg@contractoffice.com.

Your Week at St. Nick

Sunday, May 31

Pentecost (wear red)

9:30am Children’s Sunday School/Teen Class/Adult Bible Study

10:30am Holy Eucharist

11:45am Retirement Reception for Pat Newton, Organist

5:00pm Youth Group

Ushers

Ben Brooks

Karen Kurtz

Greeter

Mark Kurtz

LEM & 2^nd Chalice

Hinant/Blackmon

Altar Guild

Dixon/Tomlin

Flower Guild

Diane

Lemonade

Diane

Acolytes

Table Cody

Crucifer Austin

Gospel Austin

Offer. Dalton

Torch Robin & Cody

Sunday School Teacher

Diane Hinant

Wednesday, June 2

6:30pm Holy Eucharist

June 5 – 13 Father Jeff on vacation

Everyone Deserves Prayer

Last year, my wife’s brother asked her a religious question. Molly has gotten used to these kinds of questions now that she’s a priest’s wife, and I’m always proud of her answers. 

A little background on this question…my brother-in-law is a very faithful and wonderful person. He teaches Sunday School for children at his Baptist Church, and knowing his sense of integrity, his gentleness, and his playfulness, I’m sure he’s a good one. So his question is not that far out of left field, as I think even Episcopalians have let this cross their minds.

One day in his Sunday School class, he was leading the children in prayers. He asked them, “Who do you want to pray for?” Of course, he got the usual answers–mommy, daddy, my goldfish, my grandparents, my puppy, bicycles for my birthday, etc. But one astute child threw in a curveball–”The Pope!”

So to my brother-in-law’s question to my wife, he asked her, “What would you have done? Would you have prayed for the Pope even though you’re not [Roman] Catholic?”

Molly unequivocally answered, “Of course I would!”

That might be your answer too as you read this, but coming from his perspective, he might have wondered since they were Baptist if they might be breaking some unspoken denominational rule or  something. Or maybe he was trying to differentiate between Catholic and Baptist for this little one. Or maybe he’s just anti-Catholic altogether.

But it brings up an interesting question for us: For whom do we pray? Only the people we like? Only the people that agree with us? Only the people who are like us? Who deserves our prayer?

After the Election, I wasn’t surprised that so many people were already denouncing President Obama before he was even sworn in. It’s easy to immediately demonize people we don’t agree with, especially those people like the President or the Pope, who are in the limelight.

However, no matter what our politics or our theologies, we are called to pray for everyone, especially those in positions of authority. And we’re not called simply to pray for them to change and think like us. We are called to pray for their well-being, their health, and their ability to lead with wisdom, no matter if their decisions are the decisions we would make or not. They are human beings with a great amount of responsibility, and if nothing else, we should pray that they’re just doing OK.

Even outside of those in authority, we are called to pray for those with whom we disagree. The brother-in-law who leads a Sunday School class differently than I would, the child who makes a lifestyle change that’s not in line with our expectations, the parent who makes a rule with which we’re not happy, the church down the street who thinks our church is weird, the person who makes us the angriest. All of them deserve prayer.

Everyone deserves prayer.

Everyone.

Join a Foyer Group!

Ok!

…Wait.

What’s a Foyer Group?

Great question! A Foyer Group is an informal gathering of St. Nicholas folks who desire to build community with one another, share a meal, and simply get to know one another a bit better. In other Christian churches, these might be called “supper clubs.” They’re called “foyer groups” because the idea is that people will gather in one another’s homes and “foyer” (or “entryway”) sounds a lot better than “Living Room Group” or “Dining Room Group.”

The early Church made it a habit of meeting in one another’s homes, mainly because they were not free to worship in public arenas. In fact, the tradition of Holy Eucharist was only encouraged in the early Church because people celebrated the Christ meal right along with their regular meal. Even before the early Church, the Last Supper (which was the Passover Meal) that Jesus celebrated with his friends was such a meal. 

There’s just something about gathering around a common table. Our relationships are deepened, we relax more, we laugh more than we might when we’re in Church on Sunday morning. We share something really holy when we gather for meals, whether it’s in our home or out to dinner with friends.

Foyer Groups are a great way to meet people in the Church. In fact, there are some churches who’s members became the best of friends because they met in a Foyer Group. Also, as St. Nicholas continues to grow, it will be important to get to know more people with whom we worship.

How do Foyer Groups work?

First, if you want to join a Foyer Group, you can sign up by clicking on this link and filling out the form. Or you can go to the section of the website called “Sign Up to Help Out” and you can fill out a form there.

Second, your name will be organized into a small group (probably no more than 8 people or 4 couples). Couples will not be separated (unless you really want to be) and singles are very encouraged to sign up (we promise not to make you the odd person out!). 

Once your group is formed, you can decide where and when you want to meet. You might choose to rotate through all the members’ homes and make it pot-luck. You might all choose to meet at a local restaurant. You might all choose to meet on the third Tuesday of every month. You might all choose to meet on the second Saturday of every month. Whatever your group decides. 

When you meet, you can choose if you want to be an informal group, or if you like more structure, perhaps someone can bring a point of discussion, a game, or a devotion to lead to get the group interacting. One thing that will be provided is a short liturgy that we hope that you’ll do together.

Groups will last for a year, at which point we’ll reshuffle.

So join a Foyer Group today by clicking on this link! Someone will contact you to get you on-board.

Your Week at St. Nick

Sunday, May 24

9:30am Children’s Sunday School/Teen Class/Adult Bible Study
10:30am Holy Eucharist
5:00pm Youth Group

Ushers
Jan Pylant
Lynn Hall
Greeter
Kenny Hall
LEM & 2nd Chalice
Halmrast/Nordin
Altar Guild
Hinant/Nordin
Flower Guild
Suzie Eidson
Lemonade
Heather Roper
Acolytes
Table Robin
Crucifer Sam
Gospel Sean
Offer. Abbey A.
Torch Sean and Abbey A.

Sunday School Teacher
Michelle Moody

Monday, May 25
Memorial Day (office closed)

Tuesday, May 26
6:30 pm Vestry Meeting

Wednesday, May 27
6:30pm Holy Eucharist

Saturday, May 30
8:00am – 2:00pm St. Nicholas Yard Sale

Burning Questions

The Episcopal 101 class has been going really well, and there have been so many wonderful questions asked. At the beginning of each class, I ask for any “burning questions” and write them on the board so that we make sure that the questions are addressed by the end of each session. It dawned on me that many of you who haven’t been attending the class, or can’t, might be able to benefit from these questions. So on the section of our website under What We Do–>What We Believe, I’ve put a section for “burning questions” and my response to those questions. As we go along, I’ll include more. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions yourselves. Also, these are strictly my answers, and I don’t pretend to know everything. If you have more insight, please let me know!

What Jesus is NOT…

Ok, just so you all know, I can be pretty irreverent sometimes. I like to think I’m a tasteful irreverent reverend. I find religious humor to be hilarious. When the Church can laugh at itself, then that’s a good sign that we’re healthy and doing God’s will. So, from time to time, I may post something I find for a good laugh.

Back a few years ago, my good friend Jody Grant showed me these series of short videos at a Happening weekend in the Diocese of Georgia. These were done by a church for a class they were teaching on misconceptions of Jesus. These satirical portrayals are supposed to convey how people typically view Jesus, although no one would DARE admit it.

First up…Jesus & the Disciples and a lesson on friendship:

Jesus & the “Rules” of Christianity:

Jesus & Sin:

And my personal favorite–Jesus in the Temple:

Enjoy!

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