Photos from Blessing of the Animals, 2011

On October 9, Fr. Jeff blessed the creatures of St. Nicholas to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.

Thanks to Lynn Hall for the photos!

Blessing of the Animals, Sunday, October 9th, 5pm

Blessing of the Animals is October 9th at 5:00pm.

Fr. Jeff will bless all creatures great and small as we celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. All beloved animals, including teddy bears, are welcome. We will meet outdoors in front of the church at 5:00 p.m. For the safety of all humans and beasts, please have your vaccinated pet under control. We will have home-made dog treats, water, and human treats available. Come celebrate and bless these marvelous creatures of God’s creation.

Katherine Genova and the wonderful dogs from the Humane Society of Harris County will be attending. St. Nicholas will host a Microchip Clinic in connection with the event. If you are planning on getting a puppy, this would be a perfect time!

Let Linda Sawyer know if you will be able to help: hogback@wavetel.us.

Honoring Our Veterans

Please join us on Sunday morning as we take time at both 8:30 and 11:00 services to honor those in our congregation who are veterans of our country’s armed forces. We will honor those who have served both past and present with patriotic hymns, special prayers, and a procession of our American flag. Those veterans in attendance will also be asked to come forward for a special blessing. If anyone has a flag they would like to display to honor a veteran who has died, bring that along too. You can also e-mail Fr. Jeff if you would like to include the name of a veteran to be read during the prayers. If you have a friend who is serving, this would be a great time to invite them as well.

 

 

Your Week at St. Nick 14 - 20 November 2010

 

Sunday, 14 November –Veterans are honored at 8:30 & 11:00am

8:30am Holy Eucharist

9:15am  Breakfast/Fellowship

9:30am  Christian Formation Classes –  Rev. Donna Gafford teaches Adult Sunday School Class “The Life and Thought of St. Paul”

11:00am  Holy Eucharist

5:00pm Youth Group

6:30pm Strategic Planning Committee meeting

 

Usher/Greeter

8:30am Barbara and Bobo Morgan

11:00am Lynn and Kenny Hall

 

Readers

8:30am John Brent

11:00am Phebe Robertson/Abby Brown

 

LEM

8:30am Sue Halmrast

11:00am  Nick Simpson

 

Altar Guild

Diane Hinnant/Julie Nordin

 

Flower Guild

Nancy Callaway

 

Acolytes

Abbey Avery

Abby Brown

Samantha Dixon

Ansley Butzon

 

Children’s Sunday School Teacher

Judy Hinton

 

Lemonade/Cider

Sheila Dixon

 

Wednesday, 17 November

6:30pm  Choir Rehearsal

 

Thursday, 18 November

6:30pm  Vestry Meeting

 

Friday, November 19 (bagging) & Saturday, November 20 (food distribution)

9:00am   FOCUS Thanksgiving Food Drive

 at Carver Resource Center, Hamilton

 

Friday, November 19

6:00pm  Out & About Group trip to Warm Springs

Our Out & About Adult Group will meet at the Bulloch House Restaurant, Warm Springs, at 6:00 for dinner on Friday, November 19th.  After dinner, we will start celebrating the holiday season as we participate in the 27th Annual Candlelight Tour Festival in Warm Springs Village!  Entertainment, candlelit streets, refreshments and more!  Shops open until 10:00pm!  For additional information, contact Lynn Hall, (706) 561-2698.

 

Friday, 19 November - Sunday, 21 November

Happening at Camp Mikell, Toccoa, GA

Happy Birthday!

11/2     Tai Jackson

11/3     Terri Townsend

11/6     Collin Brooks

11/9     John Blackmon

11/15   Sarah Correnti

11/18   Ben Brooks

11/30   Connie Blackmon

 

Happy Anniversary!

11/19 Chris and Sheila Dixon

11/26  John & Connie Blackmon

Bless These Pets!

Yesterday, to celebrate St. Francis Day, we had our annual Blessing of the Animals service on the lawn of St. Nicholas. Over 40 humans gathered with 30 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 horses (neither horse was present, but I did go to a barn and bless one afterwards!) to be blessed.

Kathryn Genova of the Harris County Humane Society brought a slew of dogs to the service. There are quite a few dogs to be adopted, and all were precious, including the siblings of Volt, who was adopted at Lobsterfest by our own Heather Roper.

While the dogs were a little rambunctious, it was amazing to see how still and calm they got as they received their blessing (all except one, who wouldn’t let me touch her!). I prayed for each one’s owners to be filled with love for them, which I think is certainly already true! Read more

House Blessing

You’re invited to celebrate the Blessing of New Home with the Jackson family Saturday, June 12. The blessing will take place at 2:00pm, followed by an open house until 5:00pm. Feel free to come and drop in even for a few minutes as we celebrate this happy occasion! Our house is located at 323 Hill Street in Hamilton, directly behind Hamilton Baptist Church.

Holy Cows!

One of the best things a priest gets to do is offer God’s blessing upon the lives of the individuals of the church. We have such a varied and gifted congregation, with such interesting backgrounds, hobbies, and careers. It is a joy to be invited into the homes of my people and bless their homes, their families, and even their….cows?!?!?

John and Charlotte Winsness have been offering for me to come over and bless their farm for quite a while. But the timing never worked out. Recently, they procured two of the most adorable belted galloway cattle, and when I saw John in FOCUS the other day, I jumped on the opportunity to run over and bless them.

I told Molly and the kids and they came with me to say prayers over the Winsness’s fields and animals. We were introduced to the many gardens John has going, where he grows just about every fruit and vegetable imaginable (OK, that’s hyperbole, but to me, it was a LOT of stuff). We visited his chickens and got a couple of eggs. He even let the kids sit on his John Deere tractor!

The cows were like cute, little pandas. They are still getting accustomed to their new home, so when I asked John if I could touch them, he said, “They won’t even let me touch them!” I learned that the art of raising cattle is a long process of trust, guidance, and ol’ fashioned cowboy-ing! John spends lots of time talking to them, approaching slowly, and being a calm presence to them. Quite a parable of how Jesus relates to us!

We have lots of people at St. Nicholas who garden, raise animals, and tend to the “simple life” of God’s creation. While I’m not a farmer in the least, nor a gardener, nor an animal-raiser, I have the utmost respect for those who do. It is quite fascinating to see our folks in their favored elements.

Thank you to John and Charlotte for teaching me, showing me around, and inviting me into your world. That’s the funny thing about offering God’s blessing: you go with the expectation of giving it, and you end up receiving it yourself!

The Blessing of Animals

To celebrate the Feast of St. Francis, St. Nicholas and their beloved pets gathered on the lawn. Thanks to Ben Brooks, who set up tables and provided treats and water buckets, our animal friends were treated with great hospitality. Also, Dr. Hank Hall, a veterinarian from Columbus, joined us to be on hand to provide information and to give free check ups to any animal. The Harris County Humane Society brought a truckload of dogs to be blessed, in hopes that they might find a home. Thanks to Virginia Brooks, at least one puppy was adopted!

At the brief liturgy, we gave thanks to God for all of our many gifts, especially our pets, and prayed for them. We also remembered beloved pets who have died. Even stuffed animals were blessed, as Bronwyn Jackson brought her stuffed Little Mermaid doll to be blessed by her dad.

It was a great turnout! Thanks to Nick Simpson for set-up and take-down help, Lacy Razor for providing homemade treats, Lynn Hall for her great pics (see below), and to everyone who showed up! Fr. Jeff is always available for animal blessings even when it’s not the Feast of St. Francis, so feel free to give him a call.