When We Remembered Zion

Today in my prayers, Psalm 137 popped up:

By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion. 
On the willows there
we hung up our harps. 
For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’

Of course, this Psalm was written during the Babylonian captivity, when things were not looking so good for the Israelites. But this week, the name “Zion” has a special meaning for me. Read more

VBS Fiesta Starts Monday!

Next week, July 26-30, our church will turn into a full-fledged Fiesta! We are all excited to welcome all 3 to 9-year-olds for a week of fun, crafts, games, snacks, and lots of learning about who Jesus is! We have a cadre of fantastic adult and teen leaders for the week. There is still room to sign up, but do so today!

At the end of the week, we will meet over at Cason & Nancy Callaway’s Blue Springs home for a picnic and swimming in their pool! Parents will need to accompany their children, and we will have lifeguards present for the morning.

If you have any children in your neighborhood or family who would like to come, please sign up by clicking here.

We will be decorating for Fiesta after church on Sunday. All are welcome to join us! We’ll also be doing a brief training for the teen group leaders, so be sure to stick around for that!

June Newsletter

The June 2010 issue of the Spirit of St. Nicholas is up! Many apologies for the delay. Unfortunately, Drucye’s computer crashed in the middle of getting this issue together. Then, when she sent it to me on Sunday, somehow I didn’t get it! Yikes! Despite all that trouble, Drucye did a great job of getting this together, and we thank her for her hard work.

Many thanks to all our contributors! You can read it by clicking directly on the image of the issue to the left, or by going to our Newsletter Page and clicking on June 2010.

If you have any news for the July issue, please contact Drucye Price by June 15.

Youth Cheer on the Cottonmouths

This past Sunday night, the youth of St. Nicholas headed down to Columbus for the Cottonmouths game against the Fayetteville (NC) Fireantz. We had a great time, with 6 adults and 17 kids! While our hometown hockey team ended up losing the game 6-3, we all still had a great time and even got to witness a rare brawl between the 2 goalies! We don’t condone the violence, but it sure made the game interesting! Thanks to Chris and Jackie Lintner for bringing coupons which got us in for FREE, Michelle Moody, April Avery, Matt Hinnant, and Jessica McComb for chaperoning and Heather Roper for suggesting the idea to go!

Our next youth event is our Winter Retreat at Camp Mikell in Toccoa (northeast Georgia) January 29-31. If you haven’t already signed up, you need to do so soon!

Vestry Nominations

It is that time of year when we receive nominations for new Vestry members.  This year, we will elect three new members, or a third of the Vestry, for a 3-year term.  This is an important aspect of our common life.

The Vestry is the governing board of the parish, and in our case each member serves as a liaison to various committees within the church. Currently, the areas of ministry are Stewardship, Worship, Education, Hospitality, Parish Life, Outreach, Communications, and Buildings and Grounds. The Vestry is led by a Senior Warden, who is chosen by the Rector to serve as his “right hand” and the Junior Warden, or “people’s warden,” is elected by the Vestry.

As we are a growing parish, we look for people who are energetic, good leaders, and motivated workers who can help steer the ship. We also look for people who are good at inviting and involving others into the leadership of the parish through committees and programs. The Vestry is not supposed to be the group that “does everything” but is a support structure for empowering everyone in the parish to participate. We hope that people on the Vestry are passionate about the areas in which they serve, rather than being a warm body in a position they care nothing about. Vestry is an honor, and a great opportunity for spiritual growth. We do have fun when we gather, as well. It’s not just a “business meeting,” but a time where we experience all that God is doing in our church.

Our current Stewardship liaison and Senior Warden, Gene Demonet, and our current Worship liaison, Sue Halmrast, will be rotating off after their 3-year term. We are so thankful for their leadership, especially during the transition.

The Vestry meets once a month (and sometimes more for special meetings if a need arises) on the fourth Tuesday of the month (except November and December, when we move to the third Tuesday). We also have an annual Vestry Retreat where we map out the year, worship, and seek God’s vision for the next year.

In order to serve on the Vestry, one must be a confirmed communicant of St. Nicholas, a regular attendant in the previous year, and a pledging member in the last year.

Now is the time to begin praying about what God is calling you to do. Even if you don’t think Vestry is part of that call, we hope that you will consider in what way you can serve to continue to do God’s work at St. Nicholas. Below is a nomination form. Anyone can nominate anyone else to run, but please ask that person’s permission before you do. Nominations will be received and at our Annual Parish Meeting in January, the parish will elect our 3 new members.

For more information on the Vestry, visit the Vestry page on this website by clicking here.

	VESTRY NOMINATIONS Please use the form below to nominate candidates for the 2010 Vestry. Please ask permission from anyone you nominate before you nominate them! Your Name: * E-mail Address: * Phone Number: Nominee’s Name: * Nominee’s E-mail Address: * Nominee’s Phone Number: Please tell us why you think this person would be a good Vestry member: * In which area of ministry do you think this person has gifts (you can choose more than one): * Stewardship Worship Education Hospitality Parish Life Outreach Communications Buildings & Grounds Other? (please explain below) Anything else you’d like to share?

Nine St. Nicholas members attend the Ministry Fair in Atlanta with over 500 other Episcopalians

On Saturday morning, February 28th, nine members of St. Nicholas took off in  the pouring rain to attend The Diocese of Atlanta Ministry Fair in Atlanta.

We joined over 500 Episcopalians at the beautiful Cathedral of St. Philip on Peachtree Road in Atlanta. Being able to tour that wonderful cathedral and visit their bookstore were added bonuses for me.

Over 50 workshop leaders presented a total 63 workshops covering a multitude of ministry areas. The excitement of the crowd was evident from the moment we arrived. We witnessed lots of reunions and the atmosphere was joyous. The fair was well organized down to the last detail. Upon arrival at 8:30 a.m., we enjoyed hot coffee and a casual continental breakfast. A wonderful lunch with great variety was served at noon. Our hosts definitely thought of everything to make us feel welcome.

Time flew by as we each attended three workshops of our choice. Being a new vestry member and St. Nicholas’ Communications person, I attended these three classes:

1. “Vestry: What they didn’t tell you when you were asked to run.” By Rev. Canon Rick Callaway
2. “New Ideas for New Challenges: Leadership for New Wardens and Vestry” by Rev. Canon Alicia Shuster Weltner
3. “Telling the Good News: Parish Communications” by Nan Ross and Bill Monk

I enjoyed all of the classes and almost missed my ride home because I stayed so late talking with all the people I met! If you ever get a chance, try to attend this Ministry Fair in the future. You’ll love it.

Drucye