The Dangerous Act of Worship

Tuesday Night Adult Education Returns September 7!

In his book, The Dangerous Act of Worship, Mark Labberton asserts that corporate worship shouldn’t merely point us upward toward God, but turn us outward as well, toward our neighbors.  He says worship should translate into transformed lives that care for the poor and the oppressed.  The Old Testament prophet Micah said to Israel, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  (Micah 6:8)  If worship is the humble walk, where does doing justice and loving mercy fit?  What does Sunday worship mean to you come Monday?  Let’s talk about it!  Mollie Smith will be leading this class on Tuesday nights for 6 weeks starting September 7, at 6:30 pm., to discuss the meaning of worship at St. Nicholas and beyond. You can sign up for the class by visiting www.stnicholashamilton.org/signup or by visiting the bulletin board in the hallway. Copies of the book are $12.00, but are not required to take the class.

Waging A Living

This Sunday, August 29 at 9:45am, in part 4 of our 5-part Adult Formation Class, Faith & Finances, Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministries (CVEM) Missioner Vicky Partin will be facilitating and showing a brief DVD called Waging A Living. The class will be hearing the stories of people, who, like many Americans, are working full time jobs but still cannot make ends meet. Hear their struggles and reflect with the class on issues of justice as we wrestle with what God is calling us to do.

Also, the Rev. Donna Gafford will be preaching and celebrating at both services as Fr. Jeff takes our youth to Camp Mikell on retreat.

They Said It Couldn’t Be Done

“They said it couldn’t be done, Christian Valley, but I preached a 10-minute sermon!”

Those were the exuberant words of Pastor Eric Seldon, who is the minister of Christian Valley Church in Cataula, who preached at both services at St. Nicholas on Sunday. While he was talking about his sermon length, I couldn’t help but think that there was much more that happened on Sunday that “they said couldn’t be done.”

I have written before about our relationship with Christian Valley and how we are seeking to create a bond of friendship between two very different congregations. One is predominantly African-American, one is predominantly Caucasian. One worships formally and traditionally, one worships with a much more contemporary spin. One has a preacher that preaches 10 to 15 minutes long, one has a preacher that preaches 30-45 minutes long.

As Pastor Eric mentioned in his sermon, in the South, Sunday mornings are the most segregated hours of the week. Yet, we have been called to take the “road less traveled” and join together on occasion to begin a process of relationship of understanding. One might worry that we’re trying to assimilate their church or that they are trying to assimilate ours. But that’s not the intention. It’s to engage fully in mission with one another. Mission, at it’s core, means engaging in relationship with one another. Christian Valley has a gift to give St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas has a gift to give Christian Valley. Despite our cultural, ecclesial, or liturgical differences, we lift those differences up and share them with one another to learn, and grow, and love one another. Who else is doing that in Harris County?

I said in both services yesterday that the Kingdom of God was indeed present. We all recited the Nicene Creed, as varied Christians throughout history have done before as a way to unite us in common worship. I looked out and saw the beauty of diversity in the faces of God’s created people! At the 8:30 service, we had 64 attendees, most of whom were Christian Valley members who came early, and then went to worship at their own 10 o’clock service. At 11:00, we had 97 people packed into the pews! It was a sight to behold!

Deacon Terrance Blue from Christian Valley led the Inspirational Choir in two songs at the two services, Souled Out and God Is. At the 11:00 service, everyone was on their feet clapping, dancing, and singing. If you wonder what eternity might be like, it might look a bit like that.

The number of e-mails and comments about our services have been overwhelmingly positive. As one St. Nicholas member said, “I thought to myself, this is the way the world can put aside bigotry and hatred…I have always been proud to be Episcopalian, but this morning went beyond mere pride to show me the way the world could ‘live as one.’”

I am supremely thankful to Pastor Eric, Garvin Gourie, and the rest of Christian Valley who made the day possible. I am overwhelmingly proud of the people of St. Nicholas, who welcomed new friends with open arms. Pastor Eric said how warm everyone felt there with us.

So it was a step in the right direction. I have never been more sure of that. I don’t know what God has in store for St. Nicholas & Christian Valley, but if it’s anything like yesterday’s worship, then the Kingdom of God is truly at hand.

My only disappointment in the day was that we didn’t get any pictures! Our regular photographer, Lynn Hall, was in bed with the flu, bless her heart, and I forgot to get someone else to take pictures! So even though the day wasn’t captured on camera, it certainly was graphed into the hearts and minds of all who were present.

They said it couldn’t be done…

Humane Society Needs You!

The Harris County Humane Society is a licensed, non-profit organization that rescues homeless animals, cares for them and works to get them adopted. We are currently in a temporary location and are raising funds to build a shelter in Harris County. Several people from St. Nicholas are volunteering by cleaning the shelter, fostering dogs, working at Dog Gone Good Bargains in Pine Mountain and  PetSmart on Saturday. We will all tell you it is the most rewarding work we have ever done. If you can help contact Linda Sawyer, Volunteer Coordinator  at 706-582-3813 or hogback@wavetel.us. You can also find more information about the Humane Society on their Facebook Page.

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

We Got A Vision…Now What?

As you might have heard in my sermon last Sunday (click here or click on the box to the right to hear it), after many months of discernment and conversation, St. Nicholas has developed a working vision for the future! This is incredibly good news, not just for the future, but for right here and now. Read more

From Hope to Cure at Relay For Life

One of the events I missed in my first year at St. Nicholas was Relay For Life. I had a pre-scheduled conference to attend before I even heard of St. Nicholas, so I unfortunately missed out on last year’s event. This year, though, I made sure I was around for this event. Read more

Vision Planning Day

St. Nicholas is a growing congregation, and as such, we are called to develop a vision for our future together. What kind of church do we want to become? What do we value as a congregation? What do we do really well? If our church were to vanish from the face of the earth, what kind of hole would we leave in the community? These are all common questions to ask as we make plans for the future.

During the last year, the Vestry has been working on developing this vision for St. Nicholas’ future.  Click here to see what we worked on. At our last Vestry Retreat, we were delighted to begin the process of developing a common vision with DaAnna Stringer. Da (pronounced “day”) is a corporate facilitator and listener who helps businesses and churches develop where they want to go in 10, 20, and 30 years.

We will gather on Saturday, May 15 from 9:00am to 3:00pm with Da at the church to develop this vision. The Vestry hopes to have as many people involved as possible. If you have high hopes for the development of our congregation, or if there’s something that you think needs to be in place with this vision, please come and let your voice be heard!

This is a congregational effort, so mark your calendar, as we gather on Saturday, May 15 for a day with Da!

Update on Haiti

Below is a release about Episcopal Relief & Development’s efforts in Haiti. Also, a group from the Diocese of Atlanta is working out a relief effort, and if anyone is interested, there will be a meeting at Holy Trinity in Decatur this Saturday, January 30 from 10:00 a.m. to Noon.

Finally, Callaway Blue is also working on a continual project to send water down to Haiti. St. Nicholas will be helping with the effort. More information about this is forthcoming, so stay tuned!

For Immediate Release

DATE : 1/21/2010

Relief Efforts Continue in Haiti After Earthquake

Over a week since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, the nation is still being affected by large aftershocks, including a 6.1-magnitude event yesterday morning.  However, the continued geological events are only one challenge facing those trying to provide relief in Haiti. Read more

Building Our Future

Where are we going? I get asked this question quite often. When are we going to build a new building? When are going to start this or that new program? All of these questions are on the minds of folks at St. Nicholas, and rightly so. We are in growth mode, which is an exciting place to be. We just moved to two services in August because our worship space was getting limited with only one. We just hired a fantastic music director who is building a solid music program. We are doing more education programs for all ages. There is a LOT going on at St. Nicholas. Read more

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