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

Habitat For Humanity Board Replacement

For the past year, I have been on the board of Harris County’s Habitat for Humanity board. HFH is a non-profit organization that builds new homes for low-income families. This past year, the board has been interviewing potential candidates for their next project and finally found one that qualified. The next few months should be very productive for the board as they prepare for this new project.

The board meets monthly on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton United Methodist Church. Since we have started our St. Nicholas Academy, I am no longer able to attend the meetings, and would like a replacement from St. Nicholas. If anyone is interested, please e-mail me at fatherjeff@stnicholashamilton.org.

March With Us!

Please join Fr. Jeff on Monday, January 18 for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade in Hamilton. We will meet at 12:00 noon at the old Carver Middle School in Hamilton to get lined up for the parade which starts at 1:00pm. Bring comfortable walking shoes and be sure to check the weather, as it’s bound to be cold as we march. There will be a program at Harris County High School at 2:00pm following the parade.

Last year, we made headlines in the Harris County Journal as we were the only interracial group represented in the parade. This is an important witness to our community, communicating our important mission as St. Nicholas Episcopal Church to:

…be an example to the world of Christ’s love for all people. We do this by:

+Being welcoming & inviting of all people.

+Being supportive of our community & engaged in our community.

+Accepting where people are in their journey.

+Helping in any way, spiritually or physically

+Nurturing spiritual growth

+Educating people about who we are, what we do, and what we believe.

Helping Haiti

Many of you may be wondering how we can help in the relief efforts for the people of Haiti. Below is a message from Bishop Alexander  that may give you some direction:

We are shocked and saddened by the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Representatives of many of our parishes have engaged in mission work there and are personally affected by this tragedy.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori today issued a statement calling for prayers “for those who have died, been injured, and are searching for loved ones.” She urged “your concrete and immediate prayers in the form of contributions to Episcopal Relief and Development.”

In this emergency, our best response as a diocese, as parishes and as individuals is take a few minutes to contribute to Episcopal Relief and Development, the church’s agency already at work in Haiti. All of your dollars will go directly to helping the Haitian people. To give now through ERD’s secure website, click here. You’ll also find information below for mailing your checks and giving over the phone.

Diocesan ERD coordinator Debbie Betsill is in touch with ERD, and the Rev. Debbie Shew, canon for community ministries, is connecting with world mission staff at the Episcopal Church Center. Our office will be gathering information on other efforts to help and will report them as details emerge.

Faithfully,
J. Neil Alexander
Bishop of Atlanta

Donate

Ø  Online: https://www.er-d.org/donate-select.php

Ø  By mail: Send check payable to Episcopal Relief and Development to ERD at P.O. Box 7058 Merrifield, VA 22116-7058.

Ø  By phone, call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129.

Links

Ø  Presiding Bishop’s Statement http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_118405_ENG_HTM.htm

Ø  Episcopal NewsService report http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_118410_ENG_HTM.htm

We will take a special offering on Sunday morning for the relief efforts, which will be given through ERD. So you may give directly to ERD on your own or through St. Nicholas. If you wish to give through St. Nicholas, be sure to make checks out to us and write “Haiti Relief” in the memo line.

Read more

Tags: bishop alexander, ERD, haiti, mission, relief

« Previous Page — Next Page »