War of the Surplice

If you look around the inside of an Episcopal Church, you can easily glance over some things for which people have bled and died over. Everything from placements of the altar, to the candles on the altar, to the garb of the clergy, there have been some interesting battles fought in the Christian church.

Take the surplice.

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Christmas Service Schedule

Come worship the King!

Christmas Eve Services, December 24
5:00pm Holy Eucharist with Children’s Pageant
10:30pm Holy Eucharist with full music and lessons

Christmas Day, December 25
11:00am Holy Eucharist

New Year’s Day, January 1
10:00am Holy Eucharist

Sunday after Epiphany, January 8
10:00am Holy Eucharist with Annual Parish Meeting

Back to our regular schedule January 15
8:30am Holy Eucharist
9:15am Breakfast
9:45am Christian Formation Classes for Children, Youth, and Adults
11:00am Holy Eucharist

Instructed Eucharist, Thursday, November 17, 6:30pm

Ever wonder why we do the things we do in worship? Why do we cross ourselves? What is that poncho-thing the priest wears? Why do we stand, sit and kneel so much? An instructed Eucharist is the place to find out! Fr. Jeff will lead this special service on Thursday, November 17, at 6:30pm. Instead of a sermon, the service includes periods of explanations about the different aspects of our liturgy.

All are welcome to come! This also serves as the November Episcopal 101 class! Come with your questions!

Hymn of the Faith, Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hymn of the Faith Sunday, October 30. Have a favorite hymn you would enjoy singing in church? Well next Sunday is your opportunity to make this happen. All hymns on October 30 will be gospel favorites.

Deadline for requests: Requests must be in no later than TUESDAY MORNING, October 25. You may contact Sam in several ways to turn in your requests. They are:

1. Let Sam know at the organ console on October 23.

2. Email Sam at samroney@stnicholashamilton.org

3. Call Sam at 706-289-2723

I am excited about this great opportunity to sing some of the most beautiful hymns written for the church. Two requests have already been turned in: Church in the Wildwood and I’ll Fly Away. I look forward to hearing from you very soon!

Hymn Request deadline is TUESDAY MORNING,  October 25.

Your Week at St. Nick 18 - 24 September

Sunday – September 18	8:30am	11:00am
Usher	Tom & Sharon Cheatham	John & Charlotte Winsness
Greeter		Nick and Anne Simpson
Adult Reader	Liz Dixon	Diane Hinnant
Altar Guild	Nordin, Hinnant
LEM	Liz Dixon	Diane Hinnant
Flower Guild	Nancy Snoots
Acolyte		Robin, A. Avery, Dalton
Acolyte-Jr. Acolyte		Marcus Dixon
Acolyte-Youth Reader		A. Brown
Lemonade /Cider		Sheila Dixon
Christian Education 9:45am		Marci Horne

Celebrate Independence

On Sunday, July 3rd at our 10:00am service, we will celebrate our Independence Day with a festive and patriotic liturgy! The American flag will process in as we sing our favorite patriotic hymns such as God Of Our Fathers, My Country ‘Tis Of Thee, O Beautiful For Spacious Skies (America The Beautiful), & A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

Our Book of Common Prayer has special prayers for this occasion, and we will include them this Sunday as well.

Come worship with us on this special day and enjoy a Barbecue Tasting after the service. The Men’s Group of St. Nicholas will be having a fundraiser later in the year, and this tasting is the preview of the great food we will have.

Glorious Trinity Sunday!

This past Sunday was quite a fantastic day! We were visited by our Assistant Bishop, the Right Reverend Keith Whitmore, and his wife Suzie and we welcomed 7 people into the Episcopal Church. Bill Caudill, Cora Coverson, Ona Graham, Ralph Graham, Carolyn Jacik, Judy Jacik, and Heather Roper were all received in the Episcopal Church through the laying on of hands by Bishop Whitmore. After the jam-packed service, the congregation celebrated with cake and fellowship. It was quite a glorious Trinity Sunday and we thank everyone who was there!

Here are pictures of the day taken by Lynn Hall.

Usher & Greeter Training

One of the strengths of St. Nicholas is our hospitality on Sunday mornings. Everyone, newcomers and long-timers alike, are welcomed by friendly and warm greeters and ushers. Greeters stand at the door with the expressed intention to welcome everyone and to assist visitors as they come to worship. Ushers hand out bulletins, count attendance, assist with the Offertory and Communion, and keep the nave looking clean for worship. These are vital parts of our Sunday morning worship experience.

We will have an usher & greeter training and recruiting session today, June 26 after the service. Lunch will be provided.  If you are currently serving as an usher or greeter, please attend this meeting for a brush up. If you are looking for a way to serve your church as a new usher or greeter, please attend to learn what the duties are. For more information, contact Linda Sawyer.

Here is a lighthearted video entitled What If Starbucks Marketed Like The Church? A Parable, which reminds us the importance of hospitality to everyone, especially visitors.

A Spirit-Filled Church

Last Sunday, St. Nicholas once again celebrated the day of Pentecost with style! Members of the congregation wore red to symbolize the flames of the Holy Spirit that came upon the apostles. Our acolytes Abby Crowley and Rylie Brumley came in swinging the red and orange kites while Fr. Jeff swung the Holy Spirit dove kite as a way to show the Spirit’s presence in our midst. After hearing Acts 2:1-21, we had a bit of reenactment of the Pentecost story, as Sheila Dixon, Amy Nerone, and Norma Wolff all read the Gospel lesson (John 20:19-23) in German, French, and Spanish respectfully. After the service everyone grabbed a red balloon (were there 99?) and launched them into the air as a symbol of our call to continue the work of Christ in the world.

Many thanks to everyone who made the day possible, especially Linda Sawyer, our Worship liaison on the Vestry, who made all the preparations. Here are some shots of the day by Lynn Hall and Drucye Robinson.

Bishop Whitmore Visits This Sunday

This Sunday at St. Nicholas, we will be joined by the Right Reverend Keith Whitmore, the Assistant Bishop of our diocese and his wife Suzie. We will start at 9:00am with a Bishop’s Forum which will be an open time for you to get to know Bishop Whitmore and ask questions about what he does, what’s going on in the diocese, and for him to get to know us better. Then, at our 10:00am service, Bishop Whitmore will preach and celebrate, and will receive 7 people into the Episcopal Church: Bill Caudill, Cora Coverson, Ona Graham, Ralph Graham, Carolyn Jacik, Judy Jacik, and Heather Roper. After church, we will have a reception for our new Episcopalians. Then, they and those who have been attending the Episcopal 101 class will go to the Mountain Creek Inn for lunch. It will be a full and wonderful day, and I hope you can all be there to meet the Bishop and support our 7 new Episcopalians.

Here’s is some information about Bishop Whitmore: The Rt. Rev. Keith B. Whitmore, the former bishop of the Diocese of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, became the Diocese of Atlanta’s assistant bishop effective April 15, 2008.

He currently serves on the The Episcopal Church’s Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance and is president of Affirming Anglican Catholicism. He serves as a trustee for the Berekeley Divinity School at Yale.

He was ordained bishop of Eau Claire in April 10, 1999. He is a Wisconsin native and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Nashotah House, Nashotah, Wis. He has served congregations in Wisconsin, Missouri and Kansas, where he was dean of Christ Cathedral, Salina, and is a retired Army chaplain. He and his wife, Suzie, have been married more than 40 years. They have two grown children.

And here are 10 random facts about bishops:

1. A Bishop is elected by a diocese. Dioceses search for bishops much like congregations search for priests. In fact, Fr. Jeff is currently serving on the nominating committee for the 10th Bishop of Atlanta, after our bishop, the Right Reverend J. Neil Alexander announced his resignation last month in order for him to go back to serving the church through his gifts of teaching. After the search process, there is a slate of 4 or 5 candidates for bishop, and a special election council is held. A bishop has to receive a majority vote from both the clergy and the laity of the diocese.
2. There are a few different kinds of bishops. A Bishop Diocesan is the main pastor and overseer of a diocese. Bishop Alexander is our Bishop Diocesan. A Suffragan Bishop is an elected bishop to serve to assist a Bishop. This is different from an Assistant Bishop, which is how Bishop Whitmore serves, because a Bishop Diocesan can appoint an Assistant Bishop whereas a Suffragan is elected by the diocese. Finally, there is a Bishop Coadjutor who is elected to succeed a Bishop Diocesan while that Bishop is still functioning.
3. The Bishop is an integral member of all the churches of the diocese. Therefore, one wouldn’t say “Welcome to St. Nicholas,” as if he were a newcomer. In some churches, there is a bishop’s chair that remains in the sanctuary as a symbol that even when the Bishop is not there, he or she still has an important place in the church. This is why we list our bishops at the top of our list of ministers in our bulletin because they are the chief pastors of St. Nicholas.
4. The hat a bishop wears is called a “mitre” and is pointed to symbolize the flame of the Holy Spirit that appeared above the heads of the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
5. A bishop carries a “crozier” which is a staff that looks like a shepherd’s crook, to symbolize his or her role as chief pastor of the diocese and shepherd to the larger flock of the church.
6. The bishop makes annual visitations to every parish in the diocese. When a diocese is large like ours, it requires a second person to help make those visitations, thus the need for an Assistant Bishop like Bishop Whitmore.
7. The word “Episcopal” means “having bishops,” therefore, the role of the bishop is central to who we are in our tradition of Christianity. When we talk about the “episcopacy,” we are talking about the role and function of the bishop. “Episcopal” comes from the greek word “episkopoi” which means “bishops” found in Acts 20, Titus 1, and 1 Peter 5.
8. Only bishops can confirm a Christian, receive someone into the Episcopal Church, and ordain people to holy orders. This is special because of “apostolic succession,” or the historic line through which people have been connected all the way to the first apostles, who had hands laid on them in prayer to equip them with the power of the Holy Spirit. The heads whom receive Bishop Whitmore’s hands will be connected to those apostles this Sunday.
9. While a congregation may call a priest to serve their church, the bishop must confirm that call.
10. St. Nicholas was bishop of Myra which is in modern-day Turkey. We celebrate his feast day on the Sunday closest to December 6.

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