As we look forward to the quiet intensity of Advent at St Nicholas (lots of special music, but lots of time to reflect), we are thinking about how to get the word out about the special community we have, and how we hope to share it with more and more people.

Just for fun, we’ll be putting a few luminarias out in Advent; if you’re in the neighborhood you might see them, more each week. For the Christmas Eve services (4:30pm and 9:00 pm!) his probably won’t involve ladders, Father Manny, and a searchlight, but you never know.

From The Lead, an excerpted blog post by the Rev. Gary Hall, of ” Ah, Yes!”

Knowing and loving the church and this church as I do, I believe we do have something deep and compelling to tell those who live and work and study and play around us. We have to do a better job of letting them know that a liturgically serious, intellectually open, socially committed, pastorally engaged faith community like ours will provide a place to root themselves in the life of faith. I also know that we have to go deeper, together, on the journey of faith so that we can offer what we know with some credibility. It is my job to offer the language, the framework, the skills, and the trustworthy community in which we all can reflect on what God is doing within us and through us. It is your job to bring the depth of what God is doing within you to the conversation. Together we can find a way to be both spiritual and religious.

via The Lead