OneBreadOneBody
News from St. Nicholas with the Holy Innocents
1.21.07
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Report from the Bishop & Trustees meeting.
I met with members of “B & T” on Tuesday the 16th and was warmly received. During the time I was with them, several members of the group – including both bishops! – offered support for what we are doing. Jarrett Kerbel, co-chair of the Congregations Commission attended and introduced the proposal as having the full support of his body. Randall Warren spoke about the transformation he has seen in the congregations, particularly at Holy Innocents. Lesslie Keller, our longtime diocesan treasurer,
told me before the meeting that she had been hearing great things about what I was doing and even said we might be developing a model for other diocesan parishes. I wish each of you could have been there with me, because this is your accomplishment as much or more than mine. They reached three decisions.
- They approved immediate purchase of our organ. This means we will have our organ by Easter!
- They told us to pay our own moving expenses, which is fine (we’d asked for $1,000).
- Most importantly, they postponed approval of our fund requests for the building addition until they get the property appraisals.
I expect once they receive those that they will approve our requests and we will be able to go forward with the building. I was particularly intrigued by the sentiment, voiced particularly by Bishop Persell, for selling the vicarage and using those proceeds to build a bigger program space. It reminded me of Randall Warren’s mantra, “Let’s do it right the first time.” I didn’t have the guts to go in asking for so much and was pleased by their response. I feel like I’ve died and gone to a new diocese!
Bishops’ committee meets this Sunday after the later liturgy.
We will begin no later than 12:10 and be done by 1:15. Bring a non-perishable food item to church.
Rides to church needed
Help needed to transport a family of 4 from Hoffman Estates to St. Nicholas with the Holy Innocents. The Bollyn family – two adults, two children — does not have a car and will need a ride to get to the new building. They live just a couple of blocks from the Holy Innocents building. Let me know by email ASAP if you can help — onebreadonebody@sbcglobal.net.
Additionally, two women who live near Alexian Brothers Hospital need rides to church on Sunday. Pam lives at Alexian Village Assisted Living, and Dorcas lives in a condo down the street. Frank and Suzie Pleticha have generously offered to give them a ride, but would like to alternate with some others so that they can attend adult ed on Sundays. If you can help out, please let Mary Anne O’Rourke or Frank and Suzie know.
Visit to Buddhist Temple on February 3rd
A discussion during a recent Team Awesome teen education class revealed a desire by many to learn more about Buddhism and, in particular, to visit a Buddhist temple. On Saturday, February 3rd at 11 a.m., St. Nicholas with the Holy Innocents will be visiting the Shinnyo-en Japanese Buddhist Temple in Elk Grove Village for a service to celebrate the coming of spring. We will be throwing beans around the temple, but you’ll have to come to find out why! The service at will be followed by a tour of the temple, during
which visitors are invited to ask questions. The temple is located at 120 E. Devon Avenue in Elk Grove. For more information on Shinnyo-en Buddhism, and the religion in general, you are encouraged to visit http://www.shinnyo-en.org.
Anyone wishing to attend should contact Ethan Jewett at jewett_ethan@yahoo.com, so that he can give the temple a final count of participants. Adults and children, as well as teens, are more than welcome to attend.
Bring one or more food items each Sunday.
Our food pantry will benefit greatly if we all remember to do this each Sunday. Place it on or beneath the table just inside the worship space.
Regular schedule now underway.
- Worship at 9am – the more formal liturgy
- 10am – Education hour for children, youth, and adults
- Worship at 11a – the more informal liturgy
Given the tightness of this schedule, we are going to try very hard to start everything on time. You can help make this possible by arriving a few minutes early. Thanks.
Make yourself a name tag whenever you worship.
It will help us get to know one another faster, and it’s a great way to make guests feel welcome.
onebreadonebody.org
Be sure to check out our new combined and simplified web site – and to thank Ethan and Mike for a superb job on it.
Adult education at 10.
This week, as part of our series on Growing Our New Church, we’ll be looking at mission and outreach. Children and youth who would like to share ideas are welcome to attend this session in lieu of their regular church school programs.
Our two liturgies.
I was pleased that several people last week tried both liturgies and encourage others to do so, too. I also appreciated the more contemplative and quiet feel before and after the ltirugies. Thanks!
Finally, one bread, one body
All I have to say this week is thank you for your patience and kindness as we work through our chaos, make embarrassing mistakes, and figure out the way forward. I hope it will get a little better each week.
