News from St. Nicholas

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

S u n d a y S c h e d u l e:

9 a.m. — Worship
10 — Church school for all ages
11 — Worship

Church school for children and adults today

Children. Meet today with Tess Setchell.

Youth. Are encouraged to participate with adults in today’s study of David.

Adults. We’ve got two adult ed groups going this morning. Our contemporary issues group continues their study of world religions, focusing now on the varieties of Christianity.

Our second group will continue its examination of the life and significance of David, the shepherd king. Today’s session will offer an overview of his life. Goliath may make an encore appearance, so bring your sling shots. After a two week break, we’ll continue with David on November 11 (“Women in the Davidic Narrative”) and November 18 (“David’s Sexuality: Why It Matters”)

If you have some time, read portions of the story of David, which begins in the middle of the first book of Samuel, and continues through the second book of Samuel and the beginning of the first book of Kings. A good popular treatment of David is found in the book King David, by Jonathan Kirsch.

All teams now meet on the fourth Sunday at 10 a.m., beginning 10.28

We hope this will encourage more parishioners to take an active role in the leadership of our congregation. Next Sunday, please join one of these teams to check out how you can make a difference – Nurturing, Welcoming, Inviting, or Generosity.

Generosity Team begins our annual campaign

Most of you should have received an envelope in the regular mail this week from the Generosity Team inviting you to consider your 2008 pledge to St. Nicholas. More details will be forthcoming on Sundays between now and Sunday, November 18. This team has done some impressive work and I hope everyone will consider carefully the material and information you receive from them.

The election of a new bishop nears…

…and your feedback is important. We will be holding a parish feedback session on Sunday, November 4, so our Convention delegates can hear your impressions and thoughts about the candidates.

Information about the eight candidates is available on the website, www.bishopforchicago.org and at a series of “meet-and-greets” the search committee is holding for the candidates.

Tuesday, October 23, St. Mark’s, 393 N. Main Street, Glen Ellyn

Wednesday, October 24, Church of the Redeemer, 40 Center St., Elgin

Thursday, October 25, Church of the Holy Spirit, 400 E. Westminster Rd, Lake Forest

Friday, October 26, Church of the Transfiguration, 12219 S. 86th Ave., Palos Park
Registration for the weekday events is 5:30 p.m. with program at 6:15

Saturday, October 27, St. Edmund’s, 6105 S. Michigan, Chicago
8:45 a.m. registration, 9:30 program

Sunday, October 28, St. Luke’s, 221 W. 3rd St., Dixon
1:45 p.m. registration, 2:30 program

If you want to go but don’t want to be the only St. Nicholasite in the room, we plan to have people at the events on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

…and so does Diocesan Convention

Our annual Diocesan Convention is this Friday, November 9 and Saturday, November 10. Friday includes several morning workshops and an afternoon business session. Saturday focuses on the election of a new bishop. We’ve purchased several extra registrations for parishioners who would like to be a part of this important occasion. See Steve, Mary Anne, or Ethan if you would like to attend, or email onebreadonebody@sbcglobal.net

Also, if you would like to help out at Convention, they are seeking volunteers for various liturgical roles (from usher to choir member, and everything in-between). If you’d like to participate, email your intent immediately so we can get the info to planners.

Update on Second Family clothes collection

We are doing well with this collection, especially for the girls. The boys, however, could use some more clothes, especially the oldest one, size men’s XXL. All the kids have winter coats now, except for that child. Money also can be contributed. Makes checks payable to St. Nicholas and note the purpose on the memo line. These are the children in need:

Boy Age 8 Size 7-8 shirt, 9-10 pants
Girl Age 11 Size 9-10
Girl Age 12 Size 12 top, 12 slim pants
Boy Age 13 Size 14 or XL
Boy High School Size XXL

Canned fruit needed for Food Pantry

Help replenish the food pantry by bringing one or more non-perishable items each Sunday. At present, we are out of canned fruit, so that would be especially appreciated.

Bishop’s committee report

With Ethan away, our procedures for our newsletter were not seamless last week and so I failed to include the minutes of last week’s bishop’s committee meeting. So here are two weeks of scintillating details from your governing body!

Minutes of October 10, 2007 meeting
Present: David Taylor, Pat Kalicki, Steve Martz, Manny Borg, Karen Martin, Ethan Jewett , Mary Anne O’Rourke
Absent: Paul Brouillette

There were no official votes or actions. Discussion included the following topics:

Coordinating the opening prayer at our meetings.

Reports on upcoming meeting of the nurturing, welcoming, and generosity teams.

A discussion of our experience of having multiple preachers rather than relying primarily on the vicar to do the bulk of the preaching. Karen nicely summed it up when she said, “The way we are doing it means we get to hear from a lot of the family rather than just the father.” We all agreed with this, and would value your feedback, too.

A discussion of the Sunday Formation schedule, including establishing the fourth Sunday as a regular meeting time for teams, which are also expected to meet at least one other time during each month. The Sunday meeting, we felt, would encourage more widespread involvement.

A discussion of recent contacts with school social workers regarding our Second Family ministry.

Minutes of October 17, 2007 meeting
Present: David Taylor, Pat Kalicki, Steve Martz, Manny Borg, Karen Martin, Paul Brouillette , Mary Anne O’Rourke
Absent: Ethan Jewett

There were no official votes or actions. Following the opening prayer, discussion included the following topics:

Sunday attendance. Concern was expressed at our soft attendance numbers on several recent Sundays. We reviewed several families/persons whose absence had been noted and the reasons each had been unable to be present allayed the concerns.

Generosity Team report. Personal reflections on giving are scheduled for October 28 and November 11. The Team decided these would be best done during the announcements. This drew a skeptical response from Steve, who felt these would be better retooled and delivered as part of the homily, but who accepted the Team’s decision. There also was an extended discussion of the announcements during Sunday liturgies, with general agreement that these should be kept as short as possible and no agreement as to whether they worked best at the middle or end of the liturgy.

Nurturing Team report. Paul met with a representative from the Asbury Court retirement community to discuss beginning a regular liturgical ministry at Asbury. He reported an enthusiastic reception and has tentatively schedule the first liturgy for Saturday, November 17. Details remain to be worked out within the Nurturing Team.

We heard brief updates on contacts with social workers regarding our Second Family program.

We discussed the repair of the copier and the need to clean the carpet.

We heard that Bishop & Trustees had approved our request to improve the windows on the south side of the worship space (facing the school). With the earlier approval of west window replacement, this means most of the windows in the worship space will soon be replaced.

We heard an update on a program for the youth of the parish that will involve exploring prayer and community life in a series of field trips to interesting sites. More details will follow as sites and dates are firmed up.

Couldn’t make it to church this past Sunday?

We missed you, but we realize that not everyone can make it every Sunday. While we can’t bring church to you, we can help you stay connected by offering you the previous week’s homily at http://www.onebreadonebody.org/homilies.htm A reminder to preachers to e-mail Ethan your homily (in Microsoft Word format) by Wednesday after the Sunday that you’ve preached.

And, as always, if you miss because of illness or something similar, let us know by phone that morning, and we will be sure to bring you communion.

Yummy Hour needs you

From the Welcoming Team:

Dear Parishioners of St. Nicholas,

We are seeking volunteers to help provide snacks for the social gatherings after both the 9 and 11 am Liturgies. Cookies, cakes, sweet or savory, and simple is fine, too. Ideally, we ask if the same person(s) covers both the 9 and 11am gatherings. Set up of snacks, regular and decaf coffee and a pot of hot water for tea. Sugar, creamer, cups, napkins and stirs are in the cabinets in the Gathering Space while coffee and coffee pots are in the kitchen space. Let’s all get involved!

There is a sign up sheet in the church – AND you can sign up online by picking one of the available dates and emailing your choice to Manny: vanborg@sbcglobal.net

Here’s the schedule to choose from:

October 28 — volunteer in place
9am
11am

November 4 – All Saints’ Sunday
9am Celebration Sunday…cake provided
11am Celebration Sunday…cake provided

November 11
9am
11am

November 18 — volunteer in place
9am
11am

November 25 – volunteer in place
9am
11am

December 2
9am Celebration Sunday…cake provided
11am Celebration Sunday….cake provided

December 9 – St. Nicholas Sunday
9am
11am

December 16
9am
11am

December 23
9am
11am

December 30
9am
11am

If you shop at Amazon…

…be sure to visit it through our web site and part of your purchase will go to our church, thanks to the work of Ginny Gibbs. Go to our web site at onebreadonebody.org. Click on more news and events, which will take you to the blog and then look around until you find and click the Amazon link.

One bread, one body

Nice beginning to the monthly children’s liturgy — even though we didn’t have many children – or adults – in church this past Sunday. (Every now and then we hit an attendance blip that perplexes me. Was it the Bears? The weather? Do people secretly coordinate their travel plans to be away the same weekend?)

Despite our occasional blip, I am gratified that new people continue to check us out – and more often than not, return the next week. I am very optimistic that we have a bright future ahead. This past weekend was especially nice because in addition to new guests, a couple of people I hadn’t seen in church for a while – and of whom I am very fond – returned. I hope they will find what they are seeking in our midst rather than someone else’s.

At the children’s liturgy I was struck especially at the reaction to the opening hymn. I said later to Mary that I can’t remember when I’ve seen so many smiles on so many faces as I did during “He’s got the whole word in his hands.” Do we sing louder and sound better when we smile? I don’t know. But it seemed like it – and you sounded great. Keep smiling…..and singing!

Lots of love,
— Steve

And, now, from the how-not-to-advertise-your-church department…

Checking out other church web sites is a bit of a pastime for me, and I howled at reasons # 8 & 7 for visiting this Pennsylvania church. I guess if you’re named Calvary, you’ve got to go with what fits. But I’m glad that isn’t our name.

Top 10 Reasons to Come to Calvary Episcopal Church

10. Our church is one of the best kept secrets of Delaware County.

9. We have a beautiful church with some of the finest stained glass windows
in Delaware County.

8. We have a beautiful and peaceful cemetery.

7. We can take care of all of your needs from cradle to grave…

Come to think of it, # 10 isn’t such a good sign, either. Just why is Calvary “one of the best kept secrets?” Churches are secrets only when their members don’t talk about them. I hope St. Nicholas is not a well-kept secret! (also submitted by Father Steve)

Our schedule this week

Sunday, October 21

Worship at 9 & 11 a.m.
Formation for all ages at 10
AA meets at 7:30 p.m.

Monday

AA meets at noon
AA meets at 7 p.m.

Tuesday

AA meets at noon
AA meets at 7 p.m.

Wednesday

Bishop’s committee meets at 11 a.m.
AA meets at noon
Choir meets at 7 p.m.

Thursday

AA meets at noon
GA meets at 7 p.m.

Friday

AA meets at noon

Saturday

AA meets at 1 p.m.
AA meets at 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 28

Worship at 9 & 11
Formation for all ages