Letters from St. Nicholas'
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Keeping you informed with what's going on around St. Nicholas!
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WELCOME TO OUR NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!
If you would like to contribute content for your ministry, please send it to
Darryl no later than the 20th of each month for the next month's issue.
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I saw a bumpersticker for a Christian Radio station that said, "Helping you keep God close by." And, while I guess I get the underlying sentiment, the unspoken belief of this statement is that somehow our actions cause God to be near us or far away from us, that somehow we can control God's movement and presence. Now, I don't deny that at times it can feel as if God is far away or closer than ever, the truth is that God is always and everywhere present and there is nothing we can do to change or influence that. What is either strong or lacking in us in our own awareness of the presence of God.
What we can influence is our own awareness of God's presence. Through our regular spiritual practices - worship, prayer of all types, study, and meditation, to name a few - the Holy Spirit forms and shapes our view of the world so that we begin to see God in every one, every thing, and every moment.
For those of you who noticed I was gone the Sunday of August 26, I was at a continuing education weekend at SMU. I am working on my certification to be a Spiritual Director. Spiritual Directors help individuals and groups go deeper into their relationship with God to cultivate a better awareness of who God is, and who they are in relationship with God. If you would like to know more about Spiritual Direction or if you are already familiar with it and are looking for a Spiritual Director, please call me and let's schedule time get together.
You can also find out more about Spiritual Direction
here.
God's peace,
Mother Nancy+
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Instructed Eucharist, Sunday September 9 @ 9:30am
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The Service of Holy Eucharist is full of meaning. It is a regular part of our formation as disciples and as the Body of Christ. Every part of the service is intentional and meant to teach us something about who God is and who we are in relationship with him and with each other. Join us as we learn about the various parts of our regular Sunday worship service.
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TOGETHER,
WE CAN DO IT!
Sundays @ 11am
beginning September 16 and ending December 16
OR
Wednesdays @ 6:30pm
beginning September 19 and ending December 19
(The two sessions each week
will cover the same material.)
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The Bible in 90 Days
Yes, You Can!
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You really CAN read through entire Bible, and Bible in 90 Days (B90) makes it possible. B90 is a group oriented, Bible reading plan that engages people in a 90-day, cover-to-cover reading of the Bible.
Reading just 12 pages a day in a specially designed Bible, with weekly teaching videos, and group accountability combine to make a life changing experience. Churches across denominations, prisons, drug rehabs, corporate Bible studies, neighborhood small groups - almost a quarter million people - have used B90 successfully. So turn your aspiration into inspiration!
The course materials include a specially formatted Bible and a Participant Guide for $20.00. If you need a scholarship for the materials let Mother Nancy know. If you are able to pay for more than one set of materials to fund a scholarship, please let Mother Nancy know.
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Where do I find it?
Click on the pictures below to access the Ministry Roster & Calendar, Vestry Information, and Sermon pages of our Website:
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Ministry Roster & Calendar
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Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas News & Events
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The Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas has a new look to their website. Check it out!
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Explore the Way of Love!
Presiding Bishop Curry has invited the whole church to take up The Way of Love, a “rule of life” focused on practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Go to the Way of Love page on the Episcopal Church's website to find out more about engaging The Way of Love, developing and following a rule of life, walking with others, the Jesus Movement, and a selection of resources and tools for discovering and deepening that practice in your own life.
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SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS
4 Mindy Johnson-Hicks
5 Thais Ahlstrand
5 Pool Webb
7 Jeffrey Hewett
8 Lillian Stafford
12 Gwen Burns
13 Paloma Harris
14 Kaitlyn Buck
14 Jonathan Jordan
14 Russell Meyers
19 Kimberley Patten
20 David Morrow
21 Bill Clarkson
22 Jillian Peters
24 Kristin Maguire
24 Patsy Sayers
25 Jim Nicholson
28 James Liggett
ANNIVERSARIES
10 Laura & David Morrow
26 Edna & Mac Hibbitts
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CHILDREN'S CHOIR
BEGINS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH
(FOLLOWING GODLY PLAY)
ADULT CHORISTERS &
HANDBELLS
BEGIN
WEDNESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 12TH
6:00PM HANDBELLS
7:00PM CHORISTERS
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All creatures great and small are invited!
Courtyard of St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church
4000 W Loop 250 N, Midland
10:00AM Saturday, October 6th
ALL ARE WELCOME!
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Parish Prayer Requests Will, Tommy, Jerry, Jo, Tina, Elisabeth, Jonathan, Noel, Karen, Sue, Derrill, Ross, Jimmy, Jenny, Robbie, Joy, Fran, Victorio, Kim, Glenda, Ray, Troy, Fred, Fr. Slayter, Becke, Sam, Joan (Jo-ann), Dylan, Wanda, Tana, Darwin, Becke, Ben, Tom, Cynthia, Rachel, Daniel, Ann, Nancy, Brandy, Gregg, Isaac, Tisha, Wells Family, Ronnie, Linda and Family, Janie, Kathy, Colleen, Chalfant Family, Charlie, Alexandria, Chris, Kaylene, Gary, Addison, Bobby, Jessica, Donna, Vivian, Sarah, Kellie, Marge, Ernest, Peggy, Jane, Maryann, Susan, Gwen, Sydney, Kathey, Dean, Coral, Sandra, Nikki, Clyde, Shirley, Latonya, Lani-Sue, Margaret, Timothy & Family, Raymond & Family, Craig, Tanya, Kalee, Debbie, Jenn, Richard, Terry, Kellie, Hazel, Tomasine, Sharon, Jessica, Don, Cathey, Elizabeth, Qanna, Emmory, John, Jennifer, Kellie, Carol, Lisa, Kati, Pamela, Jim & Family, Denise, Frankie, Doug, Adriana & Family, Darla, Jessie, Hall Family, Riddle Family, Joshua, Kellie, Rebekah, Malcolm.
For those in the Armed Forces Jordan, Robert, Stephen, Karen, Gabriel, Isaac, David, Daulton, Charlie, Luke, James, Mika, Tres, Josh, Jacob, Christine, Noah, Jackson, Aaron, Nicholas, Adam, Margarito, Kenton
For the Departed
Fumiko Slayter
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Ministry of Music
Dear All, Children's Choir, Handbells, and Chorister Rehearsals will begin:
Wednesday, September 12
th
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at 6:00pm and 7:00pm, respectively.
If you are interested in singing in a choir, or ringing Handbells, and missed Rally Day Sunday, please talk to me after the Sunday service. We will find a place for you in our music ministry!
Organist/Choirmaster, Darryl Knapp
The following is a favorite meditation by Nancy Roth.
God is Light
Perhaps if St. Paul had known about stained-glass windows, he would have included them among his analogies for the Christian community. Perhaps he would have said that each function—choir singer, priest, chalice bearer, altar guild or vestry member—was like a piece of glass tinted blue, red, green, white, or yellow. Paul would have celebrated all those colors. He would have told us that church communities, like the design of our bodies and the art of stained glass, benefit from variety.
This variety results from the color and shape of our personalities and talents. In order to best serve God, we do well to offer those gifts in which we have the most skill—to acknowledge that we are blue, yellow, green, or red, and not try to become a color foreign to our native hue.
For someone who cannot match tones to sing in the choir, for example, could be as jarring as if red glass were used for the fleece of the lamb cradled in the Good Shepherd’s arms. Each color has its role: choir members should respect those with other gifts, the other colors of the rainbow. A physicist would tell us that the source of a stained glass window’s sparkle is the interplay of the entire spectrum, creating subtle harmonies like those in the music we sing.
A stained-glass window is nothing without light. Medieval philosophers compared the light shining through the glorious windows of their era to the grace of God. Whatever our talents, we do not serve the community without that grace. Like the glass transformed by sunlight, we are meant to be translucent to the grace shining through us. Our translucence becomes even more brilliant when we recognize the translucence of others in the church who serve in different ways. Together with us, they create the pattern to which our special gifts lead us, welcoming and sharing God’s light.
From Meditations for Choir Members by Nancy Roth
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All are Welcome, Really!
Sunday
9:30 AM Holy Communion
Sunday School for Children & Children's Choir
10:30 AM Fellowship Brunch
11:00 AM Adult Bible Study
Nursery provided
Wednesday
5:30 PM Healing Service & Holy Eucharist
6:00PM Handbell Rehearsal (Begins September 12)
6:30 PM Light Supper and Bible Study
Childcare provided
7:00 PM Chorister Rehearsal (Begins September 12)
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The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Mayer,
Bishop of Northwest Texas
The Rev. Canon Mike Ehmer,
Canon to the Ordinary
The Rev. Nancy Springer, Rector
The Rev. Tom Burns, Deacon
Joe Cobb, Sr. Warden
Robert Norrgard, Jr. Warden
Darryl Knapp, Organist/Choirmaster &
Lay Ministry Coordinator
Sharon Gerald, Bookkeeper
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St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church | 432-694-8856 | stnicks@stnicksmt.orgl | www.stnicksmt.org
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