Celebration Sunday – St. Nick’s News August 30, 2025

Full St. Nick’s News for August 30, 2025

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow – this Sunday, we have wonderful things happening at St. Nick’s! First, Maddie and Ella are going to be baptized at the 9:30am worship service, second, our youth are leading us in worship, third, Maggie Mae’s Fresh Eats are making Breakfast Tacos for us, and last but not least – we are celebrating YOU!

We have a ministry fair where you can see all the ways you can grow in faith and formation this new year of life together. We also have gifts for your service and presence at St. Nick’s.

So it turns out, this Sunday is a Celebration Sunday at St. Nick’s—a time to remember who we are as the baptized people of God. Followers of Jesus are called the body of Christ oand In baptism, we are welcomed into the family of God and marked as Christ’s own forever. We promise to continue in the apostles’ teaching, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. Celebration Sunday is one way we are living these promises together.

At St. Nick’s, our vision is simple but bold:

Everyone is welcome.
Everyone is loved.
Everyone is empowered.
Everyone belongs.
Everyone!

When we gather in our sanctuary after both the 8:00 am and 9:30 am services, we will celebrate the many ways God has called us into this welcoming and empowered ministry. It will look like conversation, laughter, sign-ups, prayer, and the Spirit moving among us. It is less a fair and more a family reunion—the Body of Christ coming together to be strengthened and sent.

This year we are living under the banner – Love Deeply. Give Joyfully. Go Boldly.

• Love Deeply – Live out our baptismal promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons.”
• Give Joyfully – Share the gifts God has entrusted to you—whether in worship, outreach, teaching, hospitality, prayer, or simply by showing up.
• Go Boldly – Remember your baptismal call to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ” and step into the world with courage, compassion, and love.

On Celebration Sunday, you’ll discover invitations to:

• Join weekly worship and gatherings (Outdoor Worship, Healing Eucharist, Compline, Holy Hangout, Dinner Church, Bible Study, Chair Yoga, and more).
• Grow through formation opportunities like Confirmation, Episcopal 101, Community of Hope, Bible Studies, and baptism/communion classes.
• Step into outreach and care ministries that serve neighbors and strengthen our community.
• Connect through seasonal events like Blessing of the Animals, Christmas Tree Adoption and Lighting, Christmas celebrations, and celebrations of life together.

Our 2025–2026 program year begins the week of September 2, full of opportunities to live into our baptismal promises.

I am constantly in awe of what God is doing in and through our community. You are so faithful. You are, day after day, showing me what it means to be the family of God. Showing up to learn and grow in faith, showing up for each other for life events – in the celebrations and in the hardships. Your presence at St. Nick’s is truly helping us to become who God is calling us to be.

So as this new program year begins, I invite you to discover anew and discern your life with God. How does God want you to grow spiritually this year and what new faithful adventures await you?

Tomorrow isn’t just another Sunday. It’s a reminder that in baptism we are named, claimed, and sent. We belong to God, and we belong to each other. On Celebration Sunday, we get to practice what that means: loving deeply, giving joyfully, and going boldly into the life God sets before us.

My prayer for each of you is that as you step into this new program year, you will find both the courage and the joy of living as Christ’s own—forever marked, forever loved, forever part of this family we call St. Nick’s.

Let’s step into this new program year together with thanksgiving, hope, and expectation for what God will do next.

God’s Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Beth+