September 17, 2026

Full Newsletter HERE

Dear Friends,

During my sabbatical, I had the tremendous blessing of exploring art. I painted with Jeremy’s incredibly gifted mum, whose creativity continually inspires me. I also worked with a potter who challenged me to throw new forms and experiment with unfamiliar glazing techniques.

At first, I resisted. I wanted to keep practicing the basics until I could make simple forms well.

He said, “No, we are going to have fun! If we are going to practice every day, we are going to push ourselves to learn and grow.”

He was right. We did have fun. I am not a great potter by any stretch of imagination, but I came home more confident—and more willing to release my need to get everything right.

Pottery begins with practice.

Before shaping a bowl, you learn to center the clay. Before pulling the walls higher, you discover how much pressure to use. Some days, the clay cooperates. Other days, the bowl wobbles, collapses, or becomes something entirely different from what you intended.

Either way, you return to the wheel.

Potters become potters by putting their hands into the clay, paying attention, making mistakes, and beginning again. Our life with God works much the same way.

We learn to pray by praying. We become generous by giving. We learn hospitality by noticing who needs a place at the table. We grow in faith by showing up—even when we are tired, distracted, uncertain, or wonderfully imperfect.

This fall, St. Nick’s is offering many ways to practice together.

On Sundays, we gather for outdoor worship at 8:00 a.m. and indoor worship at 9:30 a.m. Growing in Faith for children meets at 8:45 and 10:45 a.m.

On Tuesdays, Lunch and Learn Lectionary Study gathers in the sanctuary at noon, both in person and online, and Bible Study meets at 6:00 p.m.

Wednesdays begin with Centering Prayer at 9:00 a.m. and Chair Yoga at 10:00 a.m. Holy Hangout for youth begins at 5:00 p.m., followed by Holy Hangout for teens and Dinner Church at 6:00 p.m.

Our Men’s Small Group meets at Picadillo’s on Fridays at 6:30 a.m. to study the parables and share breakfast.

Each month also brings our Church Workday, Crafty Crew, pastoral care gatherings, and “Praise on the Porch,” our third Saturday evening worship service.

And, of course, I cannot wait for our Pet Blessing on October 3 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Bring your dogs, cats, goats, chickens, turtles, and other beloved critters as we celebrate St. Francis and God’s love for all creation.

The celebration continues Sunday, October 4, with a Stuffed Animal Blessing during worship, followed by our Communion Instruction Workshop and Stuffed Animal Tea Party at 10:45 a.m.

I want to encourage you to choose one place to begin – one event, study, or small group to practice your faith.

Come to worship. Try Centering Prayer. Open Scripture with friends. Share a meal at Dinner Church. Bring your pet for a blessing. Make something at Crafty Crew. Help care for our sacred space. Introduce yourself to someone whose name you do not yet know.

Then come back and practice again.

There is a holy courage in showing up. It is easy to underestimate the importance of our presence, yet communities are formed through precisely these small and repeated acts: a chair pulled closer to chat with a new friend, a guest’s name remembered, a meal shared, a prayer offered, a youth listened to, a burden noticed.

None of these actions looks spectacular on its own. But neither does a potter centering a mound of clay. Beauty emerges slowly, through attention, patience, and the willingness to return again and again.

This is what we are practicing at St. Nick’s. We are learning to be present to God and to one another. We are discovering when to press forward, when to loosen our grip, and when to allow the Spirit to shape something we did not plan.

And perhaps my pottery teacher was right about something else: if we are going to practice, we should have some fun.

Fun and joy are not the same thing. Fun is often fleeting, a burst of laughter, a playful experiment, a bowl that turns out nothing like the one we intended. But fun can loosen our grip on perfection. It can make us more open, more generous, and more willing to share ourselves with others.

That openness creates room for something deeper: joy.

Joy is not the promise that everything will be easy or entertaining. Joy is the quiet assurance that God is present and God’s grace is already at work—even in the mess, the uncertainty, and the unfinished places.

We glimpse God’s grace in a child carrying a beloved stuffed animal forward for a blessing. It bounds across the lawn on four legs, pulling someone along at the other end of the leash. Grace reveals itself when strangers share stories and discover they are now friends. God’s grace is present in laughter, the questions, the quiet prayers, the imperfect attempts, and the people who keep showing up for one another.

That is the sweet gift of practicing faith together. We do not only grow closer to God; we grow closer to one another. Trust deepens. Friendship grows.

I pray we grow in friendship with God and one another through our holy and courageous practice of faith. And as we are all a work of art, I can’t wait to see the beauty God creates in and through us.

 

God’s peace and blessings,

Rev. Beth+