Growing Disciples – St. Nick’s News Feb. 2, 2024

Full St. Nick’s News for February 2, 2024

Dear Friends,

A few weeks ago in worship, we had the call of the first disciples in the Gospel of Mark. You can find the story here at Bible Gateway. The Gospel shares that James and John, and Simon and Andrew left and followed Jesus – “at once.” They followed Jesus with a sense of urgency and zeal. They began (even thought they didn’t know it at the time) to become the body of Jesus Christ. They were learning how to become Jesus’ hands, feet, and heart in the world. Throughout Mark’s Gospel, we receive the blessing of watching them learn how to be disciples and how to minister to one another and the world around them.

This week, I was in awe of the disciples… the body of Christ surrounding me. Here are some beautiful examples of faithful discipleship this week.

1. Tuesday night Bible Study and the hearty discussion about Mark and the ways Jesus enters into our lives.
2. Wednesday Holy Hangout and our littles sharing the importance of the cross as it relates to our baptism.
3. Wednesday night Dinner Church – all ages sharing the traditions from our church and other churches that draw them near to Jesus.
4. Thursday Healing Eucharist and Lunch and Learn – the shared wisdom of how Jesus heals and changes our life.
5. Watching and listening to the hard work happening for our Galantine’s Event.

This list doesn’t include the beautiful congregational care moments where I witnessed love and compassion in our community.

In two weeks, we will have a baptism. This time of worship will remind us that we are intimately connected to God through Jesus and to one another. You, the congregation, will make promises to raise up our little one (baby Emily) so she can grow in faith and love. Every time we renew our baptismal covenant, we remember our baptism but we also remember that we have made promises to one another. May we be Jesus’ hands, feet, and heart to one another.

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