Full St. Nick's News for June 1, 2023 Dear Friends, Happy Summer! It has been…

Inaugural Worship – St. Nick’s News Sept. 10, 2021
Hello Friends!
I definitely need to extend my thanks for a wonderful first event on Sunday, August 29th. We had such a wonderful time gathering in our space for worship, eating dinner together and meeting new friends! Thank you to all who came, shared your time, all who brought food, and a big thanks to our readers, greeters, and musicians. And big thanks to the ladies who bought us flowers – that totally matched our new Prayground space! With every passing day, we are making memories and being formed. You can check out some of the pictures below…
There is always so much to say and so much to share! We have an exciting year ahead of us so I want to highlight some upcoming events and our weekly schedule.
Worship on Sundays –
8:30am – This is our pet-friendly, super-casual, communion service that lasts 30-40 minutes
9:30am – This is our main worship with music, communion, a prayground for our children, creative offerings on the tables, and fellowship or formation after worship. We also live stream this worship for those who can’t be with us in person.
Weekly Offerings –
Bible Journaling – Mondays at 9:30am beginning September 13th – bring your journal bible, art supplies (although we have tons at St. Nick’s) and a heart ready to connect and pray.
This informal small group spends time writing, drawing, painting, and talking about our holy scriptures.
Dinner Church – Wednesdays at 6:00pm beginning October 6th – you and your family are invited to an informal dinner and worship at St. NIck’s. We will prepare a meal together, set our tables, eat together, and have guided faith conversations and prayers. This is communion through a gathered meal and time in prepartion for dinner, prayer and fellowship. Donations for food and supplies are always welcome.
Mom’s Group – Thursday mornings at 9:15am beginning October 7th – a weekly gathering of mom’s supporting moms in prayer, conversation, and study. During this anxious time in the life of parenting, we are coming together to support one another. On nice days we will meet outside on the front patio.
Men’s Group – Thursdays at 11:30am for lunch, learning, conversation, prayer. This group meets at St. Nick’s. Bring your lunch. If you forget it, we always have food and drinks in the fridge.
Women’s Bible Study – Thursdays at 1:00pm on Zoom. This Bible Study focuses on one of the readings from the upcoming Sunday scriptures.
Special Outreach to Provisions – times to be determinded with Rev. Beth. Provisions food pantry, next door to us, has a desire for pastors and their faithful folks to share prayers with their volunteers. This is a five to ten minute ministry where we share brief prayers and reflections with our neighbors building the kingdom through service to others. We would share a rotation of service with other churches in town. If you are interested please email Rev. Beth.
Special Events in the next couple of months –
Blessing of the Animals – October 3rd at 5pm. Bring your pet, a picture of your pet or your favorite lovie stuffed animal and come for a blessing in honor of St. Francis. This year we are offering stuffed animal adoption with collar making and dog bed supplies. We have fun dog name activities, special gifts and blessing certificates. This is a family friendly event and a great time to invite your friends to come and join us!!!
Blessing of our Church Space – Date still to be determined but hoping for a November date.
Trunk or Treat October 30th – Save the date to team up with the Mammen Family Library for their annual Trunk or Treat. Jeremy and I helped out last year and had a blast!
Blessing of the Costumes October 31st – who doesn’t want to come to church in a costume? Children of all ages are invited to come to Church for a blessing of the costumes and fun and spooky fellowship lunch after the 9:30am worship. This is the first in a series of 5th Sunday Fundays. Every month that has a 5th Sunday we will gather for lunch and a special multi-generational event. Keep on the lookout for January, May, and July Funday events!!!
November 7th All Saints Sunday – All Saints is a day historically set aside for baptisms in episcopal communities. If you are interested in being baptized or getting your child/youth baptized, contact Rev. Beth.
November 9th – Creative Spirituality Outreach Event 2:00-3:30pm or 6-7:30pm. Last year we distributed cookies and cards to folks in the Spring Branch and Bulverde Community for World Kindness Day. This year, we will be creating goodie bags and cards for folks in our community who need a little TLC. We want people to create bags and cards, and a dozen people to hand out goodies on the 12th and 13th.
November 11th – Special Evening Prayer and fellowship for the Veterans in our community of faith. Come and join in prayers of thanksgiving and dinner in honor of your service, or in honor of a family member’s service. All are welcome to come and give thanks, support and encourage one another.
December 5th – Bishop’s Visit, Two year anniversary, confirmations, and St. NIcholas Celebration! Wow! So much going on with this day!!! If you are looking to be confirmed, reaffirmed, or received into the episcopal church contact Rev. Beth. You can read more about that below…
As you can see there is lots going on!!! When you come this Sunday we will have sign-ups for ministries like greeters, readers, and altar ministries. In addition, we will have sign-ups for our special events. As you can see we are blossoming and your gifts of time and talent are definitely wanted. Whenever you come to worship (online or inperson) and whenever you participate in the life of our little growing church, you are helping us to become who God is calling us to be!
Many of you have shared ideas on small groups, ministries, and outreach to our community. Let’s make that happen! Over the next few months we will have a couple of community gatherings to pray, dream together, and plan for our community of faith. Reach out to Rev. Beth with your ideas and hopes. If you want to start a small group or head up a ministry, contact her and again, let’s make that happen! And remember, we are a multi-generational community of faith – all ages are welcome and seen as full members of the church, able to bring hope, joy and love to the world!
As we discern what God is calling us to do and be in our community of faith, here is a prayer for guidance for all of us…
Gracious God, thank you for being our light in this world. Guide our steps along this path. We thank you for the gift of the church, a community of your beloved and faithful people who gather to worship, serve, pray, and love one another and the world. Give us strength and courage to share your love in the world and bless us with knowledge and wisdom as we discern where our gifts and talents are needed as individuals and corproately. Help us to be a blessing to one another and to our neighbors. All this we ask in sure confidence of Your love in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
God’s peace, love and blessings,
Beth+