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Saints and Stewardship – St. Nick’s News Oct. 25, 2024

Full St. Nick’s News for October 25, 2024

Dear Friends –

I was reminded of the overwhelming and abundant generosity of our namesake saint – Saint Nicholas this week. Some of you may recall our Curate, the Reverend Bryn Cadell. Bryn was assigned to work at St. Nick’s for the first two years of her ordained ministry and served at St. Nick’s from June 2020 to June 2022. We were catching up at our yearly clergy conference and I was showing her pictures of our Arlon Seay Teacher’s lounge refresh. She shared how much she loved this project because it was a true gift. She shared, how fitting it is for a St. Nick’s to give so generously. She went on to explain, ” … a gift is something that you would never buy yourself. A gift is something extravagant. Something that makes you really happy. Saint Nicholas is the saint who gives more than you need – he gives toys – he gives generously without worry or care or expectation…”

On the drive home, I recalled our conversation and became overwhelmed with thankfulness for 1) being named after such a generous saint who loved Jesus so much and modeled his life after Jesus that he did not count the cost in his willingness to help others, and 2) how overwhelmed and overcome with deep, spiritual gratitude for how we are living into our namesake Saint Nicholas, and 3) I was reminded of God’s Grace that is so very much alive and well in our congregation and throughout our church.

Thank you.

Thank you for being a congregation of grace and willingness to show up and love each other. Thank you for serving our neighbors and community in so many faithful ways. Thank you for loving Jesus so much that you are willing to sacrifice time, money, talent, and sometimes comfort to bring about the Kingdom of God here and now.

It seems right and fitting to be full of thanks as we come close to All Saints Day ( a day in the church where we honor all saints known and unknown) and All Souls Day (the day where we remember all the faithful departed – which has become synonymous with All Saints day) and entering into November – the season of giving thanks. It is also fitting to give great thanks because God has been so good to us at St. Nicks. We have a warm and welcoming place to worship, a wonderful and hardworking staff, great leaders in our Bishop’s Committee members and Ministry Champions and team leaders. We have a faithful congregation that shares their gifts so freely and abundantly. We have been blessed with plenty of opportunity to share our love with our community also! Wow! God is good!!!

Please take some time over the next few weeks to reflect and pray about how God has blessed you through your time here at St. Nicks. We are working to become a Mission Church which is a faithful step toward being a self-sustaining and stronger church with responsibilities and rights to work alongside other churches in the work of the wider Episcopal Church and to share God’s love in our hurting world. As we become a mission, we want to continue the faithful work in our community, continue to support and grow our staff and improve our building and grounds. All of these things take prayer, time, and money.

Please prayerfully consider how you might continue to give to St. Nick’s through offering your time, talent, and finances over the coming year. You will receive a email/letter from me asking for a commitment in the coming year. You may recall we did this last year as well. Many churches have big pledge drives and stewardship seasons. Our stewardship here at St. Nick’s is simple – an email/letter, a card, and a thank you. We honor and welcome all kinds of giving here and have been delighted time and time again as we have witnessed sacrificial giving in time, talent, and treasure. Look for information this coming week.

After dinner church this week, a parishioner said, with unexpected exuberance, ” I love this church! I love being part of this church!” Me too. I love this church. We are growing in faith, in knowledge, and in love. I pray God will continue to strengthen us as we become a mission and bless us as we serve one another and the world around us.

Gracious God,

Thank you for this your holy church, Saint Nicholas. Thank you for your faithful and beloved people of all ages. Thank you for the work, the beautiful work of loving one another, serving our neighbors, and praying and learning together that you have given us. Continue to guide us and grow our faith in you. Lead us to trust in your goodness and give us sure confidence as we follow you in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday for our Spooky pot-luck and Costume Blessing at 9:30am. We are looking forward to a great day of worship and a fun time of fellowship. As always, invite your friends and family for a joyous gathering.

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