The Spirit of Saint Nicholas!
The E-Newsletter from Saint Nicholas Episcopal 
 Hamilton, GA
 November 11th- 17th, 2015

Rev. Donna Mote
Guest Preacher 
and 
 
Adult Forum Leader 
on November 15

The Rev. Donna Mote, Episcopal Chaplain to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, will preach at both services with Fr. Jeff celebrating. Her assignment is to be an active, visible, positive presence at the world's busiest airport, representing the Diocese of Atlanta, the Episcopal Church, and the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ our Savior.  In our Adult Forum, she will talk about her role at Atlanta and how our prayers will benefit her work.
Puppet Ministry Practice

A Called Puppet practice will be 
Sunday, November 15th at 2:00pm
EVERYONE WELCOME!
For info - call Ann Bacher 706-457-1638

Our goal is to perform both for the congregation and the Harris County community .
Practices will take place twice a month on Sunday afternoons at 2:00pm. Please call director Ann Bacher at  706 457-1638  or email cabinlogstwo@aol.com if you have any questions.

There will be a Men's Club get-together at Cricket's this month on 
November 17th at 6:30 pm .  

It will be another time of fellowship and fun; so join us around the table this  coming Tuesday  and enjoy some wonderful food in Pine Mountain. 

Please email Bob Hamilton if you are coming so that we can give them a good count. Thanks!
FOCUS Thanksgiving Food Drive
We are getting ready for our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive and can use your help in many different areas.  Last year we helped 400 families and expect to help at least that many this year.  Monetary donations are always welcome since we can purchase food at Feeding the Valley for $0.19 a pound.   Items that we have not been able to purchase, but need, are canned tuna, soups, and jams and jelly.   We also need plastic bags (Kroger, Wal-Mart) doubled, and we need volunteers.  On Friday, Nov. 20 we will be preparing the bags so we'll need volunteers to man tables and fill bags.  On Saturday, Nov. 21 our clients will be picking up their food and we can use volunteers to help carry the groceries out to cars.  

If you can help please contact Judy Westbrook at jrw5@bellsouth.net, be sure to include Focus on the subject line or call her at 706-663-4505 or call Rhonda Howard at 321-945-4727 or rhondahoward59@gmail.com.

Thank you.  Your support makes it possible for us to help the needy of Harris County.
Julie Nordin
Food Bank, Chairman
Adult Formation

Joe and Kathie Torres will moderate a discussion for the Adult Formation based on "your inner voice" as it pertains to praying on  November 29th at 9:45 am. This very thought-provoking discussion will hopefully create an awareness about the benefits derived from praying. 

This is based upon testimonials from members of our church who have witnessed their prayers being answered. Come join us and offer your own experiences derived from prayers. We sincerely hope to help you see the light while you pray.

Thanks and Blessings,
Bob Hamilton
BRIGHT WAY SERVICES

Worship services continue at Bright Way Personal Care Home
in Pine Mountain.   Other  Lay Eucharistic Visitors are needed for this ministry.   Contact  Bert  if you would like to participate.
 
"Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, for all the people you can, in every place you can, as long as you can".  

Enjoy the blessings of good stewardship!

Upcoming Retreats for Adults


Looking for a way to deepen your spiritual life?  Honey Creek offers retreats that give room for recharging as well as learning more. Here are upcoming offerings:
 

  Advent Retreat - December 11-12
In December, the Revs. Dwayne Varas and Lonnie Lacy will lead an Advent Retreat at Honey Creek on following Jesus in the way of St. Ignatius. This retreat will be held  December 11 from  5 p.m. until 5 p.m. on  December 12thClick here for a brochure on this retreat.

The rates for the conference including three meals are: Lodge 1 Single $144, Lodge 1 Double $99.50, Lodge 2 Single $133, Lodge 2 Double $94, Cottage $90, and Campers and Commuters $64. Registration information will follow.
  
Lenten Retreat - February 19-20, 2016
In Lent, the Revs. Liam Collins and Frank Logue will offer a retreat at Honey Creek. The retreat will explore reconciliation, making room for real changes to take place in the lives of retreat participants during the weekend itself. This 2016 Lenten Retreat will meet  February 19 at 5 p.m. and conclude by  2 p.m. on the 20th. The costs will be identical to those for the Advent Retreat above.

Steward of the Month

The hands-down choice for the hardest working man at Saint Nicholas is our Junior Warden, 
Nick Simpson!
 
Nick has made it his special mission to dig into the church finances. He has been responsible, along with our treasurer Connie Blackmon, for bringing our accounting in-house and for making our financial transactions as transparent and understandable as possible.
 
Nick has seen to it that our staff has been fully trained on our financial software by first teaching himself how to utilize it, spending hours on end in the process. In addition, Nick has been deeply involved in our recent successful stewardship campaign and is now working with the finance committee on our budget for next year.
 
When praised for his hard work, Nick has repeatedly simply given all the credit to the love he has for Saint Nicholas and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
 
We at St. Nicholas say thank you Nick. The response from Nick is sure to be "Thanks be to God."



"Sharing our gifts with others brings satisfaction, peace and joy to the giver's heart.  St. Paul once remarked: " . . . we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."


 
Lay Ministry Opportunities

There are many lay ministry opportunities at  St. Nicholas. Each person  has unique talents to share.Think about yo ur place to joyfully plug into  St Nicholas.
.     
A few idea s are: 
Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Greeter, Ushers,     Teacher,  Special  Event Volunteer, Grounds, Choir, Lay Eucharistic Minister. . .

 More opportunities are available, but begin to  think about it.  

Tailor your lay ministry to your talent and time.

                     Most of all, do remember to worship at St Nicholas.

  
Lectionary Readings 

If you would like to see the readings for Sunday, 

                        
In Thanksgiving
For the members of St Nicholas and their response to
Consecration Sunday

 
For those who are ill, recovering or needing special prayers:
 
Members of St Nicholas:

Cecelia Rood
Ashley and Nate Taylor
Bill Caudill
Dorothy Webster
Garrett Hinnant
Larry Hinnant
Bob Hamilton
Bill Batastini
Shelley Butzon
Kay Faircloth
Ingrid Cheshire
Karen Thorne

For Members with Unspoken Prayer Requests
  

  Family members of members of the community:
 
James Daniels
Jack Whitley
Clara Butzon
The Harris Family
Jameson Miers
Julie Raines
Paul Jones
Leanne Croft
Robin Zion
Dale Haynes
Jimmy Dorminy
Jimmi Ann Moore
Erin Kavanaugh Kirkley
Marty Oxford
Stefie Collins
Peggy Singletary

    Prayers for all our veterans, those currently 
serving their country  away from home, 
for their safe return and for their families 
who wait for them.
 
For those with unspoken prayer requests.
  
    Birthdays and Anniversaries
                              
  
 
                   




November Birthdays
 
  2  Tai Jackson
  3  Terri Townsend
  4  Edi Helene Arnst
  9  Jeff Cody
  9  John Blackmon
13  Lange Taylor
24  Ella Townsend
25  Hollie Queener
30  Connie Blackmon
 
November Anniversaries

19 Sheila & Chris Dixon
        26 John & Connie Blackmon

Worship at Historical Zion Episcopal

worship service is scheduled at historic  Zion Episcopal  Church in Talbotton on  December 6th at 4:00  in the afternoon.

Worship at Historic Zion Episcopal
Date: December 6th
Time: 4:00pm
Location: Talbotton, GA
 

Episcopal 101 Returns! 

Join us weekly in December and January from  12:30pm to 2:00pm  as we explore the basics of Christian faith. Led by Father Jeff, Sue Halmrast, and Bobo Morgan, this class is for anyone who is new, anyone who wants to join the church, anyone who wants to be confirmed, anyone who wants a refresher course in Christianity, or anyone who just wants to ask questions. 

December 6: Missional People - What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in the Episcopal Church? 
December 13: Loving People - How do we balance God's law and God's love?
December 20: Prayerful People - How do we pray individually and as a community?
December 27: God's People - Who is God, who is Jesus, who is the Holy Spirit to us?
January 3: Sacramental People - How do we experience God's grace in tangible ways?
January 10: Discerning People - How do we hear God's call to us?
January 17 : Bishop Whitmore's visitation, no class
January 24: Committed People - What does it mean to be the Church?

For more information, contact Fr. Jeff at  fatherjeff@stnicholashamilton.org.

Peace,
Jeff+
Confirmations
The next confirmation service will be on  December 13 at 4:00pm  at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. If you would like to be confirmed, received, or reaffirmed, please let  Fr. Jeff know so he can plan future classes.
 
Confirmations
Date: Sunday, December 13th
Time: 4:00pm
Location: Cathedral of St. Philip - Atlanta
 


As stewards, we are accountable to God for our time, talent and treasure.  We return to the Lord, the giver of all our gifts, a truly grateful first share of our time, talent and treasure.
 

October 14, 2015

Hey Youth Workers,

First, some good news! New Beginnings was a huge success! We had over 20 parishes represented with around 80 youth involved. The dates for the next NB are Feb 5-7.
______________________________ _

Special Note for Annual Council
We have now partnered with Appleton Episcopal Ministries for a canned food drive. This will be our local service project. There is no limit on cans that youth can bring, but we are asking youth to bring at least 5. We are also asking all parish youth programs to consider making a small donation towards our global service project Stop Hunger Now.  The diocese has pledged 10,000 meals. If 50 parishes give $50, we could raise the meal count to nearly 20,000!  We welcome all donations, youth groups or not. Please contact me for questions, more information, or on how to contribute to this cause.

The Diocesan Youth Annual Council Youth Lock-In is Nov 13-14 Bishop Wright has asked us to lead the opening segment Saturday morning. He has asked for readings, music, and a sermon. This is going to be youth led!  Appleton Episcopal Ministries has asked us to host a can drive as our local service project. Please pass on the message to your youth to bring 5-10 cans of food to the Lock-In. We will also have a closing service work project; we will package at least 10,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now. We would like more adult leadership for the event, if you would like to participate. If you would like to be a part of it, please contact me. Registration for youth and adults can be found here.
_______________________________

Happening is Nov 20-22. I can't stress how much this program can really build up a youth program. In my first year at St. Columb's, we sent 15 youth to Happening. They may fight like brothers and sisters today, but Happening brought our community together in a special way. Candidate registration, 10-12th grade youth, can be found here. Celebration Team comes together Saturday night at Camp Mikell to pray for the candidates. Celebration Team is open to all previous youth and adults that have been to Happening before. You can register for Celebration Team here.

DYC is Jan 8-10, but DYC Staff registration is open now until Oct 24 and can be found here. DYC Staff is the group of youth and adults that lead the retreat weekend. DYC is a special weekend at Camp Mikell all about community, love, and fun. DYC participant registration opens Oct 25. 

Also, young adults can now chaperone youth retreats! Our new policy mirrors Camp Mikell's Summer Staff Policy in that young adults must be 1 year removed from high school to apply as a chaperone for diocesan overnight youth events. Please pass this along to anyone you can think of that might benefit from it.
_______________________________

Mission Trip Birmingham and Mission Trip atlSERVE registration is now open. Both mission trips will be July 10-15. Birmingham is our high school mission trip, and atlSERVE is our middle school mission trip. We would love for all parishes to join. We have great adult leadership in place for both trips. You can find registration for Birmingham  here  and atlSERVE  here . Youth and adults use the same registration.  If your parish plans to participate, please let me know, because the registration process will include another step.  Scholarship funds are available for those in need. If you need any other information, feel free to contact me. 
_______________________________

There are new flyers available for the all the upcoming youth events. I have listed them as links below. The important information about each retreat and event is all there. If you have any other questions about the events, please contact me directly. 
______________________________ _

Please let me know if you any questions about any of our programs. Also, contact me for information about any of our resources. Thanks for taking the time to read about all the upcoming events!

Peace,
Easton Davis
Youth Missioner
The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Atlanta, GA 30305


The 2016 Diocesan Youth Mission Trip
 will be to Birmingham, Alabama. The dates are July 10-15. If your church would like to be a part of it you can RSVP now. Email Youth Missioner, Easton Davis here for more information about the trip. 
                ***UPDATE***
We now have 2 Diocesan Mission Trips scheduled for July of 2016. Diocesan Mission Trip Birmingham will now be for high school youth.

The diocese has also partnered with All Saints' Atlanta to provide an Atlanta based mission trip for middle school youth. These mission trips are just the beginning of providing a tailored mission trip experience for all youth of our diocese. Choose your diocese when planning a youth mission trip! Email Youth Missioner, Easton Davis here for more information


CHURCH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 18, 2016 - FEBRUARY 20, 2016
Presented by Kanuga and the  Episcopal Church Foundation.

Fr. Jeff and the Vestry encourage you to join us as we head up to Kanuga for their annual Church  Leadership Conference . For our annual Vestry retreat, we decided to do something different and attend this  conference  together. Anyone from the parish is welcome to go with us! Details are below:

In many ways, the institutional church has adapted to the secular world. There are business plans and growth charts and the work of church leadership seems to be the bottom line. It is easy to lose sight of the one reason the church exists: to worship God. What would it look like if there were a renewed focus on prayer and liturgy? What could the Church become if leadership were more concerned with spiritual well-being than physical or financial? Join us as we explore how churches can refocus their energies and deepen the faith of their membership.

Keynoters: The Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, is the founder of the online ministry, The Geranium Farm, and now lives in New Jersey; 

The Very Rev. Dr. Neal Michell, Dean and Rector at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas, Texas

Coordinator: Brendon Hunter from the Episcopal Church Foundation, New York, NY


In This Issue


November 15th Guest Preacher

Puppet Ministry Practice

Men's Group Dinner

Thank You 

FOCUS Thanksgiving Food Drive

Adult Formation

Bright Way Ministries

Upcoming Retreats for Adults

Steward of the Month

Lay Ministry Schedule 

Lay Ministry Opportunities

Vestry Minutes

Lectionary Readings

Prayers

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Zion Worship

Episcopal 101

Confirmations

2016 Youth Mission Trip

Church Leadership Conference


 

Links

 

Father Jeff's Travel Blog 

 

CONTACT
  
Deadline for submitting news items is noon Monday.

 Send news and photos to: 
 contact@stnicholashamilton.org 
 
The Spirit of St. Nicholas 
is published weekly by 
St. Nicholas Episcopal Church.

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Than

Thank you, St. Nicholas family, for your active involvement in our parish. 


Please help Patty Hamilton keep the church directory as up-to-date as possible.


 

If you have not yet filled out a form, please pick one up in the cloister room and return to the church office. Or you can send your info via email to Patty Hamilton at  pgrace456@gmail.com.

  1. Please include:your names and the names of your minor children,
  2. address,
  3. email addresses,
  4. phone numbers (cell and home),
  5. birthdays and anniversaries.

If you need a new picture or a new name tag, indicate that as well.  Feel free to use a favorite picture. Just send it in jpeg form to pgrace456@gmail.com.


 



Mobile App Installation Instructions




Church members can view the St. Nicholas Church Directory from their iPhone, iPad, Android or Kindle Fire by downloading the free Instant Church Directory Members App.  

You may search for "Instant Church Directory" in the Apple App Store, Google Play, or Amazon Appstore, or use this link: 

After installation, open the Instant Church Directory icon (it looks like a church).  It will ask for your email address.  If your email address is in our church directory, the program will generate a password for you and email it to you.

 

This worked great for most, but if you have any problems make sure you first check to see that your email address is in the church directory.  

 



Please look for these cards in the narthex or in the pews and place them in the alms basin if you give electronically.

Father Jeff will bless them at each service along with the other offerings.























Contact Information

To place information in the newsletter email:
contact@stnicholashamilton.org
St. Nicholas Episcopal Church
706-628-7272