The Spirit of Saint Nicholas
The E-Newsletter from 
Saint Nicholas  Episcopal  Chu rch   
Hamilton, GA
February 10th - 16th, 2016


Adult Formation
Read, Mark, and Inwardly Digest: Bible for Beginners.  Do you want to learn more about the Bible, but don't know where or how to start? Join us Sunday mornings at 9:45am for a weekly discussion group for all levels of Bible readers. Father Jeff and a group of others will lead the class. We will begin with the Gospel of Luke, using a 50-day study called A Journey with Luke by Marek Zabriskie which you can get ahead of time at many book retailers online. This will be our ongoing Adult Formation class until Easter. If you have any questions, contact Father Jeff or Bob Hamilton.
 


Lent is Here!

Starting with Ash W ednesday  on  February 10 , we will enter into our 40-day journey of self-exploration, penitence, and fasting. Many Christians use this time to become better disciples (i.e. discipline) by either taking on or giving up something. For example, Lent has been my reset button for my health for years, after all the bad eating habits I've picked up over the holidays. I give up sweets, fried foods, and red meat (major temptations for me), and I also tend to take on increased time of prayer and reflection. Sometimes these things are superficial, but they are intended to lead us into deeper relationship with God.

As a parish this year, we are also going to try giving something up and taking something on. Both of these were ideas that came from our Worship Committee last year in order to reduce some of our spending and to be better stewards.

First, we are going to be giving up our full-length bulletin for Lent by reducing the number of pages we print. We will have a one-page folded bulletin with announcement inserts, and we will use the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) for our liturgy. The bulletin will have page numbers so you can follow along easily. Some of you old-school Episcopalians will be familiar with this, but some of you newer Episcopalians may not be as familiar with the BCP. Hopefully this will continue to make our worship accessible for everyone. I encourage you to bring your own BCPs and Bibles to use each week.


Second, during Lent, we will experiment with having baked bread for communion. This is a bread recipe we have used for our Wednesday evening service and has gotten great response so far. We also have a number of people who have agreed to learn how to bake it. This will help us cut down on the amount of bread we have to have shipped, which is a considerable cost.

Both of these things we will try during Lent, and if we hear a good response, we can continue to do them. If you do have any feedback, please let me know. If I hear nothing, I'll assume these are disciplines the parish wants to continue.

If you have any questions about Lenten disciplines for yourself or your family or about these Lenten practices we will be doing together, please contact me!

Peace,
Jeff+
 

pink-roses.jpg
Poet's Corner
Please click on the link below for the poem submitted by John Winsness


 

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.

As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, and both our worship and our mission are in Christ's name. In Jesus, we find that the nature of God is love, and through baptism, we share in his victory over sin and death.  

 




Steward of the Month February 2016

Katelyn Flynn

is the Steward of the Month of February for St Nicholas Episcopal Church for her Godly vision and hard work of the Backsnack Program which she initiated as her senior project at Harris County High School in 2015. 

A need was discovered concerning a number of children at Park Elementary School that were not receiving sufficient meals on the weekends. Katelyn organized a new program and went before the local churches to ask for help. Saint Nicholas decided to help along with some other churches and provided the time, energy, and financial support necessary to meet the need. 

The program has developed into 20 families at Park and is set to go into three new schools which will bring about a necessary expansion of funds and space. A large donation in memory of Cason Calaway and a space in St Nicholas in the form of a food pantry has allowed this worthy cause to meet the new requirements. One only has to look at this ministry started by Katelyn to see the handiwork of God. She has started a program that has the potential to grow even larger though she graduates this year. It will open up opportunities for service for other students that follow her. 

What a wonderful legacy to have at such a young age. W here else will God use this young woman after she graduates?

Youth Opportunities
RETREATS

Happening 65 | Feb 19-21
Mark your calendar for  February 19-21.  Those are the dates for Happening 65! Team registration can be found  here.  Start recruiting candidates, and let them know the dates! Also, get in your OR nominations! Email them  here.



Above: Jesse Adkins of St. Patrick's with observing rector Hailey Wilson of the Cathedral of St. Philip right after the exchanging of the giant warm and fuzzy.Happening 65 will be led by Hailey and the youth team in February!

CHURCH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 19, 2016 - FEBRUARY 21, 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



Stitcher's meeting February 27, 10:00am

Come join your fellow needlework enthusiasts for some quality stitchin' time! Katrina Howe will bring the canvases she has completed painting and some of us will take those home. We all will have an opportunity to practice and show Katrina the results of the work we took home last meeting. 

If you did not attend before, don't be shy, we welcome all newcomers! We will all spend an hour or two putting our heads and fingers to work on this artistic project dedicated to God's glory. Email Phebe if you can join us.

Stitcher's meeting February 27, 10:00am
St. Nicholas Classrooms
 
"Grace is everywhere." 

Georges Bernanos, 
Diary of a Country Priest





 
Finding your talent . . .

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.
.     

Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Greeter, Ushers, Teacher,  Special  Event Volunteer, Grounds, Choir, Lay Eucharistic Minister, Lector, Stewardship, Communications. . .

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.


"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:21
 
Lectionary Readings 

If you would like to see the readings for Sunday, 

                        


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

Geoff Robertson
Cora Coverson
Chris and Liza Price
Ashley and Nate Taylor
Bill Caudill
Garrett Hinnant
Larry Hinnant
Kay Faircloth
Ingrid Cheshire

 
For Members with Unspoken Prayer Request
 
Family members and friends of the Community

Steffie Collins
Eddie Norris
Bill Gordy
Danny Hatchell
Jeri Harris
Ron Hudson
James Daniels
Jack Whitley
Jameson Miers
Julie Raines
Paul Jones
Leanne Croft
Robin Zion
Dale Haynes
Jimmy Dorminy
Jimmi Ann Moore
Erin Kavanaugh Kirkley
Marty Oxford
Peggy Singletary
Jenna Smith
Andy Button and Family

 
    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.
 

"Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest."
 -MarkTwain (1835-1910)
 

  

February Birthdays

 1  Mike Durham 
 2  Kenny Townsend 
 5  Gene Demonet 
10 Ed Cooling 
10 Sue Halmrast 
11 Kenny Hall 
13 Heather Roper
16 Ella Crowley 
17 Abbey Crowley 
17 Liam Jackson 
22 David Johnson
 

February Anniversaries

    2 Mike & Gina Durham 
 12 Dexter & Beth Evans 
        14 Bobo & Barbara Morgan 
14 Joe & Kathie Torres  
    26 Barbara & Bill Bradley

 
In This Issue

Adult Formation

Lent

Poet's Corner

Bright Way Ministries

Steward of the Month

Youth Opportunities  

Stitcher's Meeting
 
Lay Ministry Schedule 
 
Lay Ministry Opportunities
 
Lectionary Readings
 
Prayers
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
 
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.





If you or family members will be in a play, concert, sports or school activity please send the information to the church contact@stnicholashamilton.org to be printed in the newsletter. St Nicholas members can then know what is happening with their church family and perhaps attend some of the functions. Include the event with dates, times and location. This is for children, teens and adults.

 




Tucked away in the Northeast Georgia mountains, Camp Mikell offers the only folk school in Georgia!
Friday, March 04 - Sunday, March 06, 2016
Download the registration packet here: 


SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULE 2016
Mini Camp: May 27-29, Rising 1st and 2nd Grader- For camper and parent/guardian
 
Youth Camp: June 5-June 11, Rising 10th-Just Graduated
 
Performing Arts Camp: June 12-June 18, Rising 4th-9th Graders
 
Intermediate Camp: June 19-June 25, Rising 8th and 9th Graders
 
Junior Camp: June 26-July 2, Rising 6th and 7th Graders
 
Kid Camp: July 10-July 16, Rising 3rd-5th Graders
 
Work Camp: July 18-July 23, Rising 10th Graders-Just Graduated
 
Emmaus House: July 25-July 29, Emmaus House Summer Program
 
Guest Camp: September 2- September 5, Children, Adults, and Families of all Ages
(Contact Amanda, 706-886-7515 or amanda@campmikell.com for more information)
 
OUTDOOR CAMPS
 
Outdoor Junior: May 31- June 5, Rising 6th and 7th Graders
 
Outdoor Intermediate: May 31- June 5, Rising 8th and 9th Graders
 
Outdoor Youth: June 12 -June 18, Rising 10th Graders-Just Graduated




Contact Information

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