1

Thank you to Dylan, Linn,

Gary, Debby, Cora, Ben

and Victor for setting up

the tree, Advent wreathe

and seasonal purple ban-

ners in the church!

Sunday, December 3, marks Advent One in our calendar year. Advent is a Latin word for “coming” or “visit”. We use the color purple in the church because purple is the

color for royalty. Advent themes are joyful waiting and expectation. The PURPLE of Advent reminds us that the baby born in the manger was a king. December 10 - Advent TWO La Posada—Mexican Christmas Celebration

December 17 - Advent THREE Christmas Caroling to Atria and Pineview

December 24 - Advent FOUR 8 and 10 a.m. Worship 5:00 Christmas Eve

Green Bag Day is next

Saturday,

December 9, 2017.

Come and join in the fun

from 9:30 to noon!

Good News from St. Nicholas

Episcopal Church December 3, 2017

Advent Season is With Us!

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let

your heart take courage; wait for the

Lord. Psalm 27:13

2

A successful 52nd Annual Holiday Faire for 2017:

Weekdays before

the faire are time

for set up, great

fellowship and

lunch together!

Our treasurer reports a profit of $2,858.22 for this years faire!

Thank you

grandma

for the treats!

Holiday wreathes were a

popular item!

“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be.”

John 12:26

3

A Successful Stewardship Campaign for 2018!

Thank you Elvia and Vickie and Blanche

and Patty for setting up Celebration

Sunday! Thank you Lorraine and Jan for a

wonderful meal!

“Lord as your faith servant, I pray that I will live a life that is dedicated to you.

I long to hear you speak these words at the end of my days: “Well done, good

and faithful servant!” Matt. 25: 23

A word from the treasurer:

“We have a very good response to our

campaign for 2018 so far. We have a list of

40 parishioners who have pledged.

An additional 14 parishioners will continue

donating at their present rate (Givers of

Record).

A conservative estimate of our 2018 pledge

budget is $97,000.

This budget is about $4000 greater than our

present pledge income projected through

December 31, 2017.

For our 2018 budget, we will most likely

need an additional $18,000 from our sav-

ings to balance the budget.

Thank you Father Harold Clinehens for

your joining us on the Stewardship journey

of Gratitude!

4

YOUTH MINISTRY

What Must I Lose?

We admire and raise to hero status those who give up everything for the kingdom. In

the movie “Amazing Grace” we see the sacrifices William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

made to end the Slave Trade in Britain. He was ready to sacrifice his position, career,

health and friendships to fight the status quo that made many rich and prosperous while

others had unspeakable suffering. He persevered through discouragement and saw it to

the end because of his devotion to Christ.

“God each day help me to ponder and

examine, to count the cost and count

again. Everyday I want to “lose”

everything for you! Help me to

understand what this means.” Amen.

Discipleship and Stewardship in God’s

kingdom requires loving others with

our whole heart, soul, mind and

strength! “Jesus how do you call this

Advent”?

Youth give up their time on a Sun-

day to make pies to bless eight

households in our church.

Thank you Diana and Linn for your

leadership.

The pies are getting better and better

each year!

2018 Calendar

January 14 Movie and pizza or Outing January 21 Serve our parishioners

February 10—Serve and help with Crab Feed Feb. 11 Movie or Outing

February 17—Serve our parishioners

March 11—Movie or Outing March 25—Serve our parishioners

Youth in God’s Kingdom having fun!

Serve our parishioners: Our Youth will be looking to help our church family once a month in 2018. Do you have a need?

5

Have you noticed the inside of

our church is in need of paint?

The last time it was done was

in 2000.

Currently we have $6000 in

our building fund.

The cost of painting the church

inside would be $15,000.

Dottie Erhardt made this

wonderful poster—

thermometer to help us see our

progress!

We hope to use $3000 from

Pastor Ann’s Lenten fundraiser

in 2018.

If we could match this $3000

with $3000 or more from our

own members, we could paint

our church in 2018!

Paint the inside of our

Church in 2018 Fund-Raising

Campaign

Thank you Dottie for your wonderful

gift of ART to create this colorful

poster to help us be good stewards of

our church!

6

Meet St. Nicholas’ New Piano Player

“I have loved the Lord since I

was a young girl. I play piano

by ear and am slowly learning

to read music. The songs I

write draw from my life

experiences and how God is a

constant theme throughout

every situation.

I have played in many secular

bands but my greatest love is

praise and worship! The Bible

is full of singing and music

references and I know our

Lord is a music lover too!

Whether it be hymns, gospel,

international or contemporary

style isn't important to me.

What is important is putting

my heart and focus on Him.”

Stephanie Pipkin

Welcome Stephanie to St. Nicholas Church!

“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his mighty

heavens. Praise him for his acts of power. . .

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

Psalm 150: 1 & 6

2018 Calendar January 7—“Baptism of Jesus” Sunday

January 14—Youth Event—Movie, Pizza or Outing

January 21—Youth Service Event—Help a parishioner with Yard Work

January 28—Annual Meeting Sunday

February 4—Super Bowl Sunday Coffee Hour (Linn, Greg, John, Bob, Steve)

February 10—Saturday Night Crab Feed 5:00 to 7:15

February 11—Green Bag Collection Day

February 14– Ash Wednesday Services at Noon and 7 pm

March: Vestry Retreat on a Saturday TBD

March 11—Chili Lunch Cook Off

April 1—Easter Sunday