Archive for July, 2010

Service Times Note

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

For a number of reasons, including the new Godly Play program on Sunday morning, we are going to change the 11:30 AM service to 5:30 PM on Sunday evenings, beginning September 5th. Darryl Knapp will be overseeing the music, and Doña Josie will be the usual Celebrant, although all of us will participate from time to time. We hope this change will both give us more time on Sunday morning, and allow us to try some less formal and more varied worship. When it is needed, the service will be bi-lingual.

Also, the Vestry and Rector are talking about the best time for our Sunday Morning service. We would like to hear from as many of you as possible on the idea of moving the time to 9:30 or 10:00 AM. We know that we can’t make everyone happy with this one, but we do want to do the best thing for the parish. Let us know what you think.

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God in America

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

This October 11th through 13th, PBS will run a six hour series titled “God in America”, which will “explore the historical role of religion in the public life of the United States.” The good, the bad and the rest. St. Nicholas’ will be the Primary Local Sponsor of the series, and this will involve not only mention on the series but also opportunities for us to be especially involved in this program. For more information, contact Jane Wolf or check out www.pbs.org/godinamerica/.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Godly Play

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

This Fall, we will begin a new design for our Christian Education for younger children. The program is called Godly Play, and is truly special.

“Godly Play teaches children the art of using religious language – parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action – helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives.” It uses Montessori methods of teaching, has been around for over 30 years, and has been used with great success in several parishes in our Diocese.

Two web resources on Godly Play are www.godlyplay.org and www.godlyplayfoundation.org. There is also a Facebook page.

Last month, Doña Josie and Deacon Roland Rose attended a training program in Austin, and will be helping us get started. We are all very excited about this, and want everyone to be aware of it. To that end, there will be a meeting after the 9:00 Service on Sunday, August 22nd for parents of elementary-age children and the folks involved in Godly Play to talk about the new program, answer any questions people might have, and get ready to begin classes on September 12th.

For more information, please contact Josie or Roland, or the Parish Office.

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Let Our Light Shine

Monday, July 19th, 2010

One of the things the Vestry and other parish leaders are looking at these days is the question of how we can best make our parish and our mission better known in Midland. So we are talking about publicity/marketing/ advertising/evangelism—the whole thing. There are several ideas that are in the works, and nothing is final yet.

One big part of this is taking better advantage of our location. Literally thousands of people drive by St. Nicholas’ ever day, and very few of them know who we are or what we are about. One way to help change this is by a sign, large enough to be read from the loop, and having a message that we can change anytime we want to.

Now, no sign, all by itself, will send folks to St. Nicholas’ in droves—the experts say that maybe 5 to 10% of people who visit a church do so because of the sign alone. However, when combined with other forms of publicity and outreach, this can be an important way to extend our reach into our community.

We are looking at a sign that is about 25 feet tall and 15 feet across, with a changing LED message. We could use this space for service times, upcoming events, and pithy hints about how we are special.

Other things we are looking at include direct advertising on PBS and perhaps cable TV, an overhaul of the website, a presence at Midland College, and more use of the newspaper and other local media.

What do you think? How can we share with Midland our special Church community and the special perspective on the Christian faith that we value so much? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Fr. Jim

Posted in Let Our Light Shine | 23 Comments »

Ministry at Midland College

Monday, July 19th, 2010

This coming Sunday, July 25th, we’re going to have a meeting after the 9:00 Service to talk about how St. Nicholas’ can reach out to students, faculty, and staff at Midland College.

College years are times of both transition and formation; and what we have to offer at St. Nicholas’ could be attractive to students who are searching for a religious faith that is different from what they have experienced. Also, we provide a distinctive approach to the Christian faith that may be appealing to faculty and staff who are looking for an alternative to the general religious culture of Midland. At the same time, such a ministry could be part of our outreach to the Hispanic community, which is well represented throughout Midland College.

Things that occur to me, more of less off the top of my head, are some sort of physical presence at Registration, discussion groups or panels, an occasional meal at the parish for students, pamphlets about St. Nicholas’ and the Episcopal Church, and posters publicizing special events at the parish. I know that there are currently three “Christian Fellowship” campus organizations—a Baptist group, one from Mid-Cities, and another one called “Invictus”. Whatever we come up will, I expect, be a bit different.

I don’t know how realistic any of this is; but I hope that we can talk about possibilities and come up with one or two realistic and helpful ideas for the Fall semester.

If you are interested, please feel free to join us after Church on Sunday or to share here any ideas or suggestions you might have. This is a great ministry opportunity that we need to assume.

Fr. Jim

Posted in Midland College Ministry | 6 Comments »