Today at St Nick’s – there are two AA meetings, and the regular Saturday evening service of Eucharist (Holy Communion).
Saturday
- 1 pm AA
- 4:30 pm Worship
- 7 pm AA
Today At St Nicholas: 4pm Eucharist, 2 AA Meetings
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ENS: Pocket Prayer Shawls Presented To Vets in PA
At St Nicholas we occasionally make prayer blankets for people undergoing health issues or significant change. Here’s news of what other Episcopal churches are doing with the idea: a knitted, pocket-size shawl. For Veterans’ Day, they went above and beyond the call of duty.
By Linda Arguedas, November 11, 2011 [Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania] In honor of the men and women who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces, the Episcopal dioceses of Bethlehem and Central Pennsylvania combined on Nov. 10 for a Veterans Day service in the chapel at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
More than 200 pocket prayer shawls were blessed by Bethlehem Assistant Bishop John P. Croneberger, the Rev. Terry Wible of St. Lukes Episcopal Church, Lebanon, and the Rev. William Alford of St. Andrews in the Valley, Harrisburg, before being presented to Chaplain Joel Copeland of the veterans hospital.
The shawls were created by members of the Sacred Stitches group at St. James Episcopal Church, Lancaster, and the Hooks and Needles prayer shawl ministry at St. Lukes.
Members of both churches were present along with approximately 100 veterans and VA Medical Center employees.
Pocket prayer shawls can be carried in pockets or used in situations where a large shawl is not appropriate or allowed, such as intensive care units or by troops in combat, according to the Central Pennsylvania dioceses Sacred Stitches webpage. Essentially, they are “prayers you can hold onto.”
A card added to each prayer shawl says: “May this pocket-sized prayer shawl, made with love and infused with prayers, be a sign of God’s sustaining presence. May it refresh your weariness and provide comfort in your anxiety. May it make available to you healing for your pain and consolation for your loneliness. May it bring, joy, gladness and brightest blessings.”
The prayer shawls were distributed to veterans in the hospital following the service.
The Holy Innocents Food Pantry at St. Nicholas: Getting The Word Out
As I am sure you all are aware, St. Nicholas maintains a food pantry. Currently, the pantry is stocked by generous donations from the congregation, Little Boots Foundation, La Preferida, the people of St. Simon’s in Arlington Heights, a vending company and a Food Depository in Romeoville.
We are seeking ideas on where we might be able to obtain food and other non perishable items for the pantry and how to get the word out about the pantry.
We are grateful for everything that we receive and are able to make available for those in need in the community. As noted in the News from Nick each week, the Pantry is open on the First, Third and Fourth Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. When guests come to the pantry, they are allowed to help themselves to the items they will use. Except for a few items (cereal, tuna, canned meats) we usually do not limit the amount of one item they may take. They are asked to be respectful of the fact there are other guests who use the pantry. We do limit them to three bags of groceries per visit. Yes, this way does cause shortages of some items, and creates an overabundance of other items. If we have an overabundance, we share with other pantries and the community.
One question we have received at times is how do we know the people who use the pantry are in need, and the answer we give is “It is between them and God.” We feel that we are filling a need for those who may be working, thus not qualify for aid elsewhere, but are having trouble making ends meet.
We are seeking ideas on where we might be able to obtain food and other non perishable items for the pantry and how to get the word out about the pantry.
However, our main goal for this, is to find out how you, the Congregation, would like to see the food pantry run. Do you have ideas on how to help out the community more than we currently do? Would you prefer to see us do things differently? If we did something differently, would you help out more? Currently there is a core of 5 volunteers who run the pantry.
Please help us help others.
Scott Cummings