A Bishop for Chicago – Applications and Nominations Closed

Almighty God, prosper with your blessing the mission and ministry of our diocese. You have blessed us with the ministry of the Rt. Rev. William Persell. We thank you for his ministry to us as chief pastor and leader in the Church. Stir up in us the grace and power of your Spirit, as we begin the search for our next Bishop. Give to our search committee inquiring and discerning hearts, that they may clearly see your will. Give us all the courage to dream and the will to persevere to make those dreams a reality. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and ground us in the knowledge and love of you. Empower us with the gifts of joy and wonder as we seek out the special ministry you have for us together in our diocese; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for this Diocese, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Is your church fit for worship? | the Door

St Nicholas-with-the-Holy-Innocents has already gone through a sort of re-ordering as described in this article from England. And it's in a constant state of re-ordering throughout the church year, as the seating gets re-arranged into different configurations for different seasons. After Christmas, the seating was in a fan-shaped arrangement oriented on the altar table, which is movable. During Lent, the chairs are set up in two facing rows, as the season invites us to look inward and face each other on the journey. During Holy Week, the chairs will be set up in a cruciform pattern, with the altar table at the center.

Also, the font is currently screened from view behind 3 large purple and grey Lent banners – it's a very large immersion style font with a waterfall fountain, and was fashioned from the original red granite altar, which was cut down into several pieces to form the basin and the waterfall. Crosses are still visible at the corners. 

After Easter, the seating changes again – and also it changes during the week as the sanctuary gets re-arranged for the needs of various AA and other groups that meet on different nights. 

Last Wednesday, the sanctuary was completely changed for a Lenten program that featured a Labyrinth walk with the very large portable canvas labyrinth that St Nick's owns. It was a transforming experience in many ways – about 30 of us met for a simple meal before beginning the walk, which took about 25 minutes of deliberate pacing.

Change was difficult when this "re-ordering" was done, but the St Nicholas buidling is not a historic building so there weren't any "landmark" impediments. Still, it was painful making something new come out of the old way of doing things, so any church wishing to try a re-ordering project should look over the guidelines and suggestions in the linked article.

Via Cartoon Blog 

OneBreadOneBody

News from St. Nicholas with the Holy Innocents

The Second Sunday of Lent

3.4.07

He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”
Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Genesis 15:5)

The Wednesdays of Lent: simple supper and Taizé Prayer tonight

Each Wednesday during Lent, we’ll gather for a simple meal at 6:30, followed by:

• 2.28 – Taize Prayer
• 3.7 – Labyrinth Walk
• 3.14 – A Liturgy for Healing
• 3.21 – Introduction to Contemplation: Pray as You Can, Not as You Can’t, led by Deb Seles
• 3.28 – Stations of the Cross

Soup will be prepared by volunteers each week. If the rest of us can bring a salad or fruit or bread or cheese, that will be helpful Lent In addition to the quite obvious changes in the worship space, you will find more spaces of silence in the liturgy – including at the later liturgy an extended silence at the time of the Creed. I’d like you to add to this by maintaining silence in the worship space immediately before and after each Lenten liturgy. In that silence, I hope you will sit or kneel a bit and simply listen to God.I have a second invitation for you. Pray hard for one or two people during this entire season. They can be people from church or people you know in other contexts.In the silence before and after each liturgy, and several times each day, bring them to mind and lift them to God in silent prayer, asking God to be with them and help them and bless them.

Regular schedule today

Worship at 9 Children and adult education at 10 Worship at 11 The next change will come on Palm Sunday, when we will celebrate one liturgy at 10 a.m.That will allow us to begin Holy Week together.

Fannie Mae fundraiser

Great candy at great prices, but you must turn in your forms with payment today.

Adult ed today

There will be two groups beginning at 10 a.m.sharp. The ongoing group led by Steve Gruenwald will continue its discussion of world religions. The second group, led by Ethan Jewett, will continue a three-week session on “Developing a Personal Relationship with Scripture.” We will examine some key questions, such as How do you discover meaning in reading Scripture? How is our connection to Scripture affected by who’s telling the story? How does the way a text is written influence the way we experience it? In this workshop, we’ll explore some techniques forreading Holy Scripture that will help us draw closer to the Word of God. Each session will include some group discussion as well as individual work with Lenten readings. This is not your run-of-the-mill Bible study, so bring your creativity and an inquisitive mind!

Feed the hungry

Don’t forget to bring one or more non-perishable items each Sunday. Place it on or beneath the table just inside the worship space so it can be part of the offertory.

Celebrate the history of Holy Innocents

…by checking out the wonderful photos on display through Lent. Thanks to Nancy Allan for organizing these.

Hey, what’s your name?

Make yourself a name tag each Sunday. It’s a great way to make guests feel welcome.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Here are some of the ways you can help:

1. Greeting people as they arrive, assisting newcomers, and making sure the collection is done efficiently. Barbara will be the key contact on this.
2. “Yummy Hour” hosts. It is important that after each liturgy there be ample refreshments for folks. Hosts would be responsible for buying or making goodies and coordinating coffee and refreshments with Paul S. Jr, who does such a wonderful job of making and supplying the coffee. See Paul or Karen to help.
3. Cleaning crew. Many of us feel we can use our resources more effectively if we clean the church ourselves rather than paying for outside cleaning services. To make this work, we need volunteers. Manny is coordinating this.
4. Helping lead the liturgy, especially by reading or leading the intercessions. One of the things Manny, Paul, and Steve heard over and over at Catholic Theological Union was that liturgy is the work of the people. To make this a reality we need YOU to volunteer to help. Paul B. is organizing our sign up list, with help from Mary Anne and Pat.

Three cheers for our choir

…which sounded great at both liturgies last Sunday. If you would like to be a part of this ministry, rehearsals are at 8:15 a.m.sharp on Sundays and 8 p.m.on the Wednesdays of Lent (7 other seasons).

One bread, one body.

One thing that has been absolutely wonderful these past several weeks has been the food – both for the potluck but perhaps even more impressively, for our Yummy Hour. Sometime in the next several months, I will show the film Babette’s Feast for adult ed. It’s a wonderful movie I am sure you will love that goes to the heart of eucharist and hospitality. For now, I want you to know that you are living both abundantly and I am incredibly proud of you. Thanks to all who have hosted so far – and thanksto all who will host in the weeks and months to come.

Less a cause for celebration is the division within the Episcopal Church, and between our church and other churches in the Anglican Communion. As I’ve watched events develop this week, it seems increasingly likely there is going to be a split, with the Episcopal Church ending up with some lesser status – or no status – in the worldwide communion. There also will be a division within this country and several dioceses will disaffiliate from the national church. There also will be some churches within our own diocesethat likely will disaffiliate. As all of this occurs in the months and year ahead, be at peace. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that churches have divided. The Orthodox are divided, the Lutherans are divided – even the Baptists are divided. What is at stake here makes it impossible for people of honest conviction to compromise.

Bishop Persell and the overwhelming majority of people in our Diocese of Chicago are not willing to accede to the demands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, many primates of other churches in the Communion, and the conservative minority in the United States. These demands are that we no longer consecrate duly elected bishops who happen to be gay or lesbian and that we stop blessing the relationships of same-sex couples. I would prefer that there not be division, yet I do not see how we can say No to the Holy Spirit or No to loving gay couples. I have known and loved numerous gay men and women for most of my adult life, I’ve admired and worked with many, many gay and lesbian colleagues in the priesthood, and I have had the privilege as a therapist of sharing the journeys of gay clients. If I must choose between the Anglican Communion and gay friends, it is for me an easy, if painful choice.

Sadly, that seems to be the position the Archbishop of Canterbury and others are forcing upon us. At the same time, I do not ask or expect everyone to agree with me, and my love and respect for you will not change if you disagree. My bedrock conviction as a priest and clinician is inclusion. We include all – and perhaps most especially we include those who differ from us and disagree with us. All are welcome always!

— Steve