The Holy Innocents Food Pantry at St. Nicholas: Getting The Word Out

Posted on November 10, 2011 by ginny

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.

scottbcummings@hotmail.com

Scott Cummings

Will You Be There? Diocesan Convention Nov. 18 And 19

Posted on November 9, 2011 by ginny

Mark your calendars now for the 174th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Chicago: Celebrating Our Baptismal Life, on Friday November 18 and Saturday November 19, 2011 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, 70 Yorktown Road, in Lombard. Stay tuned for the announcement of our exciting keynote speaker and other convention highlights.

Again this year, our convention will be paperless.

via The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago

ChristChurch Cathedral Deconsecrated, In The Hope of Resurrection

Posted on November 9, 2011 by ginny

Christchurch Cathedral, NZ Deconsecration

Bishop Victoria Mattews at the deconsecration

It’s a sad day when a church building reaches the end of its working life. It’s a lot like a death; the stones and structure are remitted to secular use or redevelopment, and at least in New Zealand, the bishop formally returns it “to the common.”

Hope remains that the community of ChristChurch Cathedral will be strengthened and energized by the work that remains to be done; they’ll be looking for a place to use or adapt as a transitional cathedral, and the Bishop of Christchurch urged her flock to keep their eyes on “the mission that matters.” They will literally become “people of the Resurrection.”

Keep the people of Christchurch, New Zealand in your thoughts and prayers. They’ve got a lot of hard but ultimately rewarding work to do.

[Anglican Taonga] The 130-year-old spiritual centerpiece of Christchurch on Nov. 9 was reduced to an ordinary ruin. And all in the space of half an hour.

Up to 350 people gathered in Cathedral Square for the service of deconsecration, the culmination of several months of safety assessments after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February reduced the cathedral’s spire to rubble and a June 13 jolt caused further damage.

The deconsecration service, led by Diocese of ChristChurch Bishop Victoria Matthews, was attended primarily by members of the cathedral congregation, but a scattering of civic representatives included earthquake minister Gerry Brownlee.

via Episcopal News Service – WORLD REPORT