From the Pastor’s Pen
The Pastor at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church publishes a newsletter — The Anchor — weekly. Here is the latest:
December 20, 2023
From the Pastor’s Pen:
Dear Friends in Christ,
This Sunday we will gather twice. In the morning at 10 AM, for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and in the evening at 5 PM, for the Christ Mass. For those who cannot attend on Sunday evening, there will be a 10 AM Christmas Day celebration at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church on South College Avenue in Newark. Remember, the services at Saint Nicholas will be live streamed for those who cannot attend in person. The invite is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvPeiOZo1oiIxBUHt2rgFxA.
For several years, we have held our Christ Mass at 5 PM so that families can attend. Children are loved and welcomed at Saint Nicholas Church.
If you are away over Christmas, locate a parish near where you are visiting. Don’t miss the joy of the Christ Mass celebration.
I am privileged to be celebrating another Christmas with you. May the love of God in Christ fill your hearts and lift your spirits.
Faithfully,
Fr. Bill
November 27, 2022
From the Pastor’s Pen:
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last week, over a cup of coffee, a younger colleague asked me about how many diocesan bishops I have served. After doing a quick mental count, my answer was eight. Bishop number eight will be with us next Sunday, the 4th of December. The Right Reverend Kevin S. Brown will lead us in worship, join us in fellowship, and spend time with our parish leadership.
The presence of the bishop reminds us that we are part of something much larger and diverse than our parish alone. The bishop represents the Church universal. The bishop’s presence is in a sense sacramental: an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. The inward and spiritual grace of communion with sisters and brothers in Christ in every part of the world. We are knit together in our shared experience of Good Friday and Easter; we signify this unity as we share the nourishment of the people of God- the bread of haven and the cup of salvation. The unifying food and drink of the Jesus Movement in all times and in all places. So, Bishop Kevin’s visit with us provides opportunity for celebrating the life and work of our parish, and our blessing to be as one with all the saints of God who, in our time and in all time, have talked and walked the way of Jesus.
I know not where the road will lead I follow day by day,
or where it ends: I only know I walk the King’s highway.
I know not if the way is long, and no one else can say;
but rough or smooth, up hill or down, I walk the King’s highway.
The countless hosts lead on before, I must not fear nor stray;
with them, the pilgrims of the faith, I walk the King’s highway.
Through light and dark the road leads on till dawns the endless day,
when I shall know why in this life I walk the King’s highway.
Source: The Worshiping Church #643
Faithfully,
Fr. Bill
August 10, 2022
From the Pastor’s Pen:
Dear Friends in Christ,
This coming Monday, the 15th of August, is another feast day on the Church’s calendar. It is the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin. Mary was a child of Nazareth and the wife of a craftsman named Joseph. Their first-born child was a son whom they named Joshua, or as we know it Jesus. In his Gospel account, Luke makes it clear that this child was God’s gift for humanity, the one in whom the Kingdom of God would be revealed.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary is hesitant, uncertain. But her faith and obedience lead her to make a monumental declaration: Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. Her words are the model words for all who acknowledge her son as Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.
Faithfully,
Fr. Bill
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Ash Wednesday
March 2, 2022
From the Pastor’s Pen:
Dear Friends in Christ,
We are now entering Lent and moving to the Cross. During the Ash Wednesday Liturgy, the celebrant, on behalf of the Church, invites the congregation to, the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. Each of us will decide individually how to go about this. Some of us will give something up, some of us will take something on, some of us will practice extra acts of piety.
There are also ways we can join with others in our observance of a holy Lent. The first is our 12 PM liturgy for Ash Wednesday. During the course of this liturgy, we will acknowledge our need for repentance with the imposition of ashes on our foreheads. This is an outward and visible sign of contrition.
The second way is the Wednesday evening 6:30 PM praying together the Penitential Order via ZOOM beginning on the 9th of March. Information about this follows.
The third way is by joining the Thursday morning Adult Study Group at 10:30 AM beginning the 10th of March. On four Thursday mornings, we will walk in Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa, the way of the Cross. Our walk, of course, will not be a physical one. Rather, it will be one of prayer, meditation, and reflection. Information about this also follows.
In closing, in light of world events, I urge each of us to be mindful of John Donne’s admonition:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
Pray for yourselves, for others, for the world as you keep a holy Lent.
Faithfully,
Fr. Bill
Saint Nicholas Delaware 