SAINT NICHOLAS AT WADE TO HOST
MAY 12 AGM AND FESTIVAL, TALK
2011 was the best year yet for SNS...now onward through 2012..Join today, please.
St Nicholas Society annual May event is set for 12 May in Kent UK at St Nicholas at Wade. The annual Bari Shrine event is May 6-10. Are you interested in attending with Dr Rosenthal? [email protected] Not for the faint-hearted. Father Lorenzo the new Prior is a good friend of the St Nicholas Society UK/USA
Our matching grant offer for Beit Jala students (women) at Bethlehem University has been extended. If you know any charities we could approach do let me know. We are $600 short.
The 13th Annual Nicholasfest in Canterbury is set for 8 December and watch for a special "Countryside Celebration" on the 9th at St Nicholas at Wade Vicarage.
MAY 12 AGM AND FESTIVAL, TALK
2011 was the best year yet for SNS...now onward through 2012..Join today, please.
St Nicholas Society annual May event is set for 12 May in Kent UK at St Nicholas at Wade. The annual Bari Shrine event is May 6-10. Are you interested in attending with Dr Rosenthal? [email protected] Not for the faint-hearted. Father Lorenzo the new Prior is a good friend of the St Nicholas Society UK/USA
Our matching grant offer for Beit Jala students (women) at Bethlehem University has been extended. If you know any charities we could approach do let me know. We are $600 short.
The 13th Annual Nicholasfest in Canterbury is set for 8 December and watch for a special "Countryside Celebration" on the 9th at St Nicholas at Wade Vicarage.
(above) BLESSING OF WATER: ST NICHOLAS SOCIETY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT - BREAKING NEWS - DR JAMES ROSENTHAL - SNS PRESIDENT WAS INSTALLED AS PARISH PRIEST AT ST NICHOLAS AT WADE KENT (www.stnicholasatwade.weebly.com) ON SATURDAY 21 JANUARY.
HAPPY AND HOLY CHRISTMASS TO YOU ALL
BOXING DAY
http://www.4thought.tv/themes/what-does-christmas-mean-to-you/canon-jim-rosenthal ST NICHOLAS ON 4Thought Channel 4
Boxing Day at 6 p.m. The Queen on Christmas Day and St Nick on St Stephen's Day!
Top photo: St Nick and young Antonio were the stars of the Awareness Foundation Christmas Celebration on 13 Dec, Feast of St Lucia; Photos below: St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park, London; St Pauls Cathedral; Canterbury; St Nick at USA Shrine in St Lukes Germantown, PA.
BEST YEAR EVER FOR ST NICHOLAS EVENTS
Oxford Street procession includes the Bishop in Canterbury. Witness through the streets; High Mass with Haydn St Nicholas, Nicholas Hymns (Dec 10). At St Pauls Cathedral 2500 were greeted by the saint on 17th Dec on the steps and throughout the enormous queue.
900 students meet Nicholas in 3 Nicholastide Services on 8 December at St Michael and All Angels, Beford Park (Thanks to Father Stephen and all) Photo below from David Beresford with thanks.
Canterbury City and Cathedral record crowds on 3 December with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Trevor. Music from St Nicholas at Wade and many other schools in Kent.
St Nick at St Pauls Knightsbridge with Sir Terry Wogan and St Nick met Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls. Packed church and champage and all.
SNS PRESIDENT TO PASTOR A ST NICHOLAS CHURCH AND MORE
The Wantsum Group of churches in the Diocese of Canterbury will welcome the Red Canon Dr Fr Jim Rosenthal as the Parish Priest responsible for St Nicholas at Wade Medieval Church in Thanet with St Mary the Virgin Chislet. His first official Sunday is 22 January at St Nicholas 10.15 a.m.. Pray for Dr Rosenthal and the churches.
St. Nick vs. Santa Claus An old NYTimes Op-Ed article by one of my old professors, John Anthony McGuckin:
December 25 - Op-Ed Contributor St. Nick in the Big City By JOHN ANTHONY McGUCKIN
ST. NICHOLAS was a super-saint with an immense cult for most of the Christian past. There may be more icons surviving for Nicholas alone than for all the other saints of Christendom put together. So what happened to him? Where’s the fourth-century Anatolian bishop who presided over gift-giving to poor children? And how did we get the new icon of mass consumerism in his place? Well, it’s a New York story.
In all innocence, the morphing began with the Dutch Christians of New Amsterdam, who remembered St. Nicholas from the old country and called him Sinte Klaas. They had kept alive an old memory — that a kindly old cleric brought little gifts to the poor in the weeks leading up to the Feast of the Nativity. While the gifts were important, they were never meant to overshadow the message of Jesus’s humble birth. But today’s chubby Santa is not about giving to the poor. He has had his saintly garb stripped away. The filling out of the figure, the loss of the vestments, and his transformation into a beery fellow smoking a pipe combined to form a caricature of Dutch peasant culture.
Eventually this Magic Santa (a suitable patron saint if there ever was one for the burgeoning capitalist machinery of the city) was of course popularized by the Manhattanite Clement Clarke Moore published in “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” in The Troy (New York) Sentinel on Dec. 23, 1823. The newly created deity Santa soon attracted a school of iconographers: notable among them were Thomas Nast, whose 1863 image of a red-suited giant in Harper’s Weekly set the tone, and Haddon Sundblom, who drew up the archetypal image we know today on behalf of the Coca-Cola Company in the 1930s. This Santa was regularly accompanied by the flying reindeer: godlike in his majesty and presiding over the winter darkness like Odin the sky god returned.
The new Santa also acquired a host of Nordic elves to replace the small dark-skinned boy called Black Peter, who in Christian tradition so loved St. Nicholas that he traveled with him everywhere. But, some might say, wasn’t it better to lose this racially stereotyped relic? Actually, no, considering the real St. Nicholas first came into contact with Peter when he raided the slave market in his hometown and railed against the trade.
The story tells us that when the slavers refused to take him seriously, he used the church’s funds to redeem Peter and gave the boy a job in the church. And what of the throwing of the bags of gold down the chimney, where they landed in the stockings and little shoes that had been hung up to dry by the fireplace? Charming though it sounds, it reflected the deplorable custom, still prevalent in late Roman society when the Byzantine church was struggling to establish the supremacy of its values, of selling surplus daughters into bondage. This was a euphemism for sexual slavery — a trade that still blights our world. As the tale goes, Nicholas had heard that a father in the town planned to sell his three daughters because his debts had been called in by pitiless creditors. As he did for Black Peter, Nicholas raided his church funds to secure the redemption of the girls. He dropped the gold down the chimney to save face for the impoverished father. This tale was the origin of a whole subsequent series of efforts among the Christians who celebrated Nicholas to make some effort to redeem the lot of the poor — especially children, who always were, and still are, the world’s front-line victims. Such was the origin of Christmas almsgiving: gifts for the poor, not just gifts for our friends.
I like St. Nicholas. You can keep chubby Santa.
John Anthony McGuckin is a professor of religious history at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia.
A reason for the season Off The Wall With Padre James Bhagwan
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Gaepo Church members off to spread the Christmas cheer.
LAST Sunday was the fourth Sunday in the Christian Season of Advent. Advent, as shared in last week's column means preparation, preparation in this case for Christmas the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ, and preparation also for Christians for Christ's return.
Last Sunday, fourth candle of Advent, the Candle of Love, will be lit. Its light is meant to remind us of the love that God has for us. This Sunday will be Christmas Day when the "Christ Candle" signifying the birth of the Light of the World, will be lit.
Last Sunday afternoon, I joined the members of Gaepo Methodist Church in Seoul, as they took to the street to spread some Christmas cheer and spread the message of God's love through Jesus Christ.
Braving the cold, we sang Christmas carols on street corners and handed out small gifts to those we met, many of them non-Christian. In keeping with my taste for the theatrical, I donned a Santa Claus outfit (fortunately I was able to find a jacket that fit) and so a number of people received presents from a "Fiji Santa".
I noticed that as we approached some people they shrank back (I'm not surprised ... many would if some strange brown man in a red suit strolled loudly up to them) until we handed them a gift. In a few places, people rushed back in to their homes, workplaces to tell others who came out. While our motive was to spread the gospel, it was expressed as spreading the joy and love we experience at Christmas. For me that is the gospel, the Good News, the joy of experiencing God's love. It is a joy and love that we simply wish to share.
When one of the church staff emailed me pictures of my Santa Claus experience, I had to laugh at some of them. But then I began to think about Santa Claus and his relevance as one of the most (in some cases the most) popular images of Christmas.
This week, you will see many Santas, outside shops ringing bells, in shop windows, on billboards, in advertisements and even on plastic bags.
How does Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas fit into the story of Christmas? The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young.
Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals-murderers, thieves and robbers.
After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave.
This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).
Over the centuries St Nicholas became Santa Claus. Santa was then portrayed by dozens of artists in a wide variety of styles, sizes, and colours. However by the end of the 1920s, a standard American Santa-life-sized in a red, fur-trimmed suit-had emerged from the work of N. C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and other popular illustrators.
In 1931 Haddon Sundblom began 35 years of Coca-Cola Santa advertisements that popularised and firmly established this Santa as an icon of contemporary commercial culture. This Santa was life-sized, jolly, and wore the now familiar red suit. He appeared in magazines, on billboards, and shop counters, encouraging Americans to see Coke as the solution to "a thirst for all seasons."
By the 1950s, Santa was turning up everywhere as a benign source of beneficence, endorsing an amazing range of consumer products. This commercial success led to the North American Santa Claus being exported around the world where he threatens to overcome the European St Nicholas, who has retained his identity as a Christian bishop and saint.
(To learn more about how Bishop Nicholas became Santa Claus and how we see him today visit http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/origin-of-santa/)
It's been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity to those in need, to America's jolly Santa Claus, whose generosity often supplies luxuries to the rich.
However, if you peel back the layers that have been added over the years, he is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness.
There is growing interest in reclaiming the original saint to help restore a spiritual dimension to this festive time, for Catholic and Protestant alike. For indeed, St Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live.
A bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the centre of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true centre of Christmas-the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.
St Nicholas / Santa Claus would probably agree with the saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season."
This Christmas, spread the love, spread the joy, not just to those who know you but to those who need to experience love and joy, if only for once this year.
Have a happy and holy Christmas Fiji!
* Rev JS Bhagwan is a student of the International Graduate School of Theology at the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Gaepo Church members off to spread the Christmas cheer.
LAST Sunday was the fourth Sunday in the Christian Season of Advent. Advent, as shared in last week's column means preparation, preparation in this case for Christmas the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ, and preparation also for Christians for Christ's return.
Last Sunday, fourth candle of Advent, the Candle of Love, will be lit. Its light is meant to remind us of the love that God has for us. This Sunday will be Christmas Day when the "Christ Candle" signifying the birth of the Light of the World, will be lit.
Last Sunday afternoon, I joined the members of Gaepo Methodist Church in Seoul, as they took to the street to spread some Christmas cheer and spread the message of God's love through Jesus Christ.
Braving the cold, we sang Christmas carols on street corners and handed out small gifts to those we met, many of them non-Christian. In keeping with my taste for the theatrical, I donned a Santa Claus outfit (fortunately I was able to find a jacket that fit) and so a number of people received presents from a "Fiji Santa".
I noticed that as we approached some people they shrank back (I'm not surprised ... many would if some strange brown man in a red suit strolled loudly up to them) until we handed them a gift. In a few places, people rushed back in to their homes, workplaces to tell others who came out. While our motive was to spread the gospel, it was expressed as spreading the joy and love we experience at Christmas. For me that is the gospel, the Good News, the joy of experiencing God's love. It is a joy and love that we simply wish to share.
When one of the church staff emailed me pictures of my Santa Claus experience, I had to laugh at some of them. But then I began to think about Santa Claus and his relevance as one of the most (in some cases the most) popular images of Christmas.
This week, you will see many Santas, outside shops ringing bells, in shop windows, on billboards, in advertisements and even on plastic bags.
How does Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas fit into the story of Christmas? The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young.
Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals-murderers, thieves and robbers.
After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave.
This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).
Over the centuries St Nicholas became Santa Claus. Santa was then portrayed by dozens of artists in a wide variety of styles, sizes, and colours. However by the end of the 1920s, a standard American Santa-life-sized in a red, fur-trimmed suit-had emerged from the work of N. C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and other popular illustrators.
In 1931 Haddon Sundblom began 35 years of Coca-Cola Santa advertisements that popularised and firmly established this Santa as an icon of contemporary commercial culture. This Santa was life-sized, jolly, and wore the now familiar red suit. He appeared in magazines, on billboards, and shop counters, encouraging Americans to see Coke as the solution to "a thirst for all seasons."
By the 1950s, Santa was turning up everywhere as a benign source of beneficence, endorsing an amazing range of consumer products. This commercial success led to the North American Santa Claus being exported around the world where he threatens to overcome the European St Nicholas, who has retained his identity as a Christian bishop and saint.
(To learn more about how Bishop Nicholas became Santa Claus and how we see him today visit http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/origin-of-santa/)
It's been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity to those in need, to America's jolly Santa Claus, whose generosity often supplies luxuries to the rich.
However, if you peel back the layers that have been added over the years, he is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness.
There is growing interest in reclaiming the original saint to help restore a spiritual dimension to this festive time, for Catholic and Protestant alike. For indeed, St Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live.
A bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the centre of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true centre of Christmas-the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.
St Nicholas / Santa Claus would probably agree with the saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season."
This Christmas, spread the love, spread the joy, not just to those who know you but to those who need to experience love and joy, if only for once this year.
Have a happy and holy Christmas Fiji!
* Rev JS Bhagwan is a student of the International Graduate School of Theology at the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea.
ABOVE PHOTOS FROM CANTERBURY 2011 .........................................thanks to Jill, Tom and Huda for our photos......
WESTMINSTER: ST JOHNS SMITH SQUARE
MONDAY 19 DECEMBER 2011
7.30pm 26TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
COME TO A CONCERT WITH ST NICHOLAS SOCIETY
The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge* | Holst Singers*
City of London Sinfonia* | Boys from the Temple Church Choir
Stephen Layton conductor | Allan Clayton tenor | Sally Pryce harp
Britten
A Ceremony of Carols op.28;
St Nicolas op.42
"Trinity College Choir gave ... an inspiring display of vocal craft and musicality ...
The choir grasped the rich tapestry of vocal effects with relish and insight." Sydney Morning Herald
£25 / £20 / £15 / £10
(concessions 10% discount)
This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3
From the St Nicholas Society UK/USA
A £2000 CHALLENGE - A Matching Gift Offer
A Foundation in the United States that shares our love for St Nicholas and the concerns for his people in Beit Jala has offered us a matching grant of £2000.
I present this challenge to you as St Nicholas Society members and friends, and in light of the glorious time we all had at the Tower of London for our annual meeting, with all the joy and enthusiasm shone by all present. This is an opportunity to change the lives of 2 young people that live with fear, anxiety and occupation daily in this town near Bethlehem. St Nicholas is their patron and they love him. I have been to their festival and it is wildly wonderful.
HOW TO HELP!
A £10 CHEQUE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE......
Cheques can be made payable to either: BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY or ST NICHOLAS SOCIETY. All monies coming for this appeal will ONLY be used for the Scholarship Programme for 2 Women from Beit Jala St Nicholas Parish to Bethlehem University, not even postage or printing will be charged to this appeal.
Matching Grants are just what they say. If we can't match it, we loose the offer.
Might I suggest:
1. Looking into grant-making trusts you may know that deal with either e Middle east, education or Christian endeavours, we will be happy to make the contact.
2. Identify any individuals who would not find donation of £100 to be a burden, so we can contact them, especially people concerned about fellow Christians in the Holy Land.
3. We hope to identify the students and pray that can start university in September. Those of you who know Bethlehem University can testify how splendid a place it is in every way.
We have already had a promise of some help from one of the well-known Domicians at the Shrine in Bari for this project. Please help find others. DO MAKE SURE YOU LET US KNOW IF WE CAN LIST YOUR NAME IN PRINT OR THAT OF YOUR DONORS.
Can I also remind you of the incredible opportunity to share St Nicholas with the VIP Day on Saturday, 10 December with a Festival Service at 12 Noon at the splendid gem Annunciation Marble Arch followed by the Oxford Street Pedestrian Day. We need many many many helpers. Fancy dress most welcome.
Please respond with your ideas and names. Let us bring forward that bit of St Nicholas that is in all of us.
Our paypal address is: [email protected]
Send all cheques (UK or USA) to:
Lisa Martell
St Matthews House
20 Great Peter Street
London SW1P 2BU United Kingdom
With deepest appreciation,
Jim Rosenthal
(The Revd Canon Dr) Phone +44 (0) 7742 856 149*
VISIT: www.sintnicolas.weebly.com
www.stnicholassociety.com
ST NICHOLAS ARRIVED IN LONDON 5 NOVEMBER, EARLIEST ANYWHERE!
Sloane Square Holy Trinity and Duke of York Square WELCOME SAINT!
ST NICOLAS CANTATA was sung this past Thursday by the London Orpheus Choir
St James Piccadilly, huge success. Let the season begin!
NEED ST NICHOLAS CHOCS, CONTACT US 07742 856 149
SPECIAL MAJOR CELEBRATION
Saturday, 10 December 2011
12 Noon Sung Mass and St Nicholas Devotions
CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION, MARBLE ARCH
Bryanston St/Old Quebec Street/
1-3 p.m. VISIT OF ST NICHOLAS TO VIP SHOPPERS ON OXFORD STREET
ST NICHOLAS ON HIS WAY..........Multiple celebrations to mark 2011 Season - watch this website for regular updates:
CANTERBURY: St Nicholas Festival becomes "Weekend Celebration" with activities on 3 and 4th December in the Cathedral city. Parade is Saturday at 1 p.m. from Westgate to the Cathedral.
ST NICHOLAS CHOCOLATES
available in UK with a % of income helping the St Nicholas Society.
These imported German-made chocolates are of the highest quality and are presented in a fun and attractive way, with the design of an elegantly clad Bishop St Nicholas, the Patron Saint of Children, the original Santa Claus.
A Christmas chocolate gift that will mark your shop as truly special, unique and ready to help people understand the Real Santa is the one and only St Nicholas.
Minimum order is £150 net of vat for free delivery on a pro forma basis
Orders must be placed by 24st October for delivery in November
To place your order call 01964508080 or
Email: [email protected] Please quote ref SNS01
For information call 077 42 856 149
[email protected]
www.stnicholassociety.com www.sintnicolasweebly.com
A HUGE SELECTION OF ST NICHOLAS AND SINTERKLAAS POSTCARDS ARE ON SALE ON EBAY> SALES BENEFIT OUR WORK. PLEASE VISIT www.ebay.co.uk and search St Nicholas. You won't be disappointed.
First donation comes in June 26th from Washington DC ($500 USA) Thanks! Second donation comes from Ireland, $50, thanks again.......another £10 has come in from London...respond today
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Some of you may have heard of this old saying…Christmas in July
"vouz chantez Noël en juillet... c'est s'y prendre à l'avance”
Well for those of us who live the Christmas Spirit and who honour that great St Nicholas who leads us to Bethlehem, there is an opportunity to think about an aspect of Christmas now!
A MATCHING GIFT
of £2000 has been offered by friends of St Nicholas in the USA.
The money is solely for the education of 2 women from St Nicholas Church, Beit Jala, Palestine to attend Bethlehem University. There will be absolutely no other use of these designated funds, not even postage! So, to observe CHRISTMAS IN JULY please send your donations to us as follows, designated cheques in USA/UK/CANADA/AUS currency, to Lisa Martell, St Matthew’s House, 20 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2BU England
The best method is PayPal: [email protected]
IF, in these days of financial chaos, you can help, please take the time to do so now. Obviously the gift will not be given if we fail to bring in the needed amount. This would complete our promise.
Heartfelt thanks: Jim Rosenthal
Mark the date: Saturday 10 Dec, Marble Arch, London…biggest ever festival
PLEASE HELP IF YOU OR OTHER YOU KNOW CAN! CHEQUES CAN BE MADE PAYABLE TO BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY AND WE WILL SEND ON!
First donation comes in June 26th from Washington DC ($500 USA) Thanks! Second donation comes from Ireland, $50, thanks again.......another £10 has come in from London...respond today
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Some of you may have heard of this old saying…Christmas in July
"vouz chantez Noël en juillet... c'est s'y prendre à l'avance”
Well for those of us who live the Christmas Spirit and who honour that great St Nicholas who leads us to Bethlehem, there is an opportunity to think about an aspect of Christmas now!
A MATCHING GIFT
of £2000 has been offered by friends of St Nicholas in the USA.
The money is solely for the education of 2 women from St Nicholas Church, Beit Jala, Palestine to attend Bethlehem University. There will be absolutely no other use of these designated funds, not even postage! So, to observe CHRISTMAS IN JULY please send your donations to us as follows, designated cheques in USA/UK/CANADA/AUS currency, to Lisa Martell, St Matthew’s House, 20 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2BU England
The best method is PayPal: [email protected]
IF, in these days of financial chaos, you can help, please take the time to do so now. Obviously the gift will not be given if we fail to bring in the needed amount. This would complete our promise.
Heartfelt thanks: Jim Rosenthal
Mark the date: Saturday 10 Dec, Marble Arch, London…biggest ever festival
PLEASE HELP IF YOU OR OTHER YOU KNOW CAN! CHEQUES CAN BE MADE PAYABLE TO BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY AND WE WILL SEND ON!
ST NICHOLAS GATHERING HUGE SUCCESS
ST NICHOLAS IN MAY EVENT HUGE SUCCESS
Thanks to the co-operation of Father Roger Hall and all at the Tower of London, our annual Eucharist and meeting was a great occasion for us all. Over 100 people gathered for the mass that was sung by members of the Chapel Choir. The Revd Nadim Nassar of the Awareness Foundation gave the homily and Fr Philip Chester, Vicar of St Matthews Westminster (our home base), led the Saint's Litany. Caon Jim led the Nicholas devotion at the end.
All Hallows by the Tower gave us a warm welcome for a gala reception which included an elegant icon exhibition from Bulgaria.
NEW ANTHEM: Commissioned by the St Nicholas Society, a new anthem BEATI NICOLAI (Blesseed Nicholas) made its debut at the Tower of London on May 14. Composed by Huw Belling from Christ Church St Laurence Sydney, Australia. Copies are available at £3 or $5 from SNS. The music was well received and enjoyed.
MATCHING GRANT OFFER
A £2000 matching grant offer has been issued by friends in the USA for our Beit Jala Student Scholarship Programme at Bethlehem University. We are attempting to give 2 scholarships to women from St Nicholas Shrine Church in Palestine's Beit Jala. Can you, your friends or trusts and organisations you know help with this? Contact me please
[email protected], thank you. Jim Rosenthal
A SONG:
Wondrous story, saint in glory,
Blessed Nicholas, we sing
Of your mighty deeds and wonders,
To us all your lessons bring;
Ways of loving, ways of caring,
Let us shout with songs of joy:
Blessed Nicholas, Blessed Nicholas,
Patron saint of girls and boys.
Sailors safe now, three boys live now,
Daughters free from slavery;
Calm the sea, and seal our faith now,
That we faithful ever be;
Son returned home; pagan gods gone;
Holy myrrh your life reveals:
Blessed Nicholas, Blessed Nicholas,
Patron saint of girls and boys.
Tune: DAILY DAILY 87 87 66
Blessed Nicholas, we sing
Of your mighty deeds and wonders,
To us all your lessons bring;
Ways of loving, ways of caring,
Let us shout with songs of joy:
Blessed Nicholas, Blessed Nicholas,
Sailors safe now, three boys live now,
Daughters free from slavery;
Calm the sea, and seal our faith now,
That we faithful ever be;
Son returned home; pagan gods gone;
Holy myrrh your life reveals:
Blessed Nicholas, Blessed Nicholas,
Patron saint of girls and boys.
Tune: DAILY DAILY 87 87 66
www.stnicholassociety.com
SATURDAY JUNE 11: Dr Rosenthal will gave talk at the Friends of St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle Upon Tyne - http://www.stnicholascathedral.co.uk/
Looking ahead::::
ST NICHOLAS IN DECEMBER (as of March)
4 December in Canterbury
6 December in Knightsbridge
10 December in London - Major festival - volunteers needed
13 December in Chelsea, London
Contact: [email protected]
JUNE FESTIVALS in Nancy, France and Siggewi, Malta
SNS will support AWARENESS SUNDAY, 11 September: www.awareness-foundation.com
ST NICHOLAS ORNAMENTS, BOOKMARKS are available from Canterbury Cathedral Enterprises, www.cathedral-enterprises.co.uk/
HO HO HO
Scenes from St Nicholas Society own "St Nicolas" visits in 2010; Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral; Canterbury City and Cathedral; Awareness Foundation; St Paul's Knightsbridge; Citizens for Justice Rally in South Bank; St Dunstans in the West with the Romanian Orthodox; All Saints Margaret Street, London; St Vedast, City of London; St Augustine, Wembly Park.
REMEMBER ST NICHOLAS AT WTC 9/11 - Special Services Awareness Sunday, 11 September 2011 nb 6.30 p.m. Westminster Abbey, below St Nicholas Church destroyed on 911, pray that it will be rebuilt soon on site. JMR
Watch for the feature-length movie
Below, next two images: London and St Pauls
: The 2010 Visits (Official) of the St Nicholas Society UK
JOIN THE ST NICHOLAS SOCIETY TODAY
The St Nicholas Centre at St Nicholas Anglican Cathedral in Newcastle
IS YOUR CHURCH?
LOCATED IN A CITY/VILLAGE CENTRE?
………………………OPEN DURING THE DAY?
………………………IN NEED OF AN EXCITING YEAR-ROUND PROJECT?
…………… EQUIPPED WITH UNUSED
SPACE/ROOMS/CHAPELS/CHURCH WATCHERS?
…….............………..ABLE TO FIND DISPLAY CASES AND STANDS FROM
LOCAL GALLERIES OR MUSEUMS?
Basically…..
IS YOUR CHURCH TO BE THE ONE?
TO HOST
THE ST NICHOLAS COLLECTION
Some 1000 plus
items that tell the story
Of the one, true and only
Father Christmas/Santa Claus
The potential is great for this
collection to attract people
to visit your Church
St Nicholas leads people to the
true meaning of Christmas
as he invites people to
experience the joy of giving
and making the spiritual
journey to Bethlehem to
experience the
miracle of the birth of Christ!
CARE TO DISCUSS THIS FURTHER?
CARE TO BRING A NEW EXPERIENCE TO YOUR COMMUNITY?
CARE TO SHARE ENJOYMENT AND ART WITH OTHERS?
CARE TO EVANGELISE IN A NEW WAY?
Call the St Nicholas Society on 07742 856 149 -
Or we prefer by email [email protected]
WWW.STNICHOLASSOCIETY.COM
ICONS – BOOKS – STATUES – ART – POSTERS – TOYS – CARDS AND STAMPS
– CANDLES – EX VOTOS – A RELIC – CHINA AND GLASS
And much more….
A portion of the collection is on permanent display in St Nicholas Cathedral
Newcastle Upon Tyne
The Exhibition has been featured in
Eastbridge Hospital, Kent,
Canterbury Cathedral and
All Hallows by the Tower, London
ST NICHOLAS NEEDS A HOME!