From the RectorDear Parishioners and Friends, This week (Dec 6) we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra--yes, that St. Nicholas! He lived in the fourth century AD, and was probably present at the council of Nicea in 325. Aside from that, few historical facts are known about his life, though the pious legends abound. Throughout time, he became revered for his love of children, especially the poor and abused, as well as for "those in peril on the sea." One legend involving children is almost too gruesome to re-tell. Suffice to say it involves pickling. Another more seasonally appropriate story tells us that he would toss socks filled with gold coins into the homes of poor children, thus helping them to escape lives of drudgery and exploitation. He is also rumored to have punched an Arian heretic in the face at the council of Nicea, which is almost certainly false. The Dutch, being great navigators, revered St. Nicholas in his role as a patron for sailors. They brought this with them to New Amsterdam and gave us the idea of "Santa Claus," whose visual image was later cemented in our American imagination by Clement Clarke Moore, a professor at the General Theological Seminary in New York. In his classic, "A Visit From St. Nicholas," more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," we get a vivid image of this "jolly old elf," and one wonders what the real St. Nicholas would think about that. Perhaps no other Saint has entered so vividly into the popular imagination in a way that so deviates from his historical life. Whatever the facts in the mists of time, the example of St. Nicholas teaches us the basic truths of our faith: love God, and love one another---especially the most vulnerable. Father Rick
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