January 5, 2023

Dear Friends in Christ:

Having made our way through a busy December at church, we now head into our busy January at St. Timothy's. January 8th sees the return of our in-person Lessons & Carols with neighboring Episcopal churches joining us. A week later, we gather for our 187th Annual Meeting, where we'll elect new Vestry members, ponder where we've been, and where we're going. And two weeks after that, we'll celebrate St. Timothy, our patron saint.

And so, following the Annual Meeting, Cristin and I are going sneak out of town for a week. For that reason, this email will provide information for an extra week, to keep you abreast of the goings on from now until January 26th.

On to the updates . . .

WORSHIP

St. Timothy's current policy is that face coverings are suggested, though not required inside our building. You can always find the most-current updates on all our services by checking the calendar page of our website.

Sunday 1/8, Children's Sunday, Baptism of Our Lord

8:00am Holy Eucharist, Rite I. In person only. 

10:00 am Rite II Holy Eucharist. In person and streamed at our website, on youtube and on our Facebook page. This week's bulletin is HERE. Special activities for children during the first part of the service; they will then join us for Holy Communion.

5:00pm Epiphany Lessons and Carols. A reception will follow in the parish hall. In person and streamed at our website, on youtube and on our Facebook page (though not the reception, of course).

Tuesday 1/10, Taize' 7pm

Our monthly Tuesday Taize' service will be streamed at our website and on Facebook. Your in-person attendance is welcome. You can sing along with us at home or in church. The service outline and music are HERE. (We will have printed copies at the door.)

Wednesday 1/11, Rite II with Healing

12:10pm Our mid-week service of Holy Eucharist, includes anointing with oil for healing. In person only.

Sunday 1/15, Epiphany 2, Annual Meeting

**10am only**  Holy Eucharist, Rite II, with choir. In person and streamed at our website, on youtube and on our Facebook page. The bulletin can be found HERE. 

No Wednesday Service, 1/18

No midweek service this week, as Fr. George will be away.

Sunday, 1/22, Epiphany 3

8:00am Morning Prayer, Rite I. In person only. Lay Preacher Jon Silvis will preach.

10:00 am Morning Prayer, Rite II with choir and music. In person only. Lay Preach Jon Silvis will preach.

Wednesday 1/25, Rite II with Healing

12:10pm Our mid-week service of Holy Eucharist, includes anointing with oil for healing. In person only.

UPCOMING DATES OF NOTE

Jan. 8 Children's Sunday, Blessing of the Chalk

• Epiphany Tea, 11:15am
• Epiphany Lessons & Carols, 5pm

Jan. 10 Taize' service, 7pm

Jan. 14 De-greening of the Church, 10am-12pm

Jan. 15 10am service only

• 187th Annual Parish Meeting, 11:30am

Jan. 29 St. Timothy Sunday, Vestry Commissioning

• St. Timothy's Luncheon, 11:30am

Feb. 3-4 Winter Convocation

Feb. 21 Pancake Supper, 5:30-7pm

Feb. 22 Ash Wednesday, 12:10pm & 7pm

EPIPHANY EVENTS

After the twelve days Christmas, we celebrate Epiphany, on January 6th. We've got lots of things happening on January 8th to mark the occasion, including our monthly Children's Sunday at 10am.

We will bless chalk at both services for those interested in chalking their doors for the new year. (You can find the litany to do this at home HERE.)

Our ECW group will host their annual Epiphany Tea in the parish hall, following the 10am service.

And then, at 5pm, our choir will be joined by singers and musicians from St. Paul's in Canton, as well as New Life in Uniontown, and Trinity in Alliance, for a service of Lessons at Carols at 5pm. A reception will follow.

THE GREAT TAKEDOWN

Next Saturday, January 14th, we're going to take down all the Christmas decorations we so joyously put in place. If you're able to help, we'll start around 10am and go until about noon. We'll provide coffee and donuts; you provide the muscle and brains.

WINTER CONVOCATION, Feb. 3-4, 2023

Our Diocesan Winter Convocation is back in person! And, not only that, our Bishop-elect, the Rev. Anne Jolly will be in attendance. The Diocese has a policy that any congregation sending six or more adults gets a 50% refund on all registrations. (This is what is commonly called, A Bargain.)

If you're interested, I'd love to have you join me. There is lodging available at the lodge, but it's a little pricey. Other hotels are nearby, or one could drive up and back each day. More information can be found HERE.

PRAYERS REQUESTED

When you ask for someone to be added to the prayers, they will stay on our list for four weeks unless we hear from you. We maintain a continuing prayer list for those with ongoing needs. The email list below merges both lists.

Please be sure to let us know if someone should be taken off this list so we can focus on those in need.

Please pray for the people of Ukraine & Russia, that they would be kept safe and live in peace and safety. 

And please also keep these friends and parishioners in your prayers:

✥Chris Lane ✥Priya Kurian ✥Chuck Tilley ✥Liz Frank  ✥Mike Requa ✥Toni Contini

✥Brian Dorosch ✥Bob Daane  ✥Noble Carpenter ✥Gail Moss ✥Greg Rush

✥Tony Donahue  ✥Tina Gottshall  ✥Ruth Lash ✥Gayle McHenry ✥Dylan Miller

✥Ted Savastano ✥Hadley Hirschman  ✥Eamonn Hunter ✥Sarah Kouri ✥Matt Neal

✥Becky Frum ✥Sally Sorenson ✥Marilyn and Denny ✥Thomas Haidet ✥Ed Nihser

✥Lester Kidney ✥Bill Mayer ✥Andrew DeBroeck ✥Allison Stergios ✥Dave Cottrill ✥Leah ✥Trisha Rusford ✥Curt Allison

BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES

Since this list will cover three weeks instead of the usual two, there are quite a few birthdays coming up, including Brian Fichter (1/8), Jill Strodtbeck (1/13), Jay Bomze (1/15), Doug Miller (1/16), Jim Bower (1/16), William Plunk (1/17), Maureen Major (1/18), David Strodtbeck (1/20), Olivia Regula (1/23), and Marilyn Croasdaile (1/27).

Jonathan & Anna Schroeder will celebrate their anniversary on January 20th, and Dave & Ann Renkert will celebrate theirs on January 25th.

Be sure to send good wishes and thoughts to all who celebrate in the coming weeks!

PERIODIC PUZZLE

On this, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, it seems appropriate to give you a puzzle that lets you ponder this most festive season. You can find the puzzle by clicking HERE.

As always, you can choose your background color, number of puzzle pieces, and even set it to display just the edge pieces. Plus, you get a very affirming crowd reaction once you have completed it!

Also, if you want to take a trip down puzzle memory lane, you can go back and find the whole collection on our website at this LINK.

As my family well knows, I'm a stickler for not celebrating a thing until it happens. We buy our Christmas tree as late as possible, when there are just a few left. (This gives us a bonus feeling of rescuing something unwanted, like Charlie Brown might do.) I never play Christmas music while washing dishes until Christmas Day, at which point I play nothing else. And around the ninth day of Christmas, my family starts talking about cutting me off from the Christmas music.

But no. I am adamant. Even though I also am sick of hearing Christmas music, I will play that stuff until the 6th of January. It's not my fault everyone else started so early!

We had some serious weather on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Some people came to church; some people stayed home; and some people just didn't want any more Christmas . . . for one good reason or another. The holidays are a hard time for everyone, and they are different for everyone. We go through them together, but we go through them separately. Alone together, you might say.

However your holidays went (and are going), I hope you always remember that God is with you, and God saves. It's a great hard season (which is a deeper phrase than it seems), and the whole point of these days is to remember those two things: God is with us, and God saves.

Faithfully,

Fr. George