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February 24, 2022
Dear Friends of St. Timothy's:
Welcome to my Ted Talk about Grace Chapel. (Feel free to skip on down to the worship updates if you're not interested in this topic.)
According to our parish history, in 1888, Rev. Kemp began a "ministry among the black people of Massillon." In 1889, the members of St. Timothy's helped them build Grace Chapel on Wellman Ave, to be used as their congregation's home. With dwindling membership over time, the congregation was disbanded in 1897, and several members transferred their membership to St. Timothy's Church, including the esteemed Wright Walker.
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In 1985, in preparation for the 150th anniversary of St. Tim's, the History Committee arranged to have the cornerstone removed from Grace Chapel and displayed for the festivities. The Vestry minutes of the time state, "The cornerstone from Wellman St. Grace P.E. Church has been removed and will be cleaned and placed somewhere to be decided upon."
I have always wondered what was meant by "somewhere to be decided upon." Had it ended up in someone's house? In the Diocesan archive? At the Massillon Museum? In the dumpster out back? No one seemed to know what happened to it. I even wrote to our former Rector to see if he knew, but it seemed we'd reached a dead end.
Then, last Saturday, Sr. Warden Jon Silvis was cleaning out a closet in the basement and found this . . .
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And so now, I am happy to report that "somewhere to be decided upon" means in our archive room on the second floor of the office building. Feel free to stop in for a look, but please leave your blue crayons at home.
On to the updates . . .
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WORSHIP
Our current policy at St. Timothy's is that face coverings are recommended, though not currently required inside our building. This week's bulletin insert can be found HERE.
Sunday 2/27, Last Sunday after Epiphany
8:00am Holy Eucharist, Rite I. In person only.
10:00 am Rite II Holy Eucharist. In person and streamed at our website and on our Facebook page. This week's bulletin is HERE.
Wednesday 3/2, Ash Wednesday
12:10pm Our mid-week service of Holy Eucharist. In person only, with the Imposition of Ashes.
7:00pm Holy Eucharist with music and the Imposition of Ashes. This service will also be streamed at our website and Facebook page.
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GROWING WITH GOD UPDATE
As with all things construction related, trying to fix one thing in an old building leads to discovering 10 more things that need addressing. We've been trying to get the necessary repairs done on the north wall of the sanctuary, but water intrusion keeps throwing us off the planned path. The plasterers were ready to begin work this week, but found water running down the stones behind the existing plaster. So, given that there is no point in throwing good money after bad, we will need to figure how to effectively seal the building before moving forward on plaster and painting.
Meanwhile, the plaster in the sanctuary foyers and above the drinking fountain will also need to be delayed until the larger sanctuary repairs are completed. I am confident we will get there, eventually, but it is going to take time and money. (Speaking of which, don't forget to fulfill your Growing with God pledge, if you have not already done so.) We are blessed to have one of the most beautiful worship spaces in Ohio, but--as I've said before--entropy rules . . . but not if we can help it.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 26 Choir Note Crunch 10am-2pm
Feb. 27 Pancake breakfast after 10am service
Mar. 2 Ash Wednesday services, 12:10pm and 7:00pm
Mar. 6 Lent begins, Great Litany at both services
Mar. 6 Dinner Theater, Dundee OH, 5pm
Mar. 8 Monthly Taize' 7pm
Mar. 9 Hosting MACCA Lenten service, 6:30pm (Full schedule HERE.)
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IMPACT MASSILLON RETURNS: Saturday, June 4th
We have participated in this important and inspiring event in the past, before COVID took it off the schedule the past two years. (See this Inde article for more information.) I have registered St. Timothy's as being willing to take part again this summer, but we need a couple people soon who are willing to take on these two leadership roles:
- Project Leader: oversees the actual work being done and organizes volunteers
- Connection Leader: connects with the homeowners about schedule and projects
If you're interested in serving as our Project Leader or Connection Leader, or would like any more information about this important ministry, please let me know ASAP.
NOTE: If we cannot get people interested in those two leadership positions soon, I will have to let them know that we will not participate this year.
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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 will maintain a continuing prayer list for those with ongoing needs. The email list below merges both lists.
Please pray for the people of Ukraine, that they would be kept safe from violence and harm, and please also keep these friends and parishioners in your prayers:
✥Bob Meyer ✥Chris Lane ✥Priya Kurian ✥Mike Ziegelhofer ✥Chuck Tilley
✥Michael Flamm ✥Liz Frank ✥Bobbie Muhlbach ✥John Muhlbach ✥Isaac Leggett
✥Mike Requa ✥Toni Contini ✥Brian Dorosch ✥Beth Conley ✥Nancy Brooks
✥Bob Daane ✥Chuck Coleman ✥Patty Ann ✥Cary Koontz ✥Noble Carpenter
✥Roger Walters ✥Colleen Major ✥Gail Moss ✥Linda June ✥Stephen Huba
✥Roy Schoenfeld ✥Fred Gibbs ✥Sheila Gwatkin ✥Carolyn Flamm ✥Ingrid
✥Betsy Lloyd ✥David Braid ✥Greg Rush ✥Linda Boyer ✥Dave Miller
✥Retta Faye Edwards ✥Vivian Louk ✥Eamonn Hunter ✥Tony Donahue
✥Chuck Scheurer ✥Fran Miller ✥Dan Farley ✥Janet Albrecht
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BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES
Michael Drumm gets the whole birthday week to himself again this year, celebrating the blessed occasion on March 1st.
Tony & Beverly Kovacevich will celebrate their anniversary on March 2nd.
Be sure to send good wishes and thoughts to all who celebrate this week!
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TWO MEN AND A BENCH
Tomorrow night, February 25th, at 7pm, our friend and former Interim Organist Mark Thewes will team up with fellow organist Chad Pittman for a delightful concert at St. Paul's Lutheran Church here in Massillon. A reception will follow, and more details can be found HERE.
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BOOK STUDY AFTER EASTER
Please mark your calendar to join us April 27, May 4, 11, and 18 for dinner and conversation.
On those four Wednesday nights starting April 27, we're planning to have potluck dinners followed by conversation on Rowan Williams' book, "Being Christian." More details to come.
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MOVING ON
This email marks the 100th weekly email I've sent out to you all since the COVID epidemic began. Happy 100 to us all . . . sort of.
When we first faced the unknowns of this terrible coronavirus in March 2020, one of my initial steps was to create an actual email list, using the 80 email addresses I had available, with Candy mailing hard copies to those for whom we did not have email addresses. Since then, our list has grown to 156 people, with an open rate of 72% (which is actually sky high, for such things.)
This past Sunday, we finally reached a level of in-person attendance that we've not seen since March 8, 2020. So I am thinking it is time to stop flooding your inbox with these weekly emails. Or, at least to shorten the amount of information contained in them each week.
So, starting March 3rd, my plan is to send emails every other week, so that I have more time to devote to the other duties of being a parish priest. (If it seems that you're all suddenly champing at the bit to hear more from me, we can revisit this decision.) But given that it takes hours of my time to compile these each week, combined with our increasing comfort for gathering together in person, I think this cutting back is the right decision.
Faithfully,
Fr. George
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