February 23, 2023

Dear Friends in Christ:

I find myself feeling so grateful to be serving at St. Timothy's Church at this present time. There is a renewed energy and excitement that is palpable in all we do. And pretty much all of that comes from people volunteering their time, ideas, and resources to make our parish a place where all are welcome and appreciated. It is abundantly clear that we are truly living into our Mission Statement, where Worship, Hospitality, and Outreach make us WHO we are.

So, thank you to everyone for everything. I am proud to be your priest.

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 2/26, Lent I

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

10:00 am Rite II Holy Eucharist, and Great Litany. In person and streamed at our website, on youtube and on our Facebook page. This week's bulletin is HERE.

Wednesday 3/1, Rite II with Healing

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

Sunday, 3/5, Lent II

8:00am Rite I Holy Eucharist. 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. 

Wednesday 3/8, 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

Feb. 26 Great Litany, both services

• Andrew Bolden Recital, 2pm, Cable Recital Hall

Mar. 1 MACCA Lenten Services begin (see below)

Mar. 2 ECW Meeting, 10:30am

Mar. 12 Children's Sunday, 10am

Mar. 22 Host MACCA Lenten Service

Mar. 26 Sonnenberg Station Concert, 3pm

Apr. 2-9 Holy Week

Apr. 10-18 Fr. George to Ukraine, (tentative)

Apr. 29 Bishop Jolly Ordination, 11am Cleveland

May 6 Coronation Watch Party, 7am (estimated)

May 9-10 Church Directory photos

June 3 Impact Massillon

VESTRY UPDATE

At the first Vestry meeting of 2023, our Vestry elected their new officers for the year. Taking over as Sr. Warden is Jay Spencer, while Jon Silvis moves into the position of Jr. Warden. Please wish them well with these new responsibilities, and remember them in your prayers, along with the rest of your hard-working, enthusiastic Vestry members.

PANCAKE SUCCESS!

Thanks to all who stepped up and helped make the return of our Pancake Supper the success that it was. We fed lots of friends and neighbors, we had some music, and the decorations were a festive delight! Onward to Lent!

ANDREW BOLDEN RECITAL, This Sunday

Choirmaster and showman extraordinaire Andrew Bolden will be part of the monthly MacDowell Club Recital at Cable Hall on Sunday, February 26th, at 2pm. Andrew will sing a collection of classical music, and is sure to dazzle us all. Admission is free!

BACK TO THE HIGH ALTAR

Starting this Sunday, February 26, we will return to offering Communion at the Altar rail at our 10am services. As has been our practice historically, we will first commune the choir, then those who would rather remain in their pews, then those who wish to come up to the Altar.

Please note: we no longer have the volunteers to help folks up and down the stairs (at least not yet), so if the stairs present a challenge for you, please allow us to come to you. It will be helpful if those who choose to remain seated would please sit on the center aisle so that we can easily find you and bring the Sacrament to you.

We will offer Communion at the Altar rail during the season of Lent, and then assess how well it works, and what adjustments might need to be made. On Easter Sunday, we will distribute from the floor, just to make things easier all around.

MACCA LENTEN SERVICES RETURN

For the first time since the pandemic began, we return to the full offering of ecumenical services on Wednesdays during Lent. This means churches will once more share a meal together before worship each week. The basic format is a 5:30pm meal of soup and salad, followed by 6:30pm worship with Holy Communion. I'm excited that we've added new hosts and preachers this year, and I hope you can attend when you're able. Here's the full schedule:

March 1^st       St. John’s UCC          

                       Rev. Angie Storer of St. Jacob’s preaching

                       101 Tremont Ave SE, Massillon, OH 44646                   

March 8^th      St. Paul’s Lutheran                

                       Rev. George Baum of St. Timothy’s preaching

                       127 Cherry Rd NE, Massillon, OH 44646            

March 15^th    First United Methodist         

                       Rev. Linda Slutz of Epworth UMC preaching

                       301 Lincoln Way E, Massillon, OH 44646           

March 22^nd    St. Timothy Episcopal             *incense will be used         

                       Rev. Roger Alber of First Baptist preaching

                       226 3^rd St SE, Massillon, OH 44646           

March 29^th    First Baptist Church            

                       Rev. Jules Joy of Central Presbyterian preaching

                       20 Sixth St. SE, Massillon, OH 44646

NEW PHOTO DIRECTORY

Much has changed since we printed our last photo directory for St. Timothy's back in 2019. In fact, the company we had been using has gone out of business. However, we have arranged to jump back in this May to make a new directory with a company called Universal Church Directories. (Guess what they make?)

We will have more specifics in the coming months, including a signup sheet for sitting times, but it wouldn't hurt to get it on your calendar that photos will be taken from 2pm to 8:30pm on May 9th and 10th. More details to follow.

SONNENBERG STATION RETURNS

A few years ago, we hosted a concert by the local men's chorus, Sonnenberg Station. And it was wonderful! At their request, and to our great benefit, they're coming back to sing for us next month. The concert is open to the public, and free to all, though donations of support will be gratefully accepted.

Mark your calendar, and plan to join us Sunday, March 26th, at 3pm for a memorable performance.

CORONATION WATCH PARTY

We are in the early stages of planning a watch party for the Coronation of King Charles III, on May 6th. We're still waiting for the actual start time to be posted, but it seems certain to be happening in the morning over there, which means in the early morning over here.

We will have a livestream of the goings on, and hope to offer a right proper Full English Breakfast. We'll have activities for the kids, informational displays, tours of the church building, and more. Tell your friends and put it on your calendar.

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. 

Please pray for the victims and families of those killed and injured in the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

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

✥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 ✥Marilyn ✥Thomas Haidet ✥Ed Nihser ✥Lester Kidney ✥Bill Mayer ✥Andrew DeBroeck

✥Allison Stergios ✥Dave Cottrill ✥Leah ✥Trisha Rusford ✥Curt Allison ✥Jack ✥Linda Devore ✥Gabriella Santos ✥Steve Deuble ✥Dan Kloock ✥Randa Farah ✥Jennifer Baer ✥Ian Long

✥Ann Renkert ✥Allison Armentrout ✥Joel Vogt ✥Janine Hartman ✥Mark Hollingsworth

✥James Hutzell ✥Carson Hutzell ✥Jimmy Carter ✥Carolyn Flamm ✥Sarah Emmert

Sharon Gerber, sister in law of Nancy Alvarez passed away this week.

Shari Breyfogle, wife of Ed Breyfogle passed away last Thursday. We will host her funeral at 1pm today, with calling hours preceding at 12pm, and a light reception to follow the service.

Please keep both families in your prayers.

BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES

Celebrating birthdays in the next two weeks are Michael Drumm (3/1), Cricket Boyd (3/7), Macy Rohr (3/11), Bobbie Muhlbach (3/6), and Andrew Bomze (3/7).

Tony and Beverly Kovacevich will celebrate their anniversary on March 2nd.

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

PERIODIC PUZZLE

Walking into the northwest vestibule before the Pancake Supper on Tuesday evening, I was caught short by this window, and realized I hadn't yet used an actual photo of it for a puzzle. Thanks to the magic of simply flipping a photo around, I thought the sunset through the glass would make for a lovely puzzle for you. You can find it 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.

Yesterday, we began our forty day journey into the season of Lent. This portion of the Church year reminds us of our reliance on God's grace. There are lots of ways to do this. Some people choose to forgo some pleasure (like chocolate or alcohol); others choose to take something on (like more reading or volunteering). Those disciplines are good, in and of themselves. But it is helpful to bear in mind that the purpose of such things is to turn our minds toward God. If you choose to adopt some discipline these next forty days, I hope that it sharpens your focus on the One from whom all things come, and to whom we will one day return.

Wishing you a blessed Lenten season.

Faithfully,

Fr. George