Friends of St. Timothy's:

HAPPY EASTER! I hope your celebration was festive and joy-filled. I know that may have been challenging during these challenging times, but I encourage you to remember that the One whose resurrection we celebrate is with us, today and every day.

I wanted to pass along a weekly note, by way of keeping you updated while we are kept apart.

ONLINE SERVICES

I have been working diligently to improve the quality of our streamed services. After lots of research and trial and error, I've done the following . . .

--I've asked MCTV to Increase our internet speed from 1.1mbps upload to 8.6, and our download from 9.8mbps to 27.6. This should eliminate the choppy audio, dropped signal, and pixelated images. (Fingers crossed.) The cost of the added speed required no contract, and we can return to a different plan once we are back together again.

--This Sunday, we will be trying a new streaming platform called Boxcast. This service allows for a horizontal image, and simultaneous streaming on our usual Facebook page as well as on the front page of our website. We'll use their free 14-day trial to see if the improvements are worth the cost. I welcome your input on that the next two Sundays. Most importantly, this should mean that you ONLY have to go to our parish website to join in Morning Prayer, although I recognize that Facebook does allow you all to participate with one another a little more.

HOLY WEEK

I have heard from many of you that using a combination of the materials we sent to your homes, and various services streamed by St. Timothy's and others, you were able to observe a holy Holy Week while staying safe. I am so grateful for the feedback I've received so far, and welcome whatever else you might have to say. I know it wasn't what we're used to or what we expected, but we will make up for it by celebrating together when this is all over.

Also, if you have any photos of your home Altar, or Easter meal, or family celebration that you're willing to pass along, I'd love to put them all up on the bulletin board in the hallway. Not only because it will make me happy, but also so that you can see one another's Easter observance when we're all back together. You can e-mail them HERE.

FOOD PANTRY

Traffic to our food pantry has slowed considerably the past week for whatever reason. I'm hopeful that means that people didn't have an immediate need for it. For now, since everything you've donated is non-perishable, we seem to be holding up pretty well on that end.

PRAYERS REQUESTED

It occurs to me that since we're not gathering together each week, it might be helpful to send along the current Prayer List, which I'll type in below. Please keep these folks in your prayers.

Will Miller, Fr. Erv, Diana Lawver, Ashley Locy, David Wigginton, Keith Rowland, Sawyer Locy, Joyce Vitale, Kassie Vetrano, Hondo Sunquist

And do call the office if there's anyone you'd like to have added.

Although I sorely miss seeing your faces and praying and singing together, I know that it is crucial we keep one another safe by keeping our distance. Please know that you are in my thoughts and in my prayers, and let me know how I can be helpful to you in the weeks ahead.

Much love,

Fr. George