August 20, 2020
Dear People of St. Timothy's:

I want to be sure to let you know some news from the Bishop regarding the reception of Holy Communion. You can find his full statement HERE, but fair warning, it's a little long.
So, the summary is this: Beginning on Sunday, September 6th, parishes in our Diocese are permitted to distribute bread (not wine) at our services. It is important to note that parishes and individuals are not required to distribute or receive the host.
I am going to discuss this with Vestry in our Monday night meeting, and see what they decide is best. We will only begin distributing the Sacrament if it is the consensus of the Vestry that we should do so. I will provide more information about this is future e-mails.

In a related matter, I wrote a short essay about Holy Eucharist, which you can find HERE.

On to the week ahead . . .
WORSHIP
This week, we are back to all five services--four streamed, and one in person. As a new addition, you can find the weekly bulletin insert HERE.

Sunday  :
8:00am As usual now, we will open the doors for Morning Prayer, Rite I. We have 22 "booths" for seating, and members of a household can sit together. Please remember: everyone must wear a mask, so please bring your own, if possible. All must enter through the parking lot doors, and provide contact information (if we don't already have it).

10:00am We will stream Morning Prayer, Rite II on our Facebook page, and on our website. You can find the service outline HERE, and the hymns HERE.

Tuesday and Thursday: We will stream The Great Litany and sung Compline at 7pm, on Facebook and at our website.

Wednesday:   at 12:30pm, we feature one of our lovely stained-glass windows with prayers, and musical accompaniment by Choirmaster Andrew Bolden. (Only on our Facebook page.)

More information on all our services can be found at the Calendar page of our website, and all streamed services are then uploaded to our youtube page.
GREAT GROUNDS GROOMING: SUMMER EDITION
Saturday, August 29th, starting at 9am, you are invited to pitch in for another day of gardening and fellowship (at a safe distance, of course). We'll be focusing on five specific tasks:
  • Weeding
  • Hedge trimming
  • Window well cleanup
  • Prepping two new beds for flowers
  • Dividing and replanting day lilies
If you have them, please bring:
  • sharp shovels and spades
  • clippers, pruners, loppers
  • weed diggers, trowels
  • rakes: hard tine and leaf
This will be a great opportunity to safely see one another in person, and see the gardens in bloom, and I hope you can join us. The building will be open for bathrooms and water, but please bring whatever food or snacks you might want to have on hand.
WEEKLY PUZZLE
For the month of August, we are zooming in, to focus on transoms and closeups of our lovely windows. In honor of children heading back to school, we offer a close-up image of the children in our Dorcas window, from 1905.

You will find the puzzle by clicking HERE. 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!
BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES
It seems that a good chunk of our parish are Virgos!
Celebrating birthdays this week are Amanda Smith (8/23), Anna Schroeder (8/23), Matt Kurian (8/26), Ellin Schroeder (8/26), Tony Kovacevich (8/28), Sarah Emmert (8/28), and Carol Traylor (8/28).
Paul and Missy Meek celebrate their anniversary on August 24th, and Robert and Mary Ann Fulton celebrate theirs on August 27th.
Be sure to send happy thoughts and good wishes to all who celebrate this week!
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please keep these friends and parishioners in your prayers.
David Wigginton, Keith Rowland, Joyce Vitale, Brian Dorosch, Don Zimmerman, Rachel Sanchez, Anne Smith, Carrie Morrison, Bob Meyer, Chris Lane, Chelsey Levin, John Locy, Ruby Baum, Judy Wigginton, Peggy Brown, Mary Kate McNally, Ernesto Sanchez, and Sharon Porter.
And do call the office if there's anyone you'd like to have added.
OTHER THINGS
Our food pantry is once again well-stocked, thanks to the generous contributions of St. Timothy's parishioners. Thank you again to all who have continued to keep up with your pledges and contributions. As a reminder, you can contribute safely and securely at our website by clicking on the "Donate" button in the upper right-hand corner.

As children head into this most unusual school year, I would like to offer this prayer.

God our Father, you see your children growing up in an
unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways
give more life than the ways of the world, and that following
you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to
take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance
for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you,
and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP pg 829)

Faithfully,

Fr. George