September 24, 2020
Dear People of God:

And then it was Autumn. The time has flown by and yet somehow dragged on, and we just keep moving ahead, together yet apart. We have managed to get a couple of "normal" things on the schedule, like our Blessing of the Animals on October 4th at 1pm, and I'll be leading the Prayer Service for the Massillon Tigers on October 3rd before the rivalry game. Our Wednesday 12:30pm services are back, and I'm grateful for that.
But, to be honest, what I really miss are things like our annual Spaghetti Dinner, and the potluck reading series I had planned to kick off in the month of October. We know it will be some time before we get back to anything like our former "normal," but I am convinced that this is also the time when God shows us new possibilities, and new ways of being the church in the world. Just a thought. Anyway . . . on to the updates . . .
WORSHIP
You can find this week's bulletin insert HERE.

Sunday 8am & 10am:
8:00am Holy Eucharist Rite I, including distribution of bread, for those who wish to partake. 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).

10:00 am, we will stream Holy Eucharist, Rite II, with Spiritual Communion. We are delighted once again to be using Andrew Bolden's "Third Street Mass" for this service, which you can find HERE. The service outline is  HERE , and hymns are  HERE .
This service will only be available online, due to restrictions against singing together in person.

Tuesday 7pm:
This week, we will have a special Evensong service in honor of St. Michael and All Angels, streamed live on Facebook and at our website.

Wednesday 12:30pm:
Our regular mid-week service is back. Though we are unable to offer anointing for healing due to social distance restrictions, we will have distribution of bread for those who wish to partake. (Restrictions and guidelines are the same as Sunday 8am service.)

Thursday 7pm:
We will continue our new weekly Thursday service, based on a Taize' model of singing. (The first of these services is tonight, 9/24). Ongoing, this service may or may not work, given the restrictions and limited number of people, but we're going to try for a few weeks and then reassess. You can tune in at 7pm, on Facebook and at our website. You can find an outline of the service HERE.

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.
BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES
Celebrating birthdays this week are Fran Miller (9/27), Liz Frank (9/28), and Jessica Rohr (9/30).
Doug and Fran Miller celebrate their anniversary on 9/28.
Be sure to send happy thoughts and good wishes to all who celebrate this week!
WEEKLY PUZZLE
A whole new direction this week, in that we're going with a parish photo from Easter, 1936. Most of our members in this photo are no longer among the living, but they are still members of St. Timothy's, and are now also members of the Church Triumphant.
I imagine this will be a tricky puzzle indeed!

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!
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please keep these friends and parishioners in your prayers.
David Wigginton, Joyce Vitale, Brian Dorosch, Don Zimmerman, Rachel Sanchez, Anne Smith, Carrie Morrison, Bob Meyer, Chris Lane, Chelsey Levin, Judy Wigginton, Fr. Jerome Lukachinsky, Ray Depew, Bea Martin, Ann Farmer, Mary Jane Mauger, Don Merrill, Trish Dwigans, and Priya Kurian.
And do call the office if there's anyone you'd like to have added.
ALTAR PLANTS
Throughout this season of "Covidtide," we have done away with cut flowers on the Altar, and have instead been purchasing live plants, which are then planted on the church grounds. If you haven't been by the building lately, you should stop over and take a look. All the hard work of our Gardening Team is really paying off!
If you're interested in contributing toward this ongoing beautification, we ask for a $20 donation per dedication, to help defray costs. We are also setting aside some of the funds to purchase bulbs, which will planted around the church this fall.
If you'd like to sponsor plants for any occasion or in honor or memory of someone, please call the office at 330/893-3183
UPCOMING
As I mentioned above, we're all trying to find ways to get back to the things that seem normal, while also being committed to keeping one another safe. In the months ahead, we'll be looking at new ways to do our regular year-end things. We'll be kicking off our Stewardship Campaign in early October, in order to fund parish operations for 2021. And we'll also be figuring out how best to do our blanket drive, Thanksgiving and Christmas outreach, and . . . well, Christmas Eve services.
I want to let you know that I am planning to offer some sort of prayer service for our nation on November 2nd, election eve, and I'll send more information on that in future weeks.
I hope you are well, and holding up okay. Please don't hesitate to be in touch if there is any way I can be helpful to you or your family.

Faithfully,

Fr. George