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O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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Faith Figures | Fr Steve Rice
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This week I discovered an interesting article regarding trends and realities in church membership in the United States, and I think it is worth not only sharing but also commenting. Long story short, the Episcopal Church has been in decline in virtually every measurable area for years. Church membership is down 30% since 1980. Admittedly, church membership numbers are fleeting, as there are folks who claim St Timothy’s (like every parish) as their church but haven’t worshipped in years. The real number that I pay attention to is church attendance. Since 2000, the average national attendance has declined by nearly 33%. Even in the South, Episcopal Church attendance has dropped 13% in the past five years alone. To put a finer point on it, the number of people baptized has declined by half in the past 15 years. The percentage is the same for both children and adults. The real shocker to me was marriage. In 1980, nearly 40,000 marriages were solemnized in the Episcopal Church. In 2015, the number was less than 10,000.
What does this mean for St Timothy’s? Fortunately, so far we have bucked trends. We have actually increased attendance by 15% from 2000 to 2015 (the same reporting period referenced above). I will have to crunch the numbers, but I’m fairly certain our baptisms have increased while I’m equally certain that marriages have decreased on par with the wider church. Even though we’ve been fortunate, we cannot take our successes for granted. The data from the research should not be ignored. We should always examine ourselves as individuals and as a parish. We are a unique parish within the larger church, but we are not immune to decline. Even now, attendance has leveled off a bit, and I worry there might be a cloud of complacency lingering above.
I do think that our focus on adoration, formation, and transformation has helped us remember that believing and loving Jesus means something and actually demands something from us. We work hard to keep the main thing the main thing, and we must be diligent to avoid being distracted from our purpose.
What should we do to make sure we continue to be the exception to the rule, and how can our witness lead the larger Church? We must:
Continue to ground ourselves in sound and robust theology and doctrine. Continue to elevate the Holy Eucharist as the Source and Summit of our lives. Be intentional about being intentional. Pastoral care is everyone’s responsibility. Encourage and support one another, not just on Sundays. Commit ourselves to making Sunday morning sacrosanct. Give sacrificially to the work of the Church. When we give of what God has given us, we become a part of the mission and life of the Church. When we give sacrificially, we suffer a bit for our faith which gives us enormous strength. Engage in real acts of mercy in the name of Christ. Invite folks to worship. Seriously! Pray and read the Bible daily.
If we honestly strive to do the above, we will experience growth in ways that are measurable and ways that are not.
We know what to do. The real question for the Church is how do we hold each other accountable?
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Vestry Update | Beckie McLean, Senior Warden
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Greetings from your Vestry! We hope your summer has been full of fun and plenty of time spent with family and friends. It seems to be moving by quickly and the school will be starting before you know it. We just wanted to provide a few updates so that you know what the Vestry has been up to.
Second-quarter giving statements will be arriving in your mailboxes very soon, along with a summary of finances by the church treasurer, James Connolly. We know that attendance drops off somewhat during the summer months when families travel, but also encourage everyone to stay caught up with their pledges, so that St. Timothy's can continue our work and ministries.
The Campus Vision Committee has been busy as well. The architects from Cram & Ferguson returned to Winston-Salem last week for a second planning meeting. The architects are considering what we view as limitations in our space and devising a plan to enhance the use of our Nave to better reflect how we worship. Their suggestions thus far have been inspiring excitement and enthusiasm among both the Vestry and the Campus Vision Committee. Some of the issues that are being addressed include enlarging a choir loft that is too small to meet the needs of our growing music program, improving the part of the Nave where we conduct the Sacrament of Baptism that better reflects its importance, and addressing space needs in the sacristy and a high altar that, again, better reflect how we worship. They are also suggesting some cosmetic and architectural changes that will add beauty to an already beautiful worship space. In the next few months we will have something to show to the parish and will value your input as the architects will be giving us a starting point. More info to come soon.
Lastly, JW Turner has resigned his position on the Vestry. We are so thankful for his time and contributions to the work that we as the Vestry have done since he was elected. We have asked Chris Skarzynski to assume this open seat and complete the 1-1/2 year term. Chris has served on the Vestry in the past and we welcome his experience and willingness to serve.
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Grace Dinners | Great Fellowship Opportunity
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Fellowship by definition means a group of people meeting to pursue a shared interest or aim, and thus Christian fellowship's shared aim is looking to Christ - to love like Jesus, pray like Jesus, serve like Jesus, act like Jesus. We need each to help us on our journey.
Grace Dinners are dinner groups that meet regularly from September-May each year (usually every four to six weeks). They are a wonderful avenue for getting to know your fellow parishioners. All are welcome to join – couples, singles, and families. If you have younger children under 13, please indicate so when you sign up and you will be put in a group with other children. If you do not have young children, but wish to be grouped those who do, please indicate that.
Join us! If you are a returning participant, email Jon and Sally Cowgill at
cowgillj@att.net and if you are new, please click
here. Again, please do indicate whether or not you would prefer a group with other families that have children under 13. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jon or Sally. The Grace Dinner potluck kick-off will be August 20th at 6:00pm in Drake Hall and the deadline for registering is August 13th.
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Is hospitality your gift? We have several opportunities to host small receptions after evening masses and evensongs. We already have a tried and true method. We have a template and can tell you what to get and how to do it. We have opportunities for evening masses and afternoon evensongs.
You can sign up to set up or you can sign up to clean up (or both!).
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Every Monday through Thursday, a mass is celebrated at the side altar at 8:15 (Morning Prayer precedes it at 8am). We typically have a daily congregation ranging from 3 to 9, the overwhelming majority being women. While I am most pleased with any daily congregation, I'd like to challenge our men to take a day to pray and receive the Eucharist. Two gentlemen already come during the week as they can. Stephon Reeves comes on Wednesdays and David Cone comes on Thursdays. I'd love to have a gentleman (or gentlemen!) join us on Monday or Tuesday, especially. Robust men's spirituality and ministry begins at mass. ~ Fr Steve
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Duty Calls & You're Invited
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LTC Graham Green (husband of Shannon Hurley and dad of Garrison and Julia Green) will soon begin a one year military deployment. His unit, the 449th Theater Aviation Brigade of the NC National Guard, will deploy to Ft. Hood, TX and then to Iraq. You and your family are invited to a Deployment Party for Graham and three other soldiers serving with him. We hope you will join us to offer our gratitude for their service and bid them Godspeed!
DATE & TIME: Sunday, September 3, 4pm-8pm
WHERE: Seven Springs Lodge and Retreat
WHAT: Covered dish meal, hiking, fishing
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Curate Update | Fr Steve Rice
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Last winter, the Vestry took the bold step of budgeting a curate (assistant priest) for 2017. We started looking for the right priest immediately, but we assumed that we wouldn't have one in place until summer of 2017 and budgeted accordingly. I have received many resumes and inquiries. So far this year, we have invited two priests to St Timothy's to meet with us and explore Winston-Salem. While we have come very close, we are still looking and remain optimistic. We have another priest scheduled to visit us very soon. I am committed to calling the right curate and not just an available curate. My expectation is that the curate will help with all ministries but will specifically focus on formation with a particular emphasis on youth and adults.
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Mass & Mammon
July 30, 2017
Morning Prayer:
7:30 Low Mass: 44
9:00 Low Mass: 158
11:00 Sung Mass: 66
Mass Total: 268
Offering:
$12,788.50
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Altar Flowers and Shrine Lamps
The altar flowers are given to the Glory of Almighty God and in memory of Patty Anne Powell and in thanksgiving of our children and our grandchildren by Robbie Powell, and
in honor of Father Trey Garland by Mia McDowell.
The
Our Lady of Walsingham Lamp is given to the Glory of God and in memory of my father, Max Hurley by Shannon Hurley.
The
Sanctuary Lamp is given to the Glory of God and in memory of Chester & Mary Mizer
by Amy McFerrin.
The
St. Timothy Shrine Lamp is given to the Glory of God and in honor of the homeless in our community and around the worl by the Beauchamp family.
The
St. Michael the Archangel Lamp is given to the Glory of God and in honor of St. Timothy’s church family in thanksgiving for their prayers, love and support following my surgery
by Alice Elsner.
To sponsor a lamp in the future, you can sign up
here.
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Sunday's
processional hymn, O wondrous type! O vision fair (No. 137), tells the story of the Transfiguration. This hymn is in the Epiphany section of
The Hymnal 1982
because the transfiguration story, from Exodus 34:29-35, is also in the lectionary on the last Sunday of Epiphany in Year C.
Other hymns this Sunday:
O Light of Light, Love given birth, No. 134
Here, O my Lord, No. 318
Christ, whose glory fills the skies, No. 7
Sunday’s
prelude is Healey Willan's "Prelude on
Wareham
."
Wareham
is the tune name for our opening hymn, “O wondrous type! O vision fair." Healey Willan (1880-1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano.
Sunday’s
anthems are “Fairest Lord Jesus” by Richard DeLong (1951-1994) and “O nata nux” by Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585).
DeLong’s anthem uses the familiar text of “Fairest Lord Jesus” (hymn 383 in The Hymnal 1982) but is set to an original tune.
Tallis’ “O nata lux”
is a setting of the anonymous text which is the office hymn at Lauds of the Feast of the Transfiguration:
O Light born of Light, Jesus, redeemer of the world,
with loving-kindness deign to receive suppliant praise and prayer.
Thou who once deigned to be clothed in flesh for the sake of the lost,
grant us to be members of thy blessed body.
Sunday’s postlude is "Deo Gratias" from
Mass for the Parishes by François Couperin (1668-1733). Couperin inherited the post of organist at St. Gervais à Paris at the age of 11, following his father’s death. Only two extant works bear witness to Couperin’s 55 years in the organ loft, the
Messe à l’usage des paroisses (Mass for the Parishes) and the
Messe à l’usage des Couvents (Mass for the Convents). Both works were published as Couperin’s
Livre d’Orgue in 1690 and constitute his earliest known music. Couperin’s two organ masses are so assured stylistically that, until 1930, they were believed to be the work of his father, but closer examination of external evidence revealed the two masses were the product of the son.
See you
Sunday,
Christin Barnhardt & Robert Matthews
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