Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

5-6pm Parish Dinner & Shelter setup in Drake

5:30-6:15pm K-5 singers rehearse for Advent Lessons & Carols (youth to help with dinner & St

Nicholas festival)

6:15pm Installation of the Boy Bishop & St Nicholas Festival (Nave)

7-8pm Choristers rehearse with Adult Choir for Lessons & Carols

7-9pm Adult Choir Rehearsal

Thank you for your fidelity and generosity! We hope to have between 180-200 pledges. We had 182 last year. If you haven't had the opportunity to pledge, you can do so by clicking the button below.

As the Stewardship Campaign comes to a close and we begin to consider the future needs of the church, did you know that St. Timothy's can receive non-traditional gifts from your brokerage and retirement accounts? Often, making these types of gifts offers tax advantages and allows you to accomplish your charitable goals with minimal effort.  

With the stock market at an all-time high, you might consider supporting St. Timothy's with a gift of appreciated securities, which allows you to avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciated portion of the stock's value while at the same time deducting the full fair market value.  

If you are 70 1/2 or older with an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), you can support St. Timothy's with a qualified charitable distribution directly from your plan administrator to the church without having to count the distribution as income.  

If you are interested in supporting St. Timothy's with a non-traditional gift, please consult with your financial advisor first (we aren't qualified to give tax advice) and then communicate with Chris Ervin (336-765-0294 or chris@sttimothys.ws). If you would like to contribute this year by way of transfer of securities, initiate the transfer by the 12th of December.

From the Organist, Dr. Mark Ardrey-Graves

Last Sunday, you may have noticed a very slight change in the wording of our Sunday bulletins: the words "Prelude" and "Postlude" have been replaced with the word "Voluntary." In the grand scheme of the liturgy, this is fairly insignificant, but nevertheless points to an intentionality with our language in worship. 

Technically, the instrumental music played by the organ at the beginning and conclusion of the Mass falls outside the liturgy proper: you will find no mention of it in the Book of Common Prayer. However, playing music on the organ before, during, and after the Mass has a venerable pedigree, particularly in the Anglican tradition, where such music is described by the title "Voluntary" as far back as the year 1500, if not before. The word itself is descriptive of the original practice of organists improvising music at the conclusion of the liturgy. Prelude is a younger word, having its origins in music collections of the 16th century, often in a secular context, and later associated with music of the theatre. Postlude is an even newer word, essentially a portmanteau of "post-" (after) and prelude, and not really encountered until the late 19th century. 

Using the word "Voluntary" in the place of "Prelude" and "Postlude" is one more way of connecting with our Anglican heritage. It also serves to underscore that these musical offerings on the organ, while not technically component parts of the Mass, nevertheless flow into and out of it as prayerful reflections on, and responses to, the Divine Mysteries of the Holy Sacrament. They are not miniature concerts, but prayers without words. As the organ plays these Voluntaries, you are invited to offer the silent prayers of your own heart along with the prayer of the music.

-Mark Ardrey-Graves

From Christin

Some of Sunday morning's hymns will also be part of our Service of Advent Lessons & Carols, which is this Sunday, December 10 at 5pm. Please come continue your Advent preparations and support St Timothy's choirs. Invite a friend!

Voluntary:

Freu dich sehr (Psalm 42), Georg Böhm

Hymns:

Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding, No. 59

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, No. 66

There's a voice in the wilderness crying, No. 75

Humbly I adore thee, No. 314

Comfort, comfort ye my people, No. 67

9am choral anthem:

O thou that tellest, from "Messiah," GF Handel, Sarah Love Taylor, mezzo-soprano

11am choral anthem:

This is the Record of John, Orlando Gibbons, Tony Zanghi, tenor

Voluntary:

Fughetta: Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, Johann Sebastian Bach

See you Sunday,

Christin

My wife and I are both very touched by the “pounding” we received this past Sunday. I have to say, I had never heard of this tradition before coming to St. Tim’s, but I like it! Sharing breakfast with our new church family and seeing all the gifts and notes of welcome – along with the awesome bunting and decorations – really made us feel not only welcome but celebrated. (By the way, that bunting now hangs prominently in my office window, giving me something cheerful to look at besides the bare trees of near-winter.) On behalf of both Sam and myself, thank you so much to everybody who gave us something and to all of you for such a gracious welcome.

My mind cannot help but connect our pounding to the themes of this season of Advent. As Father Steve preached this past Sunday, Advent is about preparing ourselves for three comings of Christ: the first as a babe in a manger 2,000 years ago (which we remember on Christmas), the second in the future in glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, and the third here and now in our hearts. Advent is a time to ask ourselves, how will we receive Christ when he arrives? How will we ponder anew the mystery of the Incarnation, of Almighty God dwelling in the flesh of a baby, and what fruit will we find as a result? How will we prepare ourselves, by repentance and amendment of life, to be ready when he returns on the Last Day? How will we look for his hand at work in the world around us and hear his voice speaking to us? Finally, what will we give him when he comes to us, now and in the future? Will we give him a pound of this or that, a little piece of ourselves?

In her wonderful Christmas Carol, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” the great Anglo-Catholic poet Christina Rossetti writes, “What can I give him, poor as I am?/If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb./If I were a wise man, I would do my part./ But what I can I give him: give my heart.” Our heart – that is, our whole selves. Let us endeavor to give ourselves anew, every day, to our Lord, as he gives himself to us.

Children's Formation is looking for a few more volunteers for Sunday mornings during the 9am mass and during the formation "hour". Please let Katie Bryant know if you are willing to help in a Godly Play or Catchesis of the Good Shepherd group (no training necessary--we will tell you all you need to know to assist.) ​katie@sttimothys.ws

I wanted to take the opportunity to provide an update on our annual mission trip to Costa Rica. As you can imagine with Bishop Monterroso’s move to the United States the Diocese of Costa Rica, and its leadership, have been working to carry on with his vision and God’s plan for their Diocese. Allie Norman was hired on as the new Companion Officer this summer and has been working with church leaders to decide on and prioritize projects for the upcoming year.  

We have tentative plans to make our annual pilgrimage to San Jose from Feb 25th- Mar 3rd. I hope to have plans and details for our mission trip finalized within the next two weeks so that we can organize our missioners and make travel plans. If you are interested in going to Costa Rica in 2018 please call me at 336.682.9966 or email me at sacristan@sttimothys.ws.         Peace, Dwayne McFerrin

As you make your own Christmas shopping lists, consider including wishes from our Angel Tree to make the holidays merry for others too. The Angel Tree is in the downstairs hallway of the church by the chalkboard wall. There are tags on the tree to support of our St.Tim's Overflow Shelter and provide a meal for a family through New Communion Mobile Food Pantry (we are still collecting pasta too!). There are wonderful handmade mittens on the tree that you can gift to others for Christmas as you make a donation to City with Dwellings in their honor. Checks can be made to City with Dwellings for mitten donations.  

More tags will show up after Las Posadas (Dec.18) with the wishes from the kids of Anthony's Plot. All gifts can be returned under the tree with tags on them--the shelter gifts do not need to be wrapped, but please wrap the children's gifts. The children's gifts need to be returned by January 4th to be delivered by the magi at the Feast of the Epiphany. Thank you for sharing with these important ministries this Advent!

Join us on Monday, December 18 at 5pm for Las Posadas at Anthony's Plot (2323 Sunnyside Ave.). We will gather to parade around the Sunnyside neighborhood singing and searching for shelter for the Holy Family. This is a wonderful Latin American tradition that we celebrate with our friends at Anthony's Plot each Advent. After shelter is found, there is a feast and celebration at Trinity Moravian Church's fellowship hall. Children are visited by the magi who receive their Christmas wishes and return at Epiphany with gifts. All ages are welcome for the caroling or the whole evening! Wear clothes appropriate for the weather as we will be caroling outdoors. Flashlights are also helpful. Anyone who would like to help with singing--please let katie@sttimothys.ws know and I'll send you the music ahead of time.  

Our Women's Overflow Shelter opens in just over a month on Dec.1. We will open our hearts and our doors to women who have no other place to rest, and each night we'll offer hospitality and community support as we work towards the goal of housing for all.  

Now is the time for groups and individuals to sign-up for spots to serve. If you have served at the shelter before--the volunteer roles will be the same. We are asking people to sign-up to help with Check-In, Dinner, Snack Bags, and Overnight spots. Save your spots today!  

The sign-up website is   http://signup.com/go/sttimsoverflow

Thanks in advance to all who come together as community to offer hospitality to our homeless guests this winter. We are changing lives (our own, our guests, even our city) one relationship, one meal, one shared evening at a time. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or if you're looking for other ways to serve. Feel free to share this link with others who want to volunteer, too! We will offer on-site volunteer training each evening at 7pm for volunteers serving that evening--more info on other trainings coming soon.  Hope to see you at the Shelter! 

Thanks & Peace,

Katie​

katie@sttimothys.ws

I recently joined a book club created by the counselor at my children’s elementary school. I excitedly bought the book “UnSelfie, Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” and dug in. At about a quarter of the way in, I chuckled to myself because nothing in this book was new to me or my children. The most important topics addressed— from developing a moral identity to understanding the needs of others to practicing kindness—are key tenets of our faith. I don’t need to follow the daily activities provided by the author, my children are developing their moral core every day thanks to the regular formation they receive at church. My children are far from perfect but I see them strive to be like Jesus, and their moral development is consistently evolving. I remember when Piper was 3-years-old and I cranked up the volume to “Highway to Hell” from AC/DC on the radio and Piper solemnly stated, “I don’t think Father Steve would like you listening to this” (we still laugh hysterically at this!). And now I overhear her with her peers explaining that her faith is very important to her and that it guides her daily actions (this made me cry). Her little brother, Beck, often asks questions about what it means to stand up for what’s right and how this can be applied in his own life. They are on their own journeys in Christianity and I am so grateful to our Children’s Minister Katie Bryant and Director of Music Christin Barnhardt, as well as the entire St. Timothy’s clergy and staff, who support our children in their spiritual development. In my opinion, this is not a journey that can be undertaken in a silo—guiding our children toward a moral life is the work of the church. And I am so glad to be a part of this one.

We have a limited number of St Timothy's stickers (perfect for car windows). If you would like one, they will be in the office and in the narthex on Sunday. We will reorder to meet the demand.

If you put the sticker on your car, send us a picture!