January 22, 2017 | The Third Sunday after the Epiphany
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Fishers of Men (and women) 
LOL. BRB. IMHO. Ltr. Thx. Idk.  A great majority reading this know exactly what those abbreviations mean. Not only do the majority know them, but use them frequently (laugh out loud, be right back, later, thank, I don’t know, if you care you are still wondering). These shortcuts are necessary during a time when we there is a self-imposed limit of 140 letters in communication. Efficient as it may be, these shortcuts start to erode the beauty and power of language. Even I, someone who was never taught how to diagram a sentence in school and hates to proof my own writing, can tell the difference in how we speak, write, and ultimately think. One of the barriers that prevents the magnificence of language from falling off into some abbreviation abyss is the Book of Common Prayer. Of the 8 Eucharists celebrated each week, all but one is celebrated according to Rite I, the traditional language liturgy. My preference for Rite I isn’t rooted in an agenda of patriarchy (one of the critiques of traditional biblical and liturgical language) but in one of comfort and challenge. The comfort is seen in the rhythm of the words, a rhythm that digs out the caverns of memory. Of all the times the 23rd Psalm has been requested at a funeral, never have I received the request of “The Lord is my shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing.” We remember “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” This past Tuesday I was at a graveside committal for a person I did not know and a family I did not know. I did the committal from the 1928 Prayer Book and when I began the Lord’s Prayer, the gathered friends and family, decidedly not Episcopalian, joined in word for word: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name….” Yes, this is how most of us were taught, but the poetry of the words gives elasticity to our memories, enabling us to remember them when there are no books in front of us. Times such as bedsides and grave sides. The challenge comes in making a familiar text unfamiliar. We have to read it again and then again. We see it from a different perspective and perhaps a difference emphasis. Take this Sunday’s Gospel for instance. From Matthew 4 we have the famous scene of Jesus calling his first disciples, all of whom were fishermen at their boats. In the New Revised Standard Version, Jesus tells Peter and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” The King James, however, renders this verse “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Once more, I am not a grammarian and I do not pretend to be. But it seems to me that in the NRSV, “fish” is a verb (“I will make you fish for people”). In the KJV, “fishers” is a noun (“I will make you fishers of men”). One focuses on the action and the other focuses on the ontology. Such as, I play the piano, but Robert Matthews is a pianist. Both of these translations are correct. Jesus will teach us how to fish for people in the sense that we are bringing souls into the net of salvation and we given the vocation - the calling - of fishermen/women. It’s not just an activity, it is also an understanding of our purpose in life.
Chew on the language of the liturgy and explore different, even older, translations of the Bible. It’s a refreshing antidote from the abbreviated speech of Twitter-speak and from the awe-less renderings of the Word of God.
Pre-Annual Meetings Continue
The pre-annual meeting gatherings continue this week between the 9 and 11 mass in the chapel. This week, Fr Steve and members of the vestry will talk about capital campaign developments and the search for a curate.
Sunday's Music | Christin Barnhardt
Sunday's  processional hymn, "Thy strong word," echos the Epiphanytide theme of Light banishing the darkness. Written in 1961 by Lutheran Martin Franzman during his tenure at Concordia Seminary, this hymn is based on the seminary's motto  Anothen to Phos  (Light from above). Stanza 1 refers to creation when God "cleaved" (great verb!) the darkness, creating day and night. Stanza 4 is a doxology to the Trinty, named here as "Light-Creator," "Light of Light begotten," and "Light-Revealer."

stanza 1:
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness;
at thy speaking it was done;
for created light we thank thee,
while thine ordered seasons run:
Alleluia!
Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia without end!

stanza 4:
God the Father, Light-Creator,
to thee laud and honor be;
to thee, Light of Light begotten,
praise be sung eternally;
Holy Spirit, Light-Revealer,
glory be to thee;
mortals, angels, now and ever
praise the Holy Trinity.

The choral anthem,  Christoph Dalitz' setting of " Ubi caritas " (" Where charity and love are, God is there"),  alternates between unison chant and simple polyphony. 

Prelude:
IV. Cantabile, from Symphony No. 2, Louis Vierne

Hymns:
Thy strong word, No. 381
The people who is darkness walked, No. 126
Jesus calls us, No. 550
My God, thy table now is spread, No. 321
God is love, and where true love is, No. 577
I come with joy to meet my Lord, No. 304

Postlude:
Improvisation
Raymond Hawkins, organ

See you Sunday,
Christin
Children and Outreach | Katie Bryant
Katie
Children's Formation

This Sunday and every Sunday, PreK children (ages 3 and potty-trained to age 5) gather downstairs during the 9am mass for a time of songs, stories, wonder, and play in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd..  Parents can drop children off as early as 8:45am in our Atrium (room C-4).  Children join their families in mass at the passing of the Peace.

All children (PreK through 5th grade) can follow the wooden processional cross at the end of the 9am mass.  We will lead the children downstairs and help them find their class. Here is the list of 10:15am formation classes for the fall:

PreK Formation--Room C-2
K-2nd grade Catechesis of the Good Shepherd--Room C-4
3rd-5th grade Advanced Godly Play--Room C-5
Middle School & High School Youth Formation--Drake Hall youth rooms
Adult Small Groups--throughout the campus

All classes end just before the 11am mass.  Parents, please pick up your children from their classes in the downstairs hallway.
Outreach Updates

THANK YOU to all of the amazing volunteers who stepped up during the winter snow event to keep our shelter open all day long for our guests.  It is truly holy hospitality to open our doors shelter--especially to keep them open 24/7.  I have a new appreciation of "keeping our lamps trimmed and burning"--just when my own lamp felt as if it might go out, someone else showed up to keep it going.  Sheltering guests is hard, good work--and when the temperatures drop as they did this weekend--our service is indeed one of saving lives.  Winter weather will show up again this season--please contact Katie Bryant at katie@sttimothys.ws if you want to help keep our lamps burning during the coldest of days.  We are making a list of who to call on a moment's notice--will you join this growing group of willing souls?  When the weather reports call for snow or ice, be sure to check your email and Facebook for ways that you can help.  If you have a 4wd vehicle and are comfortable driving in the snow, we can put that skill to use too.  We can also use a freezer meal to keep ready at St.Tim's so our guests will eat no matter what the weather.  Along with preparing to keep your own families safe and stocked with bread and milk, remember our church is also committed to keeping our guests warm and fed.  Thanks to all who continue to keep the lamps burning at St.Tim's through sharing their time, their donations, and their talents with our guests.  
Our Lady of Walsingham Lamp
is given to the Glory of God and in honor our their grandchildren - Joseph and Anne Marie - by Jerry and Ann Sneed.
 

St Timothy Shrine Lamp
is currently not sponsored for January.
 
The flowers for the altars
 are given to the Glory of Almighty God and in memory of Betty Ann Austin by the Austin Family and in memory of parents Kathryn and Carmel Hoge and Mary Lou and Moses Daniels by Barnes and Pat Daniels.
 


 

 

Sanctuary Lamp
is given to the glory of God
and in honor of Fr. Steve Rice by the Machado Family.