January 29, 2017 | The External Solemnity of SS Timothy and Titus
The Marytrdom of St Timothy
Ten Minutes on Wednesday
There were a brief series of moments after Evensong last Wednesday that I wish I could have captured so that everyone could experience it. Wednesdays are the longest days at St Timothy’s. My day alone consisted of the usual Wednesday routine of Morning Prayer, Mass in the Church, Lectionary Bible Study, Mass in the Chapel, Weekly Warden’s Meeting, Rosary, Shrine Prayers, Parish Dinner and Evensong. Those were the scheduled events. Needless to say, when the day is done, I am spent. Back to those extraordinary brief moments. Evensong was amazing. 84 souls were present, half of those were in the choir. Young choristers, their mothers in cassock and surplice, and young boys singing the Canticles. But that’s not all. One of our more challenging guests was with us at dinner. Then she stayed for Evensong. This guest, who lives with mental illness and is sometimes unpredictable, stayed for the entire service and thanked us for Evensong and its beauty. As she walked out of the church, Katie Bryant said it’s amazing what happens when you treat someone like a human being. She was right. The experience of Evensong and all that went into it hung in the air like incense (for those who don’t like incense, it hung in the air like a descant sung by a boy soprano!). Before I left the narthex, Katie Bryant returned and told me that there was a family (father and four children) would be spending the night in ECW. They had been sleeping in their van and had approached the Salvation Army for a bed, who then called us to see if we could house them for one night while they made room for the next night. Katie told me the father would like to meet me so before taking off my vestments, I went down to ECW and met this wonderful family as they had dinner and played Yahtzee (I later learned that Parker Hunt, former TAP intern, read them bedtime stories). I then went down to Drake Hall to check in on our other guests who were checking in. There were 25 souls on Wednesday night, some I knew and some I didn’t. Our volunteers were were humming like a well-oiled machine, some were checking the guests and sorting the bins, others were helping with food, and others were talking to the guests. Finally I made my way back to the Undercroft and toward my vesting room when I met a Winston-Salem Police Officer walking down the hall. Nothing was wrong and no one was in trouble, but she was taking advantage of our St Michael Law Enforcement Chapel and Hospice. She was so very grateful for this ministry and says she uses it all the time on the 3rd shift. It took me longer to write these experiences than to live them, but there were profound images of what the Church is supposed to do, and this was only ten minutes of one night. I also love how these experiences flowed out of Evensong, as our work should always flow out of prayer. It was also a reminder that, like an iceberg, so much of the work of this parish is under the radar and unnoticed. Our motive is adoration and not adulation, but I do think it’s important especially on our patronal feast, to share this work. By adding your prayers to our common prayer, you are a part of our mission. By supporting St Timothy’s with your gifts, you are a part of our mission. By giving of your time, you are a part of our mission.
Sunday's Music | Christin Barnhardt
This Sunday's  organ prelude, postlude, and choral anthem were composed by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), a German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor in the early Romantic period. "How lovely are the messengers" is from Mendelssohn's oratorio "St Paul." Mendelssohn and his friend Pastor Julius Schubring began writing the libretto in 1832 (combining passages from Acts and parts of the Old Testament) and Mendelssohn started composing the music in 1834. "St Paul" was premiered in Düsseldorf in 1836, and premiers in England, the rest of Europe, and the United States followed soon thereafter. It remained a popular work during Mendelssohn's lifetime, but is no longer as frequently performed as his oratorio "Elijah."  

Part Two of "St Paul," which includes "How lovely are the messengers," tells of mission of Paul and Barnabas. Since St Paul was St Timothy's companion and mentor who he met on one of his missionary journeys, it seems appropriate to sing this piece  this Sunday  as we celebrate St Timothy's Feast Day:

How lovely are the messengers that preach us the gospel of peace.
To all the nations is gone forth the sound of their words.


Prelude:
II. Andante religioso, from Sonata No. 4 in B-flat Major, Felix Mendelssohn

Hymns:
I come with joy to meet my Lord, No. 304
The King of love my shepherd is, No. 646
God is love, and where true love is, No. 577
The people who is darkness walked, No. 126
Glorious things of thee are spoken, No. 522

Anthems:
How lovely are the Messengers, Felix Mendelssohn
11am : Choristers and Choristers' mothers: Make me a light, Philip Wilby

Postlude:
I. Allegro con brio, from Sonata No. 4 in B-flat Major, Felix Mendelssohn

See you  Sunday ,
Christin
Children and Outreach | Katie Bryant
Katie
Children

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 & help them find their class.  This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of St.Timothy with Parish Meeting in Drake Hall.   While parents are at the meeting, all children K-5th will gather in C-5 to learn more about St.Timothy, birth to PreK will be in nursery, and youth will be in the youth room.  Parents, please pick up your children from their classes in the downstairs hallway.

A 7-Minute Trade St Act
These are uncertain times and it's hard to know who will be affected by our actions or lack of action.  Wednesday morning I walked into the bus terminal on Trade Street on Wednesday morning to help one of our shelter guests with a transportation need.  Just as I do in parenting my own children, I struggle with whether my actions to "help" our guests with certain things are really "helping" them or leading to a sense of dependency and entitlement.  We offer bus tickets to shelter guests for specific needs that will help them towards independence: to go to a job interview, to go to a doctors appointment, to obtain needed documents, to apply for an apartment (to name a few).  This particular guest has a valid need--so I went to "help" her out.  

I walked in the door to the bus terminal and immediately a man I recognized approached me to say hello--he was a guest from St.Tim's shelter a few years back.  He introduced me to another man, who shared with me that the Overflow Shelters helped him get into a permanent bed at Samaritan Inn and he was so grateful.  A current guest at St.Tim's walked up to share with me that she had a job interview that afternoon and asked for my prayers. Two more men I had never met before, who are staying at First Presbyterian's Overflow Shelter, wanted to thank me for working so hard to make sure they were safe each night.  Another St.Tim's guest came to share with me that she was asking her home church to help buy our shelter some bus tickets.  And not one of our guests asked me to give them a single thing--except a hug.    

For these 7 minutes--I felt the enormity of what we're about with City with Dwellings and the Overflow Shelter.  It was much like a scene in a Broadway musical, where one person begins a solo on stage, and then one-by-one people join in the song, and before you can blink it's a movement that changes the whole theatre and pulls the audience in too.  Only our scene doesn't end with the drop of the curtain; more and more continue to join in this movement that is taking a hold of our entire city.  Night after night, working hard to make sure logistics are in order, guests are well-taken care of, crises are averted, and that we stick to our basic philosophy of hospitality--it gets hard to see this bigger picture.  We only see the person who needs the bus pass and wonder if she's really going to use it for good.  Today  in 7 minutes  on Trade Street, I got a glimpse of the Kingdom.  Regardless of what may be going on in the rest of the world, I am confident that God is at work in Winston-Salem. In ways beyond our comprehension, in the most unlikely of ways at the most unlikely of places--the Kingdom is near.  Thanks be to God!  

Overflow Shelter Needs:  Money for bus tickets (City with Dwelling staff can purchase some tickets at half-price), women's underwear, white crew socks, and more sweatpants/pajama pants (sizes M-XXL). 
Katie Harper | Family Matters

This year at the shelter, a guest from last year marched through the door, locked eyes with me and loudly bellowed “Sister Katie! I’m home! You miss me?” I laughed and gave her a hug, welcoming her back. As much as we hope our guests will be somewhere safer and better than our shelter, it is good to see them safe and well again after the months apart. 

We focus a lot on what we do for our ladies because we want to do it well. We want to make sure they are safe, given a warm meal, loved, given community, and discipline. This season in particular has shown me exactly how much they give back to me. When Paul and I became engaged and I returned to the shelter, I had hugs and congratulations. A few guests had known before I did! Last week, my future mother-in-law joined us at the shelter for check-in and Paul proudly told everyone, “this is my mom!” and our guests responded enthusiastically. Last weekend, a dear friend of mine from college overnighted and I felt gratitude watching our shelter family embrace her.

Family can be dysfunctional - the shelter is not easy. There are power dynamics at play. I have had to tell my “sister” no many times. And yet, these women share their lives with us and we share ours back. Opening ourselves is part of Christ’s transformation in us, recognizing ourselves in our guests. St. Timothy’s is home to so many, physically for our guests but this place has been spiritually home for many of us. And with that home comes responsibility. 

Join the family - sign up to volunteer in the narthex at the blue laptop or email katie.harper@sttimothys.ws
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.