February 26, 2017 | Quinquagesima
Charity, Part II
If charity is difficult to define, or if our initial definition seems to lack sufficient substance, I imagine the same struggle will be true with the word virtue. In the Christian tradition we oftentimes use words and metaphors whose meaning and importance are assumed. We must pause and frequently define these terms and demonstrate why they are important. Otherwise, they become meaningless sounds that are disconnected from our life in Christ.

A virtue is a disposition that inclines a person to do good and avoid evil. This disposition to do good and avoid evil is not automatic and requires discipline on our part, or to put it another way, habits. Virtues have a purpose; they are not neutral. They are powers that help us act and to do so in such a way that brings us closer to beatitude or divine happiness. The moral life doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is the result of a life that has been purposely ordered in a certain way. It is ordered through prayer, reflection, good works, study, etc. These acts expand our capacity for virtue in our lives. In other words, virtue isn’t simply a quality to be desired, but it is a way of life.

Virtues are traditionally understood to fall into one of two categories: acquired or infused. Acquired virtues are dispositions that can be gained from imitation and repetition. For instance, one can acquire the virtue of temperance by learning the ways of temperate people. We can discipline ourselves to avoid going back to the buffet line for a second plate and, likewise, we can learn the dangers of eating too little food. Justice, temperance, prudence, and fortitude are known as the cardinal or moral virtues, and they are acquired. Anyone, through work, can have them.

Infused virtues are those given by God and cannot be picked up by observation and imitation. The infused virtues are faith, hope, and charity/love and are known as the theological virtues. We call them theological because they have as their end – their purpose – God. The only purpose for faith is to know God. The only purpose for hope is to trust in God. The only purpose for charity/love is to rest in God. These are the virtues mentioned by St Paul in 1 Corinthians 13: “Now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” Love is the greatest because in continues even in heaven. For there is no reason for faith or hope in heaven, but love is the very life of God.

The theological virtues are infused in our soul at the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Pay attention to the prayer Sunday after the children are baptized: “…Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.” Faith is the gift of an inquiring and discerning heart, knowing the truth of God. Hope is the courage to will and persevere, trusting that God is when we aren’t sure we are. Love is the spirit to know and love God above all else, even ourselves. We can’t know God, trust in him, or even love him without him working first in us. God works within us but never without our consent. He causes these dispositions but not without action on our part. While these gifts are in us and their causes are there, the actualization is contingent upon our desire.

As we welcome the newly baptized Sunday, we, too, take a vow to sustain them in the life in Christ. We are to model virtue and help them understand the gifts that God has given them and encourage them to want for their lives what God has willed. 
Holy Baptism
We are pleased to welcome Julianna Grace Johnston through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism this Sunday at 9am. Julianna is sponsored by Dan and Becky Johnston, Sinclair Seavey, Maegan Hemphill, and Cherilyn Rice.
Sunday's Music | Christin Barnhardt
Sunday's choral prelude,  Egil Hovland's "The Glory of the Father," is an adaptation of John 1, which is also the text for the Last Gospel at the  11am mass. It begins with the women singing in a chant-like style: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Hovland emphasizes the text as the tenors join in the phrase "we beheld the glory of the Father" and the basses join at the text "full of grace and truth."

The middle section begins with the men singing "In the beginning was the Word," and the full choir sings the remaining text mostly homophonically: "The Word was with God. In Him was life, and the Life was the Light of men. He came to his own, and his own received him not." The piece ends as it began, making it a ternary (ABA) form. Listen how Hovland takes care to highlight the words "glory" and "life." 

Hymns:
O wondrous type!, No. 137
Fairest Lord Jesus, No. 383
We know that Christ is raised and dies no more, No. 296
Alleluia! sing to Jesus, No. 460
Christ, whose glory fills the skies, No. 7

Communion Anthem:
O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright, Claudio Monteverdi
9am: Gabi Turner and Peter Ragonesi, violin
11am: Robert Faub and Amy McFerrin, flute

Postlude:
Fugue in G Major, Raymond Hawkins

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

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play continue to shape our children's faith at St.Timothy's.  The time our kids spend in wonder and exploration around the holy stories and the liturgies is not lost--we trust that God is already at work in them and it is the most fun to witness when they can proclaim it out loud!  When exploring the Good Samaritan story last week, one child remembered a time she tripped at school and no one stopped to help him up.  Another recalled a soccer game where a member of the opposite team helped her up after she slipped on a wet field.  Some children discussed how it isn't always convenient, or even cool, to help others out, but they know that it's what Jesus was trying to teach them to do.  I'm amazed at the connections the kids can make between their real-life stories and the stories they experience in Children's Formation.  Ask your children what they do in the Atrium and Godly Play--you might learn something from them!

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.

City with Dwellings

City with Dwellings is the collaborative group of churches, schools, and community groups that advocate and build community for our city's most vulnerable people. St.Timothy's has been an active member of City with Dwellings for the past 3 years.  This is the group that is entrusted by the city of Winston-Salem to run our Overflow Shelters, and this group has become an active and vital part of helping our homeless friends to get off the street and into homes of their own.  We believe that the opposite of homelessness not only housing, but also community--so we surround our people with support and love as they journey towards housing and then help them to sustain it through our low barrier and high accountability approach.  This week we are celebrating the work of City with Dwellings and taking a step towards a more official entity by hosting our first board meeting in our check-in space at 633 W.4th Street.  As we were preparing the space to share with our new board members, I found leftover Dove valentine chocolates and opened it up to read the message inside, "Sleep under the stars tonight".  In the spirit of romanticism for those of us of privilege, the image of sleeping under the stars, looking at the constellations, dreaming with one we love--this chocolate is spot on.  For our homeless guests, however, sleeping under the stars means they have no where else to go.  No warm, cozy house to return to when it gets too chilly, no bed to climb into, no family to welcome them in.  City with Dwellings hopes to offer this sense of warm hospitality, this hope of home, this support of family/community.  St.Timothy's does this each night through our Overflow Shelter.  Don't miss out--come and be a part of the story that keeps people from sleeping under the stars--and gives them rest and hope for the days to come.  Email katie@sttimothys.ws or go to www.citywithdwellings.org to sign-up or get more info. 

Shrove Tuesday & Charlie Lovett Book Launch
  SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKES followed by
CHARLIE LOVETT’S NEW BOOK LAUNCH
Tuesday, February 28
5:30-6:45pm: Pancake Supper in Drake Hall 
6:45-7pm: Book signing in Narthex
7pm: Book Launch in Nave 

New York Times  Bestselling author and St. Tim's member Charlie Lovett will share his new novel  The Lost Book of the Grail  at a launch event co-hosted with Bookmarks. Set in an English Cathedral, the  Lost Book of the Grail  is Lovett's third novel and features a missing medieval manuscript, a mystery involving the Holy Grail, and two protagonists that couldn't be more different—an old fashioned Englishman who loves books and a young American who has come to the cathedral to digitize the collection of ancient manuscripts.  Publisher's Weekly  called the book "thoroughly entertaining."  Kirkus Reviews  said it has " . . . a distinct Masterpiece Theatre Flavor."

Charlie's publisher, Viking Books, wrote: "Imbued with reverence and mythical storytelling, The Lost Book of the Grail  is a mystery of the kind that’s wildly popular in the entertainment world—think  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade  and  National Treasure,  not to mention Dan Brown’s  The Da Vinci Code —yet deeply ruminates on timeless themes like faith, perceived truth, and how the past has informed the present day. Here Lovett provides a wholly entertaining story that will not only make you smile and laugh, but also think—prompting readers to reconsider the important roles that spirituality, family, and, yes, reading, play in their lives." 

The evening will feature a presentation by Charlie, choral music by the St. Timothy's Choristers, and a display of actual medieval manuscripts from the rare book collection at Wake Forest. Books will be for sale and a signing will follow the presentation. The event is free and open to the public, so bring your friends.
The Our Lady of Walsingham Lamp 
is given to the Glory of God
and in memory of Jim Cardwell by Richard and Nancy Teska.
 

 

The St. Timothy Shrine Lamp
is given to the glory of God and in honor of their 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild by Wrenna and Andy Barney.
&
In memory of Josephine Teska by Richard and Nancy Teska.
 

 

The altar flowers are given to the Glory of Almighty God

for the blessing of Julianna Grace Johnston, 
for His grace in our lives for bringing her into our family and His own

by Becky, Dan, and Elizabeth Johnston.


 


 

 

The Sanctuary Lamp 
is given to the glory of God
with prayers for unity and peace in our parish, country, and the world by the Skarzynski Family.