Volume 18 Issue 1 January 2021

Resources Online

While during this time of pan-demic we are unable to gather for worship in our beloved St. Timothy's, we are taking ad-vantage of the many resources being made available by our diocese. Some of these re-sources are informational and practical; some are pastoral. Especially commended is Bishop Wright’s podcast, “For People with Bishop Wright.” To access these resources and programs, simply click on this link https://www.episcopalatlanta.org/

Vestry Meeting Summary Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020—Virtual Meeting Action Items

Treasurers Report - The Vestry received, viewed, and ac-cepted the Treasurers Report as presented. Pledges are continuing to be received. The federal PPE forgiveness loan paperwork has been submitted to the bank,

Vestry Election Update – Our annual meeting was held vir-tually on December 6 with the election of two new Vestry Members to be seated for a three-year term starting January 1, 2021. They are Lyle Currier and Louise Purdy. They attended the meeting and welcomed and appreciated as new mem-bers of the Vestry.

Recognition of Service Acknowledgments - Senior Warden Jeff Adair thanked out-going Vestry member Renee Hughes and out-going Junior Vestry Warden for their three years of service on the St. Timothy’s Vestry. Thanks, and gratitude was given to both. Thank you cards and gift certificates have been mailed to our two out-going Vestry members. Also, the Senior Warden informed us that through the generosity of the parish membership this holiday season we were able to provide Father Frank and Church Administrator Kerry Nance with monetary Christmas gifts and cards. The Vestry also thanked our church treas-urer, Jeannie Vaughan, and our vestry secretary, Terry Overlander, for their ser-vice over the past year. A thank you recognition has also been mailed to our church musicians David Smith and Jane Davis. They have worked to make sure music is still a part of our weekly virtual services.

Search Committee Update – Mike Davis, Chair of the Priest Search Commit-tee, has continued to be in contact with possible priest. In mid-January the Ves-try will conduct a virtual interview this candidate. If hired, they would not be able — Continued on Page 2

The Virtual Worship Services of St. Timothy's Epis-copal Church are available on-line each week. The current worship service is usually available for view-ing on Saturday

evening. Go online on your computer or other device and search YouTube using the search phrase, "St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, Calhoun, GA." You may also link through our Facebook page at https://

www.facebook.com/sttimscalhoun . All of our previous virtual services can be viewed on YouTube as well.

Our services are consistently viewed by many people including our own parishioners and friends but also by some of our family members and new friends in different states and communities. The viewership continually ranges between 45 to 80+ times that the video is opened. Peace be with you.

Please watch your email for this

Wednesday’s edition of Fr. Frank’s

Wednesday Musings.

ST. TIMOTHY'S PARCHMENT

CONTACTS

Office: 706-629-1056 Fr. Frank Wilson, priest

cell: 678-643-0616 frankfwilson121@gmail.com

You can also follow us on Facebook at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church Calhoun GA

or our webpage https://www.sttimothycalhoun.org/

Church Virtual Meetings

While there are no in-person meetings, committees will be conducting virtual meetings—

Coffee Hour - Sunday, Jan. 10, AND Sunday, Jan. 24, at noon

Vestry - Sunday, Jan. 17, at 12:00

to start until sometime in February at the earliest. Vestry members are to submit at least two questions. The Vestry will discuss and organize the interview process prior to meeting with this candidate. Mike Davis and Jeff Adair will co-moderate the interview. Father Frank supports us in our priest search process.

Acquisition of items from Church of the Transfiguration in Rome – Jeff, Fr. Frank, and Kathleen Shirley met with the Priest and church administrator at Transfiguration Church in Rome which will be shut-tering its doors permanently after December 27

th. We were offered the opportunity to see if there were any

inventory items to be transferred to our church. St. Timothy’s was given first choice to puruse their invento-ry. The items would be given to St. Timothy’s at no cost. Some items were brought to our church that day. The bulk of items will need to be picked up in early January.

Audio/Video Tech Equipment and Grant – Jeff will pursue a grant offered by the diocese to help with the purchase of audio/video equipment necessary for virtual services. He will check to see if it’s still available.

Sacred Space Pilgrimage Discussion – The idea of opening the church for prayers and meditation termed “Sacred Space Pilgrimage” was recently suggested by a few parishioners. The option was looked into and discussed. Fr. Frank suggested a revisit in the spring—with warmer weather and status of COVID-19.

Virtual Christmas Eve Service Update – Frank shared that it is recorded and ready. Jane Davis, David Smith and oth-er musicians put together music for 20 minutes before the service.

Update on Facilities and Repairs and Discussion on Protocols – Update provided but no action at this time.

Miscellaneous – Our second mid-month parchment went out with extra service options and resources in it. Thanks to Terry Overlander and Dan De Guire for their work with Outreach Committee and the VAC Giving Tree. 5 families and 23 children were helped. Virtual Church videos and Facebook continue to have positive responses.

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“Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing. “

- Bishop Michael B. Curry, Christmas message December 7, 2020

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/12/07/presiding-bishop-michael-currys-

2020-christmas-message-2020/

The (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, were distinguished for-eigners in the Gospel of Matthew and Christian tradition. They are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts. They are reg-ular figures in traditional accounts of the nativity celebrations of Christmas and are an important part of Christian tradition.

Matthew is the only one of the four canonical gospels to mention the Magi. Matthew reports that they came "from the east" to worship the "king of the Jews". The gospel never mentions the number of Magi, but most western Christian denominations have traditionally as-sumed them to have been three in number, based on the statement that they brought three gifts. Their identification as kings in later Christian writings is probably linked to Isaiah 60:1–6, which refers to "kings [coming] to the brightness of your dawn" bearing "gold and frankincense". Further identification of the magi with kings may be due to Psalm 72:11, "May all kings fall down before him".

Page 3 ST. TIMOTHY'S PARCHMENT

The School for Christian Practice Book Study The first of-fering of the School for Christian Practice will be a four-week book study to re-flect on Diana Butler Bass’s work Christianity After Religion. Our shared conversa-tions and ex-plorations of the book will help us gain a deeper understanding of the chal-lenges facing congregational ministry today. Over the four weeks, partici-pants can choose either Monday or Tuesday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m., de-pending on their schedules. The class will begin the week of January 18 and will be hosted on Zoom for easy ac-cess. Click here to access the link each week.

The School for Christian Practice is an intentional framework hosted at Grace Episcopal Church in Gainesville that seeks to engage the challenges and opportunities of congregational ministry by exploring practices of prayer, stages of faith, scriptural proficiency, and sacramental ethics. It is our hope that, by nurturing an awareness of the Spirit’s presence, we can foster a trans-formation of our hearts and live more compassionately. There is no set fee for these sessions, but if you are so moved, you can contribute to Grace or to your local parish community to continue the much-needed work around spiritual formation.

To learn more or to sign up to receive monthly news, simply email the Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham at stuart@gracechurchgainesville.org.

It might seem unbelievable given that the “Christmas creep” now begins before Halloween, but the true Christmas season actually starts on Christmas Day itself. That’s right: December 25 marks the official start of the 12 days of Christmas, the Christian tradi-tion that shares its name with a relentlessly stick-in-your-head Christmas carol.

Here are a few things you may not know about the song and the season.

What are the 12 days of Christmas? The 12 days of Christmas is the period in Christian theology that marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings’ Day). The four weeks preceding Christmas are collectively known as Advent which begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on December 24.

ST. TIMOTHY'S PARCHMENT Page 4

**Any person who wishes to be left off this list please contact the Parish Office.

COVER TO COVER Book Club

On Monday, Jan. 18, our Church Book Club will meet virtually from the comfort of your home via Zoom starting at 6:45 PM to discuss BUSTER MIDNIGHT’S CAFE by Sandra

Dallas. “A wise and sassy narra-tor, marvelous characters, and a plot that blends Hollywood scandal, lifelong friendship, mystery and romance—these are the special-

ties served up in Sandra Dallas’s offbeat, inspired debut novel.” All are invited to join us for great reads and good conversation! Contact Roberta, 678-773-5655, to learn more about joining Zoom meetings!

Special prayers are offered daily for anyone requesting them from DOK members. Please call, text or email your concern to any DOK member—Kathleen Shirley, Colleen Currier, Jane Davis, Linda Phelps, Jackie Seger, Judy Mincey, Paige Smith or to Roberta Charbonneau at 678-773-5655 or email: rgchar77@gmail.com

The National Organization of DOK has a Facebook page that was started in 2011. There are frequent messages and prayers available there. https://www.facebook.com/The-Order-of-the-Daughters-of-the-King-Inc-232790893407744 Our Holy Cross Order at St. Timothy’s will have a virtu-al meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, 1/6, starting at 6:00. Watch your email for a n invitation to join the meeting. ALL ARE WELCOME! Please contact Roberta if you want to learn more about this ministry and join us..

TWO COFFEE HOURS! We miss our shared time together as a commu-nity of Christians and friends!

We are conducting virtual church coffee hours two Sundays per month. Bring your coffee and join us via ZOOM on - Sunday, Jan. 10, AND Sunday, Jan. 24, at noon

An invitation with the ZOOM link will be sent out from St. Timothy’s via email.

We’re happy that many folks have popped in to say hello and update us on how they’re doing during this restricted time.

We will be providing a link in an email from St. Tim’s that will appear in blue letters. Then you can click on that link. Should you not then con-nect or find that you are having trouble getting into the meeting you can call Roberta at 678-773-5655. If this is your first time entering a Zoom meeting you will probably want to begin the process about 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the gathering.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU TO ENJOY A CUP OF JOE!

Jan. 6 Julie Leggett

Jan. 10 Mary McCoy

Jan. 10 Kate Leggett

Jan. 11 Sally Tonsmeire

Jan. 31 Michael Haigler

Jan. 15 Anna Brown

Jan. 15 Deke Findley

Jan. 17 Reed Findley

Jan. 20 Tom Chaapel

Jan. 21 Jessie McCoy

Jan. 22 Allen Dutch

Jan. 26 Lyle Currier

Jan. 27 Kay Baxter

Jan. 28 Heath Richardson

Jan. 28 Annie Barnes

Jan. 29 Ron King