Christmas at St. Timothy s. 3 pm Worship & Little Ones Pageant. 10 am Communion & Carols

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1 Christmas at St. Timothy s Christmas Eve 3 pm Worship & Little Ones Pageant December 2018 The newsletter of St. Timothy s Episcopal Church Danville, CA 5 pm Candlelight Communion & Storytelling 8 pm Candlelight Communion with Christmas Carols starting at 7:45 pm Christmas Day 10 am Communion & Carols Dec 30 8:30am and 10am --- regular worship. Jan 1 st No New Year s Day service Merry Advent, I hope you survived Thanksgiving. If you are like my family, Black Friday was a non-event thank you expedited shipping and online retail. This year Advent starts on Dec 2 nd. All the readings are a little different than what they should be; there are no chestnuts roasting over open fires. It s all about preparing ourselves for the second coming of Jesus (adult Jesus, not baby Jesus). But don t worry, there are plenty of Christmas-esque things going on at St. Timothy s. Personally, I take it as one of my great fatherly joys to sing Christmas songs loudly and badly to my children. They are good Episcopalians and don t want to hear Christmas music before Christmas, but I persist nonetheless. Speaking of singing, we will be having a hymn sing on the Sunday December 16 th after the 10 a.m. service. More December happenings: Dec 7 th -- Baking Saint Nicholas cookies. Marie-Claire MacDougall mcmac112@gmail.com is leading the charge. Please her if you would like to take part. Dec 8 th Teddy Bear Tea -- our own Don Perry reprises Santa. More details inside. Dec 8 th --Behold a Star- Chamber Choir Festival - 7pm in the Parish Hall Dec 9 -- Second Sunday of Advent Allen Hirashiki is St. Nicholas and we will have an iteration of St. Lucy. Cookies and coins after church. Dec 16 th Hymn Sing after 10am service. I will talk about the hymns and Darita will help us sing. Dec. 16 th -- The Gift of Love: A Christmas Experience for Children 1 pm 4pm at Saint Timothy's, finishing at 4pm with a candlelight worship & carols with children. I will flying to Texas on my birthday, aka Boxing Day, aka December 26 th and will return to Danville in January ready for the new year with you all. Todd 1 P a g e

2 HELP NEEDED TO PUT UP THE LITURGICAL ART FOR ADVENT Epiphany Liturgical Art On Sunday, December 23 rd, after the services. We will need three or four people to help us with ladders and to hang the banner. We ll have Christmas music and cookies to make us merry. It should take about 2 hours. Please let Leslie Firth, lesliefirth@comcast.net, know if you can lend a hand. Thanks especially to the Firths, the Wills and our whole altar guild team for our Christmas preparations. CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Christmas Eve at 3:00 pm we welcome all angels and shepherds to join us for our Christmas pageant. We will have simple costumes to wear as children enter church. We will tell the Christmas story for our children, sing Christmas carols and celebrate Holy Communion together. There will be a rehearsal for our narrators for the 3:00 service on December 23 rd after the 10am service. Questions? Contact Sherri Cobaugh, sherri_cobaugh@hotmail.com or Karen Anderson, willseekb@aol.com Christmas Eve at 5:00 pm our older children and youth will narrate the Christmas story, with angels and the Archangel Gabriel. Come celebrate with Christmas carols, Holy Communion and culminating with our candlelit Silent Night (outside weather permitting). There will be sign-ups for youth 3rd & up to read parts of the Christmas story. There will be a rehearsal for our narrators for the 5:00 service, December 23 after the 10 am service with the microphones.. Questions? Contact Cathy Hager, cathager@comcast.net BEHOLD A STAR 2018 CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL OF CHAMBER CHOIRS Beginning with a love for choral music and the desire to inspire students of choral music, Darita Seth, created the Christmas Festival of Chamber Choirs. It was conceived with the vision of bringing together students of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status together to create breathtakingly beautiful music without the environment of competition. Watch and listen as some of the area's top high school ensembles present their own holiday music as well as join together as one epic Christmas festival honor choir. This year's concert, Behold A Star, will feature the top choirs from Dougherty Valley High School, Monte Vista High School, Mt. Eden High School, and Castro Valley High School. Saturday, December 8, at 7pm. Tickets are $25/general admission at the door or Click here for presale tickets! 2 P a g e

3 Sunday, December 16 th - 1:00-4:00 PM The Gift of Love: A Christmas Experience for Children Saint Timothy s Episcopal Church 1550 Diablo Road, Danville Children (and their friends!) are invited to a Christmas Event K-5 th grade and preschoolers will participate in a fast paced Vacation Bible School (VBS) style afternoon. 1: PM: Learn Christmas Carols, Make a Christmas Ornament, Share a Snack, Listen to Stories, Enjoy Activities 4:00-4:15 PM Candlelight service with parents Pre-schoolers (suggested 4-5 years) are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. They will have age-appropriate activities and will join in the candlelight carol sing at 4:00. Registration forms at SaintTimothysDanville.org God s love came into the world as a Child SHELTER, INC. God s Hands Project Thursday, Dec. 13 th 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Please sign up at the red rolling God s Hands Bulletin Board in the parish hall. 3 P a g e

4 CHRISTMAS FOOD BOXES for MONUMENT CRISIS CENTER 2018 This annual project wouldn t happen without the help of so many people: the people who helped with sign-ups on Sunday mornings, John and Shelley Wells, who coordinated with the Alamo Safeway. In November, 104 families in St. Timothy s volunteered to donate 213 boxes of food for Monument Crisis Center clients! We packed 121 boxes at the Alamo Safeway on Saturday, November 24 th. On Saturday, December 1, volunteers and members of Boy Scout Troop 36 loaded all the boxes into a truck and transported them to Monument Crisis Center for distribution to their clients. the volunteers shown above (plus others) who came to Safeway and packed and loaded boxes and then came back to the Parish Hall to add stuffing, rice and beans, everyone who helped bag 400 pounds of rice and 400 pounds of beans everyone who paid for a box of food to be filled everyone who filled one or more boxes with food Members of Boy Scout Troop 36 and volunteers who helped load and unload the boxes at Monument Crisis Center A volunteer who picked up the grocery cards and delivered them to Monument Crisis Center Someone who donated Christmas cards to jazz up our boxes THANK YOU SO MUCH FROM MONUMENT CRISIS CENTER AND THE OUTREACH COMMITTEE 4 P a g e

5 You <Are tlr\vt~ed. ~o <A Te.dd.~ Se.<Ar Te.<A! Cof\fle.!o.rlflll'J o.lo\.d. fr~\1\d.s ))) Cof\fle. jol\1\ llo\. l:ke. fulo\. ((( 'Tis o. l:e.dd.'j beo.r Teo. l=or eve.r'jolo\.e. There'Ll be muslc o."'d. cro.f!:s Alo\.d. So.lo\.l:o. Clo.use l:oo Stscuih o.kd. Seo.r-go.f\fles There'Ll De so rlflt.t.ch l:o d.o~ 8rtlo\.g 'Jour beo.r-buc;{d.'j Akd. tf 'Jour bud.d.'j's o. co.!: 8rtkg htf\fl o.lol-\.9 8e. U: co.!:, bo.l:, or ro.e Cof\fle fo.""tl'j o.lo\.d. frt.ekd.s Cof\fle. jol\1\ lk l:ke fu.k 'Tts o. l:e.d.d.'j be.o.r Teo. For evero;olo\.e Sat. Dec. 8 2:00-4:00pm St. Timothy's Episcopal Church 1550 Diablo Rd, Danville,CA $5/child, $lomax/family RSVP: Roz Adekunle, aderozy@gmail.com (925) *Hosted by New Episcopal Women of St. Timothy's Church, Danville 5 P a g e

6 December 9 to January 6 We re collecting desperately needed warm, colored wool socks for Loaves and Fishes and Trinity Center. (Please, no white cotton. Recipients say they are too difficult to keep clean.) We are also gathering warm hats, knit scarves, mittens, gloves, and small hotel toiletries. Collection boxes will be located: In the entry of Grace House In the parish hall entry by the Outreach board In the entry to the church. Thank you for anything you can give. Two volunteers are needed to help with the drive. Contact: Leslie Firth, lesliefirth@comcast.net, Steve Mason, stevemason200@gmail.com 6 P a g e

7 NOAH S ARK PRESCHOOL New Student Parish Member Registration January 7-11, 2019 Please pick-up an enrollment form in the preschool office between 9 and 12 noon, Monday through Friday or download from the church website, Noah s Ark link. Return completed form to the preschool office by noon on Friday, January 11. If you would like to do a tour, please call the preschool at Tours are done on Friday at 9 am. ST. TIMOTHY'S STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM WRAPPING-UP ON A POSITIVE NOTE! A sincere thanks to all of you who have sent in your pledge information, and to those who will in the near future. This year's Program focused on the faithful testimony of those who shared their faith on Sunday mornings and by Davey Gerhard, the Diocesian Director of Development. The the spirit at the Covenant Sunday luncheon was enhanced by the members of the choir who inspired us with their sincere and genuine joy in song. I am pleased to announce that Carleen Carns, the Parish Pledge Secretary, estimates we will exceed last year's pledge total by several thousand dollars!! To date, and based on Carleen's estimates we have $671, in pledged income. A huge thanks to Pastor. Todd and Pastor Susan who preached so well during the Program and all the members of St. Tim's who shared their personal stewardship stories. The Stewardship Committee members faithfully planned, designed, decorated, served, stuffed envelopes and joyfully prayed throughout the program, making it a wonderful year. Thank you all! FOYER GROUPS December 9 th will be the last day to sign up for Foyer Groups. Please join us in this fun, relationship building activity. Groups meet once per quarter and share a meal, good conversation, and friendship. If you have questions, please reach out to Nancy Arroyoavila [NAA8@pge.com], Sally Jess, or Cathy Morris. 7 P a g e

8 Peg Miller has been volunteering at Options Recovery Services in Berkeley since Her involvement with Options has led her to gain certification as a drug and alcohol counselor and a license to be a Marriage and Family Therapist. Options offers services to anyone in need of treatment for alcohol and drug abuse through a comprehensive relationship with the courts and community. Services include outpatient treatment, mental health services and an onsite toxicology lab. This is Peg's story. Why I do what I do? Because the Jesus I believe in tells me to respond as follows: I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink I was a stranger and you welcomed me I was naked and you gave me clothing I was sick and you took care of me Remembering, as I do it to the least, I am doing it to Jesus, whom I love. Being part of St. Timothy s strengthens me in these responses, because I am part of a beloved community that responds to each other in this way. I love being part of a community of individuals who feel called to fulfill Jesus call, knowing that each of us responds in our individual very unique way. Also, God so richly blesses me when I respond to His call. Nothing in life is more delicious than being able to empower another to live the abundant life God desires for each and every one of us. My journey to work with the homeless began in I woke early in Chicago to train for a marathon and was greeted by homeless, it seemed, everywhere. I could hear God, calling me, go to the homeless. I was terrified of those people, and tried to interact, but it wasn t until 1995, when I stepped into St. Luke s Episcopal Church in Los Gatos, that I began answering God s call. St. Luke s has a homeless pantry and the work began. Of course, once I was obedient to God, God provided all the strength and power. I helped organize the churches of Los Gatos to participate in the work with the homeless at St. Luke s, joined an advocacy group in San Jose, which resulted in having a shelter in a church in downtown San Jose, and later, a shelter funded by the city of San Jose, for the homeless, who were taken out of the church auditorium, where I used to sleep. I began studying about homelessness at San Francisco State, so when I moved to Alamo in 1999, I began volunteering at Berkeley s drop in shelter on Center Street. There I met Dr. Coady and Tom Gorham in the fall of 1999, and I have been volunteering at Options ever since. Almost from the beginning of volunteering at Options, Parri Farris has been a miracle worker, connecting our congregation with the needs of Options, beginning with the furnishing of Options first home for its clients, and continuing to give St. Timothy s parishioners opportunities to serve. Sara Bossatti is another friend of Options, providing gifts during the Holiday Celebration for the women and providing lovely plants for each staff member at the annual Options Staff Retreat, hosted annually by St. Timothy s on Presidents Day. 8 P a g e

9 Since the beginning, Options has served about 11,000 clients. I gained certification as a drug and alcohol counselor, licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist and continue to learn from the clients and the amazing staff at Options. Options continues to develop a model of serving the most addicted and mentally ill, to support them in regaining a life of joy and abundance. What began in 1999, at the age of 55 for me, continues to be work that inspires me. I see God s redeeming love every day. I see God s transformative work on a daily basis and feel absolutely supported in this work by St. Timothy s. During this time of service the challenges in my personal life remind me of God s presence in all the moments of life. Options vision is a Godly one: One day, society will deal effectively and compassionately with addiction and recovery. Every drug dependent person will have easy and immediate access to addiction treatment and recovery support services, with a resultant decrease in crime, homelessness and family dysfunction. Options mission is: to break the cycle of addiction, which causes homelessness, crime, and broken families to provide services open to anyone and immediately available to view treatment for alcohol and drug dependency as a human right, regardless of the ability to pay. Blessings and thanks for your loving kindness, prayers and contributions to empower God s work. Peg Miller "Why We Do What We Do" and is open to all of you who are involved in volunteer work (inside and outside of our parish) where parishioners can share their thoughts and experiences in the course of volunteering for many of the opportunities that we have. Submissions can be sent to the church office, parish@sainttimothysdanville.org. The Tidings deadline is the last Wednesday of every month. VESTRY HIGHLIGHTS NOVEMBER 2018 The vestry met in Grace House on Monday, November 19, at 6:30 pm. MOTIONS: St. Timothy s will cover the cost of the background check for the current parish members who are required to have a check per the Diocese and St. Timothy s policies. Discussion Items: Sustaining Earth, Our Island Home program ( sponsored by the Diocese of California. Once the training materials are developed, the vestry will test the program. Safe Church project roll-out see the motion listed above Parish members are welcome to attend Vestry meetings. The next meeting is on Wednesday, December 19, The minutes of the vestry meeting will be filed in the Parish Office after they are approved by the Vestry. Submitted by Sally Shea Potts, Vestry Clerk 9 P a g e

10 STEWARDSHIP Many of us cherish everything about the Christmas season -- except those incessant advertisements telling us to buy this and by that. We ask, Where s Jesus in all this commercialism? This is the right question. Though it asks us to examine every aspect of our lives, stewardship particularly challenges us to question the role money plays in our personal lives and our culture. Christmas presents are wonderful expressions of love that makes both giver and recipient feel good. At the same time, we want to be wary of advertising s lure to make us overspend, or to think that the cost of our gift is proportionate to our love. Most of all, we need to be sure that the main point of our Christmas is not the gifts we give, but the gift we receive from God Jesus. Here are some ideas: Challenge yourself to spend less for presents this year. Set a budget and stick to it. Attend worship regularly in Advent and Christmas. Give some handmade presents: A scarf or hat, a photo album, a batch of fudge, a card, a poem. Prayerfully read Advent daily devotions (Richard Rohr s Preparing for Christmas is amazing!). Give your time: a concert together, a shared meal, a day at a museum, a walk in the woods Use an Advent calendar to help you remember all that God has given you. Give service: wash a loved one s car, help clean the garage, paint a room, babysit for an evening. Play Christmas music that has religious themes (More Silent Night, less Frosty the Snowman. ) Instead of buying a present, make a donation to a charitable organization in honor of your loved one (or check out ELCA Good Gifts!). Make a generous year-end contribution to your congregation. Our thoughtful practices for Advent and Christmas not only make for good stewardship of our time, talents, relationships and money, they also help us to draw near to Our Lord and experience God s greatest gift to us. Mike Oliver- Stewardship Chair; moliver@municipalresourcegroup.com 10 P a g e

11 Financial Highlights TREASURER S REPORT- November 19, budget is based on 164 pledges totaling $650,300 To date, we have received additional 7 pledges 2018 Budget vs Actuals, through October Budget Actual Difference Pledge Income $604,499 $579,003 $(25,496) Other Income $ 36,058 $ 29,514 $( 6,544) Expenses $620,523 $593,504 $ 27,019 Income Pledge Income difference due to: Current year pledge Contributing income Prior year pledges received this year Other Income difference due mainly to: Plate offering Special gifts Operating support $176 over $(29,050) under $3,377 over $(3720) under $1716 over $(4448) under Contributing income budget may be about $35,000 too high for the year. Plate Offering budget may be $4,500 too high for the year. Operating support reflects flower donations budget may be $2,500 too high for the year and seasonality of contributions, i.e. contributions do not occur every month (e.g. Noah s Ark s contributions are over 9 months while school is in session). Expenses Operating expenses difference is the sum of lots of overs and unders, with main ones being: Personnel expenses $11,923 under $2,487 under Christian Formation $1,974 under Children & Youth Ministry $5,478 under Fellowship expenses $(6,671) over due to campus and rectory Facilities expenses maintenance. Submitted by Neal Matsunaga, Vestry Treasurer 11 P a g e

12 The Rev. Todd Bryant Rector (925) x.114; The Rev. Susan Geissler-O'Neil Associate Rector (925) x.113; Darita Seth Director of Music (925) x.115; Cynthia Chavez Noah s Ark Preschool Director (925) ; NoahsArk@SaintTimothysDanville.org CONTACT US Bev Matsunaga Facilities (Volunteer) (925) x.111; Facilities@SaintTimothysDanvi Liz Haughey Bookkeeper (925) x.116; Bookkeeper@SaintTimothysDanville.org Neal Matsunaga Treasurer (Volunteer) (925) x117; Treasurer@SaintTimothysDanville.org Emily Connell Office Administrator (925) x110; parish@ SaintTimothysDanville Carleen Carns Pledge Secretary (Volunteer) Pledges@SaintTimothysDanville.org Saint Timothy s Episcopal Church Diablo Road Danville, CA parish@sainttimothysdanville.org 12 P a g e