Dear Parishioners:
Our responsibility as Catholic Christians is twofold. First, we are to praise, adore and give glory
to God. God has created us for a living
relationship with Himself, a relationship that begins for us in Time, but lasts
forever in Eternity. Second, we are to
serve God in our brothers and sisters by opening up to them through our witness
the Truth of God’s invitation to them to share in His Kingdom, in Time and in
Eternity. All else in the life of our
Church follows from these two central principles. If God is First in our lives, we will see
this clearly. If not, no matter how we
look at it, something will be askew. We cannot
be a true and living witness to Christ without acknowledging Him in word and
deed as our Lord. Worship in Spirit and
in Truth, and a Life of integrity and justice are the hallmarks of a disciple
of the Lord.
In the world around us, something different is
happening. God is consciously and with
full deliberation being removed from the public sphere. We live in a society that wants to become
secular. Freedom for Religion is not
meant to impose silence on Religion. On
the contrary, it is meant to allow free people to choose to live and share
their Faith in a way that has influence on the wider society.
The choice is up to each one of us. Will we stand for Freedom and Life, or will
we allow the culture around us to steal our freedoms in the name of secularity
and so to build a culture of death, that is a culture that is not open to God.
Our Fortnight for Freedom has now concluded, but our effort
to pray and study must go on. I invite
you to continue to make use of the prayer the U.S. Bishops proposed for our
prayer.Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
O God our Creator,
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Bill Faustner at the University of Notre Dame
Recently, Fr. Bill got to fulfill one of his dreams: to see the campus of Notre Dame for himself. He visited Notre Dame on the occasion of a Catholic Preaching Conference. Note the close resemblance between Fr. Bill and Christ the Teacher, informally known as Touchdown Jesus.
Celebrating our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy’s Community of
Faith.
We are looking at St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, since
Ephesus was the see where St. Timothy served as Bishop. This may offer some perspectives on the
Church and the Community among whom Timothy lived and ministered.
With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity
in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my
mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an
ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must. (Ephesians 6:18-20)Prayer is the heart of our unity as a Christian family. We pray to God for one another and for all our brothers and sisters in the human family. St. Paul’s invitation to prayer includes two notes of great importance. First, prayer and supplication must be done “in the Spirit.” We pray not only for the things that come from our own awareness of needs, but also for those things that the Spirit opens up to us. Second, Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for him as a preacher, so that He can preach clearly and boldly what must be preached in the name of the Gospel. This prayer is needed in our day as well. Do you pray for those who preach the Word to you? Do you ask others to pray that you too may preach clearly the Mystery of the Gospel?
This Week in Our History:
July 8-15
1963: The classroom
crucifixes are the gift of Father (Andrew) Nugent. They come from Italy and we are very grateful
to him for this wonderful gift to our new school.
During the past week arrangements were completed with Our
Lady of Bethlehem Convent for a Sister to teach one of the sections of our
first grade. The order is making a great
sacrifice to give us this help and we are deeply appreciative. It does not constitute an offer on their part
to take over the school this year, nor have we had an acceptance from any other
order.
1964: Our billing
for altar hosts shows that we had 21,000 Communions during the first six months
of the year. It is an impressive figure
but it does not average out to a high number per person. Are you going to Holy Communion as often as
you could, which ideally should be every time you attend Mass?
1968: There are
several good series on the race situation on TV this summer. TV can be very informative and aid our
understanding on these problems.
1969: Boys
Football. All boys who do not weigh over
120 lbs. and are in the 6, 7, 8 grades are eligible to play. You do not have to attend St. Timothy School
but you must be a member of the parish.
Boys going out for football should start conditioning at once. Start by running around the block once or
twice a day.
1983: The parish
welcomes Tim Hayes, one of the theology students of our diocese, who will be
here for three months as part of his training for priesthood.
Paradox
I asked God for strength that I might achieve;I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life…I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped
for.Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.I am, among all, most richly blessed!
1984: Our Children
Our children are a temporary trust from God. They are mine, only in the sense that God
counts on me to love them, discipline them and train them. They were not given to me so that I could
boast of their good points anymore than I should be ashamed of their
failures. I am temporarily watching over
the development of another human being, who rightly belongs to God, whose
destiny will ultimately be decided between each child and God alone.
1989: (A parish
picnic to honor Marg Mooney will be held ) July 9. Marg has been with our school for 26 years
and is now leaving us…The entire parish is encouraged to use this opportunity
to express their appreciation for her many years of service.
1990: Here is your
opportunity for sweet revenge. The dunk
tank (at the Festival) will feature the following favorites and more: Mark
Dancer, WVCI; Mr. Silcott, Doug Steller, Greg Gilkerson, David Neal, and Mike
Berry.
1992: Special thanks
to the Women’s and Men’s clubs and to all who support their fund-raising
activities. Each club has just given $2,000
to the parish for replacement of the 30-year-old ovens in the cafeteria. The new ones should be here in time for the
festival pizza makers to go to town on.
1994: Please
remember in your prayers Dennis Quinlan who died and was buried from the church
this past week.
1996: Ladies of the
parish will be forming a Euchre League for female members of the parish
starting in September. We will play the
fourth Thursday in the cafeteria. Join
in the fun! Call Robin Altman or Diane
Francescon
1997: Please pray
for the soul of Dr. James Marquard of our Parish, who passed away this past
week. May God bless him with eternal
peace and bring peace and consolation to his family.
1998: The
Building/Renovation Program at St. Timothy.
This Sunday, Fr. Shonebarger will speak briefly at all the Masses…A
committee mainly of the Finance Board has been meeting with the Diocesan
Development Office and our program of fund-raising begins at this time and will
proceed over the Summer and into the Fall.
2000: Congratulations
to Laura Sergio and Brian Doland who will be married Saturday, July 15 in St.
Francis of Assisi church.
2003: Special
Appeal…Rectory Heating and Air Conditioning.
The rectory heating and air conditioning system has to be replaced. It
has been working on borrowed time for several years as its warranty ran out
twenty years ago. The upstairs (was)
completely shut down. If anyone would
like to help defray the cost since this item was not in the budget, we will
have a special collection next weekend.
Sincerely, Father Shonebarger
2004:
Congratulations to Kathryn Beneke and Daniel Courtemancat, who will be
married next Saturday.
2006: A Thank You
from Father Dave.
Your love, prayers,
support and exquisite hospitality mirror your goodness as a people of
faith. I was overwhelmed, but not
surprised, by your spirit of generosity expressed by your words, cards, and
material gifts for my farewell. You will
be remembered in my thoughts and prayers with gratitude and admiration for the
holy and special people that you are.
Keep up the good work and, as always, stay close to one another and the
Church in prayer and service. It was my
privilege to serve you.
In Our Lord, Father Dave
2007: We welcome to
St. Timothy new parishioners Charles and Margaret Billerbeck, Greg and Maureen Pappas, Colleen Howells,
Michael and Lisa Taylor, Elizabeth Hatfield, Sharon Hall, Mary and Greg Bellisari, Jim and Doris
Thomas, Craig and Catherine Butt, Sean and Sarah Dawson, John and Jessica Lehr, Joe and Lola
Morrone, Louise Eberts, Patricia Eberts,
and Barbara Kelleher.
2008: Thank you
very much for the farewell party and the awesome red vestments. I shall gratefully remember you, and not only
when I am wearing them…thank you for so kindly welcoming me during my
pastorate, and I hope you will remember me in your prayers. Fr. John
A Word from Your New Pastor
What a weekend to
arrive at St. Timothy Parish! It has
truly been a whirlwind arriving in the midst of preparations for the
Festival. I am grateful to all of you
for the warm welcome you have shown me.
I trust that God will lead us where He wants us to go together.
I look forward to
getting to know you and to sharing my life and prayer with you. As many of you know, I was at St. Timothy for
one summer in 1983, along with Fr. Ted Thomas.
I am just arriving from 12 ½ years at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament
in Newark, which was my first experience as pastor. My family lives in Columbus and some of you
have already met them. No doubt we’ll find many things in common and discover
just what God had in mind by putting us together at this time.
A you enjoy one
another at the Festival this weekend, I invite you to plan to take part in a
Holy Hour that I would like to pray with you next Sunday in the Presence of our
Eucharistic Lord. My last
parish…celebrated such an hour of prayer, remembering you in their prayers, as
a farewell to me; I would like our time together to begin that way as
well. Let the Lord make known to us His
plan for our Parish Family.
2010: A Word from
Your Pastor. As we prepare to celebrate
our Golden Jubilee as a Parish and as a School, let us be aware of the hard
work, sweat, tears and prayer that have brought us to this joyful time…let this
be a reminder to look through your collections of memorabilia and to share with
s the treasures you find…scan pictures and send them to the Parish Office, or
drop them off for us to do so. Begin to
think about how you want to observe our Jubilee…In particular, send in names
and addresses of our alumni who have moved away. We want to be sure to invite everyone to take
part. (This message is still timely!)
2011: All are invited
to the cafeteria next Sunday after the 10:00 Mass to wish Vince Nguyen, our
seminarian, a Big Thank You for all his help the past 10 weeks…Vince’s
kindness, consideration and willingness to help wherever needed, but most of
all his always happy smiley face will be missed. Our prayers and good wishes will be with you,
Vince, as you continue your journey to ordination.
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