A Word from Your Pastor - May 25

Dear Parishioners:

As the Golden Jubilee of our School comes to its close, we are invited to look ahead to the future.  Over the past four years, we have celebrated Parish (2011-2012) and School (2013-2014) with a look back at the past and we have given thanks to God and to those who have built our community.  This has been a rich experience for all of us.  As we observe Memorial Day, thanking those who have sacrificed for our nation’s freedom, we also call to mind the sacrifice of the past and present members of our Saint Timothy family.

Human generations are considered to be 20-25 years, so we are now entering into our third generation of life as a Parish and School.  The first two generations have set a foundation for us. We have a vibrant parish and a school that is full of energy.  We have families of two and three generations who have been part of our community.  We also have new members who join us in our march through history.

Our Patron Saint Timothy was a third-generation believer in his family.  St. Paul reminded him of the faith he learned from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.  (II Timothy 1:5)  He was also a third-generation Christian in the Apostolic community: the 12 Apostles, the Apostle Paul, and then Timothy, disciple of Paul.  This means that we are just now reaching the stage of our Patron’s experience of the responsibility of preserving and passing on the gift we have received.  Will we make our Heavenly Patron proud of us?

In order to move forward, we need to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd.  We need to respond to the call to be servants.  We also need to be open to the impulse of the Holy Spirit Who is at work among us.  What are the gifts that can be found in our community that will help us on our way as we strive to share the Faith?  Are we aware of the needs of those around us and do we follow the Shepherd into the pastures where He leads us?

As we move into the Summer, please keep in mind that our life as a parish family continues even though School lets out!  We need you to be with us for Mass and for all the activities that summer brings.  If you travel for vacation, pick up a bulletin for your Pastor and see what our brothers and sisters are doing in other parishes.

This weekend, two new priest are ordained for the Diocese of Columbus – Father Vincent Nguyen (who was a seminarian intern at St. Timothy a few years ago) and Father Cyrus Haddad.  Pray that their new ministry may be long and fruitful.  Someday soon, may we have one of our own ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Columbus.  We owe this to our heritage and to the memory of the many priests and seminarians from other parishes who have served among us.

Note:  Saturday, June 7, we will have a First Saturday Mass at 8:30 a.m.  All are invited.

A Word from Your Pastor - May 18

Dear Parishioners:

May is a busy month in so many ways.  We have graduations, celebrations, anniversaries, weddings, etc.  So we tend to meet ourselves coming and going.  Then the Summer begins and at St. Timothy we plunge into the preparations for our Festival (July 11-12 this year).  What happens without much of a thought is the end of a fiscal year.  Before we get lost in all that is going on, I want to update you on the status of our parish situation so everyone is aware of how things stand.  Please keep us in mind at this "crossing of the bridge” into a new fiscal year and into the Summer.  We need your support in every way – financial, personal and spiritual, now and every day!

As you will recall, when I arrived as Pastor at St. Timothy six years ago, we were entering into the Festival.  That weekend was intense!  As I began to learn the situation of the parish, I was told that one of that challenges that St. Timothy had to face was a debt for our new facility (parish center, gyms and classrooms, and the new façade and gathering area of our church) owed to the Diocese of Columbus.  I also learned that our parish was about to celebrate its Golden Jubilee.  In the first few years of my pastorate, I worked with you to continue the good work begun by the Finance Committee under Msgr. John Johnson to eliminate the parish debt and we were able to do so by the time of our Parish Golden Jubilee celebration in November 2011.

The Music Ministry was without a director and the organ was on the fritz (due to a lightening strike that came long before I knew I would be coming to St. Timothy!).  We have addressed those situations.  In that first year, St. Timothy was given a new Pastor, a new Deacon and a new Director of Music.  After we paid our debt to the Diocese, individuals banded together and we were able to dedicate our new Organ on Pentecost in May 2013.

In February of this year, Mike Foley, the Chair of our Finance Council, addressed the Parish at all weekend Masses concerning our current fiscal state.  Together with him, our Bookkeeper/Accountant Dottie Cocola likewise addressed the School parents about financial concerns, explaining how our School finds its resources to operate and reminding parish families of their responsibility to contribute.

As was reported, in our last fiscal year, 2012-2013, we received fewer contributions in Stewardship (the Sunday collection) than we budgeted for, and it became necessary, in order to keep ourselves current, to invade our parish savings to make payments.  As we look toward the end of the fiscal year for 2013-2014, we find ourselves with bills payable for a number of ordinary expenses: Parish Subsidy payments for our parishioners who have students in Catholic High Schools (nearly $30,000 each year), Maintenance expenses, Utilities, Office expenses, expenses owed to the Diocese of Columbus (our diocesan tax, the Catholic Times, etc.), School expenses and PSR expenses.  We have done all we can to keep expenses down.  The Parish Office in particular waits to meet needs such as an upgrade to our computers and parish data programs.

In short, as the fiscal year approaches its close, we need funding for the ordinary life of our Parish and School.  Our primary source of support for these is Parish Stewardship.  Fund raisers can help, but they cannot be relied upon.  We invite you to search your heart and hear the call of God to give in gratitude for what you have received.  If all of us do this, “reports” like this will not be necessary, except to say that God’s Providence has covered us through generous hearts.

Here is an excerpt from the presentation made in February.  I offer it as a renewed appeal to you to step up to meet the needs of our Parish and School.

“Over the last several years our parish and school staff has worked diligently to keep the parish’s expenses under control. But, just like you have seen at your home, the Parish’s cost of living, heating, electricity, and maintenance keeps moving higher. In the last fiscal year, we had to use our reserves in excess of $100,000.00. Borrowing from reserves can’t continue, so we are coming to you directly. We are all in this together.

If you are giving regularly, and it is within your means, please consider increasing your contribution. If you are not currently making a regular contribution to the parish, we ask that you start.

“Please consider using the direct deposit system we have in place. It is easy and convenient and ensures your offering is received if you are out of town. It also helps to plan our monthly budget: https://sttimothyoh.weshareonline.org/

“The families and members of this parish have never failed to come to the rescue, and for that we are truly grateful. The finance committee is asking every parishioner once again to consider raising the level of their weekly contribution. We cannot thank you enough for your continued support of our “small but mighty” parish.  Thank you for your consideration.  Go Tigers!!”

 

If you have any questions, you may contact Mike Foley.”

This week we welcome a new Seminarian Intern, T.J. LeHigh, as he arrives at St. Timothy for a summer parish experience.  T.J. will be entering First Theology next fall and he has just completed two years of Pre-Theological studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum.

A Word from Your Pastor - May 11

Dear Parishioners:

As you may recall, we had plans in January to celebrate a special Mass for our School’s Golden Jubilee with Bishop Campbell in conjunction with the Feast of our Patron Saint Timothy (January 26^th).  You will also no doubt remember that our Winter experience included many Snow Days.  The Mass our Students had prepared for was cancelled because School was not in session.  Working with the Bishop’s secretary, our Principal Mr. George Mosholder came up with a new date for Mass – this Wednesday, May 14^th,  Bishop Campbell was happy with this date because it also happens to be his anniversary of ordination as a Bishop.  We were very pleased with this coincidence.

As it turns out, Divine Providence was at work concerning this date in another amazing way.  When the pilgrims from St. Timothy Parish arrived at Termoli to pay respects to the earthly remains of our Patron, who is honored there, we were told that the town of Termoli celebrates a special Feast of St. Timothy on May 11^th in honor of the fact that his relics were rediscovered in the crypt of the Cathedral of Termoli on May 11, 1945.  They were hidden there in the year 1239 to protect them from Invaders.  And then, they were forgotten for more than 700 years!  That means that this very week is a week of great importance to our Patron Saint.  How fitting it is for us to be able to celebrate our School’s Jubilee at the same time as the town where his relics are safeguarded is experiencing its Festival.

Since our own efforts to celebrate our Patron are so often deterred by January’s weather, it is nice to know we can celebrate him together in May when the weather is more conducive to such events.  There is another reason why May is a fitting time for St. Timothy.  He was the first Bishop of Ephesus, the town where St. John shared a home with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  So our Timothy was not only the first disciple and companion of St. Paul; he was also one who shared a home with Mary.

Learning about our Saint by visiting the places associated with him opens up new vistas for our own manner of giving him honor.  The town of Termoli recognizes a special bond with St. Timothy by having custody of his relics and they hear the call to evangelize.  As we come to the close of our Golden Jubilee celebrations, we too are hearing the invitation to follow the Good Shepherd where He leads and to proclaim the Gospel in practical ways.  May we make our Patron St. Timothy proud of us and join him in giving honor to God by the way we live.

 

A Word from Your Pastor - May 4

Dear Parishioners:

This weekend we have celebrated the First Holy Communion for our Second Graders.  This moment is a good reminder for all of us concerning the precious gift of the Eucharist.  As we watch the joy of the First Communicants and their families, it is also a time for us to renew our own joy in the Gift by reflecting upon our Faith in the Real Presence of Jesus.

Here is a prayer to use after you receive Holy Communion:

My Lord, Jesus Christ, I firmly believe that I have received in Communion, Your Body,

Your Blood, Your Soul and Your Divinity. I believe it because You have said it, and I am

ready to give my life to maintain this truth.

If you or anyone you know are not able  Holy Communion – due to not being Catholic, not practicing your Faith regularly, or being conscious of serious sin, you may make a “Spiritual Communion.”  Here is a prayer you may us for this:

My Jesus, I believe that You are really present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I long to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.

(Pause)
I embrace You as One Who has already come, and I unite myself entirely to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.

If you are not regularly receiving, consider approaching the Sacrament of Confession to renew your practice of the Faith.  You won’t regret it.  If you have family members or friends who are not practicing, tell them of the joy you see in our First Communion Class and invite them to come with you.  One way to grow in your love and hunger for the Eucharist is to spend time in the Eucharistic Presence, either in the Tabernacle, or in the Monstrance on the Altar as we have available throughout the day on Wednesdays.

As you know, also, a number of parishioners, along with Fr. Bill Faustner and me, are returning from our pilgrimage to Italy.  We look forward to sharing with you the graces of our journey to the tomb of St. Timothy and to Rome for the canonization of Pope Saint John XXIII and Pope Saint John Paul II.  May we all continue to grow in Faith and Holiness of life through their intercession.