The Crossbeam August 2008

Table of Contents (Click on title of interest)

On the Way
Communications Committee Report - by Peter Annable
Church School Program 2008/2009
Teaching and Learning at El Hogar - by Colleen Birdsong
Summer Mission Reflections: El Hogar - by Evan Kaiser
Summer Mission Reflections: ASP - by Katie Streit
Ten Reasons Why YOU Should Become a Stephen Minister
Leaving a Legacy
Celebration Sunday -September 7
Budget Report
Parish News and Announcements

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
—Galatians 5:1

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On the Way...

The Bible helps us to understand who we are as the church. Unfortunately many readers of the Bible are looking for something less than that: rules, good advice, etc. The Bible isn’t about individual self-help; it is about our collective identity in light of what God has done for us. Beginning August 24, our readings from the Hebrew Bible will follow the story of Moses and the people of Israel: The call of Moses, deliverance from Egypt, wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the giving of the law and entrance into the promised land. In our sermons, Heather and I will try to show how the story of Israel is also our story as the church.

What happened to God’s people millennia ago is what also happens to us. The Hebrew slaves were delivered by God from bondage in Egypt; we have been delivered by Jesus’ death and resurrection from our bondage to sin and death. Freed from slavery, former slaves begin a journey of faith in which we realize that it is one thing to get out of Egypt, but quite another to get Egypt out of us.

We are also ambivalent about this new freedom. Living by faith that God will provide in the wilderness makes the fleshpots of Egypt very appealing. We discover that we don’t know how to live. We need God the lawgiver to tell us. We are told that if we live God’s way, we will be a priestly people who will be a light to the world. We have been elected to an extraordinary vocation. But this vocation requires patience. We soon realize that this journey to the promised land is going to take some time, maybe even forty years. And once we do arrive in the promised land, our challenge is to retain our unique identity as God’s people. Will we fall back into slavery or enslave others? In either case, we have ended up back in Egypt.

God then and now has called us to be an alternative to the world. We have been chosen not because we are special or deserving, but because God needs a witness to a way of life that is a whole lot better than slavery. If we are honest, there will be times when we wish God had chosen somebody else. Being elected to go against the grain means struggle and suffering. It also means having to deal with our fears and inevitable failures. We will have to learn how to confess our sins and receive forgiveness. We will have to be willing to rely on others; there is no way we can go this way alone.

God has delivered us from the bondage of slavery; therefore we have a story to tell those who are still enslaved. To those who are enslaved to the opinions of others, we can tell them that God's opinion is the only one that matters. To those who are enslaved to money, we can tell them that God provides. To those who are trying to earn their salvation, we can tell them that God is offering it as a free gift. Yes, we can tell them the Good News that Christ has set us free, but we must also tell them that it is a freedom to be used in the service of others. The Hebrew slaves were not delivered primarily for their own sake, but in order to be God's witness in the world. They were chosen to show the world what life is all about.

On September 7, three weeks into this Exodus Journey, we will kick-off the beginning of church school with a “Celebration Sunday.” On this Sunday we will celebrate our various ministries and spiritual formation programs by providing information about them and opportunities for becoming involved in them. This would be a great Sunday to invite a friend to join us for worship. This would be a great Sunday to invite a member who has become disconnected from this community to come back to church.

“Come ye faithful raise the strain of triumphant gladness/God has brought Israel into joy from sadness.” (Hymn #199) Come join us on this journey from sadness to joy.

In Christ,

Roger

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Communications Committee Report by Peter Annable

As mentioned in the last issue of The Crossbeam, a Communications Committee with myself, David Dreisbach, and Paul Rank was formed in the summer of 2007. Our original goal was to improve and refresh the church website. However, as we began our journey, we quickly realized that we should broaden the work to determine improvements looking at all mediums: the website, e-mails, Sunday bulletins, The Crossbeam – even the church sign out front. Then, as we thought about communication, we needed to think about what we communicate. This led to the sessions that many of you participated in with David Dreisbach to understand our church identity and the language we use to describe ourselves. You will be hearing more about that soon.

To understand the effectiveness of our communication techniques, 90 church members participated in a survey. We’ve also had many conversations with Roger, church and vestry members. Based on this, we came up with a number of findings and recommendations. Below are the highlights:

•      The e-mail program is working well and most people report that they find the e-mails timely and helpful. One major improvement identified would be to include Sunday schedules for greeters, acolytes, and other “rotating” responsibilities.
•      People voiced overwhelming support of continuing to publish The Crossbeam and having it available electronically or via the mail.
•      A number of improvements were identified for the website: Refreshing the look and feel, keeping the events calendar up to date, and having a place to keep current announcements are a few. In general, we should make it easier and faster for the church staff to keep the site up-to-date at the same time they are performing other daily tasks. For instance, the church calendar could be automatically published to the site instead of having to re-type it.
•     Our presence on Beechmont Avenue is hugely important to attracting new members. We should hire a sign expert to design improvements to our visibility and ability to announce special events, such as the 5:00 p.m. services. A new traffic light is planned at the entrance to the New England Club, so we’ll have an excellent opportunity to greet people waiting at the light!
•      We have no designated Public Relations contact for the church. Finding a volunteer would be helpful to raise awareness of the community about St. Timothy’s, especially regarding outreach work.

In the coming months, we’ll be working to implement some of these recommendations. If you have an interest in helping, please let me know!

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Church School Program 2008/2009

St. Timothy’s is excited to share some news about our Fall Church School Program. We are adding a few new components which we hope will enhance your family’s spiritual experience.

First we will add Family Sundays to our calendar of events. Family Sunday will be an opportunity for parents to ‘go to church school’ with their children. We have special intergenerational events planned for those Sunday mornings from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. The dates are September 28, October 26, November 23, January 25, February 22, March 29 and May 10. There will not be regular Church School classes on those Sundays.

We will continue Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level I for the 3-year-olds through Kindergarten, where children fall in love with Jesus as the Good Shepherd; and Level II for the 1st graders through 3rd graders, where children explore who Jesus was and why he is so important to us.

We will introduce the 4th-6th graders to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level III. This new level will help the children learn about the Plan of God and how they fit into it, and about his origins of our faith in the Jewish tradition. We work to help the children identify the individual gifts they have been given from God, and explore how they will use them in our world today. Bible and liturgy study are also the foundations of our learning. All Catechesis sessions are on Sunday mornings following the 9:00 a.m. Family Service until 11:15 a.m.

We will have a full complement of youth classes this year with Rite 13 for 7th & 8th graders, Journey 2 Adulthood (J2A) for the 9th & 10th graders and Young Adults in the Community (YAC) for 11th & 12th graders. These classes will meet after the 9:00 a.m. service until 11:00 a.m. They focus on Bible Study, using various media, books, music and movies. The J2A group will be concentrating on the Confirm not Conform Confirmation preparation program intensively this year on Sunday mornings and evenings.

Finally, we will have a St. Timothy’s Youth Group which meets every other Sunday evening from 6:00 -7:30 p.m. beginning in September. These meetings will be designed by the “Youth Group” (7th-12th graders) and supervised by adult leaders.

As always we need your help and support to make this program work! We need leaders, helpers, snack folks, Family Sunday leaders, youth leaders and youth group leaders. Contact Judy Gardner, Director of Children and Youth Spiritual Formation, at churchschool@sainttimothys.com or 474-4445 to see how you can help or if you have any questions or concerns. This next year is going to be a great one!

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Teaching and Learning at El Hogar by Colleen Birdsong

I am not sure exactly how this whole thing got started. I am sure you all know that Roger Greene is a pretty convincing character…that was definitely a contributing factor. What I do know is once it did get started, the way things fell into place made it all seem meant to be.

July 5 through 12, a hodge-podge group of teachers, Saint Timothy’s young people, family members, and friends visited El Hogar as a special kind of work team. We were not there to help with dorm construction. We did not do any painting or manual labor. Instead, our work team spent time with the teachers and students at El Hogar.

The teachers in our group, Jennie Remington, John English, Erin English, and me, presented five professional development seminars to the dedicated teaching staff at El Hogar. Meanwhile, our support staff, consisting of Alexa Gudelsky, Erin Mullin, Jessica Spurlock, Kristin English, Allie Remington, Donna Luecke, Katie Kacvinsky, Erin Tracy, Ann Nelson, and Kristen Nelson, entertained the loveable students.

We had no idea what to expect going in. None of the teachers in the group had visited El Hogar before. We did have veteran El Hogar visitors in our group, but no one really knew what went on behind the doors of the classrooms at El Hogar. Claudia de Castro, Director of El Hogar, had visited our schools in May, and gave us some suggestions for seminar topics. We spent the month of June planning, hoping we were prepared to offer the teachers something useful.

We arrived at El Hogar expecting to teach as well as learn from the teachers there. The staff at El Hogar welcomed us with open arms. We found them to be talented professionals, and were inspired by their dedication to their students. We enjoyed a tremendous feeling of collegiality throughout the week. Just as we had expected, we all learned a great deal from the staff.

However, they are not the only teachers at El Hogar. We learned the most from the amazing students at the school. Each and every child at El Hogar is a shining example of the incredible power of love. They give and receive it freely, without inhibition or reservation. Of all the lessons taught and learned at El Hogar that week, this is the one that will stay with us all.

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Summer Mission Reflections: El Hogar by Evan Kaiser

Three years ago I traveled to Honduras for the first time as a naive 13-year- old, completely clueless as to what I was about to experience. After my most recent trip two things became very evident to me. The first is that I now believe language is inadequate in many aspects of life. There are no words or concrete explanations for what we all experienced and the emotions and thoughts that we associate with these experiences. I was struck by how inadequate language is for describing love and helping to build loving relationships. I think each and every one of us can truly say that we love El Hogar and all of the boys and girls there, and we couldn’t even communicate fully with the boys. We might even struggle to explain why we love it so much.

There is a quote in the Bible that sums up this aspect of our trip for me:
Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
— 1 John 3:18
El Hogar and the relationships we formed there will forever be a special part of me and I saw God in each relationship that was formed, not with words, but with our actions.

I also saw God in the happiness of each and every child there. All of the children come from circumstances that are hard to imagine, but it is easy to forget that when you are around them. One night when we were playing soccer one of the boys kicked the ball and waiting on the other side of the goal was the head of a boy named Alberto. Alberto took the shot directly to the head, fell over stiff as a board then proceeded to stand and stumble around. When he came over to our group and we asked if he was okay he responded, “No miro! No miro!” Or “I can’t see!” Not only could he apparently not see but he was also spitting up blood. As I watched him and wondered how he wasn’t crying I realized he hadn’t stopped smiling since he got hit with the ball. He was even laughing most of the time, especially when he reenacted the events to his friends. It is easy to lose sight of happiness amidst all the commotion and clutter of today’s world but those children have found it. They more than anyone I know have a right to complain and in the week I spent there I never once heard anyone complain. To me this was a reminder from God as to what life and happiness are all about. Happiness has nothing to do with Xbox, latest fashions or what car you drive among other things. Many of the children there will never even lay eyes on many of these luxuries that many of us take for granted but seem to be better off because of it. The children at El Hogar are just happy they have a bed, food, love and most importantly a home. The name El hogar de amor y experenza translates directly to the home of love and hope, and from my experience I've realized that there are no better words which could describe this place. Love and hope will prevail against all odds, and the children at El Hogar are the quintessential example of this in today.

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Summer Mission Reflections: ASP by Katie Streit

Recently in my life there have been a couple of significant events that have taught me a very valuable lesson – and my trip to Appalachia was one of those events. My Mom had surgery last month and a tremendous amount of people came forward to support our family during that time, including many of you in this congregation. That event was immediately followed by my week long experience with my church family and others providing service in Appalachia. And here is my lesson:

At 16, I have already witnessed a good share of conflict in this world. We are constantly overwhelmed with news media reporting on crime, terrorism, natural disaster, and war. I was in 3rd grade on 9/11 and, like most of you, will remember it always. News like this always makes headlines, and we hear about it day in and day out. But from my experiences, I learned that there are 20 zillion more good, positive, and caring people in this world that far outweigh the negative influences. These are people who put others before themselves, people who give generously, people who love unconditionally, and people who see good, believe in good, and are good. They are everywhere around us, all the time. And though life has its challenges, there is always someone near to help hold you up when you need it.

In Appalachia, I saw, experienced, and was a part of the goodness in this world. In doing so, I knew that God was there too. God was with us as we traveled safely to Hazard. God was with us as we came together from different churches and shared that week. God was with us as we worked together to help others. God was with the adults who organized this effort and cared for all of us teens that week. God was with us as we openly shared our faith each evening. God was with us as we met people in dire living situations who were still positive, friendly, and appreciative. God was with us as we learned that we, in countless big and small ways, can make a difference in this world. In closing, I learned that God is among us always – He is the helping hand of a neighbor, the shoulder of a friend, the warmth of a smile, the beauty of the mountains, and that He is in me as I meet others. I am a source of God’s love and choose to be one of the 20 zillion good people who do outnumber the bad.

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Ten Reasons Why YOU Should Become a Stephen Minister

Reason #10: You will learn to turn danger into opportunity. The Chinese word for crisis is made from a combination of two other characters: danger and opportunity. Every crisis, whether it is a divorce, the loss of a spouse, sudden unemployment or even a much-desired pregnancy provides both an opportunity for growth as well as a danger of choosing destructive solutions. The care of a dedicated, trained, Christ-centered Stephen Minister can help a person in crisis find equilibrium and wholeness.

Reason #9: Stephen Ministers are skilled caregivers. Stephen Ministers receive 50 hours of training before they are commissioned and assigned to care receivers. They learn skills such as listening, identifying and expressing feelings, setting boundaries, and being assertive. They also learn about specific challenges such as hospitalization, divorce, grief, and depression. Stephen Ministers feel well prepared to walk alongside people in crisis, whether it is with an assigned care receiver, or in their own relationships with family, friends and co-workers.

Reason #8: Stephen Ministers experience the joy of fellowship with one another. Stephen Ministers meet about an hour a week with their care-receivers, but they also meet once a month in small groups with other Stephen Ministers. Here, in a confidential manner, they share the joys and challenges of their caring relationships, pray for one another, offer encouragement and practical help, and relate to one another in a deep and spiritual way. The bonds of friendship and commitment are strong and positive.

Reason #7: Stephen Ministers learn to listen. Most people think of listening as a simple, natural, and passive activity, but it is actually a powerful care giving tool. Using Jesus as our model, Stephen Ministers learn the skill of active listening, which involves commitment, patience, and attention to body language. Stephen Ministers learn to listen for more than just words. They seek true understanding and empathy.

Reason #6: Stephen Ministers are assertive caregivers. Stephen Ministers are trained to “speak the truth in love.” Christian assertiveness is a positive and constructive way of relating that respects others and ourselves. Stephen Ministers learn to recognize and avoid aggressive behaviors such as belittling and manipulation, and to avoid passive behaviors such as withdrawing and relinquishing rights. By learning to behave assertively, Stephen Ministers become more aware of God’s will for their lives and more aware of the needs of others.

Reason #5: Stephen Ministers are caregivers, not curegivers. Stephen Ministers are not therapists or problem solvers, they are caregivers. Only God can bring about healing, forgiveness, and hope. Stephen Ministers are trained to listen and pray, to be reliable and non-judgmental, and to help care receivers express their feelings. Focusing on caring and not on curing means Stephen Ministers never pressure a care receiver to “get better.” Stephen Ministers are there for as long as the process takes, and trust that God works in His own time to provide wholeness.

Reason #4: Stephen Ministers feel needed (because they are!). Stephen Ministry was created by a minister named Kenneth Haugk who realized that there are not enough pastors available to provide patient, long-term care to people in crisis. By training lay ministers in his congregation, he was able to ensure that the newly widowed, those going through divorce, people with chronic or terminal illness, and many, many others were able to meet regularly with a compassionate listener. Stephen Ministry benefits our pastors, our congregation, and our community.

Reason #3: Stephen Ministry skills apply in other relationships. Stephen Ministers are trained to listen, to recognize, accept and express feelings, to behave assertively, and to depend on God for healing and change. They often find themselves using these skills in dealing with spouses, children, coworkers, clients and in-laws. Imagine how a work place could be transformed by a single person who has learned to listen without judgment!

Reason #2: Stephen Ministry is a life changing experience. Have you ever avoided approaching a person who was hurting because you “didn’t know what to say?” We all have. But Stephen Ministers know what to say and how to act. They are trained to respond compassionately and respectfully when others need them, and they feel confident in their care giving skills. Stephen Ministers are the first to respond when neighbors, family members and coworkers need someone to talk to.

Reason #1: Jesus calls us to care for each other. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” We are called to “bear one another’s burdens,” and to “accept one another.” Jesus wanted us to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. Stephen Ministers are in the trenches every day, caring for those who are hurting, bringing warmth and kindness to those who feel alone, creating an atmosphere where trust and respect can lead to wholeness. Stephen Ministers answer the call of Jesus.

We are all called to care!

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Leaving a Legacy

Would Like to Help? Can’t Afford it Now? Would Like to Lower Estate Taxes? Then Leave a Legacy to St. Timothy’s.

The simplest way to leave a legacy to St. Timothy’s is through a bequest in your will. The transfer of funds for something you value highly is deferred until after your death, so a bequest does not decrease your current assets or income. Here are several ways you can establish a bequest:

• Give a percentage of your assets.
• Give a fixed dollar amount, say $10,000, or more or less.
• Give a specific asset, i.e., stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, works of art, etc.
• Give a portion of your IRA or retirement plan (percentage or fixed dollar).
• Give a residual bequest – what is left of your estate after commitments to heirs and other charities are disbursed.

Be sure to consult with your attorney when writing a new will or amending one already in place. For more information about gifts to St. Timothy’s call (513) 474-4445.

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Celebration Sunday:
September 7

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Life’s A Trip
Pack Wisely
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God has set us free
Come find what you need for the journey

Worship Services:
8:00, 9:00, 11:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Church School for all ages:
10:15 — 11:15 a.m. (pre-K—6th grade)
10:15 — 11:00 a.m. (7th—12th grade)

Ministries Fair:
10:15 a.m.—1:00 p.m.

Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.
—Exodus 15.1a
Jesus ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff.
—Mark 6.8a
The only baggage you can bring is all that you can’t leave behind.
—Bono

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Budget Report

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Parish News and Announcements

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