St. Timothy's Episcopal Church : Message from the Rector

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Message from the Rector

April 2010

Alleluia, the Lord is Risen! The Lord is risen indeed!

Once again, we come to that crucial time in our life as Christians when we celebrate the great Easter event. Easter is the Springtime holiday which marks the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. On the first Easter morning, 　Jesus conquered sin and the grave and rose victorious from the dead.　Easter is a blessed time for　all believers　to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of　our Savior. In our society, this celebration has become a magical time for children [and the young-at-heart] 　to enjoy chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks and jellybean-filled Easter eggs. With all these festivities however, we　as Christians,　should never lose sight of the fact that the reality of the Easter experience is so foundational that Saint Paul writing to the believers in Corinth stated that "if Christ has not been raised then your faith is in vain." It is without saying that there can be no Christianity without Easter.

The Easter event reassures us as Christians and followers of Christ that God can grant to us the power to prevail over evil and death. When we are besieged by the presence of evil in this life, we can confidently claim that the same resurrection power which brought Christ from death to life, can transform　the evil　and death into　virtue and life. Like the legend of the　phoenix, Easter spells hope and victory for the Christian. Let us therefore celebrate for Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!　

Charles C. Amuzie+

Rector

November 2009

COME, LORD JESUS, COME!

Advent is the season of four Sundays immediately before Thanksgiving. In the Episcopal Church, it marks the beginning of the liturgical year. This year, the season begins on Sunday, November 29, 2009. Advent is a penitential season; a time when we are all invited to watch and pray as we prepare for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our services for the season will be Rite 1. We will use the Advent Wreath in our worship and light a special candle every Sunday to mark the passage of the time.

The special season of Advent reminds us that God did become incarnate in Christ at the first Christmas some two millennia ago. At that instance, God took on human flesh and lived as one of us. The prophets' promise was fulfilled in the Christ child born by the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. Just as Christ was manifest in the flesh and dwelt among us, God may come to you personally this Advent and Christmas season in terms of a re-birth of your spiritual life. God may come to be with you either for the first time, or may visit with you in a manner that rekindles your love and zeal for the things of God. Either way, as Christians who have a living hope that Christ will return to this earth as He promised, this season is especially meaningful to us.

One verse of a very popular Advent hymn states "Come, thou long-expected Jesus; born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in Thee." In anticipation of this second coming of our Lord, I urge you therefore to utilize the various opportunities that our Church provides for worship, prayer, fasting and charity to help you prepare to receive our King as He comes to us again at Christmas.

May the hope of Advent and the joy of Christmas quicken you.

Charles C. Amuzie+

Rector

October 2009

FEELING TRULY REVIVED; A Reflection on Homecoming Services

Brenda Neal was all smiles as she went around putting some finishing touches to the preparations for the Gala Reception in the Parish Hall after the service on Sunday, October 04, 2009. When I finally caught up with Danny Neal, Co-Chair with Brenda of our 2009 Homecoming service, he too was grinning from ear to ear with that look of satisfaction on his face for a job well done. These two, along with the members of the Homecoming Committee, put on quite a show for us this past weekend. Everyone I spoke to has nothing but praise for the excellent time we had as we celebrated our 65th Annual Homecoming. Danny and Brenda worked and prayed real hard for the success of the 3-day event which began on Friday, October 2nd and we are very grateful to God and to them for the outcome. We are truly revived.

Signs of revival were beginning to show even before the Homecoming celebrations rightly captioned Revive Us Again. True to the general understanding of the term, there are indications of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of the members of our church. Members are offering their time, talents and treasures with a renewed zeal to serve God and God's people at St. Timothy's. When Marcia Givens and Sharla Jennings prepared sixteen candidates whom I presented to Bishop Chane for confirmation, I suspected that God was up to something. But, when eleven men and women offered to be trained and licensed as Lay Eucharistic Visitors, Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Catechists, I knew God was definitely doing a new thing in this place. By the grace of God, it will be my distinct privilege and pleasure to officiate at a special Commissioning Service on Sunday, November 15, 2009 to inaugurate the new ministries to which these our brothers and sisters have been called.

As the Spirit of God continues to move among us as a church family, I call on you to pray for discernment to be able to identify how you will be a part of the new thing that God is doing among us. God has gifted you in a special way. I echo the thoughts of our brother of blessed memory, Dr. E. V. Hill, who said that When God Blesses You, He Seldom Has You In Mind. God's abundant grace which abounds to you is intended to glorify God and be a blessing to you and all God's children. As you think about what is happening at St. Timothy's, I hope you ask yourself "WHAT WOULD GOD HAVE ME DO?"

Charles C. Amuzie+
Rector

September 2009

GOD LOVES YOU!

One of the most wonderful messages in the Bible is embedded in the Old Testament, in a book that most Christians may not want to read because of its title.

In Lamentations 3:22-23 we read: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.

These words should bring hope and comfort into the lives of all Christians and even non-Christians alike. When these words were written, the people who heard or read it first were people like you and I; men and women trying the best they knew how, to wrest some meaning out of the wretched life they lived. Jeremiah, the prophet of God, recognized the dire straits his people were in: their life had been shattered; they could no longer go to their magnificent temple to worship like they did earlier because the temple was no more; the Babylonians had destroyed the temple and taken the inhabitants into captivity. Life had no meaning anymore for the Chosen People of God. Yet, and yet, the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet to say to his people “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” Those words were to remind God's people that God had not abandoned them. Their whole world may have been turned upside down but God was still on their side.

God is looking at us today and extending those same words of comfort to us. We do well to appropriate that message in our lives. Like the people who first heard these words, we must exercise our faith in the power of God’s love to carry us through the tough times we sometimes experience in life. We do not have the luxury to wallow in self-pity or engage in such self-destructive behaviors like seeking who to blame for whatever irks us. God’s love alone is what we need to help us make sense of life and this love never ceases because it is new every morning!

This is what God's prophet of old recognized. He knew and experienced the fact that even when we suffer the devastation and the destruction of whatever gave meaning to our lives, in the depths of all our human despair, "the steadfast love of the Lord NEVER ceases, his mercies NEVER come to an end; they are new every morning." God wants you to know and experience this love in your life and to "walk in love and [Christ] loved us and have himself and offering and a sacrifice to God." May the love of God enfold you and may you feel God's presence every moment of your life.

Charles C. Amuzie+
Rector