Attention: PARENTS

"Hear this, ye fathers and mothers, that your upbringing of children shall not lose its reward...It was on account of his children that Eli perished. For he ought to have admonished them, and indeed he did admonish them, but not as he ought; but from unwillingness to give them pain, he destroyed both himself and them. Hear this, ye fathers, bring your children up with great, great care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Youth is wild, and requires many governors, teachers, directors, attendants and tutors; and after all these, it is a happiness if it be restrained. For as a horse is not broken in, or a wild beast untamed, such is youth. But if from the beginning, from the earliest age, we fix in it good rules, much pains will not be required afterwards; for good habits formed will be for them as a law." [emphasis added]

St. John Chrysostom

While I'm At It

Here's another good tid-pit from Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion - delivered to the World Council of Churches. Wonders never cease.

"It is not our duty to defend Shariah, promote alternative lifestyles or secularized values. Our mission is to announce what Christ himself announced".

He also said, "Christians only have strength if they follow the precepts of Christ, not when they build their lives upon the whims of the secular world".

Bishop Hilarion, born in 1966, is a member of the Executive and Central Committees of the World Council of Churches.

Wish I Had Said That

Sometimes I find great things in the strangest of places. Here is something brilliant from someone we've never heard of...but its still brilliant!

"Education and knowledge are good things, but if they are not sanctified, they are a waste and lead to disaster...Natural knowledge helps us acquire spiritual knowledge. But when man remains at the level of natural knowledge, he is confined to nature and does not reach Heaven. In other words, he remains on the earthly paradise, which was watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, enjoying beautiful nature with all its animals, but does not ascend to the heavenly Paradise to rejoice with the Angels and the Saints. But in order to reach the heavenly Paradise, we need to have faith in the Landlord of Paradise, to love Him, realize how sinful we are, and be humbled. In this way, we will come to know Him, to converse with Him in prayer, and praise Him for His help but also for the ways in which He is testing us."

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos (b 1924, Eastern Orthodox monk on Mount Athos, Greece.)

Lenten Discipline for Deadly Sin

During Lent, Christians are asked to engage in extraordinary disciplines for the furthering of the Christian life. There are basically three such disciplines: 1. extraordinary acts of charity, 2. extraordinary almsgiving, 3. Fasting.

The purpose of this discipline is to help us to combat the seven deadly sins or, in biblical terms, to mortify the flesh. In helping us to deal with our sins, the Church has always identified those sins which are most grievous, and from which all other sins spring. These grievous sins are usually called the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, envy, wrath, pride and sloth.

The disciplines of Lent are designed to combat each of these deadly sins by mortifying (killing) the sin and bringing to life the virtues of the godly man. Here are a few examples of how the Lenten disciplines attack the deadly sins and support virtue.

Lust is any intense desire or craving for self gratification whether through sex, power, or experiences of any sort. (Lust for adultery, lust for life, lust for power, lust for blood, etc.) Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. The Christian should discipline himself against lust and gluttony through fasting, which teaches him to control his cravings and to find gratification through self control and self mastery.

Greed is the driving desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves; it is the insatiable desire for wealth. Envy is a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another and fills the envious with spite and resentment at seeing the success of another. These deadly sins are combated through extraordinary acts of almsgiving, which help the Christian to replace the sins of greed and envy with the virtues of thankfulness and generosity.

Wrath is an intense anger characterized by belligerence (usually on an epic scale) aroused by any wrong, real or supposed. Pride is unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem. Because these two sins flow from an inordinate exaltation of self over the other person, these two are combated through mortification and the sanctification of extraordinary acts of charity (love). Acts of charity exalt the other in love, just as the bible says, so that we esteem others more highly than ourselves.

Lastly, sloth is apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue, making sloth perhaps the deadliest of all deadly sins. What makes sloth so dangerous? Sloth ensures we take no action to discipline the body or soul. The slothful person may be the most honest about his sins but will find no will or strength to exercise the virtues necessary to discipline himself. For this reason, any and all of the Lenten disciplines work to mortify sloth by replacing that sin with godly action. Unfortunately, the slothful man is the most likely to excuse himself from the exertion of any of these healthy disciplines. If sloth is your sin – do something - anything. The doing is your discipline.

Below are a few practical ideas for how to practice Lenten Disciplines.

Fasting – the one everybody talks about and few people actually do. Remember that fasting combats gluttony and lust and builds self control and mastery. So design your fast with the goal in mind. Ideally, the Lenten fast is a vegetarian diet of one meal a day with only those snacks required to allow you to do your duty. Realistically, many people fast from meat, desserts, favorite foods or drinks, especially alcohol, and tobacco. Some people also fast from activities such as computer gaming, golfing, sports, television, etc. The purpose of this fast is to build self mastery. If it isn’t hard for you to keep your fast, then you’re probably wasting your time.

Extraordinary acts of charity are difficult because they require us to demonstrate love to those we find most unlovable. This may include apologizing to people we have mistreated, repairing relationships with obnoxious relatives, serving meals in a scary downtown mission, cleaning restrooms at our child’s school, or just “reaching out” to someone at church who does not fit in our regular social circle. The goal is to humble yourself and exalt someone else for no particular reason except love.

Finally, extraordinary almsgiving is often the biggest challenge. Almsgiving is bad enough but extraordinary – ahhhrrrg! (We hate to give even reasonably? What must extraordinary giving be like?) The Lenten almsgiving combats greed and envy, so we give away what makes us greedy or envious. Perhaps we should give an unusually large sum of money to fund a ministry to the poor or to provide a much needed item for the ministry of the church. Or perhaps we should give away a favorite article of clothing, an exorbitant pair of shoes we really like, that favorite sofa might look great in someone else’s living room, those cherished video games or plush animals might make some disadvantaged child very happy. I don’t really need that really cool power tool I bought for no reason but I know a struggling carpenter who could put it to good use (and would delight to receive it as an anonymous gift in the mail.) Remember, almsgiving combats greed and envy while teaching thankfulness and generosity. If our extraordinary giving hasn’t “cost us” enough to feel its squeeze, then our giving isn’t exactly extraordinary, is it?

Soup Night (every Wednesday in Lent)

Join us for delicious vegetarian soup and bread each Wednesday night during the season of Lent. Our meal will be followed by Evening Prayer.

The teens will meet for their Bible study as soon as they are finished eating and last until about 7:30.

Choir practice will start at 7:00.

St Clare's Guild (every Tuesday from 11:00am)

Come join the ladies and men of our needleworking guild as they work on magnificent projects for the beautification of our church building.
Don't know how to needlepoint? Don't worry. They'll happily teach you!

Here is Lyle with his newly finished needlepointed banner. It took eight months of diligent work to complete.

Sunday (Feb 3) The burial of the Alleluias

Because we are about to enter the season of Lent, this is the last Sunday we will say our "Alleluias" until Easter. At the end of the service today the children will "bury" their Alleluia signs (which they made on Friday during Family Fun Night) in a wooden casket which will reside under the altar until Easter.

Ash Wednesday Services

Ash Wednesday is this week - February 6 - and for the first time, St. Timothy's will offer two services with Imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday.

Wednesday, Feb 6, 12:10 pm
Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion (Said)

Wednesday, Feb 6, 6:00 pm
Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion (Sung)

Family Fun Night- Tonight! (parents' night out)

Kids meet in the parish hall for fun and games. Dinner is provided. 6-9pm.