Tidings Monthly E News
In Person Worship Resumes September 6
August 25, 2020
Labor Day Sunday, September 6, 2020 8:00 AM service, 10:00 AM liturgy/Eucharist With joyful but cautious hearts we will reopen our church doors to in-person worship. This task has required thorough study and careful planning, because your health and safety are of utmost concern. Our Vestry has and continues to review the diocesan requirements, which we must follow. We will evaluate our protocol after a few weeks, reserving the opportunity to adapt as necessary as the situation changes. Ongoing Health and Safety Measures at St. Timothy’s In General, Every Day • Only the main entrance off the parking...
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Sacred Ground 2nd Edition
October 20, 2020
The ten-session Sacred Ground series has provided an intense and deeply spiritual experience for seventeen persons, drawn largely from 1st Presbyterian and St. Timothy’s. Some of us might even call the eye- and heart-opening journey, “life-changing.” The first offering will come to an end in January. We are now taking applications for a second iteration. More information is available at www.episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground . Contact Fr. Jeff/the office of either St. Timothy’s or 1st Presbyterian to add your name to the class waiting list for round two!
Read More“While it is a painful process to absorb the unfair practices and behaviors minority groups have experienced, it is crucial to understand their journeys and how we have formed our own beliefs and feelings toward minorities.”
October 27, 2020
SACRED GROUND…..WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE! As the summer of 2020 began, there was much to focus on: the death of George Floyd, riots and protests in the streets, and the ongoing corona virus. When the opportunity arose to take a 10-session course on racial issues and systemic racism in America, I was reluctant to sign up. Did I really need to focus on these issues at this time? My friend, Joan VanGunten, convinced me otherwise. As it turned out, it was exactly the right time. Our group was small but we quickly bonded. Our group leader was Lutheran...
Read More“I can avow that I will no longer remain silent and, in fact, have had the opportunity to feel emboldened enough to confront an individual expressing racist viewpoints. A journey begins with a single step.”
October 27, 2020
Reflections on My Participation in Sacred Ground by Rick Volkmer I view my participation in Sacred Ground as a moral obligation and a timely opportunity for personal growth. Having been witness to racist comments and/or behaviors, and believing that one’s failure to act demonstrates complicity or silent approval, I’ve been ashamed of myself. I have also been angered by certain decisions made by our government that I view to be either racially motivated or racially insensitive. Additionally, I’ve been frustrated by comments and support certain religious leaders have made regarding those actions or their failure to respond to...
Read More“I was not prepared for the impact it has had on my personal understanding of racial differences and on my approach to daily life.”
October 27, 2020
SACRED GROUND My paternal ancestors arrived here from England in 1816. One hundred twenty-five years and six generations later, I was born in Michigan just before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I grew up in the Midwest in areas that were either rural, very small town, or suburban, providing minimal contact with people who were not like me – white, middle class, protestant. While walking across campus at the University of Michigan, I was puzzled when friends would identify a stranger as Jewish given only visual contact and did not understand why they would think it necessary to...
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