WHAT’S HAPPENING AT ST. TIM’S
Busy Summer of Repairs and Improvements
Have you noticed the brighter, cleaner look of the Fillmore Street entrance steps and windows? How organized the Library looks? The repairs to the church office and schoolroom ceiling tiles and walls?
Work has also begun on landscaping to make our side yard safer for possible outdoor church events and increase the play area for our Preschoolers. Many thanks to our Property Commission, volunteers, and staff for their hard work.
Christmas Bazaar Decision to Come
Tina Snyder and Barbara Huber, co-Chairs of the Christmas Bazaar Committee, are currently working with Church Council to decide if St. Tim’s can safely hold a Christmas Bazaar this year. The decision will be based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Lutheran Synod of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Check your church bulletins.
God’s Work, Our Hands-- Sunday, September 12
With Covid-19 cases rising in recent weeks, it’s not wise for us to work together in the same setting, as we’ve done in the past. (Remember our “assembly-line” of Caring for Friends meal tins in Fellowship Hall?) Instead, we’re asking everyone to bring in disposable diapers – any size. We will donate them to Feast of Justice.
OUR FOOD MINISTRY
We will continue to provide home-cooked meals, canned goods, and personal items.
Next Dates for our Food Ministry: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, and THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, from 11 AM TO 1 PM.
Please bring your meal donations – a protein, starch, and vegetable—to the Fillmore Street entrance. Volunteers will package your contributions into the special tins Caring for Friends provides.
You can also bring your donations of canned goods, diapers, and hygiene products for Feast of Justice on those Thursdays.
Another option is to bring your Feast of Justice donations on Sundays or when the church office is ordinarily open-- Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8 am to 12 noon. Please call first to let our church secretary, Katie McAlorum, know you are coming.
ST. TIM’S BACK TO SCHOOL DRIVE
In late August, St. Tim’s put out a call for donations of book bags, crayons, markers, and other school must-haves. Kathy Swift had heard from a former colleague that the families of many students in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in the Cheltenham School District struggle to provide the school supplies their children need.
Once again, the people of St. Tim’s responded
generously.
Ellie Ayer--one of our young members (and Kathy’s grand-daughter)-- created a collection box for our donations. It was a beautiful box – and did we fill it, and fill it, and fill it ….
Dear Kathy and St. Timothy Lutheran Church members,
Thank you so much for your generous gift of school supplies for ESL students. Your thoughtfulness and generosity will be greatly appreciated by my students and their families.
It is truly a privilege to have kind community members like you who are sincerely hoping and praying for families who are in need.
Your warmth melts my heart, and I will pass your kind wishes to my ESL families.
PRESCHOOL NEWS
Both our three-year-olds and Pre-K classes are fully enrolled and will begin morning sessions, three days a week, in early September. Our popular “Stay & Play” afternoon enrichment program will re-open for Monday and Wednesday sessions in October.
Last year’s Covid-19 protocols were highly effective. Thanks to the parents’ and children’s cooperation—and the vigilance of the teaching staff—the preschool made it through the entire school year with no closures due to illness.
At present, with no Covid-19 vaccines approved for young children, those protocols remain the best line of defense. The children and staff once again will wear masks, wash their hands frequently, and social distance.
NO ONE FROM OUTSIDE THE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM WILL BE ADMITTED INTO THE BUILDING FROM 8:00 TO 2:30 MONDAY AND WEDNESDAYS, AND FROM 8:00 AM TO 12:30 ON FRIDAYS.
Returning are Linda Yesenosky, Program Director and Threes Teacher; Colleen Falconio and Donna Forcina, Pre-K Co-Teachers; Katie McAlorum, Threes Teaching Assistant and Stay & Play Administrator. Joining the staff as a Teaching Aide is Linda Chromiak.
“SMILE” –IF YOU ARE ON AMAZON.COM
Help St. Tim’s enter the 21st Century of fundraising. Amazon.com offers charitable organizations a chance to earn a percentage of their supporters’ spending. For more information, go to https://smile.amazon.com.
One hint: Be sure to select St. Timothy Lutheran Church of Philadelphia when you scroll through the list of organizations. Not surprisingly, there are many St. Timothy Churches throughout the US participating.
PRAYER MINISTRY
The Prayer Team is ready to lift you or your concern in prayer. No concern is too small or insignificant. If you need prayer, talk with one of our team members: Barbara Huber, Tina Snyder, Isabel Hyczko, Carolyn Denzel, Rich Soltan, Vanessa Fineberg, Verna Clohecy, and Pastor Deborah Wolfe.
Email Pastor Wolfe at pastorwolfe@comcast.net, or Verna Clohecy at vclohecy1@aol.co.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Please help us to provide good pastoral care. Call Pastor Deborah Wolfe (at 610-506-6097) if:
You are in need of prayer
You are ill or hospitalized
A baby is born into your family
You are planning to marry
You want to receive the sacraments of Baptism or Holy Communion
You are moving
Your phone number or email address has changed
Please be sure your next of kin has the pastor’s phone number in case of emergency. Business cards are available with phone numbers listed that you can put with your insurance cards so you and your family have easy access to them. Ask Pastor Wolfe if you would like one.
LECTIONARY READINGS
September 5 Isaiah 35:4-7a
September 12
September 19
Wisdom 1:16--2:1, 12-22 (alternate)
September 26
October 3
October 10
October 17
October 24
October 31