NEWS & EVENTS

WORSHIP SERVICES AT ST. TIMOTHY'S

+ Holy Eucharist is celebrated each Sunday at 8 AM (said service) and 10 AM (sung service). The 10 AM service is also shared via Zoom for those who are physically unable to attend in person.

+ Wednesdays there is an in-person Holy Eucharist at 10AM, using the traditional-language rite. This service is followed by tea and conversation in the parish library.

+ Current masking policy: All persons may wear a face mask as a health tool. Some persons (especially those in higher-risk groups) should wear a mask. However, no one must wear a mask. The parish provides good quality face masks for those desiring them.

+ We have an upgraded HVAC air handling system to maximize the safety of our indoor environment.

+ We encourage vaccination for all eligible persons to prevent communicable disease at church or elsewhere.

+ Please contact the parish office for more information, and to be added to our Zoom invitation lists.

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Word from the Rector...

Candlemas and the Freedom We Enjoy

This Sunday we will prepare for the end of the 40-day period from Christ's nativity to his presentation in the Temple by having a procession from the Parish Hall to the church at the 10 AM liturgy. In making this procession we are retracing the Holy Family's journey from Nazareth into Jerusalem; we are also recalling the reason in the Law of Moses for the presentation of the first-born male in the first place. That story has to do with Israel's exodus from Egypt and the great cost God exacted from a recalcitrant ruler's stubborn refusal to let God's people go: the loss of all the firstborn males--man and beast--in Egypt. It was a terrible calamity and proved to be enough for Pharaoh to relent.

The presentation ceremony in the Temple made clear that the loss Egypt sustained would never be forgotten by God, who does not look upon life--even the life of adversaries--as cheap. Every firstborn male in Israel was technically God's own possession. The trip to the Temple and the payment made there was a sort of ransom paid to have the child back. The message was clear: God never forgets the cost of His people's freedom.

We, too, must never forget the cost of our freedoms. While God endows us with "certain unalienable rights," the enjoyment of them is the result of others' blood, sweat, and toil--often in the face of great opposition and violent coercion.

The Book of Common Prayer makes clear in its prayers for the nation that our rights and the principle of equal justice under the law are precious things and require both labor to be protected and the will to protect them. That will is sharpened when we see the heroic ways people around the globe--and especially here in this country--lay down their lives to purchase and maintain freedom.

As we celebrate Christ's presentation in the Temple and his encounter there with blessed Simeon and Anna, we are doing much more than bringing the Incarnation cycle to a close for another year: we are affirming that our liberty is always costly, and that God never forgets the cost paid so we might walk freely. Neither should we.

A Hearty Thanks...
...Go to all who made the Annual Meeting such a superb success. Pamela and I also wish to convey our gratitude to the parish for the extraordinarily generous Epiphany gift we received. Wow! We were humbled by this. Thank you for being a generous and wonderful community to serve, and for helping make this a haven of peace and faithfulness. God bless you all.

Faithfully in Christ,

Brandon+

The Week Ahead...

Thursday, January 29: Ferial Day in Epiphanytide

Women's Bible Study on Zoom, 7 PM

Friday, January 30: Charles Stuart, King and Martyr, 1649

Fridays are marked by acts of discipline and self-denial. If you wish to know more about the meaning of this practice and its benefits, please enquire with Fr. Brandon.

Saturday, January 31: Marcella of Rome, Monastic and Scholar, 410

+ Sunday, February 1: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

+ 8 AM: Holy Eucharist (said). In-person.

+ 9:50 AM: Godly Play and Nursery open

+ 10 AM: Candlemas Procession (starting in the Parish Hall) and Holy Eucharist (sung). In person and online.

Following the 10 AM Liturgy:
+ Coffee Hour in the narthex.
+ Family Promise Info Session with Doug O'Dell in the Fireside Room (see below for more info).

Monday, February 2: The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple/Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The parish office is closed on Mondays
7 PM: Rite I Holy Eucharist in the Chapel

Tuesday, February 3: Anskar, Bishop and Missionary, 865

10 AM: Crafts and Conversation

Wednesday, February 4: Manche Masemola, Martyr, 1928

10 AM: Rite I Holy Eucharist in the Chapel
7 PM: Catechumenate

Prayer Requests from this Parish: Margaret McMurren+, Liz McClure, Howard Klopfenstein, Juanita Rivera, Scott Kohl, Tamara West, the Teeters family, Rorey DeWitt, Stephen Harrison, Br. Matthew Tenney, Rich Zorko, Julie Pannel, John Hanson, Kerrie Harwood, Fr. Gary Zerr, Family Promise, Salem for Refugees, Mending Wings Youth Ministries. For peace amongst the nations. For the maintenance of our civil liberties and for all who labor to protect them.

For Those with Birthdays Next Week: Victoria Henson-Apollonio, Susan Hawkins, Fr. Brandon Filbert

For the Departed: Renee Good, Alex Pretti

In the Diocese of Oregon: St. Bartholomew, Beaverton

In the Anglican Communion: The Church of England

Zoom Recording of Last Week's Sermon

Sunday, January 25th
Passcode: .6g.$NqU

Links will be valid for two weeks.

Have you used Zoom? You may be able to help! We are in need of volunteers to serve as back-up Zoom operators at some of our 10 AM services. Very little is required and it is simple and straightforward for anyone familiar with using Zoom. Please consider volunteering for this valuable service, which provides an opportunity to "attend" church and a sense of parish connection that may not otherwise be possible for some of our parishioners. Contact the Parish Office if you can help, and Emma will be happy to "show you the ropes".

Family Promise Presentation
Sunday, February 1 after the 10 AM Liturgy
In the new Parish Hall

Special Guest
Doug O’Dell
from Family Promise Salem

Doug will share what’s happening at Family Promise Salem, and how St. Timothy’s participation is evolving as we enter 2026. (One question we can consider - could St. Timothy’s take on three days of duties, instead of our current two days, as we did for most of our years helping with FP?)

Recent Good News from Family Promise
• Two families have already moved into stable housing since our last rotation
• 7 of 10 families this fall/winter have found housing
• Two babies were born this season - hope is growing

Come and learn more about this wonderful organization that is making a real difference for families in Salem.

The Feast of the Presentation of our Lord | Candlemas
Monday, February 2nd
Rite I Holy Eucharist, 7 PM

We will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation/Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a said, Rite I Holy Eucharist at 7PM in the Chapel. Please do consider attending, even if you haven’t before. It is a beautiful, gentle time of worship and contemplation.

On Sunday Feb 1, the day prior to this feast, we will begin the 10 AM service with a Candlemas procession starting with the blessing of candles in the Parish Hall, led by some of the youngest members of our Parish. We will then enter the church where the children will take the figures of the Holy Family from the Creche, along with two dove figurines, to the altar where they will be placed. This recalls the Presentation of Christ in the Temple and the offering made there to redeem the Christ child, as required by the Law of Moses. You may take your blessed candles home to burn at dinner that evening.

Want to know more about Candlemas? Check out the Rector's Blog post here, as well as this piece from Anglican Compass.

Shrove Sunday Brunch
Sunday, February 15th after the 10 AM Liturgy

Thank you to Amy DeWitt for volunteering to run the Shrove Sunday Brunch! Plan to join us in the Parish Hall after the 10 AM Liturgy on Sunday February 15th (the last Sunday before Lent). We will still need volunteers to help with set-up, clean-up and cooking pancakes. There will soon be sign up sheets available. Please consider helping with this event.

Lenten Preparation

This Sunday begins the three-week period of “Pre-Lent,” when we begin to prepare for our Lenten observance.
+ Plan to attend an Ash Wednesday Liturgy on February 18th:
10 AM said Holy Eucharist in the Chapel
7 PM sung Holy Eucharist with Bishop Akiyama.
+ Collecting Blessed Palms: There is a basket in the narthex for you to place palms from last year’s Palm Sunday so they may be made into the ashes used on Ash Wednesday.
+ Next Sunday, Sexagesima (one of the more memorable names in the calendar), the Lent Table will be up in the narthex with various resources for keeping Lent.
+ Lenten Rule forms will be available for you to use in prayerful consideration as to you own Lenten Observance. These will be in the bulletin next Sunday, and available to print online through future e-Tidings. The commitment page of the form can be signed and then returned to church and placed in the offering plate. These are kept near the altar during Lent as a reminder of our individual and communal Lenten journeys.
+ Lent Outreach Project: throughout Lent we will be collecting jars of peanut butter and cans of tuna for the food bank. These are among the top 5 desired donations at Marion Polk Food Share.

From Your Financial Secretary

Just a friendly reminder to those of you who are making your pledge payments through the bill-pay option at your bank. Please double-check that the amount you have authorized to be sent from your bank matches the amount you are currently pledging for the new year. Also check to see if there is an expiration date on your authorization, if there is, be sure it is current so there is no interruption in payments. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. – Sandy Noble

Lenten Retreat - last call!
Mt Angel Abbey
March 2 - 5, 2026

This year’s Lenten Retreat, shared jointly with St. Bede’s, Forest Grove, and led by Mtr. Patty Hale and Fr Brandon, will begin on the afternoon of Monday, March 2 and run through the morning of Thursday, March 5, 2026. This will be a time of prayer, quiet, reflection, study, and peace to begin the Lenten season. The topic is Growing in the Fruits of the Spirit with a focus on Galatians 5.

The cost to attend is $675 double occupancy or $495 single occupancy. This includes three night's accommodation and all meals, tea and coffee during the stay. For those in need, subsidies are available. Please let Fr. Brandon or the Parish Office know by February 5th if you would like to reserve a space.

Prayer for Social Justice
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mission Statement of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church
We gather to experience the Holy Trinity through Scripture, worship, study, and fellowship. Receiving and reflecting God’s love and grace, we are sent out to love and serve our neighbor, see the Christ in others, and share the Gospel by the example of our everyday lives.

St. Timothy's Website

St. Timothy's Facebook

Father Brandon's Blog

St. Timothy's Parish Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday, 9 AM - 3 PM
Wednesday, 9:30 AM - 3 PM
Friday, 9 AM - 3 PM via telephone/email/text
The Parish Office is closed on Mondays

Parish Office Contact Info
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7416; Salem, OR 97303
Email: mail@sainttimothys.org
Phone: 503-363-0601

Rector's Days Off:
Fridays and on Saturday mornings
Please contact Fr. Brandon on his days off if you have an emergency.

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Salem, Or 97303

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LENT AND HOLY WEEK AT ST. TIMOTHY'S

+ Stations of the Cross are held every Friday evening at 7 PM during Lent. Join us for the Litany of Penitence from Ash Wednesday and short readings from Blessed Julian of Norwich.

HOLY WEEK

+ Palm Sunday: March 24
8 AM: Blessing of Palms & Holy Eucharist (spoken)
10 AM: Palm Procession & Holy Eucharist (sung).

+ Monday, March 25 & Tuesday, March 26
7 PM: Evening Prayer

+ Wednesday, March 27
7 PM: Tenebrae Service

THE HOLY TRIDUUM

One Liturgy Spread over Three Days (Main services in bold text)

+ Maundy Thursday: March 28

7 PM: The Maundy Thursday Liturgy

Prayer Watch following until Noon on Good Friday

+ Good Friday: March 29

Noon: Stations of the Cross

7 PM: Good Friday Liturgy

+ Holy Saturday; Easter Eve: March 30

10 AM: Little Tomb Service of the Burial of Christ

9 PM: The Great Vigil of Easter, followed by the Agape Feast

Easter Day: March 31

11 AM: Holy Eucharist (said, with hymns)

HOLY WEEK AT ST. TIMOTHY'S

Palm Sunday
8 AM: Blessing of Palms & Holy Eucharist (spoken)
10 AM: Palm Procession & Holy Eucharist (sung)

The 10 AM service begins with the Liturgy of the Palms in the Parish Hall, with Palm Procession to the Nave, followed by the Dramatic Reading of the Passion Gospel of St. Matthew and Holy Eucharist. This is a “hybrid” liturgy: both in-person and online.

Monday & Tuesday in Holy Week
7 PM: Ante-communion, followed by confessions

We will not celebrate the Holy Eucharist during the period from Palm Sunday until Maundy Thursday. On these two days the evening service will be the first part of the Eucharist, including the readings for these days, but ending after the Lord’s Prayer.

Wednesday in Holy Week
7 PM: Tenebrae

Tenebrae, a service of shadows and darkness expressive of the gradual desertion of Christ by those around him, marks a decisive turn in Holy Week and serves as a contemplative portal into the mystery of our redemption which will be our focus in the coming days. This is a service unlike any other in the Church Year and forms the entrance into the heart of Holy Week.

THE HOLY TRIDUUM
One Liturgy Spread over Three Days

All Episcopalians are to join together for worship if physically able to do so. (Main services in underlined bold text)

Maundy Thursday

7 PM: The Maundy Thursday Liturgy
Prayer Watch following until Noon Good Friday

The first part of the service, which does not conclude until the end of the Great Vigil of Easter, this service commemorates Christ’s command to love each other as he has loved us, and his commandment to “do this in remembrance of me” by sharing in the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Sacrament is then removed to the Chapel and the altar is stripped in recollection of Christ’s arrest and being mocked. We then leave in silence as the lights are lowered.

The Prayer Watch at the Altar of Repose in the Chapel now begins, lasting until noon Friday, in remembrance of Jesus’s words in the garden of Gethsemane, when he asked his disciples to spend an hour in prayer with him. Parishioners sign up to take an hour in prayer in the chapel before Christ in the Holy Sacrament. A member of the parish will be at the church all night to let people in and walk them to their cars.

Good Friday

Noon: Stations of the Cross
7 PM: Good Friday Liturgy

The Good Friday Liturgy is the most solemn service in the Church Year. Its starkness points to the truth of both human brokenness and God’s complete identification with us in our need. The highlights are the Great Silence at the start, then the reading of the Passion Gospel according to St. John, the Solemn Collects (intercessions for all humanity), the bringing out and veneration of the Good Friday Cross, and the Communion from the Reserved Sacrament, brought from the Altar of Repose in the Chapel. Once more, we leave in silence.

Good Friday is marked by as complete a fast as health allows, from sunrise until at least 3 PM, the traditional hour of Christ’s death upon the cross.

Holy Saturday

10 AM: Little Tomb Service of the Burial of Christ

The morning service is a short, spare gathering at the now-denuded altar where we hear of Christ’s hasty burial and contemplate his lying in the tomb, even as God the Son has descended to Hades, there to liberate those long held by the Evil One. A glorious sermon from the very early Christian period is read and prayers for those who have died are offered.

Easter Eve

Saturday, 9 PM: The Great Vigil of Easter,
followed by the Agape Feast

The Easter Vigil is the heart of our life as a parish and as a people. It is our main Easter service. It must be experienced, not explained, but it consists of the lighting, blessing, and sharing of the New Fire, the great song before the Paschal Candle (The “Exsultet”), the readings of the Old Testament prophesies, Renewal of Baptismal Vows, the Proclamation of the Resurrection, the great Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom, and the First Eucharist of Easter. This is the high point of the entire Church Year. The Vigil is followed by a grand feast in the Parish Hall, to which all are invited. Come and see!

Easter Day

11 AM: Holy Eucharist (said, with hymns)
A “hybrid” liturgy: both in-person and online.

The Easter Day Eucharist at St. Timothy’s is quite a bit simpler than the Vigil. However, it is a joyous celebration and includes the beautiful, ever-new account of Mary Magdalene meeting the Risen Christ in the garden. With this Eucharist, our celebration of Easter Day concludes…but the Great 50 Days of Eastertide has just begun.