Organizational plans are being made for VBS 2009, and we need volunteers to help us get started. Helping with VBS is a fun, easy opportunity to serve at St. Timothy’s. If you would like to help, please contact Grace Hurst as soon as possible at ghurst@sttimothys.org or call 787-7590 X-1012 or 790-1758.

Confirmation Classes start at 10 AM in the Parlor. The classes are for people who have been baptized but not yet confirmed, for those who need to be received into this communion, and for those who simply want to sit in on the classes and read and review. The dates and topics are as follows:

• January 25th: Revelation and Response to God
• February 1st: The Bible and Anglicans
• February 8th: The Authority of Holy Scripture
• February 15th: The Book of Common Prayer
• February 22nd: The Sacraments – Effectual Signs of Grace
• March 1st: The Eucharist, The Mass, The Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper
• March 8th: Confession
• March 15th: Christian Stewardship
• March 22nd: The Anglican Communion
• March 29th: The Episcopal Church in North Carolina
• April 5th: The Episcopal Church in the USA
• April 19th: The Christian Duties
• April 26th: A Rule of Life
• May 2nd: Confirmation Rehearsal 10 AM
• May 3rd: Bishop’s Annual Visitation and Confirmation

Paul, or Saul as he was known until he became a Christian, was a Roman citizen born at Tarsus, in present-day Turkey. A few years after the death of Jesus, Saul came in contact with the new Christian movement and became one of the most fanatical of those who were determined to stamp out the “dangerous heresy”. Saul witnessed the stoning of Stephen. He was on the way to Damascus to lead the further persecution of the Christians when his dramatic conversion took place. From that day, Paul devoted his life totally to Christ and especially to the conversion of the Gentiles. The Acts of the Apostles describes the courage and determination with which he planted Christian congregations over a large area of the land bordering the eastern Mediterranean. Paul is believed to have been martyred at Rome in the year 64 under Nero.

The Diocesan Convention will be held this Friday and Saturday, January 23rd and 24th in Winston-Salem. Please pray for our delegates, Cathy Elsea, Jim Caldwell, Kathryn Carroll and Mike Spencer as they represent us at the Convention. We should give them great thanks and appreciation for taking the time to represent us at the Convention and to the wider Church.

The Vestry will hold its regular monthly meeting this Wednesday, January 21st at 6:30 PM in the Parlor.

The Youth Group Meeting that would normally be held this evening has been rescheduled to next Sunday, January 25th from 4 to 6 PM. We will hold our business meeting, prepare for the Italian Night Dinner and enjoy dinner together. See you then!

Craft Sunday will be Sunday, January 25th. We will be making new additions to the Jesse Tree. Our themes will be Epiphany or Baptism.

Dan Bain will become our Christian Education Coordinator beginning May 4th. Grace Hurst, our current Christian Education Coordinator, will work with Dan for a couple of weeks prior to stepping down. We thank Grace for the time and effort she has put into the Church School program. Please keep Dan in your prayers and give him the helpful support he needs to have a successful program of Christian Education for our children and our parish.

The Finance Committee will meet next Saturday, January 17th at 9 AM in the Parlor.

The Pastoral Care Committee will hold its next meeting this Thursday, January 15th at 3:30 PM in the Parlor.

The Adult Bible Study resumes on Wednesdays at 7 PM in the Parlor. Please join us for a study of The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. Clarence Bunting will lead us through the epistle in which Saint Paul addresses problems of immorality, slavery, church factions, public worship, marriage, and celibacy. He addresse questions such as how the Church can continute her ministry in a pagan and corrupt society. Sound familiar? Anyone can join the study at any point. Please bring a Bible, someone you know and yourself to the Study.