Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord

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I remember when it was called Vacation Bible School.  The word "school," apparently was viewed negatively by a lot of kids so the name was changed to Vacation Bible Camp.  Camp is always more fun than school.  (The first VBS was held in 1894 in Illinois and lasted four weeks!)

This week 50 kids have been attending our Joyful Noise summer church camp.  Led by Teresa Peters (the "Conductor") over 20 adult volunteers and about 10 teens and preteens have kept the kids engaged from 9 am to noon.  An after-care option is also available to care for kids until 3 pm. "Most of the campers are not members of St. Tim's," said Teresa, "so I love that we are giving a positive church experience to the community."

Unlike in previous years, this year's camp is totally homegrown.  According to the Rev. Lisa McIndoo, "When I was a kid, Vacation Bible Camp meant watered-down Kool-Aid, stale crackers and a record player.  It wasn't engaging."   Working with Lisa, Teresa's team of volunteers developed this year's music-themed camp Joyful Noise. "St. Timothy's is a musical church and we worship in a musical way," said Lisa.  "What better gift than to share that with the children of the community?"

The campers begin each day in the sanctuary with songs led by Teresa, Peter Sammel and Ross Johnson.  Peter noted, "For me, using music as a tool is a very spiritual exercise."  The morning I visited, Will Watkins shared his expertise on the organ for the campers.  The children watched Will play and watched his feet on the pedals and felt the instrument's vibrations translate into joyful noise.


They then divide according to age into groups that are named for orchestral instrument families: brass, woodwind, strings, percussion.  These groups  rotate through stations where they make their own musical instruments, learn how music is created through vibration and learn some line dances led by Lisa herself.  (The snack station is also very popular.)  These groups are overseen by adult volunteers as well as St. Tim's teens and preteens, some of whom had previously been campers for many years.  Ella Nelson is a teen counselor with the kindergarten/first grade group. "The kids are so cute and I like working with the leaders."

The children gather at the end of the morning to share more songs before being sent on their way. The joyful noise continues for the rest of this week. --Amy Phillips Witzke

This Little Light of Mine

Were you at church on Sunday, July 8?  Did you see the candle in the red glass globe on the wall to Lisa's left?   The flame danced dangerously higher and higher as Lisa began preaching her sermon.  We came thisclose to tongues of fire landing on Lisa's head!  Cindy Jarvis and Allan Grimes leapt to the rescue and safely removed the candle to the sacristy.

This lamp is called an eternal or sanctuary candle.  It in theory burns continuously (except for Good Friday) to represent God's eternal presence, and that there is reserved consecrated bread and wine nearby.  The sanctuary candle derives from Jewish tradition and is known in Hebrew as a ner tamid, which means eternal light or flame.

Some churches use electric bulbs in their candles, but at St. Tim's we use oil.  Sometime prior to July 8, the wick on our candle was trimmed when it shouldn't have been, which caused the flame to come into contact with the oil thus igniting the oil.   With the fan blowing beneath the candle, the flame reached higher and higher and led to Cindy and Allan's dramatic rescue.  A new wick has been purchased and will be monitored by Cindy and the altar guild.  Cindy reports that the oil lasts between five and seven days between refillings.

Our eternal candle was purchased and installed in 2014 while Ron Griffin was rector, many years after the church was built.  Why the wait?  According to Cindy, altar guild director, "I don't know if there was ever a purposeful decision to not have one before, but as the eternal candle is meant to be positioned either at the church's entrance/narthex, or near/over the tabernacle where we would keep reserved sacrament and wine, but since we don't have a formal tabernacle, and the narthex ceiling is so high that hanging the candle and keeping it lit would be problematic, the original team handling the interior design of St. Tim's sanctuary may have opted to 'work on it later...'"

Many thanks to Cindy for providing me with the history of this candle as well as for keeping us safe and preventing Lisa's sermon from becoming one of fire and brimstone. --Amy Phillips Witzke

With Joy and With Love

My husband, Ken, died 11 years ago this past March.  He had cancer, and his death was expected.   In conversations with him, I was not surprised that he cared little as to what form his memorial service would take.  He assured me I was free to do whatever made our kids and me feel better.  I was, however, surprised that he wanted his ashes interred in the columbarium at St. Timothy's.   It was a decision that surprised me because he had only recently scattered his parents' ashes in the Fraser River in British Columbia, and I assumed he would have wanted something similar. But for reasons he never explained, he was set on the columbarium.

The word columbarium comes from the Latin word columba, which means nesting place for doves.  The catacombs, used by early Christians in ancient Rome for both refuge and burial, resembled the niches used by nesting doves.  Doves have long been a symbol of peace, the Holy Spirit and the resurrection.


The columbarium and the Patricia Westlake Sammel Memorial Garden at St. Timothy's were built in 1996 by Ed Sammel, father of Peter Sammel, in memory of his wife.  Our columbarium has space for 48 niches and can be expanded in the future. Each niche is marked with a brass plaque with birth and death dates.  There is also a plaque dedicated to those whose ashes were scattered in the Rose Garden.  The columbarium is administered by trustees headed by Peter Sammel who meet occasionally to supervise maintenance of the Garden and to update records.

The columbarium and Patricia Westlake Sammel Memorial Garden allow us to surround ourselves with the communion of saints in a setting that becomes a tangible representation of our faith in the resurrection.

I have friends living near St Tim's who have told me that they sometimes stroll through the prayer garden and pay respects to Ken and remember how easily (and loudly!) he laughed.   And two of Ken's fishing buddies stop by each October before the annual fishing trip to remember Ken and how much he loved his family.  Perhaps Ken knew that what would make us feel better was knowing that he was remembered with joy and with love. --Amy Phillips Witzke

General Convention

St Timothy's Episcopal Church belongs to the Santa Clara Deanery and the Diocese of El Camino Real.  Every three years the Episcopal dioceses meet to discuss matters facing the Church.  This year the meeting is in Austin and began meeting yesterday.   Clergy and lay (non-clergy) deputies to General Convention are elected by delegates at the diocesan level.

The convention is divided into two houses--the House of Bishops and House of Deputies.  Much like the United States Congress, legislation needs to pass both houses to become law.

Matters to be decided at this year's General Convention include issues surrounding marriage equality and revisions to the Book of Common Prayer.

This will be the first General Convention presided over by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who is coming off his much buzzed about sermon at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.   It will also be the last General Convention for our diocesan Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, who is retiring next year.

You can follow the goings-on at 79th General Convention where you will find many links to various topics of discussion as well as live-streams. --Amy Phillips Witzke