Enews January 5, 2024

The Feast of the Epiphany will be celebrated on

Sunday, January 7, 2024 at 10:00 am

Join us in person or on Zoom

Child care is available and All are Welcome!

Epiphany Blessings 

God of surprises and gifts, you revealed yourself as a newborn baby and, with a star, you led the peoples of the earth to worship Jesus, your only Son: lead us to see you face-to-face and help us to discover our gifts and talents so that we may offer them up to you and your service. Let us be Jesus's light in the world today. Amen.

Jennifer Gamber and Timothy J.S. Seamans.

Make Room for God: Mapping

Your Spiritual Journey

Saturday, January 13, 2024, 10 am-2 pm

Lunch included

Please note the change in length and

description of the retreat.

Based on feedback from a number of people, we have created the next installment of Make Room for God as a stand-alone program to accommodate those unable to attend the December 9, 2023 program. We plan to develop additional meaningful spiritual experiences in the future.

The January 13 retreat will focus on telling the story of your spiritual journey using such visual means as drawing, collage, and painting. 

Please understand that you do not have to be an artist to participate in this retreat. We will make it as user-friendly as possible. This approach can help you access your emotional, relational, holistic, and creative parts, thus furthering your understanding of your spiritual journey. It can also provide healing.

You can illustrate your story by plotting it on a life map, mind map, or graph or by making a collage from magazine clippings. It can be as simple or complex as you wish. There are many examples available to view by Googling mapping your spiritual journey.

We will meet in the Dallas Room at St. Thomas'.

Please let Rev. Sue know by contacting her at revsue@stdover.org if you would like to attend.

There will be a $25 donation to cover the cost of materials. Please do not let the cost be a barrier to your participation. Rev. Sue is happy to provide assistance.

February 4, 2024

Reception and Confirmation

Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld ~ Visitation

10:00 am Holy Eucharist

Sometimes, a member who did not grow up in the Episcopal tradition wants to commit more spiritually to their life of faith and their Anglican identity - and officially become an Episcopalian. Happily, in our tradition, there is a liturgical rite for this very thing.

It is called confirmation for those whom a bishop has not yet confirmed, and it is called reception for those whom a bishop of a different denomination has already confirmed. During a liturgy, when our bishop is present, the bishop lays hands on each confirmand and prays a special blessing to confirm or receive them.

Confirmation/reception at St. Thomas' is someone’s active and willing “yes” to choosing to live life in the way of Jesus - as a Christian in the Episcopal fold - or as a member of the “Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement,” as our presiding bishop Michael Curry puts it. Confirmands (the name given to those considering confirmation or reception) put aside some preparation time to study and explore the Episcopal tradition independently and with others at church.

Bishop Hirschfeld will be with us at St. Thomas’s on February 4, 2024. At that time, he can confirm, receive, and baptize those in the congregation who are interested. During this liturgy, the bishop lays hands on each confirmand and prays a special blessing or confirm or receive them.

Wednesday Evenings, January 17 and 24,

from 7:00 - 8:30, we will gather to learn about the Episcopal Church, what it means to say “yes” to our faith, and learn from others we walk this path with. These will be in-person gatherings. On Saturday, January 20, we will gather at 6:00 for a shared meal, conversation, and Eucharist.

If you are interested in this, please contact Rev. Sue at revsue@sttdover.org.

Please do not hesitate to ask any questions; all are welcome!!!

Chalking your threshold to celebrate Epiphany!

This year we will be offering bags of blessed chalk and a copy of a possible liturgy to use to bless your threshold for this Epiphany. This is an ancient tradition based upon the Old Testament Israelites marking their doors on the night of passover. Now it is used to invoke the spirit as suggested here: "In this service, we mark our front or main entrance doors with chalk as a sign that we are inviting God’s presence into the places, relationships, and situations that we call home." (Building Faith) Feel free to read more below about this and be sure get your bag of chalk and short liturgy to do at home on Sunday.

What STAR word are you following this year?

Let the spirit guide your year with the use of a star word. On Sunday, if you are willing, you will receive a blessed wood star with a word printed on it. This star will choose YOU. This is a way to intentionally practice following a star in the way the Magi did. Hang this star where you will regularly see it, write the word on sticky notes and put them around your house, share your word in conversations with those you trust and let's see where it takes us this year!

If you will not be at the service, you can go online and receive your own star word for the year or you can pick up a star word next Sunday. You can

draw a star on a piece of paper and write your word on it. Here are two online star word generators:

https://perchance.org/starwords2022

http://www.wordoftheyear.me/

Rev. Alanna Van Antwerpen has provided a guide for the SpiritBound ministry about the use of Star Words. Please find the link below to download ideas on how to meditate on and with your 2024 Star Word.

The STAR WORD for the St. Thomas' Community as generated by random for 2024 is:

As we walk as a congregation this year, we will be following the word EXPAND. How will we E..X..P..A..N..D

the Love of God further into our communities? How will we show our EXPANDING love for each other and for the other? How will we EXPAND our practices to include more and be more in 2024?

The first Winter Storm is coming. As final forecasts are made and snow actually starts to accumulate, make the best decision for you about driving to church. Rev. Sue generally drives in any weather and grew up in Fryeburg, Maine so cancelling church is not something she does easily.

With all that being said, WMUR will announce any cancellation made. The St. Thomas' Facebook page will also be updated and if there are people in church to operate Zoom, the service will be available online.

Meet our new Office Administrator and Sexton, Steve Goodwin!

Steve Goodwin graduated from Emmanuel Christian Seminary, an ecumenical seminary in East TN, in May of '22. Previously in campus ministry, Steve and his spouse Katie-Starr reside in Newmarket, NH and are actively engaged with Four Rivers Church in Durham, NH. Steve is currently a chaplain at the University of New Hampshire. He is passionate about the intersection of spiritual formation and justice in various contexts. Steve also enjoys hiking the White Mountains, exercising his artistic skills, and collecting books.

Your nativities gathered on our windowsills and the Kings have made their journey to the Manger!

Feel free to begin to take home your Nativity scenes now that they have been shared over the course of Advent and Christmastide.

Fourth Advent and Christmas celebrations!

Our congregation welcomed many visiting and returning congregants over the whirlwind Sunday to Monday - Fourth Advent to Christmas Day -celebrations. Our Fourth Advent service has 38 congregants, the Christmas Eve celebrations averaged 70 people each and Christmas day had 20 congregants!

Blessings abound!

Community Outreach Opportunities

Mission Box News

The final few weeks of 2023, the Outreach Committee decided that Rev. Sue's Discretionary Fund would be the recipient. This allows Rev. Sue to tend our own flock when emergencies or needs arise. Please consider making a donation knowing it will be well spent.

Dover Food Pantry

Non-perishable foods, personal care products, and paper goods donations for the Dover Food Pantry are always welcome. Place them in the shopping basket at the back of the church. 

Outreach Committee

Join us on Zoom at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month for our monthly meeting. This Tuesday, January 9th we will welcome a representative from the Dover Children's Home to educate us on their mission and needs. Email Catherine if you would like to join the meeting or learn more about Outreach at: wlangellotti@icloud.com 

Chair Yoga

Join us to find an oasis of peace in your week. “If you can breathe, you can do Yoga”.

Thursdays, Ervin Hall, 11:15-noon

Contact Catherine at wlangellotti@icloud.com

Lectionary Study

Wednesdays at noon ~ Zoom

Join us as we learn and pray with the next week's readings. Come if you have much scriptural knowledge or none at all. We learn from each other. The Zoom link and readings for Sunday are below.

Participating in the Service ~ January 7th