THE EPISTLE:

November 30, 2023

The Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle

Everybody's Pub Theology is TONIGHT, Nov. 30th!

Sit down with Fr. Donavan, Mtr. Ranie and Deacon Jeannie TONIGHT, Thursday, November 30th, from 6-7:30pm, at PaPPo's Pizzeria, at 7540 Memorial Pkwy SW, Huntsville, for great fellowship, good food, tasty drinks, and hearty discussion! In honor of the Feast of St. Andrew, the final night of the Christian calendar year, the theme of discussion will be SAINTS & SINNERS! Bring your favorite saint from the Bible or Church history, and be ready to share them over a warm pizza and cool glass of your own beverage of choice! And don't forget, buying the clergy a beer (or a dram in honor of the Patron Saint of Scotland) is fully encouraged and supported by the Church!

Email Ranie at associate@stthomashuntsville.org and let her know if you plan on joining us!

PRAY THE ROSARY FOR ADVENT WITH FATHER DONAVAN, STARTING TOMORROW, DECEMBER 1ST!

During the season of Advent, Fr. Donavan is inviting you to join him in deepening your prayer life with the beads of the traditional Catholic Rosary! Fr. Donavan will open the church BEGINNING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, at 12:10pm, for 20 to 30 minutes of praying the Rosary with reading of scripture from the King James Version of the Bible. This scriptural Rosary will continue every Friday in Advent, December 8th, December 15th, & December 22nd.

Each and every Advent season calls us to prayer and preparation, and the Rosary can offer you a moving, tactile way to deepen your spirituality and prayer life. Whether you've always prayed with Rosary beads or have never held a Rosary before, this is your opportunity to experience the ancient Christian practice of praying with beads.

The church will have plenty of Rosaries to give out to everyone who needs one, so you can bring your own or simply come into the church and pick one up here. And remember, Fr. Donavan is using the older, traditional 50 bead Catholic rosary and not the shorter, newer Anglican rosary. The rosaries available each Friday will be Catholic rosaries.

Daughters of the King to host an Advent Quiet Day this Saturday, December 2nd, in the Parish Hall

This Saturday morning, December 2nd, beginning at 8:30am, the Daughters of the King will be hosting a special Advent Quiet Day at St. Thomas in the Parish Hall. Coffee, tea, and orange juice along with some light breakfast food will be available, followed by an Advent program led by Fr. Donavan beginning at 9:15am. Fr. Donavan will be presenting a reflection on three different prayer practices Christian can use to deepen the meaning and understanding of the season of Advent. We will begin with Christ's first Advent and praying the Rosary, then we will move to Christ's daily Advent and the Ignatian Examen prayer, and we will finish with Christ's second and final Advent and the ancient Christian practice of Memento Mori.

Please invite a friend and join the Daughters of the King for this special Advent Quiet Day this Saturday morning at St. Thomas.

New Adult Christian Formation Class for Advent beginning THIS SUNDAY, December 3rd: Angels in Christian Scripture & Tradition

What are angels and how have they been understood in the Bible and in the history of the church?  What roles do angels play in the Old Testament and where do they appear in Gospel stories of Jesus and in the New Testament? Where do our understanding of angels today move from the Bible and the church and into popular culture? And, finally, do angels still interact and impact the lives of Christians today?

For the season of Advent this year, join Fr. Donavan for a 3 week class on the place of Angels in Christian scripture and tradition, beginning THIS SUNDAY, December 3rd, at 9:30 am in the Parish Hall.  Come dive deeper into what the church knows, understands, and still proclaims about these mysterious creatures of Judeo-Christian scripture and legend and be prepared to rethink all you think you know about angels.

Children's Christmas Pageant Practice begins this Sunday, Dec. 3rd



All St. Thomas children are invited to join Miss Kathy and Ms. Laura Beth in the Parlor from 9:30am-9:45am on Sunday, December 3 and 10 for St. Thomas Night practice. This year, we'll be performing The Best Old Fashioned Christmas Pageant Ever. After these Sunday practices, we will have an abbreviated Sunday school in Hiers Hall.

We will have one final practice the morning of Saturday, December 16 followed by our annual Children's Christmas Party. St. Thomas Night will be at 5pm on Sunday, December 17.

Farewell Reception for Dorothy this Sunday, December 3rd

Dorothy Bolton, our longtime parish administrator, will be leaving us on December 31. Please join us for a farewell reception in her honor this Sunday, December 3, after the 10:30 service in the Parish Hall. Come and thank her for 13 years of devoted service to St. Thomas.

Drinks and dessert will be provided. Bring your favorite finger food to share. Deliver your food to the kitchen before the 10:30 service. No gifts please, but personal notes and cards are encouraged. For more information, ask Linda Lou Hardison or Gail Perna. 

"Come As You Are"

5 PM Holy Eucharist & Dinner this Sunday evening

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday worship service is every Sunday. Dinner is now offered on the FIRST SUNDAY of each month. Our last one of the year is this Sunday, December 3rd. Our 5pm Holy Eucharist features simple hymns from the Alleluia III hymnal, good sermons preached from the floor, and Holy Communion. Come as you are and invite a friend to join you for the 5pm Evening Holy Eucharist EVERY SUNDAY at St. Thomas.

Blood Drive at St. Thomas is THIS SUNDAY!

With another terrific Lobsterfest behind us, we turn our attention to showing thanks for all God’s blessings. We can share those blessings by giving blood. It takes just a few minutes and may quite literally save a life. What a Christmas gift!



St. Thomas will host a blood drive this Sunday December 3. If you are able, please CLICK HERE, or drop by the LifeSouth bus in the church parking lot between 7:30 and 1:30 on Dec. 3rd.

Young Adult Pub Theology

Dec. 4th at 6pm

Calling all young adults out in the working world! Young Adult Pub Theology will meet November 6 at Melt in downtown Huntsville from 6-7:30PM. If you have any questions please email Ranie

at associate@stthomashuntsville.org

Operation Santa Claus

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! Operation Santa Claus (OSC) only has two more weeks to gather gifts for our neighbors who receive services from Wellstone Behavioral Health because of severe and persistent mental illness. Residents of mental health group homes and recipients of mental health services count on OSC to make their Christmas holidays happy. Again this year COVID is limiting the gifts to be Wal-Mart gift cards, which minimize the face-to-face contact required.

Envelopes on the OSC table in Information Hall contain all the information you need to participate. Just be sure that you sign the Tracking Sheet on the table and RETURN THE SMALL, COLORED ENVELOPE WITH THE CARD INSIDE NO LATER THAN NOON ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10. Questions? Call Susan Smith at 256-503-0695.

'Wednesdays in Advent' at St. Thomas begin next week on December 6th

This year, St. Thomas will offer three "Wednesdays in Advent" programs, beginning next Wednesday, December 6th at 6pm. Our first "Wednesday in Advent" will begin with a special Taize Worship Service for Advent in the Nave, followed by a short Advent meditation, led by Fr. Donavan, entitled "St. Bernard, Thomas Merton, & the Three Advents of Christ."

Our second "Wednesdays in Advent" program will be a special Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols led by the St. Thomas Choir on Wednesday, December 13th, at 6pm in the Nave. A reception will immediately follow the service in the Parish Hall.

And for our final "Wednesdays in Advent" program, everyone is invited to a fun and festive "Carols, Cocoa, and Cookies" carol sing in the Parish Hall. Come get your Christmas cheer going with your favorite Christmas carols on Wednesday, December 20th in the Parish Hall.

Please mark all our Wednesday Advent programs on your calendar and join us for Taize worship and Advent program next Wednesday at 6pm!

Next Moms' Group is

Thursday, Dec. 7th

St. Thomas’ brand new Mom's group ministry for mothers with children ages 0 - 18 is meeting again next Thursday, December 7th, at 6:30pm.

The monthly Mom's Group will be a time to come together as mothers with young children to support one another, share in the love and laughter, and help each other through the challenges and struggles that motherhood brings. Being a mom is not always easy, so one night a month we hope to come together to ask the good Lord for patience and strength and to lean on one another in this shared experience. Please bring a mom friend! Contact Audrey Cain at audreysherkin@gmail.com for more info

Film Screening of the Philadelphia Eleven, changed to December 11th, at Nativity

Did you know that The Episcopal Church did not always have women priests? Get to know their story and celebrate that history through the new documentary The Philadelphia Eleven. The film will be screened at The Church of the Nativity in downtown Huntsville on December 11th at Noon and again at 6PM. If you have questions please email Mtr. Ranie at associate@stthomashuntsville.org

St. Thomas Book Club

Dec. 11th

St. Thomas Book Club will meet on December 11 at 10 am in the Parlor. We are discussing All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. We'd love to have you join us. Call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 if you have any questions.

A Festival of Lessons and Carols

The Choirs of St. Thomas will present an Advent Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on Wednesday evening, December 13, at 6:00 pm. Works by Malcolm Archer, Pavel Chesnokov and Thomas Luis de Victoria will be included, the highlight being Franz Biebl's beloved setting of "Ave Maria." This service is open to the public. St. Thomas is located at 12,200 Bailey Cove Road in Southeast Huntsville. Information at 256-880-0247

Children and Youth Christian Formation Information

St. Thomas' Children and Youth Christian Formation classes are now underway every Sunday! We offer five different Sunday school classes for our children and youth!



Pre-K - 1st grade: Godly Play- Renee' Redfield - Hiers 4

2nd grade-3rd grade: Love First- Laura Beth Bestor - Hiers 2 (new room)

4th grade-5th grade: Thou Art- Kathie Clayton & Lila Powell - Hiers 6

6th grade-7th grade: My Faith, My Life- Sonya Carrier & Jane Allgood - Hiers 5

8th grade- 12th grade: Youth Room

Contact our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth Bestor, at children@stthomashuntsville.org or our Youth Ministries Coordinator, The Rev. Jeannie Randall at jrann228@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to help out with this important aspect of our ministries.

Christian Formation Offering for Adults: Bible Study on Romans

Each Sunday in Conference Rm 1, we will be studying Paul's Epistle to the Romans with Mtr. Ranie. Bring a Bible and all your questions and wonderment involving Saint Paul and the messy, fascinating theology his works foster. Mtr. Ranie will be leading the class. If you have any questions, please email her at associate@stthomashuntsville.org.

Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is now available!

Calling all youth and children 2^nd grade and older to help serve our Church by being an acolyte! Click to access the 10:30am Acolyte Schedule Sign-Up Genius which schedules through January 2024.  Please consider signing up 2-3 times to share your works.  Contact Jeannie at jrann228@gmail.com with questions.

At A Glance: November 23rd - November 29th

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org