THE EPISTLE:

March 7, 2024

Moms' Group meets THIS Thursday, March 7th, at 6:30pm

St. Thomas’ Mom's group ministry for mothers with children ages 0 - 18 is meeting again TONIGHT, Thursday, March 7th, at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall!

The monthly Mom's Group is 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 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.

Stations of the Cross for Lent continues TOMORROW, Friday, March 8th

Every other Friday in Lent Fr. Donavan will open up the church again to lead anyone who'd like to join him through the fourteen Stations of the Cross. If you've never walked through the Stations, this is another opportunity to spend your Fridays in Lent enriching your soul with each Stations' powerful prayers, scripture readings, and physical movement through the church with Our Lord Jesus Christ. 



Join Fr. Donavan tomorrow, Friday, March 8th, at 12:05pm in the Nave, and make the Stations of the Cross a part of your Lenten season of devotion this year. And pray the Rosary with Fr. Donavan next Friday, March 15th.

Easter Flower Donation Envelopes available THIS SUNDAY!

Easter flower dedication envelopes are in the pews if you'd like to make a donation in honor, memory, or in thanksgiving of someone special. Dedications are a wonderful way to both beautify our church and honor loves ones. Please print legibly and with correct spelling. Simply place the envelope in the offertory plate or with the church office. Donations require a $50 minimum and must be received by Tuesday, March 26th.

No Nursery THIS Sunday, March 10th

The St. Thomas Nursery will be closed this upcoming Sunday, March 10. There will be a consolidated children's Sunday School class led by Ms. Sonya in Hiers Hall at 9:30am. 

St. Thomas Book Club meets March 11th

St. Thomas Book Club meets on Monday March 11th at 10 am in the Parlor. We will be discussing Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Hope all of you can make it. Call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 for more information

MARK YOU CALENDAR NOW! Clean Up Day is

NEXT Saturday!

Please join us on Saturday, March 16th for the St. Thomas Spring Clean-Up Day. A light breakfast will be served at 8am and then we will get to work. Bring your favorite pair of work gloves and gardening tools and let’s make St. Thomas beautiful for Easter.

Silver Saints Movie Matinee Michael

Thursday, March 14th

As we progress through Lent and with a nod to angels & demons, we offer you a good feeling movie on Thursday, March 14 at 1:00 PM. Come watch with us the movie, Michael, a divine romantic comedy about the Arch Angel, Michael as he spends some time on the Earth doing his good. With John Travolta as Michael, Andie McDowell, and William Hurt. This is a MUST-SEE.

The Silver Saints Matinee Movie offers you fun and fellowship with snacks and beverages, and we will even transport you if you wish. Comfortable seating and a mid-movie break make it even more enjoyable. Please bring your friends and ask people from our neighborhood. Call Jack or Becky Stokes at 256-881-4748 or the church office with questions or requests. Please call 24 hours ahead if you will need a ride.

Are You NEW to St. Thomas? Newcomers Class

March 17th

Newcomers: We are so glad you are worshipping with us. Please join us for a 1 hour class on March 17th to tour the church and learn the history of St. Thomas. We will meet in the Crossroads Room at 9:30 between the services. Follow the blue signs to find us. We look forward to meeting you. Please contact Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 with any questions.

Save the Date- Crosses and Cuisine- March 23rd



Make plans to join us Saturday, March 23 from 5pm-7:30pm as we enjoy fellowship while making palm crosses for Palm Sunday.  Cajun fare and child-friendly food are on the menu.  The St. Thomas Young Families Ministry is looking for many hands to make light work with food prep for adults and children, plan an activity or two for the children, and cleanup. Sign-up to help by using this link or contact Mike or Laura Beth Bestor at malbb12@gmail.com for more info. 

Help the St. Thomas Easter Bunny! 

The St. Thomas Easter Bunny is getting ready for our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30th at 10:30am! In an effort to be good stewards, this year we are collecting goodies to stuff inside the eggs that Ms. Laura Beth has collected. There will be a basket in Information Hall to drop off your contributions starting this Sunday, March 3. Please make sure any candy or food item is packaged and/or wrapped. Contact our Children's Ministry Coordinator if you have any questions.

Easter Brunch Sign Up in Information Hall 

Sign up sheets will go up this weekend for help with our annual Easter brunch, which is between services on Easter Sunday, March 31st. We will serve deviled eggs, sliced ham, hot cross rolls, fruit salad, hot pineapple casserole, punch and champagne mimosas! Plan to join us at this festival brunch to celebrate a glorious Easter morning!

We need those who are willing to help set up, prepare and serve food, and clean up after. We also ask for deviled egg and fruit salad donations. We will be handing out deviled egg trays on We will also be asking for donations of deviled eggs and fruit salad. We will be handing out deviled egg trays on Sundays, March 17 and 24 between services.

Seder Supper, Tuesday, March 26th



Seder is a serious and joyful event where the Passover story is retold. Looking to our Jewish roots, we tell the Exodus story, with its themes of power and mercy, bondage and freedom, hope and despair. This is much like the spiritual journey that we continue in our lives today. Observing the Seder reminds us, as modern day Christians, of the story of God and His people of which we are a part.  

Seder is a service interspersed with a dinner (lamb, chicken, or vegetarian), which concludes as the meal ends. We follow the traditional Jewish Seder, remembering that at the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated Seder with his disciples.  

We also need volunteers to help set up the Parish Hall, cook the meal, plate the food that is set on the table for the service, and clean up.  Sign-up sheets are on the Information Hall Bulletin Board. Contact Mike or Laura Beth Bestor malbb12@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Seder Supper Sign up QR Code: Make your reservations by March 21st!

Our Seder on Tuesday, March 26 at 6 pm in the Parish Hall is now available for sign up. The meal will be provided for a donation of $12 per adult and $5 per child. We request reservations be made by Thursday, March 21 as we need to order meat.  Sign-up online now by clicking HERE or via QR code below or in person in Information Hall. 

Choral Meditation

Sunday, March 24 at 6 pm

One of the most reflective services of the year, “A Meditation on the Passion of Christ with Carols” uses lessons and carols, spirituals, anthems, motets, and congregational hymns to illuminate the Passion of Christ, which is retold using biblical narratives from Mark, Matthew, and John. Our Choir began offering this service in the 1990s, and it has become one of my absolute favorite choral services. We have re-named it “A Choral Meditation on the Passion of Christ” to reflect the variety of music that is sung, although one of the hallmarks of the service is that we include several Christmas Carols which reference the Passion of Christ. This service is a deeply significant way to step back from the hectic pace of life and enter into Holy Week, and I hope that you will find it as meaningful as those of us in the choir do. Please do join us on Palm Sunday Evening, March 24 at 6:00 pm.

2024 Lenten Soup & Salad Series: Satan - The Evolution of Evil in the Bible & in the Church, continues THIS WEDNESDAY!

The season of Lent begins every year with the familiar story in Gospels of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the Wilderness. In the Episcopal Church, the Jesus we encounter in the Lenten Gospel is someone we know well, but Satan, on the other hand, is a Biblical figure who a recent Barna Research Study revealed that only 20% of Episcopalians say they believe in today.  In this 5 part Lenten Soup & Salad Series, Fr. Donavan will lead us through the evolution of Satan in the Bible, from the Old Testament, where “the accuser” appears only a handful of times in changing guises, to the New Testament, where Satan develops more thoroughly into the personification of evil, at war with God and God's angels. Come learn more about the frightening figure who will haunt Dante’s Inferno, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and a thousand modern horror films.  If you’ve ever had a question about the Devil in modern Christian faith, you won't want to miss this series during Lent!

Soup and salad will be available in the Parish Hall every Wednesday, through March 20th, with Fr. Donavan will beginning the program at 6:20pm. A special craft will be available for children each and every Wednesday during the presentation in the Parlor.

Wednesdays in Lent:

Taizé Prayer at 5:30 PM

Taizé Prayer is a distinctive style of meditative prayer developed by an ecumenical community of monks in rural France. This quiet, moving reflective prayer combines elements of the Church's traditional Liturgy of the Hours with elements of contemplative meditation. A typical Taizé prayer service incorporates periods of silence with meditative readings from Scripture, prayers of praise and intercession, and the frequent repetition of simple, contemporary chants based on the Psalms or other parts of Scripture. Short songs or chants, repeated over and over, create a meditative environment and express basic realities of faith which can be easily grasped by the mind and the heart. The result is to gradually move prayer from the head to the heart.

Sunday morning Christian Formation Class for Lent continues: What does it mean to be the 'Church' today?

In the 21st Century, there are perhaps more ideas and understandings about what it means to be a "church" than any other century before. Is a church primarily a place of worship and prayer? Is a church a place for finding and growing needed fellowship and community? Should a church be a place chiefly for Christian outreach and care for the neighborhood, the city, and world? Certainly, all of these descriptions have their important place in the church of today, but is there something more that can bind all the definitions, ideas, and understandings together and keep the church focused and unified in its ultimate purpose and action?

For Lent, Fr. Donavan will be leading anyone who'd like to join him in a deeper conversation on the topic "Church." In addition to the Bible and Church tradition and teaching, Fr. Donavan will also dig into his own experience as priest, pastor, and Rector in the Episcopal Church today and share with us how his own evolving understanding of church shapes his leadership and decisions in ministry with us at St. Thomas. Come join the conversation, Sunday mornings at 9:30am in the Parish Hall.

Habitat for Humanity

We are continuing our work at 215 Lake Drive to which we will install walls on the foundation. We'll will start at 8 am and should be finished by 11.

Directions:

Take Meridian north toward Drake State and turn left on McDonnell Ave. Take a left on N Plymouth Road and Lake Drive is on the left.

We are looking for someone to take over the Habitat for Humanity Coordinator role at St. Thomas. If you are willing to take on this role, please call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 or contact our Senior Warden, George Harriman, or Fr. Donavan.

"Come As You Are"

5 PM Holy Eucharist

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday worship service is every Sunday. Dinner is now offered on the FIRST SUNDAY of each month. We will have dinner April 7th, and May 5th. 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

New Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is now available!

Calling all youth and children 2^nd grade and older! A new St. Thomas Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is available by clicking here for 2^nd graders and older. We'd appreciate it if you could sign up to serve once a month. If your child(ren) need to be trained or refreshed, feel free to reach out to Deacon Jeannie (jrann228@gmail.com) or me and we will get something scheduled. Contact The Rev. Jeannie Randall at jrann228@gmail.com or our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth Bestor at children@stthomashuntsville.org.

Register now for Special Session, June 2-7

St. Thomas started Special Session in 1998 and is still going strong! It is now a ministry of Camp McDowell. Come and experience the magic of Special Session started by St. Thomas in 1998 at Camp McDowell! Registration is OPEN for campers, counselor staff, and adult staff. Join us from June 2-7, 2024, at Bethany Village. Campers attend for free! Nurses and male counselors are ALWAYS needed. Staff fee is $150 with scholarships available. Contribute to scholarship funds HERE. Don't miss the best week of the summer – click HERE and register NOW for an unforgettable experience!

At A Glance February 29 - March 6

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org