THE EPISTLE:

March 28, 2024

Maundy Thursday

The Holy Triduum and Easter Sunday at St. Thomas

Maundy Thursday, March 28

Holy Eucharist w/ Footing Washing 6pm

Washing of feet is offered to all but not required

Good Friday, March 29

Stations of the Cross at 11 am & 5 pm

Good Friday Liturgy at 12 pm & 6 pm

Holy Saturday, March 30

Children's Easter Egg Hunt & Cookout at 10:30 am

Easter Vigil followed by Reception at

8 pm

Incense will used during the Vigil

All are welcome to bring bells for the Holy Cacophony

Easter Sunday, March 31

Festival Choral Eucharist at 8 am and 10:30 am

Easter Brunch at 9:30 am

Please bring garden flowers to help flower the Children's Easter Cross

There will be no 5pm Eucharist on Easter Sunday

Maundy Thursday

Holy Eucharist

with Foot Washing

TONIGHT at 6 PM

The three most sacred worship services of the entire Church Year, the Holy Triduum, begin TONIGHT at St. Thomas with the liturgy of Maundy Thursday.

The word "Maundy" is derived from the Latin mandatum and refers to the new commandment novum mandatum given to us by Jesus in John 13:34, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another." Tonight's deep and beautiful liturgy, with music and chant offered by our amazing choir, is a commemoration of the Jesus' 'Last Supper' with his disciples and friends, and will include the washing of feet (offered to all, but not required), taken from the story of the Last Supper in John's Gospel.

At the end of this final Holy Communion before Easter Sunday, the clergy will strip the main altar and the sanctuary to prepare for Good Friday, a powerful visual reminder and transition into the starkness of Christ arrest, condemnation, and crucifixion.

The deep meaning of our Christian faith in Jesus Christ is contained within these next three holy days, so please, come begin this final walk with Jesus towards Calvary's hill and the Cross TONIGHT at 6pm at St. Thomas.

Two opportunities for both the Stations of the Cross and the Good Friday Liturgy TOMORROW

The opportunity to walk the fourteen Stations of the Cross at St. Thomas will be offered tomorrow, Good Friday, March 29, at both 11am and 5pm, one hour before each Good Friday Liturgy, at 12 noon & 6pm, at St. Thomas.

You are invited this Good Friday to come walk with Jesus to the Hill of Golgotha and then gather with the Church around the world as it offers prayers and meditations for Christ sacrifice on the Holy Cross to save the world, once and for all, from sin and death.

The St. Thomas Easter Egg Hunt & Cookout is THIS SATURDAY, March 30th!

Bring friends and come fill your Easter baskets at the St. Thomas Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30am this  Saturday! After the Easter Egg Hunt, stay for a hot dog lunch and get your Easter photos with the EASTER BUNNY!  Email Laura Beth Bestor, our Children's Ministry Coordinator HERE if you have any questions.

Celebrate Jesus' Resurrection at St. Thomas with the Great Vigil of Easter Saturday Night and two Festival Holy Eucharists on Easter Sunday morning!

This year at St. Thomas, we will again begin our Easter observance late in the night on Holy Saturday and then gather again to continue the celebration at two Festival Holy Eucharist services on Easter Sunday morning!

All are invited to gather around the new fire in the St. Thomas courtyard at 8pm Saturday night to begin the Great Vigil of Easter. We will first light the Paschal candle and enter the dark church, where scripture will be read, hymns sung, and Psalm recited by candlelight until a Holy Cacophony is heard and the Resurrection of Jesus is finally announced! Special, joyous Easter music will be provided by our Joyful Noise Band, and you are invited to bring your own bells to ring loudly as the Resurrection is proclaimed and the "Alleluias" return to the church for the first time since Shrove Tuesday! We will return to the courtyard outside again immediately following the conclusion of the Vigil for special Easter Reception with Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

And on Sunday morning, at both 8am and 10:30am, St. Thomas will continue our celebration of the Lord's Resurrection with a Festival Holy Eucharist, complete with amazing Easter hymns and music led by our choir and a full brass quintet at both Easter services! A special St. Thomas Easter Brunch will be offered in the Parish Hall at 9:30am between our two Easter services (see the full menu in the article below), and there will be a Cross for our children to help flower (please bring some garden flowers with you to donate for the flowering).

Please invite your family and friends to come celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ with us this Easter weekend at St. Thomas!

Easter Brunch, Sunday, March 31st at 9:30 AM

Easter Brunch, held between Sunday services, will feature sliced ham, hot cross rolls, fruit salad, hot pineapple casserole, punch, and champagne mimosas.

Please join us for this festive Easter morning brunch celebration!

A St. Thomas Tradition

 on Easter Sunday

Easter Day is right around the corner and once again the choir will be inviting members of the congregation to join us in singing the Hallelujah Chorus at both the 8:00 and 10:30 services. Sheet music is available in the church office if you’d like a copy in advance. If you need to dust off your part, there are many tutorials on YouTube. Questions? Contact Miss Kathy: music@stthomashuntsville.org or 614.329.599

Thank you for signing up and signing in to Realm at St. Thomas!

Thank you to everyone who has signed in, set up, and added a photo during the 40 days of Lent to St. Thomas’ Realm online service. Our online directory via Realm has expanded and grown exponentially. And thank you to our dedicated members of our Invite, Welcome, and Connect Ministry and our volunteers for their help taking photos and getting our parishioners signed in! If you still need assistance setting up Realm or getting your photo upload, please call the Church Office. 

The Bailey Cove Farmers Market Opens on Saturday, May 4th! Sign up to Volunteer THIS SUNDAY!

The Bailey Cove Farmers Market at St. Thomas kicks off this year on Saturday, May 4th! But we can’t have it without you! Please volunteer to help this year by signing up on the poster on the bulletin board in Information Hall. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to help out! Then start making your Farmers Market grocery list!

Moms' Group April 4th at 6:30 PM

St. Thomas’ Mom's group ministry for mothers with children ages 0 - 18 is meeting again TONIGHT, Thursday, April 4th, 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.

Choral Evensong for the Feast of the Annunciation,

April 8th at 6 PM

The Feast of the Annunciation [transferred from March 25] is a Holy Day in our church calendar which falls exactly 9 months before Christmas every year. This is the day when we commemorate the coming of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to tell her the astonishing news that she has been chosen to be the God-Bearer. This year St. Thomas will celebrate this important Feast with a Service of Evensong, assisted by the choir. The responses, canticles, and hymns come out of the hymnal and will be sung by choir and congregation, and Fr. Donavan will offer a short homily on the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary's "Yes"commemorated on this important day.

Please mark your calendars and join us for this special Evensong at St. Thomas.

Invite, Welcome, Connect Committee

Newcomer's Save the Date: April 12th at 6 PM

The Invite, Welcome, and Connect Committee would like to invite all those who have joined St. Thomas over the last year and a half to a Newcomer's Social Friday, April 12th at 6:00pm. We will gather in the Narthex to share heavy hors d'oeuvres, beverages, dessert, and conversation with members of the St. Thomas clergy, the IWC committee, and other newcomers to the church. We look forward to seeing you there!

Are you NEW to St. Thomas?

Come learn all about our church and our history in our new monthly Newcomers Class! We are really excited to have you here at St. Thomas.

Newcomers 1 will be held at 9:30 a.m. on April 14th. Follow the blue signs leading to the Crossroads Room where we'll meet. This will cover The Episcopal Church from Jesus' death to today.

Newcomers 2 will be held April 28th and we will take a tour of St. Thomas during which you will learn the story of St. Thomas.

 Call Elouisa Stokes 256-604-8669 for more information.

St. Thomas Book Club Wednesday, April 15th

St. Thomas Book Club will meet April 15 to discuss The Women by Kristen Hannah. We meet at 10 am in the Library. On May 13 we will discuss Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and on June 16 our book will be Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. You all are welcome even if you have not read the book. Call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 for more information.

NO Children and Youth Formation this Easter Sunday 

We offer five different Sunday school classes for our children and youth!

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

2nd-3rd grades: Love First- Laura Beth Bestor - Hiers 2

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

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

8th-12th grades: Youth Room

Contact our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth Bestor, at children@stthomashuntsville.org if you have questions or would like to help out with this important aspect of our ministries.

No "Come As You Are"

5 PM Holy Eucharist this Easter Sunday. Dinner will be offered Next Sunday, April 7th!

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday worship service will return next Sunday, April 7th, with a special dinner immediately following worship!. 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 at St. Thomas.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat: We are moving fast this year. We have the house under cover and ready to put up the metal flashing, j channel, and siding on the gables and soffits this Saturday. Please come and help. You will probably learn something for your house. There will be NO WORK during Holy Week or Saturday, March 30th. We will resume work April 6th. The house is at 215 Lake Drive.

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.

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.

At A Glance March 21 - March 27

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org