Please look out for St. Thomas’ quarterly pledge statements. You will see an email coming from finance@stthomashuntsville.org. These statements will include your pledge payments from 01/01/2024 - 04/30/2024. If you have further question please contact Irene Smith in the church office.

THE EPISTLE:

May 2, 2024

Moms' Group GOING OUT to El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant, TONIGHT,

May 2, at 6:30 pm

St. Thomas’ Mom's group ministry for mothers with children ages 0 - 18 will meet TONIGHT, May 2nd, at 6:30pm at El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant which is in front of Home Depot on South Memorial Parkway.

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.

Pray the Rosary with Fr. Donavan, TOMORROW, Friday, May 3rd, at 12:05pm

With the great turn out and interest in praying the traditional Rosary during the seasons of Advent and Lent, Fr. Donavan will continue a twice monthly Rosary prayer group. For the remainder of the Easter Season and after Pentecost, we will be praying the five Glorious or the five Luminous Mysteries at 12:05pm every other Friday. If you'd like to pray the Rosary, join Fr. Donavan at 12:05pm May 3rd, in the church.

The Bailey Cove Farmers Market Opens THIS Saturday, May 4th!

The Bailey Cove Farmers Market at St. Thomas kicks off this Saturday, May 4th, for the summer season! Please come out this weekend, support our local farmers, and get a taste of all our Farmer's Market here at St. Thomas has to offer! And if you'd like to help, we still need volunteers for set up and take down, this weekend and throughout out the season! You can volunteer to help this year by signing up on the poster on the bulletin board in Information Hall. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to support and help our Bailey Cove Farmers Market!! Start making your Farmers Market grocery list now!

Adult Christian Formation: The Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus & the Shroud of Turin continues THIS SUNDAY!

The stories in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances have fascinated and inspired Christians for centuries. As we continue to celebrate the Great 50 Days of the Easter season, come join Fr. Donavan for a special Easter study of these amazing stories from the New Testament and discuss the deep meaning of bodily resurrection for our Christian faith. Also, we will consider the mysterious Shroud of Turin, and discuss whether or not it is the greatest of Christian relics or the slyest of Medieval frauds! Don’t miss a single session of this intriguing Easter meditation on the resurrected Christ at 9:30am in the Parish Hall!

"Come As You Are"

5PM Holy Eucharist with Dinner THIS Sunday,

May 5th

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday Eucharist, and this Sunday, dinner will be served immediately following worship! May 5th will be the last dinner offered before we take a break on Sunday dinners for the summer. The Holy Eucharist every Sunday at 5pm will continue!

Our 5pm Holy Eucharist features joyful hymns from the Alleluia III hymnal and gospel music chosen by our skilled keyboard master, Sam Wright. We also have 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.

Special Holy Eucharist to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, next Thursday, May 9th, at 6pm

On the 40th day of the Great 50 Days of Easter, the church celebrates the conclusion of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances on earth with the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven (Act 1:1-11, Mark 16:19). This year, Fr. Donavan will be offering a simple, spoken, Rite 1 Holy Eucharist, with hymns led by Kathy Heim, on Thursday, May 9th, the Feast of the Ascension.

Linda Mixon has moved to Texas

Longtime St. Thomas parishioner who has long been on our prayer list for members of our family who are homebound has moved to Texas to be closer to her daughter. If you would like to send a card or note to Linda wishing her well in her new home, you can send it to her at: Linda Mixon, P.O. Box 5201, Acton, TX 76049.

Mother's Day and Graduating Seniors Celebration on

Sunday, May 12

Mother's Day falls on the Seventh Sunday of Easter, and at St. Thomas, we traditionally offer special prayers for all mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures in our lives on Mother's Day, as well as offer special gifts presented by our amazing Flower Guild. This year, we will also take time to celebrate St. Thomas' graduating hight school seniors, Paul Barbson, Vincent Moore, and Zane Starnes. Each of our high school senior will be presented with a special gift and memento from their St. Thomas family. If you know of another St. Thomas high school senior we have missed, please notify Laura Beth HERE. Please plan on attending church to on the final Sunday of the Easter season to celebrate our Mother's and Graduates May 12th!

St. Thomas' Green Mountain Eucharist

& Parish Picnic for Pentecost Sunday is May 19th!

St. Thomas will worship again on top of Green Mountain on Pentecost Sunday, May 19th! It will be a great way to kick off summer and to gather the entire parish family together for worship and a community picnic! This will be our ONE MORNING SERVICE on Pentecost Sunday and it will be offered in the pavilion at the Nature Center on top of Green Mountain. The pavilion is easily accessible to all, and, with the beauty of nature all around us, we will celebrate with the music of a Jazz Eucharist arranged by our own Kathy Heim.

As we recount the story of Pentecost according to Acts 2: 1-6, it is the tradition of the church of have the reading read in multiple languages. If you speak a language other than English and would like to read a portion of Acts in that language for Pentecost Sunday, please sign up this Sunday in Information Hall with your name, your email address/phone number, and the language you’d like to contribute. 

And this year, St. Thomas is again providing fried chicken with all the “fix-ins" for a Parish Picnic immediately following the Holy Eucharist! Just wear something RED to celebrate the day, dress comfortably, and come up the mountain to join us! Aside from bug spray and a possible camp chair (if you have one), there are a large number of picnic tables available to make everyone feel at home. 

Again, we will only offer the 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist that morning on Green Mountain in order to bring the whole family together, but we will also offer the "Laid Back" Holy Eucharist at 5pm that afternoon inside the Church.

Make sure you have May 19th, Pentecost Sunday, on your calendar, for our annual Mountain Top Worship Service & Parish Picnic!

St. Thomas Presents Concert Series returns with Parker Hasting on Saturday, June 1!

St. Thomas Presents will open a new concert season on Saturday, June 1st, at 5pm, with talented Nashville guitarist and singer, Parker Hasting. You will be highly entertained by the music of Parker, who is an award-winning guitar “thumbpicker,” in the style of Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. Parker is also a new country singer-songwriter who released his first album, “Kentucky Sunshine” last year. Come hear the styles of Steve Wariner, Vince Gill, and a touch of James Taylor, plus Parker’s original songs. St. Thomas Presents will welcome Parker from his home base in Music City, Nashville, Tennessee, to share some Alabama hospitality. Family and friends welcomed! As always, there is NO CHARGE for our concerts, so put Parker Hasting on your calendar and don’t miss it on Saturday, June 1st, at 5pm!

Stewardship of Creation

As we attempt to be better stewards of Creation and protect the environment, we are endeavoring to recycle what we can. To this end, recycling bins have been placed beside the garbage bins in the Parish Hall. One is for glass only and the other is for plastics, cans, and cardboard. Please place cans, cardboard, and plastic containers as designated on the RANA sign into the plastics recycling bin . PLEASE NO TRASH.

ACCEPTABLE ITEMS: #1 and #2 Narrow Neck Plastic Bottles, Aluminum & Steel Cans (NO MISCELLANEOUS METALS OR PLASTICS), Paper and Flattened Cardboard. Anything else is garbage, trash, or hazardous waste. Please do not bag your materials. No hangers, hoses, cords, rods, car parts, miscellaneous metals, cat litter containers, etc. This is a small sample of incorrect items that can damage processing equipment and contaminate the good recycling materials! 

The City of Huntsville does not collect recycling from St Thomas so a few dedicated individuals are gallantly collecting it and recycling with their home recycling. Please help them out by not contaminating the containers.

A member of our committee received a small grant from the Diocesan Task Force for Creation Care, which has been used to purchase weather stripping for the exterior doors of the church building. There will be fewer draughts when it is fully installed.

Sunday Children and Youth Formation at St. Thomas

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.

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.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat: There is no work this Saturday, May 4th, but we hope to paint on May 11. Call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 for information. 

Directions to 215 Lake Drive:

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.

Medical Supply Ministry at Latham Church

St. Thomas is currently directing all medical item donations to Latham Church, located on Weatherly Road. Latham Church operates a Medical Supply Ministry that accepts walkers, wheelchairs, potty chairs, bedside commodes, canes, and crutches. The Medical Supply Ministry is free of charge and requests your help in expanding their inventory. If you have any of these items or if you need them, you can eliminate "the middle man" (St. Thomas), and now go straight to Latham Church!

Just a friendly reminder: Send Mail to Post Office Box

Due to break-ins in late 2022 & early 2023, St. Thomas no longer has a physical mailing address. For the past 12 months, the postal service forwarded St. Thomas mail to our P.O. Box, but that has now expired and mail sent to our physical address is being returned to the sender. To avoid your mail being returned, please send ALL pledge payments, donations, cards, or letters to: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 14509, Huntsville, AL 35815-0509

AT A GLANCE: April 19-May 1

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org