THE EPISTLE:

September 10, 2026

Make plans to join us on

September 12

Make plans to join us on Saturday, September 12 from 9 am to 1 pm. "An Introduction to Centering Prayer" will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 12200 Bailey Cove Road, Huntsville, AL. Members of Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Homewood, Alabama will be conducting this free program collaborating with Church of the Nativity, St. Thomas, and Contemplative Outreach Ltd. 

Little Free Pantry Update

from Jennifer Leon

Fellow followers of Christ, it has indeed been a long time since I have provided an update. The Little Free Pantry is going strong and your contributions are continuing to make a difference in the lives of people who utilize this ministry. There will be a new list of food needs on our poster in Information Hall on Sunday, September 13. We can always use canned meat (chicken, spam, Vienna sausages, tuna, salmon, and canned ham), and peanut butter.

Sometimes the Lord provides opportunities to connect one on one with our patrons. Because of your supplying food to feed our neighbors in need, a wonderful outcome has transpired in the past month. The individual previously mentioned in past updates whose only mode of transportation was a skateboard, now has a bicycle thanks to one of our parishioners, who wishes to remain anonymous. He can rid further out to apply for jobs. The last time we spoke, he had applied for at least 10 jobs and now has a possible lead on a job. The Holy Spirit has used you to help transform the life of another person. Thank you ever so much, beloved friends.

Next Book Club

September 14 at 10 AM

The Monthly Book Club is looking forward to This Is Happiness by Niall Williams. We will discuss that on September 14 in the Parlor at St. Thomas at 10 am. The book for October 12 is In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende. We are glad to have folks from outside St. Thomas so if you know someone who would like to join us, please invite them. Some of us go to lunch afterward. Come meet fellow book lovers!

Sisters in Faith Gathering

September 16 at 5:30 PM

The Sisters in Faith are meeting in the Parish Hall on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:30 pm to make cards. Join us for fun and fellowship to get into the fall spirit! Contact Carol Roy

Next Showtime: September 17,

1 PM

As a thank you to Dolly Parton and all that she gave us throughout her life, the Silver Saints wish to nostalgically run the epic movie, Nine-to-Five, which offers a cute, fun, and delightful Dolly-type story. This movie, starring Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman, and others offers a satire about three female secretaries and a bad boss who ”must go down.” You remember it being funny. Come laugh again and join us in the St. Thomas Parish Hall at 1:00 pm on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

As always, the Silver Saints Movie Matinee offers fun and fellowship with our parishioners and visitors much like going to a theater, but free. We offer snacks and beverages, and we will even pick you up and return you home if you wish. We offer comfortable seating and a time-out break half way through the movie. Friends and neighbors are welcome to attend. Call the church office at least 24 hours in advance if you need a ride.



UPCOMING

Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? St. Thomas is participating in several events this month to support one of our own who is currently a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patient. Gideon C. was diagnosed with sarcoma earlier this year. He has been undergoing treatment at St. Jude in Memphis and at their satellite location here in Huntsville. Proceeds from these events will benefit the local chapter of St. Jude.

Join Team Gideon in the St. Jude Walk on September 26

Support Team Gideon by walking Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville on Saturday, September 26. The event opens at 9 am, the walk starts at 10 am, and there is a celebration at 10:30 am. Click here to join the walk in person or virtually. You can also donate to Team Gideon through the link.

St. Thomas Youth and Children's Ministries are forming a group to join Gideon's family in the walk. Contact Youth Minister, Ethan, via his email or Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth, via her email if your family would like to participate.

Notecard Fundraiser

The St. Thomas Children and Youth Ministries have designed notecards for a vestry approved fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. We are offering two different packages, each with 10 notecards and envelopes (5.5 in. x 4.25 in.) for $10 per package. Previews of the Creation and Reflections packages are provided below. Pre-order your card packs by Friday, September 18 via this link or stop by Information Hall on your way to breakfast on Sunday morning. We plan to have pre-ordered card packages available for pickup starting Sunday, September 27. Contact our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth, via her email or our Youth Minister, Ethan, via his email or if your family would like to participate.

Save the Date- September 26

St. Thomas Presents pianist Jackson Love in concert on Saturday, September 26 at 4 pm. Make plans to join us in the Nave as he entertains us with pieces from classical to Broadway.

Jackson is a pianist, composer, and proud native Huntsvillian! He earned his BM from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and his MM in Theory and Composition from Southern Illinois University- Carbondale. He collaborates frequently with the Huntsville Ballet Company as composer and company pianist. He has written three ballets for the company, including two which will be performed at the beginning of the Fall '26 season. He is the staff pianist at First Christian Church.

Sign up for this year's Adult Confirmation Class, beginning this October

Adults who are interested in Confirmation or Reception into the Episcopal Church, as well as any St. Thomas parishioner wishing to Reaffirm their faith, are invited to sign up NOW for classes beginning later in the Fall. 

This year, Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation will be offered in a very special worship service on Lobsterfest Sunday, November 15th. This will be the first visit of our new Bishop Richard Lawson to St. Thomas. Fr. Donavan and Deacon Dave will offer an Adult Confirmation class with a light luncheon each Sunday, beginning October 18th, immediately following the 10:30 am Holy Eucharist. The class will run from October 18th through November 8th this year.

To get on the list this year, please send an email to Kathie in the church office by clicking here. And if you have questions about confirmation, reception, or reaffirmation, email Fr. Donavan here or simply catch him or Deacon Dave any Sunday before or after the church services.

If you have a youth who wants to be confirmed, please contact either Ethan Evans here or Laura Beth Bestor here.



Adult Formation Class: ONE FAITH, MANY MEMBERS - Different Denominations & the Episcopal Church

Fr. Donavan is leading our Adult Christian Formation class on Sunday mornings in the Parish Hall. We are discussing different Christian church denominations- where each denomination comes from, how they have developed in the United States and their presence here in North Alabama, and how each one is related to and different from our Episcopal Church. Each week, Fr. Donavan, who himself grew up in Baptist & Pentecostal Churches, will invite anyone who comes from another denomination to share their own memories and to discuss what brought them to the Episcopal Church and to St. Thomas. So if you’d like to know what makes a Baptist different from a Presbyterian or a Missouri Synod Lutheran different from a ELCA Lutheran, or if you’d just like to be prepared to explain what makes the Episcopal Church different but also similar to the Disciples of Christ Church your neighbor attends, then this is a conversation you will not want to meet! Join us this Sunday and throughout the month of September at 9:35 am in the Parish Hall! 

Children and Youth Sunday School

The Children's Ministry invites you to Sunday School from 9:30 am - 10:15 am. For pre-K through 1st graders, Ms. Renee' is leading our Godly Play class in Hiers 4. Second through 5th graders participate in the Love First class led by Ms. Laura Beth in Hiers 2. We can use a few volunteers to assist or substitute throughout the year. Email our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth Bestor, here if you are interested in helping or if you have questions.



Middle Schoolers are encouraged to join our new Sunday School class just for them (6th-8th graders)! Titled Expanding Our Roots, and led by Kathleen Brewer and Kathie Clayton, we will meet in the new Middle School classroom in Hudson Hall.

Ninth-12th graders, please join us in the Youth Room for the senior high Sunday School titled Sharing the Fruits led by Ethan Evans. Contact Ethan Evans, here if you have questions.

First Stop Explained

By Tim Davis, Board of Directors, First Stop



We continue to learn how First Stop Encounters, Connects, and Empowers Huntsville's homeless to Independent Sustainable Living. This week, we continue to focus on an Encounter Philosophy.

When the First Stop Encounter teams visit people on the streets or in the camps, they carry a philosophy about homeless services with them: We are not visiting the camps and walking the streets to make people comfortable where they are --- we are always focused on motivating and assisting people to move forward with their lives.

There is a fine difference between urgent needs and making a person comfortable living homeless. That is why we provide a 2 person tent, not 6 or 8 person mini home. We bring food for the day, not for the week (besides--- where are homeless people going to keep 20 pounds of perishable foods?). That fine difference often gets stretched: in hot weather we may leave several days of urgently water or hydration drinks, and in the winter: urgently needed, extra blankets or warm clothes. And at every stop, we remind people that a hot breakfast and a nutritious lunch can be had 5 days a week at the Day Center. At the Day Center homeless people frequently make connections that lead to a way to live a much more comfortable life.

Always --- another steps towards Independent Sustainable Living.

This Afternoon, Thursday, September 10

4 pm- Centering Prayer, Crossroads Room

Friday, September 11

10:47am- Bible Study, Conference Room

Sunday, September 13

8 am- Holy Eucharist Rite II, Nave

9:30 am- Christian Formation for Adults, Youth, & Children (Parish Hall, Youth Room, Hiers Hall)

10:30 am- Holy Eucharist Rite II with Children's Moment & Children's Chapel, Nave

5 pm- "Come As You Are" Holy Eucharist, Nave

Monday, September 14

8 pm- Compline (Book of Common Prayer, page 127) with Rev. Jeannie on Facebook page link here

Wednesday, September 16

9:30 am- Bible Study with Fr. Donavan - The Gospel of John, Conference Room

5 pm- Bible Study with Fr. Donavan - Lectionary, Library

Thursday, September 17

7 am- Morning Prayer, St. Anne's Chapel in Hiers Hall

4 pm- Centering Prayer, Crossroads Room

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org