THE EPISTLE:

September 17, 2026

Join us THIS SUNDAY for a special Celebration of our Bailey Cove Farmers' Market!

This Sunday, during the Adult Christian Formation hour, members of our Bailey Cove Farmers' Market at St. Thomas committee will be making a special presentation on the good work that went into this Summer's successful Farmers' Market season, which concluded on Labor Day weekend. There will a slide show along with a discussion on just how much giving was accomplished over the summer, for both seniors in our local community and for outreach organizations serving our city! Be sure to either hang around for breakfast and the presentation following the 8am Eucharist or to arrive early to church by 9:30am this Sunday to help celebrate and show St. Thomas' deep appreciation for the love, dedication, and hard work that went into our Bailey Cove Farmers' Market this past summer!

And get ready for the Farmers' Market's first FALL POP-UP on Saturday, September 26th!

A Note From King Zach

Lobsterfest Season Is Officially Here!

September has arrived, which means it’s time to get ready for our favorite tradition—Lobsterfest! We had a fantastic kickoff last month for the Lobsterfest 5K, but it’s definitely not too late to join the action. Whether you want to lace up your running shoes or partner with us as a sponsor, head over to the LobstersRock.com to get involved and support a wonderful cause!

Starting this Sunday, Lila and I will be out with this year’s official Lobsterfest gear between the 8:00 am and 10:30 am services (with 5:00 pm service dates coming soon). We’ll have fresh T-shirts, koozies, and stickers ready for you. While we have plenty of shirts, our stock of koozies and stickers is limited—so be sure to grab yours early before they're gone! We gladly accept cash, check, or card.

Keep an eye out for more excitement heading your way soon. The steering committee meets this week, and we’ll be sharing fresh updates in the Epistle as we count down to the big day-- November 14!

Lobsterfest 5K

Don't forget to register to run or walk in the Lobsterfest 5K at 8 am on Saturday, November 7! Go to this link on RunSignUp to register or use the QR code below.

Interested in becoming a Lobsterfest 5K Sponsor? Check out this year's sponsorship levels in the graphic below and then scan the QR code or click here to donate.

St. Thomas Creates at the Lobsterfest Artisan Fair welcomes your creations!

Do you realize that Lobsterfest is only two months away? Last year, the St. Thomas Creates booth at the Artisan Fair was a resounding success. We will once again be looking for hand-made creations from our talented congregation. Perhaps you would like to donate something you've created to Lobsterfest. This is just a little reminder to start thinking about what you might like to create this year, so you can plan ahead and get to work before November 14 arrives . Contact Donna Clark via her email with any questions.

Plenty Good Room

Fall is coming and at St. Thomas that means Lobsterfest and a Stewardship campaign are not far behind! Our 2026 “Plenty Good Room” Stewardship campaign will kick off Sunday October 4th with an introduction by our Stewardship Chair, Bryan Dodson, at all three services. Shortly after, keep an eye on your mailbox for a letter from your Rector and Senior Warden along with your 2027 pledge card. Throughout October there will be brief stewardship remarks at all three services by your fellow parishioners. Our campaign will conclude on All Saints Day, November 1, 2026, with the Ingathering and Blessing of your Pledge cards. Please begin prayerfully considering your response to our 2027 Plenty Good Room pledge campaign.



NOW SHOWING--

TODAY September 17 at 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 today, Thursday, September 17.

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.



Pray the Rosary Friday at

12:05 PM



Join us to pray the Rosary tomorrow, September 18, and every other Friday at 12:05 pm in the Nave of the church. Each prayer session lasts around half an hour and includes the reading of each scripture passage for the five decades of either the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, or Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. If you’ve never prayed the Rosary before, we always have Rosary beads available and written directions to help you fully participate in this meaningful, scriptural, and contemplative prayer practice.

Guest Musicians This Sunday

The Choir is going on their annual retreat at Camp McDowell this weekend to begin working on music for December's Service of Lessons and Carols. We welcome guest organist Marcia Bouska to play for both morning services and the ensemble “No Strings Attached.” Members of the ensemble are

1st violins: Marlene Brown, Colleen Halbeisan

2nd violins: Nancy Colin, Kathy Emmerson

Viola:          Sally Goldner

Cello:          Gayle Dodson

The strings will play for the 10:30 am service. Miss Kathy and Sam will be back with the Gospel Choir for our 5:00 pm service.

Next Pub Theology

September 24 at 6 PM



Make plans to join us at PaPPo's Pizzeria (7540 Memorial Parkway SW, Huntsville 35802) next Thursday, September 24 for our monthly Everybody's Pub Theology. Come at 6:00 pm for great fellowship, good food, drink, and hearty discussion! 

UPCOMING

Next Pop-Up Market & Blood Drive:

September 26

The Bailey Cove Farmers' Market will have their first fall pop-up market on Saturday, September 26 from 8 am until 12 pm. The LifeSouth Bloodmobile will be here during that time as well. Start of your weekend by buying local and helping to save a life!

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.

Join us on 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.

YP & EYC Both Meet

on September 27

St. Thomas Youth, save the date- September 27- for special opportunities for fellowship.

Grab a hammer and some nails because it's time to kick off our new 6th-8th grade YP group and build some birdhouses! In preparation for the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, we will be constructing houses for blue birds from 12-2pm on September 27! Youth will learn about blue birds as well as how to handle some basic tools! Lunch and building materials will be provided. Join us in the Youth Room!

Ninth-12th graders, prepare for the return of the fan favorite EYC activity: Grog. This game combines freeze tag, hide and seek, and a scavenger hunt, all in the dark! To allow for the smallest amount of light for the game, we will have EYC from 6-8pm on September 27. We will meet in the Youth Room for dinner.

Next Gathering on

September 28 at 7 pm

The Esau Society invites you to their next gathering on Monday, September 28 at 7 pm in the Parish Hall. They meet on the second and fourth Mondays of each month in the Parish Hall for poker and fellowship. Each player donates $40 for the season. The winner of the season decides where we donate the money.

Graham Arnold won the summer session (his first win!) and donated the proceeds to the Stewardship of Creation account to further the Aldridge Creek Greenway project under the Creation Care Committee. We enjoyed our first night of the fall season this past Monday with good fellowship and games.

Save the Date

October 4 at 3 PM

This year, St. Thomas will celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment, by having a Blessing of the Animals and Trees. Make plans for you and your pets to join us at 3 pm on Sunday, October 4. Stay tuned for more details.

Youth Dog Wash

October 4 from 1:30 PM - 2:40 PM

Is your dog in need of a bath? Do you want them to look clean as a whistle for the Blessing of the Animals? Then bring them on down to Saint Thomas for a bath! The Youth will be taking donations for the Greater Huntsville Humane Society in exchange for washing your canine family member on October 4 from 1:30-2:40 pm. Suggested donations for the wash are $5 for small dogs and $10 for large dogs. Washes will be first come, first serve. The wash will end at 2:40 pm. Blessing of the Animals follows the Dog Wash at 3:00 pm. While we would love to see your cats and exotic pets at the Blessing of the Animals, we will not be washing them before the service.

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.



Next Book Club

October 12 at 10 AM

The Monthly Book Club is reading In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende for their October 12 meeting at 10 am in the Parlor. 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!

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 learn how First Stop helps clients connect through their Vital Records Program.

We have found that four issues can block a client from reaching Independent Sustainable Living: lack of a proper ID card, serious medical issues, serious mental health issues, and drug addiction. First Stop can help fix the first of these in short order. I will tell you about efforts to fix the other three blocks at another time.

The Vital Records Program helps clients obtain a government issued photo ID card. Photo IDs are vital these days. Without a photo ID, a person cannot open a bank account, sign a lease agreement, open a utilities account, register for almost any entitlement or welfare program (Social Security, SNAP, VA, etc.) --- and the list goes on! Simply, you are stuck until you can prove who you are.

We began the Vital Records program 5 or 6 years ago. Since then, we have obtained birth certificates, replacement ID cards, or similar documents from just about all 50 states and many of their counties, federal agencies, and several foreign governments. Naturally, agencies charge for their services. All in all, we spend about $30,000 each year providing ID cards for the homeless people in Huntsville. Once our clients have an ID card, they can begin to move forward with one more step to Independent Sustainable Living.

This Afternoon, Thursday, September 17

4 pm- Centering Prayer, Crossroads Room

Friday, September 18

10:47 am- Bible Study, Conference Room

12:05 pm- Pray the Rosary, Nave

Sunday, September 20

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 21

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

Wednesday, September 23

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 24

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