LOBSTERFEST IS FINALLY HERE!!

THE EPISTLE:

November 9, 2023

Lobsterfest Week

LOBSTERFEST IS

THIS SATURDAY, NOV. 11TH!

The webstore is STILL open!  Click here now to pre-order your lobsters, BBQ, soups, casseroles, and desserts!

The Lobsterline will be available TODAY & TOMORROW, from 10am-3pm, by calling the church office at 256-880-0248. Menu flyers are available at the volunteer desk or in Information Hall for you to share with your friends.

The Friday evening pre-Lobsterfest Eucharist is returning this year. All committee members and volunteers are requested to take a short break at 6pm and come to the Nave for a simple Eucharist to kick off Lobsterfest weekend with prayers and thanksgivings. There will be childcare for the service

Parish Dinner: Sign-Up by TOMORROW @ 3PM!

The Parish Dinner will be held after the 10:30am service on Sunday, November 12 to celebrate the conclusion of Lobsterfest.  Order your chicken entree before Friday at 3 PM. Lobster entrees are sold out.

Lobsterfest Volunteer Parking

Lobsterfest volunteers will be parking in the All Saints parking lot on November 11. The St. Thomas van will be shuttling volunteers to and from St. Thomas to the All Saints parking lot throughout Lobsterfest day.  Please make sure you consider this when arriving for your volunteer shifts.  The South parking lot will be used for customer parking while the North parking lot will be used for the entertainment tent, drive-thru, and customer parking. 

Be sure to follow Lobsterfest at St. Thomas on Facebook and St. Thomas Lobsterfest on Instagram! Help get the word out to the Greater Huntsville community by liking, sharing, and commenting on our Lobsterfest posts on social media.

If you have any questions about where you can get plugged in, please email Mike and Laura Beth Bestor at malbb12@gmail.com

Lobsterfest Sunday is THIS SUNDAY, November 12th! One morning Eucharist only, followed by Parish Dinner!

The Sunday following Lobsterfest has been declared "Lobsterfest Sunday" here at St. Thomas. It is a time to come together after the hard work of a successful Lobsterfest to offer thanks, to worship, and to enjoy fellowship together!

This year, we will again have ONE EUCHARIST at 10:30 on Lobsterfest Sunday, with special guest preacher, the Rt. Rev. Lloyd Allen, the Bishop of Honduras. Immediately following our worship together, we will gather as a church family in the Parish Hall for a special Lobsterfest Sunday Parish Dinner.

There will be a 5pm Holy Eucharist this Sunday afternoon.

Adult Christian Formation Classes Cancelled Nov. 12th and resumes Nov. 19th

We will not be having breakfast or Sunday morning formation this Sunday, November 12 following Lobsterfest. Breakfast and formation offerings will resume Sunday, November 19th.

"Come As You Are"

5 PM Holy Eucharist THIS SUNDAY led by Mtr. Ranie

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday worship service is here to stay. Dinner is now offered on the FIRST SUNDAY of each month. Our last one of the year is December 3rd. We will special "Come As You Are" Holy Eucharist will continue every Sunday, with 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

Fellowship Chair Needed!

St. Thomas is looking for someone to bring people together to organize parish events for roughly six events a year. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of explaining what this looks like. The work is organizing the many helping hands at the parish to gather people to decorate for events, order food, and coordinate people to chip in all for the ministry of hospitality as special parish events. If this sounds like something you are able to offer the parish, please contact Ranie or any of the clergy in the church office or at associate@stthomashuntsville.org

Sign up this Sunday to provide gifts for Shellie's Kids this Christmas!

This year St. Thomas is once again partnering with Friends of 400, better known as Shellie's Kids, to provide Christmas gifts to children in the Huntsville area. St. Thomas's goal is to provide 40 children with Christmas gifts. If you are interested, please stop by the table in the Narthex each Sunday, starting this weekend, after the 10:30 service for more details or contact Travis Lee at (850)-503-5587 or tlee777790@gmail.com.

Silver Saints Movie Matinee

Nov. 16th at 1:00 PM

After last’s month’s most special Silver Saints Matinee Movie, we want to offer you a light, fun movie; 

O Brother, Where Art Thou, with George Clooney, John Goodman, and others; about three convicts in the 1930’s who break out of prison to find hidden treasure. A great story line; great music; definitely worth seeing. A roughly translated but humorous version of Homer’s Odyssey. Come join us in the St. Thomas Parish Hall at 1:00 PM on Thursday, November 16. 

The Silver Saints Movie Matinee offers fun and fellowship with our parishioners and visitors. There is no charge, and 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. Please bring your friends and ask people from our neighborhood. Call Jack or Becky Stokes at 256-881-4748, or the church office at 256-880-0247. Please call 24 hours ahead if you will need a ride. Please come join us.

Film Screening of the Philadelphia Eleven, November 18th, at Nativity

Did you know that The Episcopal Church did not always have women priests? Get to know their story and celebrate that history through the new documentary The Philadelphia Eleven. The film will be screened at The Church of the Nativity in downtown Huntsville on November 18th at 6PM. If you have questions please email Mtr. Ranie at associate@stthomashuntsville.org

New Sunday Morning Formation Offering for Adults begins Nov. 19th!

A new Bible Study will begin November 19th at 9:30AM in Conference Room 1. We will begin studying Paul’s Epistle to the Romans with Mtr. Ranie. Bring a Bible and all your questions and wonderment involving Saint Paul and the messy, fascinating theology his works foster. Mtr. Ranie will be leading the class. If you have any questions please email her at associate@stthomashuntsville.org. 

Are you NEW to St. Thomas? Newcomers Class set for November 19th!

Come learn all about our church and our history in our new monthly Newcomers Class!

Newcomers: We are really excited to have you here at St. Thomas. Newcomers 1 will be held on November 19th. We will tell you the story of St. Thomas and show you where things are here. Just follow the blue signs each morning. 

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

Friendsgiving

Nov. 23rd at 4 pm

Thanksgiving Dinner at St. Thomas- Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 23, 2023 at 4:00. Parishioners without large families nearby will be gathering at the church that day to share a Friendsgiving meal. The proteins will be provided and participants are asked to bring a side dish to share. Please complete the Google form https://forms.gle/dvbmpDksrPTTT5r69 or sign up in the church office. Join us! If you have questions on how you can help, contact Renee' Redfield at renee.redfield@hsv-k12.org or 256-698-1184

Fr. Donavan's Adult Christian Formation resumes Nov. 19

Fr Donavan's Christian Formation class, "Remembering & Refreshing our Faith" focuses on the the primary foundations of our spirituality and faith, as Christians and as Episcopalians in the Anglican Communion. We will look at the Bible, the Creeds, the historical 39 Articles of the Anglican Reformation, and the present Catechism in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. If you're new to the Episcopal Church or if you just want to revisit the history and teachings of the church, this is a great class for you. Within our weekly conversation, Fr. Donavan will lay out church history, how the Anglican idea of "Via Media" continues to attempt to hold us together, and what we do (or don't do) within our liturgy and worship! Come join Fr. Donavan at 9:30am in the Parish Hall for "Remembering & Refreshing our Faith."

This Sunday class is meant to go deeper than our monthly "Newcomer 1 & 2" classes, while being a bit lighter than a Confirmation class.

Children and Youth Christian Formation Information

St. Thomas' Children and Youth Christian Formation classes are now underway every Sunday! We offer five different Sunday school classes for our children and youth!



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

2nd grade-3rd grade: Love First- Laura Beth Bestor - Hiers 2 (new room)

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

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

8th grade- 12th grade: Science & Religion with the Rev. Jeannie Randall; Confirmation Classes starting Sept. 3 with the Rev. Ranie Neislar - Youth Room

Contact our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth Bestor, at children@stthomashuntsville.org or our Youth Ministries Coordinator, The Rev. Jeannie Randall at jrann228@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to help out with this important aspect of our ministries.

Cold Weather Collection

Cold Weather Collection New or gently used adult sizes only, please Blankets Sleeping Bags Coats/Jackets Toboggans Gloves/Socks Sweat Shirts/Pants Thermal Underwear Warm Scarves All donated items will be distributed through First Stop. Place donated items in the marked bin in Information Hall.

Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is now available!

Calling all youth and children 2^nd grade and older to help serve our Church by being an acolyte! Click to access the 10:30am Acolyte Schedule Sign-Up Genius which schedules through January 2024.  Please consider signing up 2-3 times to share your works.  Contact Jeannie at jrann228@gmail.com with questions.

At A Glance: November 2nd - November 8th

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org