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THE EPISTLE:
November 16, 2023
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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.
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Thank you, St. Thomas, for a Fantastic 30th Lobsterfest!! Parish Work Day this Saturday to "tidy up"
It was great to have our campus open to the community for food, artisan fair, live music, and children's games while generating proceeds for our local and global ministries. We couldn't have done it without you--- well done!
Join us for Parish Work Day this upcoming Saturday, November 18 from 9am-12pm as we finish tidying up from Lobsterfest and prepare for Advent. We're mainly moving Lobsterfest items back into storage until next year. Contact Tom Perry at perrytbne@aol.com or 256-348-4313 if you can make it.
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New Christian Formation Offering for Adults begins this Sunday, 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.
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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!
We are looking forward to meeting our newcomers this Sunday, November 19th, at 9:30AM in the Crossroads room. We will discuss the history of the Episcopal Church from the time of Jesus and answer any questions you may have about who we are. On December 3rd, Susy Thurber will meet at 9:30 to tell you the history of St. Thomas and show you all the nooks and crannies here. Call Elouisa Stokes for more information at 256-604-8669
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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.
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Little Free Pantry
Just a note to let everyone know how the Little Free Pantry is doing. We continue to serve our neighbors in need with gifts from you, Outreach Funds and our community outside this parish. Our volunteers are witnessing many days where people in the community are not just taking things from the pantry but also putting in many needed items. We are grateful as this is what we had hoped, that it would become something the community could participate in with us.
We would like to ask that when you are able, please pick up a couple extra food items and drop them off in the Little Red Wagon in information Hall. Thank you
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South Huntsville Interfaith Thanksgiving Service this Sunday evening at Temple B'nai Sholom
When: Sunday, November 19th at 6:00pm
Where: Temple B’nai Sholom, 103 Lincoln St. S.E., Huntsville, AL
Scripture on Thankfulness Shared by:
Rabbi P.J. Schwartz, Temple B’nai Sholom
Imam Ragab Abdelmoneim, Huntsville Islamic Center, The Rev. Deacon Lynn Bullard, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Madison
Please bring a nonperishable food item for the Food Bank of North Alabama
A reception with light refreshments will follow the service.
Please join us as we give thanks and celebrate the diversity of our community!
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Still time to sign up for 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
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This Year's Advent Wreath Making Event set for Sunday,
Nov. 26th at 9:30am
Make plans to join us on Sunday, November 26 at 9:30am as all ages gather in the Parish Hall to make Advent wreaths during the Christian Formation hour! Bring live greenery from home to share so that we have the fullest wreaths. Come join us for this fun and seasonable intergenerational gathering!
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Everybody's Pub Theology moved this month to Thursday, Nov. 30th!
Sit down with Fr. Donavan, Mtr. Ranie and Deacon Jeannie on Thursday, November 30th, from 6-7:30pm, at PaPPo's Pizzeria, at 7540 Memorial Pkwy SW, Huntsville, for great fellowship, good food, tasty drinks, and hearty discussion! And don't forget, buying the clergy a beer is fully encouraged and supported by the Bishop of Alabama (...Fr. Donavan asked her this back in October)!
Email Ranie at associate@stthomashuntsville.org and let her know if you plan on joining us!
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PRAY THE ROSARY FOR ADVENT WITH FATHER DONAVAN, BEGINNING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1ST!
During the season of Advent, Fr. Donavan is inviting you to join him in deepening your prayer life with the beads of the traditional Catholic Rosary! Fr. Donavan will open the church BEGINNING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, at 12:10pm, for 20 to 30 minutes of praying the Rosary with reading of scripture from the King James Version of the Bible. This scriptural Rosary will continue every Friday in Advent, December 8th, December 15th, & December 22nd.
Each and every Advent season calls us to prayer and preparation, and the Rosary can offer you a moving, tactile way to deepen your spirituality and prayer life. Whether you've always prayed with Rosary beads or have never held a Rosary before, this is your opportunity to experience the ancient Christian practice of praying with beads.
The church will have plenty of Rosaries to give out to everyone who needs one, so you can bring your own or simply come into the church and pick one up here. And remember, Fr. Donavan is using the older, traditional 50 bead Catholic rosary and not the shorter, newer Anglican rosary. The rosaries available each Friday will be Catholic rosaries.
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Next Blood Drive at St. Thomas set for the First Sunday of Advent, Dec. 3rd!
With another terrific Lobsterfest behind us, we turn our attention to showing thanks for all God’s blessings. We can share those blessings by giving blood. It takes just a few minutes and may quite literally save a life. What a Christmas gift!
St. Thomas will host a blood drive on December 3. If you are able, please CLICK HERE, or drop by the LifeSouth bus in the church parking lot between 7:30 and 1:30 on Dec. 3rd.
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Young Adult Pub Theology will be Dec. 4th at 6pm
Calling all young adults out in the working world! Young Adult Pub Theology will meet November 6 at Melt in downtown Huntsville from 6-7:30PM. If you have any questions please email Ranie
at associate@stthomashuntsville.org
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Film Screening of the Philadelphia Eleven, changed to December 11th, 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 December 11th at Noon and again at 6PM. If you have questions please email Mtr. Ranie at associate@stthomashuntsville.org
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St. Thomas Book Club
Dec. 14th
St. Thomas Book Club will meet on December 14 at 10 am in the Parlor. We are discussing All the Lights We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. We'd love to have you join us. Call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 if you have any questions.
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Fr. Donavan's Adult Christian Formation class, "Remembering & Refreshing our Faith" concludes THIS SUNDAY
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.
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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.
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Habitat for Humanity
Our two Habitat for Humanity homes are finished and the homeowners are really looking forward to moving in. Please go by 3127 Nassau Drive or 3126 Andros to see what you have all accomplished. And many thanks for the help of Will Chaplow and John Munroe for their help. Call Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 if you have any questions.
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Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is now available!
Calling all youth and children 2nd 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.
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"Come As You Are"
5 PM Holy Eucharist
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.
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At A Glance: November 2nd - November 8th | | | | |
