THE EPISTLE:

November 24, 2023

Intergenerational Advent Wreath Making Event THIS SUNDAY at 9:30am

Make plans to join us this Sunday, November 26 at 9:30am as all ages gather in the Parish Hall to make Advent wreaths during the Christian Formation hour! Please bring live greenery from home to share so that we have the fullest wreaths.  Come join us for this fun and seasonable intergenerational gathering to begin the upcoming season of Advent!

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 after the 10:30 service for more details or contact Travis Lee at (850)-503-5587 or tlee777790@gmail.com.

Everybody's Pub Theology next 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!

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.

Farewell Reception for Dorothy set for Sunday, December 3rd

Dorothy Bolton, our longtime parish administrator, will be leaving us on December 31. Please join us for a farewell reception in her honor on Sunday, December 3 after the 10:30 service in the Parish Hall. Come and thank her for 13 years of devoted service to St. Thomas.

Drinks and dessert will be provided. Bring your favorite finger food to share. Deliver your food to the kitchen before the 10:30 service. No gifts please, but personal notes and cards are encouraged. For more information, ask Linda Lou Hardison or Gail Perna. 

Next Blood Drive at St. Thomas is 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.

New Adult Christian Formation Class for Advent beginning December 3rd: Angels in Christian Scripture & Tradition

What are angels and how have they been understood in the Bible and in the history of the church?  What roles do angels play in the Old Testament and where do they appear in Gospel stories of Jesus and in the New Testament? Where do our understanding of angels today move from the Bible and the church and into popular culture? And, finally, do angels still interact and impact the lives of Christians today?

For the season of Advent this year, join Fr. Donavan for a 3 week class on the place of Angels in Christian scripture and tradition, beginning December 3rd, at 9:30 am in the Parish Hall.  Come dive deeper into what the church knows, understands, and still proclaims about these mysterious creatures of Judeo-Christian scripture and legend and be prepared to rethink all you think you know about angels.

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

St. Thomas Book Club

Dec. 11th

St. Thomas Book Club will meet on December 11 at 10 am in the Parlor. We are discussing All the Light 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.

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

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: 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.

Christian Formation Offering for Adults: Bible Study on Romans

Each Sunday in Conference Rm 1, we will be 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.

"Come As You Are"

5 PM Holy Eucharist

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday worship service is every Sunday. Dinner is now offered on the FIRST SUNDAY of each month. Our last one of the year is December 3rd. Our 5pm Holy Eucharist features 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.

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 12th - November 22nd

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org