THE EPISTLE:

December 21, 2023

The Feast of St. Thomas

The Season of Christmas Begins Sunday Evening

The Fourth Sunday of Advent: Sunday morning, Dec. 24

One morning Eucharist only at 10:30am

no breakfast, Christian formation, or childcare

Christmas Eve: Sunday Evening, Dec. 24

5:00 pm - Festival Holy Eucharist with Special Music

10:30 pm - Candlelight Festival Holy Eucharist with Special Music - Musical Prelude begins at 10:10pm Incense will be used at the 10:30

Christmas Day: Monday, Dec. 25

10:00 am - Holy Eucharist with Carols

The Second Sunday of Christmas: Sunday, Dec. 31

One morning Eucharist only at 10:30am

no breakfast, Christian formation, or childcare

5:00 pm - Holy Eucharist with Special Prayers for New Year's Eve

PRAY THE ROSARY FOR ADVENT WITH FATHER DONAVAN

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 again tomorrow 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 offering will conclude tomorrow, 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.

Flower Guild still needs Little Gem Magnolia by December 23rd for the "Greening of the Church"!

The Flower Guild is busy planning for the greening of the church for Christmas. We need the congregation to help by bringing us branches of Little Gem Magnolia. This is the smallish tree that has shiny green leaves that are bronze on the back side. Please bring to the Parish Hall (no water necessary) before Dec. 23. Thanks to all!

There's still time to turn in your 2024 Pledge Card!

St. Thomas has big, exciting plans for 2024, but we can't do it without EVERYONE lending a hand in our "Giving for Growth" campaign. PLEASE CONSIDER TURNING IN A PLEDGE CARD BEFORE DECEMBER 31ST, TO SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT FOR ST. THOMAS & TO ALLOW US TO HAVE WHAT WE NEED TO GROW IN MINISTRY, FELLOWSHIP, & FAITH NEXT YEAR!

Every pledge counts!

The Church Office will be closed for Christmas Week

Dec. 26th - Jan. 2nd

The St. Thomas Church Office will be closed for Christmas week this year, from December 26th through January 2nd to allow our hard working clergy and staff to have time to celebrate the Christmas season with their family. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call the clergy directly or call the church office number for an emergency number.

St. Thomas Church Bus heading to "Galaxy of Lights" on December 28th!



Come see the the "Galaxy of Lights" at the Botanical Gardens in the comfort of the St. Thomas Church bus! Bill Davenport will have the bus available for boarding at 5:30 at the Church front door on Thursday, December 28th. There is seating for 15 people. We request that those wishing to go call Jack Stokes to verify seats available. Travel time is 20 minutes from Church to entry line, ~45-60 minutes to entrance, 30 minutes to drive through and 20 minutes back to Church, approaching 2+ hours total. There will be no cost, thanks to Fr. Donavan's Christmas gift. Please come join us!

Epiphany Burning of the Greens, Saturday, January 6th

Bring your tree and other greens to burn for our Epiphany Celebration on Saturday, January 6th, at 6PM. We will be collecting Christmas trees and wreaths in the South Parking Lot after Christmas to be burned in a celebratory fire. Join us in the church for a Service of Light, followed by a procession to the parking lot for the Burning of the Greens. We will conclude the evening by feasting on King cake (you know, "We Three Kings"), which was originally eaten on Epiphany and not Fat Tuesday, and hot chocolate as we bring the Christmas season to a fitting close! Fr. Donavan will also bless chalk to be picked up and taken home to bless your house with the inscription of the New Year and the initials of the traditional names of the Three Kings, 20+C+M+B+24, over your house door!

Medical Mission: Honduran

Update Dinner, January 7th

With the completion of the 30th Annual Lobsterfest, we now kick off the 30th Annual Honduras Medical Mission. Please join the World Mission committee for the Annual Honduran Update dinner. We will join with the monthly Sunday Supper on January 7 following the 5:00 pm Holy Eucharist for a Honduran inspired meal. Hear about updates on Sloan Clinic, the students of Colonia Episcopal, plans for the 2024 Medical & Educational Mission which is April 20-27, and developments in the Companion Diocese relationship between Alabama and Honduras. Please contact Brett Tomlin (256) 337-1970, Jeanne Randall (256) 348-9918, or Bob Harwell (256) 348-1857 with any questions.

Annual Parish Meeting set for Sunday, January 14th

You are cordially invited to our annual Parish Meeting

Sunday, January 14, immediately following the 10:30 service. Fr. Donavan will begin with his first "State of the Parish" report, followed by a presentation of the 2024 Budget, and the election of new vestry members.

Lunch will precede our meeting, but we need your help again this year. Please bring soup or chili (enough to share). We will have tables set up for Crock Pots, and our fellowship committee will provide set-up and a few extras.

Looking for a gift to give to the church this Christmas: Make a Donation to our Clergy's Discretionary Accounts

Did you know that St. Thomas receives calls and stop-ins regularly from people in our local community seeking direct assistance for food, rent, and electric bills? It is the church's policy to never give out cash as assistance, but we can and often do call Huntsville Utilities to help with a portion of someone's utility bills, write checks to assist with rent, and give out gift cards to help with food and gas. Our clergy are occasionally approached by people within our own parish family who need help. All of this assistance primarily comes from our Clergy's Discretionary Accounts. Clergy Discretionary Accounts, as stated in the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, are set up to allow clergy to provide direct assistance for the poor and to support church and non-profit local, national, and international organizations seeking assistance for their charitable work.

Fr. Donavan, Mtr. Ranie, and Dcn. Jeannie each have their own discretionary account for these specific reasons and those specific reasons only. If you'd like to contribute to our clergy funds to directly support the poor, the sick, those in specific need, and the work of the church in the world, please consider a donation this Advent-Christmas season (or anytime!) to the clergy's discretionary accounts. You can give to one of our clergy specifically, or you can simply write your check and mark the check and the envelope as a donation for "Clergy Discretionary Accounts" (make out all checks to St. Thomas) and your donation will be divided equally among St. Thomas' three clergy. Thank you!

Christian Formation Offering for Adults: Bible Study on Romans Returns January 7th

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.

Children and Youth Christian Formation Information - Returns January 7th

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.

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.

"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 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.

At A Glance: December 14th - December 20th

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org