THE EPISTLE:

February 29, 2024

Pray the Rosary with Fr. Donavan TOMORROW, Friday, March 1st

With the great turn out and interest in praying the traditional Rosary during the season of Advent last year, Fr. Donavan is offering a new, twice monthly, Rosary prayer group, which meets THIS Friday, March 1st, at 12 noon in the Nave.

If you'd like to pray the Rosary, join Fr. Donavan again every other Friday in Lent at 12 noon in the church.

Habitat for Humanity 24 starts on March 2nd!

Habitat for Humanity 24: We begin building our walls for new Habitat homes on March 2 at the Habitat Warehouse, 400 Pratt Avenue. We'll will start at 8 am and should be finished by 11. Our house will be on 215 Lake Drive, off Meridian Street, and our homeowner will be Courtney Davis who has 2 teen girls. They are very excited to get this house. See below for directions.

On March 9 we will install the walls on the foundation on Lake Drive. Please plan to give one Saturday to help erect this house.

Directions:

Take Meridian north toward Drake State and turn left on McDonnell Ave. then take a left on N Plymouth Road, and Lake Drive will be on your left.

On another note, Elouisa Stokes cannot continue as our Habitat for Humanity Coordinator from St. Thomas. If you are willing to take on this role, please call Elouisa at 256-604-8669,or contact our Senior Warden, George Harriman, or Fr. Donavan.

Quiet Day THIS Saturday,

March 2nd, at 8:30am in the Parish Hall

All are invited to attend a Lenten Quiet Day lead by Fr. Donavan on March 2nd sponsored by the Daughters of the King. Coffee and snacks begin at 8:30 AM in the Parish Hall, and Fr. Donavan will begin his program on the history and symbolism of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross, including photos from the original Stations in Jerusalem. Please join the Daughters and Fr. Donavan this Saturday morning in the Parish Hall.

"Come As You Are"

5 PM Holy Eucharist & Dinner this Sunday

St. Thomas' "Come as You Are" 5pm Sunday worship service is every Sunday. Dinner is now offered on the FIRST SUNDAY of each month. We will have dinner THIS SUNDAY, March 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.

LAST CHANCE to REGISTER for St. Thomas Parish Retreat, March 8-10 at Camp McDowell

Monday, March 4th, is the LAST DAY to register for the Parish Retreat. Come for one night or two or just come for the day for the return of the St. Thomas Parish Retreat at Camp McDowell on the weekend of March 8 - 10th! We will offer canoeing, hiking, art, a Birds of Prey show, "Meet the Animal" farm tours and activities, and plenty of social time! There will even be a concert by Fr. Donavan on Friday night, March 8th!

The deadline to register is March 4th. You can register HERE Or use the QR Code. Please note that an active Realm account is very helpful (especially if you need to update your registration), but it is not necessary to register for Parish Retreat.

Hope you and your family will join us on March 8 - 10 at Camp McDowell!

Want to work with Ministries in Honduras this April? Space is still available for Honduras Missioners!



This is the last call for missioners to join the annual visit to Honduras this April. Please contact Jeannie now if you would like to join us, April 20 - 27 this year. All skill levels are welcome. If you can count to 30, pack beans and rice, or work with medical people, please consider joining us. A life changing experience is guaranteed!

2024 Lenten Soup & Salad Series: Satan - The Evolution of Evil in the Bible & in the Church, continues THIS WEDNESDAY!

The season of Lent begins every year with the familiar story in Gospels of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the Wilderness. In the Episcopal Church, the Jesus we encounter in the Lenten Gospel is someone we know well, but Satan, on the other hand, is a Biblical figure who a recent Barna Research Study revealed that only 20% of Episcopalians say they believe in today.  In this 5 part Lenten Soup & Salad Series, Fr. Donavan will lead us through the evolution of Satan in the Bible, from the Old Testament, where “the accuser” appears only a handful of times in changing guises, to the New Testament, where Satan develops more thoroughly into the personification of evil, at war with God and God's angels. Come learn more about the frightening figure who will haunt Dante’s Inferno, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and a thousand modern horror films.  If you’ve ever had a question about the Devil in modern Christian faith, you won't want to miss this series during Lent!

Soup and salad will be available in the Parish Hall every Wednesday, through March 20th, with Fr. Donavan will beginning the program at 6:20pm. A special craft will be available for children each and every Wednesday during the presentation in the Parlor.

Wednesdays in Lent:

Taizé Prayer at 5:30 PM

Taizé Prayer is a distinctive style of meditative prayer developed by an ecumenical community of monks in rural France. This quiet, moving reflective prayer combines elements of the Church's traditional Liturgy of the Hours with elements of contemplative meditation. A typical Taizé prayer service incorporates periods of silence with meditative readings from Scripture, prayers of praise and intercession, and the frequent repetition of simple, contemporary chants based on the Psalms or other parts of Scripture. Short songs or chants, repeated over and over, create a meditative environment and express basic realities of faith which can be easily grasped by the mind and the heart. The result is to gradually move prayer from the head to the heart.

Moms' Group meets next Thursday, March 7th, at 6:30pm

St. Thomas’ Mom's group ministry for mothers with children ages 0 - 18 is meeting again TONIGHT, Thursday, February 1st, at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall!

The monthly Mom's Group is a time to come together as mothers with young children to support one another, share in the love and laughter, and help each other through the challenges and struggles that motherhood brings. Being a mom is not always easy, so one night a month we come together to ask the good Lord for patience and strength and to lean on one another in this shared experience. Please bring a mom friend! Contact Audrey Cain at audreysherkin@gmail.com for more info.

Are You New to St. Thomas? Newcomers Class offered

March 17th

Newcomers: We are so glad you are worshipping with us. Please join us for a 1 hour class on March 17th to tour the church and learn the history of St. Thomas. We will meet in the Crossroads Room at 9:30 between the services. Follow the blue signs to find us. We look forward to meeting you. Please contact Elouisa Stokes at 256-604-8669 with any questions.

Save the Date- Crosses and Cuisine- March 23rd



Make plans to join us Saturday, March 23 from 5pm-7:30pm as we enjoy fellowship while making palm crosses for Palm Sunday.  Cajun fare and child-friendly food are on the menu.  The St. Thomas Young Families Ministry is looking for many hands to make light work with food prep for adults and children, plan an activity or two for the children, and cleanup. Sign-up to help by using this link or contact Mike or Laura Beth Bestor at malbb12@gmail.com for more info. 

Seder Supper, Tuesday, March 26th



Seder is a serious and joyful event where the Passover story is retold. Looking to our Jewish roots, we tell the Exodus story, with its themes of power and mercy, bondage and freedom, hope and despair. This is much like the spiritual journey that we continue in our lives today. Observing the Seder reminds us, as modern day Christians, of the story of God and His people of which we are a part.  

Seder is a service interspersed with a dinner (lamb, chicken, or vegetarian), which concludes as the meal ends. We follow the traditional Jewish Seder, remembering that at the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated Seder with his disciples.  

We also need volunteers to help set up the Parish Hall, cook the meal, plate the food that is set on the table for the service, and clean up.  Sign-up sheets are on the Information Hall Bulletin Board. Contact Mike or Laura Beth Bestor malbb12@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Seder Supper Signup QR Code

Here at St. Thomas, we will have Seder on Tuesday, March 26 at 6 pm in the Parish Hall. The meal will be provided for a donation of $12 per adult and $5 per child. We request reservations be made by Thursday, March 21 as we need to order meat.  Sign-up online now by clicking HERE or via QR code below or in person in Information Hall. 

Help the St. Thomas Easter Bunny! 

The St. Thomas Easter Bunny is getting ready for our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30th at 10:30am! In an effort to be good stewards, this year we are collecting goodies to stuff inside the eggs that Ms. Laura Beth has collected. There will be a basket in Information Hall to drop off your contributions starting this Sunday, March 3. Please make sure any candy or food item is packaged and/or wrapped. Contact our Children's Ministry Coordinator if you have any questions.

Register now for Special Session, June 2-7

St. Thomas started Special Session in 1998 and is still going strong! It is now a ministry of Camp McDowell. Come and experience the magic of Special Session started by St. Thomas in 1998 at Camp McDowell! Registration is OPEN for campers, counselor staff, and adult staff. Join us from June 2-7, 2024, at Bethany Village. Campers attend for free! Nurses and male counselors are ALWAYS needed. Staff fee is $150 with scholarships available. Contribute to scholarship funds HERE. Don't miss the best week of the summer – click HERE and register NOW for an unforgettable experience!

Sunday morning Christian Formation Class for Lent continues: What does it mean to be the 'Church' today?

In the 21st Century, there are perhaps more ideas and understandings about what it means to be a "church" than any other century before. Is a church primarily a place of worship and prayer? Is a church a place for finding and growing needed fellowship and community? Should a church be a place chiefly for Christian outreach and care for the neighborhood, the city, and world? Certainly, all of these descriptions have their important place in the church of today, but is there something more that can bind all the definitions, ideas, and understandings together and keep the church focused and unified in its ultimate purpose and action?

For Lent, Fr. Donavan will be leading anyone who'd like to join him in a deeper conversation on the topic "Church." In addition to the Bible and Church tradition and teaching, Fr. Donavan will also dig into his own experience as priest, pastor, and Rector in the Episcopal Church today and share with us how his own evolving understanding of church shapes his leadership and decisions in ministry with us at St. Thomas. Come join the conversation, Sunday mornings at 9:30am in the Parish Hall.

Weekly Children and Youth Formation Sunday mornings 9:30am-10:15am 

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 if you have questions or would like to help out with this important aspect of our ministries.

Thanks to all who have donated shoes for the homeless at Manna House. This is a picture of the third load of shoes that we have delivered! St. Thomas is so very generous! To God the glory!

Daughters of the King Used Shoe Drive for the

Homeless

We are currently sponsoring a Used Shoe Drive for Huntsville’s homeless population. Please go through your closets and donate those shoes you don’t wear – especially tennis shoes and boots. No high heels please. The homeless are hard on shoes, especially in winter, and there is a tremendous need now! There is a bin in Information Hall for your donations. Thank you!

Shoe Drive

New Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is now available!

Calling all youth and children 2^nd grade and older! A new St. Thomas Acolyte Sign-Up Genius is available by clicking here for 2^nd graders and older. We'd appreciate it if you could sign up to serve once a month. If your child(ren) need to be trained or refreshed, feel free to reach out to Deacon Jeannie (jrann228@gmail.com) or me and we will get something scheduled. Contact The Rev. Jeannie Randall at jrann228@gmail.com or our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Laura Beth Bestor at children@stthomashuntsville.org.

At A Glance February 22 - February 28

Phone: 256.880.0247

Email: StThomas@stthomashuntsville.org