Parish Weekly June 12, 2026

Mission: St. Thomas' Episcopal Church is a welcoming spiritual community dedicated to following the teachings of Christ Jesus. We grow through learning, celebrate joyful worship, and serve our neighbors.

Vision: We open hearts and minds to create community in Christ.

Rector's Notes

St. Thomas' Parish Picnic Potluck

St. Thomas' will celebrate the end of the program year with a parish picnic potluck this Sunday, June 14, following worship. Please be sure to bring a luncheon dish to share!

It will be a great time to be together! 

Pride Month

In the spirit of Pride Month, I invite you to wear either a brightly colored, rainbow, or pride-specific shirt to Sunday's worship service. Let our actions speak for our values

of inclusion, integrity, and queer pride. We are all made in God's image, beautifully

and wonderfully!

Thanks be to God, 

Amma Leslie+

Mark Your Calendars

• Women of St. Thomas', Thursday, June 18, 11:30 am, Olive Garden, Henrietta
• Parish Office Closed (in observance of the holiday), Friday, July 3

Children and Youth Ministry

Abraham and Sarah’s Visitors

This week in Sunday School, we will read Genesis 18:1-15, in which God changes Abram and Sarai’s names to Abraham and Sarah, and visitors came to tell Abraham

and Sarah that she would give birth to a

baby. Sarah is shocked by this news and laughs out loud! When the baby is born, they name him Isaac, which means laughter. Our lessons this week will talk about promises that God has made and God’s love for us. We will wrap up our year together with the reminder that we are all made in God’s image.

This is our final week of Sunday School for the Program Year. Thank you to all who made this a wonderful year full of growth, fellowship, and fun! Sunday School will resume in September. We look forward to seeing you throughout the summer!

Fellowship Ministry

Women of St. Thomas’ June Meeting

As is their tradition, the Women of St. Thomas’

will go out for lunch for their last meeting of the program year on Thursday, June 18. We will

meet at the Olive Garden at 532 Jefferson Road

in Henrietta, at 11:30 am. Please call/text Linda Coleman at 585.313.3164 if you plan on attending the luncheon.

Community Engagement



2026 Rochester Pride Parade

Mark your calendars to join the Episcopal Diocese

of Rochester in the Rochester Pride Parade on

July 18, 2026. See the form below to sign up and

for more information about other upcoming Pride events throughout the Diocese.



Brighton Food Cupboard Requests

The Brighton Food Cupboard is a program of Jewish Family Service of Rochester in partnership with the Brighton Central School District and Foodlink. June donation needs for the Brighton Food Cupboard include rice and unscented soap.

Drop off your donations in the collection boxes located at each church entrance. Thanks for caring and sharing in the love!

Attitude of Gratitude

Last Sunday was EfM (Education for Ministry) Sunday. We celebrated the graduates from

the four-year program, Jane Smith and Laura Thomas, as well as the completion of the one-year, program (Wide-Angle) by Susan Chazan (not pictured) and Charlie Zettek. St. Thomas' gives thanks to Cathy Dahler for her four years as the group mentor. Thank you to Maggie Detty (not pictured) and Jane Smith, who will serve

as co-mentors for the upcoming year. 

This week, we open our hearts in special gratitude for the extraordinary individuals who guide, teach, and inspire our youngest members. Our Sunday School teacher honorees include Tessa Anderson, Katie Austin, Kearie Baumgartner, Stefanie Brown, Maggie Detty, Autumn Gallegos-Greenwich, Laurel Gildersleeve, Paula Gitlin, Sue Henry, John Kapusta, Marcia Loomis, Carolyn Mabb, Norm Marshall, Jane Smith, and Jackie Stutzman.

Thank you for your tireless dedication, love, and spiritual mentorship to our youngest members. Please join us this coming Sunday during worship as we formally recognize

and celebrate their ministry.

If you have thanksgivings to share, please email Amy Holowczenko, Communication

& Reception, at communications@stthomasrochester.org.

Worship Ministry

Altar Flowers

If you appreciate the beauty of altar flowers, have an occasion to give thanks for, wish

to celebrate a special event, or want to honor

a loved one, consider sponsoring flowers

for one of our weekly worship services.

When you sponsor an arrangement, you

have the option of our Watchcare ministry delivering them to a parishioner who is homebound or in need of some floral cheer, or you may take them home after the service. Many dates are available this summer for you to sign up and make a donation.

Signing up is easy and fast! Call the Parish Office at 585.442.3544 or click the link below. For more details, contact Vicky Rupley at vrupley@gmail.com or 585.233.2546.

In Case You Missed It



Join the Choir

All teens and adults are invited to join

the Choir for any or all of the Sundays through June 28. Please wear white and black attire, rather than the usual formal robes. Rehearsal begins each Sunday

at 8:45 am in the Choir Room, where we review three anthems plus service music

for that morning. Choir participants may

opt to sing most of the service from their

pew and come forward to join the choir

for the anthem and Doxology.



Contact Rhonda Wright at organist@stthomasrochester.org with any questions.

Sunday Live Stream Service at 10:00 am is available on St. Thomas' YouTube channel—St. Thomas Episcopal Church of Rochester, NY. The live stream can

be viewed any time after 10:00 am throughout the week. 

Emergency Contacts

Brighton Food Cupboard

(585) 271-5355

Centers for Disease Control

cdc.gov

Episcopal Relief

& Development

(faith-based response

to epidemics)

bit.ly/2VMcNuu

Interpersonal

Violence Hotline

(for physical and mental related to interpersonal violence and trauma)

(585) 275-HEAL

Monroe County Department of Health

monroecounty.gov/health-coronavirus

National Child

Abuse Hotline

(800) 342-3720

National Suicide Prevention

988

New York State Mental

Health Provider Hotline

(844) 863-9314

NYS Office of

Addiction Services https://oasas.ny.gov/ 

Rochester AA Support

(585) 232-6720

Willow Domestic
Violence Center

(585) 222-SAFE

The Trevor Project

(for LGBTQ youth, 13-14)

1 (866) 488-7386

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church of Rochester, New York, is proud

to stand with the Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group and its declaration that “Racism is a Public Health Crisis." As a community

of faith and followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that every person

is continually made in the image of God beautifully and wonderfully.

We are committed to doing the hard work of love. We are dedicated

to the practice of growing and learning how to know and love our neighbors as we seek to create community. We hold the hope that

love does win through forgiveness, kindness, and transformation.

We desire to be a people who work for the equity of all. We work to acknowledge our complicity

and part in racism, and we are committed to working together to tackle injustice in our lives, in our church, in our community, and in the world.