The Draft

Our Weekly E-Newsletter

October 1, 2026

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Bulletin for Sunday - October 4, 2026

Fr. Ryan and Fr. David are in Buffalo, NY for a conference meeting with the Society of Catholic Priests.

PICTURE THIS...

Scouts who are members of St. Thomas' participated in a solemn flag folding of a flag that has been flown over our Nation's capital. It will be incorporated into a permanent display honoring both past and present members of the parish who served in the Armed Forces.

[Pictured: Liam Kennedy (Life Scout), Graham Stineman (Life Scout ), Stuart Hine (Life Scout), Isaac Brown (2nd Class Scout), Blake Biafora (Life Scout), together with Fr. Ryan (Eagle Scout), and Capt. Bill Barns, USN ret (Star Scout and Eagle Scout project advisor).

This week's Explorers Sunday school class had the kids doing a “teeny tiny quiz game” with magnifying glasses to show off all they learned during our lesson on the Three Wise Men and their visit to baby Jesus.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR...

Friday, October 2

5:30 PM

St. Thomas' Art Project will hold their next art exhibit opening, Beauty from the Broken: A Journey Through Mosaic on Friday, October 2 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Come meet the artist - Donna Slawsky - and learn all about her process! Donna is a talented mosaic artist and instructor at the Morean Arts Center in St Pete, FL. Her work is exhibited in galleries, museums, and art centers all throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Sunday, October 4

10:00 AM

On Sunday October 4 at the 10:00 am service we will commemorate the life of St. Francis of Assisi with a Blessing of the Animals. All are invited to bring your pets to church for a special blessing. Yes, there will be ooops stations conveniently located around the church (just in case). No pets at the 8:00 am service, (please). All pets must be leashed or in a carrier/container for everyone's safety. If your pet cannot join in person, feel free to bring a photo - we are happy to bless them too!

In honor of our Pet Blessing on Sunday, the flower guild will make a special flower arrangement consisting of cat tails, pussy willows, bunny tails, fishtail palms, snake plant, bird of paradise, and snapdragons (also called dog flower).

'And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.' Genesis 1:30

Sunday, October 18

Health Initiative Sunday

Donate Blood: 7:30 am to 12:30 pm. All donors will receive a $20 gift card, Halloween T-shirt, and wellness checkup (including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, iron count, and cholesterol screening). Click the button below to schedule your time. Look for the BIG RED BUS in our parking lot. #KeepingStThomasHealthy

COVID and flu shots will also be available in the Parish Hall beginning at 9:00 am. You must complete the insurance form by clicking on the button below. Instructions for returning the form are on the form itself.

Additionally, you should plan to get your vaccine(s) AFTER donating blood, if you intend to do both. 

Tuesday, October 27

7:00 PM

Fr. Ryan will present two dramatic readings of classic ghost stories, and Jordan Markham will treat us to sever spooky organ concert pieces, Join us a little before 7:00 pm for charcuterie and beverages! Donation to benefit St. Thomas' Music on the Isle concert series will be appreciated.

Calling all Veterans

Sunday, November 8

On Sunday, November 8, we will honor all past and present members of St. Thomas' who served in one of the branches of the armed forces with a special ceremony and recognition. We think we have completed the list of all eligible veterans but are asking you to click the link below and let us know if there is a past/present member who needs to be added to the list. If you have any questions, please call Bill Barns, 757-6465146.

Friday, December 4

5:30 PM

We're excited to tell you about a marvelous program that is coming to St. Thomas' in December. The Saint John's Bible is the first Bible commissioned to be written and illuminated by hand since the invention of the printing press nearly 600 years ago. It took more than a decade to complete.

A copy of it was used in during the installation of the new Archibishop of Canterbury last spring.

Twenty reproduction pages from the Saint John's Bible will hang here in the nave. We'll also have a large volume of the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Those we plan to use in our worship during the Advent and Christmas seasons. Junior Warden Ted Badger recently constructed an impressive stand and table to hold the sacred text.

You can help us bring this magnificent work to St. Thomas'. Your gift, no matter how small -- $1, $20, $50, $100, $350 -- will help. Please designate any such donation to the St. Thomas' Art Project. 

The opening Art Project reception will be on Friday, December 4 at 5:30 pm in the Sanctuary. Come join us for light refreshments and to see this marvelous work.

Thank you for your investment in starting St. Thomas' 75th anniversary celebrations. If you have any questions, please find Gina White or Mary Jane Park.

GIVING PLATE - OCTOBER

September Giving Plate: KAIROS Prison Ministry

Sunday, October 18

FELLOWSHIP

Click on the Name to go to the Website Information

Bridal Tea Party

Sunday, October 4 - 2:00 PM

Chorus Angelorum Concert

Sunday, October 11 - 4:00 PM

Keeping St. Thomas' Healthy

Men's Group and Women's Social Club

Virtual Happy Hour

OUTREACH MINISTRIES

Click on the Name to go to the Website Information

AL-ANON

Benison Farm

Dominican Republic Mission Trip

F.A.S.T.

Honduras Mission Trip NEW

KAIROS

MA (Marijuana Anonymous)

Pack-a-Snack

S.T.A.R.

STEWARDSHIP

If you would like to know more about Stewardship or become involved with the Stewardship ministry at St. Thomas', please reach out to our committee chair, Joni James, joni.james@gmail.com or 727-410-3892.

Stewardship Information

30-day challenge coming this Sunday!

Adult Confirmation Classes

Sojourners (Adult Formation)

--->Sunday School Volunteers Needed for 2026-2027<---

Wednesday Night Classes

Truthseekers (6th-12th Grades)

Explorers (K-5th Grades)

Nursery

Kayaking Adventure

Sunday, October 11

Trunk or Treat

Wednesday, October 28

Start making your decorating plans now for this year's Trunk or Treat event on Wednesday, October 28 at 5:00 pm in the parking lots. The church will provide pizza for dinner. Stock up on your candy and treats now!

Kids and Youth Events at St. Thomas'

Teen Confirmation Classes

Happening - Nov 6-8

Register by Oct 30

PASTORAL CARE

Parish Prayer List

Don't see your birthday or anniversary listed?

Please call the office so we can update our records.

The Episcopal House of Bishops is gathered at Camp Allen in Texas for our fall meeting. Today we were incredibly blessed to welcome the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Sarah Mullally.

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost - October 4

Acolytes (10am): Liam Kennedy (C), Colin Burkhart (T1), Hannah Wetmore (T2).

Audio Visual (10am): Jackson Whitley.

Greeters (8am): Jacob and Evy Rodrigues.

Greeters (10am): Diane Robinson, Russ Martin.

Healing Minister (10am): Liz Stiles.

Lay Eucharistic Minister (10am): Tom Shevlin.

Lector (8am): Mike Bice.

Lectors (10am): Michael Mahoney (OT), George Burkhart (NT).

Nursery: Haleigh McGrath, Tristen Patterson.

Oblation Bearer (10am): Vickie Ryan.

Prayers of the People (8am): Mike Bice.

Prayers of the People (10am): Beth Gould.

Ushers (10am): George Burkhart, Bill Thomas.

Altar Guild: Barb Bice, Linda Sordan.

Coffee Hosts: Liz Stiles, Peggy Lewis.

Collection Counter: Diane Robinson.

Flower Guild: Martha Goodwill, Molly Hillier.

God has given us the ability to laugh for a reason. It may seem like a little thing, but laughter is vitally important in the battle against stress, anxiety, fear and worry.

William Tyndale

William Tyndale was born about 1495 at Slymbridge near the Welsh border. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Magdalen College, Oxford, and also spent some time in study at Cambridge. After his ordination, about 1521, he entered the service of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire, as domestic chaplain and tutor. In 1523 he went to London and obtained a similar position with a rich cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth. Tyndale was determined to translate the Scriptures into English, but, despairing of official support, he left for Germany in 1524. From this point on, his life reads like a cloak-and-dagger story, as King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey, and others, sought to destroy his work of translation and put him to death. He was finally betrayed by one whom he had befriended, and in Brussels, on October 6, 1536, he was strangled at the stake, and his body was burned. William Tyndale was a man of a single passion, to translate the Bible into English; so that, as he said to a prominent Churchman, “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more scripture than thou dost.” His accomplished work is his glory. Before his betrayal and death, he had finished and revised his translation of the New Testament, and had completed a translation of the Pentateuch and of Jonah and, though he did not live to see them published, of the historical books from Joshua through 2 Chronicles. His work has been called “a well of English undefiled.” Some eighty percent of his version has survived in the language of later and more familiar versions, such as the Authorized (King James) Version of 1611. After the fashion of his time, Tyndale could be a bitter controversialist, and his translations sometimes had a polemical purpose. He was a lonely and desperate man, constantly hunted and hounded. In his personal life he was amiable and self-denying. His last words were prophetic: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

[Feast Day: October 6]

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