Last week, the Episcopal Diocese of Dellaware published a booklet, Courses, Workshops, Conversations, (the work of the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission-RJRC) reflecting offerings and invitation to join in the holy work of advancing the mission of achieving diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. This 2022 compilation of courses, workshops, and conversations, offered by the RJRC, is rich in content and are for everyone, especially clergy, congregations, and leadership.
Worship services for week of February 4, 2022
Hello faith family! Sunday is the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany – February 6, 2022, Year A. Services are held in-person with precautions and online via our YouTube channel. Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options. We are listening to the experts and considering how to best keep our faith family safe during this pandemic.
Worship this week:
- Sundays at 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Youth Confirmation in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:15 a.m. – Children’s Ministries in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (10:30 booklet)
- Wednesday at noon – Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
- Thursday at 7 p.m. – Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.
In this strange pandemic time, the church is aware that some of its members are struggling to make ends meet. If you are in this situation, please let the clergy know of your needs, pray for the church, and feel no guilt about your giving. But if you are able to give, options for giving include mailing a check to your church or online giving. See our Giving information.
If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
To see all events or news, visit our website, check FaceBook, or check out the posted events on the board next to the name tag station. Recent Newsletters, Sermons, or Announcements are also available.
Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit: Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.
I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!
Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644
Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for February 6, 2022
Good morning faith family. See St. Thomas’s Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for news and events information for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany – February 6, 2022, Year A. This week in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), a member of our faith family has written a wonderful piece on the poet Nelly Sachs. You will also see a reminder about our Sunday morning adult education series – From a boatful, to billions: An absurdly short history of Christianity, as well as, an invitation to a new Tuesday evening series on Racial Justice. If you need any assistance connecting with the Sunday adult education class, please do not hesitate to reach out to the office.
Some of our worship events are as follows. We encourage you to worship in whatever way is comfortable for you: in-person or on YouTube. Thank you to everyone involved in making these decisions; these are heavy questions and the decisions are made prayerfully and carefully.
- Sunday worship services begin at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.:
- 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (10:30 booklet)
- Wednesday worship at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
- Thursday worship at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.
Other events follow:
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Adult Education in the parlor and live via Zoom (1/30-3/3/22): From a boatful, to billions: An absurdly short history of Christianity.
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Youth Confirmation in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:15 a.m. – Children’s Ministries in the Undercroft.
- Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. – lectionary bible study in the classroom.
- Thursdays at 10 a.m. – St. Nicholas Parish invites you to Adult Education, live via Zoom (2/3-2/24/22): Christianity: the first 1500 years.
In this strange pandemic time, the church is aware that some of its members are struggling to make ends meet. If you are in this situation, please let the clergy know of your needs, pray for the church, and feel no guilt about your giving. But if you are able to give, options for giving include mailing a check to your church or online giving. See our Giving information.
If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
To see all events or news, visit our website, check FaceBook, or check out the posted events on the board next to the name tag station. Recent Newsletters, Sermons, or Announcements are also available.
Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644
Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for January 30, 2022
Good morning faith family. See St. Thomas’s Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for news and events information for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany – January 30, 2022, Year A. This week, you will read about Candlemas, which is coming up next Wednesday, an invitation to an “Invite Welcome Connect” digital gathering on February 9, and a reminder of our own adult education 6-week series From a boatful, to billions: An absurdly short history of Christianity starting this Sunday. If you need any assistance connecting with either adult education opportunity, please do not hesitate to reach out to the office.
Some of our worship events are as follows. We encourage you to worship in whatever way is comfortable for you: in-person or on YouTube. Thank you to everyone involved in making these decisions; these are heavy questions and the decisions are made prayerfully and carefully.
- Sunday worship services begin at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.:
- 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (10:30 booklet)
- Wednesday worship at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
- Thursday worship at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.
Other events follow:
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Adult Education in the parlor and live via Zoom (1/30-3/3/22): From a boatful, to billions: An absurdly short history of Christianity.
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Youth Confirmation in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:15 a.m. – Children’s Ministries in the Undercroft.
- Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. – lectionary bible study in the classroom.
- Thursdays at 10 a.m. – St. Nicholas Parish invites you to Adult Education, live via Zoom (2/3-2/24/22): Christianity: the first 1500 years.
In this strange pandemic time, the church is aware that some of its members are struggling to make ends meet. If you are in this situation, please let the clergy know of your needs, pray for the church, and feel no guilt about your giving. But if you are able to give, options for giving include mailing a check to your church or online giving. See our Giving information.
If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
To see all events or news, visit our website, check FaceBook, or check out the posted events on the board next to the name tag station. Recent Newsletters, Sermons, or Announcements are also available.
Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644
Worship services for week of January 30, 2022
Hello faith family! Sunday is the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany – January 30, 2022, Year A. Services are held in-person with precautions and online via our YouTube channel. Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options. We are listening to the experts and considering how to best keep our faith family safe during this pandemic.
Worship this week:
- Sundays at 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Youth Confirmation in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:15 a.m. – Children’s Ministries in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (10:30 booklet)
- Wednesday at noon – Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
- Thursday at 7 p.m. – Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.
In this strange pandemic time, the church is aware that some of its members are struggling to make ends meet. If you are in this situation, please let the clergy know of your needs, pray for the church, and feel no guilt about your giving. But if you are able to give, options for giving include mailing a check to your church or online giving. See our Giving information.
If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
To see all events or news, visit our website, check FaceBook, or check out the posted events on the board next to the name tag station. Recent Newsletters, Sermons, or Announcements are also available.
Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit: Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.
I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!
Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644
Candlemas – Blessing of the candles on February 2, 2022
With all due respect to Bill Murray, let’s skip the groundhog watch this year, and instead celebrate Candlemas. Wednesday, February 2, 2022, marks 40 days after Christmas. Candlemas is actually a very old feast, celebrated by both the churches of the East and the West, and in some places it is on this day that the creche is finally removed from the church. If you haven’t done so already, it’s really time to put your Christmas decorations away. This date occurs at a period between the December solstice and the March equinox, so many people traditionally marked that time of the year as winter’s “halfway point” while waiting for the spring.
Candles are blessed on this day (hence the name “Candlemas”). It is the day of the year when all the candles, that are used in the church during the coming year, are brought into church and a blessing is said over them – so it is the Festival Day (or ‘mass’) of the Candles. Candles were important in past days not only because there was no electric lights. Some people thought they gave protection against plague and illness and famine. For Christians, they were (and still are) a reminder of something even more important. Before Jesus came to earth, it was as if everyone was ‘in the dark’.
Also called the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, it is the Christian festival marking the ritual presentation of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem, during which prophets Simeon and Anna proclaimed him the Messiah. Simeon spoke the prayer known as the “Nunc Dimittis,” calling the baby “a light to lighten the gentiles.”
In this Sunday’s service booklet, you will find an insert with our Candlemas blessing. You are welcome to bring a special candle to church on Sunday, or on Wednesday for intercessory prayer at noon, for a blessing. Give Punxsutawney Phil a break this year, and remember, “if Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another fight. If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter won’t come again.”
Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for January 23, 2022
Good morning faith family. See St. Thomas’s Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for news and events information for the Third Sunday after Epiphany – January 23, 2022, Year A. This week, you will find not just one, but TWO Adult Education offerings:
My Faith / Your Faith – Becoming who and what we are and
From a boatful, to billions: An absurdly short history of Christianity,
as well as a reminder of our participation in Code Purple Winter Sanctuary. If you need any assistance connecting with either adult education opportunity, please do not hesitate to reach out to the office.
Some of our worship events are as follows. We encourage you to worship in whatever way is comfortable for you: in-person or on YouTube. Thank you to everyone involved in making these decisions; these are heavy questions and the decisions are made prayerfully and carefully.
- Sunday worship services begin at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.:
- 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
- 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (10:30 booklet)
- Wednesday worship at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
- Thursday worship at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.
Other events follow:
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Adult Education in the parlor and live via Zoom (1/30-3/3/22): From a boatful, to billions: An absurdly short history of Christianity.
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Youth Confirmation in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:15 a.m. – Children’s Ministries in the Undercroft.
- Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. – lectionary bible study in the classroom.
- Thursdays at 10 a.m. – St. Nicholas Parish invites you to Adult Education, live via Zoom (2/3-2/24/22): Christianity: the first 1500 years.
In this strange pandemic time, the church is aware that some of its members are struggling to make ends meet. If you are in this situation, please let the clergy know of your needs, pray for the church, and feel no guilt about your giving. But if you are able to give, options for giving include mailing a check to your church or online giving. See our Giving information.
If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
To see all events or news, visit our website, check FaceBook, or check out the posted events on the board next to the name tag station. Recent Newsletters, Sermons, or Announcements are also available.
Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644
Worship services for week of January 23, 2022
Hello faith family! Sunday is the Third Sunday after Epiphany – January 23, 2022, Year A. Services are held in-person with precautions and online via our YouTube channel. Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options. We are listening to the experts and considering how to best keep our faith family safe during this pandemic.
Worship this week:
- Sundays at 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
- Sundays at 9 a.m. – Youth Confirmation in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:15 a.m. – Children’s Ministries in the Undercroft.
- Sundays at 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (10:30 booklet)
- Wednesday at noon – Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
- Thursday at 7 p.m. – Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.
In this strange pandemic time, the church is aware that some of its members are struggling to make ends meet. If you are in this situation, please let the clergy know of your needs, pray for the church, and feel no guilt about your giving. But if you are able to give, options for giving include mailing a check to your church or online giving. See our Giving information.
If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
To see all events or news, visit our website, check FaceBook, or check out the posted events on the board next to the name tag station. Recent Newsletters, Sermons, or Announcements are also available.
Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit: Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.
I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!
Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644
Code Purple of Delaware – helping with shelter for the homeless in bitter cold
When temperatures drop below freezing and conditions pose a threat to individuals who are homeless, a network of agencies throughout Delaware help people obtain shelter. During times such as these, Code Purple of Delaware, along with the support of the Friendship House, here in New Castle County, Delaware, will initiate and communicate a Code Purple Alert to make shelter arrangements for homeless adults. While the Hope Center has provided housing for many of our neighbors in need, during the coldest nights, there are still not enough beds. So, as in years past, St. Thomas’s is joining with a handful of other churches in the area to give sanctuary on those dangerously cold nights.
Last Tuesday, January 11, 2022, we hosted 6 homeless guests for dinner and a safe, warm overnight in the Great Hall. Dinner was WONDERFUL and provided by the University of Delaware. Some of our guests had 3 plates full. They were SO grateful! Everybody slept well, stayed warm and we had NO problems. There is the possibility that we will need to host Code Purple again on Saturday, January 22, 2022. Friendship House is not going to make the decision to call it, until Friday afternoon. It will be our turn to cover it, IF it happens, and looking at the weather forecast ….. we just want to be ready – in case.
This large, safe space is a blessing that we must share with our community. How awesome that we are able to participate in Code Purple! If you would like to learn more, or are interested in volunteering, please reach out to Madeline Johnson at mad1240@comcast.net
My Faith / Your Faith – Becoming who and what we are
CHRISTIANITY – The first 1500 years viewed through the lenses of the 1st, 4th, 11th, and 16th centuries. This series is scheduled for February 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2002 from 10-11:20 a.m.
Each century since the Resurrection of Christ is worthy of study and contemplation as part of the ongoing narrative of the Jesus movement, the story of the Church- your story and mine. The four centuries listed below are prime examples of this. We will spend some time on four Thursday mornings in February, via ZOOM, to examine the Church’s story in each of them. If you would like to participate, please email Fr. Bill from St. Nicholas at wmblane@gmail.com.
First Century: The century of the Resurrection and the birth of the Church
Fourth Century: Begins Christian domination from the time of the
Roman/Byzantine empire to the 20th century
Eleventh Century: The century of the great East/West schism
Sixteenth Century: The century the Church in the West is reshaped