2 Jul 2021

Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for July 4, 2021

by | posted in: News | 0

Happy Friday!  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost and the week of July 4, 2021. In it you will find a reminder of the upcoming Summer Worship Schedule, a reminder that Communion at the Curb continues, our church’s Covid Policy update, and Eye Spy notices some doves.

Once again, I’m thrilled to welcome back another piece of our “old normal”:  Wednesday morning bible study will pick back up in July 2021 in person.  This group meets weekly to preview the readings for the upcoming Sunday, and really interesting discussions ensue. This group normally meets at 10:30 a.m., but details are still being confirmed. Please look for more info in the next week and know that ALL are welcome to participate.

  • We are in our new summer 2021 schedule of 2 Sunday services:
  • Sundays from 10:30-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb is offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
  • Wednesday at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion, live on our YouTube channel and 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.

You will receive an emailed invitation to all the above events and their accompanying leaflets.  As always, there are copies available to be mailed, so please let me know if you’d like a paper copy. 

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.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

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

1 Jul 2021

Worship services for Sunday, July 4, 2021

by | posted in: Worship | 0

Sixth Sunday after PentecostHello faith family!  Sunday, July 4, 2021 is the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information:

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

  • Sundays from 10-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
  • Wednesdays at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion, live on our YouTube channel and in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
  • Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “The Canon of the Mass” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series that is included in the Worship Booklet.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

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

29 Jun 2021

Praying Shapes Believing: The Canon of the Mass

by | posted in: Worship | 0

Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

The Canon of the Mass

The prayer in which the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated and become for us the Body and Blood of Christ by the action of the Holy Spirit.

What is it?

The Canon combines elements from Jewish and early Christian traditions of prayer. It begins with a recitation of God’s actions in the world, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus, repeats Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, and calls the Holy Spirit to enliven the Eucharistic elements and us.

Why do we do it?

In Luke’s version of the Last Supper story (Luke 22:19), Jesus gives his followers the bread and wine with the instruction, “Do this in remembrance of me,” a phrase taken by the church to be a command to continue this ritual. St Paul, in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth, makes it even clearer, saying, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (I Corinthians 11:26).

What it says about God

God’s self-giving is our source of life.

God’s presence is immanent (physical) as well as transcendent (spiritual).

Messages for how we live

Sharing in the Eucharist reminds us of our equality before God.

For more – Think about the objects and rituals and places that are important in your life.  What meanings and memories do they hold?

25 Jun 2021

Worship services for Sunday, June 27, 2021

by | posted in: Worship | 0

Fifth Sunday after PentecostHello faith family!  Sunday, June 27, 2021 is the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information:

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

  • Sundays from 10-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
  • Wednesdays at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion, live on our YouTube channel and in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
  • Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “The Offertory” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series that is included in the Worship Booklet.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

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

25 Jun 2021

Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for June 27, 2021

by | posted in: News | 0

Happy Friday!  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and the week of June 27, 2021. In it you will find a reminder of the upcoming Summer Worship Schedule, a reminder that Communion at the Curb continues, our church’s Covid Policy update, and Eye Spy looks at an example of Faith in Action at Hope Dining Room.

You will receive an emailed invitation to all the above events and their accompanying leaflets.  As always, there are copies available to be mailed, so please let me know if you’d like a paper copy. 

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.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

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

25 Jun 2021

Praying Shapes Believing: The Offertory

by | posted in: Worship | 0

Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

The Offertory

The phase in the liturgy when offerings of money and of bread and wine for the Eucharist are collected and presented at the altar.

What is it?

The making of offerings as a gesture of thanksgiving is a very old form of worship. The actions of gathering and presenting remind us that we all can participate in the building of the Kingdom of God, and that the community we share is itself a form of offering.

Why do we do it?

By offering to God a portion of what we have received, we enable the love of God to become a reality in the world through the work of the church. By placing this giving in the middle of worship, we are reminded that our stewardship of all of God’s blessings is a holy obligation.

What it says about God

God gives us everything in abundance.

God desires our thanksgiving as much as our material resources.

Messages for how we live

The practice of gratitude brings us closer to God.

Our generosity makes real God’s blessing in the lives of others.

For more – Read Acts 4:32-35.  Can you picture a church living in this way?

25 Jun 2021

Faith in Action at Hope Dining Room

by | posted in: Outreach, Service | 0

The Hope Dining Room, located in the basement of the Kingswood United Methodist Church, Brookside Park, provides a free hot noontime meal with dignity for all who are hungry. They have been in operation since 1983, and rely on volunteers to keep the effort going. St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas have come together to help this effort. On the third Monday of every month, a small team from our parishes join to feed those in our community who need help. It’s typically a 2 hour task, from 10 a.m.-noon.

The menu varies throughout the month and each serving group determines the meal but include a protein, vegetable, starch and dessert. Something that makes the meals that our group provides special is the veggies; they come from the St. Nicholas garden! Last year, the harvest continued into November 2020. What a blessing!

At this time, all serving is done as a “grab and go” lunch, outside. Normally, the Dining Room provides a safe place to sit down and be served a hot meal and have conversations with others. Friends and contacts are also made. They expect to go back to a seated meal sometime this fall. This is when we will need more volunteers to help with serving and cleaning. Right now, masks are optional and social distancing is practiced.

You could donate to the cause by dropping a check at either church, with “Hope Dining Room” on the memo line. You could be a one-time volunteer, or sign up by the month, if the day we work is convenient for you (3rd Monday). If you would like to be on the volunteer list, please email Madeline at mad1240@comcast.net. It’s also helpful to spread the word. Please let your friends and neighbors know about this resource, so they can also help to share this relief with others.

Hope Dining Room provides a needed service to the community, not just to feed the homeless, but also to
provide a lift for those who may just need a few meals per week covered, to help them stretch their funds further. All who come are warmly welcomed, and there are no questions asked.

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Madeline Johnson at mad1240@comcast.net.

22 Jun 2021

Visiting St. Thomas’s Cemetery

by | posted in: News | 0

St. Thomas's Cemetery entranceSt. Thomas’s Cemetery is located a few blocks from the current church building.

There is no parking lot at St. Thomas’s Cemetery so we recommend parking at the University of Delaware Trabant University Center Parking Garage whose entrance is on Main Street. The garage is pay to park.

St. Thomas’s Cemetery: 58 West Delaware Avenue, Newark, Delaware (just past the former church building and Delaware Avenue)
Current Church address: St. Thomas’s Parish, 276 S. College Ave. Newark Delaware 19711

Bayard-Sharp Hall, former St. Thomas's ChurchSt. Thomas’s Cemetery is located on West Delaware Avenue, Newark Delaware adjacent to the former St. Thomas’s church building at 23 South Main (formerly Elkton Road). The Cemetery property was separated from the former church property in the 1950’s when the parish moved to its current location on South College Avenue. The former St. Thomas’s church building is now owned by the University of Delaware and known as Bayard Sharp Hall.

Directions to parking for the Cemetery from St. Thomas’s Parish building (276 S. College Ave.): turn left onto South College Avenue and go about 1/2 mile through three traffic lights to the T-intersection of South College Avenue and Main Street. At this light, turn left onto Main Street and get into the left lane. The University of Delaware Trabant University Center parking garage is on your left. Enter the parking garage and park. Access to the Cemetery is best from walking to the rear of the garage, opposite to the garage entrance.

18 Jun 2021

Worship services for Sunday, June 20, 2021

by | posted in: Worship | 0

Fourth Sunday after PentecostHello faith family!  Sunday, June 20, 2021 is the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information.

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

  • Sundays from 10-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
  • Wednesdays at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion, live on our YouTube channel and in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
  • Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “The Peace” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series. Also, please note that we have updated our web address to StThomasNewarkDE.church.  The former address stthomasparish.org redirects you to the new address of StThomasNewarkDE.church.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

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

18 Jun 2021

Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for June 20, 2021

by | posted in: News | 0

Happy Friday!  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost and the week of June 20, 2021. In it you will find a reminder of the upcoming Summer Worship Schedule, a reminder that Communion at the Curb continues, our church’s Covid Policy update, and Eye Spy turns our attention towards altar flowers.

Starting in July 2021, the flower guild will once again be accepting altar flower dedications!  They are always accepting new members. What blessings or memories would you like to mark with altar flowers this season?

You will receive an emailed invitation to all the above events and their accompanying leaflets.  As always, there are copies available to be mailed, so please let me know if you’d like a paper copy. 

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.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

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