Poets’ Corner Reading Series October 2023

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October Poets CornerPoets’ Corner Reading Series presents Caleb Curtiss (www.cdcurtiss.com) reading from his new book “Age of Forgiveness” on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church, 276 S College Avenue, Newark, Delaware.

ALL ARE WELCOME

This event is co-sponsored by St. Thomas’s Parish and the University of Delaware Department of English.

Open to the public.

Annual Giving 2023 October Homily

posted in: Stewardship Campaign | 0

Gracious God, we thank you for creating and recreating us to do your good works in the world. Pour into our hearts the spirit of your abundance. Remind us that what we have is only and always for your glory, and that what we give for the work of your church is our testimony to the blessings we have already received. Guide us as we make the choices that will help build your kingdom now and in the future. And sustain us always with the promise of the gift beyond price, your presence among us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

As part of our Annual Giving for 2024 campaign this year. Helen Spence shared the homily on October 15, 2023. See the homily via YouTube or read the entirety of the homily text. Excerpts follow …

The Isaiah reading this morning (Isaiah 25:1-9) reminds us that we who glorify God by our prayers and good works must be a strong and patient people, waiting for and rejoicing in the Lord’s abundant mercy. The 23rd Psalm, which I am pretty sure most of us can recite from memory, is the comfort of God’s love in words – a big giant verbal hug – the knowledge that God is with us always and walks with us daily.  The Apostle Paul, whatever we else say about him, knows the value of community.  He constantly thanks people, sending messages to those who have been doing the work he started.  In today’s reading, written from prison, Paul urges the Phillipians – and us – to rejoice in the Lord, reminding us that the Lord is near to us in all we do and all we are.  All of these lessons, in this season of Annual Giving, remind us that we have been called to share the love of God with our community – the one here at St. Thomas’s and the one in which St. Thomas’s is located.  We have a job to do, one to which we are called over ages of ages, and, more importantly, we do not this work alone.

Community works differently in every place, with each group of people involved, because it is the people who create the community. People who pray together, work together, socialize together, live in the Love of the Lord together – this is the bond. And the good work of God in Christ, for which we were all created is done more effectively when the work is shared.  It is done yet more effectively when we reach beyond the doors of this building and seek to love our neighbors as we love ourselves – seek to work with our neighbors as well as we work together.

October 29, 2023 – two weeks from today – we will celebrate the ingathering of our pledges. If you cannot make a pledge by that date, know that it is never too late to do so. If your circumstances change, up or down, it is never too late to change your pledge.  But please, prayerfully consider how much your gift means to all of us as we move into our 2024 budget year.  As the opening prayer states, what we give for the work of God’s church is our testimony to the blessings we have already received.  Amen.

Helen Spence
Annual Giving Ministry

Annual Bazaar 2023 needs volunteers

posted in: Outreach | 0

The Annual Bazaar is now a month away.  It is Friday, Nov. 17, Saturday, Nov. 18, and Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023.  The funds raised at the bazaar are used for a variety of Outreach Missions.  Please consider supporting our efforts by attending and volunteering either your time or your talents.

Please sign up to help at the bazaar, donate cookies and other baked goods, or make soup to sell.

Sign up to volunteer
Sign up to make non-baked goods
Sign up to bake cookies
Sign up to make soups

This year an important part of our fundraising is the Pies from Dana sale.  It is not too late to place your order.  The order forms and box for money and orders will remain outside of the church office until 12 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023!

Thank you for supporting this important part of funding Outreach Ministries.

Philippa Sunnergren
St. Thomas’s Bazaar Committee

Step Up Together 2023 Campaign – WE DID IT!

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Hello faith family. We have some very good news. We have exceeded our Step Up Together 2023 Campaign goals again!

Step Up Together - we did itWe gave gifts of $25,000 and will receive a $25,000 matching grant from our Diocese. Then, we raised an additional $5,000 where the Diocese will match $.75 to the dollar so we received another $3,750 matching grant. On top of that, we gave gifts in the amount of $7,991 which will reduce the $40,000 loan that we will have to acquire. To date we have received $37,991 in gifts! Thank you, thank you.

Our hearts are full and it is time to express the thanks and love that we have shown for our parish.

Won’t you join us on Sunday, October 22, 2023, after each service for treats and to sign a thank you card for the Diocese?

In thanksgiving,

The Step Up Together Committee

Worship and weekly news for October 15, 2023

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Hello faith family! This is the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – October 15, 2023. This week, we celebrate Luke the Evangelist: The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times, and the Epistle to the Colossians refers to him as a physician (from Greek for ‘one who heals’); thus he is thought to have been both a physician and a disciple of Paul. Luke is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

Weekly News

See our Carpenter’s Helper Newsletter. Fall continues to bring exciting fellowship opportunities and FUN. Read about all of the EXCITEMENT headed our way!

Annual Giving Campaign underway
Hope Dining Room volunteers needed
Truck or Treat needs volunteers

Our weekly Worship schedule

Twentieth Sunday after PentecostThis Sunday’s Schedule

Growth and Fellowship

  • Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. – lectionary bible study in the classroom.
  • Third Sundays at 9:15 a.m. – Novel Theology
  • 3rd Monday of the month – Hope Dining Room
  • Last Sunday of the month – Family Church Sunday
  • Last Sunday of the month – Coffee and Fellowship between services

Other Parish Events

  • Sun., Oct. 29 2023 – Annual Giving Ingathering of pledge cards
  • Sun., Oct. 29, 2023 – Children’s Ministries Truck or Treat
  • Tue., Oct. 31, 2023 – candles in the cemetery
  • Sat., Nov. 4, 2023 – All Souls special service

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 our church or online giving.

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 worship, events or news, see our website, FaceBook, InstaGram, YouTube, or 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.

Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644

Hope Dining Room volunteers needed Monday, October 16, 2023

posted in: Outreach, Service | 0

Dear Families of St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas,

Monday, October 16, 2023, is our opportunity to serve at Hope Dining Room where we serve “a midday hot meal with dignity, to those in need in the Greater Newark Delaware area.” Guests at Hope are now “dining in”, so we have 2 different shifts for which you can volunteer. The setup and cooking shift goes from 10 – 11:45 a.m. The serving and cleanup shift goes from 11:45 – 1:30 p.m.

If you’d like to help, please bring an apron and a ball cap. We would LOVE to see you! All of this takes place at the Kingswood Methodist Church kitchen on Marrows Rd. in Brookside Park. It is a team effort, lots of fun and it makes you feel SO good to feed people who really appreciate it. Below, you will find a link to the items we need for the meal.

Please volunteer for the things we need for the meal and to volunteers. If you are donating one of those items, THANK YOU! You can bring it to St. Thomas’s, Monday – Thursday from 9 – noon, OR when you come to church on Sunday! Please put it in the kitchen and mark it for “HOPE DINING ROOM”.

BLESSINGS to you ALL,
Madeline Johnson

Trunk or Treat 2023

posted in: Children's Ministries, News | 0

Children’s Ministries will sponsor TRUNK OR TREAT 2023 on October 29, 2023 from approximately noon-2 p.m.. Families with children and/or youth of St. Thomas’s, St. Nicholas, and the surrounding community are invited to share an afternoon of fun and fellowship.

Parishioners are invited to decorate their cars, share treats, play games and do a craft or two for an afternoon. Parishioners with no children, who do not want to decorate a car can still get in on the fun by donating goodies or decorations for the event, by running a game or craft table, or by helping with set up or clean up!

Please sign up to indicate that you will attend, to reserve your parking spot (so you can park your decorated car), to donate edible or non-edible goodies, to run a craft or game table, and/or to help clean up or setup.

Blessings,
Belinda Young-Payne

Worship and weekly news for October 8, 2023

posted in: News, Worship | 0

Hello faith family! This is the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 8, 2023. This week, we celebrate Edith Cavell: “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to help all those who needed it, including both German and Allied soldiers. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for covertly helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium and return to active service during the First World War, which in wartime was a death penalty offense.

Weekly News

See our Carpenter’s Helper Newsletter. Fall continues to bring exciting fellowship opportunities and FUN. Read about all of the EXCITEMENT headed our way!

Annual Giving Campaign underway
Step Up Together campaign update
Blessing of the Animals needs volunteers
Pies by Dana 2023 Outreach Fundraiser

Our weekly Worship schedule

Nineteenth Sunday after PentecostThis Sunday’s Schedule

Growth and Fellowship

  • Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. – lectionary bible study in the classroom.
  • Third Sundays at 9:15 a.m. – Novel Theology
  • 3rd Monday of the month – Hope Dining Room
  • Last Sunday of the month – Family Church Sunday
  • Last Sunday of the month – Coffee and Fellowship between services

Other Parish Events

  • Sun., Oct. 8, 2023 – Blessing of the Animals
  • Tue., Oct. 31, 2023 – candles in the cemetery
  • Sat., Nov. 4, 2023 – All Souls special service

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 our church or online giving.

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 worship, events or news, see our website, FaceBook, InstaGram, YouTube, or 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.

Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644

Annual Giving for 2024 Budget Explanation

posted in: Stewardship Campaign | 0

Annual Giving is when parishioners are asked to give thanksgiving and pledge their financial gifts for the coming year. Our parish budget is based on our gift giving. Our gift giving “keeps the lights” on and the “doors open.” Our gift giving also lets us give back to our community.

2023 Budget Expenses

How does St. Thomas’s spend its monies and where do they come from?

Summary of Expenses for 2023:

Ministry/Worship 40%
Discipleship 36%
Community Bldg. 12%
Mission 12%

See St. Thomas’s Narrative Budget for an explanation of these categories.

Income for 2023 budget

What are the sources of our income?

Summary of income for 2023:

Facility use 1%
Pledges 89%
Plate 3%
Special Gifts 2%
Investments 5%

See St. Thomas’s Narrative Budget for an explanation of these categories.

Narrative Budget

Narrating a Budget is a way to tell the story of who we are through the ways we spend our time and money. See St. Thomas’s Narrative Budget for 2023.

See all news from our Annual Giving for 2024 campaign.

Annual Bazaar 2023

posted in: News, Outreach | 0

Annual Bazaar 2023St. Thomas’s Annual Bazaar 2023 will be held on
Fri., Nov. 17, 2023 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 18, 2023 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 19, 2023 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

If you pre-ordered Pies from Dana, they may be picked up at the Annual Bazaar.

Admission is free and the public is warmly invited.

The funds raised at the bazaar are used for a variety of Outreach Missions.

Please volunteer either your time or your talents.

St. Thomas’s Parish is located at 276 S. College Ave., Newark, Delaware.