Schedule Update – LIVE on YouTube, we are joining with our neighbors at St Nicholas’s Episcopal Church for our Holy Week 2020 observances. ALL Are Welcome!
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Please join us each day, LIVE on YouTube:
Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 9 a.m. LIVE from St Nicholas
Monday, April 6, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 12 noon and 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7 p.m. and LIVE watch through the night
Friday, April 10, 2020 at 12 noon
Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 8 p.m.
Easter Sunday, April 9, 2020 at 9 a.m. LIVE on YouTube from St. Thomas’s
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Lord’s Prayer on Wed., March 25, 2020 at noon
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have jointly called on Christians everywhere to say the Lord’s Prayer at noon (in their various time zones) on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, as a symbol of Christian unity. We will do this at the Noon Eucharist and I invite everyone to do so wherever they may be at that time.
Please join us LIVE on YouTube for our service of Intercessory Prayer with Holy Eucharist. Here is the accompanying service program. Subscribe and hit the notification bell so you will never miss a LIVE presentation.
Peace and be well
Howie+
Rev. Dr. Howell Sasser, Jr., Rector
Children’s ministries at home for March 22, 2022
Hello Everyone,
I pray you are all doing well on this somewhat cloudy but promising Saturday, March 21, 2022. And, I pray you know you are in my thoughts and prayers each day. In this uncertain time, there are still wonderful things happening. For example, the Quinones family (AKA the family of Ms. Tori and “little lucas”) welcomed a new member, Noah Michael, this week.
As you know, we will not be meeting at St Thomas’s tomorrow for Sunday School due to COVID-19. However, here are some lessons, stories and activities that would have been the basis of our work and worship in each of the classrooms this weekend:
I encourage you to try a few of the activities with your children, depending on their age or interest. Here is link to a video of the Jesus and Zaccheus story. I chose this one because it conveys the message that I hope “our children” would get from the story.
I hope to see you all soon. Please let me know if and how I can be of service to you in the meantime.
Blessings,
Belinda Young-Payne, Children’s Ministries
Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for March 22, 2020
Greetings faith family! I hope this finds you well. It has been so beautiful to see everyone’s kindness and consideration during these unusual times. With regular services suspended, we have had opportunity to learn more about using technology to stay connected.That being said, if you would prefer a printed copy of the leaflet, or carpenter’s helper, or of any of the worship materials, please let me know. I will do my best to print and deliver any requested materials.
WE are the CHURCH- so, while access to the building may be limited, our CHURCH is never closed!!!
See this week’s Carpenter Helper newsletter. In this week’s newsletter, you will find a list of resources for online worship, as well an invitation from Bishop Curry to his new series, “Habit’s of Grace”.
And, for those of you who have stuck around to the bottom of this email, let’s chat about some of the absolutely amazing things we have seen this week:
- Three words that have me floored: Italian.balcony.singing. Videos of this phenomenon have me absolutely shook.
- The water has cleared and fish, swans, and dolphins have returned to the Venetian canals!
- And honestly, if you google “kindness stories from quarantine”, you can fall down a mushy and uplifting rabbit hole for hours!
Last week, I shared a favorite verse that has helped keep me calm and flexible. And several of you replied with your favorite verses! Thank you! This week, share something that has made you smile: in person, or online, or maybe just an act of kindness that you heard about.
As the news of COVID-19 continues, I find it necessary to remind myself that If we keep God in the forefront of our minds, we will have perfect peace. Trust in Him brings the greatest peace. Then, once I feel more settled, I can be more flexible.
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
Service on Sunday, March 22, 2020
Dear Friends,
I hope you are all doing well in these strange times due to COVID-19. Isolation may have physical health benefits, but it leaves much to be desired mentally and spiritually. Please do what you can to stay connected- and let the church know how we can help.
One thing we can do is return to Sunday worship. After a week of silence, Sunday worship will return this week, though in a different form. We will gather virtually at 9:00 a.m.for the service of Holy Eucharist.
To abide by the conditions of the present state of emergency, those present in church will be limited to the small number needed to conduct the service. Everyone else is encouraged to join by tuning in on YouTube Live. If you have not already done so, the steps to get ready for this are simple:
1) Click on this link to Deacon Cecily’s sermon from last Sunday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mippg8Ny5tY
2) Just below the video, click on the red Subscribe button.
That is all you have to do! Once you are subscribed, you will receive electronic notifications whenever we are broadcasting.
See the service for Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 22, 2020 via video from YouTube and also see the accompanying service program.
This is clearly not our normal way of doing church. Nor is it ideal. Please be assured that the Bishop, the clergy, and many others are churning away on creative ways to keep up united as the Body of Christ. We have all received the blessing of cleverness – we just have to find ways to apply it! Expect to see us try more new things and please bear with us as we find our way through unfamiliar territory.
And as always, please keep the sick and those who care for them in your prayers. I will be very glad to be with you again – even virtually – this Sunday.
Peace – and be well,
Howie+
Rev. Dr. Howell Sasser, Jr., Rector
How you are doing? Do you need anything? How can we pray for you?
St. Thomas’s family,
Father Howie has heard of other churches who are responding to the current public health crisis with a blanket check-in with parishioners. Clergy and members of the Vestry have divided up the telephone directory and are calling everyone to ask a few simple questions:
How are you doing?
Do you need anything?
How can I/we pray for you?
This seems like an excellent way to maintain some sense of community when a church can’t meet.
Peace – and be well
Howie+
From the Vestry – Over half of you have already received phone calls from a Vestry member, Fr. Howie, or Deacon Cecily and calling is still in progress. If you need help and/or prayer, please call the St. Thomas’s Parish office at (302) 368-4644. Peace, Joy Lynam / Senior Warden
Holy Week Schedule for 2020
You are invited to join us for some special Holy Week gatherings. Each day brings a unique opportunity to experience growth and meaning during this solemn time in our calendar, and draw closer to our Lord.
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Sunday, April 5, 2020 – 8:00 and 10:30 a.m.services
Monday, April 6, 2020 – 5:30 p.m. service
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 – 5:30 p.m. service
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 – 12 noon and 7 p.m. services
Thursday, April, 9, 2020 – 6 p.m.service and watch vigil
Friday, April 10, 2020 – 12 noon and 7 p.m. services
Saturday, April 11, 2020 – 2-4 p.m. and 8 p.m. services
Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020 – 8 and 10:30 a.m. services
Please watch for more details to be published for each day.
Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent, March 15, 2020
Dear friends,
Just in time for Sunday morning, Mach 15, 2020, the third Sunday in Lent, below is a link to a video recording of the sermon Rev. Deacon Cecily Sawyer-Harmon prepared for services today, which were cancelled due to Coronavirus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mippg8Ny5tY
Peace
Howie+
Options for Worship on Sunday, March 15, 2020
Dear Friends,
I hope you and those you care about are managing well in this time of “self-quarantine” and “social distancing.” Remaining connected to people and routines is challenging, but all the more important in a time when feelings of worry – and even fear – are all around and within us.
As you have already heard, church services will be suspended from now until at least March 22, 2020. Other non-essential church activities at St Thomas’s, like committee meetings and Bible study, are also being postponed or moved to telephone/Internet conferences.
But there are ways you can keep some of your Sunday morning routine intact. You have already received the worship booklets for this Sunday in email. Deacon Cecily, who was scheduled to preach, is working on recording her sermon, which will be made available as soon as possible. I am also attaching the booklet that would have been used at the Sunday evening service. And, it is our hope to have some more sophisticated way of worshiping together electronically in place by next Sunday.
For this week, you may also have seen email news that the Bishop will be at St Peter’s, Lewes, tomorrow and that that service will be broadcast live. The service will be at 9:00 a.m., and you see it by going to the Diocese’s website or to St, Peter’s website. Other churches, including the National Cathedral, will be broadcasting via their websites (where more information can be gotten).
Please do not self-isolate even as you do what you can to avoid illness. Christians through the centuries have encountered God in solitude, and I commend that to you. But we also have the benefit of many more ways of staying in touch than our ancestors had. We can and will remain a community while we remain apart as an act of love and concern.
Grace, peace, and good health to you all.
Howie+
Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for March 15, 2020
Good morning faith family.
See this week’s Carpenter Helper newsletter.
As the news of COVID-19 continues, I find it necessary to remind myself that If we keep God in the forefront of our minds, we will have perfect peace. Trust in Him brings the greatest peace. Then, once I feel more settled, I can be more flexible.
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