Hello faith family!  I hope this finds you all well.  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of November 1, 2020.  In it you will find encouragement from the #VoteFaithfully campaign, as well as a Thank You for showing care and respect by wearing masks in our church building.  The new Forward Day by Day for Nov. 2020-Jan. 2021 is available in the lobby; please let me know if you’d like one mailed to you.

Just a reminder: DAYLIGHT SAVINGS IS THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!  Don’t forget to get your extra hour of sleep!

This week, we will have our 3 regular services and several other events on the calendar:

• Saturday, October 31, 2020 at 4 p.m. – All Souls service in the cemetery.
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person with guest preacher Rev. Martha Kirkpatrick.
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – guest presenter, Connie Cooper: History of St. Thomas’s Parish 1842-1980.
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 1 p.m. – Children and Youth Trunk or Treat.
• Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 10 a.m. – Two Saints Readers book discussion via ZOOM.
• Wednesday at noon – Intercessory Prayer worship service LIVE on YouTube a leaflet for Pentecost.
• Thursday at 7 p.m. – Compline evening prayers with Deacon Cecily via ZOOM.  ALL are Welcome. 
•  Sunday, November 8, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person   

ALL are Welcome!  Please let me know if you’d like a paper copy of any of the leaflets mailed to you.  Here is a  link to sign up for in-person worship  for this week, November 1, 2020.  Please do not feel pressure to return to the church building until you are comfortable.  We may be in different locations, but we are celebrating TOGETHER.

In this strange 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 page. 

Please let me know if you have any meetings – virtual or otherwise – that you would like to have included on the Parish calendar.   

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

Hello faith family!  I hope this finds you all well.  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of October 25, 2020.  In it you will find information about: next Sunday’s coffee hour presentation, the annual All Souls service, and the first annual Children’s Ministries Trunk or Treat.

This week, we will have our three regular services, and several other events on the calendar:

• Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – memorial service for Craig Scott live on YouTube.
• Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Novel Theology live on ZOOM.  
• Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. – Saints Readers book discussion via ZOOM.
• Wednesday at noon – intercessory prayer LIVE on YouTube a leaflet for Pentecost.
• Thursday at 7p.m. – Compline evening prayers with Deacon Cecily via ZOOM .  ALL are Welcome. 
• Saturday, October 31, 2020 at 4 p.m. – All Souls service in the cemetery.
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person with guest preacher Rev. Martha Kirkpatrick.
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – guest presenter, Connie Cooper: History of St. Thomas’s Parish 1842-1980.
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 1 p.m. – Children and Youth Trunk or Treat.

ALL are Welcome!  Please let me know if you’d like a paper copy of any of the leaflets mailed to you.  Here is a  link to sign up for in-person worship  for this week, 10/25/20.  Please do not feel pressure to return to the church building until you are comfortable.  We may be in different locations, but we are celebrating TOGETHER.

In this strange 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 page. 

Please let me know if you have any meetings – virtual or otherwise – that you would like to have included on the Parish calendar.   

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

Hello fellow bibliophiles!  The first meeting of the new Two Saints Readers book discussion group will be Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 10 a.m.  There will be 3 more meetings after this at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 10, and 17, 2020.  Father Howie will lead the discussions.  Note that you’ll need to do some reading before the first meeting on October 27.  I suggest you purchase the book and get started!  

This is another way the extended families of St. Nicholas and St. Thomas’s can stay in touch and get to know each other too! This is a joint book reading with discussion.

The book is Things Seen and Unseen, by Nora Gallagher:  It started with an occasional Sunday, a “tourist’s” visit to a local church. Eventually Nora Gallagher entered into a yearlong journey to discover her faith and a relationship with God, using the Christian calendar as her compass. The Christian calendar, the events of a year in one church, and her own spiritual journey, each strand combed out with harrowing intimacy. Thought provoking and profoundly perceptive, Things Seen and Unseen is a remarkable demonstration that “the road to the sacred is paved with the ordinary.”

Here are some suggestions about buying the book.  First let me mention that the Delaware Library System has exactly one book to loan out, so you may want to consider buying the book.  
Amazon has new paperback copies at $16. They offer information about several companies that sell good quality used copies, but remember that you’ll pay approximately $5 whether you have a Prime account with Amazon or not.  However, even with the postage, you can save by buying used.
This book is also readily available electronically.  Amazon offers a kindle download for $6.99.
AbeBook.com has several vendors with used paperback copies, too, for about the same price as Amazon’s.  Barnes and Nobel have their new paperbacks listed for $16, Amazon’s price.

Please use this link to sign up for a ZOOM invitation. I will be sending your invitations via email on Tuesdays at 9:45 a.m.  If you have questions, please reply to this email or you can contact Alice Edgell from St. Nicholas at alice.edgell@concast.net.

ALL are WELCOME!

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

All are WELCOME to join us, in the cemetery at 21 S. Main Street on October 31, 2020 at 4 p.m., as we pray for the souls of those who have departed this life. This observance is an extension of All Saints’ Day. While All Saints’ is to remember all the saints, this service remembers those who are unknown in the wider fellowship of the church, ESPECIALLY FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.

Commemoration of All Faithful Departed did not appear in an American Prayer Book until 1979. It is also known as All Souls’ Day.

Join us on Sunday, November 1, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., either in-person or by Zoom, to celebrate and learn about the saints of St. Thomas’s on whose shoulder we stand, whose work we continue day by day. Dr. Constance Cooper will offer an illustrated introduction to the history of St. Thomas’s. We will learn about how St. Thomas’s got started, some of its ups and downs, the story of campus ministry, and how we moved from South Main Street to South College Avenue.

There will even be a few puzzles and surprises! ALL are WELCOME!

Hello faith family!  I hope this finds you all well.  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of October 18, 2020. In it you will find a reminder that Novel Theology meets next Sunday, October 25, 2020, an invitation to join the 2 Saints Readers group (Sts. Thomas and Nicholas together), and see an update on some of our outreach from Madeline.

This week, we will have our 3 regular services, as well as continuing the Christian Education series, and next Sunday, Novel Theology:

• Sun., Oct. 18, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sun., Oct. 18, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person  
• Wed. noon – intercessory prayer LIVE on YouTube a leaflet for Pentecost.
• Thurs. at 7 p.m. – Compline evening prayers with Deacon Cecily via Zoom.  ALL are Welcome.  Let me know if you need a Zoom link for this calming and prayerful end to the day.
• Sun., Oct. 25, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sun., Oct. 25, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Novel Theology, live on ZOOM  

ALL are Welcome!  Please let me know if you’d like a paper copy of any of the leaflets mailed to you.  Please sign up for in-person attendance for this Sunday, October 18, 2020.  Please do not feel pressure to return to the church building until you are comfortable.  We may be in different locations, but we are celebrating TOGETHER.

In this strange 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 page. 

Please let me know if you have any meetings – virtual or otherwise – that you would like to have included on the Parish calendar.   

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

Hello faith family.  Sunday, October 18, 2020 is the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. Please sign up for in-person worship for this Sunday.  Here is the  service program and the service program in large print for your preview. There are paper copies available to be mailed.  If you would like one, please let me know.  We will be streaming LIVE from St. Thomas’s at 9 a.m.  On Sunday, connect to our worship service at St. Thomas’s YouTube channel – this is the same link each week. Please subscribe and ring the notification bell (twice) so you never miss a service.  All are welcome; please worship in whatever way is comfortable for you.

Following the service this week, Fr. Howie will continue the Christian Education Season with the final week of the 4-week course comparing religions.  A Zoom invitation will be sent on Sunday.  This will be presented via Zoom and in-person in the church building with social distancing.

The following Sunday, Novel Theology will be meeting via Zoom. ALL are Welcome.  Reading the book is never a requirement to join in the lively discussion, however, I must say this looks to be a juicy one: “A New Song” by Jan Karon.  A Zoom invitation will be sent on Sunday, October 25, 2020.

In this strange 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 page. 

See past sermons or bulletins on our Recent Sermons page.

I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!  Please continue to share your impressions and ideas for both in-person and online worship.  Your thoughts are appreciated!

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

Hello faith family!  I hope this finds you all well.  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of October 11, 2020. In it you will find a heartfelt Thank You from Frs. Howie and Jim for the warm showing of hospitality, and the Bishop’s most recent message regarding Covid-19.  The annual Blessing of the Animals will take place this Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 2 p.m. in the Grove.  Please send me your animal pics!

Also, see the most recent edition of our Diocese weekly newsletter titled The Net, as well as the quarterly magazine, the Communion. St. Thomas’s ECM is mentioned!  There is also news of the reopening of the Memorial House.

This week, we will have our 3 regular services, as well as continuing the Christian Education series and the animal blessing:

• Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person  
• Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 at 2 p.m. – Blessing of the Animals in the Grove
• Wed. noon – intercessory prayer LIVE on YouTube a leaflet for Pentecost.
• Thurs. at 7 p.m. – Compline evening prayers with Deacon Cecily via Zoom.  ALL are Welcome.  Let me know if you need a Zoom link for this calming and prayerful end to the day.
• Sun., Oct. 18, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sun., Oct. 18, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person  

ALL are Welcome!  Please let me know if you’d like a paper copy of any of the leaflets mailed to you.  Here is a link to sign-up for in-person attendance for this week, 10/11/20.  Please do not feel pressure to return to the church building until you are comfortable.  We may be in different locations, but we are celebrating TOGETHER.

In this strange 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 page. 

Please let me know if you have any meetings – virtual or otherwise – that you would like to have included on the Parish calendar.   

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

Hello faith family!  I hope this finds you all well.  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of October 4, 2020.  In it, you will see an invitation to an outdoor movie screening for John Lewis: Good Trouble, as well as get an exciting update on ECM (Episcopal Campus Ministry).  The annual Blessing of the Animals will take place next Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 2 p.m. in the Grove.  See the attached flyer, the Facebook event, or contact the office for more info.

This week, we will have our 3 regular services, as well as continuing the Christian Education season and the animal blessing:

• Fri., Oct. 2, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. – Youth (grades 6-12) get-together in the Grove
• Sun., Oct. 4, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person. Sign up for in-person attendance.
• Sun., Oct. 4, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person
• Wed. noon – intercessory prayer LIVE on YouTube a leaflet for Pentecost.
• Thurs. at 7 p.m. – Compline evening prayers with Deacon Cecily via Zoom.  ALL are Welcome.  Let me know if you need a Zoom link for this calming and prayerful end to the day.
• Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person  
• Sun., Oct. 11, 2020 at 2 p.m. – Blessing of the Animals in the Grove

ALL are Welcome!  Please let me know if you’d like a paper copy of any of the leaflets mailed to you.  Here is a link to sign-up for in-person attendance for this week, 9/20/20.  Please do not feel pressure to return to the church building until you are comfortable.  We may be in different locations, but we are celebrating TOGETHER.

In this strange 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 page. 

Please let me know if you have any meetings – virtual or otherwise – that you would like to have included on the Parish calendar.   

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

Hello faith family!  I hope this finds you all well.  See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of September 27, 2020. In it we honor the memory of a brave pioneer and get excited for the new season of Christian Education, beginning this Sunday.

This week, we will have our 3 regular services, as well as the start of the Christian Education season:

• Sun., Sep. 27, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person. Sign up for in-person attendance.
• Sun., Sep. 27, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person
• Wed. noon – intercessory prayer LIVE on YouTube a leaflet for Pentecost.
• Thurs. at 7 p.m. – Compline evening prayers with Deacon Cecily via Zoom.  ALL are Welcome.  Let me know if you need a Zoom link for this calming and prayerful end to the day.
• Fri.. Oct. 2, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. – Youth (grades 6-12) get-together in the Grove (details coming soon!)
• Sun., Oct. 4, 2020 at 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Rite II with music LIVE on YouTube and in-person.
• Sun., Oct. 4, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. – Christian Education via ZOOM and in-person  

ALL are Welcome!  Please let me know if you’d like a paper copy of any of the leaflets mailed to you.  Please do not feel pressure to return to the church building until you are comfortable.  We may be in different locations, but we are celebrating TOGETHER.

In this strange 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 page. 

Please let me know if you have any meetings – virtual or otherwise – that you would like to have included on the Parish calendar.   

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