See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of October 27, 2019.

Reminders: 

• #BeScaryGood and help out our youth on Sunday between services with their Trick Or Treat for UNICEF: bring your change/dollars/checks
• This Sunday, Bettie von Frankenberg will be laid to rest in St Thomas’s cemetery.  There will be a visitation with the family in the Parlor following, around 2:45pm.
• correction: the Hayride and Bonfire are on Saturday, November 9th, not Weds the 6th.
• Meet the author: Novel Theology will meet 11/10 to discuss “The Jealous Son”.  Not only does this look like a fun, juicy read…the author, Michelle Chynoweth is coming!
• Wednesday, 11/13, at 10am, in lieu of Bible Study, there will be a Home Energy Forum to learn how we can be better stewards of the Earth.  This is an Interfaith event, and we hope to see many of our Newark neighbors attending.  Please invite yours!
• On Tuesday, 11/26 at 7:30 pm, we will join with many of our neighbors from many different faith traditions for an Interfaith Service of Thanksgiving at the New Ark United Church of Christ.  If you would like to add your voice to the Interfaith choir, please arrive at 6:30 for rehearsal.

See all Carpenter’s Helper newsletters and announcements.

See the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for the week of October 20, 2019.

Reminders: 

• Ladies’ Night Out is Friday at the Olive Tree Cafe at 6 p.m.
• Poet’s Corner is tomorrow, Saturday, at 4pm in the Nave.  “You REALLY do not want to miss this one. I previewed some pieces, and Miriam Sagan’s poetry reads like painting in the air with sensory memories and emotions (I realize that sounds very strange, but that’s the closest I can come to describing her sumptuous work).”  Thank you Devon for the introduction to her works.
• Please continue to pray for team #brownsvillelove in Texas this week.  They are observing, making connections, learning how we can best help, and COOKING FOR OVER 600 people!

See all Carpenter’s Helper newsletters and announcements.

For those who could not make it to Fr. Sasser’s installation as St. Thomas’s 22nd Rector on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, here are a few videos from the evening.

The Right Reverent Kevin S. Brown’s sermon – https://youtu.be/9mmsKLPa3xY

Presentation of gifts to Fr. Sasser – https://youtu.be/k8dnImJbAJQ

The Anglican Way is a six-week crash course in our:
History
Spirituality
Theology
Worship
Mission
Experience in America

The course takes place beginning October 6 through November 10, 2019, in the Parlor at 9:15 a.m.for an hour each week. This series serves as both a sort of inquirer’s class and a refresher course on who and why we are as Episcopalians and members of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Who or what is a prebend? Is is polite to tell a bishop that his/her rochet is showing? Are the hamburgers any good at the Court of Arches?

Whether you are new to the Episcopal Church or have been around your whole life, it’s worth stopping to ask questions about who we are, why we do what we do, and what we believe. The Anglican Way will answer a few questions, look with fresh eyes at a few debates, and share the richness of our heritage. Join us to learn about theology, worship, mission, and even a few kinds and queens and rochets and prebends.

Everyone is welcome to attend this brief 6 week class. The bishop will be visiting our Parish again this spring for our Youth confirmation. At that time, adult confirmations and reaffirmations can be done. Wouldn’t it be a blessed sight to see a large group at the alter this year? Oh, the cake we could have!

But in all seriousness, this is a series for everyone; whether you are considering confirmation, or just want to learn more about this faith that we share. If you have any questions about confirmation or reaffirmation, please speak with Fr Howie.

This is the first series in St. Thomas’s offerings for the 2019-20 Christian Education Season.

On Wednesday, October 9, 2019, at 6 p.m., we will celebrate the installation of Father Howie Sasser as the 22nd Rector of our beloved Parish. A reception will follow in the Great Hall. Please mark this important event on your calendar and plan to join us at St. Thomas’s Church to welcome our new Rector.

The language of the church can sometimes be strange, and the term “installation ceremony” when used for welcoming a new priest is certainly one completely inadequate to describe the deeply personal and spiritual festival that involves all members of the church, some with “key” roles as they come one by one to present
the candidate with the tools of his work. The tools presented included a Bible, water, a stole, a Prayer Book, oil, a symbolic key to the church, the Canons and Constitution, and bread and wine.

The Celebration of New Ministry service is a cherished tradition of our church. The liturgy is from our Book of Common Prayer and other liturgical supplements. It is a time when the parish stands as a united community before the bishop to request that the new Rector be installed.

Fr. Howie has been with us for a short while now, but let us gather together at this blessing as we make it official. In the short time that he has been here, there has already been so much excitement: new educational programs and religious offerings, a push towards utilizing social media, literally pounding the pavement (in a race between services!) reaching out to our larger community, and of course his incredible sermons, that are now available on YouTube. Let’s make this an evening to remember.

Happy Fall Yall! (it’s official on Monday)  Please see this week’s Carpenter’s Helper newsletter.  Just a few notes for this week:

• The Coffee Hour series starts THIS SUNDAY following the 10:30 service.  Dr Annemarie Carr will speak with us about her personal faith and about the Friends Movement.  Beverages and refreshments will be provided.  ALL are welcome; bring a friend!
• Poets Corner will pick up next Saturday, 9/28, 5-8pm in the sanctuary: Jane Miller is the first featured artist.
• Blessing of the Animals will take place on Sunday, October 6th at 2pm.  More information to follow; ALL God’s creatures are welcome to receive a blessing.
• Fr Howie’s installation will take place on Wednesday, October 9th at 6pm.  That’s right; we are making it official!  More information will be coming, but mark your calendar now.
• INSTAGRAM- we are excited to now have an Instagram account.  There are more details about this in the Helper.  Would you “follow” us, please, into this fun modern era?  This should be a great tool to widen our reach, and spread the #GoodNews.  

See all Carpenter’s Helper newsletters.

Please see the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter for September 15, 2019.  We have some exciting events coming up this fall!  You should be able to see all of the happenings in a few places: the calendar on our website (stthomasparish.org), on the back of the Carpenter’s Helper, and now posted next to the name tags in the Great Hall.  Please let me know if you see anything missing and if your group would like anything added!

• This week we will celebrate the Holy Baptism of Lennon Smathers.  And, we have another baptism celebration coming up on the 22nd!  Hallelujah!
• We will have a table at Newark Community Day on Sunday- come say hello!
• Our Coffee Hour series begins next week, 9/22.  You won’t want to miss this talk about Quaker Spirituality by Dr Annemarie Carr.  It will be in the Great Hall following the 10:30 service (so around noon).  Coffee hour snacks and beverages will be served (donations are appreciated).  ALL are welcome and this promises to be interesting; bring a friend, even if they have never visited us before.
• Speaking of coffee hour…a new sign up sheet is up next to the kitchen.  Food and beverages are stocked, so there is no pressure to provide any.  Practice hospitality through this rewarding act of service.  If you want more info or would like to team up, please speak with Cana or any member of the Vestry.
• Ladies night out starts back up next Wednesday the 18th at Applebee’s in Suburban Plaza.  They will also be on the 18th of October, November and December: location information to follow.

Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman

Dear Friends,
This past Sunday, we launched a new monthly newsletter called the Angle.  The name comes from the shape of the builder’s square (a symbol of St Thomas), and might also (a bit fancifully) suggest a place where ideas collect and are “squared up.”  In any case, it is intended to be a spiritual companion to the Carpenter’s Helper, a way to connect the events and occasions of our life together to our life in Christ.  I hope you will find it useful.  Please let me know what you think, and what you would like to see in it! Here is the September 2019 newsletter.
Peace
Howie+

Novel Theology is a lively discussion group that meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Deacon’s office. Meetings are the second Sunday of September through May. April’s date falls on Easter and May’s date falls on Mother’s Day so those two months will meet on the third Sunday.

The reading list for the 2019-20 is:
Sept. 8 – The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan
Oct. 13 – Love Heals by Becca Stevens
Nov. 10 – The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
Dec. 8 – Gabriel’s Angel by Nora Roberts
Jan. 12 – An Irish Country Love Story by Patrick Taylor
Feb. 9 – Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans
March 8 – Miracle at St. Andrews by James Patterson & Peter de Jonge
April 19 – Third Sunday Lamb by Christopher Moore
May 17 – Third Sunday Orphan Train by Christina Bakeskline

Please join us! Reading the book is not a requirement. For more information, contact Susan Hechter at susanahechter@gmail.com.

Good morning friends! Please find the link for this week’s Carpenter’s Helper newsletter:
https://stthomasnewarkde.church/news/2019/20190825.pdf

I’d like to bring two things to your attention: the first is a meeting that takes place tomorrow, Saturday, August 24, and you can read about it on the front page of the Helper. The second is that this Sunday, August 25, 2019 we will do a blessing of the garden in the Grove. Please join us for this special blessing during the 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. services.
Pacem,Cana