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

Next Monday, October 19, 2020 is our Hope Dining Room volunteer day!   

Here are the duty times and jobs:
10 – 11:45 a.m. – cook and assemble meals
11- 12 noon – do dishes
11:45 – 1:00 p.m. – serve (hand out “Grab and Go” meals, outside, at Kingswood Methodist Church, Brookside)

We can only have 5 masked-people in the kitchen at one time and serving is done  from a table, outside, as a “grab and go”. If you are free on Monday, October 19 at lunchtime, we have a job for you! Here is the Sign Up Genius for the fruit and dessert: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-hope2

You may drop off your donations of food at St. Thomas’s on Tuesday-Thursday from 9 – noon or before the 9 a.m. Sunday service. There is a box for Hope Dining Room outside the office.  If that is not convenient, give me a call  or an email and I will pick it up at your door. If you would like to volunteer to help in the kitchen, please email or call me. No experience is necessary!

MANY Blessings,
Madeline Johnson at mad1240@comcast.net

Dear family of St. Thomas’s,

We have been looking for opportunities to work with our friends at St. Nicholas. Our quarantine – YouTube-services were well received by both parishes, so when we entered into the Hope Dining Room project, we invited St. Nicholas to join us. St. Nicholas has been providing not only help in the kitchen, but also, veggies from their community garden. St. Nicholas has come up with another timely pandemic-related community outreach project and they have invited us to partner with them.

Because of COVID, most local public schools are totally virtual, at this point. The Christina School District has made sure each child has a computer, but some local families do not have internet access. The principal of one local elementary school, has identified the families that can’t afford it. Our two churches would like to team-up to provide that service for the effected families.

If you would like to help with Hope Dining Room expenses or the “internet for education” project, you can send a check made out to St. Thomas’s with “St. T’s/St. N’s co-outreach fund” on the memo line. Donations can also be made electronically using your bank account or credit card on our Giving page.  If you feel passionate about one or the other of these outreaches and wish your money to be used only for that one, please note that and we will respect and act on it.

It takes a village and a couple churches to raise a child in a pandemic. Food and education are two necessities that we feel called to assist with in our town. God at work – in love – for our community.

Many Blessings to you all – stay well,
Madeline Johnson

Hello St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas families! I have some good news about our homeless friends.  SOME of them have found jobs! Some have found housing, some are back on the street and a few are still at the Red Roof Inn. There is a need at the Empowerment Center for “Go Bags” (a meal in a bag – shelf-stable entree, fruit cup, drink, crackers, cookies or bars and a plastic spoon/fork with a napkin). There is a box outside the office at St. Thomas’s, labeled “Go Bags”.  I will deliver all donations to the Newark Empowerment Center. There is another box outside the office at St. Thomas’s labeled “HOPE Dining Room”.  It is for our Hope Dining Room lunch on September 21, 2020. I would  LOVE to hear from you, if you would like to be on our September kitchen team! Here is the Sign Up Genius for Hope Dining Room contributions: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-hope1

10 – 11:45 a.m. –  cook and assemble meals
11- 12 noon – do dishes
11:45 – 1:00 p.m. – serve (hand out  “Grab and Go” meals, outside, at Kingswood Methodist Church, Brookside)

Let me know at which shift you would like to help, as we can only have 5 masked-people in the kitchen at one time.

Questions or to volunteer? Call or write to me via the Church Office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com or (302) 368-4644.

Bless you all for your care of our homeless friends,  
Madeline Johnson

The Newark Empowerment Center (NEC) is staffed by a Friendship House professional and supported by hospitality volunteers primarily supplied by faith community, including our faith family at St. Thomas’s. They serve Newark’s citizens in need, and right now they are in need. They have a critical need for “Go Bags”.

Because there are so few free meals served in Newark, the Center distributes Go Bags to homeless clients every weekday. With enough food for one meal, a typical Go Bag will have a variety of nonperishable food items. The Newark Empowerment Center (NEC) is located in the Newark United Methodist Church at 69 E. Main St., Newark, but we are making a collection of Go Bags here at St. Thomas’s: the box is located right outside of the office. Please consider contributing.

EXAMPLE GO BAG
gallon sized ziplock bag with the following:
protein serving (pasta, stew, tuna or chicken soup)- flip top cans only
granola or cereal bar
8-16 oz. juice
peanut butter/cheese crackers
fruit serving (single serve peaches, mixed fruit applesauce, raisins)
napkin and plastic spoon
dessert optional (single serve pudding, cookies)

Hello St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas saints!

Hope Dining Room is located at the Kingswood Methodist Church on Marrows Road in Brookside Park, Newark.  It provides a noon-time meal, every weekday,  for anyone who is hungry.  23 churches plus the Natural Food Store in Newark, each take one day a month to prepare a simple meal.  We would like to team up our two Episcopal churches — St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas — to do what Jesus would do.   

We have volunteered for duty on the third Monday of every month, beginning NEXT Monday, August 17, 2020. To make it safe for volunteers, only five (5) masked-people are allowed in the kitchen at Hope Dining Room, at a time. Serving is done as a “grab and go” from a table outside. All food, except the cookies, has to be made in the kitchen at Hope.

We will break down the duty times as follows:
Preparing the meal:   10 – 11:45 a.m. (3 people)    
Serving the meal:       11:45 – 1 p.m.  (3 people)    
Doing dishes and cleaning up:  11:30  – 12:30 p.m. (2 people)

Here is the Sign Up Genius for the fruit, dessert and beverage. 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-hope  

You may drop off your donations of food at St. Thomas’a on M – Th between 9 AM – noon. There will be a box, right outside the office labeled:  HOPE DINING ROOM.        

If you would like to donate toward the meal, you may drop off or send in, a check made out to either church, with “Hope Dining Room” on the memo line. If you would like to volunteer to help in the kitchen, serve or cleanup, please email or call Madeline Johnson. You can be a one-time volunteer or sign up by the month, if the day we serve, is open on your calendar (3rd Monday).          

MANY BLESSINGS,  
Madeline Johnson, mad1240@comcast.net

The Hope Dining Room, located in the basement of the Kingswood United Methodist Church, Brookside Park, provides a noontime meal for all who are hungry. We would like to pull together a combined team of St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas parishioners to help feed those in our community who need help. They have an opening for a church group to take the third Monday of every month. We would plan to break the duty into bite-size pieces and there is a large table in the middle of the kitchen, where people with limited-mobility could sit and chop veggies or otherwise contribute to the making of the meal.

A sample schedule looks like this:
Prep the meal- 9:45 – 11:45 a.m.
Serving- 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Dishwasher- 11:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

During the pandemic, all serving is done as a “grab and go” lunch, outside. Masks are worn and social distancing is practiced. These practices are also in effect in the kitchen, which can comfortably have six people in it at a time.

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 drop me an email or call me.

MANY Blessings,
Madeline Johnson
mad1240@comcast.net

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

Last Thursday, with your help, we fed 40 homeless friends – still at the Red Roof Inn. 50 people showed up! 7 were given “Go Bags” and 3 were given apologies.

Tomorrow (Monday, July 13, 2020) the Hope Dining Room re-opens, so Thursday, July 16, 2020 will be our LAST week to serve. The plan for this week is chicken-noodle casserole, green beans and a roll or muffin, complimented with a fruit cup,cookies and a soda.   Here is the sign up genius.   Only look at the yellow and black part.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-feeding14

If you would bring your items to St. Thomas’s between 2 and 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, 2020, that would be wonderful. If that doesn’t fit into your schedule, call me and I will pick it up at your door.

MANY BLESSINGS for your care for our homeless friends,
Madeline Johnson

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

Last Thursday, June 25, 2020, with your help, we served 40 homeless friends: 47 showed up, so 7 people were given “Go Bags”. The Hope Dining Room is still scheduled to open July 13, 2020, so the end of this ministry is in sight.

The plan for this week is substantial nachos (with meat, cheese and salsa), and tossed salad, complimented with a fruit cup, cookies and a soda.   Below is the sign up genius.  As always, only look at the black and gold part.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-feeding12

If you would bring your items to St. Thomas’s on Thursday between 2 and 4 p.m., that would be great.  IF that doesn’t work for you, call me and I will pick it up at your door.

MANY Blessings for your care for our homeless friends,
Madeline Johnson

A marathon is 42 kilometers or 26.0976 miles.  As a non-runner that sounds ridiculously far to me but we all know that TOGETHER, things that seem impossible become possible.

I need all of your help.  The United Thank Offering (UTO) is running a virtual marathon from July 24 to August 1, 2020 “The Great EpisGOpal Race”.  We will join together as St. Thomas’s team The Soul Surrenders, to race for OUR lives and the lives of those affected by COVID-19. 

• I’m asking each of us to sign up for at least 1 km (0.621371 miles). Be sure to sign up at the Sign up Genius, or you can reply directly to me at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.
• Then, send me a pic of your chosen modality(s).  This virtual race can be walked slowly, run fast, skateboarded, swam, etc.
• And, finally, please send in your donations to the church office.  We will put them together and send it as one large team donation from St. Thomas’s. If you are sending a check, please make it payable to “St. Thomas’s Church” with “EpisGOpal Race” written in the  memo line. Or, you may pay online, check “EpisGOpal Race,” and add your information on our secure online payment form.

Everyone signing up for The Soul Surrenderers will receive a team water bottle, so please let me know the number of people participating from your household. I’m asking for a suggested donation of $5 per km. Please feel free to solicit additional donations from family and neighbors. 100% of the money raised will go to the 2020 UTO Ingathering in support of Episcopal ministries responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a FUN opportunity for our faith family to join together- in a safe, socially distant way, to make a positive difference.  It is a relaxed low-pressure effort that can be done at your own pace, over several days.  Everything is by the honor system.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kind Regards,
Cana Hartman, Parish Administrator
StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com

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

Last Thursday, June 18, 2020, with your help, we served dinner to 40 homeless friends. ALL appreciated it immensely. One wanted to know what church we were from, where it was and his message to you all is: “My name is George, and I BLESS you all for doing this.”

The end is in sight! Hope Dining Room is tentatively scheduled to open on July 13, 2020. When it does, this ministry will end. I will keep you posted. The plan for this week is Spanish rice with bacon and green beans, complemented by a fruit cup, 2 cookies and a soda. Below, you will find the sign up genius.  As always, only look at the black and gold part:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-feeding11

IF you would bring your items to St. Thomas on Thursday, June 25, 2020, between 2 and 4 p.m., that would be great.  IF that doesn’t fit into your schedule, please give me a call and I will pick it up at your door.

MANY Blessings for your care for our homeless friends,
Madeline Johnson