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 

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

Last Thursday, June 11, 2020, with your help, we fed 40 homeless friends.  ALL of them were VERY grateful!  MANY thanks to all of our bakers, food and fund donators and pray-ers. Special thanks to Teresa Coons for cleaning up the kitchen after we left!

Here’s the plan for this Thursday: chicken noodle casserole, green beans and a muffin or roll, complemented by a fruit cup, 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-feeding10

If you would bring your items to St. Thomas’s on Thursday, June 18, 2020, between 2 and 4 p.m., that would be great.   If that doesn’t fit 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

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

Last Thursday, with your help, we fed 40 homeless friends. The end of this relief-effort is nebulous. Once the Hope Dining Room reopens, we can stop the dinners, BUT, the dining room is run mostly by retired people and they are the most at-risk population for COVID. Talks are underway, but no dates have come forth yet, so what I thought would be a temporary solution, is approaching 3 months.

I THANK ALL of you for your continued help with this aid to our needy friends. Here is the plan for this week:    Spaghetti and meatballs, tossed salad and garlic bread, complemented by a fruit cup, cookies and a soda.  Sign up at Sign Up Genius.  As always, only look at the black and gold part.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-feeding9

If you would bring your items to St. Thomas’s between 2 and 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2020 that would be great.    If you can’t do that, I would be happy to pick them up at your door – just give me a call.

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

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

Last Thursday, May 28, 2020, with your help, we fed 40 homeless friends in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn. They were all VERY grateful to you. I am also grateful for your generosity and your help! MANY thanks to Jill Jensen for packing all the bags, to Teresa Coons and Susan Hechter for cleaning up after our “scoop and dash”, to our wonderful bakers and our food and fund donators AND those who pray for this ministry! I am also very grateful for my partner in “crime”, Kelly Tompkins, who comes to help scoop the hot food onto the plates, load the cars and dash off to serve it hot!   We are getting very practiced at this!

Here is the plan for June 4, 2020:  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 yellow part. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACA72AAAFF2-feeding8

If you would bring your items to St. Thomas on Thursday, June 4, 2020 between 2 and 4 p.m., that would be great! If you can’t do that, give me a call and I will pick it up at your door.

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

Dear Families of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas,

Our homeless friends are still being sheltered at the Red Roof Inn! Last Thursday, April 30, 2020 we handed out 40 turkey dinners. See our food assembly and volunteers! MANY thanks to Miss Belinda and Jill Jensen for the turkeys and cranberry sauce, and to David Payne for carving up all the meat! Also, many thanks to our WONDERFUL bakers for the homemade cookies and to all those who provided fruit, soda and lunch bags, prayers and funds! Special thanks to Teresa Coons for doing the dishes after we scooped out the hot stuff and took off to feed our friends! She stayed behind and cleaned up our mess!

Here is the plan for this week: Tortellini and meatball casserole with garlic bread and green beans. Below, you will find the link to the sign up genius. As always, only look at the black and gold part, the rest is advertising. If you would bring your items to St. Thomas’s kitchen on Thursday, May 14, 2020 between 2 and 4 p.m., that would be great.

MANY Blessings for your care for our friends,
Madeline Johnson