Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

Blessing

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you, and remain with you always. Amen.

What is it?

As the liturgy ends, the priest (or the Bishop when present) pronounces God’s blessing over the congregation.    

Why do we do it?

As the people leave worship, they are made aware that God’s blessing goes with them. This is always the case, but taking this message with them especially as they return to the cares and duties of the world reinforces the awareness of God’s presence in every moment of our lives.

What it says about God

God goes with us into every sorrow and joy.

God’s blessing is given freely to all, even to those who can’t or won’t ask for it.

Messages for how we live

Blessing may not prevent trouble, but it can transform how we perceive it.

Awareness of our blessedness is the beginning of a holy life.

For more – Read Matthew 5:3-12.  Which categories have you been in?  Did they feel “blessed?”

Hello faith family!  Sunday, August 1, 2021 is the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information:

• 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
• 9:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (9:30 booklet)

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

• Sundays from 10:30-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
• Wednesday at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion suspended on July 28 and August 4, 2021. This service resumes on August 11, 2021.
• Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “Post-Communion Prayer” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series that is included in the Worship Booklet.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available. Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

In this strange pandemic 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 information.

If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.

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.

Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit:  Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.

I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!

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

This is a reminder that there is no LIVE intercessory prayer service on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, nor is there one next week on August 4, 2021. This service will resume on Wednesday, August 11, 2021.

For these weeks, please do pray over our parish prayer list. To view any of the past intercessory prayer services, please St. Thomas’s YouTube channel.  Do you have a favorite?

Here is an interesting article on intercessory prayer titled “Intercessory Prayer and the Butterfly Effect”, by Maria L. Evans, a surgical pathologist from Kirksville, MO, who writes about the obscurities of life, medicine, faith, and the Episcopal Church on her blog, Kirkepiscatoid

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

Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

Post-Communion Prayer

Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee…

Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us…

What is it?

After all have received Communion, the celebrant and people say a prayer, thanking God for the blessing they have received and asking for the inspiration to serve faithfully as God’s people in the world.

Why do we do it?

At the level of etiquette, saying thank you for what we have received is the least we can do; but these prayers have more than just the basic message of gratitude.  They also put in our mouths the intention to do “all such good works” as God has given us to do.  They are a promise that we will live gratefully.

What it says about God

God gives more than we could ask for, or give thanks for.

Messages for how we live

Faithful action is the sincerest form of thanks to God.

An “attitude of gratitude” is the path to Godly service.

For more – If you were to write a thank you note to God for what you have received in your life, what would you say?  Would it cover only the past, or also what you plan/dream of for the future?

Hello faith family!  Sunday, July 25, 2021 is the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information:

• 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
• 9:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (9:30 booklet)

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

• Sundays from 10:30-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
• Wednesday at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion suspended on July 28 and August 4, 2021. This service resumes on August 11, 2021.
• Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “Communion” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series that is included in the Worship Booklet.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available. Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

In this strange pandemic 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 information.

If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.

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.

Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit:  Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.

I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!

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

Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

Communion

The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven.

The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.

What is it?

All baptized persons who desire to receive Communion share in the consecrated bread and wine (or in some cases only the bread for health or safety reasons).

Why do we do it?

Communion, as something shared by all of Jesus’ followers, begins in the Gospel stories of the Last Supper (Mark 14:22-25, Matthew 26:26-28, Luke 22:17-20). By following this command of Jesus – to take and share what he offers – we show our unity with Christians past, present, and future.

What it says about God

God’s self-sharing in our lives is concrete, something we can touch and taste.

God offers the same blessing to every one of God’s children.

Messages for how we live

Our equality before God is the lens through which we should see one another.

Having been fed by God, we are called to feed one another.

For more – The next time you have a meal with family or friends, think about what you are sharing in addition to food and drink.

Hello faith family!  Sunday, July 18, 2021 is the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information:

• 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
• 9:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (9:30 booklet)

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

• Sundays from 10:30-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
• Wednesdays at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion, live on our YouTube channel and in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
• Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “The Fraction” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series that is included in the Worship Booklet. The Fraction is: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast.”

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available. Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

In this strange pandemic 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 information.

If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.

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.

Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit:  Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.

I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!

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

Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

The Fraction

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast.

What is it?

After the Eucharistic bread is consecrated, the celebrant breaks it and announces its spiritual meaning to those gathered to receive it.

Why do we do it?

The fraction is partly a practical act – the bread must be divided so that everyone can receive a piece – and partly a reminder that in the Eucharist we call to present consciousness (we “un-forget”) the death and resurrection of Jesus, making those events real and personal for us.

What it says about God

In the timelessness of God, the salvation of Jesus is for everyone, in every time.

The reality of loss and sacrifice is an experience that God shares with us now.

Messages for how we live

Brokenness is no barrier to new life.

For more – Consider a time in your life when what seemed like an ending turned out to be a beginning also. Presuming that there was some time in between, what sustained you from the ending to the beginning?

Hello faith family!  Sunday, July 11, 2021 is the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Here is Sunday worship service information:

• 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite I spoken, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (8:00 booklet)
• 9:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music, in-person with precautions and online on our YouTube channel (9:30 booklet)

Services will also be open to in-person worship with precautions.  However, please do not feel pressure to return until you are ready; all services are available on our YouTube channel.  Please do not hesitate to contact the office or Fr. Howie with any questions or concerns about these options.

Other worship this week:

• Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 11 a.m., Emmett Harmon funeral live on our YouTube channel and in-person with precautions.
• Sundays from 10:30-11 a.m., Communion at the Curb will be offered for those who have not received the Sacrament in-person during the service.  You do not need to sign up for this.  ALL are WELCOME!
• Wednesdays at noon: Intercessory Prayer with Holy Communion, live on our YouTube channel and in-person with precautions. Here is the accompanying booklet.
• Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Compline Evening Prayer with Deacon Cecily, live via Zoom. Here is the accompanying booklet.

See this week’s “The Lord’s Prayer” topic in the Praying Shapes Believing series that is included in the Worship Booklet.

The new Forward Day by Day booklets are available.  Please feel free to stop into the lobby for a copy, or let me know if you’d like one mailed out to you!  There are plenty in both large and small print.

In this strange pandemic 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 information.

If you have anything to add to the Parish calendar or the Carpenter’s Helper newsletter, please email the office at StThomassOffice@googlegroups.com.

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.

Regardless of whether we are together in-person or virtually, we are connected by the Holy Spirit:  Always together; never apart…maybe in distance, but never in heart.

I look forward to worshiping together on Sunday!

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

Fr. Howie is writing a series of “Praying Shapes Believing” articles that appear in our weekly Sunday worship bulletins. Whether it is your first time, or your thousandth, reading, reciting, and praying the traditional Rite II worship from the Book of Common Prayer, it is worthwhile to ask why. We will examine some of our prayers and collects to help us find more meaning and connection in the ritual. See all topics in the Praying Shapes Believing series.

The Lord’s Prayer

Words that we inscribe on our hearts and teach to our children.

What is it?

It seems to have been common for early rabbis to give their followers a prayer that summed up their teaching.  As early as AD 400, this prayer attributed to such an interaction between Jesus and his disciples (Luke 11:1-4) was added to the church’s liturgy as a prayer to prepare to receive the Eucharist.

Why do we do it?

Our lives, worldly and spiritual, can feel isolated and isolating.  Praying in words that we all share joins us and helps us to see that we are one in the Spirit, one in the Lord.

What it says about God

God gives us every spiritual resource, even the words of prayer.

Messages for how we live

Praying for the coming of God’s Kingdom puts our own needs in perspective.

In times of crisis, words we know by heart are a comfort.

For more – Compare Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-13.  How do the differing contexts “color” the Lord’s Prayer in different ways?