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St Thomas

Sermon for Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

By Rector's Corner, Sermons

Christopher Thomas Sermon for Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year A – 7/19/20 Genesis 28:10-19a Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19 Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 When Great Trees Fall
 by Maya Angelou When great trees fall,
 rocks on distant hills shudder,
 lions hunker down
 in tall grasses,
 and even elephants
 lumber after safety. When great trees fall
 in forests,
 small things recoil into silence,
 their senses
 eroded beyond fear. When great souls die,
 the air around us becomes
 light, rare, sterile.
 We breathe, briefly.
 Our eyes, briefly,
 see with
 a hurtful clarity.
 Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
 examines,
 gnaws on kind words
 unsaid,
 promised walks
 never taken. Great souls die and
 our reality, bound to
 them, takes leave of us.
 Our souls,
 dependent upon their
 nurture,
 now shrink, wizened.
 Our minds, formed
 and informed by their
 radiance, fall away.
 We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of
…

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July 19, 2020

Real Mental Strength

By Christian Formation

“Acting tough is about external appearances. It involves creating a persona that convinces other people you’re impervious to pain. True mental strength involves working on your character. Mentally strong people are willing to be vulnerable, and quite often, people confuse their openness and honesty with frailty.” – Amy Morin We live in uncertain times that present daily challenges to our emotional well-being. If you are wondering how to cultivate the mental strength to move forward, I recommend an insightful book by psychotherapist Amy Morin. Her book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success might be helpful. If reading a whole book on emotional well-being creates more stress, then you will be pleased to know you can find the “Cliff Notes” version of her book in an article she wrote for Inc.—you can read…

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July 18, 2020

Practice the Pause

By Christian Formation

“Practice the pause. Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you’re about to react harshly, and you’ll avoid doing and saying things you’ll later regret.” – Lori Deschene I was reminded of the power of pausing while riding my road bike earlier today as I was climbing some very steep hills. (Yes, I am aware that I write a lot about what I experience and learn while on my bike. It is where I spend a lot of time these days and do some of my best thinking.) As I neared the top of an exceptionally long and steep hill, I looked down at my bike computer and saw that my heart rate monitor was reading 156 beats per minute. My elevated heart rate, along with the high temperature and humidity, gave me reason to pause – literally. I found some cool shade, drank some water,…

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July 12, 2020

Sermon for Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

By Rector's Corner, Sermons

Christopher Thomas Sermon for Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A – 7/12/20 Genesis 25:19-34 Psalm 119:105-112 Romans 8:1-11 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 “…grant that we may know and understand the things we ought to do, and be given grace, and faith, and power to accomplish those things…” – From the Collect for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, BCP p. 231 I would be remiss, I wouldn’t be your pastor, if I didn’t start off by telling you the Great Good News of the Gospel this very day! “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” If that seed falls on fertile soil, so to speak, and takes root, what else is there to say? We ought to be done for the day. The news doesn’t get any better. Head on over to Luby’s and get your LuAnn Platter! It’s all good! “Wait! Hold up Pastor! Not so fast!”…

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July 12, 2020

Providing lunch at Inspired Vision Compassion Center

By Outreach

Several weeks ago I wrote an article for our Doubter Newsletter about ways in which we at St. Thomas could help with the dire needs many of our neighbors in South Dallas are facing. Many families living in the southern sector of our city are living on the edge – and the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed them right over. There are a number of agencies in Dallas that are doing what they can to lend a helping hand providing much needed food, clothing, medical attention and financial assistance. And one of them is Inspired Vision Compassion Center. Their Vision Statement is “Touching God Reaching People” which certainly can resonate with us at St. Thomas! From their website: Located in Mesquite, Inspired Vision Compassion Center was started with one mission… to feed the hungry of Dallas. If anyone could take on such a daunting task, it’s the visionary founder, Karen Belknap….

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July 10, 2020

Adventure Awaits!

By Rector's Corner

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 It’s hard to believe that we are almost to the middle of July, the mid-point of what we typically think of as the summer travel season. There is something about the intersection of COVID-19, and time that is such an odd juxtaposition. In the age of Corona, our traditional ways of thinking about time seem to have become skewed, veering off the usual course. I imagine that most of you, in any other run-of-the-mill summer would already have plans, or be experiencing wonderful adventures past the confines of the North Texas heat, travels taking you beyond your wildest imaginations. And these adventures are important for so many reasons. First, they give us a much needed break from the usual, the routine, and the banality of life. There is…

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July 9, 2020

Sermon for Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

By Rector's Corner, Sermons

Christopher Thomas Sermon for Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A – 7/5/20 Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 Song of Songs 2:8-13 Romans 7:15-25a Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away!” The Song of Songs. The song that stands above and beyond all songs. The song that necessitates enshrinement in Holy Writ, inclusion in our sacred canon. The Song of Songs! What is this jewel of poetic mastery that is sandwiched in between tales of exceptional heroism, tribal conflict, political disputes, royal intrigue, religious reforms, and…

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July 5, 2020

Breaking the fast together!

By Rector's Corner

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in God should not perish, but have eternal life!” — John 3:16 The day is finally approaching! Who would have guessed, some 16 weeks ago, that our fast from the sacrament of Eucharist, the Holy Communion, our taking in of the Body of Christ into our very own selves, would be so long in coming? But we have endured, persevered, clung together, in faithfulness, because that is what we Doubters do. That is the reason we are “Doubters of Great Faith!” And so, as you read this newsletter, actions are already underway so that on Sunday, July 5, we will, together as a Church family, break this fast that has been imposed by COVID-19! We will once again partake in physical form that which has been relegated to what has come to be known as “the…

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July 3, 2020

America, You Great Unfinished Symphony

By Christian Formation

The title for this column is a lyric from the blockbuster musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and based on biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The musical won eleven Tony Awards in 2016, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that same year. And just in time for the Fourth of July this year, Hamilton is being released on Disney Plus. I am a fan in awe of this musical, and I could not be more excited. The story of Alexander Hamilton mirrors the story of the founding of our country, a mixture of founding ideals, genius, infighting, and imperfection, all of which are on full display. This same mixture continues today, as America is still an unfinished symphony. Hamilton reminds us of the power of ideals, as well as the power of a guiding vision. It is these ideals that we remember every year as a nation…

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July 3, 2020

Doubters’ Happy Hour – July 7

By Upcoming Events

Please join the Doubter community for our next Happy Hour, July 7 at 6 pm, for an evening with the Reverend Gay Clark Jennings President of the House of Deputies of the General Convention. Gay will join us as we wind up the final Doubters’ Happy Hour of the “spring” program year. Gay bears witness to revolutionary change in the Episcopal Church, not only in her nine years as president, but in her over 40 years of life in the priesthood. As president, Gay is committed to fostering a new generation of leaders in the Episcopal Church and encouraging the church’s work for justice through the actions of General Convention and the work of Episcopalians throughout the church. She works closely with the elected and appointed leaders who serve the church between conventions, with more than 850 members of the House of Deputies, and with the presiding bishop and other…

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July 3, 2020