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St Thomas

Harnessing Our Creativity: Turning Fear & Free Time into Art

By News

Vestry member Kathy Carson has come up with a terrific idea to make good use of some of our newfound free time and space. It comes from her quilting group. “Marcia Wood, group leader, suggested that the participants make something that reflects our understanding or experience of life with the Coronavirus. We’re making 8″ squares from our imagination or something we’ve found on-line. Once we reconvene our meetings, we will show our work. Someone may take all the squares and combine them into a quilt. An end product is not decided. I may frame mine!” “The blue represents people either in clusters (families, apartment buildings, neighborhoods) and individuals. The white lines show the multiple ways we network and are interconnected. The red represents our new companion, COVID-19. The yellow lines are containment. I got the idea from a PBS program about networking and connectivity.” Kathy would love for us to…

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The Hidden Curriculum

By Christian Formation

I am married to a former teacher. I have recently been thinking about the idea of the “hidden curriculum,” a concept I learned from her quite a few years ago. This concept refers to lessons and values that students learn, sometimes unintended because they are not directly part of the subject being taught in the curriculum. This could include planning ahead, getting along with others, the importance of honesty, and other important lessons related to values and character. I thought about the idea of the hidden curriculum in light of how all of us, adults and children, are currently being homeschooled in the midst of the current pandemic. I began to reflect on what unintended lessons I am learning in the midst of my own at home learning experience. I’m guessing you are learning a few lessons of your own, and thus I will invite you near the end of…

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Doubters, do not doubt!

By News, Rector's Corner

My Dear People of St. Thomas, Good morning beloved Doubters! I am writing this from the living room of the Rectory! I hope that you too are safely tucked into your home, heeding the precautions of our civic and government leaders who are urging us to stay put, to the very best of our ability, unless movement is absolutely necessary. As I have said countless times before, these are challenging times for the Church, because our natural response as the body of Christ, when faced with struggle or strife, is to come together. When we gather, we are reminded that God is with us. We see in each other the face of our God, who we know in our hearts is always with us. And it is a gentle, sweet reminder of that presence. That is what I miss when I cannot see your faces. I long so deeply to…

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Standing Together

By Christian Formation

Can you guess what the following locations from around the world have in common? Santa Monica, CA New Orleans, Louisiana Amsterdam, Netherlands Zuni, New Mexico Toulouse, France Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Moscow, Russia Caracas, Venezuela The Congo Guguletu, South Africa Barcelona, Spain Umlazi, South Africa Pisa, Italy Mamelodi, South Africa Given what’s going on in the world, you may have guessed that they are locations where people have tested positive for COVID-19. In fact, they are all places from which musicians around the world came together virtually to make an inspiring recording of the 1961 classic song, “Stand By Me.” We all have practices and people we turn to that give us hope and comfort in anxious times. Prayer, friends, family, spending time in nature, and music come to mind. All of these are important to me, and this song, for me, is like a prayer, so I turn to…

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In-Person Services and Events are Cancelled for Two Weeks

By News, Rector's Corner

My Dear People of St. Thomas, It is after much prayerful consideration that your wardens and I have made the decision to cancel all in-person services and events at St. Thomas the Apostle for the next two weeks. This may seem drastic to some, but we (and obviously many others) believe that we really do need to take a physical “time-out” to be able to allow the COVID-19 virus the opportunity to play itself out to the conclusion that it is going to do. While we have not yet had a case tied to St. Thomas the Apostle, we simply cannot, must not risk our vulnerable population to this unknown. Read Bishop Sumner’s updated letter regarding the Coronavirus > For this two week period, we will continue to live-stream services from St. Thomas the Apostle. If you are connected to me on Facebook, you will be able to see that…

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Pastoral Directive from Bishop Sumner regarding Coronavirus-Mar 13

By News

The Rt. Rev. Dr. George R. Sumner, Bishop, Diocese of Dallas, released an updated Pastoral Directive today outlining additional changes due to growing Coronavirus concerns. In a continued effort to protect everyone, especially the vulnerable, the following precautions are recommended. If you have any questions or concerns, please email The Rev’d Christopher Blake Thomas, Rector at: christopher@thedoubter.org Read Bishop Sumner’s updated letter regarding the Coronavirus >

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On this Journey Together

By News, Rector's Corner

My Dear People of St. Thomas, How can it be that we are already three weeks into our Lenten journey toward the Cross? It seems only yesterday that we were marking our foreheads with ashes and preparing to chant the Great Litany in procession. And yet, here we are. Journeys have a funny way of doing that to us. We get so enamored of objects and events and things along the way, and before we know it, we’re out in the middle of deep, often uncharted waters, with little sign of either where we’ve come, or where we’re going. It can be frightening and disorienting. Life can be frightening, particularly when we can’t touch from where we’ve come, or where we are going. And we find ourselves in the midst of the unknown – the uncharted waters of the COVID-19 virus. Every day, things seem to be a little scarier,…

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We Are All Connected

By Christian Formation

I arrived here at Chicago’s O’Hare airport this morning just as the sun was rising. I cleared security quickly and now have some unexpected extra time at my gate. As I am writing this, I am observing an efficient team of workers servicing the plane I am about to board. They are checking the air pressure of the tires, adding fuel, loading luggage, and doing various other service checks. As I sit here, I am beyond grateful for their work and wish I could somehow communicate my appreciation. I am also grateful for the people who work at the hotel I stayed at last night, that made my stay possible, the multitude of people who make up the cleaning and desk staff, the managers, the people who order and prepare the breakfast food, the list goes on and on. And I’m also thankful for the shuttle driver and for the…

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Learning to convey touch through our hearts and minds

By News, Rector's Corner

My Dear People of St. Thomas, It’s hard to believe that just two short weeks ago, we were at the end of Epiphany, celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration, in which Peter and James and John bear witness to the transformative power of Jesus, and by this witness, are themselves transformed. Their own transfiguration moment comes, not so much from what they see and hear, which inspires fear, but in the transformative, healing touch of Jesus, which drives out their fear and anxiety. It was, in fact, that healing touch that I believe transformed the three that day, and that healing touch that continues to be where transformation occurs. Touch conveys relationship, and relationship is healing and restorative and transformational. The community of St. Thomas the Apostle has a long, rich, storied history of using the transformative nature of touch to heal and restore lives to communion, to relationship with…

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