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St Thomas

Christian Formation: Being Episcopalian 101

By Christian Formation

Beginning Sunday, May 5, we will be begin our three-week preparation course for those being confirmed on May 26. While you may not being confirmed, I invite you to sit in on our primer on what it means to be Episcopalian. Perhaps you might learn something new about your faith. Or perhaps it might encourage you to consider confirmation in the future. Our schedule of classes is as follows: May 5 – Are Episcopalians Christian? Here, we will begin a discussion on Christianity’s long search to discover the one true religion that can bring unity to the Church. We will cover the Episcopal Church’s similarities and differences from other strains of Christianity with a focus on Baptism and Confirmation. May 12 – What Do Episcopalians Believe and Practice? Here, we will cover topics that make Episcopalians unique. Topics will include the Episcopal Church’s structure and polity (emphasis on role of…

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May 3, 2019

I Think You’re Beautiful

By Christian Formation

How would you respond if someone said to you, “I am taking pictures of things that I find beautiful, and I find you beautiful, so can I please take a picture of you”? A high school student ran a social experiment a few years ago and did this exact thing. She made a video of the reactions that the students and faculty at her high school had to hearing that they are beautiful. In the second half of the video, the student conducting the social experiment followed up telling people she finds them beautiful, with a question, “What’s one thing that you think is beautiful or unique about yourself?” You can find the link to her video at the bottom of this piece to see the variety of responses. The student running the experiment wondered why it is so uncomfortable for people to think of themselves as beautiful. After watching…

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May 1, 2019

The Rev. Mike Michie – April 28

By News

On Sunday, April 28, 2019 we will welcome as our guest celebrant and preacher, The Rev. Mike Michie at our 8:00 am and 10:00 am services. The Rev. Michael Michie is the Episcopal Church Staff Officer for Church Planting Infrastructure, a member of the Presiding Bishop’s staff. Since 2005, Michie served as the rector of St. Andrew’s in McKinney, TX, a congregation he planted and is the founding rector. During his time, the congregation grew to a 650-member church, with a series of community-based ministries, including an outreach program, The Bless Mobile, a food truck ministry. Prior to that, he was the associate rector of St. Barnabas in Austin, where he assisted in planting the congregation with an emphasis in reaching young unchurched adults, and curate at St. Richard’s in Round Rock. He is a graduate of the Seminary of the Southwest and holds a Master of Arts in Practical…

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April 24, 2019

Town Hall Meeting – April 27

By News

Everyone is invited to attend the Town Hall meeting to be held in the Parish Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Father Leo and the Wardens will be in attendance to provide information, answer questions and receive feedback about the current status of St. Thomas and about upcoming events. A representative of the Search Committee also will provide information about the Committee’s plans to collect information from each parishioner about his or her vision for the future of St. Thomas. Please join us at the meeting for discussion and fellowship. Also note, the Search Committee will be sending out a parish survey on May 2 (via an email from the parish, with a link to the survey). The link will be live for several weeks but the committee encourages persons to complete the survey as soon as possible because we would like to receive…

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April 24, 2019

Thank you for your generosity!

By News, Outreach

Due to the generous contributions during the Christmas and Christmas Eve services, the parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle donated $864 worth of food to the North Park Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the Hallelujah House Outreach Ministry Center. Food items included Spam, sardines, tuna, green beans, corn, Cup a Soup, cereal and peanut butter crackers. Harvey and everyone involved thank you all for your generosity and for helping the homeless individuals and families in the area. Looking for more outreach opportunities? Daughters of the King are collecting unused toiletries to support the Hallelujah House Outreach Ministry Center. When you travel this summer, save any unused travel sized items such as shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. and drop off at our collection box in the Parish Hall.

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April 24, 2019

Easter 2019 Message

By News, Outreach

“In the moments of despair, in the moments of the worst darkness, God had done something incredible,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry said in his Easter 2019 Message. “God had raised Jesus from the dead.” The Festive day of Easter is Sunday, April 21. Where and How to Watch The congregations of St. Paul’s/San Pablo Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Kan., and St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Mission, Kan., welcome all to join them for their Holy Week services. Beginning on April 18, watch at https://www.episcopalchurch.org/holy-week-2019 (live stream or on demand) or from The Episcopal Church Facebook Page. Air dates and times are below: April 18 – Maundy Thursday: Holy Eucharist with Foot Washing 8:00pm EDT | 7:00pm CDT | 6:00pm MDT | 5:00pm PDT April 19 – Good Friday: Live Stations of the Cross 7:00pm EDT | 6:00pm CDT | 5:00pm MDT |…

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April 15, 2019
Holy Week, palm frond, wash basin and 3 crosses

2019 Holy Week Schedule

By Upcoming Events

April 14 – Palm Sunday 8:00 am Eucharist 10:00 am Eucharist (Incense will be used at this service) April 17 – Wednesday in Holy Week 7:00 pm Eucharist April 18 – Maundy Thursday (Incense Will be Used) 7:00 pm Mandatum with Eucharist The Watch Begins (Immediately following the service until 12:00 am) April 19 – Good Friday The Watch Continues (7:00 am – 12:00 pm) 12:00 noon Service 7:00 pm Service The Good Friday Offering goes to support the ongoing ministry of love and compassion carried out by our Anglican sisters and brothers throughout the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. April 20 – Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter (Incense Will be Used) 8:00 pm (Followed by a Reception) April 21 – Easter Day 10:00 am Eucharist (No 8:00 am Service)

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April 8, 2019

Good Friday Offering

By News, Outreach

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I greet you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am writing to you as we look ahead to Holy Week, with its focus on our Lord’s sacrificial offering of love on the cross. The Good Friday Offering of our Church is one way to help connect the love of Christ on the cross with our support of the ongoing ministry of love and compassion carried out by our Anglican sisters and brothers throughout the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. Whether funding a hospital in Gaza or the West Bank, or an eye clinic in Aden, or women’s programs, or summer camps and leadership training for young people, the Good Friday Offering is making a difference in the lives of so many. I have witnessed this Jesus-inspired compassion and commitment at work with my own eyes. I believe our partnership…

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April 4, 2019

Easter Vigil Baptism – April 20

By Upcoming Events

On April 20, Saint Thomas will hold a baptism service during its 8pm Easter Vigil service. As baptized Christians, we are to take our place in the “life, worship and governance of the Church”. Our duty is to “work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.” Thus, we are compelled to invite and welcome all to know, to experience and to share in the Christian life we lead (BCP 855-6). One way we invite others to experience the life of Christ is through the sacrament of baptism. By inviting family members or those in the community to take their first step in their walk with Christ, we carry out Christ’s work of reconciliation, while welcoming newcomers to our Saint Thomas community. For those interested in baptism, we will have a one-hour Introductory class on baptism following the 10am service on Palm Sunday, April 14 in the…

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April 4, 2019

St Thomas Book Club-A Different Kind of Resurrection Story

By Christian Formation

During Holy Week and Easter, the Saint Thomas Book Club will discuss Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith and Family by Garrard Conley. Boy Erased tells Conley’s story of confronting and accepting his sexuality and the conversion program his religious parents imposed upon him. As a young man, Conley grew up the son of a Baptist pastor and deeply embedded in church life on small-town Arkansas. When he was 19, he was outed to his parents, and was forced to make a life-changing decision: either agree to attend a church-supported conversion therapy program that promised to “cure” him of homosexuality; or risk losing family, friends, and the God he had prayed to every day of his life. By confronting his buried past and the burden of a life lived in shadow, Garrard traces the complex relationships among family, faith, and community. At times heart-breaking, at times triumphant, this memoir…

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April 4, 2019