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St Thomas

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

Confirmation – May 26

By Christian Formation, Upcoming Events

Are you seeking for something more out of your spiritual life? If so, then take the next step in your spiritual journey here at St. Thomas: Confirmation. Confirmation is a sacramental rite in which candidates “express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop” (BCP, p. 860). It is both a public affirmation of your faith and a public commitment to live up to the responsibilities of your baptism. Consider it a way for you to stand before God and St. Thomas to say, “With God’s help, I will better serve God and God’s people.” On Sunday, May 26, Bishop Wayne Smith will confirm potential candidates during our 10am service. If interested, sign up at the back table for our upcoming three-week Confirmation classes. During our time together, you will: Understand the basics of Christianity…

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March 28, 2019

Lenten Conversations with Henri Nouwen

By Christian Formation, Upcoming Events

The late Catholic priest Henri Nouwen posed the question back in 1972: What does it mean to minister in contemporary society? Phrased another way, how can we at Saint Thomas find relevance and effectiveness in today’s dislocated world? Father Nouwen said of the ministering roles of both laity and clergy: For all ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts, and make to that recognition the starting point of their service. Whether we try to enter into a dislocated world, relate to a convulsive generation, or speak to a dying person, our service will not be perceived as authentic unless it comes from a heart wounded by the suffering about which we speak. If you have a heart for God and people, and feel disillusioned by traditional practices of Christian outreach that seem alienating and ineffective, join us for a conversation with Father Nouwen,…

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February 28, 2019

The Tree of Life – Kess Frey

By Upcoming Events

Contemplative Outreach of Dallas/Fort Worth presents “The Tree of Life”, with featured speaker Kess Frey on Saturday, March 23 from 9:30am-3:00pm (sign-in begins at 9:00am) at St Thomas’s Parish Hall. Early Registration: $30/Person or $20/Student. (Early Registration & payment must be received by March 15, 2019 – After deadline: $35/Person) Bring a bag lunch for the mid-day break. Morning Refreshments, Coffee & Bottled Water Included. Advance reservations are encouraged. Space is limited and available on a first come, first serve basis. All reservations are subject to confirmation. The Qabalistic Tree of Life comes to us from “the secret wisdom of Israel” that was known to Jesus and the Old Testament prophets. It is a map of consciousness, God’s creation, and the individual soul. As such, this mystical Tree may serve as a model of the inner work of healing and transformation the divine presence and action carries out in us…

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February 21, 2019

Lenten Services & Events

By Upcoming Events

ASH WEDNESDAY • MAR 6 7:00am-9:00am | ASHES-TO-GO (near Inwood entrance) 12 NOON | NOONDAY EUCHARIST (Blessing and distribution of ashes) 6:00pm | EVENING EUCHARIST (Blessing and distribution of ashes) 6:30pm-7:15pm | BLESSING & DISTRIBUTION OF ASHES (In the Church) WEDNESDAYS IN LENT • MAR 13 – APR 10 6:00pm | WEDNESDAY EUCHARIST Followed by a community dinner and Lenten Conversations with Henri Nouwen (In the Church and Parish Hall)

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February 21, 2019

How Can I Serve Others?

By Outreach

The Angels Ministry is a ministry of Saint Thomas created to provide short-term support to parishioners recuperating at home or in need of temporary help due to health issues in performing normal tasks. Services provided by volunteers include: Meals – one per day for a finite period of time Transportation to appointments -maximum of four hours Sitting with parishioner to talk, read to them, watch a movie, etc. Short-term (1 to 4 hours) respite care for primary caregiver Assist with grocery shopping (either with them or for them) Visit during hospital or rehab stays If you are interested in volunteering or requesting this type of assistance, please contact the church office.

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February 13, 2019

St Thomas Book Club – Race Matters by Cornel West

By Christian Formation, Upcoming Events

Beginning Feb. 19, the next selection of the Saint Thomas Book Club is Cornel West’s groundbreaking classic on race in America and national best-seller, Race Matters. First published in 1993 on the one-year anniversary of the L.A. riots, Race Matters contains West’s most powerful essays on the issues relevant to black Americans today: despair, black conservatism, black-Jewish relations, myths about black sexuality, the crisis in leadership in the black community, and the legacy of Malcolm X. And the insights that he brings to these complicated problems remain fresh, exciting, creative, and compassionate. Now more than ever, Race Matters is a book for all Americans, as it helps us to build a genuine multiracial democracy in the new millennium. The Saint Thomas Book Club meets each Tuesday at 10am in the South Room.

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February 13, 2019

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 2019 Sermon

By Sermons

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C, February 10, 2019 Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13]; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5:1-11; Psalm 138 St Thomas the Apostle The Rev’d Leo Loyola Fact: No one ever shares good news until it is at least eight in the morning. Seven, with coffee. It was four am, when Dad called, and he clearly did not have good news. “Leo, your mom is at the ER and her health is fading fast. They don’t expect her to last beyond 24 hours.” I woke my wife up with the news, and she consoled me. Mom never had the best of health, so we weren’t too surprised. Still, the reality of her impending death hit me hard at that moment, although she would eventually recover her third near-death experience. When Benjamin finally heard about Mom’s situation, he came running into the house to find me, forgetting again to close the…

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February 10, 2019

Journey thru the Bible in Lent & Easter

By Christian Formation

On Thursday, March 7, our Bible Study group will begin a 14-week “Journey Thru the Bible” series. The following is an outline of what will be discussed each week. We invite all to make this a part of your Lenten discipline as we go through the foundational documents of the Christian Faith. Coffee and tea will be provided. We will meet in the Parish Hall each week, from 10:00 am until 11:30 am each Thursday. March 14: Old Testament Historical Narratives I March 21: Old Testament Historical Narratives II March 28: The Psalms April 4: Wisdom Literature (Proverbs & Ecclesiastes) April 11: The Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) April 18: The Minor Prophets April 25: The Old Testament Apocrypha Books May 2: OT Pseudopigrapha (“Lost Books of the Old Testament”) May 9: The Gospels May 16: New Testament Historical Book (Acts) May 23: The Epistles May 30: Apocalyptic writings…

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February 7, 2019