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St Thomas

The Church Decides

By News, Rector's Corner

General Convention Approves Marriage Equality Dear St. Thomas Family, What an amazing week this has been!  Last Friday the Supreme court made it legal for all Americans to marry the people they love, a decision to be celebrated. Then as Our General Convention met in Salt Lake City, we elected  Michael Curry as Presiding Bishop, the first African American to lead the church in this role.  There are many issues  being deliberated at General Convention which I hope  will lead our Church to grow  more deeply into love, justice and compassion. Just last evening  The House of Deputies approved without ammendment what the House of Bishops had already approved.  Resolution A036 revises Canon 1.18 titled “Of the Solemnization of Holy Matrimony.”  Among many edits it removes references to marriage as being between a man and a woman. They also passed A054  approving continued use of “The Witnessing and Blessing of…

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July 9, 2015

Supreme Court Decision

By News, Rector's Corner

A Wonderful Morning! Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage Nationwide “The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 this morning that it is legal for all Americans, no matter their gender or sexual orientation to marry the people they love.” Dear St. Thomas Family, I know that this day has been long awaited and is an occasion of great celebration. I rejoice with you in this victory for equal rights and look forward to further conversations with you. You may also know that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is in session right now and is considering a  canon revision to the definition of marriage, so this is good news also but a change to the Book of Common Prayer will most likely not occur for some time.  For more information and conversation about what is happening at convention regarding this,  I refer you to two blogs, one by Tobias Haller (blog.tobiashaller.net) and…

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July 9, 2015

St. Thomas makes a statement

By News

Rev. Joy Daley and a number of St. Thomas parishioners joined together at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration for a NOH8 photo shoot. Celebrity photographer Adam Bouska came to the Dallas area to capture the fight for marriage equality and take a stand against discrimination and bullying of all kinds. The NOH8 campaign makes a statement without saying a word; guess you can call that a picture perfect protest. Featured on News Fix CW33 | March 14, 2015 | by Selena Hernandez Read full article >

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March 20, 2015

Sermon – Third Sunday in Lent

By Sermons

One of the movies nominated for best picture this year was Selma which recalls the time in the not so distant past when the country was divided over the fight for equal rights as Martin Luther King, Jr. gathered people together to make a choice, to take a stand. The movie doesn’t cover his whole life but a period of 3 months, a moment in time about the work leading up to the Voting Rights Act. In one clip from the movie we see MLK say forcefully “It is unacceptable to use power to keep people voiceless” And though this man was nonviolent he did take action to raise consciousness to push against the accepted oppressive norms. This action led to violence as forces within this country resisted the walk to freedom as people were clubbed and beaten for standing up for their rights. Ironically the bridge where the marchers…

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March 8, 2015

Sermon – First Sunday in Lent

By Sermons

As I thought about the wilderness I remembered a time several years ago when I was out in East Texas walking. I was in a wooded area which was enclosed and familiar to me I was passing by trees and streams that I had seen many times before. I was thinking as I walked, trying to understand a situation at work so you would have thought that the familiar surroundings were a good place to do that but for whatever reason I wasn’t content with the setting and felt compelled to go beyond the usual boundaries of my walk to look for a break in the fence enclosing the area and I found one, so I crossed the road and began to walk on a path I had never seen before. I needed a new perspective I was in the wilderness of sort, seeking enlightenment The road was open before…

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February 22, 2015

Wednesdays In Lent

By News

Enrich your Lenten practice! Everyone is invited to join us each Wednesday evening during the season of Lent for an Interfaith Dialogue “Reflections on Interspirituality”. The Eucharist will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by a light meal at 7:00 p.m. and Presentation at 7:30 p.m. Schedule February 25 – “Overview of Interspirituality”, Father Ray Ball March 11 – “Islam” postponed due to weather March 18 – “Buddhism”, Sister Amy NaHo March 25 – “Judaism”, Rabbi Debra Robbins; and “Islam”, Imam Omar Suleiman

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February 19, 2015

Sermon – Ash Wednesday

By Sermons

I recently watched an episode of Modern family in which the Dad Phil was in charge of making his teenage girls clean their bathroom Of course they swore they had done it so they could run off and go be with their friends. Then he opened a door and everything spilled out We’ve all experienced some version of this Whether it be with our children or ourselves. You get a call that someone is coming to visit who you didn’t expect. You scramble to get all your junk out of sight so everything looks real good for the visit, being sure that you don’t have to open the door or drawer for any reason while they are there because of the inevitable overflow. Otherwise your visitors will see more of the truth of you than you would like – that you are not quite as neat and organized as you…

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February 18, 2015

Epiphany Reflections

By Rector's Corner

As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany T.S. Eliot’s, The Journey of the Magi  provides words for us to reflect on what this season can mean for us. This poem was written in 1927 soon after Eliot’s conversion to Anglicanism. It is written from the perspective of one of the wise men. It is a wonderful poem but not really uplifting in an obvious kind of way.   For the poet speaks of the challenge of the journey, a journey that takes place in winter, the worst time of year. He outlines the difficulties – the night fires going out, the unfriendly towns, their inner doubts telling them the journey was pure folly. The wise man says that he would take the journey again but there is a sense in the poem that birth and death are entwined. “Were we led all that way for Birth or death? There was…

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January 8, 2015

Feasting on the Word – Dec 14

By News

Everyone is invited to join our “Feasting on the Word” Christian Formation classes each Sunday: Adults at 9:00 a.m. and Youth at 10:00 a.m. ADULT December 14 Third Sunday of Advent Join us for “A Thrill of Hope” – With beauty and power of art and sacred text, and the insight of Candler’s Scholars, let this presentation act as a new catalyst for you on your journey of faith this Advent season. YOUTH December 14 Session 2 Isaiah 61: 1-4; 8-11 Youth will imagine Isaiah’s vision of the restoration ad hear God’s call to live as if it were a present reality. December 21 Session 3 Luke 1: 26-38 Youth will invite the Holy Spirit to work in and through them.

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December 11, 2014