Dear St. Thomas’,

The leaves are turning colors. There’s one tree with brilliant red leaves in the Rectory lawn. The litter underneath has fallen in the shape of the tree: it looks like a red shadow on the ground.

I went to seminary in West Texas. There the joke was there were only two seasons: summer and winter. I always suggested there was a third: autumn happened on the third Saturday in October, between 3.30 and 3.45 in the afternoon. That’s when all the leaves dried out and fell, becoming an angry brown pile on the ground.

You don’t go to West Texas to see the fall foliage. For that you go to New England (or South Jersey)! You don’t go to Maine to see Prickly Pear cacti. For that you go to West Texas. Similarly, I would avoid the seafood in West Texas, the cheesesteaks in Seattle, and, well, all the food is good in South Jersey.

As we talk about Stewardship generally and our pledge campaign specifically, we have three themes:

1. Giving First
2. Proportional Giving
3. 100% Participation

Proportional Giving does not mean giving what you don’t have. It doesn’t mean taking food from the mouths of your children or neglecting your other responsibilities in the world. It doesn’t mean giving the most or even the same as anyone else. That would be like eating a cheesesteak in Seattle: I don’t recommend it! Proportional means what is fitting for you. Proportional means what makes sense for you.

Often we talk about proportional giving in terms of percentages. The “biblical standard” is the tithe (which literally means a tenth: 10%). But that is a reach for many of us: something towards which we strive over time.

When Becky and I were married, we talked about how much we wanted to give. We wanted to give proportionally, a value we both learned from our parents. Our goal has always been to give between 15-20% of our income.

When I was at seminary and we were living on less than $12,000 per year, our giving may not have seemed like much to the counters. But that’s OK. It was proportional and it was right for us. When I had a good job in industry some years ago, we were able to give generously. When I was laid off, I sent a note to the pledge secretary of our parish to let her know that our giving would still be proportional, but drastically reduced from what we had originally pledged for that year.

This year Becky took a job, in part to help provide for oldest child, Aviva, to go to college next year. This means that our joint pledge to St. Thomas’ went up and we also had some new income to give to another charity near to our hearts. All this besides additional funds for college because we continue to give proportionally.

Giving proportionally means that no matter what ups or downs come along, your commitment to honor God with your wealth remains consistent. It’s another aspect of a life ordered around seeking first God’s kingdom. I urge you to give proportionally and, if St. Thomas’ is an important part of your life, to pledge a generous part of that proportion to St. Thomas’.

Faithfully,

Todd+

A few services at St. Thomas’ have begun meeting in our beautiful nave once again. Saturday nights we celebrate the Eucharist at 6pm. Unfortunately, seating is limited to 12 pews with a maximum of two people per pew as we continue practice social distancing.

What this means is that, if we’re full, anyone else who shows up must be turned away. That’s a difficult and disappointing thing to do.

To try to minimize disappointments, we are trying out a system of RSVP’s. If you would like to attend the Saturday night service, please find the link to RSVP over on the St. Thomas’ website.

If the RSVP’s are already full, please know that we record these services and post them on the website (usually by the next morning) for all to see.

We miss being together in larger numbers. But this pandemic isn’t going away in the next few months. Until then, we strive to follow Jesus’ example in our love for one another.

• Saturday, 4.30pm: Adult Formation Online
• Saturday, 6.00pm: Holy Eucharist in the Nave (limited capacity)
• Sunday, 8.00am: Online Morning Prayer with Sermon
• Sunday, 9.00am: Online Sunday School for pre-school to pre-teens
• Sunday, 10.30am: Holy Eucharist Outdoors at St. Thomas’
• Sunday, 6.00pm: Online Sunday School for Teens
  contact Dan O. for connection details
• Sunday, all day: Holy Eucharist at St. Thomas’ (recorded)

• Daily Morning Prayer (Monday through Saturday)
• Monday, 4pm: Centering Prayer
• Tuesday, Noon: Coffee Hour
• Wednesday, 5.30pm: Holy Eucharist (outdoors at Lych Gate, rain or shine)
• Wednesday, 7.00pm: Bible Study with Bishop Stokes

Online events hosted by St. Thomas’ are accessed via Zoom: instructions here.

Covid-19 diagnoses continue to tick up dramatically across the nation, including in New Jersey. Two people from St. Thomas’ have reported positive tests in the last week or so.

If you test positive for Covid-19, please let us know. You can email the office or call the emergency pastoral line (856.881.2841) to contact Father Todd directly. Your diagnosis can be kept private if you wish.

First of all, we want to lift you up in prayer.

Secondly, it is important for us to know when someone tests positive so that we can alert the public health department if there has been an exposure on campus. They will then do “contact tracing”: communicating with anyone who might be at risk of exposure to the virus. They can do so without revealing anyone’s identity. With this simple action, reporting your diagnosis, you can save lives.

This, too, is how we love one another in this season.

During this season of coronavirus infections, when attending events on campus at St. Thomas’, please demonstrate your love for your friends and neighbors by:

1. Wearing a mask (covering both mouth and nose)
2. Remaining six feet apart from anyone you don’t live with
3. Refraining from touching, hugging and shaking hands – even during the Peace
4. There will be no singing
5. Service bulletins you have touched must be taken home
6. After the service everyone must disperse with no lingering
7. No sharing of common objects such as pens, paper, etc.