Parish Email for Friday, 19 March 2021 | St Thomas' Episcopal Church

Dear St. Thomas’,

Thank you to everyone who came out to welcome our Bishop last week, and for the many who contributed to making it a day that was edifying for all of us. We are blessed to be a church in the Episcopal tradition. Though, as with any relationship, there will be challenges along the way, our connection to a deeper tradition and a wider fellowship than just our congregation is of immeasurable benefit as we seek to walk alongside the saints of our times and all times past in our journey with God.

The next couple weeks will see even more manifestations of our deep traditions, and even some adaptations to manifest those traditions faithfully and with love for our neighbor in this year of pandemic. On Palm Sunday (the Sunday of the Passion: 27/28 March), and at the Great Vigil of Easter (3 April, 6pm), there will be ample opportunities to read lessons, tell stories, and even play music. These are times for us to serve one another with solemnity, with joy, with sadness, and with laughter. Please contact Sarah Ternay or Kathy Iannacone if you want to help with readings. Please email me right away if you would like to participate in the Vigil musically!

During Holy Week, services will be offered every night: some online only, some hybrid (online and in person), and one in-person only (the Great Vigil itself). Please plan to join us in the ways and times that make sense to you and your family.

Faithfully,

Todd+

Lenten Worship and Formation Opportunities:

Mondays, 4pm: Centering Prayer (Zoom)
Wednesdays, 5.30pm: Holy Eucharist (Lychgate)
Wednesdays, 7pm: Lenten Pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Zoom)
Fridays, 7pm: Stations of the Cross (Zoom)
By Appointment: Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) (Zoom/Telephone)

Only one more week until Holy Week!

Holy Week and Easter Schedule:

Palm Sunday (28 March)
- Saturday, 6pm: Holy Eucharist (Nave)
- Sunday, 8am: Holy Eucharist (Parish Hall & Zoom)
- Sunday, 10.30am: Holy Eucharist (Rectory Lawn)
Holy Monday
- 4pm: Centering Prayer (Zoom)
- 7pm: Evening Prayer (Zoom)
Holy Tuesday
- 7pm: Evening Prayer (Zoom)
Holy Wednesday
- 5.30pm: Holy Eucharist (Lychgate)
- 7pm: Lenten Pilgrimage (Zoom)
Maundy Thursday
- 7pm (Parish Hall & Zoom)
Good Friday
- 7pm (Parish Hall & Zoom)
Holy Saturday
- 10am: Prayer Office (Lychgate)
- 6pm: The Great Vigil of Easter (Rectory Lawn)
Easter Sunday
- 8am (Parish Hall & Zoom)
- 10.30am (Rectory Lawn)
  
  RSVP’s recommended for all indoor services due to limited seating capacity. Once our carefully arranged seats are filled, all others will be turned away.

Bea Murray is moving! You are invited to email the church office to get her new address and send her a card, welcoming her to her new cottage near her son’s home in Quakertown.

Dear St. Thomas’ Family! I write in deep gratitude for the lovely gifts of the stole and the St. Thomas’ blanket. I have it across my lap now as I enjoy a fire in these last days of winter. And – I thank you so much for a wonderful year among you. Love, Jeannie (Jeannie Marcucci was our Deacon Intern for an entire year, serving our parish faithfully right through the disruptions of the pandemic. She is now serving a second internship in Swedesboro and anticipating ordination to the Diaconate later this year.)

Remember back in October when Boscov’s had a “Friends Helping Friends” fundraiser? Thanks to all who did their shopping, Boscov’s sent the St. Thomas’ ECW a check for $80.75!

Each year the Diocese ECW grants Student Service Awards to graduating seniors and students continuing their college education. We encourage all our qualifying church members to apply for this award. Find instructions and the application here. The deadline to apply is May 1st.

The state of New Jersey has open a “pre-registration portal” for residents to sign up to receive vaccination against Covid-19. Sign up at https://covidvaccine.nj.gov/. You might also call around to local hospitals or pharmacies to see if they have openings in their own distributions of the vaccine. One resource suggested by others in our Diocese is the Vaccine Spotter website. It can help you find pharmacies with available appointments. Finally, the Diocese of New Jersey is offering assistance for anyone having difficulty making an appointment.

The CDC has provided guidance for those who have received the Covid-19 vaccine. Some protocols are relaxed among “fully-vaccinated” persons in private settings. For as long as not everyone has access to the vaccine, we will as a parish observe the protocols that keep everyone – including the unvaccinated – safe. This is a matter of justice: we do this in order to be in solidarity with all God’s children.

Announcements for the bulletin or parish email are due into the office by noon on Wednesday of each week. You can email them to office@stthomasglassboro.org or call the office at 856-881-9144. Announcements are subject to editing due to limited space.

Download this week’s bulletin or see the online version.

Lectionary readings for this week: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33; Psalm 51:1-13

Lectionary readings for next week: Mark 11:1-11, Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Mark 14:1-15:47, Psalm 31:9-16

Please continue in your daily prayers for: Dennis, Marge, Joann, Sandy, Andrea, Bob, Jimmie, John, Chuck, Linda, Russel, April, Jim, Gail, Jimmie, Jerry, Bill, Jennifer, Ben, Joan, Kendon, Gary, Carl

This Weekend at St. Thomas’

Saturday, 6.00pm: Holy Eucharist in the Nave (limited capacity: RSVP here)
Sunday, 8.00am: Holy Eucharist in the Parish Hall and on Zoom (limited capacity: RSVP here)
Sunday, 9.00am: Online Sunday School for pre-school to pre-teens
Sunday, 10.30am: Holy Eucharist Outdoors at St. Thomas’
Sunday, afternoon: Holy Eucharist at St. Thomas’ (recorded)
Sunday, 6.00pm: Youth Group Online
Contact Dan O. for details.

Weekdays at St. Thomas’

Daily Morning Prayer (Monday through Saturday)
Monday, 4pm: Centering Prayer
Tuesday, Noon: Coffee Hour – final week!
Tuesday, 6pm: Small Group Bible Study: Hebrews
Wednesday, 5.30pm: Holy Eucharist (outdoors at Lychgate, rain or shine, but not ice)
Wednesday, 7pm: Lenten Pilgrimage via Zoom
Friday, 7pm: Stations of the Cross online

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

A Statement of Love, Concern, and Support for the LGBTQ Community
from the Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey

Dear members of the LGBTQ Community
and all the people of God in the Diocese of New Jersey,

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

I am writing to express my sorrow and concern to members of the LGBTQ Community who in less than a month have been doubly insulted and injured by the wider institutional powers of the worldwide Church. Today, with Pope Francis’s knowledge and consent, the Roman Catholic Church through the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith issued a formal response to a dubium, “a question of the faith” in which it declared “the church does not have, and cannot have, the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex.” While the document purports to “reject all unjust discrimination,” it is, in fact, highly discriminatory. It is also hurtful.

Read more…

Every week during Lent we will have a brief video from the Holy Land followed by a discussion.

Join us online, Wednesdays at 7pm sharp, in a virtual pilgrimage to the land of the Bible!
Come early to visit!

Join Bishop Stokes as he provides the Diocese with an update on ECS-NJ followed by an engaging presentation with Mr. Connie M. Pascale on the potentially catastrophic effects of the looming eviction crisis, and what must be done to prevent them. Tomorrow, Saturday, 20 March at 10am. Register here.

Next month’s event:

Summit on Building and Equipping the Beloved Community
Saturday, April 17, 10 a.m.

Join us for an engaging forum grounded in sacred scripture that will educate, inspire, and energize all participants for active engagement in the work of building and equipping the “Beloved Community” by addressing the root causes of poverty and injustice.

Learn more about Episcopal Community Services of the Diocese of New Jersey.

Are you feeling drawn toward something new in service to God’s people? The upcoming Episcopal Servant Ministries seminar will allow you to explore how the Spirit may be moving you!