Dear St. Thomas’,

I look forward to the day when I won’t have to talk about the pandemic any more. Except as something in the past. “Do you remember back in 2020 and 2021?”

Yes, it won’t be just 2020. It sounds like it’s going to take a while before we will be able to discard our Coronovirus protocols. Before we can sing indoors. Before we can shake hands and share hugs. But I do have some hope that we may get there towards the end of 2021. Have you signed up (or talked to your doctor) about a Covid vaccination yet?

The good news is this: there (still!) have been no reported cases of Covid-19 spreading in the churches of the Diocese of NJ. People have come to churches and later tested positive. But they always established a different likely source for infection, not at church. Our protocols appear to be working! So with thanks once again to our Safety Committee and our Safety Coordinators, we continue to meet together! Now is not the time to relax our protocols, but to abide by them faithfully.

We will continue to live under this protocol, probably clear through the summer. That protocol is not a restriction: it is a gift that allows us to meet together, a gift that allows us to protect the health of every member of St. Thomas’. Those seven items on the front of your bulletin, which are simply a summary of the larger protocol we follow, constitute a sacred promise we have made to one another.

We will continue to offer at least four live services per week: two outdoors (safest!) and two indoors. We will continue to offer as much as we can online as well. Lent and Easter will still be different than what we’re used to – but better than last year.

Faithfulness is not measured by what we do– not by how many services we have or what we do at them. It is measured by how we respond to the reality we’re given, worshiping God and placing our neighbor’s wellbeing above our own comfort or preferences. At that, St. Thomas’, you have proven super-stars!

Faithfully,

Todd+

• 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, 6.00pm: Online Youth Group for Teens
  Contact Dan O. for connection details
• Sunday, afternoon: Holy Eucharist at St. Thomas’ (recorded)

• Daily Morning Prayer (Monday through Saturday)
• Monday, 4pm: Centering Prayer
• Tuesday, Noon: Coffee Hour
• Tuesday, 6pm: Small Group Bible Study: Hebrews
• 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.

The state of New Jersey has open a “pre-registration portal” for residents to sign up to receive vaccination against Covid-19. Since the vaccine is being rolled out in phases, registering will help ensure you are notified when your turn comes. Register at: https://covidvaccine.nj.gov/

On Monday, 1 February, the St. Thomas’ Book Group will start a new title, The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone, chosen to compliment our annual celebration of Black History Month. Join us on Zoom on Monday nights at 7pm. You can purchase a copy in your favorite bookstore. (I’m told that “Words Matter” bookstore in Pitman has at least one copy on hand and can quickly obtain more!) Please read the introduction and chapter 1 in advance of our first gathering.

The Diocese of NJ is offering Anti-Racism Training that you can pursue from home via a combination of live and recorded sessions. See the Diocesan website for more information or register now! Demand for the Diocese’s online Anti-Racism Training has been extraordinary and these sessions have filled very quickly.

The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey Anti-Racism Ministry invites you to take advantage of these sequestered and less scheduled days to enroll in 20 hours of virtual Anti-Racism Training streamed to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. The training takes a historical approach to help participants understand systemic racism and empower them to confront and organize against racism, inequality, and injustice.

Lecture and discussion topics include “What is Race?”, “Systemic Racism and White Privilege,” “Internalized Racism,” “The Role of the Church,” “Settler Colonialism,” “Racism in Immigration and Naturalization Legislation,” and “The Prison Industrial Complex.”

Four training sessions are scheduled for 2021. Each session consists of five two-hour live interactive discussions via Zoom on consecutive Friday evenings and a follow-up debrief session a month later. After each Friday session, participants will be presented with recorded lectures and print, video and audio lessons via Moodle, an online training platform. The non-refundable fee for the course is $100. Scholarships are available.

The 2021 schedule is:

• January 29 to February 26 with a follow-up on March 26
• April 16 to May 14 with a follow-up on June 11
• June 18 to July 16 with a follow-up on August 13
• August 20 to September 17 with a follow-up on October 15

The five Friday Zoom group meetings in January and February are from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on January 29, February 5, February 12, February 19, and February 26. The follow-up debriefing session will be held at 7 pm on Friday, March 26.

Registration for the January session is open through Sunday, 24 January!