About Us
Fellowship Update for December
Book Group for January
The book for the January 26 gathering of Good Books & Good Talk is William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Anyone who reads the book is welcome to come and discuss it. We meet at 6:30pm in Andrew Hall, and the seminar lasts 90 minutes.
Lecture on Canterbury Cathedral
Immediately following the 5:30 p.m. Festal Eucharist for All Saints' Day (Tuesday, November 1), the Very Rev'd Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury, gave a talk on Canterbury Cathedral. The talk took place in the church and then the parish gathered in the Parish House for a light reception. Thank you to everyone who attended. You may listen to a webcast of the lecture here.
The Cathedral's history goes back to 597AD when St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary, established his seat (or 'Cathedra') in Canterbury. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims, as told famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
EMC Tiles Project a Great Success
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's parish-wide art project for the 2012 EMC.
We asked people to create a "tile," 8.5 inches square, from paper or any other mountable material.The prompt was simply this: When you are worshiping at St. Thomas, what is it all about for you?
Dozens of parishioners and friends of Saint Thomas responded with creativity, energy and love. See photos of the display at the EMC Coffee Hour on November 6.
Overview of Fellowship
The best way to find a listing of fellowship activities is to go to the website calendar, and then click on the "fellowship" category. This will all you to see all upcoming activities.
Below is a list of some of the regularly occurring activities, though there are many special events throughout the year:
Coffee Hour
The most significant fellowship experience at Saint Thomas is Coffee Hour. It's offered twice: after the Sunday 9am service and then again after the 11am service. The Coffee Hour following the 11am service is much larger, mostly becuase the congregation at the 11am servcie is much larger.
Coffee Hour provides an opportunity for nearly everyone who worships together--be they long-time parishioners, new-comers or guests--to meet and greet each other.
Coffee Hour is held nearly every Sunday in the Parish House living room and dining room, adjacent to the Church.
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Twice a month, usually on a Tuesday at 1pm, parishioners and freinds of Saint Thomas gather for a couple hours to make prayer shawls for those who are homebound and otherwise in need. We welcome all knitters or crocheters, expert or beginners, both ladies and gentlemen to join us in creating these shawls to help bring a smile to those in need. No need to RSVP. If you are interested, simply show up. Please check the fellowship calendar to find the next date.
The Saint Thomas Soup Kitchen
Every Saturday morning at 9:30 parishioners and friends gather in the Parish House living room and dining room to prepare approximately 300 box lunches of soup (winter) or fruit cup (summer), sandwiches, and cookies. Volunteers depart at 11:00 walking along nine routes in mid-Manhattan distributing lunches to the homeless. Twice a month toiletries are distributed. Volunteers return to the Parish House about 12:15. Volunteers are welcome to participate in any portion or all of this important ministry to the homeless. Participation in the Soup Kitchen fosters Christian community and friendship amongst the volunteers and the homeless.
Our boy Choristers founded the Soup Kitchen at the Choir School in 1984. Parish participation in this outreach program began the summer thereafter and continues to this day. Financial support is received from public and private sources with the difference made up by the church.
20s-30s Fellowship
This fellowship was formed several years ago, as it became clear that many of our new members are finishing college, recent college graduates, or early on in new careers. The group quickly grew.
The 20s-30s generally meet on Thursday evenings, usually once or twice a month. For more information about 20s-30s activities, please contact Fr Austin.
30s-40s Monthly Dinner & Discussion
The 30s-40s Group was started as an outgrowth of the 20s-30s Fellowship, as we realized there was a whole other set of new members coming into the Parish who had recently moved to New York due to career and family changes, or who were re-finding (or finding for the first time) their faith as they entered the middle part of their lives.
Formed by Fr Wallace, this group meets once a month, generally on a Tuesday evening. Each meeting has a designated leader who arranges the dinner and chooses the topic for an hour-long discussion following dinner.
This group is entirely self-sustaining. Each dinner costs $25 per person. For more information, please email us.
Good Books & Good Talk
Approximately once a month, parishioners gather to discuss one of a wide range of books chosen by Fr Austin. Anyone who has read the book is welcome to the discussion, which usually lasts for about an hour and a half. Some recent book choices have included Joyce's The Dead, Robinson's Gilead, Borges' Labyrinths, Enger's Peace Like a River, and O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find. Check the calendar or the theology class page regularly for Good Books & Good Talk books and dates, or pick up a handy flier when you are next at church.
