About Us
December 2011 Outreach Update
Prayer Shawls Back in Production
The members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry next gather on Tuesday, December 13 at 1pm to knit and crochet away in the Parish House Living Room. If you can join us, we will welcome you with open arms along with yarn, knitting needles, or crochet hooks. And, if you've not used any of these before, we'll be happy to give you lessons. We like ladies and gentlemen who have the time and inclination to join this merry group. Thirty prayer shawls and lap robes have already been distributed to people who are sick, in hospital, housebound or have lost a loved one.Annual Angel Tree Drive
Our annual Christmas outreach project, by which we collect and distribute gifts for children throughout the city, is underway. Read more here, and donate online.
Soup Kitchen continues through Thanksgiving and Christmas
In town this holiday season? Want to worship by giving your time to those most in need? Working in the Soup Kitchen is an excellent way to give thanks after Thanksgiving and to celebrate God made flesh on Christmas Eve. The Soup Kitchen continues every single Saturday, including November 26 and December 24. Contact Linda Morfi at LMorfi@SaintThomasChurch.org for more information.Ongoing Outreach at Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas Church is a far larger community than the names in our Parish Register. Our location in the heart of Midtown presents us with an obvious opportunity to engage the people of our great city, and for the people of our great city to engage us.Our Open Doors
We are pleased to be able to offer our magnificent house of worship as a place of peace and beauty to be enjoyed and enriched by anyone and everyone who cares to step inside. If you ever find yourself in the middle of Midtown with some time on your hands, you are always welcome to come and present yourself to the altar of the Lord, regardless of whether a worship service happens to be underway at the moment. You can sit in the pews and pray, or think, or clear your head, or walk around and take in the wonders of the space. On most weekdays (except federal holidays), our church doors remain open after the 8am Morning Prayer and Mass all the way through the 5:30pm service. We invite you to come whenever you want. We only ask that, while here, you respect the purpose and peace of the Church so that others may experience it as well.
If you happen to come along during a worship service, please do come in. Simply enter the doors and sit in one of the pews. Leaflets with the order of service may be obtained from one of the ushers, or, if the service is in the Chantry Chapel, are available on a table as you approach the center aisle. While we ask that you don’t disrupt the service by taking pictures or using your mobile phone, we would be delighted for you to join us in worship at whatever level of passive or active participation you are prepared to offer.
Every Saturday morning at 9:30 parishioners and friends gather in the Parish House living room and dining room to prepare approximately 300 bag lunches of soup (in winter) or fruit cup (in 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 being made up by the church.
Our church is a major donor through an annual grant to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, which serves over one thousand meals every weekday. This soup kitchen is located in Chelsea. For information: www.holyapostlesnyc.org/haskhome.htm.
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Knitters and crocheters, beginners or experts, are all invited to join this enthusiastic group which is continuing its work of creating lovely prayer shawls that are being distributed to shut-ins, those in hospital or who have lost a loved one. Won't you join in making someone feel loved and cared for? Simply show up and be ready to work. And if you have extra yarn in a closet (in good condition), we'd love the donation. The group generally meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 1pm. Check the calendar regularly for upcoming dates.
Grants
Each year, the Grants Advisory Committee distributes funds to worthy programs and organizations throughout the city and around the world. Funds are divided between church-related organizations and social welfare organizations. Recent grant recipients have included Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, United Neighbors of East Midtown, The AIDS Project of St. Luke in the Fields, Petra Schools in Zimbabwe, Center for Conflict Relief and Reconciliation (to support St. George’s Episcopal Church in Baghdad), Nashotah House; Berkeley Divinity School, Virginia Theological Seminary, Diocese of Louisiana. We are also a donor to Episcopal Charities of the Diocese of New York. You may read more about the fine programs at Episcopal Charities by visiting their website www.episcopalcharities-newyork.org
12-Step Programs
We have been honored for many years to provide meeting space for programs that help individuals maintain a life free of addiction. While we have surprisingly little meeting space for a church of our size, it is a great privilege for us to be able to offer space in the heart of the city to such worthy programs.
Other programs
Throughout the year, our parishioners reach out to the larger community both individually and through parish-wide projects and events. Some examples include:
- The Women of Saint Thomas yearly out-do themselves in projects for needy children, including the Back to School Drive, The Angel Tree Christmas Drive, and the Easter Basket and Clothing Drive.
- The youth of the parish volunteer in service days for various causes, which have included several trips to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
- Many of our members participate each year in the AIDS Walk as part of the larger Episcopal Response to AIDS.
- While some of our concerts are by necessity ticketed events, we are also pleased to offer many free music events for anyone who wishes to come, including an impressive organ recital series on Sunday evenings (September through May) and musical meditations in Holy Week.
- Our Adult Education Classes are free and open to anyone who would like to come. You may read more about them here. If you are new to the Christian faith, or curious about the faith, you might give special consideration to coming to the Rector’s Christian Doctrine Class, which is offered each year on Tuesday evenings from January through May.