Outreach and Fellowship

Overview

Use the calendar on this website to find listings of fellowship and outreach activities.

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.

Below is a list of some of the regularly occurring activities, though there are many special events throughout the year:


Our Open Doors

We are pleased to be able to offer our magnificent house of worship as a place of prayer, 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. During worship services, we invite you to sit in the pews and to participate in the service or to sit quiety. Between the services, you can sit in the pews to pray, or think, or clear your head, or you can walk around and quietly explore 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.

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. Please turn off your mobile phones and other devices. The use of cameras and recording devices is strictly prohibited during worship.

The best way to meet Saint Thomas parishioners and clergy is to go to Coffee Hour following the 9am and 11am liturgies on Sundays. The Coffee Hour following the 11am service is much larger, mostly because the congregation at the 11am service is much larger.

Coffee Hour is held in the Parish House, which is adjacent to the church. It usually occurs in the Living Room and Dining Room on the second floor, though sometimes we gather in Andrew Hall on the third floor.

If you are a newcomer, please consider introducing yourself to one of the priests or to a member of the Welcome Committee, who also distribute name tags to anyone who wants one. There is also a place to sign the guestbook and to complete a welcome card, if you are interested in obtaining specific information. Better yet, there’s no need to wait for Coffee Hour if you are seeking information or to meet with someone. Simply email us right now, and we’ll be in touch soon.


The Saint Thomas 18-30’s Group (formerly Young Adults Group) has become an important outreach for newcomers and established members in their late teens, 20s, and 30s to meet for fellowship and community. Balancing spiritual formation, outreach service, and social events, the group offers a wide range of activities that foster friendships as well as the opportunity to plug into the deeper life of the parish. Email us to learn how you can get involved with the young adults.


Each year, the Vestry of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue provides in its budget for the potential provision of grants by the Church. Generally speaking, grants, if authorized, are to not-for-profit organizations that serve otherwise underserved citizens of New York City or within the Episcopal Diocese of New York. More specifically, grants are generally provided for those who work with children, the ill, the elderly, and those who lack very basic human needs. The grants are intended to have immediate positive impact. Grants are also given to degree-awarding Episcopal divinity schools, to charities furthering the work of ecumenism, and to organizations fostering the life of the Anglican Communion in New York City.

Learn more about our grants program and complete the one-page application form.


Our annual Angel Tree helps children in need, or underprivileged children within the Episcopal Diocese of new York.


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. Check the calendar regularly for upcoming dates.


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.


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. Check the calendar for meeting times.


Throughout the year, our parishioners reach out to the larger community both individually and through parish-wide projects and events. Some examples include:

  • During our 2018 Lenten Fundraiser, in partnership with Episcopal Relief and Development’s “Gifts for Life” program, we purchased a wide range of items such as mosquitos nets, provisions for clean water, and vocational training for students. Nearly $4,000 was raised.
  • Parishioners support a number of projects for needy children, including the Back to School Drive, The Angel Tree Christmas Drive, and the Easter Basket and Clothing Drive.
  • 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. If you are new to the Christian faith, or curious about the faith, you might give special consideration to coming to the Pilgrim’s Course (the Rector’s Christian Doctrine class), which is offered each year on Tuesday evenings from January through May.