Mission: St. Thomas' Episcopal Church is a welcoming spiritual community dedicated to following the teachings of Christ Jesus. We grow through learning, celebrate joyful worship, and serve our neighbors.
Vision: We open hearts and minds to create community in Christ.
A Note from the Rector
Dear St. Thomas'
On Sunday, February 25, we will gather for our first small group reflection on Living Well Through Lent: Practicing Forgiveness with All Your Heart, Strength and Mind. The book is a daily devotion and offers practices of reflection and personal connection. Forgiveness can be hard and liberating; uncomfortable and hopeful. We will gather every other week on Sundays to learn from the wisdom in the room.
I hope you can join us. If you haven't already, register by contacting the Parish Office at office@stthomasrochester.orgor (585) 442-3544 and pick up a book in the Parish Office.
Faithfully,
Amma Leslie+
Faith Formation Opportunity
Listening for the Heartbeat of God
This book study will take place in person on April 7, 14, 28 and May 5 after the service in the Lounge.
Click hereto register and order a book. After you register, your book will be available in the "Pickup" mailbox outside the Parish Office with your name on it. One book per household, please.
Listening for the Heartbeat of God Workshop with the Rev. Mary Earle will be held on May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon in the Great Hall.
Please participate in "Souper Sundays" in February by donating cans of soup and crackers.It is especially important for children and seniors to have a helping hand. Drop off your soup and crackers in the marked barrel at the Highland Avenue entrance during the month of February.
The Brighton Food Cupboard is a program of the Jewish Family Service of Rochester in partnership with The Brighton Central School District and Foodlink.
United Thank Offering Theme for Grants
This past year, the UTO theme for grants focused on prisoner support and reform. Here is a local example:
Diocese of Western New York - Enhancing Human Rights through Clergy Jail Monitoring: Buffalo, NY, $37,500. Teams of clergy of varied faiths visit jails in Western New York to observe conditions and listen to prisoners. They make recommendations to uphold "the dignity of every human being."
Over $1 million was given to support innovative ways to address aspects of the global incarceration crisis.
Place donations in the coin boxes at church entrances or send a check to St. Thomas' with UTO in the memo section. The Ingathering of contributions will be on April 7. Please join in giving thanks this Lent with the UTO.
-Wendy Petry, UTO Chairwoman
Children & Youth Ministry News
Children Ministry
This Sunday, we will discover one of Jesus’ parables: the mustard seed. A mustard seed is very tiny, but it grows from near invisibility to a huge tree that can even provide homes for birds. So it is with the kingdom of God. In time—in God’s time—it will grow to its full grandeur and to universal, all-embracing hospitality for all people. We will be acting out the parable using props and then creating our own mustard seed trees. Come join us and share the joy.
Youth Group
Our next youth group meeting is on Sunday, March 3. We will begin creating a banner to share with the congregation that encourages all of us to show our love and care for God’s creation.
Until then, here are some new challenges for youth and all who are interested related to climate care:
Could you eat less meat (especially beef?) or swap an item daily?
In the bathroom, do you use any single-use plastic? Can you find an alternative? You could get yourself a bar of soap for showers and another for handwashing.
Challenge yourself and the people you live with to give up all single-use plastics for a week. It’ll take some creative thinking, and you’ll have to let go of some stuff you usually use, but by doing it, you’ll be standing up for people who don’t have a choice and raising awareness of how much plastic we’re surrounded by here, too.
Have a quick look through what’s in your bin at the moment. What’s your biggest single-use plastic culprit? How can you cut that out or reduce it next week?
Financial Information
Weekly Financial Report 2/20/24
Budget Pledges Year to date: $49,805
Actual Pledge Payments Year to date: $49,100
Year to Date Financial Report to 2/20/24
Year to date Revenue: $64,390
Year to date Expenses: $82,420
**Net loss to date: $ (18,030)
Get Ready for Sunday
Read the Revised Common Lectionary for the Second Sunday in Lent:
The deadline for submitting articles for the Parish Weekly is Monday at 2 p.m. Please send articles to Patty Corvaia at pattyc@stthomasrochester.org.
At Home Resources
Sunday Live Stream Service at 10 a.m. is available on our YouTube channel - St. Thomas Episcopal Church of Rochester, NY. This can be viewed any time after 10 a.m. throughout the week.
Daily Devotional (Forward Day by Day):click here for link.
For prayer requests click here or on the gray box at the right of this page.
The Monroe County Department of Health recommends the following:
Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Practice physical distancing and stay home when sick.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid touching your face.
Cover your cough or sneeze using a tissue or your sleeve.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched services.
Emergency Contacts
New York State Mental Health provider hotline: (844) 863-9314.
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church of Rochester, New York stands behind the “Racism is a Public Health Crisis” declaration by the Greater Rochester NY Black Agenda Group. As a community of faith and followers of Jesus Christ we believe that every person is continually made in the image of God beautifully and wonderfully. We are committed to do the hard work of love. We are dedicated to the practice of growing and learning how to know and love our neighbors as we seek to create community. We hold the hope that love does win through forgiveness, kindness, and transformation. We desire to be a people who work for the equity of all. We work to acknowledge our complicity and part in racism, and we are committed to work together to tackle injustice in our life, in our church, in our community and in the world. We are proud to stand with the Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group and its declaration that “Racism is a Public Health Crisis".
