Weekly Highlights
Wednesday, November 27
  • The Thrift Shop is closed.
  • Holy Eucharist at 7:30 pm in the Chapel.

Thursday , November 28
There is no bible class. The office is closed. Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 29
The office is closed.

Saturday, November 30
The Thrift Shop is closed.

Sunday, December 1 - First Advent
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 am (said) and 10:00 am (with music). Children worship in church.

 Tuesday , December 3
Brown Bag Lunch from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.
PLEDGE CARDS
Thank you to everyone who returned their pledge card. If you haven't done so yet, please get your pledge card to us in the next couple of weeks. It will help us to put the budget for 2020 together in a timely fashion.
RIP Debt – Christmas Fair Beneficiary
On Easter Sunday I referenced Emmanuel Memorial Episcopal Church of Champaign, Illinois, a congregation who, finding themselves with a $15,000 surplus, wanted to put the money towards something meaningful and Gospel-driven. They noted they were all people who have been forgiven by God and whose debts have been forgiven by Christ on the cross , and so therefore wanted to find a beneficiary comparable to that sentiment of a debt being forgiven. They selected RIP Medical Debt, a company that uses the money from donors to purchase bundled financial portfolios of medical debt, usually resulting in the forgiveness of $100 for every dollar donated. Emmanuel Memorial’s $15,000 purchased $4,000,000 in medical debt relief for 3,617 families.

Encouraged and energized by the possibility of helping families stave off bankruptcy or ruin due to medical debt, we’ve decided to put all of the Christmas Fair money to this same initiative. I’ve been in touch with a program manager from RIP Medical Debt, and we are set to open a portfolio. In full disclosure, there is no information for Westchester County (which was our target) because debt collectors feel it more financially advantageous to hold on to debt here. We have adopted a “debt is debt” attitude and will be putting our proceeds to work in New York State at large. I have also invited the rectors and priests-in-charge of the churches of our clericus to join with us in this endeavor, in hopes we can perhaps raise $25,000 towards debt relief. 

Here’s where you come in. Help support this year’s Christmas Fair. Buy. Bid. Eat. Know that every cent earned after expenses goes out the door to this initiative. Help us reach a new goal of $15,000 from the fair. Help us be Christ’s hands and heart. Help us transform lives, redeem them. Help enable new life to spring from a soul-killing situation. 

Blessings,
Carol


Eric Milnes’ Last Day at St. Thomas – December 29th
Folks,
Sunday, December 29 th is Eric Milnes last day with us. We will do Lessons and Carols that day, followed by a festive reception in Eric’s honor. Recognizing this is a time of year when many are away, I hope those of you who will be home will come and help us thank / celebrate / send off Eric with style, love, and joy.

To that end, we are looking for support in putting this together.
  • We’ll set up on Saturday morning at 10 (this should take about 30 minutes if we have 8 people helping);
  • We will need an equal number of folks to stay and help put tables and chairs away, and to clean up from the reception; and, most importantly, we will need
  • Food and beverages!  Cheese plate, fruit platter, deviled eggs, finger foods (such as little sandwiches); cookies, chocolates, and brownies for sweets.

A sign-up sheet will be in the church between December 1 st and 22 nd . If you have any questions, please ask Carol.
Angel Tree
Help your neighbors in need, choose cards from the tree in the back of the church detailing specific requests. All gifts are due on  Sunday, December 15 .
Advent begins Sunday December 1st.   

Advent Wreath Making: Sunday, December 1st  4:00 to 5:00 pm at St. John's Larchmont. Join parishioners from St. John's and All Saints', Harrison to learn about and create an advent wreath. Open to all ages; kids must be accompanied by adults. RSVP to Tami at associatestthomas@gmail.com .

#AdventWord

The 6 th through 8 th grade Sunday school classes at St. Thomas are encouraging St. Thomas members to participate in #AdventWord, a global online Advent calendar, sponsored by Virginia Theological Seminary. 

There are a few ways to do this. First, you can sign up at to receive a daily email with the word of the day as well as a visual and written meditation. Then if you are moved to respond, you can post to the AdventWord website or use the hashtag #AdventWord on whatever social media platform you use. 

Or, alternatively, you can post reflections on the St. Thomas Facebook or Instagram page or email them to Tami at associatestthomas@gmail.org and she will post them for you. We will also be printing them out and creating a bulletin board in the parish hall. Here is the list of the words for those of you who don’t want sign up for the daily email:  
To our Christmas Fair Volunteers

Setup of the booths for the Fair by David and his team of helpers
starts on Thursday, December 5 at 10:00 am.

On December 6, Friday morning, please come as close to 9:00 am as you can to help with bringing up merchandise from the basement to the hall so that it can be displayed in the booths. 

Drop off your baked goods on Friday from 9:00 am to late afternoon.

Saturday’s cleanup starts at 4:30 pm.

Thank you!
This year our live auction features a Berkey & Gay Furniture “Old Ironsides” Maple Table from 1929, with a carved U.S. frigate Constitution deck pine American eagle mounted on maple single-drawer front, the interior with metal certification plaque and metal Berkey & Gay tag, one of 100 made. 10 ½” length x 19” width x 18” height.
HANDEL'S MESSIAH


Tickets for Friday, December 13 at 7:30 pm at St. Thomas Church,
click HERE .

Tickets for Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 pm at St. Thomas Church,
click HERE .

Tickets for Sunday, December 15 at 4:00 pm at Christ's Church Rye,
click HERE .

You can also purchase tickets in the St. Thomas Church Office -
please call in advance for an appointment: (914) 698-0300.
Book Club
St. Thomas Book Club will meet to celebrate 2020 with a discussion of our own Solange DeSantis’ work, Life on the Line . Get reading, and join us on January 12 at 11:30 am in the Library.