ENews April 12, 2024

Please join us for the 3rd Sunday of Easter this coming Sunday, April 14th, at 10:00 AM.

Childcare will be provided, and all are welcome!

Tomorrow, approximately five St. Thomas' members will be walking in the 41st annual Red's Road Race in Dover. And it's not too late to consider joining them! It is a 2.4 mile walk and the weather should clear! There is also a 5 mile race if you would rather test yourself at that distance. Proceeds of the race goes to the Seymour Osman Community Center and the Woodman Park School PTO. For more information or to register use this link.

Another Dinner Church Opportunity!

Please join us for a Dinner Church gathering, a simple meal and the Holy Eucharist, Saturday, April 20th, from 6:00-7:30pm.

Spring Parish Work Day!

You too could use this wonderful tool to help clean our sanctuary if you join us on Saturday, April 27th anytime between 9 am and 3 pm. If this tool intimidates you there are lots of other tasks that can be done around our campus. Lunch will be provided and your volunteer time could be for one hour or all six! For questions see Kevin Gorham or email him.

Notes from your Treasurer

1) We will be processing your informational contribution statements at the end of summer and early December this year. You will also receive a statement in early January 2025 for tax purposes. However, you may request a statement at any time and I will happily print one for you.  Processing statements is a lot of paper and postage and we are trying to be good stewards of our money and natural resources.

2) For any contributions coming in anonymously - if you would like a tax donation statement please contact one of the officers of the church. You can receive a tax letter upon request and we will keep your information confidential.

3) The Diocese wants to remind you if you are making an anonymous contribution of stock to St. Thomas' through the Diocese that you contact them to let them know. In order to process the donation, the Diocese will need to know for which parish the stock transfer belongs and your name. That information will be held in confidence.

We are grateful for all of the donations and to be able to do so much good work in our parish and community as well as making the improvements and maintenance of our buildings.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact me at 207-432-2034 or kywolterbeek@gmail.com.  

The Philadelphia Eleven

Save the date!

Wednesday, May 8th at 7 pm

In 1974, there was a dramatic breakthrough of the so-called stained glass ceiling that gave hope to Christian women everywhere. At a church in Philadelphia, a group of eleven women were ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in violation of the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church – which at the time stated that only men were eligible for ordination. This story is told in a compelling new documentary The Philadelphia Eleven.

This feature documentary film will screen in Ervin Hall on Wednesday, May 8th at 7 pm. After the screening, there will be a Zoom call with one of the eleven, Rev. Carter Heyward. Look for further information coming soon.

Community Outreach Opportunities

Service opportunity!

Saturday May 4th, 9:00 am -3:00 pm (exact time to be determined) in Ervin Hall:

Come and join a healthy dry meals packing project sponsored by Dover Rotary Club. The company we are working with is "The Outreach Program". To read about the work they do, visit https://www.outreachprogram.org.

St. Thomas’ will need a team of about 10 volunteers to work alongside the Rotary team to finish the task in a few hours.

They plan to assemble and distribute about more than 1,600 meal packages (each feeds 4 - 6 people) through this effort.

These meals will be distributed to the food pantries in our area and have a shelf life of more than 2 years. I personally stored a sample meal for a year in my pantry and then cooked and ate it. It was terrific!

In order to sign up, use the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A054BAFAA28A3FE3-48913316-dover

For more information, contact Kathy Fink at pianotchr2@gmail.com.

Mission Box News

Last Quarter, your generosity raised over $1000 for the Waypoint Teen Center in Rochester. Thank you all!

 Our April - June recipient of the Mission Box is Summer Grab 'n Go, an organization that coordinates, makes and delivers food for the children of Dover during the summer months. For more information find them on Facebook or email them at dovergrabandgo@gmail.com

Dover Food Pantry

Non-perishable foods, personal care products, and paper goods donations for the Dover Food Pantry are always welcome. Place them in the shopping basket at the back of the church.

Outreach Committee

Join us on Zoom at 7 p.m the second Tuesday of the month for our monthly meeting. Email Catherine if you would like to join the meeting or learn more about Outreach at: wlangellotti@icloud.com 

Where is your Star Word?

One of our parishioners has taken on the church's star word of "EXPAND" and attended an information session on housing the unsheltered. How might you be EXPANDING your horizons and reaching out to others with God' love for the world?

How is your star word guiding or influencing you this year? If you feel so moved, please send a picture and/or jot down some thoughts and send them to the office, Rev. Sue and/or Kirsten Gowdy.

Chair Yoga

Join us to find an oasis of peace in your week.

“If you can breathe, you can do Yoga.”

Thursdays, Ervin Hall, 11:15-noon

Contact Catherine at wlangellotti@icloud.com.

Lectionary Study

Wednesdays at noon ~ Zoom

Lectionary Study resumes this coming week on April 10th at 12:00. Join by clicking the link below:

Participating in the Service ~ April 14th