ENews Friday, May 3, 2024

Please join us for the Sixth Sunday of Easter this coming Sunday, May 5, at 10:00 AM.

Childcare will be provided, and all are welcome!

~Watch the Trailer~

The Philadelphia Eleven

Wednesday, May 8th at 7 pm

The exclusion of women from ordination and other church leadership roles made headlines earlier this summer when the Southern Baptist Convention banned women from the most senior leadership roles. Women in many parts of the Christian church continue a struggle for full inclusion in the sacraments and leadership of the church, a struggle that some women started 50 years ago.

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. Dr. Carter Heyward.

Community Service opportunity~tomorrow!

Saturday May 4th, 12:00 pm -5:00 pm 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.

~Carlotta Budd ~

Please follow the link below to read Carlotta Budd's obituary. Below is a paragraph that speaks to the woman she was.

Carlotta broke barriers and defied societal norms for women in her time. At the University of Maryland, one of her professors encouraged her to give up her pursuit of an accounting degree since “women did not make good accountants.” When Carlotta began applying to law firms after receiving her JD, many male interviewers asked her first, “Who will be taking care of your family if you’re working?” Tired of being asked the same irrelevant and sexist questions during each interview, she opened her own law firm in Madison, NJ. She quickly became a trusted businesswoman representing many local families and male-owned businesses. “She was a very talented lawyer with a fiercely bright mind.”

A service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, NJ, on Saturday, May 4th, at 10 a.m.

Live Streaming of this service at the link below.

There will also be a memorial service at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church at a later date.

Spring Parish Work Day!

Last Saturday, approximately 20 people showed up to work around the campus. Many thanks to all who were able to help out!

Pentecost Dinner Church!

Join us for a special Dinner Church and Pentecost celebration on Saturday, May 18th at 6pm!

Community Outreach Opportunities

Mission Box News

 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.

Child Care Volunteering Opportunity

We appreciate the artwork by our youngest parishioners! They talked about sharing food and made collages about the “Summer Grab ‘n Go” program we are supporting through our Mission Box. Contact Ann aedrysdale88@gmail.com if you’re able to be part of a rotation to spend the first half of our worship time with our children in the hall.

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 Tuesday, May 7th for our monthly meeting. This month we welcome our very own Berry McGeary and the Executive Director, Marcie Bergen, to join us to talk about Habitat for Humanity here in Seacoast New Hampshire.

Email Catherine Langellotti if you would like to join the meeting or learn more about Outreach at: wlangellotti@icloud.com 

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.

There will be no class on Thursday, May 23rd.

Another Opportunity to Serve in the St. Thomas' Lending Library!

Did your Star Word encourage you to get a bit more involved, to “expand?" Do you have only a bit of time to share? If you would enjoy overseeing our Lending Library collection in the Dallas Room, contact Catherine at wlangellotti@icloud.com for more details.

Visit our lending library in the near left corner of the Dallas Room. Stop in during office hours (9am-1pm) or during coffee hour and browse our collection. A sign-out sheet is on top of the bookcase. Would you like to donate books on spirituality or social justice, bible studies or prayer shawl knitting patterns? Leave those in the clear bin.

Participating in the Service ~ May 5th