Parish Weekly March 7, 2025

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.

Briefly Noted

Daylight Savings Time Reminder

Spring forward!

Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend. Don't forget to move your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night.

Rector's Note

Our Lenten program will be "Living Well through Lent 2025: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Heart, Soul, Strength and Mind" on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. over Zoom. You can pick up a daily devotion guide at either entrance of the church this Sunday or during the week. We will reflect on our experiences, practice, and learn in community. The classes will be held on Wednesdays, March 12, 19, 26, and April 2, 9. Please plan to read the daily devotions in order to participate in the class reflections, as we will be sharing our learnings that are directly associated with the daily practices. 

Please email me at Leslie@stthomasrochester.org if you would like to be included in the STC group.

Fellowship Ministry

Fiber Ministry 

The St. Thomas Fiber Ministry will meet on Tuesday, March 11, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the lounge.

We welcome anyone who enjoys knitting, crocheting, or sewing, and they need not be St. Thomas members. We welcome all skill levels and are keen to help each other expand our abilities. Our purpose in meeting together is to share fellowship and support.  

Throughout the year, we work on prayer shawls for those in need and baby blankets to be given at baptisms.

Bring whatever you are working on, either for donation or your own use, and enjoy refreshments and conversation. An RSVP is not necessary but would be appreciated for better planning.  

Carol Oldenburg & Jan Gates, Co-Chairs 

oldenburg.carol@gmail.com 

ladygates47@gmail.com

Children and Youth Ministry

Sunday School: God Helps Us Make Good Choices!

This Sunday is the first of six Sundays in the Lenten Season, as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter. We’ll continue to base our Sunday School sessions on one of the lessons used in the Sunday service, but at the appropriate level for young children. This week we’ll use the Gospel, in which Jesus is tempted in the wilderness—and what child (or adult!) doesn’t understand being tempted to do something they shouldn’t?

Our focus will be on God helping us make good choices, just as Jesus did!

Have questions about Sunday School or need further information? Please contact me!

Maggie Detty loganchem@aol.com

Attitude of Gratitude

Walking in Love with Jesus

I am grateful for the children in the Sunday School, who in February shared God’s love by making valentines for members of St. Thomas’ who can't come to church for a variety of reasons. We were able to send handmade valentines to thirteen parishioners! We have heard from several recipients, and they were delighted to have received them!

Thank you to the children for Walking in Love with Jesus through this activity!

Maggie Detty, Interim Children's Minister

Youth Group Helps Raise Funds for SMSJ Food Ministry

Many thanks to the Youth Group and Paula Gitlin for their leadership in November’s East Avenue Wegmans Grocery Run, an event that supports Rochester-area food pantries,

Gratitude is also extented to all parishioners who participated and/or donated funds. A total of $715 was raised, which supported St. Mark’s & St. John’s Episcopal Church on Culver Road, a designated food ministry for its neighborhood.

Columbarium Spaces Update

St. Thomas’ columbarium spaces in the Chapel are still available, however, due to space limitations, the forms have been removed from the CCB/STC site.

Parishioners interested in purchasing columbarium spaces for themselves or a loved one may schedule an appointment by contacting Antia Herring, Director of Finance & Administration, at finance@stthomasrochester.org or 585.442.3544 x 102.

Community Engagement News

Watch "The Philadelphia Eleven" Documentary on TV!

"The Philadelphia Eleven, a documentary on the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church, will be shown on WXXI-TV on Tuesday, March 18, at 9 p.m.

St. Thomas' hosted a special viewing of the documentary in 2023, just before the 50th anniversary of the women's ordination. If you missed the

viewing at St. Thomas', here's

an opportunity to catch it!

International Women's Day - March 8

Ascension Episcopal Church's Women Prayer Fellowship invites five women from St. Thomas' Episcopal Church to participate in the International Women's Day Celebration on March 8, at the Church of the Ascension, 2 Riverside Street.

Please contact Amma Leslie at leslie@stthomasrochester.org if you are interested in attending.

Brighton Food Cupboard Requests

March and April's donation needs for the Brightom Food Cupboard are pasta sauce and rice.

Girl Scout Cookie Sale at Hospitality Hour

Girl Scout Troop 60420 will be selling cookies at Hospitality Hour on Sunday, March 9 from 11 a.m. to noon. Donations may also be made for service members and veterans and are greatly appreciated. For more information, please contact Karrie Baumgartener at kitkillersp98@gmail.com.

Staff Update

Meet Amy Holowczenko, our new Communications & Reception staff member. Amy comes to us with a wealth of experience in communications and website design. Patrizia Corvaia will remain with us until the end of March to train Amy in process and procedures with all things communication oriented.

Amy will also serve as our Parish Office receptionist. She will answer phones and oversee some technical aspects of the Parish Office, while Anita will cover administrative duties like managing STC and calendar. 

To contact Amy or submit articles for the Parish Weekly, please email communications@stthomasrochester.org. 

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".