GOOD NEWS MAY 2017 ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Of Thankfulness and Sabbatical Faithfully, The Reverend Loree Penner, Rector

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1 GOOD NEWS ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH Of Thankfulness and Sabbatical Faithfully, The Reverend Loree Penner, Rector MAY Providence Road Towson, MD In a less than a month, I will begin my sabbatical. I admit I am looking forward to it with great anticipation. However, this time away would not be possible without the generosity of so many in the parish. I don t know who you are, but I thank all of you who gave toward my sabbatical. I am amazed and humbled at the outpouring of funds. Last year the church applied for a sabbatical grant from the Lilly Foundation. We did not receive that, and to be honest, I was worried. I thought I might be spending three months mostly at home, which would have its own enjoyments. That was not meant to be, however. Thank you so much for allowing me this incredibly memorable summer. On May 25, Steve and I will leave for Montreal, where we will spend a couple of days exploring, and then catch a ship on the 27 th that will cruise down the St. Lawrence River. I spent many summers in parts of Canada, as my family fished and camped in a variety of places, but I have never seen Quebec. For Steve and I, this will be a second honeymoon after 33 years of marriage. We will travel down the St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia and the Maritimes, and end up in Boston. On June 13, we leave for Spain. My niece and her mother, a dear friend of ours, are meeting us there. We will fly to Madrid, and while there, go to the Corpus Christi Festival in Toledo. For Anglo Catholics and liturgical geeks like me, this is heaven on earth. The Corpus Christi (body of Christ) festivals in Spain are famous, and the Toledo one is the greatest of all. There is a procession of priests, bishops, and those in holy orders, all following an enormous monstrance that holds the Body of Christ, a very large communion wafer. In medieval times, when the poor were not worthy to take communion in church, there developed a tradition called Ocular Communion, in which people would receive the efficacy of Eucharist by gazing at the Host (wafer). This is why the host was elevated in the Eucharistic Prayer. It is also why festivals such as Corpus Christi came to be so that people could receive Christ through holy gazing. I am very excited about going to the festival as much as I hate crowds, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a great pilgrimage that fits with my love for liturgics and the sacraments. From there we will travel to Torremolinos, a small town on the Mediterranean. Our friend rented an apartment there, and it will be home base for about 10 days of relaxation and sightseeing in the province of Andalusia. I hear that going to Spain is a pilgrimage in itself. If one pays attention to the culture, it can change the way one lives. I hope it will teach me many things. In July, Steve will be working, and I will go on retreat, first at the Jesuit Center in Pennsylvania, and then up to Holy Cross Monastery in New York. Both are silent retreats; one with a Spiritual Director, and one without. While there, I will go visit my son David, who is currently in the Saratoga area, working on his qualifications as a nuclear engineer for the Navy. When I return home, another dear friend from California is visiting the East Coast for the first time, and boy do I have a lot to show her!

2 A MESSAGE FROM OUR 2 RECTOR, Continued In August, Steve and I will travel to the West to see family and friends, in Albuquerque, Denver, and California. We ll enjoy the hot, dry climates, our friend s pool, and spending time with people we see once every year or so. I will return to work on August 27. Again, I cannot thank you enough for this opportunity to rest, and re-create. Both Bishops tell me that I will feel differently about ministry, and see things differently when I return. After 13 years of ministry, I look forward to good things that God will teach me while I am away. You are in good hands. Jan and Vern will take good care of the parish, as they have over the last two years. The Vestry is an amazing group of people. Jill runs the office like clockwork, and is there to help you in any way she can. And Fr. Ron Fisher is a wonderful pastor and preacher. With Tuesdays at Tom s, VBS, and National Night Out, there will be fun activities along with great services on Sunday. Be well, love God, and do the work of ministry. You are loved. Faithfully, Rev. Loree

3 A MESSAGE FROM OUR SENIOR WARDEN, Jan Bahner 3 Finally! Spring feels as if it s here to stay! We saw some old friends and met some new ones during a busy Holy Week and a glorious Easter celebration. We also said goodbye to a long time parishioner, Virginia Williams. Through the sad times and times of celebration, we came together to worship and provide support to each other. I love being part of this church family! For those of you whom we don t see as often as we d like, my invitation for rides to church or visits from our family was sincere. Please reach out and let us know how we can support you. As Rev. Loree+ prepares to leave on her sabbatical at the end of May, the wardens and vestry members are preparing to fill in on her duties to support our parishioners. The Rev. Ron Fisher will be with us on Sunday mornings. We welcome him to our worship. He will also be available for any funerals (we re not planning on having any!) and weddings (none scheduled until Rev. Loree+ returns). The Rev. Charlie Barton will be available to us on Fr. Ron s Sunday off. The Pastoral Care Team will be handling all visitations. If you d like to join the existing team and make some summer visits, please let me know! We ask that you notify the church office of any needs that you may have during this time. Rev. Loree+ sees who s not in church on Sunday. She has the best view of the congregation! If you know someone is missing, please check on him or her. A phone call doesn t take much time and is always welcome when it comes from your Christian love. For any administrative questions, I will be available. I ll also be available to discuss any concerns that might arise during this time, and welcome hearing about how you and the church are doing, and about summer vacations. We re planning a Bon Voyage party for Rev. Loree+ and our Deacon Intern, Jo Leslie on Sunday, May 21 st, following the 9:30 service. It should be a great time of fellowship as we send them both off to new adventures! Stay tuned for more details coming in the weekly s and bulletins. We re working on a monthly fellowship activity to bring us all together on a more regular basis, hopefully in June. We ll be announcing more in the June Good News. We re planning fun activities for the summer! Mark your calendars now for Tuesdays at Tom s in July (details elsewhere in this issue of the Good News) St. Thomas Community Fair for National Night Out from 7-9pm on August 1 st with the Cockeysville Precinct of the Baltimore County Police Department Vacation Bible School from August 7th-10 th. VBS is not just for the kids! Look for details in the June Good News. And if you need a ride, please let Jill know by calling the church office! Looking forward to a fun summer here at St. Thomas and wishing Rev. Loree+ a restful sabbatical! Peace, Jan Bahner sr. Warden

4 A MESSAGE FROM OUR JUNIOR WARDEN, Vernon Adams 4 Having some nice Spring weather not too chilly with some April showers thank you LORD! I would like to update all on the current status of our Patio modification plans: 1. Carroll Landscaping (Carroll county) 2. Maxalea Landscaping and Nursery (Balto. county) 3. National Tree Service (Balto. county) Each of the landscaping teams have visited our location and have made very attractive proposals. Although, National Tree Service (3) has submitted an equally attractive (and very low) bid we have decided not to engage them since we would be their first large scale project of this type. As an aside their separate proposal, for removing the two large oak trees (ivy infested and dead) adjacent to Providence road and one (1) large Holly Tree which is also heavily infested with Ivy, will be reviewed separately. Our vestry has selected the Maxalea proposal, and hope to begin the work in late May. In last month s Good News we mentioned that all care to preserve the original intent of the patio would be paramount in the design of the modifications. Today I can assure you that, in addition to eliminating the problem with the collapsing wall, you will be very pleased with the outcome. Also on our schedule was to re-stripe our parking lots, upper and lower, on or about April 8 th. Since the upcoming Flea Market, April 29 th, and our Fun With Foreign Language classes create some scheduling/parking problems we will delay that already approved effort to early June when FWFL classes are in recess. Lynch Associates, our grass/lawn contractor, continues to help us with some of the overgrowth removal around the church property. With his help and on our next work day (May 13 th ) we will concentrate on the area immediately to the right of the Church entrance. A detailed report on our Flea Market will be provided in the next Good News. Submitted, Vern Adams, Jr. Warden

5 5 THE VESTRY CORNER! From Our Senior Warden At our April 9 th meeting, the Vestry discussed the following: 1. Status of selecting a contractor to replace the retaining wall at the end of the patio 2. Progress report on Small Groups recommendation to limit the number of new small groups added in September and add a monthly fellowship brunch. See Rev. Loree+ if you have ideas you ve not yet shared. 3. Progress report on a Mobile Food Ministry recommendation to start small. Details need to be sorted yet. If you have ideas to share, please see Amy Shimonkivitz. Both items #2 & 3 will be further discussed at the May meeting with the Blue Horizon Team. 4. Funding for Rev. Loree s+ sabbatical Laura Doles reported that Rev. Loree s sabbatical has been fully funded from your generous donations. Thank you! 5. Finance Committee due to the resignations of two members of the Finance Committee, we discussed whom we might ask to Chair this committee and to participate. This is a vital committee to our church! Please consider volunteering if you have any finance background, skills or interest. Your church needs you!!! Respectfully, Jan Bahner Sr. Warden

6 6 WORSHIP TEAM JO LESLIE S ORDINATION SAVE THE DATE! You are invited! Jo Leslie, Deacon Intern, is to be ordained to the Diaconate at 11:00 a.m. on June 10th at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Everyone at St. Thomas' is invited to share in the celebration. The formal invitation will be in the June Good News. SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE 4:30 pm every Sunday: Evening Song a short, simple liturgy of contemporary music, prayers, scripture and Eucharist. If you have trouble getting to the morning service because of work or children s activities, come join us for Evening Song. We will spend about 30 minutes together singing, praying, and sharing communion. ALTAR GUILD Dedications can be made in memory of a loved one, a celebration for a birthday or anniversary, or in thanksgiving of a person or an event. The following dedications can be reserved for the month of May: * Wine * Wafers * Branch Candles * Eucharist Candles * Sanctuary Candle The cost of each dedication is $25. Please contact Diane Flayhart, or dflayhart.stthomas@gmail.com, or the church office, , if you are interested in making a dedication. Thank you.

7 7 STEWARDSHIP TEAM CRAFTY ELVES Tis the Season to start thinking about what crafts project you want to work on over the summer for the crafts table at this year s Christmas Bazaar. Whatever it is you like to do beading, jewelry making, woodworking, Mod Podging (is that even a word?), leatherworking, mosaics, clay & pottery, drawing & painting, candles, floral arranging, knitting, crochet, cardmaking, sewing & quilting, you name it -- if you have a passion for it, the Crafty Elves have a place for it. And don t feel limited to a Christmas theme people need crafts to brighten their lives not just at Christmas, but all year round. If each person who has a hobby they love would make just one item to donate to the Church for the Bazaar, what an amazing display of the talents of St. Thomas we ll have come December! MINISTRY AND MISSION TEAM THANKS FROM LOCH RAVEN NETWORK On behalf of the Loch Raven Network, I would like to thank the congregation of St. Thomas for your generosity and efforts in collecting gift cards for our Spring Break Drive. Your cards will be given to homeless students and their families at Loch Raven High School. Because of your contribution, we were able to increase the amount given to each family from $100 to $125. During this long break, assistance for food is welcomed by these students and families. Caryn Putchat, the social worker, and other school staff are also deeply grateful for the sustained contributions of St. Thomas Church to our programs. Your commitment has been wonderful! All good wishes, Laurie Taylor-Mitchell President, Loch Raven Network

8 8 CHRISTIAN STITCHIN MINISTRY AND MISSION TEAM The nimble fingers of Christian Stitchin' (and the humans to which they are attached) will next meet at Church of the Holy Comforter on Saturday, May 20th at 10:00am. No experience? No problem! All skill levels are welcome. Contact Beth Crosby with questions or queries at or TUESDAY TOMS Mark your calendars now for Fellowship in July! We will be having a fellowship evening on Tuesdays in July with dinner and a fun activity (see list below). The dozen or so who attended last year had a wonderful time, but we missed sharing our fun with those who didn t make it. So we re announcing early this year! Don t drive at night? Not a problem. Let Jill know and we ll arrange for a ride! Tuesday, July 11 th Game Night hosted by Chon and Jessica Winger with food coordinated by Debbie Hood. Tuesday, July 18 th - Trivia Night hosted by Beth Crosby and Donna Lettow with food coordinated by Jan Bahner. Tuesday, July 25 th Movie Night hosted by Jill Dumser and Keith Payne with food coordinated by Amy Shimonkevitz. Dinner will begin at 6:30 with the evening s activity to follow. Hope to see you there!

9 9 WOODBOURNE CENTER OUTREACH It s May, and that means summer is right around the corner and it s time to collect gift cards for the boys of the Woodbourne Center to use for summer activities. There will be a donation box in the Narthex during the month of May to collect gift cards, minimum of $10, or money if you d rather we purchased the cards for you, for the following: AMF Bowling Movie Theaters Regal, Loews or AMC Dick s Sporting Goods Rita s Italian Ice Autobahn Indoor Speedway, 8415 Kelso Drive, Essex, MD ( The M&M Team and the Woodbourne Center thank you in advance for your generous support! Questions? Contact Diane Flayhart, dflayhart.stthomas@gmail.com, or PET MINISTRY The Pet Ministry is excited to have successfully kicked off the Kibble Connection program at our April 29th Flea Market! Thanks to everyone who contributed! If you weren't able to make it and would like to make a donation, please contact Jill at stthomastowson@gmail.com or She will be thrilled to make arrangements to accept your donations. August is the Pet Ministry's next BIG month! To start with we'll have a donation table at our National Night Out event on Tuesday, August 1st. Then, throughout the month, we'll have other pet friendly activities. We're looking for other pet lovers who want to share their ideas and get involved. We have short term and long term opportunities, so don't hesitate to inquire. We'll find something that satisfies you! If you would like to get involved, please contact Jill Dumser in the office at or by , stthomastowson@gmail.com. Pet Fact of the Month: Chase that tail! Dogs chase their tails for a variety of reasons: curiosity, exercise, anxiety, predatory instinct or, they might have fleas! If your dog is chasing his tail excessively, check him or her closely and talk with your vet about any concerns.

10 10 NATIONAL NIGHT OUT (NNO) National Night Out (NNO) Planning is underway! Please join us on June 5th, at 6:30pm, in the Fellowship Hall to share ideas and hear what we're planning for National Night Out! This is a national community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. St. Thomas' will be hosting this event in partnership with the Baltimore County Police Department -Precinct 7, Cockeysville on August, 1, This will be a fair with food, music, child and adult activities, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits, donation booths, and fellowship! ST. THOMAS BLOOD DRIVE, MAY Hearty thanks to all of you who so generously donated blood to the American Red Cross in January. Your gift of life is invaluable. The next blood drive will be May 14 20, 2017, and, as usual, it will NOT be held at the church. You just need to sign up to give blood at any of the local donor centers during a time that is convenient for you during that week. For your information, the two donor centers closest to St. Thomas are: Timonium Donor Center White Marsh Donor Center 2405 York Road, Suite Sandpiper Court, Suite 118 Lutherville, MD Baltimore, MD Call RED CROSS ( ) to schedule your life-saving blood donation today! PASTORAL CARE A Little Birdie Told Me..The Pastoral Care Folks would like to know when you or your fellow parishioners are sick, ill, or have something to celebrate, and you are the little birdies! We need your help! Rev. Loree+ is very busy on a Sunday morning and sometimes people mention to her that they have upcoming surgery or something that needs prayers. She does a good job of remembering, but occasionally there are just too many requests to remember them all. The Pastoral Care Group would like for you to call the Church office or contact Betty Wilson, or oomawilson11@gmail.com. We need all the Lil Birdies to chirp to us so we can visit or send cards. Please help by being one of our birdies!

11 14 Mother s Day MAY Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9:30am Worship 10:30am Forum 11am Vestry Meeting 11:30am City Light 4:30pm Worship 9:30am Worship 11:30am City Light 2pm Sudanese 4:30pm Worship 21 9:30am Worship 10:30am Bon Voyage Party! 11:30am City Light 4:30pm Worship 28 9:30am Worship 11:30am City Light 4:30pm Worship Memorial Day 30 6:30pm EfM 6:30pm EfM 6:30pm EfM 6:30pm EfM 6:30pm EfM 3 7pm City Light Music 10 7pm City Light Music 17 7pm City Light Music 7pm Johns Hopkins Parkinson s Support Group 24 7pm City Light Music 31 7pm City Light Music 4 7:30pm Music Practice 11 1:30pm Johns Hopkins Parkinson s Support Group 7pm Chatterleigh Association 7:30pm Music Practice 18 7:30pm Music Practice 25 Rev. Loree Departs on Sabbatical 2pm Johns Hopkins Parkinson s Support Group 7:30pm Music Practice 5 7pm AA Meeting 12 Diocesan Convention 7pm AA Meeting 19 7pm AA Meeting 26 7pm AA Meeting 6 13 Diocesan Convention 3pm Private Party (FH) 20 10am Christian Stitchin (Holy Comforter_ 27