ST. THOMAS LIFELINES VOLUME 26, NO. 3 MARCH 2019 Dear St. Thomas family, We have begun to explore in our Sunday adult forum the seven practices of the Episcopal Church s Way of Love. The first of these practices is turn. We are invited to pause, listen, and choose to follow Jesus. (www.episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/turn) The designers of this program of practices was wise to start with turn, and in some ways this practice underpins the other six and is probably the practice that requires, well, the most practice. For me, the parts of this turn practice (pause, listen, and choose to follow Jesus) are the way toward discernment of our calling and purpose in life. Turning is also a practice that we never grow out of or somehow mature enough to no longer need to repeat. Every day of our lives is filled with choices and decisions that will set the course for the rest of our days. Pausing and listening before we choose seems like excellent advice, giving us a chance to remember that we are foremost followers of Jesus and members of the body of Christ. As a living congregation of the Church that Jesus calls into being, we celebrate and make holy the practice of turning especially in our sacrament of baptism. When a candidate is presented, before we actually bless the water and pour it over the new member, we ask a series of questions known as The Examination of the Candidate. The fourth of these questions is do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior? The other questions are also really about turning away from those things that would lead us away from God, as well as turning toward Jesus and following in his Way of Love. The season of Lent, which is fast approaching, is a season of turning pausing, listening, and choosing all over again, to follow Jesus. You probably already know that Lent is a time when we are supposed to do some self-examination, get serious about prayer, and seek God s forgiveness and mercy. You would not be wrong to say that these are things we should do throughout the year and throughout our lives. Lent does however, give us a season when we can all get in sync and practice repentance, which is a fancy church word for turning. I propose that as Lent approaches, we consider planning for it to be a time to be aware that we are each daily called to turn, and we should be aware that we are not alone in our need to turn. I pray that you will join us for adult forum after coffee hour where we are exploring The Way of Love, and discover though the practices we discuss, practical ways that you might turn and follow Jesus. Or you are very welcome to join us on Wednesday evenings at 6 for our annual Lenten Koinonia series. This year we will be using the Society of St. John the Evangelist s five-week course, It s time to Stop, Pray, Work, & Love. We will be meeting each week beginning March 13 (see inside this Lifelines for more details). I hope you are able to join us for one of these opportunities to take some time to listen, to be heard, and to choose to follow Jesus all over again. May your Lent be blessed, Mark
MARCH 2019 ST. THOMAS LIFELINE S PAGE 2 Trex Recycling News Congratulations and many thanks for all who have supported the Trex recycling program. As of January, we have met our goal of 500 LBS of recyclables! The vestry is looking over the options for which color would compliment the garden landscape, and the bench should arrive by springtime! We can begin our collection for another bench on March 1. In the meantime, our February donations have gone towards Nathan Pasciak s school (CPS), as they are collecting plastics to reach their Bench Goal. Reminder: only those plastics listed on the poster/flyer (located in parish hall) are acceptable. Back Pack News The Back Pack program continues to serve the Christiansburg community. Here are some interesting numbers provided by Ms. Fentress: Per Week: 61 Bags distributed to CPS students 67 Bags distributed to CES students Each bag contains 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 snacks, 1 juice From September through December: 12,288 meals, 496 snacks, and 2048 juice boxes have been distributed. Volunteers are needed for another St. Thomas Packing Party scheduled for Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 PM on the Ignite Campus. Anyone interested in helping please see Danielle Bland. Lenten Service Project St Thomas would like to help the residents at English Meadows celebrate Easter. Starting March 9 th, we will begin to collect monetary donations that will go towards purchasing small gifts to fill residents' "Easter Baskets". The Church Upstairs will decorate the "Easter Baskets" throughout the Lenten season. On April 27th, we will go to English Meadows, give out the gifts, have a small service and then will help the residents with a small spring activity. We would like to have as many people from St. Thomas as possible come along and help fill the resident s hearts with Easter Love. If you would like to make a monetary donation, place your check or money in the collection plate, clearly marked "English Meadows" in the subject line for a check and on an envelope for cash. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Susan Bathgate or Jacquie for more information. Koinonia Koinonia is our annual Lenten time to gather for a simple dinner and bible study. We meet weekly on Wednesday evenings from 6-8pm starting Wednesday, March 13. The evening starts with a simple dinner of soup and bread. This year s hosts are Lynn and Charlie Straub at 1896 Mud Pike Rd. in Christiansburg. Look for signups for soup, bread, appetizers, and dessert on the door in the parish hall and on the website. This year s bible study will again use the Society of Saint John the Evangelist s program, It s Time to Stop, Pray, Work, Play & Love. The series will focus on our use of time and on how we might take time to pray, work, love, and pray. So much of our stress and anxiety derives from our pollution of Time. God has given us the gift of time, and called it holy, yet we often experience time as a curse. Recapture time as a gift and discover how to experience the joy of the present moment. SSJE, It s time to...stop, Pray, Work, & Love Lenten Quiet Day The Ann Frances Chapter of the Daughters of the King is hosting a Lenten Quiet Day on Saturday, March 16th, from 8:45am to 1pm. Fr. Mark will be the leader and celebrant. The theme of the quiet day is Love Bade Me Welcome : The Poetry of George Herbert. A luncheon of soup and bread will follow the Eucharist. Please call the church office to make a lunch reservation. For more information, please contact Mary Stuart Cosby, 381-0374. All are welcome to attend! Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper The men of St. Thomas will be hosting the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on March 5, from 6-8pm. The signup sheet to volunteer to help and for food contributions is on the door of the parish hall and on our website. For more information, please contact Scott Farmer. Ash Wednesday Services March 6th 10:30 am and 7pm
MARCH 2019 ST. THOMAS LIFELINE S PAGE 3 Birthdays 6 Jenny Stalvey 13 Jim Chamberlain 16 Kathy Pollard 19 Gail Gibson Madison Greene 22 Amy Pollard Shirley Sparrow 29 Joe Painter 30 Sarah Farmer Blessings Box A Blessings Box is now installed in front of the Church. This is a resource for the community. You are invited to leave or take an item of food or a book. Please be sure canned food donations have a pull top. Thanks to Swinfen for making the Box. ERD SUNDAY March 10 Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners are grateful and proud to work on behalf of all Episcopalians for lasting change around the world. Thanks to the compassion and faithful support of everyone, ERD is able to facilitate healthier, more fulfilling lives in communities struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster, and disease. They are leveraging the resources of their Anglican and ecumenical partners to deliver measurable and sustainable change in their three signature priorities: Women, Children, and Climate. Please support this work by contributing on ERD Sunday (March 10) or mailing a gift. Donations are a simple wat to help convey Jesus love for our global neighbors. Together, we are making a vital difference for families and communities worldwide. For more information about the work of Episcopal Relief & Development, visit their website: www.episcopalrelief.org. Blood Drive Our February Red Cross Blood Drive was a big success! We had 29 people come in to donate and collected 24 units doubling our amount from our fall blood drive! We plan to host blood drives about every four months. Our next one will be Saturday, June 8th. We will be looking for a couple of volunteers to help out at our next drive. More details will be available closer to the blood drive. Contact Susan Bathgate for more information. St. Thomas People Congratulations! Ella Grace Louderback, 8lbs 2.5oz born February 28, 2019. Daughter of Olivia and Brett Louderback and Granddaughter of Lora Beeken. Do you have news to share? We d love to hear from you weddings, births, graduations, new jobs, moving, etc. 2017 RealLifeAtHome.com
MARCH 2019 ST. THOMAS LIFELINE S PAGE 4 Servers for MARCH Area of 6 Service 3 ASH 10 17 24 31 WEDNESDAY Acolytes S Macaela C-Sara Stauffer S-Cameron C-Casey S-Uche C-Dara Ndem S-Casey C-Cameron S-Akan Ndem C-Amara S-Cameron C-Casey Altar Guild Lora Beeken Judy Koland Lora Beeken Judy Koland Jacquie Gail Leist Jacquie Gail Leist Kathy Pollard Lynn Straub Kathy Pollard Lynn Straub Announcements Harvey Leist Jeff Pasciak Joanne Stauffer Joe Straub Val Tweedie Chalice Bearer Rachel Morgante- Mark Priest Danielle Bland Carol Cummings Judy Koland Rebecca Mays Cleaning Crews Cleaning Service The Miller Family Cleaning Service Lora Beeken Danielle Bland Liz Swinfen Scott Farmer Mark Priest Coffee Hour Lay Reader Rebecca Mays Bonnie Smas Jennifer Miller Rachel Morgante- Barbara Piersol Gwynn Polidoro Mark Priest Amy Frazier Bridget Miller Tom Bernard Emily Marx Judy Koland Nursery Sarah Farmer Marie Painter Natalie Miller Amara Marie Painter Sara Stauffer Dara Ndem Uche Macaela Ushers Francis & Janet Webster Mark Miller Seth Sarah Farmer Scott Farmer Gwynn Polidoro Mark Priest Francis & Janet Webster Backpack Program In February we collected 25 boxes of granola bars and 15 boxes of fruit cups. Donations can be left in the box in the parish hall. The first Sunday of every month is FOOD BANK SUNDAY. In February, 66 items were taken to the food bank. The next Food Bank Sunday is March 3rd. HELP WANTED! As you can see from the schedule above, there are a lot of ways to serve St. Thomas. But there are a few groups that are in much need of volunteers. Nursery Workers-especially adults Altar Guild Members Ushers Please consider joining these or any of the other groups. Contact Jenny Stalvey to find out more about each group or to sign up to help out!
MARCH 2019 ST. THOMAS LIFELINE S PAGE 5 MARCH 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 The Last Sunday after the Epiphany Hospitality & Food Bank Sunday 10am Holy Eucharist; Church Together 11:15am Refreshments & Fellowship 11:30am Choir Rehearsal 4 5 6pm Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper 6 7pm Ash Wednesday Service 7 8 9 10 The 1st Sunday Lent 10am Holy Eucharist; Church Upstairs 11 12 13 6pm Koinonia 14 15 16 8:45am Lenten Quiet Day 17 The 2nd Sunday Lent Loose Plate Offering~Rector s Discretionary 10am Holy Eucharist & Healing Rail; Church Upstairs 12pm Vestry 18 19 20 6pm Koinonia 21 10:15am Daughters Of the King 22 23 24 The 3rd Sunday Lent 10am Holy Eucharist; Church Upstairs 25 26 27 6pm Koinonia 28 29 30 31 The 4th Sunday Lent 10am Holy Eucharist; Church Upstairs OHY: Open Heart Yoga NA: Narcotics Anonymous Rev. Mark s Office Hours are on Thursdays 4:30 6:30 HE&HS: Holy Eucharist & Healing Service UNRV-WG: Unity Women s Group
ST. THOMAS LIFELINE S St. Thomas Episcopal Church 103 East Main St. Christiansburg, VA 24073 540-382-4365 mysthomasoffice@yahoo.com http://www.stthomaschristiansburg.dioswva.org/