St. Thomas the Apostle eNewsletter

eNews

13 May 2011

Greetings!

St. Thomas the Apostle is an Episcopal Parish in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. We are called by God to be a holy place where love is found, where all are named and where hearts are freed to change the world.

St. Thomas has a great respect for both the rich liturgical heritage of the church and for living the message of social justice proclaimed by Jesus Christ. Whether you are young or old, gay or straight, single, married or in a relationship, female or male, poor or wealthy, you are welcome at St. Thomas just as you are...a child of God and an inheritor of God's grace.

Videos available

The most recent video is available at the Parish You Tube Channel:

110508 Easter III Sermon.mov

Rector's Corner

Dear Brothers & Sisters.

As I sit at my desk in the Rectory and having just returned from saying "the Office" (the posh name we use for all the 'offiicial' prayers of the Church (Mattins, Compline etc) and having celebrated Mass at my office desk (because there's a tremendous amount of filing going on in Church) I am reminded of the many occasions when Christians were (and are) unable to worship in our magnificent Church buildings (perhaps because of persecution, threatened violence or worse) and I said a quiet prayer for all those who cannot come to Church because of work commitments and other pressures. We are so very fortunate to have at STAH a truly beauitful building- please pray for those who have to worship in less salubrious surroundings. I hope and pray we make every effort and take every opportuinty to thank God for all the blessings He has granted us in His Divine Favour in this place.

I send my prayers and blessings,

ied sig

Fr Ian Elliott Davies

Concert May 15

Chamber Music May 15 Concert

A beautiful selection of Chamber Music featuring works by J.S. Bach, Geminiani, Handel, Casello and Vivaldi will be performed at St. Thomas the Apostle Church.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 4:00pm

Lucinda Carver, Harpsichord

Sue Feldman, Baroque Violin

Courtney Huffman, Soprano

Leif Woodward, Baroque Violoncello

Concert is FREE to the public with a $10 suggested donation

St. Dunstan - May 19

Dunstan (909 - 19 May 988) was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church.

Dunstan served as an important minister of state to several English kings. He was the most popular saint in England for nearly two centuries, having gained fame for the many stories of his greatness.

Dunstan went to Rome in 960, and received the pallium from Pope John XII. On his journey there, Dunstan's charities were so lavish as to leave nothing for himself and his attendants. His steward complained, but Dunstan seems to have suggested that they trust in Jesus Christ.

On his return from Rome, Dunstan at once regained his position as virtual prime minister of the kingdom. The monks in his communities were taught to live in a spirit of self-sacrifice, and Dunstan actively enforced the law of celibacy whenever possible. He forbade the practices of simony (selling ecclesiastical offices for money) and ended the custom of clerics appointing relatives to offices under their jurisdiction. Monasteries were built, and in some of the great cathedrals, monks took the place of the secular canons; in the rest the canons were obliged to live according to rule. The parish priests were compelled to be qualified for their office; they were urged to teach parishioners not only the truths of the Christian faith, but also trades to improve their position. The state saw reforms as well. Good order was maintained throughout the realm and there was respect for the law. Trained bands policed the north, and a navy guarded the shores from Viking raids. There was a level of peace in the kingdom unknown in living memory.

Another story relates how Dunstan nailed a horseshoe to the Devil's hoof when he was asked to re-shoe the Devil's horse. This caused the Devil great pain, and Dunstan only agreed to remove the shoe and release the Devil after he promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe is over the door. This is claimed as the origin of the lucky horseshoe.

Until Thomas Becket's fame overshadowed Dunstan's, he was the favourite saint of the English people. Dunstan had been buried in his cathedral; and when that building was destroyed by a fire in 1074, his relics were translated by Archbishop Lanfranc to a tomb on the south side of the high altar in the rebuilt Canterbury Cathedral.

Dunstan functions as the patron saint of goldsmiths and silversmiths, as he worked as a blacksmith, painter, and jeweller.St Dunstan's-the charity that provides support, rehabilitation, and respite care to blind ex-service personnel of the British Armed Forces-is named after him, as are many churches all over the world.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Communion mark his feast day on May 19.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.org

Seminary: Year 1 by Shireen Baker

First of all I would like to thank the parish of St. Thomas for being so supportive over this last year. I love my parish family so much and I miss you all dearly. You would think that the homesickness would have gone away by now, but I think I miss St. Thomas more now than ever. That being said, this year has been an amazing experience. I have learned more about myself and about the Episcopal Church on the whole than I ever thought possible. Academically life has been challenging but never more than I can handle. I remember being so afraid at the beginning of the first quarter of the dreaded exegesis, but to my surprise I truly enjoy researching and writing about scripture. I also took Greek the whole year, and this last quarter we translated 1 John and Philemon as well as part of the Didache. To finally be translating actual scripture is pretty fantastic.

I worked as an assistant to Dean Markham this year and one of the more interesting things I got to do was help him put together a book of sermons and lectures. The cool thing about that is that I will get an editors credit on the project. This last quarter I started my work as one of the school Sacristans. I am part of a team of 4 students who take care of all the worship services. This allows me to work closely with the entire faculty and any visiting clergy. I will continue to do this job for the next two years. I have also served on the Environmental Stewardship Committee and I helped do promotional work for the Conference on Ministry weekend (a big weekend when a lot of prospective students visit). Next year I will be on the Social Concerns Committee which does a lot of outreach.

I have also been very active in the Rosary Society. It is an Anglo-Catholic student run organization. One of the main things that the Rosary Society is responsible for is Holy Week. We help organize and run the Maundy Thursday and Easter Vigil services at the school. I was the MC for the Maundy Thursday service this year and was a sacristan and acolyte for the Easter Vigil service. I have just been elected Secretary General of the Rosary Society for next year. I'm excited for this leadership opportunity.

Parts of this year have been difficult. With the chapel burning down we have been worshiping in a temporary space and making that transition has been a challenge. An unforeseen challenge with my junior year has been going from participating in the Mass nearly every weekend to only two weeks this whole year. I did not realize how much I relied on being active in a liturgy for my spiritual health. This will not be a problem next year because I will be at my field education parish, Saint Mary's Arlington, every Sunday. I am really looking forward to being part of a parish again.

Over all, this year has been wonderful. I am looking forward to coming home at the end of the summer. I can't wait to see you all again. You have my love and are always in my prayers.

Shireen Ruth Baker

EDITORS NOTE: Next week Steve DeMuth writes about his experience. Both Shireen and Steve are Seminarians under the auspices of St. Thomas the Apostle. We regularly ask them to keep the Parish up-to-date on their experiences and are most grateful that they have done so!

The cost of seminary and the cost of books is funded in large part by the Seminarians themselves. Please consider donating to the St. Thomas Seminarian Scholarship fund which is split equally between active Seminarians. Contributions can be made by check or via PayPal at the St. Thomas website.

Friday the 13th