St. Thomas' Tidings
WE WELCOME all who enter these doors, especially those who enter for the first time or after a long absence. May this place be like home to you!
Join us today for refreshments in Parish Hall following the 9:30 Eucharist.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
Monday 9 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday – Thursday 9a.m.- 3:00 p.m.
Office closed on Friday.
NURSERY CARE is available for pre-Sunday-School-age children. Please ask an usher for directions. Parents of infants are invited to use the chapel if privacy is desired during the worship service.
PEOPLE are available in the Chapel at Holy Communion to pray with you about any need or thanksgiving.
NEXT SUNDAY
• Jeremiah 18:1-11
• Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
• Philemon 1-21
• Luke 14:25-33
Bible Study 10:45 a.m. Wednesdays, reviewing the next Sunday’s readings. Please note time change.
LABOR DAY FAMILY PICNIC Monday, Sept. 6th, 5 p.m. @ the Rockport Boat Club. All parishioners are invited to this annual St. Thomas’ event. Please mark your calendars! Hosts John Doncaster and Frank Beane will provide burgers, dogs & the ‘fixings’. They ask each family to bring a ‘pot luck’ salad or dessert to share, plus their own beverages, plates & utensils. A voluntary $5 per adult contribution will be requested (kids eat free!) supplementing sponsor donations to cover event costs. As we did last year we hope to generate an event surplus for donation to a charity designated by the kids. Please use sign up sheets located in the sun room & church entrance so that an accurate count can be made for food.
-Frank Beane.
SAINTS: 8/29: John Bunyan, writer, 1688. 8/30: Charles Chapman Grafton, Bishop of Fon du Lac, 1912. 8/31, Aidan and Cuthbert, Bishops of Lindisfarne, 651, 684. 9/1: David Pendleton Oakerhater, Deacon and Missionary, 1931. 9/2: The Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942. Prudence Crandall, Teacher and Prophetic Witness, 1890. 8/4: Paul Jones, 1941. Here we have a widely assorted cloud of witnesses, most of whom suffered in one way or another for their witness to Jesus Christ where he came to them. John Bunyan, known best for his Pilgrim’s Progress, was a nonconformist preacher, jailed after the Stuart restoration, because he didn¹ t have Anglican Orders and so was not permitted to preach. Grafton was a follower of the Oxford movement , and an upholder of its brand of churchmanship in the teeth of howls of protest from the House of Bishops. He founded the Sisters of the Holy Nativity and was instrumental in establishing a Benedictine monastery in the area. Aidan, trained in Iona, brought Christianity to northern England and his successor Cuthbert continued his work although he had to relinquish some aspects of Celtic Christianity at the Synod of Whitby and served as a healer of the breach at that time. Oakerhater was a Cheyenne Indian who was imprisoned for leading his tribe in war against the US forces. Converted in prison, he came back to his people as a missionary and was known as God’s Warrior. The Martyrs of New Guinea were 8 missionaries and 2 Papuans who were betrayed to the invading Japanese by non-Christian natives. Crandall, a Quaker, tried to start a school in 1833 for blacks in Connecticut but was forced to close the school by State law. And finally, Paul Jones was Missionary Bishop of Utah at the time of the outbreak of WW I. He was an ardent pacifist, claiming war was unchristian. He was forced to resign his see, one more martyr to prejudice, but a witness to peace, Christ as he saw him. -Sue Voorhies
COFFEE HOUR HOSTS, on Sunday mornings are needed. Sign-up sheets are on the table in the sun room. Become a part of this important hour of fellowship following the 9:30 a.m. service.
TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL we begin work on a new pageant for the fall, to be written & created by our students! We will also learn about the work of Midcoast Habitat for Humanity, and make plans for our upcoming Labor Day picnic. Please join us in Sunday School – all children are always welcome.-Manette Pottle
THE ANNUAL ST. THOMAS’ AUCTION is set for October 3. Last year the Auction was dependent on a very few generous donors who between them gave about 75% of the items sold. If you know of someone, perhaps someone who is downsizing, who has a number of items they would like to contribute to the auction, we would be very grateful, since we need 100 – 120 items to make the auction a success. And, of course, we need good quality items from everyone—-antiques, furniture, pictures, silver, jewelry, quilts, rugs. We will be happy to pick up if you can’t get the item to the church yourself. I will be away August 19 – September 15, so please call Evie Bridges at 594-5975 if you have items you would like to contribute.-John Doncaster
EfM PROGRAM INSPIRES US-Education for Ministry (EfM) is a rich and enjoyable seminar experience because it is the study of Scripture, Church History, and Theology. It starts in September. For more info, contact Rosalee Glass, 236-0656 or rosalee.glass@myfairpoint.net, or leave your name with the St. Thomas’ office stthoscamden@roadrunner.com 236-3680