“No Man is an Island” -John Donne

The title is a quote from a Poem by John Donne. It speaks against isolationism, which due to COVID we’ve had to isolate and quarantine, and this has affected the surrounding area churches like no one could imagine. At St. Thomas we feel as though we have lost touch not just with surrounding ministries, but with also our sister Episcopal churches. Everyone has been in a sort of survival mode, and concerned with self-preservation, and we are not the only ones.

Many years ago, there used to be an Episcopal church collective, where the surrounding Episcopal churches in the Hudson Valley would be part, and they would exchange priests every third Sunday, everyone would know what events each church was having, and most importantly in the eyes of the parishioners, we would have events, particularly an annual Picnic, where we would have great fellowship among MANY congregations. It was founded and run by our very own Rev. David Stanway, who we shared with St. Mark’s in Fort Montgomery, but since his retirement in early 2000s it disappeared, and as generations aged and passed, or grew up and went to college, there’s been a great disconnect.

We’ve also been in fellowship with the Local Lutheran churches, Christ Lutheran in Newburgh and King of Kings in New Windsor, having an annual Thanksgiving Eve Ecumenical Service, but since COVID it has been hard to meet with them as well. With the growing dynamic in politics and religions, now a days, it has also made many of us feel the need to be recluse about our religion, when in reality we should be sharing the good we feel with others. Even perhaps sharing our lows and finding others who feel the same, or have been there, and how did they manage?

So, St. Thomas is taking a community communication initiative and wants to invite all local ministries, regardless of denomination, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Non-Denoms, any who believe in Jesus Christ, to share with us their contact information, so we can share what services these ministries provide, what events are happening, in a local faith based newsletter to be compiled and emailed out monthly to start, biweekly when it picks up steam, so that every parish has and can share all the news and events in one document, in one place, instead of a person having to search through tons of webpages and Facebook groups and pages. We want to create a place where someone can have all the information in one moment. “All Are Welcome” to join in this initiative.

What this initiative is not;

This is not a solicitation to gain members to yours or any other parish, nor should it feel like any one is trying to steal your congregants. This will not be a place to debate or argue about dogmas, or interpretations of the word.

This will be a place to share information, service times, ministries or education offered, events and fundraisers held, any exciting news such as a new priest or a member of significance being honored. The goal is to reconnect and network our houses of worship to better our communities.

St. Thomas is a small parish, we used to be very active in our community, but in recent years, we have not had the man power to serve as we have in the past, and so we have been thinking, contemplating, and asking God for help on how we can serve, and we have found that one way is that people are starved for clear information. Their inboxes and news feeds are bombarded constantly by changing information and new information, it is an overload of information, so how do they find what they are looking for? We pull it together in one place. St. Thomas wants to offer to be that place. Geographically, we are the center of a wide circle of churches between New Windsor, Cornwall, Newburgh, and Washingtonville, we are even split among 3 school districts. So we now want to help be the hub of communication in our world.

How this will work, any parish or faith based ministry that wants to be a part of this will need to have an email, it is very easy to get a gmail account. Send your email and desire to participate to StThomasNW.events@gmail.com. Then you may send any news or events, service times, to that email to then be included in our newsletter. All submissions should be submitted by Thursday Evening before the release of the next newsletter. The newsletter will then be compiled and edited on the Friday and emailed out to all the parishes on our list on Saturday to then be shared with your congregations on Sunday!

Our Goal is to have our first newsletter submissions to be done by March 31st to then have the first edition of our Newsletter sent out by April 2, 2022.

We hope you will participate in this initiative, and we can start to bring the children of God back together.

Kara Smith
Warden

Grand Opening

It has been a long hard trek for our little parish to survive COVID lockdown, swelling rains, and having to limit our events and outreach, but we have finally done it! Our new Thrift Shop which has been incubating for over a year has finally been opened this month! As being in time for the holiday season, we have already seen a good response to our small efforts, and the ball is starting to roll!

The thrift shop will be open every Saturday from 10AM-2PM, for now, with possibly expanding hours in the future. However, you can get previews of the items we have out on our digital thrift shop page located on Facebook here! You can ask that items be held to be picked up, or until end of hours on the following Saturday, otherwise the item will be re-shelved and relisted to be fair to other customers. Items are rotated out as items are sold, so there is a constantly changing stream of new items amongst old.

Our Thrift Shop is located in the back room of our Parish Hall located at 47 Old Route 9w, New Windsor, NY, and we are always looking for donations. the only restrictions we currently have on donations are clothing (unless it is something unique like a prom dress, or a nice suit), and large furniture as our space is limited. Donations can be dropped off during our shop hours on Saturday or on Sundays between 12:30PM and 2PM. Letter of acknowledgment can be given for donations received for your records.

I want to personally thank everyone who has stuck by us over the years, and every person who contributes in anyway to our small parish. All donations and their proceeds go to support the needs and on going renovations of our parish and historic building. God Bless all, and have a very Happy Holiday!

Kara Smith

Warden of the Vestry

COVID-19, How We Are Practicing Health, Safety, and Spirituality

Since the beginning of the pandemic, St. Thomas’ congregation has been having to face hard choices, tough situations, and mourn the lost of loved ones. However, where there is darkness there is light. Some times you must ride out the storm. So what are we doing now? We are persevering as we always have by adjusting to the changes of our environment while still praising our Lord for the blessings we have.

Our Services continue to be Morning Prayer, a traditional service that can be lead by any person. Our Lay Readers conduct the service, while select members do specific prayers, and all know when and where to move to maintain the social distancing standards set by NYS. We have tissues and hand sanitizer available, and members are encouraged to wear masks when in close proximity of others not in their family. Although in typical times a small congregation would be upsetting, in this case it has been a blessing as we do not have to limit people from attending and we have the space in the sanctuary to maintain social distancing, and have room for more people looking for a spiritual home. The Peace is still observed, however members are encouraged to wave, some have gotten creative and used the Vulcan “Live Long and Prosper” sign, and siblings have bumped elbows. Tithes and donations are dropped in the collection plate in the middle of the church which is on way to any seating Members choose, and is brought up by one child, the same each week because they have deemed it their job to take it to the Altar and the other children agreed. We have learned most from the children about adjusting to these circumstances, but still being able to laugh through it. Our traditions have been maintained with very minor changes, including coffee hour, having plenty of space to spread out and enjoy each other in our hall.

We encourage any person who is ill, or fears for their own health, or that of a family member, to remain home. While we were closed during the Easter Season we all learned that the Church of God is no building, but rather the Flesh that was Built for you. No matter where you are, God is with you. No matter how loudly you sing in a Cathedral, or whisper quietly in bed, God can hear your prayers. The church is no more than a guide to help you focus on your personal spiritual journey with God, and although we felt as lost as sheep without our physical spiritual home, more precious that we preserve our health for better days ahead. However, that does not mean you shouldn’t ask for prayers, or feel you are no longer part of us. If it is you or a loved one that is ill, or you wish for prayers for a loved one’s soul now gone to rest, or for prayers of thanksgiving for birthday or anniversaries please email them to StThomasNW@gmail.com, and we will add any names or prayers to our prayer list spoken during the Prayers of the People during service on Sunday.

Our Fundraisers and events were planned from February through December, and COVID struck in the middle of it all. We had hoped to start a Thrift Store this spring with our annual Yard Sale, yet we were not able to, but we have been able to move our Thrift Store into the Virtual world on Facebook. You can visit and purchase donated items on our Group Page. Meanwhile, we will keep an eye on the reopening phases set by NYS to see when it will be safe to open the thrift store physically, to start Sunday School, hopefully on time in the fall, be able to rent our our hall for parties, and host a fall event.

Please feel free to join us on Sunday, bring a mask, and your prayers. All are Welcome in the Episcopal Church. If you have any concerns feel free to email us!

Stay Healthy and Stay Safe, God Bless

Kara Smith, Warden

Out of the Stone Age, Into the Digital Age

St. Thomas Episcopal Church like all churches in the New York Diocese have been directed to halt corporate worship in the midst of this COVID-19 Pandemic. Many churches of many denominations have been turning to live streaming, recorded service, and the like to continue to serve everyone’s spiritual needs, which are much more strained with the fear, and doubt, that come with the uncertainty of this awful disease.

St. Thomas will be using Zoom, to conduct Easter Service on April 12 at 11:45AM. You need only the free version to be able to join in and participate in the service. Once you download the app to your tablet, laptop, or smartphone, you need only to access the meeting ID, which will be announced the day before service with the password which can be found on either Facebook or our Instagram. When you join the meeting you will directed to a digital “waiting room” and will have to wait for approval to enter the meeting room. This is a mandatory step that has been added to prevent hackers from jumping into the meeting.

Please be patient with us as we use this new technology. It is not perfect, and it is not the same as worshiping inside God’s house, but what matters most is being able to come together and celebrate our blessings and offer our prayers. We also hope to record and post our weekly morning prayer service, and a video of a beautiful service called compline that you can listen to if you wish. Compline is a service used at the end of the day, to bring oneself to spiritual closure.

Thank you for your understanding, may God bless you all, Jesus Christ protect you, and the Holy Spirit continue to offer you hope in these uncertain times.

~Kara Smith, Warden

Welcome to St. Thomas!

PLEASE VISIT THE NEWS SECTION ON COVID-19 UPDATES AND PRACTICES

St. Thomas Episcopal Church is located on River Road in New Windsor, New York, a short distance off US 9W. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The small stone building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Sunday Services

• Sunday School starts 11AM
• Morning Prayer 11:30AM

 

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” — John 20:28