COMING UP SATURDAY AND SUNDAY- DEC 18 AND 19

This Saturday is church clean-up day. We will dust, vacuum, and polish. Please bring cans of furniture polish and rags. If you can donate a poinsettia for our Christmas altar, please bring it on Saturday.
Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Advent. We will have a special reception after church that day. There will be gifts for all the children.

COMING UP SUNDAY- DEC. 12

This is the 3rd Sunday of Advent and we will light the pink candle on our wreath. Church school will meet. The gifts for our adopt-a-family program are due this week. Volunteers are needed to help distribute these gifts on Monday. Dec. 20 and Tues. Dec. 21. Please speak to the vicar if you can help out.
There will be a Bishop's Committe meeting this Sunday. We will look at the proposed budget for 2011.
The leak in our steeple has been repaired!! After numerous attempts to find the leak that has repeatedly damaged our ceiling, we believe that the problem has been found and permanently corrected.
Our Christmas Eve service will be at 5 pm and will include some special music.

COMING UP SUNDAY- DEC. 5

This week we will light the 2nd candle on our Advent wreath and hear the story of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness.
The preschool class will meet this week at 9 am along with the other Sunday school classes. All toddlers are welcome.
The gifts for the Wood River Health Services Christmas program are due at the church by December 12- unwrapped. Volunteers are needed to help with the distribution of those gifts. Speak to the vicar if you can help with this project.
The WARM meal will be prepared on Dec. 19. Food donations are needed. Sign up on the list at the church.

COMING UP SUNDAY- NOV. 28

This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent. This is a season of expectant waiting and preparation as we look forward to the full arrival of God's kingdom on earth.
We mark the weeks of Advent by lighting candles on the Advent wreath in church. We have wreaths and candles at church for people to take and use in their homes. There are also devotional books for this season.
There will be no church school this week since people are still traveling from their Thanksgiving holiday.
If you would like to take part in our "Adopt-a-Family" program for Christmas, please contact the vicar. We are looking for gift cards for local families in need.

COMING UP SUNDAY- NOV. 21

This is Christ the King Sunday- also known as the last Sunday before Advent. It is a Sunday known for exhilarating readings and triumphant hymns.
Church school will meet and there will be a Liturgy Committee meeting after church.
Our Veteran's Day celebration was a great success. Check at the photos to the right of this article on our Facebook page link.
The Thanksgiving Ecumenical service will be held Sunday, Nov. 21 at St. Thomas' at 7pm (see column to the left of this article).
Our 30 kneelers have all been refinished. Many thanks to the volunteers who worked many hours on this hard and dusty job.
St. Thomas' is working with Wood River Health Services to supply Christmas gifts to local families in need. If you would like to help with this project by donating time or a gift, please speak to the Vicar.
The 2011 Liturgical Calendars have arrived. This calendar lists all of the major feast days in the Episcopal Church as well as days of commemoration for saints and important church figures. Many thanks to John Weeden at Buckler Johnston/Avery Funeral Home for purchasing these calendars for our parishioners.

COMING UP SUNDAY- NOV. 14

This Sunday we will honor Veterans at St. Thomas'. There will be a special coffee hour and live music. This is the day that we will also prepare the WARM meal after church. On Sat. Nov. 13, a group will meet at church to work on the kneelers from 10-12noon. All volunteers are welcome to come and help.
Things are getting busier in the next few weeks. Next Sunday morning we will have an exchange with St. Elizabeth's in Hope Valley. Some parishioners from St. Thomas' will go to their 10am service and some visitors from St. Elizabeth's will come to Alton. This is an initiative sponsored by the Narragansett Deanery which is the cluster of Episcopal churches in southwestern RI. It is a way to foster more community among Episcopalians in RI.
Next Sunday is also the 16th Annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving service. This year it will be held at St. Thomas' beginning at 7pm. This yearly event is jointly sponsored between St. Thomas', First Baptist Church in Hope Valley and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in HopeValley. All are welcome.

COMING UP THIS SUNDAY-NOV. 7

This is All Saints' Sunday and we will remember all the saints of the church and all the saints in our lives. The church school will meet and the preschool class will also meet this week beginning at 9 am. There will be a Bishop's Committee meeting after church.
Last Sunday our church was filled with saints to celebrate Halloween. Check out the photos on the Facebook link to the right of this box (you don't have to be a member of Facebook to view them). Last Saturday a group of dedicated people gathered to refurbish the kneelers. Those photos are posted also. We will gather again on Sat. Nov. 14, from 10-12 to finish the kneelers. Please join us if you can.
Remember to turn your clocks back 1 hour on Saturday night