Music carries the liturgy, theology, and joy of Christian community deep into our bones and compelling out into the world.  At St. Thomas, volunteers join to produce beautiful choral music, instrumental solos, hand bell chorales, dignified and reverential worship experiences.

The mission of the music ministry is to enhance the worship experience and use the God-given talents of the choir, bell choir, and all our congregation to honor God.

Like the Psalms in the Bible, the hymns and anthems are not performances, but different ways to express our worship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The choir offers a wide variety of sacred music.

Currently we have 15-20 members, but we are always looking for new members to share their talents to the glory of God.

Contact: Garmon Ashby

The Acolyte Guild is made up mostly of young people, who commit their time and talent to help make the worship services possible.

We presently serve at the 10:30 am service each Sunday and on special occasions, when called upon.

Contact: Alex Hillis

The Lectors of St. Thomas the Apostle assist the services by performing the Old and New Testament readings, as well as leading the Prayers of the People. An important part of the Episcopal liturgy is the Word and prayers coming from the congregation. Being a Lector is a great way to develop public speaking skills in a non-threatening environment.

Lectors read at the Sunday 8:00 am Rite I service, the 10:30 am Rite II service, as well as at special services such as Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve.

On average, Lectors have a turn less than once a month and every attempt is made to accommodate worship, vacation, and absence schedules!

Contact: David Whitlock

The Lay Eucharistic Ministers are specially licensed by the Bishop of our Diocese to assist in distributing Holy Communion during the Eucharist, usually administering the communion Chalice.

This means ministering to people participating in the Lord’s Supper by ensuring that they feel welcome at whatever place they are in their life, and welcome to return.

LEMs are trained to handle the Blessed Sacrament with reverence and care, are vested like Acolytes in a white Alb, and scheduled to help in Sunday Holy Day services, as well as pastoral services like weddings or burials that will celebrate the Eucharist as part of the service.

Contact: Ken Jurgens

A Lay Eucharistic Visitor is an individual licensed by the diocese to distribute previously blessed elements of Holy Communion to persons unable to attend regular worship, such as shut-ins or people recovering from illness in hospitals. The bread and wine they carry act as a symbol of the unity of Christ’s Body, which transcends boundaries of time and space, providing a sense of connection to persons who might otherwise feel isolated. All LEVs are sent out from our Sunday morning liturgies with these words:

In the name of this congregation, we send you forth, bearing these holy gifts, that those to whom you go may share with us in the communion of Christ’s body and blood. We who are many are one body, because we all share one bread, one cup.

The Liturgy Council is comprised of the priest, vergers, chairs of the various liturgical ministries, and some congregants.

We meet approximately quarterly (Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm).

We coordinate and discuss performance of and scheduling for services, especially special events such as Lent, Advent, Christmas, etc.

Anyone with input for the Council is encouraged to contact any of our members or to come to a meeting to share your thoughts.

More information about the Revised Common Lectionary visit www.lectionarypage.net.

The Vergers at St. Thomas are appointed by the clergy and are members of the National Vergers’ Guild of the Episcopal Church.

The primary purpose is to take care of the temporal concerns of the Sunday worship service, allowing the clergy to be concerned with the spiritual matters of the service.

They are licensed by the Bishop as Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Worship Leaders and work closely with the clergy.

Contact: Ken Jurgen

Our Usher ministry greets visitors and directs them to proper locations for our services.

They pass out bulletins, handle door courtesies, and directs flow in and out of the sanctuary during services.

They also pass the offertory plate, direct during communion and tidy up the sanctuary after the service. These are just a few of their very important duties.

Contact: Larry Roberts