Fall/Winter Sunday Worship Schedule
08:00 a.m. -- Holy Eucharist Rite I in the church
09:00 a.m. -- First Steps to Worship w/Pastor Bill deHeyman - Church Living Room
09:30 a.m. -- Holy Eucharist Rite II w/traditional worship in the church
09:30 a.m. -- Second Steps to Worship - MacColl Auditorium (First and Third Sundays)
10:45 a.m. -- Rector’s Forum, Bible Studies and Small Group Discussions - MacColl Auditorium
10:45 a.m. -- Church School for Children and Youth - Schoolhouse
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Wed. Nights -- Family Dinner, Evening Prayer, Lectures, Bible Studies and Choir (child care available)
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Listen to a Sermon (MP3 File) Sunday Readings
Church members are asked to attend worship services on a weekly basis and to participate in activities within the parish that are nurturing and giving.
EASTER AND HOLY WEEK SERVICES:
We offer a full array of services during Holy Week and on Easter.
WEEKDAY SERVICES:
Holy Eucharist is celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. A healing service is part of the Eucharist on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.
Information about ways these two ministries can be fulfilled are included in the Outreach, Parish Life, Christian Education and Worship at St. Thomas’ sections of this webpage
Worship is at the heart of our experience as Christians. The Worship and Music Commission supports all of the ways in which we worship at St. Thomas’, whether on Sunday mornings through Rite I, Rite II, First Steps to Worship or Second Steps to Worship. The commission also supports incidental services such as the Celtic Service and weddings and funerals. There are many ways to be involved.
Contact: The Revs. Marek Zabriskie, Whitney Altopp or Heather Patton-Graham
Worship at St. Thomas’ would not happen without the Altar Guild. The Altar Guild is responsible for the preparation of the church for worship. Men and women volunteer to serve as brass polishers, flower arrangers or to set up the altar for Sunday and weekday services.
Acolytes, who are students in grades six through 12, assist the clergy and congregation during worship services. In addition to participating in Sunday services, acolytes assist at special services as well as scheduled rehearsals and training throughout the year.
At all Sunday worship services, Ushers and Junior Ushers distribute worship leaflets, assist worshippers to their seats, collect and bring forward the offering and direct parishioners for communion.
Lay Readers assist the clergy at all services by reading the lessons and the Prayers of the People. Men, women and senior high youth are appointed to these positions by the rector. Chalice Bearers administer the chalice during communion. They are men, women and youth over 16 who are appointed by the rector and licensed by the bishop.
Immediately following the administration of the Eucharist, individuals are sent out by the congregation with consecrated bread and wine to offer communion to parishioners who cannot worship at St. Thomas’ on Sunday mornings. The Lay Eucharistic Ministers, who are carefully trained by the diocese and licensed by the bishop, use an abbreviated form of the liturgy and provide the people they visit a connection with the whole of the St. Thomas’ worshipping community.
At the time of the offering, we bring forward to the altar much more than checks, paper money and coins. In offering what we have earned, we offer ourselves. At the 9:00 service we also bring forward the bread and wine for the Eucharist--that which is produced by God’s grace. Any family, couple, individual or group may bear the oblations.
St. Thomas' Church, Whitemarsh is the fifth largest of 166 congregations in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. The diocese, one of five in the state of Pennsylvania, is part of the Episcopal Church, the branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the. Our Christian tradition is dependent on the Holy Scriptures, the ancient creeds, sacraments and the historic orders of ministry. Our name reflects our respect for this tradition, in that "episcopal" is derived from the word "bishop" in Greek. Our bishops are the representatives of our apostolic faith and heritage. There are approximately 2.5 million Episcopalians in the.
The Diocese of Pennsylvania is part of a confederation of dioceses that constitute the Anglican Communion; churches that are in communion with the See of Canterbury. The Anglican Communion has 35 member countries and includes more than 100 million members.
The greater Philadelphia area diocese to which St. Thomas' belongs, encompasses five counties. The congregations in the diocese are divided into 11 deaneries; St. Thomas' is part of the Montgomery Deanery. Many of our Parishioners are active in various Diocesan programs, ranging from providing services on the Board of Council of Episcopal Community Services to participating in committee activities.
St. Thomas' is proud to belong to the Diocese of Pennsylvania. There are five Episcopal Dioceses in the state of Pennsylvania. The greater Philadelphia Diocese, to which St. Thomas I belongs, encompasses five counties. The Diocese consists of 166 congregations divided into 11 deanieries. St. Thomas I is in the Montgomery Deanery. Many of our parishioners are very active in various Diocesan activities, ranging from providing services on the Board of Council of Episcopal Community Services to participation in committee activities. St. Thomas' seeks to increase its participation in the overall mission and ministry of the Diocese.
Bethlehem Pike and Camp Hill Road, P.O. Box 247, Fort Washington, PA 19034
Phone (215)233-3970 Fax (215)233-2893 Email info@stthomaswhitemarsh.org
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