Grace Based Parenting Returns,Class begins with Overview, this Sunday, 9 a.m.

Grace Based Parenting - Part Three
Raising Kids for True Greatness

Yes, it's true we're starting a parenting study in MAY! 

I know what your thinking:

" It's crazy! I have so much happening with the end of the school year, preparing for summer vacations and then there's work!"

The truth is as parents we are always 'crazy' with schedules, juggling of responsibilities and life's unexpected "gifts". If we wait for the right time to focus on learning it may never come. Parenting is a demanding job and the best way to be and stay prepared is to take time out for ourselves; to be together and to learn. We'll learn from each other and from God's Word. This is great material you won't want to miss.

HOW IT WILL HAPPEN
Give your self and your kids this enormous gift. 50 minutes each Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. This first week we'll rocket through the first two studies so you'll have a foundation. You'll go home with a great sense of what Grace based Parenting is all about. (for those who have been faithful followers it will be a great review and your presence adds great depth to the discussion!)

 In the weeks to follow we'll share food, fellowship, and information:

• 10 minute introduction with prayer and reflection, 
• 20 minute video,
• 20 minute discussion 

and your out the door!

ONLY THIS 50 MINUTES EACH WEEK
Our time is short so we'll start precisely at 9:00. The study will provide the book, Raising Kids for True Greatness  by Dr. Tim Kimmel and  a workbook option. Spending time with these resources during the week is purely optional.  You may choose to follow during the study or read at your leisure over the summer. Either way it is information worth having.

CHILDCARE IS PROVIDED
Our Nursery will open at 8:50 a.m. for the next 8 weeks. Kids of all ages are welcome during this hour while the study is being held.

I invite you to hop out of bed (OK, so maybe move with intent) just a little bit early this Sunday. The coffee will be waiting for you and your children's friends will be waiting for them! You have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain.

Pass It On

Journey

Today it all begins: Holy Week, and God’s great work of salvation. Let us ask God to bless us all on the journey, to give us grace to “feel the weight of the cross” as we follow Jesus along the Via Crucis. But let us walk the way with hope and trust in our hearts, for we know and rejoice that the weight of the cross will become the weight of glory.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

First Communion Classes begin this Week

Time is flying by and guess what?

It's sprimgtime and First Communion Classes are ready to begin. We will begin this Sunday, April 5th at 9:00 a.m. in the Guild Room. We welcome back Linda Sordan who will be teaching the class. Details are listed below. Please contact the church office to add your child's name to the list

First Communion Class

An Introduction to the Sacrament of Communion

April 6th to May 11th

9:00 a.m., Guild Room

This five-week class will help your child to understand the history and meaning of the Eucharist, as well as what to do at the altar rail. 

The class will be held each Sunday  morning, from 9 - 9:45 am, through May 11th.  

Traditionally, this class is for children in 2nd grade and older.  We ask that each child attending class be accompanied by a parent or care giver.

First Communion Service will be

Mother’s Day, May 11th

10:00 a.m. Traditional Service, Sanctuary

Make Your Reservation for This Year's Ressurection House Breakfast

 Mark your calendar!  

St Thomas has reserved a table for eight. 
There are seven seats left as of March 25th. 

Call Burrell Wood, 727-528-4015 or email burrellandnorma@verizon.net for you seat. Reach out and learn what Resurrection House is all about in our community!  

Our wonderful breakfast event is just around the corner...

7:30-9:00 AM
Thursday, April 24, 2014
St Petersburg Coliseum
535 4th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL

Robert Schofield will share his journey from homelessness to becoming an employee of Resurrection House, after graduating as a participant. He is featured in Will Bowen's latest book Happy Stories which was recently published.

Enjoy exciting and inspiring stories, great music, and a delicious, hot breakfast, as you hear about Resurrection House's 80% success rate over the years in ending the cycle of poverty and despair faced by homeless and working-poor families with minor children.

For more details or information about sponsorships,
call (727) 823-4742
or email us at succeed@floridaresurrectionhouse.com

Ready For VBS - Registration open to all

St. Thomas VBS is open for registration and on its way!

Thank you to all who stepped up and made this possibe. We're on our way and it beacuse of your response.
This year will truly be different from start to finish.

What you need to know...

Our first VBS committee meeting will be Sunda,y March 30 following the 10:00 a.m. Service.  We will be in the Guild room and so members will have access to the Town Hall meeting in the Parish Hall if they would like to be a part of that as well.

VBS Registration is now open to all.  Please spread the word to friends and neighbors about the new format.  It's an exciting change and affords us the opportunity to host families in a new way.

Important facts to share:

SPLASH INTO GOD"S WORD

Our dates: June 16-20, 2014

Our NEW time: 5:15 - 8:00 p.m.

Early bedtime option for 3/4's with pick up at 7:15 p.m.

We will start serving dinner at 5:15 in our Parish Hall. Followed by Openning Session. Openning Session includes our Story time and Music together as a large group

6:00 - 8:00 will be action packed workshops which wrap up in small group. 

Pick up will be at 8:00 in the Parish Hall. 

Friday evening we would like to have a cookout with activities and closing presentation. Families will be asked to bring a side dish to share. Together we can make this an amazing week. We look forward to sharing it with YOU!

Blessed Is She, Living Lent With Mary

Lenten Study, Week One

Ash Wednesday - An Introduction

A Lenten Mary
Mary as a Model Disciple in Luke's Gospel

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior,
For he hath regarded in the lowliness of his handmaiden:
For behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed
(Luke 1:46b-48, KJV)

How can this be?
How do you take an ordinary teenager and make her the mother of a savior? Once more, how do you choose a woman unwed with hopes of a future husband and announce that she is 'with child' thus throwing her whole life into turmoil? She has no apparent wealth, power or connections. Nothing here indicates possible success.  All points lead to impossible.

"The Magnificat"
'Mary's song of praise to God, a response to the extraordinary events that overtook what was once an ordinary life',  shows us two things. It shows us a woman who understands the larger story.  How else could one bring into perspective such a happening unless there was a sense of becoming part of something much, much bigger. The impossible may then become possible.  It also shows us our reflection in the mirror. How are we different from Mary? In short-not  much. We are ordinary yet God chooses us also. How shall we take on the christian life that God calls us to? By understanding how God works within us and then how we bring his work to the world.

It's all in the choosing...
 Mary's story is indeed magnificent. And she responds to God's choice in her with a spirit that shall rejoice in Him. And so the relationship begins. So, though discipleship is clearly a choice to follow,
it is also the beginning of a relationship. God is with us and working within us all along the journey.

During this Lenten Season we'll work on this journey as we study Mary's story through the Gospel of Luke. (primarily but not exclusively) In hopes of understanding more fully all that Mary endures, rejoices, fears and reveals as the mother of Jesus and a  disciple of God.

Next Up: You have Found Favor, The Mystery of Grace
Tomorrow, Sunday March 16, 9:00 a.m., Library
beginning with this session, summaries  of each weeks study can be found on the St. Thomas Faith Formation Website at http://stthomasfaithformation.weebly.com/index.html

See What Our Flower Guild has been Up To

Art in Bloom 2014

Museum of Fine Arts /St. Petersburg

What an amazing display of talent and beauty! Six members of the St. Thomas Flower Guild have put there heart and soul into an amazing display of form, color and pure beauty as they participate in this years Art in Bloom at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts in downtown St. Pete.

This is all together a very impressive event but you can't help fill with pride as you walk into the "red" room and see the magnificent arrangements created by Elizabth Walters Allison,JoAnn Fleece, Ann Long, Susan Lahey, Julie Songster and Deenie Miller. Great job, ladies!

If you have not yet made it downtown to see this beautiful display I highly encourage you to do so!  Today is the last day of the event. They are open until 8:00 p.m.