SERVICES & SERMONS
We are People of Word and Sacrament. We love our home of Elizabethton and Carter County in Applalachia USA. Children and Young People are Our Heart. We celebrate God's Love in All People, All Creation, Everywhere, All the Time.
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Plan your first visit at St. Thomas and feel right at home. Learn more about what to expect by reading the information below.
WORSHIPPING WITH US
You will find Prayer Books and hymnals in your pew. These books allow us to worship together. The Episcopal Church, like most other branches of the worldwide Anglican Communion, uses a version of The Book of Common Prayer for daily and Sunday worship. Page numbers and hymn numbers are posted, announced, or printed in the service bulletin. If you're having difficulty finding the right page or following the service, don't be afraid to ask someone sitting nearby for help.
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The most commonly used services found in the Prayer Book are the Holy Eucharist and Morning Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) contains two version of each service-one in traditional language (Rite One) and one using contemporary words (Rite Two). You can find these services on the following pages:
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* The Holy Eucharist, Rite One begins on page 323.
* The Holy Eucharist, Rite Two begins on page 355.
* Morning Prayer, Rite One begins on page 37.
* Morning Prayer, Rite Two begins on page 75.
HYMNS & PSALMS
Hymns are usually listed in the service leaflet or announced. If there is an S before the hymn number (for example, S-125), the music can be found at the front of the Hymnal.
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Page numbers for the Psalms (hymns of the Hebrew Scriptures) will be announced or printed in the service leaflet, in a from that facilitates congregational reading or singing. The Prayer Book Psalter, a poetic sixteenth-century translation of the psalms, begins on page 585.
KNEEL, STAND, OR SIT?
If you're new to the Episcopal Church, you will quickly discover that we do a lot of sitting, standing, and kneeling at various times in the worship service. Generally, we stand or kneel for prayer, sit for instruction, and stand for praise. Feel free to follow along with the congregation, but know you are not required to do so.
CHILDREN IN THE CHURCH
Everyone is welcome in the Church, and children are welcome to attend any service with you. However, if you would prefer, or if your child finds sitting through an entire service difficult, ask an usher about our Bilingual Sunday School or nursery programs. Worship booklets or activity packets for children may be available from the usher. If you would like your child to be baptized, confirmed, or enrolled in Sunday Church School, please consult a clergyperson.
BECOME A PART OF OUR FAMILY
On a typical Sunday Celebration, at 11:00 a.m. weekly, you might be sitting next to a member of the Church's founding family, perhaps a new Spanish-speaking family, a homeless person or two, all kinds of children, newly retired persons moving into the area from out-of-game, the recently incarcerated, a young millennial couple, you never know. The Holy Spirit gathers us at an important time and place. If you are interested in becoming a member of the church please do not hesitate to speak to a clergyperson, call the church office, message us here, or write a note on a pew Visitor Card.