We are a Christ-centered community that lives, shares and celebrates God's grace with all people!
Welcome to St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church. St. Thomas is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We celebrate 50 years of ministry in the Bloomington and Monroe County, Indiana area in 2010. We celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday and encourage visitors from other Christian traditions to join us at Christ's "open table."
(Fall/Winter Schedule effective August 23, 2009)
8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Sunday
Nursery care is provided at each service
Enjoy coffee or other refreshments while visiting in the narthex/lounge or on the patio. Many regular participants keep their own mugs at the church, but there are always plenty of visitor cups. Our washable mugs are symbols of commitment to care for God's gift to us of the planet and our coffee is from Lutheran World Relief's Equal Exchange Coffee Project.
ATTENTION Thrivent Financial for Lutherans members: To encourage local Thrivent members to participate in Thrivent's "Helping Haiti: A Million Dollar Challenge" campaign, generous members who own the Comfort Inn and Suites in French Lick, IN have offered a free night at the hotel during the months of February or March for the first 25 members of the Monroe Lake Chapter who donate $100 or more. For every $2 donated by members, Thrivent will contribute an additional dollar up to $1 million. This is an easy way to turn $2 million into $3 million for those who are in need in Haiti. Donations must be made through Thrivent but you get to designate where you want your contribution to be sent. Your options include: Lutheran World Relief, ELCA Disaster Response, LCMS World Relief/Human Care or WELS Committee on Relief. If you are interested, please make your donations via thrivent.com or have a receipt faxed to you if you make your donation via phone. Show your receipt to the lead Thrivent congregational advocate at your church so he or she can record your name, mailing address and the date of your donation. The list of donations will be compiled and if you are one of the first 25, you will receive a gift certificate in the mail. Please contact Mary Lou Nierzwicki, one of your congregational advocates, at 334-7922 or mlnierzwicki@yahoo.com.
Did Santa bring a new washer and dryer this Christmas? How about new beds or other furniture? If your old appliances and furniture are still in good shape please donate them to St. Vincent de Paul, an all-volunteer group that serves our neighbors in need. Remember, donations are tax deductable. If you cannot bring your items in yourself, SVdP will pick them up. Just contact us at 961-1510 or pickup@bloomintonsvdp.org, or St. Thomas members Larry Berg, David Nixon, Gene Laughman.
Book of Faith Series meets again on February 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room — This eighth session we'll be reading the seventh chapter of Making Sense of Scripture. Books are still available for those who would like to join.
Adult Bible Study began September 13th Sundays from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. in Room 11. We will be studying the Gospel of Luke, with emphasis on the words spoken by Jesus.
ELCA's Domestic Disaster Response are providing information on Swine Flu.
The mission committee is considering forming a variety of interest
groups surrounding important mission related topics, as a way to
encourage broader and deeper participation. You do not need to be a
member of the mission committee to join these interest groups. Some of
the first potential interest groups being formed are:
1) Sister Parish
Interest Group - be involved in discerning the best direction for this
relationship with our Sister Parish in Chichipate, Guatemala.
2) Micro Loans Interest Group - help have an impact
on poverty by providing direct loans to entrepreneurs around the
globe. Consider joining an interest group to discuss and make these
investment decisions together, connecting with the entrepreneurs via
the internet. To learn more, contact: Chris Ogan;
3) Missionary
Interest Group - We are considering forming a Missionary Interest
Group to sponsor an ELCA missionary, support them in prayer and learn
about what they are doing. If you are interested in helping form this
interest group, please contact Lyman Hitchcock for further
information.
4) Please contact any member of the Mission Committee if
you have other ideas for interest groups.
The newly-formed Mission Committee has a blog for their latest news.
Keep up with the Youth Group on their blog.
Have you remembered to bring your gifts of food to church?
MCUM's pantry needs food:
pasta, meat sauce, crackers, applesauce, beans, peanut butter, jelly,
macaroni and cheese, canned chicken are just a few items needed.
Everything is now needed except tuna, green beans, corn, peaches and
cake mixes. They cannot accept perishable, home-canned, opened
packages, or expired food.
Please don't forget: all sizes of underwear, socks and diapers,
cleaning supplies and personal items are needed too.
During an average week, the pantry distributes 140 bags of
groceries, filled to the rim with household staples and a five-day
supply of nutrition for each family member.
You have
been generous in the past and we know you will help again. St. Thomas members gave over 1000 pounds of
food last year, one of the top amounts from city churches. Please
continue to bring your donations to the basket in the narthex to
support this important service.
Last update: Monday 8 February 2010 13:51
