St. Thomas ELCA Lutheran Church

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Useful information

Keeping each other safe during COVID
Please visit our homepage and specific ministry pages to see how we are adapting our shared ministry to this challenge.

Most of this useful information isn’t useful right now, but this is how we were until February 2020 and this is how we hope to be once more. We’ll hand you that cup of coffee as soon as we can!

In the meantime, we want to include you and your household. We invite you to bring your own coffee to our monthly Virtual Narthex on the first Sunday of the month at 10:10 on Zoom; the link is in the weekly announcements on the homepage. You can also schedule a Zoom visit with Pastor Adrianne Meier. You can read about her and find how to schedule a visit on the STAFF page.


We’re accessible – note our easy parking and a no-barrier entrance with an automatic door.

Directions & parking map here.
Service times here.

St. Thomas is a Safe Sanctuary and follows a set of policies that help to make congregations safe places where children, youth and elders may experience the abiding love of God and fellowship within the community of faith.

Reconciling Christ logoBecause we are guided by the words of scripture that “God shows no partiality,” (Acts 2:34; Romans 2:11) we are committed to being a church where people of varying backgrounds, ages, gender and sexual orientations, faith traditions, and life paths find acceptance and warm hospitality. St. Thomas has been a Reconciling In Christ congregation since the 1980s.

What time should I get there?
This Sunday’s worship schedule is on our HOME page. In Advent, at Christmas, during Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, there are special services at special times – we’ll list these on the HOME page as well.

Do I need to dress up?ƒ
There’s no dress code! You’ll find some women in hats and some men in neckties, but most of us don’t dress up so much. Please wear what’s comfortable for you and never, never feel that you have to buy special clothes to worship here.

May I bring my children?
Please do! Children are warmly invited to join the whole congregation at worship and are welcome to bring along quiet diversions. We have activity bags available near the coffee bar for non-readers. Here’s our page on welcoming children at worship.

May I take Communion?
All of God’s people are welcome at the Lord’s table – it belongs to Jesus, not to us. Communion is offered at every Sunday service. Please don’t be concerned  about whether you are standing in the right place, saying the right words, or doing the right actions. Come to the table and be fed.

Are my children welcome at Communion too?
All children who are able to take solid food are also welcome to receive communion at St. Thomas. Whether children receive the sacrament or a blessing from the pastor is entirely up to the parents. This is part of our honoring of Christian conscience. Classes are offered each year for children of any age who wish to gain a fuller understanding of communion. Here’s our page on welcoming children in worship.

Is there anything else I should know?
A church is people, not a building, but we have worked lovingly to make our building a special place. Here are some places that show important things about St. Thomas.

– Because we hold one another in prayer, there’s a prayer request table on your left as you enter our sanctuary. We invite you to add your prayers to today’s Prayers of the People.

– Because growth in wisdom and understanding is fundamental to Christian life, our parish library, just to the left of the main entrance, is open all week for study and reading.

– Because the Spirit reaches out to each one of us and awaits our prayerful response, our prayer garden, just south of the church, is a place for quiet meditation. Other good places for quiet prayer include the sanctuary itself and the Spirit Window in Heritage Hall.

– Because we care deeply about wise use of the generous blessings of creation, our solar array on the southeast corner of the roof has been producing more than 3,000 KwH / month.

– Because you are important to us and we are important to one another, help yourself to a cup of coffee in the narthex (that’s the entrance hall) and let’s start getting to know one another. We’re glad you’re here!

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  • Community Life at St. Thomas

    • Grieving In Place
    • Newsletters & Letters to the Congregation
    • Sermons
    • St. Thomas Community Garden
    • St. Thomas Facebook Page
    • Worshiping In Place
  • Local and Regional Mission Partnerships

    • Beacon – Solutions for People In Poverty
    • Community Kitchen of Monroe County
    • Earth Care
    • ELCA Lutheran Campus Ministry at Indiana University
    • Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light
    • Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Indiana/Kentucky
    • Middle Way House
    • Monroe County United Ministries
    • Mother Hubbard's Cupboard
    • New Hope For Families
    • Shalom Center
  • National and Global Mission Partnerships

    • ECHO – Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization
    • Indiana/Kentucky Synod Global Missions
    • KIVA
    • Lutheran Church of Living Waters, Cherokee, NC
    • Public Health Education for Health, Chile (EPES)
    • Sister Parish
    • The Water Project
  • Wider Lutheran Connections

    • Augsburg Fortress Press
    • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
    • Indiana-Kentucky Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church
    • Living Lutheran Magazine
    • Lutheran World Relief
    • Reconciling Works – Lutherans for Full Participation
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  • Contact Us:

    3800 E. Third St.
    Bloomington, IN 47401
    812-332-5252
    Office Hours:
    Monday - Friday, 9am to 5pm

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    St. Thomas is a Reconciling in Christ congregation. We welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender believers.

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