10th Anniversary of Gene Robinson's Consecration

The weekend of Nov. 2-3 at St. Thomas’ Parish was special for a lot of reasons:

On Sunday, we celebrated All Saints Day, raising up in prayer the names of scores of people who have died but have not been forgotten by family, and loved ones, and friends.

Also, our Rector, Nancy Lee Jose, celebrated her 10th All Saints Day as Rector of St. Thomas’ Parish.

And the day before was the 10th anniversary of the consecration of Gene Robinson, the resident Bishop at St. Thomas’ Parish, as the IX Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire.   You may want to read the short note by Susan Russell on the Episcopal Cafe.  If you’d like to keep up with Gene’s activities, you might want to follow him on Twitter or on his Facebook page. Or catch him the next time he’s preaching or celebrating the Eucharist at St. Thomas’ Parish.

For now, we celebrate All The Saints — those who have preceded us and those with us still — who strive to live out the church’s vocation as The Body of Christ and the agent of grace, reconciliation, compassion, and justice.  In the words of one of my favorite hymns: “I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew.  … and one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast: and there’s not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn’t be one too.”

Member Profile – Jeremy A.

I first started coming to St. Thomas’ in 2004 because I lived two blocks away. And I could sleep in (very) late yet still be on time for the 11:00 a.m. service. I kept coming back because people were friendly, and the parish struck a nice balance between being laid back and eager to grow. Many things have changed over the years, including my involvement with the parish. I’ve served as an usher, on the altar guild, part of a seminarian discernment team, and as a Godly Play teacher.

I’ve led the Inclusion Team twice, with a two-year break in between while I worked as a chaplain at an Episcopal school in Florida. What has remained constant in the community is a genuine desire to be and to become the wonderful people God has made us to be. St. Thomas’ has given me room to grow up since those early days a decade ago when I slunk into the back row, sleepy-eyed at 11:00 a.m.

I didn’t know it then, but I know it now: While I may have been looking for a church nearby, God was more intently looking for me, drawing me to this corner on 18th and Church Streets, to settle into a community that would nurture, challenge, and enrich me. I am so grateful.