Participate

Welcome to St. Thomas Parish—a progressive and inclusive congregation of The Episcopal Church in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

Our life together and in service to others centers on God’s radical hospitality inviting us all to be fed at God’s table in the Holy Eucharist so that we in turn can help feed a world hungry for grace, justice, and reconciliation.

Music plays an essential role in our life together in community, beginning with worship. Our volunteer choir sings a wide variety of works drawn from the output of composers of all periods. Medieval motets and Tudor anthems are sung alongside African-American spirituals, Taizé chants, and original compositions by our choirmaster.

From the moment Greeters say hello as you enter the church for worship, until Coffee Hour conversation following the Sunday morning service, or lunch or a meeting after that, we want you to know how glad we are that you are a part of our community life. If you are new to St. Thomas’ Parish, we want to share with you the many ways you can become a part of congregational life, including newcomer lunches, evening parish social gatherings, and seasonal potluck dinners.

St. Thomas’ Parish provides many other types of opportunities to get to know your fellow parishioners, including Foyer Dinner Groups that meet for food and fellowship in members’ homes, our 20s and 30s Young Adult Group, a variety of LGBT activities including participation in the Capital Pride events and parade each June, or the Society of St. Thomas for members 40+ years old (or those who one day will be!).

A church congregation exists not just for itself, but for service to others; this is why we strive to connect what we learn about loving God and one another with opportunities to serve others in our everyday lives in the world, as well as in places far from where we live:

There are lots of ways for you to take part in leadership within the parish, too, in addition to these forms of outreach and service beyond our walls. These include taking part in the Worship Team that helps plan and support our worship services—by joining the Altar Guild to set up for Holy Communion; becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister to serve the cup at the Eucharist; reading Scripture or leading prayers in worship; serving or as an usher on Sunday mornings. Or you can become a part of an ongoing leadership team or committee structure within the parish, such as:

Communications: coordinates parish announcements and publicity, maintains the website, and edits The Phoenix, our weekly eNewsletter.

Education and Formation: in charge of educational programming and spiritual formation events and activities for children, youth and adults.

Stewardship: Promotes year-round awareness of all the ways parishioners can share their time, talents, and treasure for the good of the congregation and its ministries, including the yearly Annual Giving campaign that funds most of our parish budget.

Finance: Advises the Vestry on the development and management of the parish budget and provides advice on monitoring parish financial affairs.

Building: Coordinates the current building program of the parish.