This Tuesday’s drive Oct. 26 3pm-4pm in the Church parking lot is for our annual Christmas Gift Bags for our homebound neighbors at St. John/St. Ann’s Outreach Center. Our goal is to create 44 bags. We are collecting dish detergent, individual toliet paper, individual paper towels, box tissues, household cleaners, clorox wipes, laundry detergent and sponges. God bless you for your generosity. On Tuesday Nov. 2 we will be collecting personal care products to add to the gift bags: razors, shaving cream, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotions and handsanitizer.

“He who plants kindness gathers love!” St. Basil. Thank you St. Thomas for creating 23 Fall Blessings bags filled to the top with warm wishes and treats for Pastoral Care Seniors. Special shout out to Jack and Hugh for packing our Blessing Bags! FEEL THE LOVE ST.THOMAS! Blessings!

Free local programs and apps can help you learn more about the wonder of creation all around us.

World Mission Sunday ~ NEXT SUNDAY we will celebrate World Mission Sunday. Pope Francis invites the entire Church to support the mission dioceses in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America and Europe, where priests, religious and lay leaders serve the world’s most vulnerable communities. Please keep the Pope’s missions in your prayers, and be generous in NEXT week’s collection for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

The MINGLE continues… THIS SATURDAY Oct. 16 join us at St. Matthew’s parking lot at 12:45pm and drive together to Indian Ladder for Apple Picking at 1pm! Pricing: $25 for a single ½ bushel bag, $22 each for two or more ½ bushel bags. Apple donations are being accepted for The New Scotland Food Pantry & Capital City Rescue Mission. Designated cars will be marked for accepting the apple donations. Enjoy the remaining day eating donuts! Visiting the petting zoo or hanging out at Cidery! Looking forward to Reconnecting & Rejoice with YOU!

All Faith Formation Families grades 1sth-12th are invited to celebrate Mass this Sunday Oct. 17 at 5pm as we start our 2021-2022 Catechetical Year! Hospitality and Faith Formation information will be available after mass. Looking forward to celebrating with you!

Tuesday was such a beautiful day! Not only was the sun shining but so too was your kindness for our seniors! God Bless you for the amazing outpouring of blessings! This Tuesday we will fill the tops of our Blessing Bags with: Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, dish detergent, tissues, paper towels, nonfragrant hand lotion, large print Word Search Books, fall candy, fall napkins and thinking of you cards signed “your St. Thomas Family.” Thank you for sharing kindness with our seniors and letting them know their parish is thinking and praying for them!

St. Thomas Reads! ~ We are excited to announce the launch of the St. Thomas Book Club! We will meet every other month and discuss books that are connected to our faith. The October selection, The Story of a Soul, in honor of the Feast Day of St. Thérèse De Lisieux, is widely available at most bookstores. We will meet on October 14 at 7 p.m. in the Gathering Hall to discuss the book. Here is an overview of The Story of a Soul: Two and a half years before her death in 1897 at the age of 24, as Thérèse Martin began writing down her childhood memories at the request of her blood sisters in the Lisieux Carmel, few could have guessed the eventual outcome. Yet this Story of my soul, first published in 1898 in a highly edited version, quickly became a modern spiritual classic, read by millions and translated into dozens of languages around the world.  We hope that you are as excited about this adventure as we are and we hope to see you on October 14!

Millions of tons of electronic waste are generated world-wide each year. Rather than contribute to that waste, consider repurposing your electronic devices.

With the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi this Monday, the Season of Creation comes to a close. But the opportunities to protect and preserve the earth as A Home for All continue.

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received- only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” St. Francis of Assisi. God bless you for your generosity to our friends at the South End Children’s Café! YOU St. Thomas continue to a make a DIFFERENCE in the lives of our neighbors and our own! Blessings! Photo on the Photo Album Page.

During this Season of Creation (September 1–October 4), we are called to consider how we can live the 2021 theme: A Home for All.

We thank all of you who have answered the call to be a Catechist, gatekeeper or Youth Ministry volunteer. Our Program is still in need of volunteers to share our faith with our young church. Please prayfully consider joining our Faith Formation Team and reap the joys of sharing your faith with our young church. Please email Colleen Harrigan our Faith Formation Secretary at charrigan@stthomas-church.org share your Faith and watch it GROW!

Amazing! During this third week of Seasons of Creation we thank you for your continued HOSPITALITY! Victor Russak, Coordinator for the Parish of Mater Christi Food Pantry on West Erie Street, Albany was so appreciative of your kindness and the “tent” load of supplies shared by you! Together let us thank our Creator for the land where we live, and the life HE has given us! Special shout out to Ian for volunteering at the drive! Thanking God for all of YOU! See you next Tuesday as we serve our friends at the South End Children’s Café! Photos in the Photo Album.

There is still time for parishioners to register for the event this Saturday, “Come Holy Spirit! Renew Our Strength, Reaffirm Our Hope’’ (see flier attached). We will also accept walk-ins. If they have any questions, they may call us at this number: Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Office of Lay Ministry and Parish Faith Formation 518-453-6670. Click on the Title to see the flyer about the event.

St. Thomas cares for creation! The landfill-bound trash generated during last Sunday's Rejoice and Reconnect picnic at the Elm Street Park filled only ONE bag.

Our Tuesday Sept. 21 from 3pm-4pm is for our neighbors served by Mater Christi Food Pantry. Many of their guests are single mothers, senior citizens and immigrants. They are in most of need of bars of soap, shampoo, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste and liquid cleaner, dish detergent and laundry detergent. God bless you for caring for our neighbors!

Wow! ST. Thomas you really know how to pack a truck or may I say a “tent of hospitality!” God bless you for extending hospitality to all we know and those we do not in our community! God bless you for safe guarding in prayer and action God’s Oikos (household). During this second week of Seasons for Creation together let us thank God for the blessing we have the Waters of Life that cool, refresh, Baptize and sustain us each and every day! Thanking God for YOU! See you next Tuesday! Photos on the Photo Album page.

THANK YOU ST. THOMAS FOR A WONDERFUL DAY OF REJOICING! God bless ALL of YOU for making our picnic a wonderful celebration! Together let us continue to shine HIS light of HOPE and PEACE! ALLELUIA! PLEASE VIEW THE PICTURs on the PICNIC SECTION.

Now through October 4, people around the world are celebrating The Season of Creation with acts of caring for the universe of people, flora and fauna God has given us.