WATER! Pope Francis shared, “WATER is a gift from God that makes LIFE possible…” yet millions of people do not have access to clean WATER even here in the United States! Water with Blessings is a program that empowers “WATER Women “to provide clean water to their own families and neighbors whenever possible with the use of a Sawyer Point One Water Filter System (cost $75) introduced by the Ursuline Sisters of St. Joseph in Louisville, Kentucky. The simple filter can turn a gallon of unclean water into filtered clean water in 6 minutes! Sr. Larranine Lauter, OSU the Director has been praying with and training WATER WOMEN since 2011 in poor South American Countries and most recently here in the United States. Our Parish’s Creations Care Team, School and Faith Formation Programs invite you to show your SOLODARITY with WATER WOMEN by joining us at our Many Blessings of WATER Art Show this Sunday April 25 from 11am to 1pm by our Peace Pole. Stop by and consider taking home a uniquely painted clay jug or glass vase hand painted by one of our students for a donation. Check out some WATER illustrated Bible Stories. All donations will be sent to WATER with Blessings to purchase needed Sawyer Point One Water Filters. “Together we can do GREAT Things!” St. Mother Teresa For more information check out Water With Blessings website: Navajo Nation - Water With Blessings Checks can be made out to: St. Thomas memo line Water with Blessings.

Food Drive April 20 3pm-4pm in the church parking lot is for our neighbors served at St. John/St. Ann’s Outreach Center. They are most in need of jelly, peanut butter, tuna, and canned fruit, Ziti & Penne Pasta, Chicken Noodle Soup and SpaghettiOs. Thank you for your continued generosity! We thank YOU for supporting the men and women who have served our Country at our food drive this past week for the Veterans Miracle Center. Special shout out to Olivia Skuza and Ted Witting for supervising our Drive! God bless you!

Celebrate Earth Day by committing to some “small steps” to Care for Creation within your own yard and neighborhood.

Pastoral Care Ministry Resumption ~ We have begun our ZOOM health and safety trainings for in-person ministry. If you have been vaccinated, or have dates for your vaccination, and are interested in resuming (or starting something new!) please let Maura know and she will be happy to have you on board!

All are welcome to join Fr. Leskovar for a tour of our church next Saturday April 24, 11am-12 noon. Learn about the rich history and traditions of our parish & faith. Please RSVP via our FF/YM sign up genius https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E4EA8AD22A6F94-tour or Contact Colleen Harrigan at 518-439-4951 ext. 108 Mon.-Thurs. 9am-2pm or at charrigan@stthomas-church.org. Special thanks to Fr. Leskovar for sharing with us!

Love the peace and beauty of the great outdoors? Consider joining fellow parishioners at St. Thomas’ Parish Camp Getaway at Beautiful Pyramid Lake, in Paradox NY! We are considering two possible options for families & adults EITHER July 2-4 or July 4-8. Costs per night include: Lodging, 3 meals, access to water front, canoeing, swimming, kayaking, hiking trails and more! Adults: $60 a night, 12 yrs. – 18 yrs. $35, 11 yrs. - 4 yrs. $15 and 3 & under free! Please contact Mary Ann at mhospodar@stthomas-church.org if you are interested along with date preference by May 1st. Questions regarding Camp itself-please contact Brain Evers Camp Director at 518-585-7545.

TUESDAY FOOD DRIVE, April 13, 3-4 p.m. in the church parking lot is for the Veteran’s Miracle Center: Hand soap, bars of soap, 13 gallon trash bags, gallon zip lock bags, pasta, sauce, Complete Microwave Meals, Soup, Canned ravioli, fruit and veggies. Blessings to all who serve and have served our country!

St. Thomas’ Creation Care Team invites all parishioners to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and Restore Our Earth With Small Steps.

HAPPY EASTER! Our drive on Tuesday April 6 3pm-4pm in the church parking lot is for our neighbors at St. Francis/St. James Food Pantry: Jelly, soup, juice, Newborn & Size ONE diapers , shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and soap. Thank you for your support!

Wow during our Tuesday Drive we collected $435 in gift cards for our Meal Ministry Program. Thank you all for sharing a little comfort with your neighbor in your pew! Special thanks to Patti Staerker and Vincent Blendell for supervising our drive! “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12 Wishing you all a prayerful Holy Week and a Joyous Easter! Photos in the Photo Album on Pastoral Care Page

We are called by the Risen Christ to be an Easter People living with loving kindness for all Creation, acting with gratitude for the gift of life, sharing the resources of this world with all peoples, seeking to be healers, to be caregivers. Huge goals arrived at “One Small Step” each day.

As we live the renewal of Lent, rethinking our choices and recommitting to faith-filled behaviors, Creation Care Team is offering some Small Steps to Care for Creation. Caring for creation is caring for the entire "web of life." It is social justice. It is seeking to be healers in our world. Huge goals arrived at one small step each day.

This Tuesday’s Drive March 30 in our Church Parking Lot from 3pm-4pm is for our St. Thomas’s Meal Ministry. This Ministry provides comfort and hope to our parishioners who are experiencing the joy of a new baby, or the loss of a loved one or are experiencing an illness or in treatment. The gift cards lets our neighbors in our pew know we are thinking of them! Please consider donating a gift card from a local restaurant that DELIVERS. Gift cards can be $10-$40 from restaurants like Delmar Market Place, Village Deli, Romo’s, Track 32, Swifty’s, Roux. GOD BLESS YOU 

HAPPY SPRING! We thank everyone for their generosity and support of the South End Children’s Café this week. Special shout to our Young church greeters: Nina, Natalie and Amanda. Happy Anniversary too ST. Thomas! Looking back to a year ago when we started our food drives we were surrounded by uncertainties. Yet TOGETHER we worked & prayed to make this a year of HOPE, LOVE AND JOY. We thank each and every one of you for the gift, the blessing that you are! We invite you to check out our Photo album page on our parish website Photo Albums (stthomas-church.org) or on our Youth Ministry Page Photo Albums (stthomas-church.org) . TOGETHER WE ARE ST. THOMAS STRONG! God bless you!

As we live the renewal of Lent, rethinking our choices and recommitting to faith-filled behaviors, Creation Care Team offers more Small Steps to Care for Creation.

This Tuesday marks our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY for FOOD DRIVES! We thank all of you for your commitment to help others during this pandemic. It has been humbling to witness your generosity, kindness and love of neighbor! And it has been a beautiful gift for our volunteers and young church to see firsthand what it means to be “CHURCH”! This Tuesday March 23 in our Church Parking Lot 3pm-4pm we are headed back to The South End Children’s Café where we started! The Café is most in need of: canned fruit especially Mandarin oranges, or fresh fruit, canned green beans or other veggies, soup, bread, peanut butter, jelly, crackers, tuna, beans in bag, pasta, pasta sauce, laundry detergent, body wash and face masks. St. Mother Teresa shared, “If you can’t feed one hundred people than feed just one.” God bless you for feeding hundreds of neighbors this past year!

Special shout out to all of you for your generosity shown to the Capital City Rescue Mission and to Kaitlin Strokes who did an excellent job sorting and packing our loaded truck yesterday! A volunteer at the mission shared more than once, “Thank you for sharing this Blessing with us!” Your blessings… your donations! A neon cross hangs on the corner of the Mission that I am sure we all have seen hundreds of times. But yesterday it gave me reason to pause, it reads, “Come to Jesus. JESUS SAVES.” How powerful! What a beautiful invitation to “Come to Jesus” this Lent…to pray, to be nourished by the Eucharist and to receive His forgiveness and grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Yes, JESUS SAVES!

As we live the renewal of Lent, rethinking our choices and recommitting to faith-filled behaviors, Creation Care Team is offering some Small Steps to Care for Creation.

“AMAZING !!! “ exclaimed the volunteer at “Things of my very Own!” as we unloaded our van filled with toiletries, art supplies, playing cards, and journals! Your donations will be shared with foster youth throughout the area. Special shout out to Amanda Burke, Ted & Liam Witting for greetings, sorting and picking out some of your wonderful items to be added to our Care Backpacks! We are very excited to report that as Wednesday we have collected $524.06! Congratulations St. Thomas we are pass our half way point! God bless you for your continued generosity! Next Tuesday’s Drive! Tuesday March 16’s Food Drive 3pm-4pm in the Church Parking lot will be for our neighbors served at the Capital City Rescue Mission! The Mission serves 4 meals a day and hosts Chapel Services daily! Chef is most in need of: rice, beans, cans of tomato sauce, canned vegetables, pasta, peanut butter, jelly and lunch snacks like granola bars.

All are welcome to join us this Sunday evening March 14 at 6pm in the church, to reflect on our Lord’s Passion by praying the Sorrowful Rosary lead by our Young Church. Maura Barrett our Pastoral Care Associate will be joining us to share the wonderful works of our Pastoral Care Program. Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of time. Mother, Mary Pray for Us!