SOURCE AND SUMMIT

INTENTIONAL CELEBRATIONS OF FAITH

Great care is taken to ensure that the celebration of the liturgy is the “work of the people.” All of us together, accomplish the great work of celebrating the liturgy which has been entrusted to us by Christ.

Our worship involves a rich diversity of ministries. While the priest is the primary leader of prayer, many others are needed: sacristans, greeters, ushers, lectors, altar servers, extraordinary ministers of communion, music ministers; those who prepare the liturgy and the worship space, those who launder the linens, and those who tend the plants. At any one liturgy, up to 50 lay ministers contribute their time and talent.

Liturgies at St. Thomas the Apostle are always an intentional celebration of faith. Throughout the liturgical year certain aspects of the Paschal Mystery are highlighted, yet the “theme” of every liturgy is the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Never is that more clear than our celebration of the Sacred Triduum—Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Great Vigil, and Easter Sunday. These days, celebrated with “style and grace,” are both the culmination and the blueprint of the whole liturgical year.

St. Thomas the Apostle strives to create a community of inclusion. We welcome all to the liturgy, no matter where they are on their journey of faith. All are invited to fully, consciously and actively engage in the gathering, the listening, the responding, the singing, the receiving and the accepting of the mission to go forth to glorify the Lord by our lives.