 |
|
About
Us A
Little History St.
Thomas Church is part of the Episcopal Church, a
family of U.S. Christians which traces its
denominational origins to the Church of England. If
you’ve heard about King Henry VIII and his
several unfortunate wives, you already know part
of the Episcopal story! Henry’s first
wife, Catherine of Aragon, was unable to produce
an heir to the throne. Henry asked the Pope
to nullify the marriage, but was refused. In
addition, Henry was short of money. Nearly
half of England’s land belonged to the
Church. Revenue from these church-owned
lands went to the Pope, rather than to the King. In
1533 Henry solved his dynastic and financial
problems by seizing control of the Catholic
Church in England and making himself “Head
of the Church”. This new institution,
called the Church of England, became the first
part of what would, in time, develop into a
worldwide family of Anglican Churches (Anglican
means “of England”). As
the British established colonies in the New
World, they also planted scores of Anglican
churches. In 1789, following the American
Revolution, these congregations organized
themselves into the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the United States of America (episcopal
refers to “government by bishops”).
The Episcopal Church USA became the first
independent daughter church of the Church of
England. Over
the past two hundred years, independent Anglican
churches have been established from Canada to
India, and from Japan to South Africa. These
churches form the Anglican Communion and claim
nearly 77 million members around the world.
The Episcopal Church USA is one of the smaller
Anglican bodies, with roughly 2.7 million
members. Our
Beliefs
Episcopalians believe that the Old and New
Testaments of the Bible are the revealed Word of
God; that the Nicene Creed provides a sufficient
statement, or summary, of the Christian faith;
that the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy
Eucharist (also called Communion, Mass, or the
Lord’s Supper) are forms of worship
authorized by Christ himself; and that the
historic ministry of bishops is a source of unity
in the Church.
Unlike some other Christian bodies, we
Episcopalians shy away from reducing the faith to
a set of written doctrines which “every good
and faithful Christian” must believe and/or
practice. We tend to be tolerant of
diversity in belief and practice. In fact,
we see diversity as a strength, not a weakness. Protestant
or Catholic? Episcopalians
love to debate this issue! The
Church of England was strongly influenced by the
Protestant Reformation, yet followed its own
distinctive course of development in what we call
“the English Reformation.” Thus,
in our worship, theology and government, the
Episcopal Church USA is so different from most
reformed churches (such as the Baptist Church)
that many people would not classify us as
“Protestant.” At the same time,
especially in our government and the distribution
of power, we are so different from the Roman
Catholic Church that many people do not consider
us “Catholic.” However,
we Episcopalians like to say that our church is
“both Catholic and Reformed.” That
is, we walk a “middle way” – a via
media, to use a familiar Latin term –
between these two traditions. We feel this
allows us to partake of the best of both worlds! For
example, our liturgy (the term means
“worship”) retains many elements of the
Catholic tradition out of which the Church of
England emerged some 450 years ago. If a
Roman Catholic walked into St. Thomas Church on
Sunday morning, he or she would feel right at
home. At the same time, our theology is
closer to that of the mainline Protestant
churches (such as the Lutherans, Methodists, and
Presbyterians), and our approach to worship
strongly emphasizes scripture and preaching. The
Book of Common Prayer Back
in the early days of the Church of England, the
Book of Common Prayer helped guarantee uniformity
in worship throughout the kingdom. Since
then, it has grown into a powerful source of
unity in an otherwise diverse worldwide Christian
family. Each
national church may have its own prayer book, in
order that its worship can reflect the local
cultural setting. For example, the New
Zealand Prayer Book includes prayers in the
language of the country’s indigenous
Polynesian peoples. At the same time, all
Anglican prayer books include common elements
drawn from the English Church. Therefore,
an American Episcopalian could walk into an
Anglican church in Mexico City or Jerusalem or
Tokyo or New Delhi and feel that he or she is on
familiar ground, even without understanding the
local language. Much
of our Prayer Book is composed of bits and pieces
of scripture, stitched together to provide a
framework for worship. It’s a very
Christian book, and a wonderful aid to the
spiritual life! Holy
Eucharist, or Communion
Christians believe that when Jesus celebrated the
Last Supper, he instituted the liturgy of bread
and wine for his friends, and told them to
“do this in my memory.” For the
early Christians, Holy Eucharist (also called
Communion) soon became the preferred form of
worship on Sundays. That practice continues
today in the Episcopal Church. Some
Protestants believe that celebration of the
Lord’s Supper in our day is a
“memorial” – a reminder of an
event that happened two thousand years ago.
However, we Episcopalians – along with Roman
Catholics and Orthodox Christians – believe
that Jesus is really present with us in
the blessed bread and wine, which he declared to
be his Body and Blood. This is a Sacrament,
in which God’s grace is made powerfully
available to us, washing away our sins, and
nourishing us for the work that God gives us to
do. It
is the long-standing tradition of the Episcopal
Church, and of St. Thomas Church, that all
baptized Christians are welcome to join us in
receiving Holy Communion. This includes
persons who are divorced. How
does a person become a member of St. Thomas? Jesus was very accepting of others. He took people as they were. We of St. Thomas do likewise. To become a member, just join us for worship on Sunday morning, and register information about your baptism with the parish office. If you haven’t been baptized, but want to be, please see the priest. That’s all there is to it.
A Brief History of St. Thomas Episcopal Church St. Thomas Episcopal Church is
the 13th oldest Episcopal Parish in
the Diocese of Michigan and the oldest
denomination in Trenton. The official founding is
listed as March 1843. However, its actual origin
goes back to 1836 when Nathaniel C. Alvord began
holding Episcopal Sunday School classes in a
building at Elm and Jefferson avenues. In March
1843, the first
St. Thomas grew during the years before and after the Civil War. Confirmations were held and the church roles increased by new families arriving. In 1876 a major renovation of the church building was completed. In 1881, St. Thomas acquired its first organ and the choir was established. In 1903, the church was expanded again to accommodate the growing congregation. During the 1920’s the Parish Hall was opened and available as a recreational facility for young people of the community. On December 4, 1946, a fire destroyed the original church on Jefferson Avenue. The parishioners salvaged as much as they could from the old church and began working on a rebuilding plan. Early in 1947, after 103 years, a new location was selected. St. Thomas was to be rebuilt, at its present location, on a two-acre plot of land donated by Elliott Slocum Nichols, a great-grandson of Abram Truax who had donated the land for the first church. The Vestry was able to purchase, from the Ford Foundation, a chapel in Macon, Michigan and moved it 82 miles to the Nichols Road site. The chapel was designated a Martha–Mary Chapel, named after the mothers of Mr. and Mrs. Ford. It was the sixth one, which was designated and built under the supervision of Greenfield Village architects. Included with the furnishings, which had come from the Henry Ford Museum, were an antique chandelier, a solid bronze steeple bell cast in 1901, walnut pews, an electric organ and other items.
On Sunday, September12, 1948, the Rt. Rev. Richard Emrich, Bishop of the Diocese of Michigan, officiated and preached as the new church was dedicated.
On December 30, 1969, the ordination of a Priest was held at St. Thomas. Bishop Emrich ordained the Reverend Gerald W. Smith who was baptized, confirmed and married at St. Thomas. A proud day for our church.
For over 160 years, St Thomas has strived to fulfill its mission - To know Christ, and to make Him known .
|
Rector,
Reverend Charles Fox, noted in his journal:
"although the new church building was very
rough and homely, it was finished and occupied
and a Parish was legally organized".
Consecration and the first confirmations were
held January 29,1844. These events were delayed
one day because the Bishop, who had been visiting
Grosse Ile, was prevented from crossing the river
by dangerous ice flows.
The Chapel also
contains numerous items hand carved by Dr.
William Thomas (Rector at St. Thomas from 1904 to
1915) that were salvaged from the downtown church
when it burned in 1946: the Altar, baptismal
font, poor box and a large wall plaque. 
During
the next 20 years, there were several expansions
to increase the size of the church. On May 23,
1968, the 125th anniversary of the
Parish, the new A-Frame church was dedicated.
This structure, as it exists today, is a blend of
traditional and contemporary architecture. There
is an open courtyard to the right of the nave
that is used as a Memorial Garden where the ashes
of parishioners and others are interred.