Welcome to St. Thomas à Becket Episcopal Church. We celebrate the glory of God in Jesus Christ through worship, service, and fellowship. We believe God calls us to grow by expanding our spiritual life, focusing our outreach, and increasing our ministry to one another.
Worship
Our worship focuses on the celebration and praise of God for the love revealed in Jesus Christ. In this sacred time, we open our hearts to the mystery of God and receive inspiration, strength, and mystical connection with Someone greater than us and with each other. How we worship stands rooted in thousands of years of Church practice yet renewed for relevance with each passing generation.
Our worship follows a reliable pattern, centered on scripture, prayer, and the weekly practice of Eucharist, known as Communion, Mass, or the Lord’s Supper in other Christian traditions. Episcopal worship is highly participatory in a predictable way, not a spectator experience. All baptized people are welcome to receive Communion, including children of all ages.
Our 8:00am Eucharist uses Rite I, a very traditional way of praying that features Elizabethan language similar to the King James Version of the Bible. It does not include music and lasts about 50 minutes. Our 10:30am Eucharist uses contemporary language we call Rite II and includes both congregational and choral music. It usually lasts a little over an hour.
On the spectrum of Episcopal worship, ours might be described as traditional and leaning toward “high church,” where we sing the Psalm and other elements of the service, but do not use incense very often. Relative to other Christian traditions, we blend Roman Catholic, Protestant, and some Orthodox elements with grace, offering an unique experience.
Music
During 10:30 worship, we sing several congregational pieces from hymnals. Our congregation sings with joy and strength, and we enjoy excellent acoustics. We offer several organ recitals over the course of the year on Sunday afternoons.
Our choir rehearses at 9:30 on Sunday and everyone is welcome.
Music is a central part of our worship and our spiritual practice. From our dedicated choir members, to our organist, to the composers in our midst who have created new settings for our ancient words, we love singing and listening to great music.
Fellowship
During Eucharist, we receive a foretaste of the heavenly banquet promised to the faithful through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. After our 10:30 am service, we enjoy robust fellowship in our Parish Hall. Coffee hours are more common, but periodically throughout the year we have more substantial meals: in the Spring and Fall; and quarterly when we honor Milestone Birthdays and Newcomers. We also have a series of parish-wide fellowship events not on Sunday morning, like the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, a Kentucky Derby Party in early May, a Pig Roast in September, and a Chili Dinner in late January.
Altar Flowers
You must sign up on the flower calendar in the hallway on the date you wish to donate flowers. (Please do so at least one week in advance; if you sign up the same week we may miss it.) Alternatively, you can email the office at either parish@stthomasabecket.org or office@stthomasabecket.org
If you change your mind on a date, please line out your name neatly with a black marker. (We ask that you also do this in advance.)
Dates that are designated with “NO FLOWERS” or “RESERVED” are not available to be signed up on. This includes Lent, Advent, Day of Pentecost, and All Saints’ Day.
Please fill out a dedication form (or email it to the office) at least a week in advance. The dedication is what you would like listed in the bulletin, e.g. “Flowers given by [name] in loving memory of [name]” or “Flowers given by [name] in honor of [names]’ 40th wedding anniversary.,” etc. You can place the dedication form in the envelope on the hallway bulletin board for flower sign-ups, drop it off in the office, or email it to the office.
The altar guild has an arrangement with Zaccagnini Morgantown Florist in Suncrest to provide two arrangements for the altar.
Payment: The cost, as of January 2026, is $70. You may pay by check to St. Thomas à Becket with “Altar Flowers” in the memo line and put in the offering plate or mail to the church; you can also pay online through Tithely, choosing Altar Flowers as the fund.
If you would like to provide the arrangements yourself, it is important to note that on the calendar with “Will Provide” beside your name so we know not to contact the florist.
If you wish to have specific flowers or colors for your arrangement, you will need to provide the flowers yourself and contact Linda Yost to get them put on the altar. We cannot specify what flowers we want with the florist.
If you make any changes to the calendar, or if you cannot provide flowers that week and signed up to do so, please contact Susan Seitz (preferably a text) at 304-282-9593. When plans change, we understand, but if we are not made aware, we may wind up having no flowers.
Contacts
Linda Yost | 304-376-9265 / mlkyost@gmail.com
Susan Seitz | 304-282-9593 / sseitz@hotmail.com
Natalie Homer | parish@stthomasabecket.org
Sarah Ransom | office@stthomasabecket.org
Flower Dedication Sheet
Sermons
