A Note From Our Pastor: October 5, 2025

This past Friday, we had a wonderful Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at St. Philomena. I’m so grateful for those who did all the work of organizing and preparing. I’m also grateful for those who came.

I would love to have a similar type of function at St. Thomas. As was suggested to me, perhaps we could incorporate food that represents the variety of countries and ethnicities that make up St. Thomas parish. I will do my part to find a night that works and to help with some of the basic details, but I need help from St. Thomas parishioners, especially as it pertains to the food. Please reach out to me or the parish office if you are willing to help with this. It will be a great honor and joy for me to gather with you all to celebrate what Jesus has done and continues to do in the community of St. Thomas.

On a different note, it was mentioned in our announcements last weekend that we have established an app for St. Philomena parish. Once we have this more firmly in place, we will intend to do the same for St. Thomas. We made a quarter-sheet card that includes a few basic details that may be helpful, including QR codes to help you locate the app.

To further explain, this app is designed for use on your mobile devices (cellphone or tablet), not your computer. Given that we have a functional website that looks great on our mobile devices, the primary benefit of the app is as a communications tool. Eventually, it could be used to send messages (like texts, rather than emails) between persons within a group (such as the  homebound ministers or  Confirmation class families). We intend to use it immediately to communicate reminders (such as, “tomorrow night, join us for the next Search session”). Again, it will come to you like a notification, rather than requiring you to go into your email inbox. It’s an efficient way to communicate.

But to receive these communications you must download the app and allow its notifications. So, using the appropriate QR code below, download the app. Then, when asked for a code, enter “STPHIL”. After the app is downloaded, go into your device settings, under ‘notifications’, and make sure to turn on the one that says “Our Catholic Community”. Call the parish office if you have any questions. We’re happy to help.

Yours in Christ,

Father Todd O. Strange