Community

At St. Thomas’ Parish, we know that we are part of the larger community here in southern Prince George’s County, and we want to increase our outreach to our neighbors. Part of the Vision for our Parish is to initiate events that bring the Parish and the wider community together. Reaching out to our neighbors, we seek to follow our Lord, Jesus Christ, who teaches us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The first of a series of Community Dinners was held on October 31, 2009, at the Chapel of the Incarnation , reaching out to provide fellowship and a good meal to our neighbors in the Brandywine area.

The wildly popular annual Breakfast with Santa will be held on Saturday, December 12, 2009, from 8 am to 12 pm at the Chapel of the Incarnation, Brandywine. Everyone is welcome! Children not only get to have breakfast with Santa & take home a souvenir picture, they get to choose gifts for their families and have them wrapped, too! All for just $2.00 per child under the age of 12, $5.00 for everyone over the age of 12—except for seniors, who can join in the fun for no charge. And all of this benefits Community Support Systems’ Food Pantry, which helps our neighbors in southern Prince George’s County and northern Charles County. Directions.

The parish’s Service of Lessons and Carols will be held on Sunday, December 20, 2009, at 4 pm at St. Thomas’ Church, Croom (Upper Marlboro). Come enjoy the music of the season! Free of charge, but free-will donations will be gratefully accepted. Directions.

St. Thomas’ Parish serves as the meeting place for a number of community groups. Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops meet in the Parish Hall at St. Thomas’ Church, Croom, as do local landowner and conservation groups. At the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, both Community Support Servicesand the Leary School are housed in the Parish Hall during the day, and Alcoholics’ Anonymous groups meet there in the evening.

To help support Outreach work in the Parish and in Prince George’s County, the St. Thomas’ Parish Antique Show will be held March 26-28, 2010, at Oxon Hill Manor, Oxon Hill, MD. This revives an old tradition of the Parish: The Famous Tobacco Barn Antiques Show and Sale was established by St. Thomas’ Parish in 1959 and occurred annually for 40 years. After a 10-year hiatus, the show returns and promises to be better than ever. With the support of the wider Washington-area community for the Antique Show, St. Thomas’ will be able to help even more of our neighbors.

Our baptismal vows charge us to seek and serve Christ in all persons. Through our Community Outreach, the people of St. Thomas’ Parish seek to do that very thing.