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Welcome to St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sun Valley Idaho.
In addition to Sunday worship, we have Bible studies, book clubs, prayer groups, meditation groups, youth groups, gardening groups, choir, etc. We even have an active theatre company, St. Thomas Playhouse. There is an activity for almost every interest. If your passion isn't found in an existing group, please feel free to start a new one. These groups don't exist for their own sake. They exist in order to connect us to each other and to Christ. We are used to welcoming new people. Most of us moved to Sun Valley from elsewhere. Many of our members are seasonal. It is our hope that this directory will help you feel comfortable at St. Thomas and make it easier for you to connect with others. It is our hope that in addition to visiting our website, you will visit us for worship or one of our many programs. It is the continuing vision of the parishioners of St. Thomas Church to establish our church a as community center for diverse activities and programs for children, youth, and adults of all ages—a village church that is a hospitable haven providing comfort, peace, succor and spiritual inspiration to all. We seek to be a worshipping community that calls all members into deeper levels of communion with Christ and each other and inspires them to go forth to seek and serve Christ in the world. Our Congregation Of the over 750 people who are members of St. Thomas Church, most are Episcopalians. However, we have many "transplanted" Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and others who attend regularly. Of the approximately 430 families or couples in our church, 286 are full-time residents of the Wood River Valley, and 144 are part-time. We recognize the unique nature of a resort community, and consider those who attend two Sundays a year to be every bit as cherished members of our church family as those who attend every Sunday. On any given weekend, about 200 people attend services, and throughout the week, the church bustles with not only small group ministries and meetings, but with the meetings of area non-profit, service, and cultural organizations as well. The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church in the United States is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which numbers some 70 million people. The Anglican Communion evolved out of the Church of England, the church that with the severing of its ties from the Roman Catholic Church came into being during the reign of Henry VIII. Episcopalians base their service on the Book of Common Prayer, whose first edition was published in 1549, and whose roots lie in the Bible and in the liturgies of the early centuries of the church. Basic elements of the Episcopal service include the reading of Scripture (the Lessons and the Gospel), a sermon, confession of sin and petition for forgiveness, and the celebration of Holy Communion. All of these elements are supplemented by music and song, and by prayer, both spoken and silent.
Our Clergy The Reverend Kenneth H. Brannon became our rector on July 15th, 2007. He had been Associate Rector of the Church of St Barnabas in Irvington, NY since 2003. He is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, and has a Masters in Drama Therapy from New York University. He and his wife, Rachel and children, Lucy and Isaac live in the rectory in Twin Creeks.
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St. Thomas Episcopal Church . P.O. Box 1070 . Sun Valley, ID 83353
Phone: 208.726.5349 . Fax: 208.726.7570 . Email: see directory |