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St. Thomas’ Church began in May of 1953 when 22 families gathered in an abandoned television studio on Post Oak Road in what was then the far southwest corner of Houston. Each person brought a prayer book and a hymnal; each paid 50¢ for one chair to sit on and one chair to share with future guests.
That spirit of providing for themselves and for others fueled the growth of the church and its primary mission: St. Thomas’ School. From the beginning, parishioners worked to make sure that facilities would be available for students.
In November, 1953, the new church received the Rev. T Robert Ingram as missioner, and shortly afterwards applied for mission status in the Diocese of Texas.
For several months, it was a mobile church, meeting in parishioners’ homes, a local elementary school, the Rectory — a rented house in Bellaire — and in an old office building. Meanwhile, the congregation raised $40,000 and purchased a piece of property in the new Houston subdivision of Meyerland.
Through the summer of 1955, the congregation met for church in a wooden-floored army surplus tent — air-conditioned by raising the tent’s side flaps — and for a time afterwards in a temporary wooden building.
At Easter 1972, just short of the 20th anniversary, our current sanctuary was consecrated.
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Ministries
Christian Community Service Center
St. Thomas’ is a member and supporter of The Christian Community Service Center (CCSC), an award-winning, community-based non-profit organization serving the inner-city Houston community. CCSC incorporated in 1980 and since that time CCSC has grown to encompass a coalition of 43 churches united in service.
The mission of the Christian Community Service Center (CCSC) is to serve the poor, hungry, disabled, and otherwise needy while respecting their religious, ethnic or cultural differences.
CCSC was created out of faith, and founded in the belief that we are called to help all God’s children heart to heart and hand in hand.
St. Catherine's Guild
Named after St. Catherine of Siena, the 14th century Italian nun known for her care of the sick, St. Catherine’s Guild offers pastoral care to the elderly and homebound in our parish family. This group of men and women show Christ’s love through visits, cards and phone calls.
Speaking about her experience, one member said, “I decided to invite one of the ladies to lunch with myself and Father Browder. It was fun to connect with someone whose name I have seen many times, but I have never really known.”
Another member shared, “When I was little, my mother participated in a weekly Bible study with two elderly women. She always came back with the best stories about the church’s past – whether overcoming obstacles or showing humor. By participating in this ministry, I too can connect with the St. Thomas story.”
St. Catherine’s Guild is one of the ways we answer biblical injunctions to give pastoral care to our neighbors. As one of His last acts on the Cross, Jesus ordered the apostle John to care for his mother Mary. In Acts 6, we learn that the early Church chose seven holy men to be deacons, in part because the widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food. As it says in James 1:27 (NIV) “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
We always welcome more men and women to show a servant’s heart and minister to the home-bound. For information, please contact the church office at (713) 666-3111.
Helping Angels Loving Others (HALO)
HALO is an outreach organization designed to give our younger parishioners (1st – 5th grade) and their parents an opportunity for service. Some of our past activities include: volunteering at the Houston Food Bank, assembling bicycles for under-privileged children, sending care packages to soldiers overseas, and visiting the elderly and shut-ins of St. Thomas’.
4900 Jackwood St
Houston, TX 77096-1599
United States
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