When I think about what it takes to make St. Thomas' thrive, I don't first think of money.  After all, we're not a building or a park, we are a group of people.  It's our people, our parishioners, that make us thrive. The opposite is true: that is, St. Thomas' makes its parishioners thrive.

Although I am a cradle Episcopalian, I lost interest in going to church when I was a teenager and did not return until I found St. Thomas' in 1991. I was house sitting in Dupont Circle at that time, and I was searching for something - meaning in life, a community, a way to help others.... The feelings were vague, but I found myself at St. Thomas' one Sunday morning, and I knew instantly that I had found my home.

I was lucky enough to be among eight folks who spent four years together studying spirituality through the Education for Ministry program (EFM). Although EFM's title might suggest that the course is designed to lead participants to a particular vocation, none of us came away with marching orders.  Although I didn't come away from EFM knowing what I would do next, I did come away with an understanding that whatever I do I will do in community.