A House of Welcome on Hawthorne Avenue
St. Thomas' Episcopal Church sits at 3602 Hawthorne Avenue in the Northside of Richmond, Virginia, at the corner of Hawthorne and Walton. It is an inclusive, Christ-centered parish in the Episcopal (Anglican) tradition that has built its identity around two large commitments: a traditional but warm practice of common worship, and an unusually large network of community ministries that feed, teach, and accompany neighbors far beyond the church doors. No matter a visitor's age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or place on the journey of faith, the parish welcomes full participation in its life.
The congregation is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the largest diocese in the country, served by Bishop E. Mark Stevenson. St. Thomas' describes itself as a middle-sized Episcopal church with a large base of volunteers active in internal and external missions.
Sunday Mornings: Three Services and a Taizé Evening
Worship is central to life at St. Thomas', and the parish gathers several times across a Sunday. The day begins with Holy Eucharist at 8:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. A second Holy Eucharist follows at 10:30 a.m., offered in person and livestreamed online. Both services use Rite II of the Book of Common Prayer. Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m. for children, youth, and adults.
Children are a regular presence in the sanctuary. On first, second, and third Sundays, the children leave Sunday School to rejoin their families in worship in time to receive communion together. On fourth and fifth Sundays, one of the clergy offers a children's sermon during the 10:30 service. A staffed nursery for infants and children ages 0 to 5 is open during the 10:30 service upstairs, and children's bulletins and crayons are available from the ushers. The Episcopal Church's invitation to full participation in the liturgy means children of all ages are welcome at the altar.
On the second and fourth Sundays of the program year, a Taizé Eucharist is held at 5:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. The service is contemplative, with soft light, chanting, and meditation, and the parish describes it as a quiet, come-as-you-are alternative to the morning services.
After the 10:30 service, most of the congregation gathers for Coffee Hour in the parish hall. The parish also holds Mass on the Grass during warmer months, when the Holy Eucharist is followed by a parish picnic with fried chicken and vegan options, and parishioners occasionally bring their pets along.
The Food Pantry at the Heart of the Parish
The single largest ministry at St. Thomas' is its Food and Wellness Pantry, which has distributed food from the parish every Thursday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. since 1992. The pantry is open 50 weeks a year, serving roughly 695 households every week through drive-through and walk-up windows at 3602 Hawthorne Avenue. The GRTC Bus #1 stops nearby at Chamberlayne and Walton.
In a recent year, the pantry served 56,859 individuals from 25,228 households, distributing 691,588 pounds of food - figures that grew by double-digit percentages over the year before. Roughly 215 volunteers, from age 14 to age 96, cover 147 shifts a week, supported by two part-time staff members. The food pantry director, Kristin Cummings, has been part of the ministry since 2013 and a licensed clinical social worker; the volunteer coordinator, Linette Wray Nolen, is a former youth minister with a background in religion and social work.
The pantry provides more than food. Guests can also receive blood pressure checks from a registered nurse, one-on-one help with SNAP, Medicare, and Medicaid applications, healthy cooking classes, nutrition and wellness information, and social needs navigation from trained social workers. Partners include Feed More, the USDA, Food Lion, Walmart, Lidl, Montana Gold Bread Company, Shalom Farms, and the Williams City Farm and Seasonal Roots. Hygiene items are provided when available.
Volunteers are central to the operation. Shifts include an early-morning truck unload, two Wednesday pre-packing sessions, a Thursday produce pre-pack, set-up, and two afternoon distribution shifts that finish with clean-up. Gleaning teams travel to local grocery stores to pick up donations, weigh them, and return them for storage. A background check is required for regular volunteers.
The Day School, Six Decades Strong
St. Thomas' Day School, housed in the same complex at 3602 Hawthorne Avenue, has been part of the parish since the 1960s, when Helen Reid Parker brought her play school to St. Thomas'. Today it serves up to 43 children ages 2 to 5 in three large classrooms, with a large playground and access to the Parish Hall as an indoor gym. Classes run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon or 1:00 p.m., with art, music, and movement emphasized throughout the day. Families send a nut-free snack; food is not served.
The school operates under Virginia's Religiously Exempt guidelines, including background checks, fingerprinting, and annual physician certification for staff. First-aid and CPR-trained adults are present whenever children are on site, and the school carries public liability insurance. Scholarships are available. The director, Kelly Kane, has been with the school since 1995 and is in her twenty-second year as director; the assistant director, Ms. Joan, is in her twenty-sixth year of teaching at St. Thomas'.
The Day School is one of the parish's primary outreach ministries, serving children and families from across the wider community. Parents and friends support the school through the annual Raise Right gift-card program, the Kroger Community Rewards program (ID#83315), and an annual fundraiser.
Formation for Children, Youth, and Adults
Children's ministry centers on Sunday School at 10:30 a.m. during the school year, supplemented by seasonal events such as the Alleluia Egg Hunt, the parish retreat to Shrine Mont, Advent Adventure, and Lenten activities. Acolyte training begins in third grade, with older children serving as readers and ushers in worship.
The Youth Group, open to all 6th through 12th graders, meets several times a month for fellowship, service, and Christian education. The group is active in diocesan life through Parish Youth Ministries, Shrine Mont Camps, and the Diocesan Mission Trip, and has sent youth to Episcopal Youth Events and to Annual Convention as delegates. Youth lead the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner, help at the food pantry on Thursdays when school is out, and take part in service days and outreach each summer. The new youth minister, Jordan Tan, joined after graduating from James Madison University and is pursuing a master's in counseling at Eastern Mennonite University.
Adult formation at St. Thomas' has included Sacred Ground (a series on race and reconciliation), Bible Study, book groups, congregational forums, a year-long course on the Bible, conversations on grief, and Mental Health First Aid. The Altar Guild of about 25 members prepares the altar every Sunday on a rotating basis, polishes silver, cares for linen, and arranges flowers, weddings, and funerals. The Men's Corps organizes fellowship and service around OystoberFest, and the Women of St. Thomas' host speakers and social events that fund the Anne Woodrum Board Scholarships for high school seniors who have contributed to parish life.
A Choir at the Heart of Worship
The parish choir, open to anyone 16 and older regardless of voice type or experience, rehearses every Wednesday evening from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and sings anthems of varied styles at Sunday services and special occasions. Organist and Choirmaster Jimmy Hicks joined St. Thomas' in January 2018 after 25 years in the same role at Immanuel Episcopal Church; as a long-time resident of the Bellevue neighborhood, he describes being at St. Thomas' as coming home. Four staff singers round out the music program: sopranos Liliana Dunn and Olivia Hayes-Ansari, tenor Max Goldsmith, and bass Sam Cook. Instrumentalists - wind, brass, string, percussion, organ, and piano - are invited to share their talents at services throughout the year.
Outreach Beyond the Parish Walls
In addition to the food pantry and day school, St. Thomas' is involved in a wide network of community ministries. The parish has long supported CARITAS, the Richmond-area organization that shelters and feeds people experiencing homelessness and helps them move toward permanent housing; volunteers from St. Thomas' prepare meals and bag lunches for CARITAS residents. Through Micah, a tutoring and mentoring program started by Richmond Hill that supports Richmond City elementary school children, parish volunteers serve local students. The parish partners with Concerned Northside Congregations to provide fellowship and pastoral care for neighbors with severe mental and physical disabilities living in group homes on Chamberlayne Avenue: the O'Brien Home, the Humphrey Home, and the Palace.
St. Thomas' also shares space with several community partners. Autastic Avenues, a Saturday morning program for children with autism, runs from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Brownie Troop 683 meets at the parish. A local Narcotics Anonymous group, Good Orderly Direction, gathers in the Parish Hall on Friday evenings. A Caregiver Conversation Circle meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. for anyone who has been a primary caregiver for a loved one. Collection bins in the Parish Hall foyer gather children's books for the food pantry, food and toiletries for the pantry, school supplies for the YMCA Bright Beginnings program, and loose change from the offering plate for outreach ministries.
Wednesday Morning Prayer and the Week's Rhythm
Mid-week spiritual life at St. Thomas' centers on Wednesday Morning Prayer at 8:30 a.m. in the choir loft. The brief service is a chance to pray for the world, the Church, and each other before the day begins. On Tuesday mornings at 8:30 a.m., a certified mindfulness teacher leads guided meditation in the upstairs classrooms. The parish calendar also includes a monthly book club meeting on the last Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m., a quarterly Caregiver Conversation Circle, and seasonal gatherings such as the Blessing of the Animals, the Commemoration of the Dead service, and the Advent Adventure dinner.
Annual Traditions: OystoberFest, Shrine Mont, and the Holiday Bazaar
Each year the parish gathers around three signature events. The annual OystoberFest, organized by the Men's Corps, takes over the church grounds with raw, grilled, and fried oysters, craft beers and wines, live music, a KidsZone, and a bike valet that pays riders $2 in meal and drink tickets for cycling to the event. Free to attend with a suggested $2 donation, OystoberFest is the parish's largest fundraiser and benefits the food pantry and other outreach work.
The annual Shrine Mont Retreat brings the parish to the diocese's mountain retreat center in Orkney Springs, in the Shenandoah Valley, for a weekend of reflection, renewal, and fellowship. A Shrine Mont in Spirit Lunch is offered at the parish for those who cannot travel.
The Holiday Bazaar fills the parish with crafts, artwork, raffle baskets, and homemade treats in late November. The Mary Whittle Concert Series, named for a longtime choir member and food pantry volunteer, brings four concerts a year to the parish, including choral, organ, and recital performances.
Clergy, Staff, and Leadership
The Reverend Herbert Jones has served as rector of St. Thomas' since 2017. A former Richmond defense attorney, he attended Union Presbyterian Seminary and completed the Anglican Studies program at Virginia Theological Seminary before being ordained as a priest in 2011. The Reverend R. Dale Smith, a former VCU English Department faculty member, joined as part-time associate rector after ordination in January 2024; he preaches and presides, helps with formation programming, provides pastoral care, works at the food pantry, and handles behind-the-scenes planning. The Reverend Christine Garcia, a vocational deacon, maintains a weekly Bible study at Goochland Correctional and serves Kairos prison retreats several times a year.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with staff working remotely on Fridays. The Vestry, currently chaired by the rector, has nine elected members who serve three-year terms beginning and ending in early February. The 2026 Vestry includes Senior Warden Anne Fano, Junior Warden Mike Bagwell, Elizabeth Lafoon, Sarah Lageman, Jimmy Milcarek, Cynthia Miller, Doug Palais, Pat Panilaitis, and Rob Smith.
Getting Involved at St. Thomas'
Parishioners serve in nearly every aspect of the church's life. Lay volunteers lead worship as acolytes, readers, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, and lay Eucharistic visitors who take communion to homebound parishioners. The Altar Guild prepares the altar each Sunday. Coffee Hour after the 10:30 service is hosted by volunteers who bring snacks and brew coffee. Lotsa Helping Hands coordinates meal support for parishioners during times of need. Behind the scenes, volunteers staff the food pantry, sort donations, and serve as Sunday School teachers.
Financial giving can be made online, by mail, by stock transfer through Truist, or by pledge during the annual October-November campaign; pledges can be changed at any time. Membership and opportunities to serve are not conditioned on pledging.