A Parish Rooted in 275 Years of Sacred Ground
St. Thomas' Parish sits at the heart of Croom, a small crossroads community in southern Prince George's County, Maryland. Its white-steepled church has watched over the village green since Christmas Day 1745, making it one of the oldest Episcopal houses of worship in rural southeastern Maryland. From this single colonial chapel the parish has grown into a multi-sited community that also includes the Spanish Mission-style Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine and a living history that reaches back to the founding of St. Paul's Parish in 1692.
The parish's guiding motto - "Encountering God, Strengthening Community, Reflecting the Love of Christ in the World" - shapes everything from Sunday worship to its food pantry and racial reconciliation work. St. Thomas' Church, the adjacent cemetery, and the grounds of St. Simon's Mission together form the St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District, all on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Church on the Hill in Croom
St. Thomas' Church was completed on December 25, 1745, and for more than a century was unofficially known as "Page's Chapel" after its builder, Daniel Page, who designed a simple English Georgian "auditory" church. The structure was remodeled in the 1850s and 1860s, and in 1888 a frontal bell tower was added in memory of Bishop Thomas John Claggett, the first Episcopal bishop consecrated on American soil and the longtime home rector of this congregation. A renovation in the 1950s brought Victorian and Colonial elements together into the harmonious interior seen today.
The building sits at the center of a campus rich in old trees, boxwoods, and the song of wood thrushes. Inside, visitors find a pipe organ, a piano, and a ring of handcrafted antique stained-glass windows. Across the road stands Showell Hall, a light-filled gathering space with hardwood floors on the main level and a kitchen plus meeting room in the basement, both available for rent.
The Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine
In 1916 the cornerstone for the Chapel of the Incarnation was laid in the railroad town of Brandywine. Architect William J. Palmer of Washington, DC, designed it in the Spanish Mission style, an unusual choice for southern Maryland; the chapel is one of the few, and perhaps only, examples of this style in the region. The chapel is built of poured-in-form concrete covered in coarse pebble-filled stucco that resembles adobe, with a shaped parapet, bell tower, and an L-shaped cross-gabled plan entered through a lower-gabled narthex.
Bishop Harding consecrated the chapel in October 1923, and it has remained an active congregation since. Inside are an original altar balustrade and pulpit, plus a stone baptismal font brought from a church in England. The chapel is also on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the offices of Community Support Systems, a nonprofit founded by parish members, and in the evenings serves as a meeting place for Alcoholics Anonymous groups.
Four Congregations Woven into One Parish
St. Thomas' Parish was created in 1850 out of the northern portion of St. Paul's Episcopal Parish, which itself dates to 1692. From 1850 to 1895 the parish was under the Diocese of Maryland; since 1895 it has been part of the Diocese of Washington. Over its history the parish has gathered four congregations under one roof.
In 1874 the parish built the Church of the Atonement in Cheltenham to serve the southern portion of its members. Bishop William Pinkney of Maryland consecrated the church in July 1875. A bell tower in memory of long-serving rector Samuel R. Gordon was added in the 1880s. Regular services ended in 1925 as the Chapel of the Incarnation grew, and the building was deconsecrated and taken down in 1947. The Atonement Cemetery remains, located across Route 301 from the Veterans Cemetery and still maintained by the parish.
In 1896 three sisters - Susie, Kate, and Elizabeth Willes, whose brother the Reverend Francis P. Willes was rector of St. Thomas' - established St. Simon's Mission as a Sunday school for African-American neighbors. It became an independent mission of the Diocese of Washington in 1902. St. Simon's Cemetery was the first cemetery in Croom for African Americans, and the mission grounds are today a Prince George's County Historical Resource Site. In 1964 the congregation of St. Simon's was integrated with St. Thomas'. The buildings were demolished in the early 1970s.
The Blessed Pauli Murray Shrine
St. Thomas' Parish is known far beyond Croom for its connection to the Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray. Murray's uncle, the Reverend John Ethophilus Gratin Small, was vicar of St. Simon's from 1921 to 1931, and young Pauli spent formative years on the mission grounds in the shadow of St. Thomas' Church. Murray went on to become a historian, attorney, poet, and teacher, and in 1977 was ordained the first African American woman priest in the Episcopal Church. She was declared an Episcopal saint in 2012 and added to the Episcopal liturgical calendar by the General Convention in 2018.
In February 2019 the parish consecrated an icon of Blessed Pauli Murray at a liturgy and placed it permanently in St. Thomas' Church. A July observance of the Blessed Pauli Murray Shrine continues each year. The parish is also home to St. Pauli's Alliance for Racial Reconciliation and Healing, a network of community-based programs and collaborations with other parishes and nonprofits dedicated to carrying Murray's work forward.
Sunday Worship and the Week's Rhythm
Sunday morning begins at 10:00 AM with the principal Eucharist at St. Thomas' Church in Croom. The service is the parish's main weekly gathering, with music led by the parish choir. On the first Sunday of each month children take leadership parts in the liturgy. The service is followed by a full coffee and fellowship hour, and the congregation is known for the diversity of its worshipping community.
For those unable to attend in person, the service is offered live on Zoom. On Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM a book study gathers on Zoom, often followed by Compline at 7:30 PM. Compline, the church's official bedtime prayer, is also offered each Wednesday over Zoom for those who want to close the day with the church's last prayer of the liturgical day. Saturday Evening Prayer is held at the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, followed by a simple fellowship supper.
Throughout the year the parish offers special services and seasonal observances. February brings Ash Wednesday Evensong and the Black History Celebration Sunday that highlights the spiritual journey of African Americans in the Episcopal Church. Holy Week moves through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. In July the parish gathers at the Blessed Pauli Murray Shrine, and in October comes the St. Francis Day Blessing of the Animals and All Hallows Evensong on the Friday before Halloween. Advent is marked by Lessons and Carols, and the year closes with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations.
Children, Youth, and Family Life
Children are folded into the worshipping life of the parish from their first Sunday. SMORES - Start the Month off Right Sunday - is the children's Christian Education program, held on the first Sunday of each month from 9:00 to 9:45 AM before the 10:00 service, after which the children join the congregation for worship.
For older students the parish offers faith exploration classes for teens and young adults during Lent. Vacation Bible School is inter-generational and planned jointly with the Greater Upper Marlboro churches, rotating the host site each year. VBS is held in the evening in July or August, with children ages 3 to 12 from the wider community welcome to attend. Family-friendly events fill out the calendar year, including Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, a Family Halloween Party and Ghost Tour, and Breakfast with Santa.
Adult Formation and Faith at Home
Adult formation at St. Thomas' happens through Bible and book studies that meet weekly on Zoom, often paired with Compline on Wednesday evenings. The parish also participates in Sacred Ground, a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race and faith produced by The Episcopal Church. Sacred Ground invites small groups to walk through ten chapters of America's history of race and racism, weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and regional identity. The series is sponsored by the Southern Maryland Region of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. The parish also points families toward Faith at Home resources from Forma.church to support everyday spiritual practice.
Music at St. Thomas'
Music holds a special place at St. Thomas'. The St. Thomas' Parish Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM in the parish hall in Croom under the direction of Music Director Cindy Carlton, an accomplished organist, choir director, and choral clinician with degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the Conservatory at Shenandoah University. The choir leads music at the Sunday Eucharist and at seasonal services like Lessons and Carols, Ash Wednesday Evensong, and All Hallows Evensong. Throughout the year the parish also hosts special concerts, musical series, and the occasional drum circle.
Community Outreach in Southern Maryland
The parish takes its call to "love your neighbor as yourself" into southern Prince George's and northern Charles County in a number of ways. The parish hall in Croom is a meeting place for community groups and serves as a polling place on election days. St. Thomas' supports the Upper Marlboro Food Bank with food, sorting, packing, and a parish-hosted breakfast several times a year. The parish also supports Episcopal Relief & Development, the denomination's disaster relief agency, and pitches in as called upon for local and national relief efforts.
The largest outreach partner is Community Support Systems (CSS), founded by parish members and friends and now housed at the Chapel of the Incarnation. CSS offers a weekly food pantry program, an assistance fund for critical needs, advocacy and benefits help for SNAP, Maryland Energy Assistance, and other services, and Shared Senior Living - a low-cost housing option for seniors who function independently. The parish-owned DiBrandi Senior House next door to the chapel is administered by CSS. CSS also operates a foodbank in Baden, Maryland, and serves people throughout the southern Prince George's and northern Charles County community.
Cemeteries, Hall Rentals, and Facility Use
The parish maintains four historic cemeteries: the St. Thomas' Church Cemetery, with graves dating to the mid-1740s; St. Simon's Cemetery, the first burial ground in Croom for African Americans; the Claggett Family Cemetery, the burial ground of Bishop Thomas John Claggett and his family; and the Atonement Cemetery at Cheltenham. St. Thomas' offers the church for weddings and funerals, with Showell Hall and the kitchen available for receptions and gatherings. The parish hall also serves as a recurring meeting place for community groups.
Leadership and Giving
Music Director Cindy Carlton leads the parish choir. The Vestry is shared by members from three classes, currently including Steve Kensinger, Debbie Richards, and Jack Thompson, Jr. (Class of 2027) and Deanne Chevannes Adams, Greg Gill, Gary Hogue, and Sandra Wiseman (Class of 2028). The parish Administrator is Iona Harrison. Contributions to support the parish's worship, formation, and outreach can be made online through the parish's giving page or by mail to 14300 St. Thomas Church Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772. The 1850 Fund accepts tax-deductible gifts toward the upkeep of the parish's historic landmarks.