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OUR STORY
St. Thomas, the only Episcopal Church in Johnson County, was founded as a mission church in 1958. The first services were held on the Franklin College Campus in Stott Hall.

By 1959, we had grown and began to rent worship space in the former Redman’s Lodge in Franklin. As our numbers increased again, the congregation moved to our current location in 1969, when construction was finished on a handsome Indiana limestone building

In 1983 an addition including the current parish hall was completed

In 1997 what began as St. Thomas, a mission congregation in the Diocese of Indianapolis, was officially recognized with parish status in the diocese.

The recent addition of a Christian Education/Clinic wing has enabled St. Thomas to grow and expand our ministries and our outreach to the surrounding community, especially through our free medical clinic which serves residents of Johnson County.

St. Thomas is a parish in good standing in the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Bishop — The Right Reverend Catherine M. Waynick


Rector — The Reverend Dr. David R. Ferner

Deacon/Archdeacon — The Venerable Alice Goshorn


Senior Warden — Robin Kares


Junior Warden — Phil Warrenburg


Organist/Choir Director — Catherine Elliott


Parish Administrator — Kathy Stout


Treasurer — Tyler Knight


Assistant Treasurers — Steve

Skersick, Marti Ramsey


Clerk — Teresa Voorhees


The 14th Vestry of St. Thomas (2010-2011)

2011—Robin Kares, Phil Warrenburg, Harry VanAken
2012—Mike McFarland, Tanya Miller, Jane Stafford
2013—Ann Kieffer, Teresa Voorhees, Eric Smith


Who We Are


The Episcopal Church

St. Thomas is an Episcopal Church, which means “Church of Bishops.” Every diocese (geographical region) is headed by a bishop who is elected by the members of that diocese. St. Thomas is part of the Diocese of Indianapolis, which is headed by our bishop, The Rt. Rev. Catherine M. Waynick. Bishops exercise sacramental, legislative, and spiritual authority in their dioceses. The Episcopal Church is part of the Christian Church begun 2000 years ago when Jesus sent his Apostles to go into the world under the guiding power of the Holy Spirit.


Communion between the English (Anglican) Church and the Roman Catholic Church was broken in the 16th century. While the Anglican Church rejected the ecclesial authority of the Pope, it preserved the traditional Catholic form of sacramental worship, daily prayer, and the ordained ministries of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.

When the United States became independent of Great Britain, the Anglican Church in the USA was called the Episcopal Church, which is in fellowship with the rest of the world-wide Anglican Communion.

The Anglican Communion has 77 million members in 164 countries. The Diocese of Indianapolis has a companion relationship with dioceses in Sudan and Brazil. Our Anglican identity is found in our worship—in our prayer book which shapes our beliefs and practices. We bring a diversity of beliefs when we come together to pray in common.


What We Share in Common with All Episcopalians

  • Worship that brings everyone in as a full participant
  • Desire to celebrate differences
  • Strong sense of community in which our consensus is in Christ, not to conformity of doctrine or opinion
  • Devotion to the sacraments which evoke awe and mystery
  • Sense of ministry which is the joyful privilege of baptized persons
  • Insistence upon morality (that which is good and life-giving) rather than moralism (that which saves by a code of behavior rather than by the grace of God.)
  • The Apostolic faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Apostolic order given to the church by him.

Everyone Participates

Our service is not “performed” by robed professionals in front of an audience. Please celebrate joyfully as part of St. Thomas’ worshipping community!


You Can Follow the Service

You’ll find the hymns in the Hymnal or Wonder, Love and Praise (WLP). The entire service, with sitting, standing and kneeling suggestions is printed in our Sunday leaflet.

Our Worship - What We Do

  1. We gather in the Lord’s Name, with hymns and songs of praise. In prayer, we commend our worship to God.
  2. We proclaim and respond to the Word of God with readings from the Hebrew Scriptures, Psalms, the Christian Scriptures, and Gospel declaring the mighty acts of God. The Sermon or Homily calls us to incarnate these lessons in our own words and deeds. We affirm our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed.
  3. We pray for the world and the church, and then call to mind our sins, ask God’s forgiveness and hear the declaration of absolution.
  4. We exchange the peace, which is not primarily a show of human friendship, but an affirmation of our common identity as the Body of Christ, and an expression of our determination to live in accordance with Christ’s command to be reconciled to God and one another.
  5. We share the gifts of God in the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, also called the Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper, or the Mass. The word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”. In the Eucharistic prayer, we pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine may be to us the Body and Blood of Christ, to nourish and strengthen us as we go forth to embody the love of Christ in the world. In receiving the sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, we give thanks for our creation and for our life, and, above all, for God’s never-failing love for us. The sacrament of Holy Communion is God’s gift to all of God’s people. Therefore, all baptized persons are invited to the altar to receive the sacrament.

Receiving Communion

To participate in the Eucharist, approach the altar when the Hospitality Team indicates that it is your turn. Stand at the step and place your open right hand on top of your open left hand. You may either eat the bread as it is given to you, and then drink from the cup of wine, or you may reserve your bread to dip in the cup and then eat it. If you are not baptized, you are welcome to receive a blessing instead. Indicate this by crossing your arms over your chest. If you or your family member is not baptized, and would like to consider it, please speak to our clergy, Fr. Dave Ferner or Deacon Alice Goshorn.


Our Beliefs

The beliefs of the Episcopal Church are based on the Holy Scriptures and are defined in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds and the Book of Common Prayer. In interpreting matters of belief, Episcopalians rely on the Holy Scriptures, the historical traditions of the church, and our own God-given human reason. (That’s why we love to wrestle with the tough questions!)

Perhaps our baptismal covenant best sums up our teachings. In this covenant, we affirm our belief in God, Son and Holy Spirit, and promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.