Meet St. Thomas', Sanford

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church began in 1879 as a mission of St. Bartholomew’s in Pittsboro, with members meeting in each other’s homes until 1896, when the first mission church was completed. Legend has it that the parishioners chose the name St. Thomas, the doubting apostle, because they doubted the building would be completed.

In the 1920s, the church bought a tract of land on North Steele Street in Sanford, and the present church was completed in 1930. Due to the faithfulness of the growing membership, St. Thomas' survived the Depression and, after 70 years as a mission, became a parish in 1966.

A prominent feature of the church is the red door, which symbolizes the blood of Christ and our devotion and obedience to Him. One way we demonstrate that devotion is through our support of charitable organizations, including Helping Hand Clinic, Family Promise, The Bread Basket, The Augustine Literacy Project and Christians United Outreach Center.

The Rev. Bruce T. Heyvaert became rector in 2016 and has led the church through continued growth and devotion to God. St. Thomas' has survived many obstacles during its 125 years and steadfastly remains faithful and true to the teachings of The Episcopal Church, continuing its mission of growing in the knowledge and love of God and neighbor.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused St. Thomas’ to grow in new and exciting ways. Thanks to the technical gifts of three parishioners and the generous donations of other church members, the church has been able to add a weekly livestream of the Sunday services, which is streamed over Facebook and the church’s YouTube channel. We have also been able to do a variety of events over Zoom, including services, Vestry meetings, committee meetings, adult formation classes and virtual coffee hours. Vestry members made weekly phone calls to check on church members, as well.

As the pandemic hit, St. Thomas’ was just beginning plans to celebrate the church’s 125th anniversary in October 2021. A committee had been formed to plan events. The Women of the Church group was heading up two very important projects – new church kneelers for the sanctuary and an anniversary year church cookbook. Both of these projects continued on despite the COVID challenges.

The new church cookbook, The Red Door Recipes, has come in from the printer and includes more than 300 recipes, pictures and historical information about St. Thomas’. In the process of compiling the recipes, we were able to reach out to the entire parish asking families to each submit at least one recipe and to former members and rectors of the church to include historical recipes. The cookbook project provided much needed joy and community in the darkest days of the pandemic.

During the pandemic, the church also continued outreach projects, such as contributing funds to local agencies helping those affected the most by the pandemic, such as Helping Hand Clinic, Haven Women’s Shelter, Family Promise and Christians United Outreach Center. The outreach committee also purchased a wish list of supplies for Floyd L. Knight School in Sanford, to the delight of the staff members there.

Adult formation classes were provided weekly via Zoom to encourage fellowship and discipleship among parishioners during the pandemic. Parishioners studied and discussed the upcoming lectionary readings. During Lent, participants read and discussed Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s book, Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubled Times. In addition, during the Rev. Bruce Heyvaert’s sabbatical, the Rev. Barbara Cooke led adult formation classes that paired artwork and poetry with the weekly Gospel readings and sermons.

St. Thomas' is now poised to celebrate an important anniversary this fall, which we hope will bring more joy and community. We give thanks to God for the continued growth in the parish with many new families moving to Sanford.

- By Beth Wood and the Rev. Bruce Heyvaert