WCT.coachThe First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday Sermon – May 30, 2021
Sermon preached by on The First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Beaufort NC on May 30, 2021. This sermon is a companion to the sermon preached on April 25, 2021.
The Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after the Ascension Sermon – May 16, 2021
Sermon preached by on The Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday After the Ascension s at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Morehead City NC on May 16, 2021.
Listen to Grace Like Rain which was mentioned in the sermon.
The Fourth Sunday of Easter Sermon – April 25, 2021
Sermon preached on The Fourth Sunday of Easter by The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Beaufort NC on April 25, 2021. A companion sermon that follows the path of this sermon was preached on May 30, 2021.
Links to Five Ash Wednesday Sermons
Sermon preached on Ash Wednesday by The Rev. William Carl Thomas, Interim Priest-in-Charge, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Huntington WV
The Sermon preached on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2014, by The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas at Christ Church, New Bern, North Carolina.
Sermon preached on Ash Wednesday at 7:00 pm by The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas, Interim Rector, Christ Church, New Bern NC (02/18/15)
The Sermon preached on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017 by The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas, Priest-In-Charge, Christ Church, Middletown New Jersey.
The Sermon preached on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018 by The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas, Priest-In-Charge, Christ Church, Middletown New Jersey.
Meet St. Nicholas – A teaching with puppets
Meet St. Nicholas – A teaching for children connecting St. Nicholas with Santa Claus that I offered with my simple handmade stick puppets while serving as the Priest-in-Charge on December 6, 2015 at Christ Church, Middletown, New Jersey. This teaching can viewed at
Custom-made M&M’s help say goodbye during the time of COVID
The world turned upside down in second week of March 2020 as our slow response to the deathly impact of what is now simply called COVID unfolded. At that time I was in the middle of the fourth month of an eight month appointment as the Interim Rector of St. Timothy’s, Wilson NC.
The week began on Sunday with what turned out to be the last time we worshipped in the church as well as the last time I was physically with the amazing Youth Group. That Sunday evening we made a short video to support the search process with the young people speaking directly to the next rector with their hopes and dreams. The last time to physically meet with the Vestry was on Tuesday. We celebrated our three plus months together with a supportive Mutual Ministry. The work within the search process that focused on the updated website was reviewed and approved. Wednesday found over fifty people gathered, again for a last time, to sit at tables and work with me on the importance of The Rule of St. Benedict. Then Thursday came as did the Bishop’s directive that changed parish life. Over the next two days, much adaptation to a new reality slowly unfolded. My week away to teach a gathering of Interim Ministers was cancelled. My ZOOM and video production skills were put to the test. Caring and loving from a distance became my norm.
However, the memory of what our March video proclaimed was always a part of those meetings as my time with St. Timothy’s would end in July. The Youth decided June 28th would be our last meeting as summer was approaching. How to say goodbye?
I contracted for packages of custom-made M&M’s. Each package contained red, green, and yellow M&M’s that were imprinted with one of the following expressions: ST.TIM’S, LOVE WINS, YEA EYC, FR BILL. The M&M packages were mailed to the Youth with an invitation to the final meeting along with a request to watch a movie on Netflix called “The Healer.” This invitation was also sent by text and email.
About eleven of the Youth were able to gather on ZOOM that final evening. We talked about the theme of the movie and then opened our M&M packages and shared a form of chocolate communion. An awkward, and for me, tearful dismissal concluded our time together.
A story such as this written by a practitioner such as myself can easily fall into the realm of proclaiming competence. COVID has challenged so much of how we engage our work. There is so much more that grounds what we do than practical application of theory or even the care and concern offered as a pastor when the world, indeed, seems to be upside down. I learned later from the father of one of the newest Youth members that she was extremely excited to receive her package of M&M’s and the invitation to the meeting. It meant that she was finally old enough to be in the Youth Group. Sometimes unexpected outcomes such as this one are the mark of the Holy. It should not surprise me, but it does.
Download a printed version of this reflection here.
The First Sunday of Advent Sermon – November 29, 2020
My sermon for the First Sunday of Advent as Guest Preacher for Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Mystic Connecticut on November 29, 2020 placed within the livestreamed Morning Prayer led by The Rev. Adam Thomas, Rector.
You can watch the full livestream from Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church including Adam Thomas singing his original song “Come Dwell” here
Recently Added to Teaching Videos
Video prepared in support of my workshop for the 2020 Interim Ministry Network Annual Conference entitled
Making A ZOOM Training More Effective Using SQ3R
SQ3R is a study technique (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) that adapts well to a class being better prepared for a Zoom session (Bible Study, leadership meeting, IMN training). This disciplined approach combats the lethargy that limits learning within a Zoom training as people wait for others to engage the material in whatever form they have in their home setting. SQ3R methodology invites you to experience the method in much the same manner that you experienced many of the tools in the IMN toolbox (remember FTML and FTMC).
In the Workshop Video I demonstrate the SQ3R method when I engage Brené Brown’s 10th Anniversary Edition of The Gifts of Imperfection. The video closes with a reminder of the importance of Bowen Theory (from FTML) as I introduce a case study in the form of a movie about the 1905 clergy family of Dr. Andrew Shelton, an Episcopal Priest, in the oddly titledAdventure in Baltimore. Please read the Doctor of Ministry thesis proposal (within the workshop preparation material) concerning Bowen Theory as found in the movie.
- Intro to me and this workshop
Intro to SQ3R
Using SQ3R to prepare to read Brene’ Brown’s Gifts of Imperfection
Preparatory comments about applying Bowen Theory to Dr. Shelton’s story
Click on Teaching Videos to find other videos.
My Final Sermon at St. Timothy’s Wilson NC – July 12, 2020
My sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost celebrates the good soil that is St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Wilson NC that finds a joyous post-Covid 19 outcome in the building and beyond.
Or celebrate The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost with this Worship On Demand liturgy from St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Wilson NC that includes a sermon that places independence within what it means to be dependent and inter-dependent on God and one another, and a Communion with Christ prayer. Download a copy of the Worship Booklet.
A link to a video entitled An Insight into St. Timothy’s from the outgoing interim rector – July 2020
The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas, Interim Rector of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Wilson NC (12/2019 – 07/2020) offers his observations about why an Episcopal Priest discerning a call to a new ministry might take a deep look at St. Timothy’s.
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9) Sermon with link to Worship On Demand – July 5, 2020
My sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost places independence within what it means to be dependent and inter-dependent on God and one another.
Or celebrate The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost with this Worship On Demand liturgy from St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Wilson NC that includes a sermon that places independence within what it means to be dependent and inter-dependent on God and one another, and a Communion with Christ prayer. Download a copy of the Worship Booklet.
Watch the Final Edition of the St. Timothy’s Online Parish Forum hosted by Melanie Statnick and myself that looks at principle-centered leadership expressed in my understanding of The Rule of St. Benedict and the works of Stephen Covey and Jim Collins and find M&M’s and prayers to celebrate our time as we bid farewell.
