Gallery
Click on an image to enlarge the slideshow of a featured St. Thomas event.
Taste & See
Father Corey and his teammates, seminarian Joseph Richter and his cousin James Richter won the bbq contest held at the State Fair Grounds on June 26, 2022, to raise money for our seminarians. Congratulations to the champions!
Christmas 2021
Come, for everything is now ready! Prepare in season and out of season to welcome the Lord.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
We celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Thomas on December 12th, 2018. Our spanish speaking members organized a beautiful evening of music and prayer, followed by a meal. Thank you to all who helped make the evening special and to all who attended!
Confirmation 2018
We celebrated confirmation at St. Thomas on April 22nd, 2018, with Bishop David Kagan and Fr. Corey Nelson presiding.
Students are:
St. Thomas—Crystal Bagley, Luis Barriga, Elio Garcia, Hugo Garcia, Parker Goldade, Dylan Keller, Karter Longie, Addie Norgaard, Emily Reyes, Marco Reyes, & Asha Valliere.
St. James—Jerome Edwards, Samuel Edwards, Emilee Puckett, & Wyatt Puckett.
A potluck was held after Mass. Congratulations and many blessings to all those confirmed!
Mardi Gras
Thank you parish of St. James for hosting a Mardi Gras party for the youth of our three parishes before Ash Wednesday! We appreciated the education, the meal, the entertainment, and the opportunity to pray together. Happy Easter to all!
Service
Thank you, St. Thomas kids, for helping the community get ready for the party at the farm festival building!
Thanks for the Memories
Dear Fr. Benny,
You have become like family. Thank you for all you have done these past nine years to serve us and love us. We will miss you!
The Art of Worship
The CCD children joyfully make "stained glass" crossed to adorn the entry to our church. Our inclination to create is just one way we are made in the image and likeness of our Creator. God made all of creation and saw that it was good. How fun it is for us to create and enjoy the beautiful results. Thank you, children, for your artwork. And thank you, God, for our ability to create and to find joy both in the process and in the results! Help us always to use our gifts to give you glory!
Fun in the Snow
Our CCD children enjoyed building, rolling, sliding, climbing, shoveling, tumbling, posing and giggling in the snow on this sunny January day!
Feed My Starving Children
Our confirmation students (and a few CCD students), along with the teachers and Fr. Benny, packed meals for the Feed My Starving Children program at the Ray High School on Saturday, March 25th. There were a total of 165 packing volunteers from the area during our 2 hour shift. During the two hour shift we packed 165 boxes containing 36 Manna Packs, or 216 meals each. This is enough to feed 97 children for a whole year. Each pack included protein, dehydrated veggies, vitamins and rice. Thank you and good job to all the volunteers!!
Farewell to a Friend
Rose Hornstien recently moved to Bismarck, ND. Enjoy a few photos from her good-bye gathering, along with a few photos from 2014 interspersed. We will certainly miss Rose. What a friend and servant she has been to all of us at St. Thomas. (Thank you, Terri Redmer, for taking photos at the gathering!)
Christmas Program
Enjoy photos of the 2016 CCD Christmas Program.
Also some photos of our confirmation students discovering how we must all work together to be a healthy functioning Body of Christ!
Confirmation Retreat
On Saturday, October 1st, our confirmation students attended a retreat put on by the NET Team and hosted by St. Anthony Catholic Church in New Town. Here the students pose at St. Thomas prior to departure. The retreat got great reviews and all said they would definitely attend again if given the opportunity!
Catechism Commences
CCD Classes are underway once again. The kids took advantage of the sunshine as our warm days are waning! We have 33 students registered from preschool to 6th grade.
Confirmation students enjoyed pizza together on the first day of class. We have 12 confirmation candidates this year. We begin a two year confirmation cycle, so these students will have 2 years of preparation, with their confirmation planned for the spring of 2018.
When in Rome
Fr. Benny was honored to con-celebrate the Holy Mass and Canonization of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta at St. Peter's Square in Rome on Sunday, September 4th, 2016. The reliquary containing the relic of Mother Teresa, a vile of her blood, is in the shape of a Cross framed in gold, the back of which is made from a Lebanon cedar, known as an emblem of nobility and beauty. The back of the cross is also made of wood coming from areas marked by great suffering, as well as a piece of wood from the kneeler of a confessional as a symbol of forgiveness. On the front, the cross is framed by a heart consisting of two parts, blue and white to represent the sari of Mother Teresa and her sisters, as well as devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The left side of the cross, which is blue, is curved and bent to represent Mother Teresa's own curved form bent in prayer, while the right side, white, is a softer form and contains Mother Teresa's famous words "I Thirst," written in gold in her original handwriting. The two sides of the heart are detached from each other, but are united by a circular line symbolizing the dynamic of Mother Teresa's mission, which was initiated by Christ and brought to completion in him. The reliquary actually holding the relic of Mother Teresa is shaped like a drop of water, which is enough to quench the thirst of those who still cry out for the water of love, and for those who suffer due to the senseless pain of solitude.
First Communion 2016
St. Thomas celebrated First Communion on May 29th, 2016, with Fr. Benny presiding. In the group photo, back row: Christian (Curby) Babiano, Fr. Benny and Luis Borja. Front row: teacher Andrea Sanchez, Jasandra Obregon, Ava Wallin, Crystal Borja, and Darlyn Borja. Congratultions to the First Communicants! May they grow in the love of Jesus and look forward to receiving Him in the Eucharist for the rest of their lives. Thank you to their instructor, Andrea Sanchez. A potluck followed Mass that day.
Our Last Day of CCD for the Year
We had a playful and "prayful" time during our last day of CCD this year. The rain kept us inside, but we were all smiles during the celebration. (Except for a few of the "funny" faces you'll find scattered throughout the photos.) The menu included hot dogs, watermelon, and root beer floats. After time with Fr. Benny in the church, the kids enjoyed games that focused on learning prayers, the ten commandments, and the sacraments. Enjoy!
Confirmation 2016
St. Thomas celebrated confirmation on April 30th, 2016, with Monsignor Gene Linemann and Fr. Benny presiding. The newly confirmed are Skyler Bagley, Tanner Bagley, Gabriella Galvan, Kaylee Joyce, Kaden Pederson, Yesenia Torres, and Carter Valliere. Congratulations! May you continue to grow ever closer to our Lord Jesus and let the Holy Spirit accomplished all He has planned through you!
CCD 2015-2016
Enjoy some snapshots from CCD this past year.
How are Christians like pumpkins?
October 2015
*God picks you from he patch and brings you in. (John 15:16)
*Then washes all the dirt off of you. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
*He opens you up and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. (Romans 6:6)
*Then He carves you a new smiling face. (Psalm 71:23)
*And He puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see. (Matthew
5:16)
The CCD kids got a lesson on cleaning out out the gunk and letting the light of Jesus shine for the whole world to see. They also had a lot of fun!!
Let your little light shine!
Pinata Party at the Park
May 3, 2015
The Sunday Shool teachers and students ended the year with a day at the park. After a spin on the playground equipment, they enjoyed muffins and juice. Then it was time for a couple group games. A pinata was the fun-time finale, and their time together concluded with reflections on the year and prayer.
"Let the Little Children Come to Me"
September 16, 2015
CCD Classes began at St. Thomas with over 40 students! We love that we are seeing more and more families at St. Thomas. Becky Longie, Director of Religious Education this year, welcomed the students to CCD. After a snack, Fr. Benny led us in prayer and talked to the kids about the upcoming visit of Pope Francis.
Catechists include Jessica Wilharm, Diane Riedl, Andrea Sanchez, Jenny Norgaard, Nicole Anderson, Ken Riedl, and others who have volunteered to be helpers. God Bless our religious educators and our children!
First Holy Communion
April 26, 2015
First Holy Communion was celebrated on April 26, 2015. Fr. Benny was the celebrant and Becky Longie was the First Communion teacher.
First Communicants are from left to right: Elio Garcia, Hugo Garcia, Brennan Johnson, Kysten Keever, Kaden Keller, Isabella Sanchez, and Yesenia Sanchez.
Centennial Celebration
June 15, 2014
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Tioga celebrated its centennial at a special holy Mass concelebrated with Bishp Kagan on June 15, 2014, at 3:00 p.m.
Festivities followed including a meal and the following program:
MC, Parish Council Member Kathy Neset; Opening prayer, Fr. Johnson Kuriappilly; Welcome from Fr. Benny Putharayil; Address by Parish Council Chairman, David Grubb; Church History read by Church Secretary Jenny Norgaard; Words of Blessing from Bishop Kagan; Introduction of Honored Guests: Dan & Mary Ann Joyce, Joe & Shirley Breckey, Tracy Thompson, Huntley Hensen, and Cason Neset; Mayor Nathan Germundson; Fr. Shannon Lucht; Centennial Committee Chair Becky Longie.
Centennial Interviews - Part 1
June 2014
Centennial Interviews - Part 2
June 2014
