Experience Community
Welcome to St. Thomas à Becket Episcopal Church
St. Thomas is an Episcopal Church parish in Morgantown, West Virginia. We are named after the 12th century English Saint Thomas who was Archbishop of Canterbury before being killed at the order of the king for resisting the power of the government for the sake of the church. We were founded on his feast day in December 1978.
Clergy and Staff
The Very Reverend Michael L. Delk, Rector
a native Kentuckian, took his Bachelor’s in Religion magna cum laude with departmental Honors from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and his Master’s in Divinity degree with Honors from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. During his time in seminary, Father Michael spent a semester abroad at Oxford University, and completed his Clinical Pastoral Education at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in west Philadelphia.
Over the past 25 years, he has served as the Assistant to the Rector at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington, Kentucky; as Canon for Youth, Young Adults, and Communications at The Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, Georgia; as Rector of Hickory Neck Episcopal Church in Toano, Virginia, and as Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, in Anchorage, Kentucky (east Louisville).
Father Michael has two children: Ben, 21; and Ed, 19. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, movies, day hikes in the mountains, and playing video games with his sons. He began his tenure as Rector of St. Thomas à Becket on August 1, 2023.
The Reverend Al Prichard, Deacon
Deacon Al was ordained as a vocational deacon in 2011 and assigned to St. Thomas à Becket by Bishop Mike Klusmeyer. Deacon Al has been a member of the parish since the early 1980s and was an active lay person prior to ordination. Graduating from Davis and Elkins College with a degree in History and Political Science, initially Al taught high school in rural Tucker County in West Virginia. Later he completed a degree in accounting from West Virginia University. He has also completed graduate coursework from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and from West Virginia University. Al is retired from a 30-year career in public broadcasting, having served in various capacities, culminating with a position as Station Manager with the West Virginia Public Television station in Morgantown. Deacon Al’s ministry has focused on addressing the problems of the homeless and those with food insecurity. He has served on the boards of Bartlett Housing Solutions, Morgantown Community Kitchen, and Empty Bowls Monongalia. He has a gift for preaching and assists liturgically with worship at St. Thomas à Becket. He participates on the diocesan level as a member of the Commission on Ministry and with the West Virginia Iona School, the diocesan formation program. Recently, he chaired the Bishop Coadjutor Search and Nominating Committee. Deacon Al and his wife, Cheryl, have two children and enjoy their grandchildren greatly.
Dr. William Haller, Director of Music
Dr. Haller is professor emeritus of organ and organ literature at West Virginia University. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from North Texas State University and both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music. Before coming to St. Thomas à Becket, Bill served as director of music ministry at Edgewood Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheeling, W.Va. Until 2002, he was the organist at the Worthington United Methodist Church in Worthington, Ohio. He also was the organist for the Columbus Symphony. Dr. Haller’s honors include winning the National Organ Playing Competition in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1965, and tying for second place at the International Organ Playing Competition in Chartres, France, in 1974. Since 1982, Dr. Haller has been a fellow of the American Guild of Organists.
Natalie Homer, Parish Administrator
Natalie joined St. Thomas à Becket in 2018. Originally from Idaho, she moved to West Virginia in 2015 to pursue a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing at West Virginia University. Previous jobs include teaching college composition and being a librarian at a public library. In addition to St. Thomas, she also works at West Virginia University Press, and is a published poet. Her husband Tim is a youth pastor in Waynesburg, PA.
Bernie Schultz, Senior Warden
Jeff Fedan, Junior Warden
Beth Royall, Treasurer
Kevin Steurer, Vestry Secretary
The Very Reverend Michael Delk
The Reverend Al Prichard
Dr. William Haller
Natalie Homer
Inclusion and Accommodation
We are fully LGBT+ inclusive and welcoming. The Episcopal Church welcomes everyone, regardless of their identity or orientation. We embrace our diversity and create a culture of respect, acceptance, and love.
For the disabled, please know that we have no stairs or difficult transitions in our space and regularly have those using wheelchairs or walkers. We have pews with some independent chairs. We offer large print bulletins upon request. We have recently installed ADA-compliant Hearing Assistance.
What to Expect in Liturgical Worship
What to Expect in Liturgical Worship
“Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore. And it enables us to do these things best — if you like, it ‘works’ best — when, through long familiarity, we don’t have to think about it.
As long as you notice, and have to count, the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.”
Episcopalians worship in many different styles, ranging from very formal, with vestments and incense, to informal services with contemporary music. Yet all worship in the Episcopal Church is based on the Book of Common Prayer, which gives worship a familiar feel, no matter where you go.
Worship in the Episcopal Church is liturgical. The congregation follows service forms and prayers that don’t change greatly from week to week. This gives worship a rhythm that becomes comforting and familiar to the worshipers.
For the first-time visitor, liturgy may be exhilarating or confusing. Services may involve standing, sitting and kneeling, as well as sung or spoken responses, that may provide a challenge for the first-time visitor. Please feel free to do only what is comfortable for you — we were all new once!
Part 1: The Service of the Word
Our organist begins the service with a prelude. After a pause, he starts our first hymn while we all stand and turn to face the rear of the church where the cross and ministers are standing.
The Crucifer (bearer of the cross) leads the Acolytes and Priest(s) up to the front of the church. Many people bow as the cross passes, affirming our allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Readings
We begin by praising God through song and prayer, and then listen to as many as four readings from the Bible—usually one from the Old Testament, one from the Psalms, one from the Epistles, and always a reading from the Gospels. The psalm may be sung or recited by the congregation.
Sermon
Our priest will give a 10-15 minute sermon on the Gospel or other passage of the day which they have prepared during the week for us.
The Prayers of the People
After the sermon, the congregation recites the Nicene Creed together. Written in the 4th Century, through the words of this Creed we are connected to our historic faith community.
Next, the congregation prays together—for the Church, the world, and those in need. We pray for the sick and for those who have died, and thank God for all the good things in our lives.
Then we formally confess our sins before God and one another. This is a corporate statement of what we have done and what we have left undone, followed by a pronouncement of absolution. In pronouncing absolution, the presider assures the congregation that God is always forgiving us.
The Passing of the Peace
The congregation then greet one another, usually with a handshake and a message of “Peace” or “Peace be with you.” The children should return to their seats around this time.
Part 2: The Service of the Table
In the Episcopal Church, our primary Sunday service is referred to as Holy Eucharist (“Great Thanksgiving”). The taking of bread and wine is the central focus of the service.
The priest stands at the altar, which has been set with a cup of wine and a plate of bread or wafers, and begins the Eucharistic Prayer. The priest blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord’s Prayer. The bread is broken and offered to the congregation, as the “gifts of God for the People of God.”
Come to Jesus’ Table
To receive communion, follow others to the altar and kneel or stand in an open spot at the communion rail. A minister with bread will come around first. Simply hold your open hands out in front of you, one on top of the other. The minister will place a small wafer in your hand and say, “The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”
You may eat the bread then or hold it until the wine comes. A minister with a chalice of wine will stop in front of you and say, “The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.” You may either drink directly from the chalice or, if you saved your bread, simply dip it into the wine and consume both together. When you have received both bread and wine, you can stand and return to your seat.
If you or your children would prefer to receive a blessing instead of the sacrament, instead of holding your hands out to receive the bread, simply cross your arms over your chest. The priest will take it from there.
Dismissal
At the end of the Eucharist, the congregation prays once more in thanksgiving, and then is dismissed to continue the life of service to God and to the world.