St. Thomas Tidings: May 2, 2024
Today is the feast of Athanasius of Alexandria, Bishop and Theologian (373). Here is the collect for the day: O Lord, who established your servant Athanasius, through wisdom, in your truth: Grant that we, perceiving the humanity and divinity of your Son Jesus Christ, may follow in his footsteps and ascend the way to eternal life, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Day by Day: The May-July edition of Day by Day, the daily devotional booklet, has arrived and is available in the narthex. Please come pick one up if you enjoy using the booklet. We will also mail or deliver one to you if you can’t get to church – just let the church office know.
Supporting Local Veterans: We are starting a new ministry with veterans at Century Village. We’ll be providing hygiene kits for ten veterans, and there are opportunities to buy items, make baskets, write notes, and help with expenses. There’s an information meeting this coming Monday, May 6 at 4pm in Larkin Hall, and a basket-packing party Monday, May 20 at 4pm in Larkin Hall. Informational flyers are in the narthex; please let the office know if you’d like an emailed copy to send on to a friend.
Clergy Conference Reminder: The annual Clergy Conference is May 6-8 in Riverside. Both Mother Sharon and Father Michael will be out of town attending the conference. Please keep all the clergy of the diocese in your prayers as they seek to discern God’s will for all our ministries.
Daily Offices Next Week: Due to Clergy Conference, and due to the Ascension Day service Thursday night, we will have Evening Prayer only on Wednesday night and Morning Prayer only on Thursday morning. We will send out the Psalm handouts as usual so you can read the offices at home if you wish. We hope you’ll come to the Ascension Day service Thursday night and enjoy one of the great feasts of the church with our siblings from St. Gregory’s and St. Luke’s.
Ascension Day Service: Our Ascension Day Service is next Thursday, May 9 at 7:00pm. We have held joint Ascension Day services for the past two years with our siblings from St. Luke’s and St. Gregory’s, and this year St. Gregory’s will be hosting the service. Additional information was in the May Canterbury Tales. Hope to see you there!
Men’s Breakfast May 11: All men of the parish and any friends who identify as men are welcome to come to the Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, May 11. Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Mother’s Day is May 12: As is our custom, we will have small treats available for all women at both services on May 12. There will also be special food for coffee hour. Thanks to our Hospitality Committee for making the day special for everyone
Taizé Service Reminder: Our May Taizé service will be one week later than normal, on May 15, due to clergy conference. We’ll meet in the sanctuary at 6:15 as usual for our service of prayer, candlelight, and song.
Dodger Night Coordinator: The annual Episcopal Night at Dodger Stadium is in September, but it’s already time to get ready for signups! We need a coordinator for St. Thomas who is willing to take ticket signups, collect the money, send in the order, and then distribute the tickets via email when they arrive. If you are willing to help with this, please talk with Mother Sharon.
Music at 4 May 19: We are invited to join our St. Gregory’s siblings for Choral Evensong on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, beginning at 4pm. A reception will follow.
“Mass in the Grass” June 2: Our annual picnic with St. Gregory’s will be Sunday, June 2 at 10:15am at El Dorado Park. We will have our usual 8:00 service at St. Thomas, and then join with our siblings for the 10:15 service. Please note that this year the picnic will be a potluck, and St Gregory’s asks us to RSVP for lunch and sign up to bring something. Details on food needed are in the May Canterbury Tales; please RSVP to the St. Gregory’s office no later than May 26. Of course the service is free and open to all, with no need to RSVP if you plan to stay only for the service. See you there!
Livestream Help Wanted: As noted in the Canterbury Tales, we need one or two people who are willing to step up and learn the livestreaming system so that we can remain online. We don’t want to deprive our livestreaming siblings of the services they rely on! If you are interested, please speak with John or Mother Sharon.
Service Reminder: All our services stay on our Facebook page so you can view them whenever it’s convenient for you. It’s always better to view a service later in the day than not at all! The link to the page for all our services is here: https://www.facebook.com/Saint-Thomas-of-Canterbury-Episcopal-Church-of-Long-Beach-CA-124554214274325
Share Our Services: Please feel free to share our Morning Prayer and Sunday services. The more people we reach, the better we do at evangelism. People are hungry for what we have to offer, and I encourage you to do your part to share our services with your friends and neighbors. Send them the link when you email them, invite them to join you on Facebook or in person… whatever way works best for you to share what we have to offer.
Episcopal News Updates: The email updates from the diocese are a great way to stay informed about what’s happening all over our six-county diocese. If you want to receive the Episcopal News, visit https://diocesela.org/episcopal-news/contact/ and enter your email address in the box provided.
In Case of Emergency: Notify your priests! With our combined ministry program comes additional coverage for pastoral emergencies. In the event of a hospital stay, illness, death in the family, or other pastoral emergency, please call Mother Sharon on her cell phone (562-833-3393) any day except Friday, her Sabbath day. Father Michael Fincher covers emergencies in both communities on Friday, just as Mother Sharon covers emergencies in both parishes on Monday, Father Michael’s Sabbath. Father Michael’s cell phone is 909-373-6478.