St. Thomas Tidings: June 12, 2025
St. Thomas Tidings: June 12, 2025
June 15th our Priest celebrant will be The Rev Jeannie Martz
June 15, 2025 The First Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday (Father’s Day)
8:00 am Liturgy 10:15 am Liturgy
Ushers: Patrick Riley Usher: Andrea Utzman
Lectors: Pam Pezone Lector: Joanne Jovanovic, Dottie Cook
Altar Server/LEM John Cordi Altar Server/Lem: Allen Stout
Closer: Bishops Committee Closer: Bishops Committee
Men’s Breakfast: Second Saturday of each Month. Next Men’s Breakfast June 14, 2025 (this Saturday). Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship
St Martha’s Guild: Please join us at St. Martha’s Guild. We are a very friendly group that gathers each Tuesday morning. We crochet, knit and handcraft items. We would love to give free lessons in knitting and crocheting. This is also a great opportunity to build community and have a nice chat. We meet on Tuesdays in Larkin Hall from 9:30-11:30 am.
Sunday Hospitality Sign-ups
June 15 8:00 am Hospitality Provides for Father’s Day
10:15 am Hospitality Provides for Father’s Day
June 22 8:00 am John Cordi
10:15 am
June 29 8:00 am Larry Shaw
10:15 am
Collect from the Seventh Sunday of Easter: O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
June12, 2025 (today) is the Memorial of Enmegahbowh, Priest and Missionary:
Enmegahbowh (c. 1820 – June 12, 1902; from Enami'egaabaw, meaning "He that prays [for his people while] standing"; also known as John Johnson) was the first Native American to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
Born around 1820, Enmegahbowh (pronounced En-meh-GAH-boe),[1] was the only child of the chief of an Ojibwe Band on Rice Lake near Peterborough, Canada. Because this group of Ojibwe "trade Indians" remained behind while the others pressed farther up the Great Lakes in search of furs, some consider Enmegahbowh an Ottawa.[2] He was raised in a Christian Anishinaabe (Ojibwe)[3] village near Petersburg which was affiliated with the Methodists. An Episcopal clergyman of the vicinity, Mr. Armour, persuaded Enmegahbowh's reluctant parents to send him to be educated with the clergyman's own sons. Enmegahbowh did learn to read and speak English, but after three months, the homesick boy ran away in the night and walked for two days to return to his own people.[3] About 1831, Enmegahbowh's grandfather, a medicine man of high rank, inducted him into the tribal religious organization Midewiwin.[2]
On July 4, 1841 Enmegahbowh married Biwabikogeshigequay (Biiwaabiko-giizhig-ikwe, "Iron Sky Woman", and baptized Charlotte), niece of Chief Hole-in-the-Day the elder.[2] He met the Rev. Ezekiel Gilbert Gear, chaplain at Fort Snelling at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, and became an Episcopalian. Gear eventually introduced Enmegahbowh to the Rev. James Lloyd Breck, a missionary who had arrived in Minnesota in 1851, and who baptised Enmegahbowh.[4]
Bishop Jackson Kemper ordained him deacon in 1859,[4] and Enmegahbowh went to Crow Wing, Minnesota to assist in founding St. Columba Mission. Mille Lacs Chief Fine-Day was an early member of Enmegahbowh's church, and took over the mission in 1861.
A Bible Moment:
A Reading:
Now there were Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound (like the rush of a violent wind) the crowd gathered and was bewildered because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each…” in our own languages we hear the speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem…this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel…
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,… Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts of the Apostles 2: 5-18)
A Meditation on the Reading:
I have abridged this reading for the purpose of brevity, but it is worth reading all of Chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles. What I want to get at with this reading is two points. First, it has been pointed out that the text doesn’t really say that the Apostles were speaking in foreign tongues, but that each of the listeners heard it in his or her own language. Many or most will argue that the Apostles were speaking in tongues, but the text certainly says that the Holy Spirit made it possible for the congregation to hear it… to understand it… in their hearts.
Along those lines, some have argued that, as Jesus is the new Adam, freeing us from Adam’s original sin, so too is the Spirit of Pentecost freeing us from the curse of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). To correct the arrogance of men building a tower to reach to Heaven, God imposed different languages on mankind, causing them to be separated. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit reverses that. For believers, we each hear God’s voice in our hearts, a voice that we all recognize, and which make us, the Church, one… no longer separate.
From Here:
May the voice of my heart be one with the Spirit, and may that commune and communicate with the same Spirit and the same meaning with all my brothers and sisters. And may we embody that Spirit and its meaning so that others may learn the holy language.
What does this mean for you today?
From the Diocese
Camp Stevens summer camp registration open
Registration is now open for summer sessions for children at Camp Stevens, the diocesan facility in Julian, California. Camp sessions will be held as follows:
Session 1: June 22 – June 27, ages 8-15
Session 2: July 6 – July 11, ages 8-15
Session 3: July 20 – July 25, ages 8-15
Session 4 (International Odyssey): August 3 – August 9, ages 12-17
“At Camp Stevens, summer campers experience the best of childhood and young adulthood; they find wonder in the natural world, build meaningful connections with peers, gain confidence from trying new things, and strengthen their own values with the support of caring counselors and staff,” the Camp Stevens website says.
Tiered pricing is available, for families to pick the price that best matches their ability to pay. For those in need of additional financial assistance for camp fees, applications for “camperships,” offering additional financial support, are available.
Learn more and register here.
https://campstevens.org/summer/#programs_summercamp
Bishop Search Committee offers updated timeline
The Bishop Search Committee has released an updated version of the Bishop Search timeline. The estimated dates for milestones in the Bishop Search are below:
Early June, 2025: The diocesan profile is published, and the call for nominations is announced.
June 27, 2025: Nominating period closes.
July-August, 2025: The Search Committee reviews candidate files, conducts Zoom interviews and reference and background checks, and invites finalists to a discernment retreat.
Early September, 2025: The slate of candidates is announced, and the nominating period for petition candidates opens.
October 20-25, 2025: "Meet-and-Greets" are held across the diocese to introduce all candidates to the members of the diocese and the diocese to the candidates.
November 7-8, 2025: The election of the bishop takes place during the annual diocesan convention in Riverside.
May 2026: The bishop-elect begins work in the diocese.
July 11, 2026: Consecration and ordination of the new bishop.
July-September, 2026: Bishop Taylor remains as a consultant, providing support during the transition.
October, 2026: Bishop Taylor retires.
St. Thomas Post Scripts
July Canterbury Tales: We are in need of articles for the St. Thomas Canterbury Tales publication. Please send all article information to Shelley Arnold at shelleyarnold1@aol.com or Rick Fridrick at stlb47@verizon.net, or call the Church office. Articles should be submitted no later than noon on Monday, June 26, 2025.
St. Thomas Tiding: If you have any article/announcement for the tiding please send to Rick Fridrick at stlb47@verizon.net or call the Church office.
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 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.
Reminder the Church office is open Monday-Friday: If you have any need, Rick Fridrick is in the Church office Monday-Thursday from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm and Friday from 9:00 am – Noon. 562-425-4457
Pastoral Care: If you have normal “every day” pastoral concerns, contact Rick in the office at 562-425-4457, or Allen at (714) 381-5910. We hope to have a more detailed pastoral care plan soon.