St. Thomas Tidings: May 22, 2025
St. Thomas Tidings: May 22, 2025
Next Sunday our Priest celebrant will be The Rev Holly Cardone
Men’s Breakfast: Second Saturday of each Month. Next Men’s Breakfast June 14, 2025 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.
Supper Club and game night at St. Thomas: May 27, 2025. To be held in Larkin Hall. Please bring a friend. Signup sheet is in the Narthex of the Church. Donations accepted.
Sunday Hospitality Sign-ups
May 25 8:00 am John Cordi
10:15 am Wendy Craft
June 1 8:00 am Lainy
10:15 am Shelley
June 8 8:00 am
10:15 am
June 15 8:00 am
10:15 am
June 22 8:00 am
10:15 am
June 29 8:00 am
10:15 am
The collect for Fifth Sunday of Easter: Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
May 22, 2025 is the Memorial of Helena Constantinople, Protector of the Holy Places, 330.
Saint Helena of Constantinople (248/250-328 CE) was the mother of Roman emperor Constantine I (r. 306-337 CE). She famously made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where tradition claims found Christ's true cross and built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. She is venerated as a saint and considered the patron of archaeologists, converts, difficult marriages, divorced people, empresses, Saint Helena Island, and new discoveries.
By the time Helena died at the age of 80, c. 328 CE (some sources say 329 and even 330 CE), she was already associated with many monuments in Rome, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and was also depicted on many coins. She was buried in the newly built basilica on Via Labicana in Rome, and today her sarcophagus is in the Museo Pio-Clementino in the Vatican.
She became a saint for her accomplishments in the Catholic Church and also for being an example of faith and a model of a woman who brought stability and continuity to the family and dynasties. Helena is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as by the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. Her alleged skull is displayed in the Cathedral of Trier, Germany. There are also relics at the basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome, the Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles in Paris, and at the Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers.
A Bible Moment:
A Reading:
As I looked at it (Peter’s vision) closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘get up, Peter, kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us… And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” (Acts 11:6-12, 15-17)
A Meditation on the Reading:
Peter is concerned about breaking kosher and ritual purity laws, deriving from the Torah. God, however, tells him here that God is the Creator (and the author of the Torah), and if God says something is acceptable, then it is. But Jesus, elsewhere, says that “I have not come to abolish (the Laws) but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-20).
Perhaps with Jesus’ resurrection, “everything is accomplished,” and we are no longer tied to the law, as it had been written and understood before. Perhaps the Torah was meant to keep the Jewish people special until the coming of the Lord, and now he is interpreting the Torah to say that all men are our neighbors, and not just those closest to us (noting the parable of the Good Samaritan).
From Here:
Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). It seems likely to me that this is true of the Torah generally. Reaching out to gentiles brings them into the new Covenant/Law. That would seem, then, to fulfill God’s plan better than excluding them from the community because of narrowly constructed rules.
Maybe we should ask ourselves who we are excluding because they don’t fit “our” vision of who belongs in the community?
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 May, 2025: Transitions Committee is announced.
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.
Bishop Search: Read the Survey Results, Prepare for the Profile, Get Ready to Nominate
By Judy Stark, Consultant to the Search Committee
The search for our next bishop is moving into high gear, and there are lots of ways for everyone in our diocese to be involved.
Thanks to the more than 500 people who took our HolyCow! survey earlier this spring. An executive summary of the findings is available here. Read all about what you had to say!
To further unpack the survey findings, our consultant from HolyCow! will lead a Zoom presentation on Monday, June 9, starting at 6 p.m. “The consultant will explain what the findings mean and where we stand as a diocese, and will identify themes and trends,” Co-Chair Thomas Diaz said. If you’d like to participate, please sign up here.
Our diocesan profile is in the final stages of design and editing and awaits the approval of the Standing Committee. Our plan now is that it will go live early in the week of June 2. Watch for a special announcement when we have a firm date and time.
The nominating period will open the same day the profile is posted on the diocesan website. That is the time for clergy to apply, should they feel called to the episcopate; or for everyone to nominate good candidates. The application and nomination forms are included in the profile. If you have someone in mind, don’t assume that person will come forward on their own. Sometimes people need a nudge of the Holy Spirit. So nudge them!
“We are thrilled that we will soon start to receive application packets from candidates,” said the Rev. KC Robertson, co-chair. “We know that one of those packets is coming from the person God has already chosen to be our next bishop.”
You may have noticed that we are now saying we are seeking a bishop diocesan, rather than a bishop coadjutor. Since the announcement last fall of Bishop Taylor’s intention to retire, and considering the timetable for the election and consecration, the Holy Spirit has helped us to see that the election of a bishop diocesan is the most appropriate step. You can learn more about this in a video created by the Search co-chairs; view it here, and above. (Dodgers and Angels fans, pay attention to the backgrounds of the video!)
At a recent Search Committee meeting, one of the members of our Prayer and Spiritual Life Subcommittee, the Rev. Carlos Ruvacalba, gave thanks for the “sacred opportunity” we have been given to participate in this process. We invite your prayers, for our candidates and for ourselves.
St. Thomas Post Scripts
June Canterbury Tales: We are in need of articles for the St. Thomas Canterbury Tales publication. Please send all article information to Bill Henderson at whender808@yahoo.com, whender808@gmail.com or Rick Fridrick at stlb47@verizon.net, or call the Church office. Articles should be submitted no later than noon on Monday, May 28, 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.