St. Thomas Tidings: February 8, 2024
Today we commemorate Bakhita (Josephine Margaret Bakhita), Monastic (1947). Here is the collect for the day: O God of Love, who delivered your servant Josephine Margaret Bakhita from the bondage of slavery to the true freedom of your service: Grant to the wounded your healing grace in mind, body, and spirit and to your church the zeal to combat exploitation and slavery in all its forms; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Men’s Breakfast This Saturday: All men of the parish and any friends who identify as men are welcome to come to the Men’s Breakfast on February 10. Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship!
Closet Cleanout This Saturday: We need to clean out some of our closets and cupboards, especially the area holding all the old paint cans. Please be on campus Saturday morning, February 10, from 9:00am to noon, to help clean up our church home. For more information, please contact Shelley Arnold.
Pancake Supper: Our Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is this coming Tuesday, February 13, from 5-7pm. Dinner is pancakes with the option of adding fruit topping and/or ham, and drinks. Our Tuesday renters are graciously starting their meeting late to accommodate us, so we will do takeout only beginning at 6:45. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their RSVP.
Lenten Pilgrim Bags: We are continuing our tradition of having Pilgrim Bags to use on our Lenten journey. Each bag contains a Lenten devotional booklet, a candle, and a prayer card, wrapped in a muslin bag that you can decorate. Unfortunately we don’t have printed Lent Madness books, as Forward Movement made everything digital this year. However, you can download your own Saintly Scorecard for free here: https://www.lentmadness.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SaintlyScorecard2024.pdf Bags will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Pancake Super and the Ash Wednesday services. If you would like a Pilgrim Bag but are unable to attend the supper or the services, please let Mother Sharon know.
Lent Book Study Has Begun: This year we are reading and using the spiritual practices in A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent, by Christine Valters Paintner. This is a brand-new book and is available from Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, Broadleaf Books, and Amazon. Each week we will explore a different kind of hunger and a different way to live in the world, using practices such as lectio divina, contemplative walking, journaling, and imaginative prayer. We had our introductory session on February 7, but you can still buy the book and join the class during Lent. We will meet weekly in Larkin Hall at 7:00pm from February 21 through March 27 (we will not meet on Ash Wednesday because of the evening service).
Thursday Soup Suppers and Compline at St. Gregory’s: On each of the Thursdays in Lent (February 22 and 29, March 7, 14, and 21), our St. Gregory’s siblings will host a soup supper beginning at 6:00PM. Diane Kela and her team of cooks will feed us delicious meals of soup, salad, and bread. A free-will donation, as you are able, will help defray the cost of the food. There is no need to RSVP before the meals. Following supper, at about 7:00pm, there will be a brief service of Compline in the church. See you there!
Music at Four: On Sunday, February 25th at 4:00 PM, St. Gregory's Music at Four concert series presents the Bridge Creek Band, a diverse group of musicians on guitar, banjo, bass, percussion, and vocals, in a concert of Americana, Bluegrass and Gospel music. A free-will offering will be received and a reception will follow the concert.
Mark Your Calendars: We are starting a new fellowship group, Supper Club. The first meeting is Monday, March 4, from 5-7pm. We will have time for socializing, dinner, and fun and games. There is no cost – bring a friend and come enjoy some St. Thomas fellowship!
St. Patrick’s Party: We’re having a St. Patrick’s Party on Saturday, March 16, from 6-9pm. There will be food! There will be bingo! There will be lots of fun! Further details will be in the Canterbury Tales.
Easter Service Update: The survey responses were overwhelmingly in favor of trying an early morning Easter service in lieu of the Saturday Vigil. So that’s what we’ll do! We will have our usual Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services, and then hold services Easter morning at 7:00am and 10:15am. St. Gregory’s will have a Saturday evening Vigil service, so you can go there if you want a Saturday service as well. We hope that any St. Gregory’s folks who want an early morning service will join us! Thank you for your flexibility as we try something new, and we’ll evaluate how well it worked afterwards, as we do with all our experiments.
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.