St. Thomas Tidings: March 14, 2024
There is no special commemoration on the calendar of saints today. The collect for the day is the collect from this past Sunday: Gracious Father, whose blessed son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that we may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on e God, now and for ever. Amen.
Easter Floral Donations: It’s time for our annual contributions for Easter flowers. The Altar Guild and their helpers always do a wonderful job of decorating the church for Easter. Donation envelopes are available in the pews; you can also send an email to the office with your tributes (in memory of, in honor of, in thanksgiving for…). If you want your tributes listed in the Easter Sunday bulletins, we need your information no later than March 24. Thank you for your help in making our church glorious for Easter.
Spring Bake Sale March 24: We will have our usual Spring Bake Sale Palm Sunday morning between 9am and noon. Invite your friends to come by and pick up some wonderful treats for Holy Week and Easter! Signup sheets are in the narthex if you would like to contribute items to the sale.
Reminder of Holy Week Schedule: Palm Sunday, 8:00 and 10:15, St. Thomas. Maundy Thursday, 7pm, St. Thomas; Overnight vigil follows if enough people sign up. Good Friday, “Stations of the Crosswalk”, noon, beginning at St Thomas and walking to St. Gregorys; Good Friday Liturgy 7pm, St. Gregory’s. Easter, Sunrise Service & Eucharist 7am at St. Thomas, Easter Eucharist 10:15 at St. Thomas.
Stations of the Cross Continue: You are welcome to join Diane Silk as she leads the Stations of the Cross each Friday at noon March 15, and 22. No need to RSVP – just show up in church for a time of prayer and meditation.
Thursday Soup Suppers and Compline at St. Gregory’s: On each of the Thursdays in Lent (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!
Livestream Assistant Wanted: We need someone who is willing to learn our livestreaming system to fill in when John Mitchell is away. If you are interested, please speak with John or Mother Sharon.
Maundy Thursday Vigil: As is our custom, we will keep the church open after our Maundy Thursday services for our overnight vigil. This is our way of answering Jesus’ question, “Could you not watch one hour with me?” and continues a long church tradition of overnight vigils during Holy Week. Please sign up in the narthex for the times you wish to participate. Note that for safety reasons we must have at least two people at all times. We ask that you sign up by March 24 so we can make sure all people keeping vigil together have each other’s contact information.
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.