St. Thomas Tidings: March 21, 2024
Today we commemorate Thomas Ken, Bishop (1711). Here is the collect for the day: Almighty God, you gave your servant Thomas Ken grace and courage to bear witness to the truth before rulers and kings: Give us strength also that we may constantly defend what is right, boldly reprove what is evil, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Easter Floral Donations: 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 this Sunday. Thank you for your help in making our church glorious for Easter.
Spring Bake Sale This Sunday: 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! Your support of our fundraisers is always appreciated.
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. Gregory's; 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 22. No need to RSVP – just show up in church for a time of prayer and meditation.
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.
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. Thanks!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.