St. Thomas Tiding: Februry 16, 2025
Collect: O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
February 13, 2025 is the memorial of Absolam Jones: He was born November 6, 1746 and died February 13, 1818. He was the first black Episcopal Priest. He was an African American abolitionist and clergyman who became prominent in Philadelphia, PA.
2025 Offering Envelopes: Please pick up your 2025 offering envelopes in the office so that we don’t have to mail them out. It costs about $5 to mail each set of envelopes, so the fewer we have to mail, the better for our budget. Thanks for your help.
2025 Church Wall Calendars: The calendars that were donated by Luyben Dilday have arrived. There is a small stack in the narthex, and more in the church office. Please feel free to take them and give them to friends or keep them for yourself. They have our church information on them, so they make great evangelism tools.
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 Tuesdays in Larkin Hall from 9:30-11:30 am.
Lent is right around the corner beginning March 5, 2025
Lenten Schedule
Shrove Tuesday
Tuesday, March 4 - Pancake Supper 5:00-7:00 pm
Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, March 5 - Ashes-to-Go 7:00-9:00 am
Stations of the Cross
Noon - Every Friday in Lent including Good Friday
Episcopal Rosary Making - Palm Sunday
Sunday, April 13 - 9:00-10:00 am (between Services) and 11:30am -12:30 pm (after 10:15 service)
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 17 - Agape Meal (tbd)
Episcopal Relief & Development is offering Lenten Meditations with deep reflections from Jerusalem Jackson Greer on the divine gifts we find in community. Here are some ways your congregation can participate. Subscribe to daily email meditations Daily email meditations will be delivered to your inbox every day (except Sundays) starting March 5. These emails will include thoughtful questions to inspire your own reflections. Download the full booklet If you don’t want to receive meditations one at a time, you can download the full booklet of meditations at once, print it out or view it digitally at your own pace. This option is great for groups or for making printed versions available to your worshiping community.
February & March Canterbury Tales: We are in need of articles for the St. Thomas Canterbury Tales publication. Please send all article information to Rick at stlb47@verizon.net or call the Church office.
St. Thomas Tiding: If you have any article/announcement for the tiding please send to Rick at stlb47@verizon.net or call the Church office.
Update on California Fires: If you would like to contribute to the Diocesan relief efforts, you can donate to the One Body & One Spirit fund, which will be used for fire relief: https://diocesela.org/annual-appeal/ Also, Episcopal Relief & Development has established a “Wildfire Response Fund” to help with recovery in our diocese. You can donate to that fund at https://www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/give/donate-now/individual-donation/
Diocese offers fire relief grants, resources
The diocesan Appeal has made $104,500 in grants to individuals affected by the recent wildfires. New applications and ongoing contributions are welcomed
The application form for a fire-relief grant is here.
The fire resource page is here.
Prayers for those Besieged by Fire: Episcopal Relief & Development has a number of prayer resources on their webpage. Here is one: Almighty God, who is our strength and our refuge; be with those who are besieged by fire, guide those who evacuate so that they may find care and comfort in a safe place; protect their homes and their pets, their neighbors and their friends, so that they may return home to a loving community. We ask this in the name of Jesus your son, who abides with you and with the Holy Spirit. Amen. For more resources, go to https://www.episcopalrelief.org/church-in-action/worship-resources/let-us-pray/wildfire-prayers/
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.
Episcopal News Updates: These 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.
Reminder 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
In Case of Emergency: Please contact Fr. Michael while we work on a pastoral care plan. Father Michael’s cell phone is 909-373-6478.