St. Thomas Tidings: April 20, 2023 Edition
There is no special commemoration in the calendar of saints, so today’s collect is the collect from this past Sunday: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Book Signing This Sunday: St. Thomas, St. Gregory’s, and St. Luke’s are co-sponsoring a reading and book signing of the Rev. Canon Gary Commins’ new book, Evil and the Problem of Jesus, on Sunday, April 23, at 4:00pm. The event will be held at St. Gregory’s. Rev. Commins will discuss why he wrote the book, read selected sections, engage in Q&A, and sign copies of the book, which will be for sale at the event. Light refreshments will be served. No need to RSVP – just come on out and support Gary!
Substitute Organist at 10:15: Bill Henderson has had surgery and will be out for approximately three weeks. Please keep him in your prayers for speedy healing! Pat Johnston will be our substitute organist during his absence.
Day by Day: The May-July edition of Day by Day, the daily devotional booklet, has arrived and is available in the narthex. Please come pick one up if you enjoy using the booklet.
Capital Campaign Kickoff: We will formally kick off our capital campaign on April 30. Letters will be sent to everyone in our community, and to many friends and former community members who still love St. Thomas. Allen Stout and Shelley Arnold will be at both services on April 30 to answer any questions you may have, and the three of us are always available for questions as they arise. We know a capital campaign is not anyone’s favorite topic, but it’s a necessary fact of life for us as we try to keep our buildings repaired. The organ campaign was such a success that we know we can make this work!
Clergy Conference May 1-3: Both Father Michael and I will be at Clergy Conference in Riverside from the afternoon of May 1 through the afternoon of May 3. There will be no Morning Prayer on Tuesday or Wednesday, and no Evening Prayer on Tuesday. Please keep all the clergy of the diocese in your prayers as we meet for continuing education and fellowship.
Reminder of May “Raise the Roof” Events: We hope you have marked your calendars for the following events: Bunco, Friday May 5, 5:30-8:30pm (rsvp to Sue Williams at kyliesgrammy@yahoo.com); Coronation Tea Saturday, May 13, 11:00am-2:00pm (rsvp to Jane Gordon-Topper by May 3 at jngt@verizon.net); Boot Sale Saturday May 20, 8:00am-1:00pm (rsvp to Andrea Utzman at apqueen02@aol.com). Additional information was in the April Canterbury Tales and is also available from Sue, Jane, and Andrea.
The New Website is Here!: We are proud to announce that our new website is up and running. Please bookmark the new URL: stthomascanterbury.org and use it from now on. More information about our site and its contents will appear in a separate email.
Are You Interested in Genealogy?: Questing Heirs, one of our newer community groups, invites us to visit their meetings and explore our heritage. They meet the third Sunday of every month at 2pm in Larkin Hall.
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.