St. Thomas Tidings: August 22, 2024
There is no special commemoration on today’s calendar of saints. The collect for the day is the collect from this past Sunday: Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Blessing of the Backpacks This Sunday: Thank you to everyone who has already contributed school supplies for Long Beach students. We will bless all supplies this Sunday at both services, and also have a blessing and a small gift for all students and education professionals. Please come to receive your blessing and be celebrated by the St. Thomas community.
Labor Day Closures: The church office will be closed Monday, September 2, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. As always, Mother Sharon will be available via cell phone for pastoral emergencies.
Choir Returns September 8: We look forward to the choir’s return at our 10:15 service on Sunday, September 8. If you’re interested in joining the choir, whether full or part time, just come early on Sunday morning at 9:30. There’s always room for one more voice!
Taizé Service September 11: Please come to the sanctuary Wednesday, September 11, for our monthly Taizé service. We will meet at 6:15 for a brief time of prayer, scripture, song, and silence. You are welcome to bring a friend who will enjoy a simple meditative service.
Men’s Breakfast September 14: All men of the parish and any friends who identify as men are welcome to come to the Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, September 14. Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Welcome Back Sunday September 15: We will have one service at 9:00am on September 15, and then enjoy a potluck brunch together. We’ll have information about our ministries, fall programs, and other important community topics, so please plan to come to both the service and the potluck. A signup sheet for the potluck is in Larkin Hall.
Livestream Help Still Wanted: We still need one or two people who are willing to step up and learn the livestreaming system so that we can remain online. After three years of being our livestream coordinator, John Mitchell would like to explore other ministries. We don’t want to deprive our livestreaming siblings of the services they rely on! If you are interested, please speak with John or Mother Sharon. Please note that if we can’t find a volunteer, or several volunteers, we will have to look at hiring someone, and that will strain our already tight budget. Please pray about how you might help keep our shut-in and long-distance community members connected!
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.