St. Thomas Tidings: December 12, 2024
Today in our calendar of saints we commemorate Francis de Sales, Bishop (1622) and Jane de Chantal, Vowed Religious (1641). Here is the collect for today: Most gracious God, who has bidden us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before you; Grant that we, like your servants Francis and Jane, may see and serve Christ in all people, and know him as the giver of all good things; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Today is also the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Here is the collect for this celebration: O God, Father of mercies, who placed your people under the singular protection of your Son’s most holy Mother, grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe may seek with ever more lively faith the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace; through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Advent Wreath Lighting: We start each service in Advent with the lighting of the Advent wreath and a short liturgy led by members of our community. If you’d like to participate, please sign up in the narthex. It’s short and easy and lets everyone who wants to have a chance at leading our liturgy.
Men’s Breakfast This Saturday, December 14: Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Annual Reports: With the New Year rapidly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about our Annual Meeting. In preparation for the Annual Meeting, we will need to produce the Annual Report. All persons responsible for a ministry program or group (you know who you are) should submit written reports of the year’s activities to the church office no later than Sunday, January 19. Reports need to be in Word or Word-compatible format and emailed to stlb47@verizon.net. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Veterans’ Ministry Work Party and Christmas Delivery: We had a great meeting on Tuesday preparing Christmas baskets for the veterans at Cabrillo Village. The items will be delivered December 18 from 1-3pm. Please see Rosemary Sissons for more information.
Taizé Service December 18: Please come to the sanctuary Wednesday, December 18, for our monthly Taizé service. We will meet at 6:15 for a brief time of prayer, scripture, chanting, and silence. You are welcome to bring a friend who will enjoy a simple meditative service.
Christmas Flowers: The Altar Guild always does a wonderful job decorating our sanctuary for Christmas. If you’d like to make a Christmas flower donation, please be sure it’s at the church no later than December 19, so that we can print the tributes for our loved ones in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day bulletins. Thanks for your help!
Year-End Donations: The IRS requires all 2024 donations to be received and deposited before midnight on December 31. Please help our volunteer counters by making sure that all donations are received at church by Sunday, December 29 so they can be counted and deposited by December 31. Thanks for your help!
Morning and Evening Prayer Reminder: Because of the Christmas holiday, we will not livestream Morning or Evening Prayer the weeks of December 23 and December 30. Morning and Evening Prayer will resume the usual schedule on Tuesday, January 7.
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.