St. Thomas Tidings: December 26, 2024
Today is the commemoration of Stephen, Deacon and Martyr. Here is the collect for the day: We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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: We will not livestream Morning or Evening Prayer the week of December 30 because of the New Year’s holiday. We will resume the normal schedule for the daily offices on Tuesday, January 7. The psalm handouts will go out with the bulletin as usual for anyone who wants to pray the offices at home.
Men’s Breakfast Saturday, January 11: 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 on February 2. 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.
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.