St. Thomas Tidings: January 2, 2025
There is no special commemoration for today in the calendar of saints. The collect for today is the collect from this past Sunday: Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Morning and Evening Prayer Reminder: Morning and Evening Prayer resume their usual schedule on Tuesday, January 7. We look forward to seeing you online at 9am and 5pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The services remain online if you want to view them but can’t be online for the livestream.
Men’s Breakfast Saturday, January 11: Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Epiphany Evensong: We are invited to join our St. Gregory’s siblings for Evensong at 4pm on Sunday, January 19. The service is free and open to all – no need to RSVP. There will be a reception afterwards in their parish hall.
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.