St. Thomas Tidings: January 30, 2025
Collect: Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Annual Meeting Reminder: On February 2 we will have one service at 9:00am, followed by our Annual Meeting in Larkin Hall. Please make every effort to attend the Annual Meeting as we begin to discern God’s call for us as we move forward as a community. Your voice needs to be heard!
2025 Offering Envelopes are Here: Please pick up your 2025 offering envelopes in the narthex so that we don’t have to mail them out. It costs about $5 to mail each set of envelopes, so the fewer we have to mail, the better for our budget. Thanks for your help.
Men’s Breakfast February 8: Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Wall Calendars are Here: The calendars that were donated by Luyben Dilday have arrived. There is a small stack in the narthex, and more in the church office. Please feel free to take them and give them to friends or keep them for yourself. They have our church information on them, so they make great evangelism tools.
Update on California Fires: We are heartbroken by the devastation caused by the fires in the Los Angeles area. Confirmed destroyed are St. Mark’s Church and School in Altadena; St. Matthew’s School in Pacific Palisades, and both rectories of St. Matthew’s Church; the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in Pasadena; and countless homes of our siblings in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena, and the Greater Los Angeles Area. Please pray for those killed and injured, and for those who have lost their homes. If you would like to contribute to the Diocesan relief efforts, you can donate to the One Body & One Spirit fund, which will be used for fire relief: https://diocesela.org/annual-appeal/ Also, Episcopal Relief & Development has established a “Wildfire Response Fund” to help with recovery in our diocese. You can donate to that fund at https://www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/give/donate-now/individual-donation/
Checking In: While we at St. Thomas are currently physically safe from the fires, I’m well aware that many of us have friends and family who have been affected. We also may have people in our own community whose places of employment are affected. Please let Mother Sharon or Allen Stout know if you need financial or spiritual assistance. Please let us know as well if you would be interested in helping in other ways (opening your home to someone displaced by the fire, providing temporary shelter for pets, etc.) so that we can connect you with the right resources.
Prayers for those Besieged by Fire: Episcopal Relief & Development has a number of prayer resources on their webpage. Here is one: Almighty God, who is our strength and our refuge; be with those who are besieged by fire, guide those who evacuate so that they may find care and comfort in a safe place; protect their homes and their pets, their neighbors and their friends, so that they may return home to a loving community. We ask this in the name of Jesus your son, who abides with you and with the Holy Spirit. Amen. For more resources, go to https://www.episcopalrelief.org/church-in-action/worship-resources/let-us-pray/wildfire-prayers/
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: Please contact Fr. Michael while we work on a pastoral care plan. Father Michael’s cell phone is 909-373-6478.