St. Thomas Tidings: January 9, 2025
Today in our calendar of saints we commemorate Julia Chester Emery, Lay Leader and Missionary (1922). Here is the collect for the day: God of all creation, who calls us to make disciples of all nations and to proclaim your mercy and love: Grant that we, after the example of your servant Julia Chester Emery, might have vision and courage in proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, our light and our salvation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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/
Offering Book Update: We’ve been told by the printer that we should have our books by the end of the month. If you have any 2024 envelopes left, you are welcome to use them and just cross out the old date. If you don’t have any old envelopes, please use any convenient envelope and make sure your name and your pledge number are on that envelope. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we give thanks for your help and for your support of our mission and ministries.
Men’s Breakfast This Saturday, January 11: Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Epiphany Lessons & Carols: We are invited to join our St. Gregory’s siblings for Lessons & Carols 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: In preparation for the Annual Meeting on February 2, we 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.