St. Thomas Tidings: March 3, 2023 Edition
Today we commemorate Chad of Lichfield, Bishop (672). Here is the collet for the day: Heavenly Father, whose son our Lord Jesus Christ took the form of a servant for the sake of his brothers and sisters: Strengthen us with the prayers and example of your servant Chad, who became the least of all to minister to all; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Stations of the Cross: Diane Silk is leading Stations of the Cross every Friday in Lent at noon. No reservation is necessary – just show up at church and enjoy this traditional Lenten service.
Lenten Book Study: Our Lenten book study, “When Did We See You?”, has begun, but each class is relatively independent of the others, so you can still join in if you want. The class will run Wednesday nights through April 19 (except the Wednesday of Holy Week) from 6:30 to 8:00pm. Please RSVP to the church office (stlb47@verizon.net) if you plan to attend, so we know how many copies of readings to make.
Soup and Stations at St. Gregory’s: On each of the Thursdays in March (2nd, 16th, 23rd, and 30th), St. Gregory’s will host a soup supper beginning at 6:00 PM. Following supper, we will have the opportunity to explore different versions of the Stations of the Cross. Note that a different version will be presented each week for your reflective experience. There will NOT be a Soup Supper or Stations on March 9 because of work on the St. Gregory’s parking lot. St. Gregory’s is at 6201 E Willow St.
Helping Women: In honor of Women’s History Month, we will be collecting personal hygiene items for the Women’s Shelter of Long Beach, which has been helping women and children since 1977. More information will be in the Canterbury Tales on specific items needed; please only donate the items on the list. There will be a collection box in the narthex for donated items. Thank you, Wendy, for the wonderful service project idea!
Men’s Breakfast March 11: All men of the parish and any friends who identify as men are welcome to come to the Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, March 11. Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Spring Forward: Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, March 12. Be sure to set your clocks forward before you go to bed on March 11.
Lenten Pilgrim Bags: There are still a few Lenten Pilgrim Bags left. If you would like one, you can pick one up in the narthex on Sunday.
The New Website is Here!: We are proud to announce that our new website is up and running. Please bookmark the new URL: stthomascanterbury.org and use it from now on. More information about our site and its contents will appear in a separate email.
Are You Interested in Genealogy?: Questing Heirs, one of our newer community groups, invites us to visit their meetings and explore our heritage. They meet the third Sunday of every month at 2pm in Larkin Hall.
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.