St. Thomas Tidings: May 23, 2024
Today we celebrate The First Book of Common Prayer (1549). Here is the collect for the day: Almighty and everliving God, who through the Book of Common Prayer restored the language of the people in the prayers of your church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with understanding, that we may worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Calling All Graduates! If you are graduating this year from any level of school, please let Mother Sharon know. We’d like to recognize all our graduates at our services on June 9 with special prayers and small gifts.
Memorial Day Closure: The church office will be closed Monday, May 27, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Business as usual will resume Tuesday.
“Mass in the Grass” June 2: Our annual picnic with St. Gregory’s will be Sunday, June 2 at 10:15am at El Dorado Park. We will have our usual 8:00 service at St. Thomas, and then join with our siblings for the 10:15 service. Please note that this year the picnic will be a potluck, and St Gregory’s asks us to RSVP for lunch and sign up to bring something. Please RSVP by this Sunday to Kevin at St. Gregory’s (562-420-1211) with the number of people attending and what you’re bringing for the potluck. Of course the service is free and open to all, with no need to RSVP if you plan to stay only for the service. A map is attached with the service and picnic location. See you there!
Men’s Breakfast June 12: All men of the parish and any friends who identify as men are welcome to come to the Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, June 12. Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Bicycle Wanted: Becky Ruiz’s caregiver Arturo needs a men’s bicycle for running errands so he doesn’t have to walk. If you have a bicycle in working condition you’d be willing to donate or sell inexpensively, please contact Becky or Mother Sharon. Thanks for your help!
Communion Update: We are continuing to try out our new model of receiving communion, where those who wish to receive by intinction receive first, and then those who wish to drink from the chalice. We are continuing to fine-tune the process, and also see how we might use this model at the altar rail. Please let Mother Sharon or Sue Williams know of any comments or ideas on how to continue to make communion flow smoothly.
Dodger Night Coordinator: The annual Episcopal Night at Dodger Stadium is in September, but it’s already time to get ready for signups! We need a coordinator for St. Thomas who is willing to take ticket signups, collect the money, send in the order, and then distribute the tickets via email when they arrive. If you are willing to help with this, please talk with Mother Sharon. If we don’t have a coordinator, we won’t be able to attend the game this year.
Livestream Help Wanted: As noted in the Canterbury Tales, we need one or two people who are willing to step up and learn the livestreaming system so that we can remain online. We don’t want to deprive our livestreaming siblings of the services they rely on! If you are interested, please speak with John or Mother Sharon.
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.