St. Thomas Tidings: November 21, 2024
Today in our calendar of saints we commemorate Mechthilde of Hackeborn (1298) and Gertrude the Great (1302), Mystics and Theologians. Here is the collect for the day: Almighty God, who gave to your servants Mechthilde and Gertrude special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth in Christ Jesus: Grant that by their teachings we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Holiday Fair Preparations: Thank you to everyone who has signed up to bring something to sell, or spend an hour working the fair, or both. If you are bringing crafts or baked goods to sell, PLEASE price them before you bring them. We don’t have enough workers signed up to be able to price things as they come in, and we don’t want to price your goods too low after you have worked so hard on them. You are welcome to either bring your items Friday and leave them in the kitchen, or bring them after 8:00 Saturday morning. The doors open Saturday, November 23 at 9:00am. See you at the Fair!
Pledge Campaign: Our pledge campaign officially wraps up with our blessing of the pledge cards this Sunday. This date allows us to have a full month preparing the 2025 budget so it can be reviewed by the Bishop’s Committee before the annual meeting. However, if you need extra time before you submit your pledge, please take it – and please speak with Allen Stout or Mother Sharon if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration of how you can support St. Thomas’ mission and ministries.
Thanksgiving Eve Service: Please come to our annual Thanksgiving Eve service with the “Blessing of the Buns” on Wednesday, November 27 at 7pm. Our siblings from St. Gregory’s will join us, and we’ll have pie and hot chocolate afterwards. Bring your buns or any other reasonable token of your Thanksgiving beast to be blessed during the service. Let’s all start the holiday weekend out right by giving thanks for our community and what we’ve received.
Holiday Office Closure: The church office will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 28-29. There will be no Morning or Evening Prayer on November 28, and no Evening Prayer on November 27 because of the Thanksgiving Eve service.
Advent Wreath Lighting: We start each service in Advent with the lighting of the Advent wreath and a short liturgy led by members of our community. If you’d like to participate, please sign up in the narthex. It’s short and easy and lets everyone who wants to have a chance at leading our liturgy.
Family Leave: I will be away on Sunday, December 8 due to my brother-in-law’s memorial service. The Rev. Gary Commins will preach and preside at both services. I will work my usual schedule the week of December 1 and then leave for Sacramento. Father Michael Fincher will cover pastoral care through the weekend of December 8. – Mother Sharon
Men’s Breakfast Saturday, December 14: Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Taizé Service December 18: Please come to the sanctuary Wednesday, December 18, for our monthly Taizé service. We will meet at 6:15 for a brief time of prayer, scripture, chanting, and silence. You are welcome to bring a friend who will enjoy a simple meditative service. Please note that this month we’re meeting on the THIRD Wednesday, not the second, due to Mother Sharon’s schedule.
Christmas Flowers: The Altar Guild always does a wonderful job decorating our sanctuary for Christmas. If you’d like to make a Christmas flower donation, please be sure it’s at the church no later than December 19, so that we can print the tributes for our loved ones in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day bulletins. Thanks for your help!
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.