St. Thomas Tidings: November 7, 2024
Today in our calendar of saints we commemorate Willibrord, Bishop and Missionary (739). Here is the collect for the day: O Lord our God, you call whom you will and send them where you choose: We thank you for sending your servant Willibrord to be an apostle to the Low Countries, to turn them from the worship of idols to serve you, the living God; and we entreat you to preserve us from the temptation to exchange the perfect freedom of your service for servitude to false gods and to idols of our own devising; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Heinlein For Heroes Book Drive: Each year we collect new and gently-used science fiction and fantasy books for use on military bases and in VA hospitals. Please bring your books this Sunday, if you haven’t already brought them to church, so we can bless the books at our service celebrating our veterans before we give the books to the Heinlein Society for distribution.
Off-Cycle Sabbath: Normally my Sabbath day is Friday. However, because I will be working on November 8 for diocesan convention, I am taking my Sabbath today, November 7. I will do Morning Prayer and send out the usual Thursday emails, and then I will be unavailable. The rest of the normal Thursday work will be done on Friday before I go to convention. Thanks for your understanding. – Mother Sharon
Diocesan Convention This Weekend: Clergy and lay representatives from all over the diocese are meeting Friday and Saturday in Riverside to pass the 2025 diocesan budget, to pass resolutions, and to hear from the Rev. Carter Hayward, one of the Philadelphia Eleven. The business of convention will be streamed Saturday on the Diocesan Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please keep all the delegates, alternates, and visitors in prayer as they do the work of the church.
Men’s Breakfast Saturday, November 9: Meet at the Denny’s at South and Bellflower at 8:00am for food and fellowship.
Taizé Service November 13: Please come to the sanctuary Wednesday, November 13, 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.
Veterans Outreach: St. Thomas was recently given an entire closet-full of donations for our Veterans Ministry to give to our friends at Cabrillo Village. There is a work party on November 14 from 11am-1:30pm in Larkin Hall to make up as many Thanksgiving packages as possible. Delivery to Cabrillo Village will take place on Tuesday, November 19 at 1:30pm. If you’d like to help, or if you have any questions, please contact Rosemary Sissons at 562-818-3911.
Sue Williams Memorial Eucharist: Sue’s memorial eucharist and reception is Saturday, November 16 at 11:00am, with a reception to follow in Crosby Hall. Please continue to keep Sue’s family in your prayers as they prepare for her service.
“Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan” Evensong: We are invited to join with our St. Gregory’s siblings for a special Evensong on Sunday, November 17 at 4pm. This service acknowledges bot the debt that the Episcopal Church has to the Scottish Church (since it was the Scottish Church that ordained the first American bishop), and the desire of the Scottish people to hold onto their heritage and clan tartans when that was denied them under English rule. Everyone, Scottish or not, is invited to wear or bring a token of their heritage to the service to be blessed. Afterwards we’ll enjoy a festive reception and admire everyone’s family history. St. Gregory’s is at 6201 E. Willow St. See you there!
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.
Our Pledge Campaign Continues: You should receive your letter from Mother Sharon and a pledge card by the end of this week. We continue to offer our weekly meditations along with the Tidings, and we hope they are useful as we all continue to pray about what we can offer St. Thomas in the coming year. We will bless the pledge cards on November 24, so please do what you can to return your card by that day. Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration of how you can support St. Thomas’ mission and ministries.
Holiday Fair Preparations: Our annual Holiday Fair and Bake Sale is Saturday, November 23 – which means it’s not too early to start advertising our event to your friends and neighbors! We also need your help in providing baked goods and other treats to sell, and working the event itself (setup, cleanup, manning the sale table). Signup sheets are in the narthex.
Day by Day: The November 2024-January 2025 edition of Day by Day, the daily devotional booklet, has arrived and is available in the narthex. Please come pick one up if you enjoy using the booklet. We will also mail or deliver one to you if you can’t get to church – just let the church office know.
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.