St. Thomas Tidings: October 17, 2024
Today in our calendar of saints we commemorate Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (c. 115). Here is the collect for the day: Almighty God, we praise your name for your bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch, who offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts that he might present to you the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept, we pray, the willing tribute of our lives and give us a share in the pure and spotless offering of your Son Jesus Christ; 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 and leave them in the narthex between now and November 10, when we will bless the books at our service celebrating our veterans before we give the books to the Heinlein Society for distribution.
Celebratory Service: We are invited to St. Wilfrid’s Women’s Priesthood 50th Anniversary Celebratory Service on Sunday, October 27 at 5:00pm. The service has been designed by women and will be led by women, including the Rev. Karen Maurer, the Rev. Kay Sylvester, the Rev. Laura Siriani, and the women of the St. Wilfrid’s Choir. St. Wilfrid’s is at 18631 Chapel Lane, Huntington Beach.
Daylight Savings Time Ends November 3: Coming early to church is great, but waiting in the parking lot for an hour is much less fun! Daylight Savings Time ends at 2am on Sunday, November 3. Be sure to set your clocks BACK before you go to bed (assuming you have any clocks that don’t automatically update) and enjoy that extra hour of sleep.
All Saints Necrology: As is our custom, we will read the names of our beloved dead at both services on November 3, our observance of All Saints. The notebook will be in the narthex starting this weekend for you to write in the names you would like read from the altar. If you can’t be at church, please email your names to stlb47@verizon.net and we will include them. Remember that we don’t carry over names from year to year, so please write in everyone you’d like remembered. Thanks!
Chorale Concert November 3: The Long Beach Chorale loves St. Thomas as a performance space, especially for a cappella music. On Sunday, November 3 at 4:00pm, they will be performing a concert of sacred and secular Renaissance music. What a glorious way to celebrate All Saints Sunday! Tickets are $40 for adults and $15 for students, and there is a “pay what you can” option for folks who can’t afford the full price. For more information visit the Chorale web page at https://longbeachchorale.org ; tickets are at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=lbco
Our Pledge Campaign Continues: Our pledge campaign has begun. You should have received a letter from Stewardship Chair Terri Cordi; please contact the church office if you didn’t get one. As we move through pledge season, you’ll receive a weekly meditation attached to the Tidings, and we hope you’ll read them as you continue to pray about what you can offer St. Thomas in the coming year. A letter from Mother Sharon with the pledge card will go out near the end of October, and our ingathering of pledge cards will be November 24. Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration of how you can support St. Thomas’ mission and ministries.
38th Annual Brass Rubbing Event at St. Luke’s: We are invited to join our St. Luke’s siblings at “Cassidy Castle” for their annual Brass Rubbing Event. Learn about medieval times with docent-led talks, and create a piece of art for yourself or a loved one. The event runs October 15-November 9 (closed Sunday and Monday). Cost is $10 per person. For more information go to www.brassrubbing.org; for reservations and more information, email brass.rubbing.lb@gmail.com
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 will be in the narthex starting this weekend.
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.
News for St. Thomas Delegates and Alternates to Convention: Hotel room and meal reservations are now open on the diocesan website for the November 8-9 convention. Please go to the Diocesan Convention page at https://diocesela.org/convention/meals-and-lodging/ to reserve your meals and room. Note also that our pre-convention Deanery meeting is Saturday, October 19 at 2pm via zoom. More information on the meeting, and the zoom link, is available at https://diocesela.org/convention/ If you have any questions, please talk with Mother Sharon.
Convention Movie Screening Open to All: The film “The Philadelphia Eleven,” a documentary about the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church, will be shown Friday, November 8 as part of Diocesan Convention in Riverside. Attendance is not limited to delegates and alternates – everyone in the diocese is invited to attend! A dinner option is also available. For more information, please see the “Call to Convention” page at https://diocesela.org/news/call-to-the-2024-diocesan-convention/
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.