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Weekly E-Newsletter
Week Ending
October 30, 2009
Dear Parishioner  

St. Thomas the Apostle is an Episcopal Parish in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.  We are called by God to be a holy place where love is found, where all are named and where hearts are freed to change the world.
 
Stewardship 2010:  Christ the Rock
Almight God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess:  Grant us grace that we may honor You with our substance and being strong in You and in the Power ofYour might, be faithful stewards of Your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
In This Issue
All Hallows Eve
Book Discussion Continues
Feeling Hospitable?
Healthcare as a Human Right
Community Outreach Holiday Meeting on Sunday
Stewardship Mediation
Thank you 2010 Pledgers!
Daylight Saving Time
Mother Knows Best
MILLIONS
All Hallows Eve
 
HalloweeenHalloween has origins in the ancient Gaelic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an), which is dervied from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".  A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf). The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".
 

It could be seen as a festival of the dead. The ancient Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.
 

Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
hen the Gospel was first preached in Britain, the island was inhabited by Celtic peoples. In the 400's, pagan Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, invaded Britain and drove the Christian Celts out of what is now England into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The new arrivals (called collectively the Anglo-Saxons) were then converted by Celtic missionaries moving in from the one side and Roman missionaries moving in from the other. (They then sent missionaries of their own, such as Boniface, to their pagan relatives on the Continent.)
 
With its roots in Celtic cultures, Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, and among those that do the traditions and importance of the celebration vary significantly.
 
Celebration in the United States has had a significant impact on how the holiday is observed in other nations. The history of Halloween traditions in a given country also lends context to how it is presently celebrated.
In North America, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are quite diverse. In the Anglican Church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions of All Saints' Day, while some other Protestants celebrate the holiday as Reformation Day, a day of remembrance and prayers for unity. Celtic Christians may have Samhain services that focus on the cultural aspects of the holiday, in the belief that many ancient Celtic customs are "incompatible with the new Christian religion. Christianity embraced the Celtic notions of family, community, the bond among all people, and respect for the dead. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry (hodgepodge) of celebrations from October 31 through November 5, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery."

Many Christians ascribe no negative significance to Halloween, treating it as a purely secular holiday devoted to celebrating "imaginary spooks" and handing out candy. Halloween celebrations are common among Roman Catholic parochial schools throughout North America and in Ireland. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church sees Halloween as having a Christian connection.  Father Gabriele Amorth, a Vatican-appointed exorcist in Rome, has said, "If English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."  Most Christians hold the view that the tradition is far from being "satanic" in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage. Other Christians feel concerned about Halloween, and reject the holiday because they believe it trivializes (and celebrates) "the occult" and what they perceive as evil.  A response among some fundamentalists in recent years has been the use of Hell houses or themed pamphlets (such as those of Jack T. Chick) which attempt to make use of Halloween as an opportunity for evangelism.  Some consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its origin as a pagan "Festival of the Dead." In more recent years, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organized a "Saint Fest" on the holiday.  Many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy. Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate Halloween for they believe anything that originated from a pagan holiday should not be celebrated by true Christians.

Religions other than Christianity also have varied views on Halloween. Some Wiccans feel that the tradition is offensive to "real witches" for promoting stereotypical caricatures of "wicked witches".  Traditional Judaism frowns upon the celebration of Halloween." In Arab countries where it is celebrated, devotion is given to St. Barbara.


Adapted from www.wikipedia.com 
 
Join St. Thomas on Monday, November 2.  Two Requiem Masses will take place on All Souls' Day this year (12noon and 7:30pm). Every name in the Parish Chantry Book will be prayed for during the course of the day, and at the 7:30pm Requiem Mass, the Parish Choir will be singing the beautiful Faur� Requiem Mass.
Book Discussion continues at 9:15am
 
Power and PassionEach Sunday at 9:15am there is a Book Discussion on Samuel Wells' book "Power & Passion."  The book looks at the passion of Christ by examining 6 different characters: Pontius Pilate, Barabbas, Joseph of Arimathea, Pilate's Wife, Peter and Mary Magdalene.  
 
"Power & Passion" was chosen by the Archbishop of Canterbury as his Lent book for 2007, but it is a book that can be shared any time we need to reconsider our own power in the light of the power of Jesus' resurrection and allow our own passion to be renewed by the passion of Christ. 
The book discussion will be held on Sunday's from 9:15am to 9:45am in the Small Parish Hall. 
 
Shireen Baker, a candidate for the seminary, leads the book discussion.  You may purchase the book at Amazon or any other retailer.
Feeling Hospitable?
 
The Hospitality Committee is looking for volunteers to help set up and clean up after the coffee hour on Sundays. They would like four to six volunteers so a schedule can be set up and no one person has to work more than once a month.  The coffee hour is an important part in our Parish fellowship allowing us to get to know each other better.  Your participation can help keep this essential part of Parish life running smoothly. Please contact John Boughner, Les Rumsey or the Parish Office if you are interested. 
Health Care as a Human Right:  November 20
 
manchanda flier
Community Outreach Holiday Meeting
 
Stewardship of Community Outreach would like to ask volunteers to meet following 10:30 Mass in the Sunday School room/rear rec. hall for a short meeting to discuss holiday outreach....including Project Angel Tree and SOVA food bin and food drive this Sunday, November 1st, 2009.   If you can't make the meeting but would like to participate please contact Todd.
This weeks Stewardship Meditation
 
As we observe All Saints and All Souls days we remember all those who have touched our lives and have come before us in our Parish. We are part of an intricate web of relationships with many people. These holy ones remain among us in so many ways. In our Parish look around and see what legacies we have in our beautiful church, in our liturgy and music, and in our ministries. In our personal lives, we are a part of the past in all we are today. In our faith community, we are surrounded by the programs and beautiful surroundings of past men and women who contributed and loved sacrificially. Such reflections pose a question: What are we doing with what we have inherited to maintain, strengthen, and grow in our Parish and ministries? What do we wish to leave for others? Building on the past, caring for the present, and concern for the future are the qualities of wise stewardship.
Pledgers for 2010
 
Our Every Member Canvass campaign is in its final stretch.  We are deeply grateful to the following Parishioners who have pledged for 2010:
 
David Anderson
Tom Balamaci & Patrick Wildnauer
John & Linda Bruce
Kent R. Burke
Steven W. Carry
Ted Chigaros
Craig B. Coogan
Scott G. N. Crowell
Donald Cummings
William Daniel
Fr. Ian Elliott Davies
Evelyn Davis
Thomas Doyle
Robert L. Ducker
John Eglin
Charles Elliott & Joseph Gaudioso
Michael Ensign Evans
David Firman
Howard Gaass
Clint Gray
Andy Harland
Bob Halvorson
Ron Hartwig
Peter & Julie Heimark
Jane A. Heitz
Bob Henry & Linda Wendell
John Holloway
J. Todd Howell
Helen Slayton Hughes
Jimmy Hughes
Bronwyn, Greg & Henry Jamrok
Luis S. Javier
Mary L. Johnston
Timothy Joslin
Sue Ann Keeling
Stephen Kemp
Peter T. Kempson
Taffy Kennedy
James R. Kennish
Thomas Kingsley
Ken Koonce
James & Elizabeth Lancaster
Bruce A. Larson
Len Leatherwood & Ray Beaty
Joe A. Lopez
Robert D. McConnell
Robert D. Miller
Sandra Minott
Brett D. Morana
Barry Norcross
Michael Owen
Jeffrey R. Pierce
Vincent Roncone
John V. Schleif
Darrell Schmitt
John Scoles
Gary K. Shaw
Stan Shipley
Fr. Mark D. Stuart
Thomas G. Thanangadan
Reece P. Thomson
John Thornbury
Paul Tournay & Lee Cox
Robert Van Meter
Lynn Walker
Gary Warning
Joseph Warren
Robert Weihing
Janet West
Stephen Yoder
Service Schedule
 
MASSES & DAILY OFFICES
Sunday
7:30 AM  -  Morning Prayer
8:00 AM  -  Low Mass
9:45 AM  -  Rosary
10:30AM -  High Mass with Choir - Childcare Available
4:30 PM  -  Evening Prayer
 
Monday through Friday
7:30 AM -  Morning Prayer
6:30 PM -  Evening Prayer 
7:00 PM -  Low Mass  
 
Tuesday
6:00 PM -  Reconciliations / Confessions
 
Saturday
10:00AM -  Low Mass
5:00 PM  -  Vigil Mass with Gregorian Chant
6:30 PM  -  Compline
 
 
Many additional activities occur each week at St. Thomas the Apostle.  See the calendar for more!
 
We hope to see you soon!
 
Blessings from
 
St. Thomas the Apostle
All Souls Day
Patronal Saint
Celebrant (8am)
The Rev. Mark D. Stuart 
 
Celebrant (10.30a):
The Rev. Ian Elliott Davies 
 
Homily (8am & 10.30a)
The Rev. Ian Elliott Davies
 
Deacon
(10:30a):
The Rev. Mark D. Stuart
 
Organist-in-Residence (10:30a): 
John West 
 
PRELUDE
 
Aspiration
John E. West
 
Studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, under Sir Frederick Bridge (organ) and Dr Ebenezer Prout. Organist of St. Augustine's, Queen's Gate, London; St. Mary's, Berkeley Square, London, 1884; He Composed cantatas, services, anthems, incidental music, organ pieces and songs
 
POSTLUDE
 
Fanfare on 'Sine Nomine      
John A. West
 
After playing numerous funerals and improvising on this tune, I eventually put it in writing.
This piece is published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers out of Minneapolis.
As far as I know I am not related to the composer of the prelude, although I have not done a search in my lineage
 
 READINGS
 
Isaiah 25.6-9
Psalm 24.1-6
Revelation 21.1-6a
John 11.32-44
Clergy
Fr Davies
The Rev. Ian Elliott Davies
Rector
 
Fr Stuart
The Rev. Mark D Stuart
Associate Rector
 
Fr Cooper
The Rev. Michael Cooper
Assistant Priest 
 
Deacon Johnson 
 The Rev. Mr. Walter Johnson
Deacon
Pastoral Counseling
One-on-one Pastoral counseling is available.  Please contact the office (323-876-2102 ext 2) to schedule an appointment with the Clergy.
Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Savings Fall
At 2am on Sunday, November 1st clocks will be reset back one hour for the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST), returning the Pacific region to Standard time.
 
Please reset your clocks before retiring to make you arrive to Church on time!
 
Although not punctual in the modern sense, ancient civilizations adjusted daily schedules to the sun more flexibly than modern DST does, often dividing daylight into twelve equal hours regardless of day length, so that each daylight hour was longer during summer. For example, Roman water clocks had different scales for different months of the year: at Rome's latitude the third hour from sunrise, hora tertia, started by modern standards at 09:02 solar time and lasted 44 minutes at the winter solstice, but at the summer solstice it started at 06:58 and lasted 75 minutes.  After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season. Unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some Mount Athos monasteries.
 
Benjamin Franklin suggested firing cannons at sunrise to waken Parisians.
During his time as an American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, author of the proverb, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", anonymously published a letter suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight.  This 1784 satire proposed taxing shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise.  Franklin did not propose DST; like ancient Rome, 18th-century Europe did not keep precise schedules. However, this soon changed as rail and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklin's day.
 
G.V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.  Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson, whose shift-work job gave him leisure time to collect insects, and made him aware of the value of after-hours daylight. In 1895 he presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society proposing a two-hour daylight-saving shift, and after considerable interest was expressed in Christchurch, New Zealand he followed up in an 1898 paper.  Many publications incorrectly credit DST's invention to the prominent English builder and outdoorsman William Willett, who independently conceived DST in 1905 during a pre-breakfast ride, when he observed with dismay how many Londoners slept through a large part of a summer day.  An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk.  His solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. 
 
Willett lobbied unsuccessfully for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, and Germany, its World War I allies, and their occupied zones were the first European nations to use Willett's invention, starting April 30, 1916, as a way to conserve coal during wartime. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year; and the United States adopted it in 1918. Since then, the world has seen many enactments, adjustments, and repeals.
 
Adapted from www.wikipedia.org 
Vigil Mass
Missa Vigil hoc septem dies cum lingua Latina. Missa mos ineo 5 meridianus et cum ero Abeo Gregoriana in Ecclesiae Parochiae Sancta Thomasiensis.

[The Vigil Mass on Saturday will be in Latin this week.  Join us at 5pm in the Church with Gregorian Chant.]
 
Homeless Breakfast
Saturday, November 7th the Homeless Breakfast will take place.  Volunteers are welcome and greatly needed!
 
150 homeless and needy Angelinos are served a tasty breakfast by St. Thomas volunteers. Come at 7:00am to help prepare and share pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits and good fellowship.  Come at 7:30am to help serve.  Come at 9:00am to help clean up.
 
Deacon Johnson serves as the Social Worker providing outreach to the Homess during the Breakfast.  This portion of the program, including providing safer sex kits, hygene items and other critical supplies is funded in part by a grant from The City of West Hollywood.
Mother Knows Best
Interesting facts about
St. Thomas the Apostle
 
Doubt
The chalice we use at the High Altar each Sunday was made from bits of silver and gold jewelry that were donated by parishioners in the early
years of the parish. It is a direct link to those people who sacrificed so much to found St. Thomas church.
Movie Night
MILLIONS 
Millions
The UK is about to switch its currency from Pounds to Euros, giving a gang a chance to rob the poorly-secured train loaded with money on its way to incineration. But, during the robbery, one of the big bags falls literally from the sky on Damian's playhouse, a 5-year old given to talking to saints. The boy then starts seeing what the world and the people around him are made of. Ethics, being human and the soul all come to the forefront in this filmis today and where it wants to be in the future.
 

Fr. Ian Elliot Davies will lead the discussion.
 
November 20, 2009
7:30pm
ePrayer List
Prayer is at the center of our worship and binds us together as a community of faith.  This week we commenced our electronic prayer chain email.  A list of persons on the prayer list is sent weekly.
 
Subscribers to the prayer chain email agree to honor confidentiality of the members on the prayer list and to pray for the persons on the prayer list during the week.  It is expected that the prayer chain will be sent weekly, though occasional additional emails will be sent if circumstances warrant.
 
The prayer chain email is an opt-in list only - it will not be sent unless you sign up for it.  If you'd like to be on this distribution list, please update your profile (please use link at the bottom of the email, customized with your email)or contact the office. 
Minutes
The minutes from the Vestry Meetings of St. Thomas the Apostle are now available on the St. Thomas the Apostle website.  Click here to get the minutes. (Or goto the "Wardens & Vestry" page and click on "Minutes.")
 
 Each month after the Vestry approves the prior months minutes they will be posted in PDF format.
Quick Links
 
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Cal National
Cal National Bank's Community Account provides an Exclusive Offer for Family, Friends, and Employees of St. Thomas the Apostle Church.  When you open any checking account, Cal National will donate $20 to St. Thomas!
Open any checking account and use any ATM with NO Cal National fee.  They even reimburse all machine surcharges for Value & Market Rate checking customers.
Earn points for travel, merchandise, gift cards by using your Cal National Visa Check Card
FREE Online Banking with FREE Bill Pay
FREE Telephone banking
FREE Welcome Gift
St. Thomas now banks with Cal National!
CONTACT:  Martha Morales, 323.817.6360 at the Hollywood Branch, 6922 Hollywood Blvd. (Entrance on Orange)