The following photographs and remembrances are a small piece of Fr. Stuart's impact on our lives.  (Many of these photos are from the Annual Parish Meeting slideshows, thanks to Les Rumsey and courtesy of Jeff Knight.)

 

 

This Sunday we will be saying goodbye to Fr. Stuart as he journeys to a new Parish and new beginnings.  I personally would like to thank Fr. Stuart for his ministry at St. Thomas, for his sincere devotion at the altar and to our Blessed Lady, to his always warm and friendly demeanor, and for his commitment to our Stewardship and Newcomers Committees where his Stewardship innovations and newcomer guidance has made us a stronger family.  Fr. Stuart has mentioned taking leaps of faith in his life.  He and Bob came to Los Angeles and found our Parish on one such leap.  With Christ his Rock he made another leap of faith when deciding to make a change in his life this past year, and he was ultimately blessed with a new Parish and a new direction.  We should all have the confidence of faith to tread into new territory, whatever that may be. I sincerely wish Fr. Stuart well in this coming year and my prayers go out to him for future success. -  Les Rumsey, Rectors Warden

 

  

 

      

 

 

 

      

 

   

 

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

   

   

 

 

 

 

I so appreciate Fr. Stuart's leadership and pastoral care but most importantly I appreciate his friendship.  I know that will remain the same, regardless of where his ministry takes him.  Thank you Father Stuart.  J. Todd Howell

 

 

 

The running joke was that Fr. Davies was like Mary and that Fr. Stuart was like Martha, which was why they made such a good team.  Fr. Stuart had a St. Martha statue which often came to Vestry meetings, to help us to maintain our effectiveness. I got my  own St. Martha statue shortly after I became Rectors' Warden. I remember one Vestry meeting in particular when we had a lot of items on the agenda. Fr. Stuart and I agreed that it would be a double-Martha meeting, so we both brought our statues. Our Marthas would appear whenever the discussion started to veer off track. This strategy was both efficient and hilarious.  Working with Fr. Stuart meant a lot of laughter and fun but always, always getting the job done! - Darcine Thomas 

 

 

Fr. Stuart's vision on considering financial stewardship through the philosophy of "More Blessed to Give" is a defining transition of our Parish's leadership in Stewardship throughout the Diocese and the greater Chuch.  I am most grateful for his contrbutions and wish him Godspeed and much successs.  Thank you Father Stuart!  Craig B. Coogan

 

 

 

My Recollections of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
 
From the time Bob and I first became acquainted with St. Thomas Parish from the web site while we were still in Alabama planning our relocation to L A, we knew that would be the parish we would want to attend. I had been hired at The YWCA as Director of Development, but wanted to be attached to a parish where I could exercise my priesthood. Therefore, I had a meeting with the Deployment Officer of the Diocese, who at that time happened to be Fr. Mark Kowalewski. He said, "I know just the parish for you - St. Thomas the Apostle. They have a new rector arriving and he will probably need some assistance." I could hardly believe what he said and quickly wrote a letter introducing myself to Fr. Davies. Well, Fr. Davies and I met and got along so amazingly well that he hired me as part time assisting priest in May 2002.

 

As the years went on and the parish grew, I was recruited to become the full-time Associate Rector, which I gladly accepted. I could never have imagined such a successful and happy team ministry as I have had with Fr. Davies and I consider him my friend, as well as my colleague. We balanced each other perfectly and gradually came to be referred to as Mary and Martha of Bethany. As you remember, Mary sat at the feet of Our Lord adoring His every word, while Martha was in the kitchen doing the dishes. Fr. Davies was much more the creative theologian, while I was much more the practical, down to earth plodder. Before our parish mission trip to the Gulf Coast left to assist in the clean-up of Hurricane Katrina, I wrote a note and put it on the rector's door: "Martha is going down to stand knee deep in hurricane mud and debris and Mary is staying home to pray for her."

 

I cannot separate all my memories of St. Thomas from my partner Bob, because he grew to love St. Thomas as much as I and a significant part of our relationship became sharing our life together at the Parish. Bob developed a strong personal faith for the first time in his life because of St. Thomas. We became friends and acquaintances with so many wonderful parishioners and our life together was in large part a life together at St. Thomas. Of all the memories of the past years, the memory of Bob's Requiem with all the outpouring of love and compassion from this very loving St. Thomas family will be my strongest and that for which I am most grateful.

 

Since we have so recently been in the Christmas season, I have special memories of Christmas at St. Thomas, as did Bob. In fact, he loved our church so much at that time of year, he had a framed photo of it all decorated for Christmas that he kept out all year long.

 

Our first Christmas here I had gone to the church to help decorate and it was magical with all the poinsettias in the sanctuary and window boxes, the wreaths hanging from the lights along both nave aisles, and the biggest inside Christmas tree I had ever seen all covered in twinkling white lights taking up most of the Lady Chapel. When I got home I was effusive, "Bob you have never seen anything more beautiful in your life! I can't wait to show you!"

 

During the first Christmas Eve's Fr. Davies would take the tiny baby Jesus gingerly on a pillow in solemn procession down to the crèche at the end of Mass hoping He wouldn't slip off. One year after the humeral veil had been placed on Father's shoulders he did an extreme act of obeisance to the baby Jesus in a double genuflection at the High Altar, at which point the veil swung over his head and he got all tangled up so that the Sacred Ministers had to get him unraveled from his piety to get on with it!

 

One Christmas Eve just as the procession had ended at the crèche and the baby Jesus was being placed in the manger there came a deafening CRASH right outside the chapel window facing Hollywood Blvd. A car had run through the red light at Gardner St. and then smashed into Bill Daniel's car parked right in front of the church. Fr. Davies said I should run outside prepared to give last rites. Thankfully, no one was hurt that seriously, but Bill's car looked like it was what was in need of the last rites.

Neither Bob nor I had ever seen a solemn liturgical same-gender Covenant Blessing until we came to St. Thomas. The first one we attended we sat together in the pew. At the end of the Mass when the two grooms were processing out, I turned and saw my romantic Bob crying with emotion. From then on he would periodically say that he wanted a "wedding in the church." I would always say that would not happen for us until the Episcopal Church formally adopted such a liturgy. The next year our seventh anniversary happened to fall on a Sunday and Bishop Carranza happened to be visiting St. Thomas that day and was celebrating the High Mass. Before the Service I told him it was Bob's and my anniversary and would he do a favor for me. He said he would be glad to. I told him that when Bob came to the altar rail to make his Communion I would slip out of the sanctuary and kneel beside him and then asked if the Bishop would give us a blessing. Bob did not know about this and looked surprised when I came around to kneel beside him. Then true to his word Bishop Carranza gave us and our relationship a special blessing before he gave us the hosts. Bob was amazed and so delighted. The next time Bob brought up wanting to be "married in the church," I told him that we already were when Bishop Carranza gave us his blessing on our seventh anniversary!

 

Bob and I developed a devotion to Damien of Molokai after coming to St. Thomas and becoming familiar with Fr. Damien's selfless ministry in Hawaii. Even though there was a chapel dedicated to  Damien at St. Thomas there was no proper shrine to Damien and his feast had not even been observed. I approached Fr. Davies about the possibility of Bob and me giving an icon of Damien and making a proper shrine for him and Fr. Davies enthusiastically responded. So, on the Feast Day of Blessed Damien (now Saint Damien) in 2003 the Damien Shrine was dedicated in honor of John Duran. Bob and I hung some dried flower and shell leis there and gradually other people added their gifts of special leis. Bob looked after the flowers at the shrine and we began the practice of parishioners giving memorial or thanksgiving orchids. For the years we lived in West Hollywood Bob would go get a fresh orchid every time someone gave one in dedication. When we moved from West Hollywood John Thornbury took over this task and the custom continues to this day thanks to Bob.

 

One of the most precious of all memories was my silver ordination Jubilee Mass on April 12th 2005 when I reaffirmed my ordination vows with Bishop Carranza presiding. My whole family was there, but most special was my father preaching the sermon he preached at my ordination to the Priesthood in 1980, then coming down from the pulpit and vesting me with his favorite stole. Bob produced an elegant reception supper in the parish hall. I will never forget that evening.

There are many many other memories which flood my mind, too numerous to relate. There were all the Pride weekends when the Parish had a booth at the festival and we marched with the other Episcopalians from the Diocese; I was always proud to be marching hand in hand with Bob. There were all the summer potlucks in the rectory garden and special receptions and gatherings where our Parish family joined together. There was the mission trip to the Gulf Coast when 12 of us went down to help clean up after the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, such I sight all of us will hope to never witness again. There was the Parish Pilgrimage to Walsingham in 2004. There was the tenting of the church for termites when I never thought they would ever be able to completely cover of dear Parish church, but it happened! There was the relationship with Rabbi Rosove and Temple Israel which developed over these years and for the closeness which grew between us, especially during Bob's last days and following his passing.

I have wonderful thoughts about all the annual stewardship campaigns and the dear Team Captains to whom I became so close. There were all the classes of Catechumens I so thoroughly enjoyed getting to know. I shall never forget the Easter Vigil when David Seck was received into the Church and his son Jarrod was baptized at the same time. I loved all the baptisms of the children and especially remember the honor of baptizing both the Heimark boys and Elsa Miller with her bright green little shoes! There were sad times when I said good-bye to our friends who passed on - Francis Meehan, Christopher Price, Bill Chapman, Dorothy Frazier, Betty Buckingham, Marcia Mooseby, and Barbra Dove. And I was most touched by the large number of Parishioners who drove out to Claremont for my mother's funeral.

 

There were difficult times when I found myself in the pulpit struggling for the right thing to say: the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the invasion of Iraq, the Tsunami in southeast Asia, and Hurricane Katrina. But the hardest was standing the pulpit for the first time following Bob's death and share with you my pain and faith.

 

All through my time at St. Thomas I have been blessed to share ministry with my dear friend and colleague, Fr. Ian Davies and through most of that time I was also blessed to have such a supportive partner in Bob. I have prayed daily through all these years that I would be the best priest and pastor to all of you, whom I have grown to love very much. We have been through both joy and pain together and our faith has given us strength and purpose, individually and as I faith community. It was been my privilege to serve you in this place and I will forever be grateful for these nearly eight years here. Following Bob's wishes, his ashes were placed in the wall of the church with me to join him when it is my time; together Bob and I will forever be a part of the fabric of this place we love so much.

 

When I graduated seminary and was about to be ordained to the diaconate my mentor the rector I had worked under for two years as a seminarian said to me, "I am not going to wish you a successful ministry, because it is not your ministry, it is Christ's. If you are faithful to your calling you will share in His ministry and will experience both great sorrow and great joy, which will be your greatest gift. That is what I wish you for." My being at St. Thomas has, indeed been a big part of that great gift.
 
 
Faithfully and affectionately,
 
Fr. Mark D. Stuart

 
In 2010 the Order of Service returns to a fully integrated user friendly document on large paper folded so that each side is 8 1/2 by 11.  Our liturgy can be complex as it draws from many ancient traditions as well as the Prayer Book.  The service includes music from several Hymnals.  (The copyrights to all of the hymnals have been purchased by the Church.)  The return of the larger integrated document is in response to requests to provide an Order of Service that is user friendly to newcomers and others.  The integrated Order of Service will allow the service to be followed from Prelude through Postlude, eliminating juggling between bits of paper and multiple books.  It is important to have a welcoming Order of Service to those who are not familiar with our traditions.
 
We are all concerned about the economic and ecological impact of the larger document.  These issues were carefully considered.  There is an incremental cost of using larger paper that is offset by bulk advance purchasing.  The total financial impact of using the larger format is expected to be less than $250 for the year.  Because the document is fully integrated (without having to "stuff" other pieces of paper) volunteer hours are minimized as the existing Parish printer can print, fold and staple on its own.  This allows volunteers to spend their time on other items - reducing costs.  The layout of the template is no more time consuming in the larger format than in the smaller, and, in fact may wind up being faster.  Using 4 larger pieces of paper (that fold to 8 sides) rather than 3 smaller pieces of paper has more of an impact on the environment.  The Church prints the Order of Service on recycled paper and recycles any unused Order of Service.
 
We will evaluate the effectiveness of the larger Order of Service throughout the year and welcome your comments.

In response to the H1N1 Flu (commonly known as the Swine Flu), St. Thomas Hollywood encourages parishioners to partake of communion via intinction.  The Sacred Minister will dip the host into the wine and place the consecrated host on the parishioners tongue, which should be extended.

 

For those parishioners who out of custom prefer to continue using the chalice, the chalice is cleaned with a grain-alcohol cloth after each use, significantly reducing any transfer of germs.

 

We are mindful of the sensitivity of certain people to these issues, and we would kindly remind you that receiving just the Sacred Host is full Communion. You do not have to receive the Chalice, and vice-versa: receiving only the Chalice is full Communion.

 

Common sense will be one of our best weapons against this flu:

For more information:  www.flu.gov

 

Associate Rector

On the Second and Fourth Saturdays of each month the Homeless Breakfast takes 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.

Interesting facts about

St. Thomas the Apostle, The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Community

 

 

If you missed an eNews, they are now conveniently archived! Click here!

St Thomas Website