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. |
Rector's Corner  |
As we look forward to Sunday (Quinquagesima
and St Valentine's Day!) and Lent which is just three days away we are also
preparing for Baby Logan's baptism. Logan will be baptized along with one of his
two Dads (Gregory) at the Sunday High Mass. Baptisms always remind us of the
hope and optimism that we need to carry in our hearts as we travel through this
world to our Everlasting Home in the City of the New Jerusalem. As St Paul tells
us in Sunday's Epistle- "therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have
received mercy, we faint not." [II Corinthians 4] The pressures of life, work,
the economy, our health and many other matters can weigh very heavily on us- in
such situations it is important to focus on the intent of our Parish's Mission
Statement "called by God to be a holy place..." this is the work that 'endures
to eternity' and will be our lasting legacy to Logan, his children and his
children's children!
I send my love & prayers to Logan, Jeff
and Greg and to each of you as we look to Christ the pioneer and perfecter of
our faith.
The Rev'd Fr I.E. Davies, B.D. (Wales & Cantab) M.R.I.Ph. | |
| Quinquagesima Sunday |
The period of fifty days before Easter. It begins
with the Sunday
before Ash
Wednesday, called Dominica in Quinquagesima or Esto
Mihi from the beginning of the Introit of the Mass; it is a Sunday of the
second class, and the colour the Mass and Office is violet.
For many early Christians it was
the beginning of the fast before Easter, hence
called, as with the Syrians,
Dom. ingressus jejunii. For some, Quinquagesima
marked the time after which meat was forbidden and was therefore called Dom. This Sunday introduced
the time in which neither milk nor eggs etc, were allowed. In many places this Sunday after and
the next two days were used to prepare for Lent by a good confession; hence
in England we
find the names Shrove Sunday and Shrovetide.
Quinquagesima also means the time between Easter and Pentecost, or from
the Saturday after Easter
to the Sunday
after Pentecost;
it is then called Quinquagesima Paschae paschalis,
or laetitae.
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| Ash Wednesday - February 17, 2010 |
The Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday,
which is the first day of the Lenten fast.
The name dies cinerum (day of ashes) which it
bears in the Roman
Missal is found in the earliest existing copies of the Gregorian
Sacramentary and probably dates from at least the eighth century. On
this day all the faithful
according to ancient custom are
exhorted to approach the altar before the
beginning of Mass,
and there the priest,
dipping his thumb into ashes previously blessed, marks
the forehead - or in case of clerics upon the
place of the tonsure
- of each the sign
of the cross, saying the words: "Remember man that thou art
dust and unto dust thou shalt return." The ashes used in this
ceremony are
made by burning the remains of the palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the
previous year. In the blessing of the ashes four prayers are used,
all of them ancient. The ashes are
sprinkled with holy
water and fumigated with incense.
There can be no doubt that the custom of
distributing the ashes
to all the faithful
arose from a devotional
imitation of the practice observed in the case of public penitents. But
this devotional
usage, the reception of a sacramental which
is full of the symbolism of penance (cf. the cor
contritum quasi cinis of the "Dies Irae") is of
earlier date than was formerly supposed. It is mentioned as of general
observance for both clerics
and faithful
in the Synod of Beneventum, 1091 (Mansi, XX, 739),
but nearly a hundred years earlier than this the Anglo-Saxon
homilist Ælfric
assumes that it applies to all classes of men. "We read", he
says,
in the books both in the Old Law and in the
New that the men
who repented of their sins bestrewed
themselves with ashes
and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let
us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew
ashes upon our
heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.
Adapted from the Catholic Encyclopedia, www.newadvent.org
Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Imposition of Ashes available at 12pm Service
Imposition of Ashes available at 7:30pm Solemn Choral Mass with Assistant Organist Thompson Howell.
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St. Valentine
|
 Valentine was a holy priest
in Rome, who, with St. Marius
and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution
under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the
prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce
his faith
in effectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to
be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270.
Pope Julius I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole to his
memory, which for a long time
gave name to the gate now called Porta del Popolo, formerly, Porta
Valetini. The greatest part of his relics
are now in the church of St. Praxedes. His name is celebrated as that of
an illustrious martyr
in the sacramentary of St. Gregory, the Roman Missal
of Thomasius, in the calendar of F. Fronto and that of Allatius, in
Bede, Usuard, Ado, Notker
and all other martyrologies on this day. To abolish the heathens lewd
superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honor of
their goddess Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several
zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets given on this
day.
The origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines
there were, remains a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman
martyred for refusing to give up his Christian
faith. Other historians hold that St.
Valentine was a temple
priest
jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he was,
Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman
catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD
Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his
martyrdom.
The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a
The Nuremberg
Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. Additional
evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed
a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.
Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a
Roman priest
martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he
was caught marrying Christian
couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under
Emperor Claudius in Rome
[when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and
imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus
made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon
this priest
was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that
didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].
Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're
expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail
or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend
says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of
his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of
his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing
it, "From your Valentine."
St. Valentine was a Priest, martyred in 269 at Rome
and was buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the Patron Saint of affianced
couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings,
happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people. He is
represented in pictures with birds and roses.
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas.
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| Duos and Trios | |
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Thursday, January 25, 2010 at 8pm
Martinu:
"Madrigals" for violin and
viola
Rebecca
Clarke: two pieces for viola
& cello
Schickele: "River Music"
for viola and cello
Debussy: trio for flute,
viola and harp
"Gwinna" for flute,
viola and harp by Dave Volpe
"Thin Air" for violin,
viola and cello by Gernot Wolfgang
Musicians:
Violin:
Roger Wilkie
Viola: Andrew
Duckles
Cello: Cecilia
Tsan
Flute: Boglarka
Kiss
Harp: Alison
Bjorkedal
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| Movie Night - March 5, 2010 |
Movie Night returns on Friday, March 5, 2010 at 7pm with a pot-luck organized by St. Martin's Guild.
Les Misérables is a 1998
film adaptation of Victor
Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name, directed by Bille
August. It stars Liam Neeson, Geoffrey
Rush, Uma Thurman, and Claire
Danes.
As in the original novel, the story line follows the adult life of Jean
Valjean (Liam Neeson), an ex-convict (paroled following
19 years of hard labor, for stealing bread) pursued by police Inspector Javert (Geoffrey
Rush).
Following the screening (on a large screen) Fr. Davies will lead a discussion
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| 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 |
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| Quinquagesima |
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Celebrant (8am & 10:30am)
The Rev. Ian Elliott Davies
Homily (8am & 10.30a):
The Rev. Ian Elliott Davies
Deacon (10:30a):
The Rev. Walter Johnson
Organist-in-Residence:
John West
PRELUDE
Priére (Prayer)
Joseph Jongen
POSTLUDE
Toccata
John Weaver
Exodus
34.29-end
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3.12-4.2
Luke 9.28-36 [37-43a]
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| Clergy |
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The Rev. Ian Elliott Davies
Rector
The Rev. Michael Cooper
Assistant Priest
The Rev. Mr. Walter Johnson
Deacon |
| Pastoral Counseling |
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One-on-one Pastoral counseling is available. Please contact the office (323-876-2102 ext 2) to schedule an appointment with the Clergy. |
| Vigil Mass |
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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 |
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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. |
Gift of Giving
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| Calling St. Thomas Parents Who Want to Instill the Gift of Giving: Join us
for fun, fellowship and community service on February 13th at 7 am in the parish
hall to help serve the homeless at the Breakfast Club. All ages welcome.
Learning to give to those less fortunate can never begin too early! |
| Lent Study Course |
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Lent Study Course for 2010 "The Eucharistic Gospel: Through Lent With St John"
which will show us art work inspired, through the ages, by the Fourth Gospel.
The course will bring together two of Fr. Davies' favourite themes - the literature and
Gospel of the Johannine Community and superb artwork. The course will
inspire our devotions and our hearts as we 'travel' at a very different pace
through Lent this year.
Wednesdays during Lent
starting February 24
7pm Mass followed by Lenten Soup generously provided by Jacquline Cole and the Lent Study Course
Please join us!
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| Mother Knows Best |
Interesting facts about
St. Thomas the Apostle, The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Community  |
On February 14 in 1556, Thomas Cranmer was deposed
as Archbishop
of Canterbury by Queen Mary I.
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MardiGras in the Cathedral
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The Program Group on Gay & Lesbian Ministry invites you to MardiGras in the Cathedral.
Food! Fun! Friends!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
7pm to 9pm
$25.00 at the door
Music by dj Justin Palmer
hors d'oeuvres, open bar.
St. John's Cathedral
514 West Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
RSVP to the Rev. Vicki Mouradian |
| President's Day |
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President's Day is celebrated this year on Monday, February 15, 2010.
In recognition of this Federal Holiday, the office of St. Thomas the Apostle will be closed.
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| ePrayer List |
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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.
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. |
| Miss a week? |
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If you missed an eNews, they are now conveniently archived! Click here! |
| Minutes |
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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.") |
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