St. Thomas the Apostle Newsletter

eNews

July 09, 2010

Greetings!

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

From the Rector

Fr. Ian Elliott Davies

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We have enjoyed a wonderful Independence Day weekend and Patronal Festival. I discovered just a week ago that sixteen of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Welsh ancestry ... so the Welsh flags hanging around the Rectory garden were a doubly symbolic feature!

It is with sadness that we note the death of John Bougner's and Rad Charles' respective fathers.

Last week it was announced that Dr Jane Shaw (currently Dean of New College, Oxford and a Canon of Christ Church) is to be the new Dean of Grace Cathedral. We wish Dr Shaw every blessing as she prepares for her move from New College to the United States. We are also very happy to have learned this week that Fr David Peebles (currently Chaplain to the London School of Economics) is to be the new Rector of St George's Bloomsbury in the Diocese of London. Fr Peebles and St Thomas the Apostle have a long and happy relationship and we look to good, rewarding work together in the years ahead...we may even "twin" our Parishes and organize some 'exchanges' between us. The weather will always be better in LA than in Central London, so Fr Peebles will always be the winner in such an equation!

I send my love & prayers,

Fr Ian Elliott Davies

Saint Swithun

Patronal Feast July 15, 2010

Saint Swithun or Swithin was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester whose historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working

Saint Swithun was Bishop of Winchester from 30 October 852 to his death on 2 July 862. However, he is scarcely mentioned in any document of his own time. His death is entered in the Canterbury manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS F) under the year 861. His signature is appended to the witness lists of several Anglo-Saxon charters.

Saint Swithun's day is 15 July. He was moved from his grave to an indoor shrine in the Old Minster at Winchester in 971. His body was probably later split between a number of smaller shrines. His head was certainly detached and, in the Middle Ages, taken to Canterbury Cathedral. Peterborough Abbey also had an arm. His main shrine was transferred into the new Norman cathedral at Winchester in 1093. He was installed on a 'feretory platform' above and behind the high altar. The retrochoir was built in the early 13th century to accommodate the huge numbers of pilgrims wishing to visit his shrine and enter the 'holy hole' beneath him. His empty tomb in the ruins of the Old Minster was also popular with visitors. The shrine was only moved into the retrochoir itself in 1476. It was demolished in 1538 during the English Reformation. A modern representation of it now stands on the site.

As he was Bishop of Winchester, there are many dedications to Saint Swithun at churches throughout the south of England, especially in Hampshire.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.com

Moravian Church in full communion

Hisoric Vote

The Northern Province of the Moravian Church voted June 18 to enter into full communion with the Episcopal Church. The nearly unanimous voice vote came during an evening session on the second day of the church's June 17 - 21 quadrennial Provincial Synod at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

"This is an important day in the life of our churches," said the Rev. David L. Wickmann, president of the Provincial Elders' Conference, Moravian Church North America. "This communion means our church has the opportunity to engage with one of our historic partners in a more complete and meaningful way."

"I am abundantly delighted, and look forward to growth in mutual relationship and mission," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said after learning of the decision. "I believe we have much to learn from the Moravian tradition." Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee Bishop Steven Miller, cochair of the Moravian - Episcopal Dialogue, addressed the synod just after the vote and afterwards said that he told the participants "that there's much that we can share with one another in terms of mission and ministry and that it was as exciting and moving a moment for the Episcopal Church as it was for them."

The Rev. Thomas Ferguson, ecumenical and interreligious relations officer for the Episcopal Church, said after the vote that "this is a sign that the Episcopal Church is committed to ecumenical conversations."

The Moravian Church is relatively small and concentrated in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Moravians in America are part of the worldwide Christian communion formally known as the Unitas Fratrum, or Unity of the Brethren, which was founded in 1457 as part of the movement for reform of the church in what is now the Czech Republic. Persecuted almost to extinction, members of the Unitas Fratrum eventually found refuge on the estate of German nobleman Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf. In the 1700s, they went through a rebirth under Zinzendorf's protection and grew into a global communion.

The Episcopal Church also is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Old Catholic hurches of the Union of Utrecht, the Philippine Independent Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India.

The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is a national correspondent
for the Episcopal News Service.

For more www.episcopalchurch.org

Ralph's Update

Donations received

42 Households have St. Thomas the Apostle as their charitable contribution for when they shop at Ralph's. For the last Quarter (Dec 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010) those purchases resulted in a contribution of over $249! Since the program began in October 2007 $2,228 has been contributed by Ralph's!

Please register your Ralph's Reward Card with St. Thomas as the Charitable organization on their website (www.ralphs.com). click on "rewards CARD" in the upper right corner of the homepage, under the "Welcome!" sign, click "Sign In / Register", in the "New Customer?" column, click "Sign up today!", fill-in the form, confirm your email address & sign in, after signing in, on the new home page, click "Community Contribution", under "Participant" click "enroll", enter your Ralph's Rewards Card Number, confirm your address, under "Find Your Organization", type "84981", confirm "St. Thomas the Apostle Parish." That's it! Now every purchase you make at Ralph's with your rewards card will benefit St. Thomas. Ralph's does not provide contributions unless the card is present. The bottom of each receipt confirms the contribution. Your friends & family can register too!

Thanks to the following households for purchases this quarter (03/01/2010-05/31/2010):

Bade, Dennis; Cisneros, Efrain; Coogan, Craig; Cummings, Donald; Davies, Ian; Davis, Lloyd; De Muth, Steve; De Richemont, Amelie; Dickson, Scott; Dunham, Ruth; Gaal, George; Gaass, Howard; Grant, Peter; Harland, Andy; Heitz, Jane; Howell, J. Todd; Jackson, Laurence; Johnson, Walter; Kennett, James; Koonce, Ken; Martin, Doris; Miller, Robert; Norcross, Barry; Norwood, Paul; Olman, Carolyn; Peisinger, Joel; Quanbeck, Janice; Rose, Christopher; Rumsey, Charles; Scerba, Tim; Schleif, John; Schmitt, Darrell; Schomburg, Susan; Silva, Sri; Smart, John; Smiljkovich, Anthony; Thanagadan, Thomas; Thomson, Reece; Tracz, Richard Francis; Warren, Joseph; West, Janet; Wildman, David; Williams, Cynthia

(If you are not listed, then you may need to reregister your rewards card and/or show your card at checkout.)

THANK YOU, Thanks to Ralphs...and happy shopping!

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