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. |
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Rector's Corner
From the Father Rector
Fr. Ian Elliott Davies |
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are blessed with the talent and contributions of so many in our Parish. Dr. Thomas Doyle has been leading our Adult Education series "Faith in the Times of Terror" for the past two weeks. This Sunday will be the final installment before Dr. Doyle takes up his one year professorship in Colorado, This course is a terrific look at how we as Christians look at our individual, our community and our spiritual response to Terror. It is a fascinating subject and I am delighted to see such a great response from our Parish. It is my deepest hope that we are able to continue the conversation in one form or another.
We all have gifts to contribute to each other and to this place. I am so grateful to have you all part of our Parish family!
Fr Ian Elliott Davies |
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St. Genesis - Patron Saint of Actors
Feast Day celebrated August 25
 Saint Genesius of Rome (died c. 286 or c. 303) was an actor hired for a play that made fun of Christian baptism. During a performance in Rome before the emperor Diocletian, Genesius had a change of heart and converted. Genesius proclaimed seeing visions of angels and announced his new found allegiance to Jesus. He was killed for his actions.
The cult of St Genesius continues today and the actor-martyr is looked upon as the patron of actors and various acting societies, including those which aim to assist actors. The British Catholic Stage Guild regards him as their patron, and the Shrine of St Genesius in Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan, New York serves as a spiritual landmark for the city's acting community. As the patron saint of epilepsy many turn to him for his help. Since St. Genesius is associated with stagecraft, he is also venerated by stage magicians and illusionists. He is one of the patrons of the Catholic Magicians' Guild.
Prayer By Genesius
"There is no King but Him whom I have seen. I adore and worship Him, and for His sake, even though I be slain a thousand times, I will always be His. Torments are not able to take Christ from my mouth, nor from my Heart. Bitterly do I regret that I detested His Holy name in Holy men, and came so late, like a haughty soldier, to adoring the true King. Amen."
Adapted from www.wikipedia.org |
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Catechism Class
Starts Saturday, 18 September
Beginning Saturday, 18 September the 2010-11 Catechism Class will begin. The class is the cornerstone of our Stewardship of Faith and Knowledge program. Anybody interested in being Baptized, Confirmed, Received and/or Renewed, please contact the Parish Office to schedule an appointment to see the Rector. The course commitment is a weekly class each Saturday morning leading up to a retreat in April and Baptism/Confirmation/Reception/Renewal liturgy with the Bishop at the Great Vigil of Easter in 2011. Graduates have a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationship with God and with the community of St. Thomas the Apostle. Space is limited.
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The Episcopal Church
History and Heritage
The Episcopal Church boasts a long history. The Episcopal Church, a hierarchical church, traces its heritage to the beginnings of Christianity.
The Episcopal Church is an independent church which is a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its origin is in the planting of the Church of England in the colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The earliest known celebrations of the Eucharist on North America were near San Francisco, CA in 1579 by Sir Francis Drake's chaplain and in 1607 at Jamestown, VA, an English settlement. Since those long ago days, our liturgy retains ancient structure and traditions, and is celebrated in many languages. We uphold the Bible and worship with the Book of Common Prayer.
Since the end of the American Revolution (when American Episcopalians became independent from the Church of England), The Episcopal Church has been organized on three levels: with a General Convention on the national level, individual dioceses, and parishes.
General Convention, made up of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, has ultimate legislative authority. It authored (and continues to amend) the Church's Constitution, establishes the Book of Common Prayer, sets out rules for the ratification of bishops, and through its canonical actions sets forth governance of the Church.
New dioceses are "formed with the consent of General Convention." Each diocese offers "unqualified accession" to the Constitution and Canons of the Church. Dioceses, in turn, require that individual congregations must accede to the Constitution and canons in order to be members of the diocesan convention.
Dioceses govern themselves through conventions (sometimes called councils), and in turn also pass canons, but these are subservient to the national canons.
All clergy swear loyalty to "Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship" of The Episcopal Church.
Today the Episcopal Church has members in the United States, as well as in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Haiti, Honduras, Micronesia, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands (both US and British).
William White said that the Church of which he was a prime architect was to contain "the constituent principles of the Church of England, and yet independent of foreign jurisdiction or influence."
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| Trinity 12
Celebrant 8:00am & 10:30am
Fr. Ian Elliott Davies
8:00am & 10:30amFr. Ian Elliott Davies
10:30am
The Rev. Walter S. Johnson Assistant Organist 10:30amThompson Howell Readings:
Jeremiah 1.4-10
Psalm 71.1-6
Hebrews 12.18-end
Luke 13.10-17 |
Faith in times of Terror
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What is terrorism? Why does it happen? How is it related to the problem of evil in the world? What is the proper response of mainstream religious institutions to the insecurity of fundamentalists or identity-driven terrorism? What is the proper religious attitude and response to political violence? In short, how does one have faith in times of terror?
Parishioner Dr. Thomas Doyle will lead the three session adult education course. All are welcome. The final session is August 22 at 12:30pm in the Rector's Office after the Sunday Hight Mass.
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Treasurer's Report
Gifts thruogh July 31, 2010 $225,050.15 Ministries funded July 31, 2010 $227,391.62
Balance at July 31, 2010
Minutes from July 21, 2010 Vestry Meeting are now available online |
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. |
Homeless Breakfast
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.
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Mother Knows Best
On August 24 in 1662, the deadline arrived for all British ministers to publicly assent to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The Act of Uniformity, passed on May 19, 1662, also required the BCP to be used exclusively from this date forward. The act remains on Britain's Statute Book, though it has been modified over the years. |
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.
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. |
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