St. Thomas the Apostle eNewsletter

eNews

04 February 2011

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.

St. Scholastica (February 10)

St Scholastica

Saint Scholastica (c. 480 - 10 February 547) is a Catholic saint. Born in Italy, she was the twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia.

St. Gregory the Great, in his Dialogues, tells us that she was a nun and leader of a community for women at Plombariola, about five miles from Benedict's abbey at Monte Cassino. We do not know what rule this community followed, although it seems most likely it was the Rule of St. Benedict.

Scholastica was dedicated to God from a young age (some tellings of her story indicate that she preceded Benedict in godliness, and he came to holiness after she did). The most commonly told story about her is that she would, once a year, go and visit her brother at a place near his abbey, and they would spend the day worshiping together and discussing sacred texts and issues.

One year at the end of the day, they had supper and continued their conversation. When Benedict indicated it was time for him to leave, she protested, and begged him to stay with her for the evening so they could continue their discussions. He refused, insisting that he needed to return to his cell. At that point, Scholastica closed her hands in prayer, and after a moment, a wild storm started outside of the guest house in which they were housed. Benedict asked, "What have you done?", to which she replied, "I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to your monastery." Benedict was unable to return to his monastery, and they spent the night in discussion. According to Gregory's Dialogues, three days later, from his cell, he saw his sister's soul leaving the earth and ascending to heaven in the form of a shining white dove.

Her memorial is 10 February. Scholastica is the patron saint of nuns, convulsive children, and is invoked against storms and rain.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.org

Vestry Retreat

Your 2011 Vestry will be away from the Parish 11 February to 13 February at Serra Retreat. This is a time for the Vestry to spend time in communion with each other and work on strategic goals for the Parish.

Fr. William Ledbetter, Assistant Priest, will lead the Saturday Masses. Fr. Jason Cox will lead the Sunday Masses.

The Vestry pays the cost of the retreat itself and no Church funds are utilized.

Ordinary Time

From February 6 to March 6 we return to Ordinary Time. The Mass Setting is "Missa de Angelis" where the Congregation participates with the singing of the Gloria, Sanctus et Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.

Guibord Center to Open

Mo. Gwynne Guibord

"Breaking the Barriers" will be the inaugural event of the

Guibord Center: Religion Inside Out, a recently launched initiative founded by the Rev. Gwynne Guibord, former Assistant Priest of St. Thomas and former interfaith/ecumenical officer for the Diocese of Los Angeles. The event, a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the ProCathedral of St. John, 514 West Adams Blvd, Los Angeles. Music will begin at 1:30 p.m.; the program will begin at 2 p.m., followed by a reception. Parking will be available in the AAA lot on the corner of Adams and Figueroa. The Guibord Center is "committed to affirming the sanctity of people from every different faith and tradition, and to upholding the humanity that connects us all," according to its mission statement. For more information, email to

gguibord@theguibordcenter.org

or call 323.309.4061. Click here for a flyer.

Ascention of Queen Elizabeth

HM The Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, born 21 April 1926) is the reigning queen of 16 independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. In addition, as Head of the Commonwealth, she is the figurehead of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations and, as the British monarch, she is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Her reign began on 6 February 1952.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.org

Presiding Bishop's Letter to President Obama

On January 16, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori wrote a letter to President Barack Obama to "share the views of the Episcopal Church on the prospective resolution of the UN Security Council resolution concerning ongoing settlement building by the Israeli government."

"First and foremost," she wrote, "we support the administration's efforts to broker direct negotiations between the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Like you, we believe there is no substitute for bilateral negotiations toward a two-state solution that respects the sovereignty and security of Israel and creates a viable and independent state for the Palestinian people. Only direct negotiations and shared commitment can produce a viable and sustainable peace for the two parties. For this reason, it is imperative that the United States take bold and decisive action to reinvigorate the stalled peace process. ... Resolutions by the Security Council are not an alternative to a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. The presenting issues of borders, security, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem cannot be resolved absent direct negotiations. For this reason, the appropriate response of the United States government to the present efforts in the Security Council is to work urgently to reignite a negotiations process that can produce immediate and sustainable steps toward a just, comprehensive and lasting peace."

The Presiding Bishiop's Letter