St. Thomas the Apostle eNewsletter

eNews

29 July 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. Thomas has a great respect for both the rich liturgical heritage of the church and for living the message of social justice proclaimed by Jesus Christ. Whether you are young or old, gay or straight, single, married or in a relationship, female or male, poor or wealthy, you are welcome at St. Thomas just as you are...a child of God and an inheritor of God's grace.

Update on Fr. Davies

Father Ian Elliott Davies remains on medical leave. We do not know how long the leave will be. When there is concrete information to report, it will be reported.

If you would like to contact Father please send correspondence via the office.

Please continue to contact the office if you have a pastoral need.

We have arranged for Fr. Gabriel Ferrer as guest clergy for Sunday services August 7, 14 and 21.

We ask that you keep Father, his parents and our parish in your prayers.

Video Sermon

The most recent video is available at the Parish You Tube Channel:

110724 V Sunday After Trinity Sermon.mov

Ask a Seminarian

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become ordained?

Are you curious as to what day-to-day living and studying is like in Seminary?

Do you just want to hear more from the St. Thomas Postulants for Holy Orders - Shireen Baker and Steve DeMuth?

Join us on Sunday, July 31, 2011 from 9:15 to 9:45 in the Large Parish Hall as Steve and Shireen answer your questions and share their experiences.

St. Oswald (Feast August 05)

Oswald (c 604 - 5 August 642) was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death. Oswald came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira once again under a single ruler, and promoted the spread of Christianity in Northumbria.

Shortly after becoming king, Oswald asked the Irish of Dal Riata to send a bishop to facilitate the conversion of his people, and they sent Aidan for this purpose; initially, the Irish sent an "austere" bishop who was unsuccessful in his mission, and Aidan, who proposed a gentler approach, was subsequently sent instead. Oswald gave the island of Lindisfarne to Aidan as his episcopal see, and Aidan achieved great success in spreading the Christian faith.

Oswald soon came to be regarded as a saint. The historian Bede says that the spot where he died came to be associated with miracles, and people took dirt from the site, which led to a hole being dug as deep as a man's height. Reginald of Durham recounts another miracle, saying that his right arm was taken by a bird (perhaps a raven) to an ash tree, which gave the tree ageless vigor; when the bird dropped the arm onto the ground, a spring emerged from the ground. Both the tree and the spring were, according to Reginald, subsequently associated with healing miracles. Aspects of the legend have been considered to have pagan overtones or influences - this may represent a fusion of his status as a traditional Germanic warrior-king with Christianity. His feast day is August 5.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.org

Anglican Response to Norway Tragedy

Anglicans in Norway are responding with prayer and support to their neighbors in the wake of a bombing in downtown Oslo and a related summer camp shooting rampage on the nearby island of Utoya on July 22.

"Norway is known throughout the world as a peace-loving country, which takes leadership among the nations to protect the weak and uphold the dignity of all," Church of England Suffragan Bishop in Europe David Hamid wrote July 23 to (Lutheran) Church of Norway Presiding Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien and Oslo Bishop Ole Christian Kvarme. "At this time of national sorrow, your Anglican brothers and sisters, in Norway and across our diocese, stand with you and assure you of our prayers, for the nation, for all who have died, and for the many families and friends who are affected. We pray for God to strengthen the faith of your people at this time, and to bring comfort to a country in shock, and console all who have lost loved ones."

Hamid attended the Norwegian Church in London on July 25 to offer his sympathy and solidarity, the diocese said.

Anglicans in Norway are part of the Church of England's Diocese of Europe and there are congregations in Bergen, Oslo, Stavanger and Trondheim.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams sent a message to the Church of Norway expressing his "deepest sympathy with the people of Norway in the wake of the appalling events of recent days."

"Norway has played so great a part over many years in international reconciliation as well as developing its own distinctive national ethos of openness and fairness, and it is a special tragedy that it should suffer this outbreak of senseless carnage," he said. "Our prayers are with all those who died and all those who mourn them; and we are grateful for the many signs of strength and spiritual maturity that the Norwegian people have shown in their response to evil and destructiveness."

The Church of England and the Church of Norway are in full communion, as a result of the Porvoo Agreement.

Meanwhile, the World Council of Churches released a litany for the Norwegian killings.

By The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg, editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service .