eNews
06 January 2012

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.

Sermons Available
 
120101 The Naming and Circumcision of Christ.mov
120101 The Naming and Circumcision of Christ.mov


Did you know that all of the Sermons from March 2011 on are available online at our website and on our YouTube channel?

 

Welcome Gabriel Andrew March

Gabriel Andrew March was born to Darcine Thomas and Bowie March on December 29, 2011!

Mother, father and baby are all happy and healthy!
 
Baptism of Christ  (January 08) 

Baptism of Christ
The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus Christ's public ministry. This event is recorded in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode. The Baptism is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension.

John the Baptist preached a 'baptism with water', not of forgiveness but of penance or repentance for the remission of sins (Luke 3:3), and declared himself a forerunner to One who would baptise 'with the Holy Ghost and with fire' (Luke 3:16). In so doing he was preparing the way for the Lord.  Jesus came to the Jordan River where he was baptized by John at a site traditionally known as Qasr al-Yahud (the Jews' Castle). This event concluded with the heavens opening, a dove-like descent of the Holy Spirit, and a voice from Heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased." The voice combines key phrases from the Old Testament: "My Son" (the Davidic king as God's adopted son in Psalms 2 and Psalms 10), "beloved" (Isaac in Genesis 22), and "with whom I am well pleased" (the servant of God in Isaiah 42:1).

Christian groups view the baptism of Jesus as an important event and a basis for the Christian rite of baptism.
 

Adapted from www. wikipedia.org 
Episcopal Church has new site

Episcopal Church website 

 

The Episcopal Church website - www.episcopalchurch.org - has undergone a complete transformation and redesign into a welcoming, eye-appealing, easy-to-navigate, experiential site.

 

Launched on December 28, the new website features a motif of stained glass windows, each of which holds a small piece of our contemporary church. Taking direction from newcomer research, the design is steeped, but not mired, in tradition. The beloved shield and words, The Episcopal Church Welcomes You, have an updated look as well.

 

The new website provides many avenues to experience the Episcopal Church, its beliefs and its many ministries.

 

"We are offering many new features, many new opportunities to be in community," noted Anne Rudig, Director of Communication. "Newcomers to the Episcopal Church as well as all our members will enjoy experiencing the Episcopal Church on the new site."

 

Key to the new website is the many opportunities for dioceses, congregations, provinces and Episcopalians to post videos and photos of local mission in action. "The new website enables sharing and conversation," Rudig added.  "It has an open source contact management system and very powerful search function."

 

And, the website is available in Spanish and English.

Sections to scan

 

To begin, a click on each stained glass window opens a video, photo, multimedia offering, artwork and more from across the Church.

 

The site contains five main areas:

What we believe: including categories on Baptismal Covenant; Book of Common Prayer; Music; Spiritual Growth; Weekly Bulletin Inserts.

What we do: including pages on Public Policy; Young Adult Service Corps; World Mission Sunday; Good Friday Offering; Mission Priority; Rebuild Our Church in Haiti; Sudan.

 

Who we are: including Our Congregations; Emergent Church; Religious Orders and Faith Communities; The Anglican Communion; Presiding Bishop; House of Bishops; President of the House of Deputies; House of Deputies; General Convention / Executive Council; Archives; Organizations associated with The Episcopal Church; Seminaries; Episcopal Marketplace

 

Ministries: including Adult Formation & Lifelong Learning; Asiamerica, Black, Children's, Federal, Indigenous, Latino/Hispanic and Young Adult/Campus Ministries; Companion Relationships; Domestic Poverty/Jubilee; Ecumenical/Interreligious; Eco-Justice; Episcopal Migration Ministries; Lesson Plans that Work; Stewardship; Transition Ministry; United Thank Offering;  Ministries.

 

Multimedia: Video Programming; Live & On-Demand Worship; Social Media.

 

Calendar: up-to-date listings with listings of events around the Church

 

New Features

The prayer for the day: from the lectionary and liturgical calendar.

 

Worship: with live and on-demand services.

 

Prayers of the people: where readers can submit prayer requests and know that a community is praying for and with them.

 

Find a church: with rapid access to Episcopal churches in many ways, including through zip codes.

 

Today: latest updates from the office of Public Affairs.

 

Panorama: blogs from across the Episcopal Church

 

Social media: who's blogging and tweeting in the Episcopal Church.

 

"There are so many new features in the website - I invite everyone to join us as we embark on a new era in evangelism," Rudig said.

 

In This Issue
Sermon Available
Baptism of Christ
Mother Knows Best
Annual Parish Meeting
Coming Soon...
ePrayer
History online
Video Introductions
Quick Links
Ephiphany I 

Celebrant (8am & 10:30am)

Fr. Ian Elliott Davies

 

Sermon

Fr. Ian Elliott Davies

 

Deacon

The Rev. Walter S. Johnson


Choir Master & Pianist
Jim Keltner

 

 

The The Organ Project starts this week.   Announcement  is online!

 

 

LECTIONS
Genesis 1.1-5
Psalm 29
Acts 19.1-7
Mark 1.4-11
Mother Knows Best 

 

On January 10 in 1645, Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud was beheaded.  

Annual Parish Meeting (01/15/12)
 
The Annual Parish Meeting will take place in the Large Parish Hall following the High Mass on Sunday, January 15, 2012. At the meeting, the Congregation will elect four new Vestry persons to serve a three-year term. 
 
The entry period to stand for the 2012 Vestry is now closed. 

 

Thank you to all who expressed interest in following their spiritual path to the Vestry.

 

A PDF document is available here or directly on our website with information about the candidates.  Please visit the site and learn about the candidates.

 

Coming Soon...

 

Please join us for many Parish activities.  Here's a sampling of upcoming events - a full list is available online 

 

January 6 @ 7:30pm

Epiphany High Mass 

 

January 14 @ 7:30am

Homeless Feeding & Outreach

  

January 20-22

Vestry Retreat

Fr. Gabriel Ferrer celebrates and preaches

 

January 21 @ 10:30am

Newcomer Orientation

 

January 28 @ 7:30am

Homeless Feeding & Outreach

 

January 28 @ 5:00pm

LASchola sings the Mass 

 

Jan. 29, Feb. 5 & 12

Fr. Davies on vacation

Fr. Gabriel Ferrer celebrates and preaches 

ePrayer

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.
History online 

Exterior 1931

Articles and photos from the early years of St. Thomas the Apostle are now available on our website!


Video Introductions

A brief introduction to the liturgy at St. Thomas:

St Thomas Liturgy Sampler.mov
St Thomas Liturgy Sampler.mov
A brief introduction to St. Thomas, its history, its place in Hollywood, the Damien Chapel and the organ. 

Introduction to St. Thomas
Introduction to St. Thomas
 
Quick Links

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