eNews
29 November 2013


 

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

 

The Solemnity of Christ the King
The Solemnity of Christ the King

 

To view more sermons, go to our 

St. Thomas YouTube page!!!

LASchola to sing The Mass for Five Voices by William Byard and Premiere "Asperges me" by St. Thomas Parishioner Mason Shefa

   

30 November 2013 at 5:00PM.
 
  
During last months Vigil Mass we experienced the beauty of Byrd's "Mass for Four Voices." This month will continue the theme of Byrd with "The Mass for Five Voices." The series of masses shows Byrd in a reflective mode: it would seem that he composed these cycles as exercises, as easily performable functional music, and as historical examples. Though they are straightforward in design, the masses possess a "classical" quality of precision and balance. Their simple expression and contrapuntal concision make them unique in Renaissance music, and early examples of the classical spirit which was to dominate Europe two hundred years after Byrd's time.

The LASchola will also premier the work "Asperges Me" by Saint Thomas the Apostle parishioner, Mason Shefa. Mr. Shefa is currently a student at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

All are warmly invited.

  

Mason Shefa

 



On Saturday, 21 December at 5pm the Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle and LASchola will present Advent Lessons & Carols. This festive service will take place instead of the regularly scheduled Latin Vigil Mass.
The Creative City Awards:
Honoring Innovation in the West Hollywood Business Community
 
On Thursday, 14 November, Father Davies mixed and mingled with old and new friends at one of the premiere events in West Hollywood, the annual Creative City Awards.

Held again at The London Hotel, the CCA honors Chamber Member businesses for their innovation and creativity and features a festive night that includes a pre-reception, silent auction, dinner and awards ceremony. It's also a wonderful opportunity to chat with Mayor Abbe Land and other West Hollywood City leaders in this, a community that really cares about social programs for those in need.

Fr. Davies and West Hollywood
City Councilman Jeffrey Prang

Photo Credit: RICHARD E. SETTLE
 
Christmas Flowers and Decorations

ChristmasFlowersIf you would like to contribute toward the cost of Christmas flowers and decorations, please fill out the form inserted in the Orders of Service and return it no later than Sunday, 15 December. The suggested minimum donation is $25.

You may also pay via PayPal by clicking the button below. Please include in the notes your dedication as "in memory of..." and/or "in thanksgiving for...". 

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Christmas & Epiphany Schedule
Christmas at St. Thomas

Tuesday, 24 December - Christmas Eve
5:00pm - Family Mass with Sermon & Hymns
11:00pm - Midnight Mass with Sermon & Choir

Wednesday, 25 December - Christmas Day
10:30am - High Mass with Sermon & Choir

Thursday, 26 December - St. Stephen's Day
5:00pm - Boxing Day Party in the Rectory
7:00pm - Low Mass

Sunday, 29 December - The First Sunday of Christmas
8:00am - Low Mass with Sermon
10:30am - High Mass with Sermon and Choir

Tuesday, 31 December - The Solemnity of Mary
10:30pm - Low Mass followed by alcohol-free New Year's Eve Potluck Party

Sunday, 5 January - The Second Sunday of Christmas
8:00am - Low Mass with Sermon
10:30am - High Mass with Sermon & Choir

Monday, 6 January - The Epiphany
7:30pm - High Mass with Choir

XMASBells
Stewardship Update 

   

We are most grateful to the following 132 Parishioners (as of Thursday, 28 November) out of a potential 219 who have prayerfully considered the role of St. Thomas the Apostle in their life and made a financial pledge commitment for 2014:

 

Anonymous
Caroline Adan
Kellie Jane Adan
Mary A. Allen
Heather Amaral
Robert Amore
David Anderson
Lela Anderson
Michael J. Austin
Richard E. Backlund
Tannis Benedict & Brian Frankish
Alex Bernal & Thomas Meissnest
Bob Beukema & Ken Mosesian
David F. Bode, MD
John Bollard
Rodney Borr
Alex Bramm
Bob Brkich & Ben Pratt
John Buckley
Malcolm Callison
Steven W. Carry
Dr. Kathryn Challoner
Efrain Cisneros
Jennifer Collins
Craig Coogan
Donald Cummings
Bradford Daley
William Daniel
Fr. Ian Elliott Davies
John & Janis Davies
Lloyd Davis
Debby Driscoll
Ruth Dunham
Michael Ensign Evans
Joseph Farnham
David Firman
James A. Frazier
Jeff Friesen
Howard J. Gaass
Christopher Gable & Gerardo Vergara
Eddie Garcia
Clint Gray
Bob Halvorson
John Harper
Ron Hartwig
Peter & Julie Heimark
Jane A. Heitz
Sarah Hensley
Bob Henry & Linda Wendell
Salvador Hernandez
Helen Slayton Hughes
James B. Hughes
Luis Javier
Patricia Neal Jensen
Jeff Johnson
Dea. Walter S. Johnson
Robert John Jones
Leslie Kaplan
Jim Keltner
Stephen Kemp
Dawna Kemper
Peter Kempson
Taffia B. Kennedy
Thomas Kingsley
Ken Koonce
Helen Land
Dean Larkin & Paul Park
Bruce Larson
Len Leatherwood & Ray Beaty
Joe A. Lopez
Ted Marbury
Doris Martin
Vincent G. Mazzucchelli
Andrew Miller & Whitney Wyatt
Robert D. Miller
Paul Norwood
Randy & Ruth Oglesby
Carolyn S. Olman
Erin & Windy O'Malley
Anthony Palacios & John C. Garces
Jeffrey Parola
Doris J. Parr
Robert & Barbara Patrick
Alison Platt
Janice Quanbeck
Nicolas Quilter
Enrique David Ramos & David Bartlett
Joseph Rials
Jo Ann Ridenour
Linda Rockstroh
Vincent Roncone
Christopher A. Rose
Charles L. Rumsey
Julian Sands
John Schleif
Darrell Schmitt
Daniel & Sarah Schulz
Dr. Kathleen & Garland Schweickhardt
John Scoles
Ryan Scott
Anita Sherman & Joe Muro
Stan Shipley
David A. Silvas
John Sims & Curtis Schwab
Douglas Stanton
Gregory Stanton
Steven Strom
Fr. Mark D. Stuart
Walt Tanner & Jessie Kostosky
Suzanne Tenner
Thomas G. Thanangadan
Reece P. Thomson
John Thornbury
Ayako Travis
James Vandernaald
Christopher Wagner & Gary Collis
Lynn Walker
Gary Warning
Joseph Warren
Michelle Waterloo
Robert Weihing
Janet West
Cynthia Williams
Jenny Williams & Joan Henehan
John Williams & Marilyn Anderson
Randy Williams
Riva Winningham & Jesse Thompson
Martin William Wolfe
Addison Wright & Laurene Landon
Rex A. Yancey
Stephen Yoder
John Zaragoza 

In This Issue
Sermons
LASchola in November
Advent Lessons & Carols
Creative City Awards
Christmas Flowers & Decorations
Christmas & Epiphany Schedule
Stewardship Update
Black Friday
Advent Series
GoodShop and GoodSearch
The Reason for the Season
December Scheduling Changes
Semi-Annual Cleaning
Annual Parish Meeting
Coming Soon...
Parking
ePrayer
Quick Links
The First Sunday of Advent

 

Lections

Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-end
St. Matthew 24:36-44

Celebrant & Preacher

Fr. Ian Elliott Davies

  

Deacon

Dea. Walter S. Johnson

 
Choir Master
Mr. James Keltner

 

Organist

Mr. Jeffrey Parola
Sunday's Music

 

Mass Setting

Missa in A
by Pompeo Cannicciari
(1766-1837)

Prelude

Air
by Samuel Wesley
(1766-1837)

 

Offertory Anthem

I look from afar
by David Drexler
(b. 1967)
 

Postlude

Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland

by Friedrich Wilhelm Zacho
(1663-1712)

   

At 7pm on Black Friday (29 November) the Parish Church will host a semi-formal High Mass to be a place of beauty and sanctity as an alternative to the rushing financial, bargain-hunting world. Guest Organist Blake Howard will be playing meditative music to accompany this solemn Mass.

Advent Series

   

During the Wednesdays in Advent following the 7pm Mass, the Stewardship of Faith and Knowledge committee presents "Prayer and Spirituality from Different Traditions and Histories." We kick off the series on Wednesday, 4 December with special guest speaker Chazzan Danny Maseng from Temple Israel of Hollywood who will talk on the great spiritual traditions and practices of Judaism. 

GoodShop.com
GoodSearch.com

   

We thank the following Parishioners who registered at GoodShop.com or GoodSearch.com for St. Thomas and went to GoodShop.com before shopping at online retailers and/or used GoodSearch.com as their internet search engines:

 

Joan Henehan

Larry Jackson

James Kennett

Ken Koonce

Mason Shefa

Christopher Wagner

Joseph Warren

 

Thanks to your efforts, St. Thomas received $820.48 this year at no cost to you! In total since 2009, this program has generated $2,318.27 for the Parish! If these seven Parishioners can generate $820, imagine what could happen if more were involved! Register today at GoodShop.com! If you have issues setting up your free account contact the Parish Office.

 

On Cyber Monday and throughout the holiday shopping season, make sure to go to GoodShop.com first and see if the online retailer at which you are shopping is partnered with GoodShop.com!

The Reason for the Season
SOVA
We continue our food drive to benefit SOVA food pantries this holiday season. We collect food throughout the year to benefit SOVA, one of our partners in the Homeless Coalition. During the upcoming holidays our goal is to fill the SOVA bin (located in the foyer near the Parish Office) as often as possible! We thank Christopher Gable for his continued work with this wonderful cause.
Scheduling Changes in December

   

On Saturday, 7 December, Fr. Davies and Dea. Johnson will be joining our four Delegates at the Annual Diocesan Convention. On this day, the 5pm Latin Vigil Mass is cancelled.

 

In December, the Vestry meeting, normally scheduled for the third Wednesday of the month, has been moved to Tuesday, 17 December to accommodate our Advent series on Wednesday.

Semi-Annual Cleaning Day

Following the 10am Mass on Saturday, 21 December, Parishioners are encouraged to attend the semi-annual cleaning of the Parish Church. Supplies and lunch will be provided. While this is an all-day affair, any amount of time contributed will be appreciated.
Annual Parish Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting will take place in the Large Parish Hall following the High Mass on Sunday, 19 January 2014. At this meeting, the Congregation will elect four new Vestry persons to serve a three-year term, and four delegates & two alternate delegates to represent St. Thomas at the Annual Diocesan Convention. Those interested in standing for the Vestry or representing the Parish at the Diocesan Convention must request a nomination form from and submit paperwork to the Parish Office on or before Thursday, 16 January in order to be nominated. Those seeking the Vestry need to meet with Fr. Davies prior to the Annual meeting in order to understand the specifics of the ministry.
On This Day in 
Christian History 

   

On this day in 1863 the first annual national Thanksgiving Day was celebrated. Back in October, President Lincoln had proclaimed the fourth Thursday of each November from that time forward as a national day of thanks.

Coming Soon...

 

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

   

29 November

Parish Office Closed

 

30 November @ 5:00pm
LASchola sings the Mass 

 

14 December @ 7:30am

Homeless Feeding & Outreach

 

17 December @ 7:30pm

Vestry Meeting  

 

21 December @ 10:30am 

Newcomer Orientation Series

 

23 December @ 10:00am 

County-USC AIDS Clinic Feeding Program 


28 December @ 7:30am

Homeless Feeding & Outreach

Parking at St. Thomas

   

Regardless of what the signs read, parking on Gardner Street is now allowed on Sundays unrestricted between 7am and 1pm. There is no two-hour time limit! If you receive a ticket, please turn it in to the Parish Office.

 

Please make sure to remit your citation to the Parish Office promptly. The City may not dismiss citations that are more than two weeks late.

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.
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