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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. |
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Sermons
 | | The Second Sunday of Advent |
To view more sermons, go to our
St. Thomas YouTube page!!!
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Choir Boutique
and Christmas Sing-a-long
On Sunday, 15 December following the High Mass the annual Choir Boutique and Christmas sing-a-long will take place in the Large Parish Hall.
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On Saturday, 21 December at 5pm the Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle and LASchola will present Advent Lessons & Carols instead of the Saturday Latin Vigil Mass.
 As we prepare to celebrate the glorious coming of Christ, join us in our traditional celebration of Advent Lessons and Carols with the LASchola, under the direction of Jay Tuttle and organist, Jeffrey Parola. This event will feature music by Bach, Britten, Mendelssohn, Palestrina, Rutter and others. Let the words of the Prophets and Gospels move you. Surround yourself in the beauty of Saint Thomas' Neo-Gothic church.  Let the exuberance and grace of the schola's voices open your heart. Revel in the sounds of Saint Thomas' English-Romantic organ. Don't cheat yourself from the opportunity to nourish your soul with the joys of the season. Bring your friends and neighbors! You'll be glad you did.
Reception to follow.
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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.
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The Reason for the Season
We are collecting household goods for IRIS (Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Service), a non-profit, non-sectarian agency whose mission is to provide a gracious welcome and tangible tools for refugees newly relocated to the United States. In keeping with the tradition of the season ("No place to rest their head") St. Thomas is focusing on donating new pillows and pillow cases. Other bedding is also welcome, but please remember it must be NEW ITEMS in order to be accepted.
Literally Healing at Children's Hospital Los Angeles is an innovative reading program dedicated to advocating literacy and its importance to children's success. Their program gives children more than 30,000 books annually. In addition to promoting literacy, they believe in supporting and strengthening their patient families. There are two arms of the program: Therapeutic Library, which tackles sensitive issues in a non-threatening manner to ease the medical and emotional anguish, and the Giving Library, which offers patients staying at the hospital (and their visiting siblings) a choice of one free, brand new book daily to keep.
This year, the Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle is once again helping with Literally Healing's Book Drive! You may send books of your own choosing or send books on the hospital's wish list. To view their wish list, CLICK HERE. Books donated MUST be brand new to control infection.
Once again St. Thomas will have an Angel Tree to benefit Hillsides, a premier provider dedicated to improving the overall well-being and functioning of vulnerable children, youth, and their families. Their vision is to create lasting change in the lives of all at-risk children and youth that they serve by providing high quality care, advocacy, and innovative services that promote safe, permanent environments where young people can thrive.
The Angel Tree will be available beginning this Sunday!
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 all of these wonderful causes.
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Christmas Flowers and Decorations
 If 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
Tuesday, 24 December - Christmas Eve
5:00pm - Family Mass with Sermon & Hymns
11:00pm - Midnight Mass with Sermon & Choir
***FREE VALET PARKING***
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
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Christmas Hospitality
Christmas Eve - Join us for a Dessert and Savory Reception after Midnight Mass. The Hospitality Committee would like to invite any Parishioner who would be interested in making or purchasing a savory or dessert treat for this event to sign up on the bulletin board in the Large Parish Hall or contact Christopher Wagner or Donald Cummings.
Boxing Day - On 26 December from 5pm to 7pm there will be an Open House at the Rectory. All are welcome! Please contact Christopher Wagner or Donald Cummings if you'd be willing to bring something.
New Year's Eve - Following the 10:30pm Mass, a non-alcoholic potluck celebration will take place in the Large Parish Hall! A sign up sheet is available on the bulletin board in the Large Parish Hall or contact Christopher Wagner or Donald Cummings.
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The Gaudete Sunday
Lections
Isaiah 35:1-10
The Magnificat
James 5:7-10
St. Matthew 11:2-11
Celebrant & Preacher
Fr. Ian Elliott Davies
Deacon
Dea. Walter S. Johnson
Choir Master
Mr. James Keltner
Mr. Jeffrey Parola
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Sunday's Music
Mass Setting
Missa in A
by Pompeo Cannicciari
(1766-1837)
Prelude
"Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen" from
11 Chorale Preludes
by Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Sleepers, wake! a voice is calling
by Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)
Última Procesión
Spanish Anonymous
(16th Century)
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Advent Series
This Wednesday, 18 December following the 7pm Mass, the Advent Series "Prayer and Spirituality from Different Traditions and Histories" concludes with guest speaker De Hong, a Buddhist monk in the Linji (Rinzai) School, which dates to the 9th century Song Dynasty. He will be joined in discussion with Nick Mather, who teaches Philosophy and Religious Studies at Pasadena City College, East Los Angeles College and Mt. San Antonio College. Both are completing doctorate degrees, De in Buddhist Studies and Nick in Religion, Ecology and Environmental Ethics.
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Christmas Eve
Kitchen Klutch
At 7pm on 24 December prior to Midnight Mass, the Kitchen Klutch will meet again for a festive Christmas Eve supper. Enjoy the spirit of the season with fellow Parishioners. Bring your favorite dish! This event will take place at Marty Wolfe's residence (4258 Cahuenga Blvd. in Toluca Lake). For more information, contact Marty (310) 560-2426.
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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.
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Now avaialable: Sign-up Sheets for 2014
Coffee Hours
Altar Flowers
St. Damien Orchids
Lamps
We are presently seeking volunteers and donors for 2014 Coffee Hours, Altar Flowers, St. Damien Chapel Orchid Plants, and Lamps. The sign-up sheets are available in the Parish Hall.
Coffee Hour sponsors are asked to provide items on a list provided or donate $40 towards the cost of those items. Chris Wagner, chair of our Hospitality Subcommittee, is available to answer questions.
Altar Flowers are $125 per week, St. Damien Orchid Plants are $25 per week, and the Sanctuary, St. Damien Chapel, and Our Lady Lamps are $10 each per week.
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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.
To view the Duties and Responsibilities of the Vestry and a Nomination Form, CLICK HERE
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On This Day in
Christian History
On this day in 1418 English pre-Reformer John Oldcastle was burned alive for his efforts to preserve and promote the cause of the Lollards (preachers who spread John Wycliffe's views). Shakespeare reportedly based his character Falstaff on Oldcastle.
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Scheduling Changes in December
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.
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Please join us for many Parish activities. Here's a sampling of upcoming events - a full list is available online
14 December @ 7:30am
Homeless Feeding & Outreach
17 December @ 7:30pm
Vestry Meeting
19 December - 6 January
21 December @ 10:30am
Newcomer Orientation Series
23 December @ 10:00am
County-USC AIDS Clinic Feeding Program
28 December @ 7:30am
Homeless Feeding & Outreach
25 January @ 5:00pm
LASchola sings the Mass
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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.
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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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