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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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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.
***Download the Annual Parish Meeting Packet, familiarize yourself with its contents, and bring a copy with you to the meeting. CLICK HERE FOR PACKET***
The candidates seeking election on the Vestry are:
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Brit Bjurstrom
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Joan Henehan
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Leslie Kaplan
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Robert Lee
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Walter Tanner
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CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF THE VESTRY NOMINEES
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Sermons
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To view more sermons, go to our
St. Thomas YouTube page!!!
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Bp. Glasspool Launching
Parish Capital Campaign
 On Sunday, 2 February "Claiming Our Tradition-Building Our Future, The Capital Campaign for St. Thomas" will be launched by the Rt. Rev. Mary Glasspool, Suffragan Bishop for the Diocese of Los Angeles. Her Excellency will Preach and Celebrate the 8am & 10:30am Masses. Following the High Mass, Bp. Glasspool will join the Parish for a kick-off reception in the Large Parish Hall. The Campaign for St. Thomas is the first capital campaign in over 80 years. The goal of the Campaign is to raise $730,000 to restore and complete the church's security with gating and other security upgrades; replacing the aging heating units in the church with new heating and air conditioning units; and renovating and upgrading the Parish Kitchen which is so central to the outreach and community of St. Thomas. Please join in the festivities and celebrate this important day in the life of St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood. |
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LASchola
On Saturday, 25 January the LASchola will accompany the 5pm Latin Vigil Mass. This month a quartet will sing Missa Aeterna Christi Munera by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) and other works by Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) and Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611). All are invited.
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Concert at St. Thomas
On Sunday, 2 February at 5:30pm, organist Jeffrey Parola will perform an evening of original works, featuring a wide array of music written for chorus, string quartet, small chamber ensemble, solo organ, and more. This recital partially fulfills Jeffrey's requirements for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition. All are invited! Reception to follow.
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St. Thomas Poinsettias
The Christmas Poinsettias displayed at St. Thomas during Christmastide have a new home! Weston Harris, Organ Builder, has taken them in and is caring for them. They are reportedly very happy with their new caregiver. Thanks Weston!
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2014 Anno Domini marks the 100th year of the founding of St. Thomas. Our history began in 1912, when Mary Ogden organized a church school in her living room with ten people at the first meeting. Legend has it that the nascent congregation chose Saint Thomas the Apostle as its patron saint in 1913, when the bishop, after an investigation, "doubted" that there was a need for a mission in the far reaches of Los Angeles in Hollywood, where orange trees far outnumbered prospective parishioners. Undaunted, the handful of faithful chose the doubting apostle as their patron and applied again, successfully this time, for mission status in 1914.
On January 10, 1918, Bishop Joseph Horsfall Johnson appointed the Reverend A.F. Randall Priest-in-Charge; church attendance rose to 37 on the following Sunday, and the next month the priest's salary was increased from $20 to $30 per month. By November 1919 a building fund (largely of Liberty Bonds and Thrift Certificates) had reached almost $1,600 and a lot on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Sierra Bonita Avenue was purchased; a simple frame building was erected.
A new campaign for parish status culminated on August 16, 1920, when the bishop established parish boundaries, articles of incorporation were approved by the State, and a seal was conferred. The Reverend Frank Roudenbush was called as the first rector, and the new parish was admitted to the convention of the diocese in 1921. In the same year the frame building was moved from Sunset Boulevard to the church's present location at Hollywood Boulevard and Gardner Street.
Upon the death of the first rector, the Reverend Arthur H. Wurtele was called in 1925 and proved to be the longest serving rector (so far) in parish history - until 1946. The parish prospered during his tenure, and in spite of the Great Depression construction began in August 1930 on the present Gothic Revival structure, designed by the distinguished architect Harold H. Martin (who also designed Trinity Church in Santa Barbara) - complete with a windowed clerestory and characteristically English hammer beams supporting the roof.
Coincidentally, 2014 not only is our centennial anniversary, but it is also the year of our first capital campaign in 80 years. Our Capital Campaign theme, "Claiming Our Heritage, Building Our Future," couldn't be more appropriately phrased for this very special time in our history.
See this Sunday's insert for some historical photos, or CLICK HERE for additional historical photos and articles about the history of St. Thomas.
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The Second Sunday of Epiphany
Lections
Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 40:1-12
I Corinthians 1:29-42
St. John 1:29-42
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
Prelude
"Andante religioso" from Sechs Sonaten, Op. 65 No. 4
by Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)
O Saviour of the World
by John Goss
(1800-1880)
Christ, der du bist der helle Tag,
BWV 1120
by J.S. Bach
(1685-1750)
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Large Parish Hall Closure
Beginning at 8am on Monday through Tuesday (20-21 January), please avoid travelling through the Large Parish Hall. The floor is being resealed.
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Parking Lots Closure
Trusting that the weather will be suitable, on 23-24 January, the parking lots will be repaired and resurfaced. No vehicles may park in either lot on these two days.
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Donor Reports
On 7 January, all Donor Reports detailing 2013 contributions were sent via email to Parishioners. Parishioners who have not yet opted to receive Donor Reports via email will receive their reports via USPS by the end of January. Thank you for saving us postage and being ecologically friendly!
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On This Day in
Christian History
On this day in 356 St. Antony of Egypt, regarded as the founder of Christian monasticism, died at age 105. Committed to a life of solitude and absolute poverty, he took two companions with him into the desert when he knew his death was near. They were ordered to bury him without a marker so that his body would never become an object of reverence.
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Please join us for many Parish activities. Here's a sampling of upcoming events - a full list is available online
Newcomer Orientation Series
Homeless Feeding & Outreach
25 January @ 5:00pm LASchola sings the Mass
27 January @ 10:00am
County-USC AIDS Clinic Feeding Program
Homeless Feeding & Outreach
Vestry Meeting
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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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