eNews
6 February 2015


 

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 Presentation of Christ in the Temple
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

 

To see more sermons and services go to our YouTube Page!

St. Thomas Concert Series

   

The St. Thomas Concert Series presents its second concert of the season: THE GREATS GREATLY GROUNDED, on Sunday, 8 Feburary 2015, at 1:30pm in the church. St. Thomas' Organist/Choirmaster, Jeffrey Parola, plays the St. Thomas Memorial Organ in an organ recital of works by Bach, Elgar, Messiaen, Mathias, and Widor, with interspersed humorous, dramatic readings of criticisms of, and by, the composers featured. While most of the composers on this program are considered to be "great" in hindsight, they all were subject to criticism in their day, and they, too, were often harshly critical of other artists. It will be an afternoon of great music humanized with humor. 

 

   

The "Let's Talk About" series continues on Sunday, 15 February. this month's subject, "Christian and Single" will be led by Kellie Adan and Mo. Shireen Baker following the High Mass.

Ash Wednesday    

On Ash Wednesday, 18 Feburary 2015, the Parish Church will offer three Masses with Imposition of Ashes. Two Low Masses will take place at 8am and noon, and a High Mass will take place at 7:30pm. All are strongly encouraged to avail themselves of one of these major fasting day Masses.

Sign-up Sheets

 

2015 Sign-up Sheets for Coffee Hour, Flowers, and Lamps are in the Large Parish Hall. There are several vacancies in February. Please sign up today!

Big Sunday

   

Looking for a way to help the community? Big Sunday offers more than 1500 ways you can help! Click on the image below to download the flyer.

 


   

On Christmas Day 1864, when The Rev. Elias Birdsall, age 34, read morning prayer for 10 people gathered in L.A.'s Odd Fellows Hall, he most likely never dreamed that then-frontier town of about 5,000 people would grow to become the nation's second largest metropolitan region, with some 18 million residents today.

 

Since that Christmas morning, services have continued every week for the past 150 years, and the congregation - named for St. Athanasius, the 4th-century Bishop of Alexandria - today remains a vibrant center of prayer and service at the heart of our Cathedral Center of St. Paul. It is the oldest continuing Protestant congregation in Southern California.

 

In the spirit of The Rev. Elias Birdsall's original 1865 lecture series, the Diocese of Los Angeles presents the following lectures:

 

CATHEDRAL CENTER:

HISTORIANS' WEEKEND: THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

Friday, 27 February, 6pm

Reception, Dinner, Video Preview

 

Saturday, 28 February, 10am-3pm

Symposium, Lunch, Workshops

 

CAMPBELL HALL:

CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH-LEADERSHIP FORUM WITH THE PRESIDING BISHOP*

Tuesday, 24 March, 11am

 

*Ticketed event co-sponsored by The Episcopal Church. Viewing site (open admission) at the Cathedral Center.

Registration Now Open for 2015 Huffington Ecumenical Symposium

   

27 February - 1 March 2015

Loyola Marymount University

1 LMU Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90045

 

This year's symposium is the third and final in our series exploring the relationship between tradition and contemporary practice in Catholic and Orthodox liturgy. 


Throughout history, Christians have gathered in private rooms, cemetery chapels, basilicas, cathedrals, ships, garages, and buildings of all sizes and shapes to worship the triune God. The buildings accrued symbolic significance to such a degree that all of salvation history could be communicated through the various rooms, vessels, iconographic programs, and liturgical rituals celebrated in the space. As we reflect on architecture in the 21st century, many new questions emerge. Join us for a discussion with:


Keynote speaker: the Very Rev. Mark Morozowich, Provost, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.


Other speakers include: Richard Vosko; Robin Jensen, Vanderbilt University; Paul Meyendorff, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary; Sharon Gerstel, UCLA; and Jeanne Kilde, University of Minnesota.


Registration is free but RSVP is required. For more information or to register for this event, CLICK HERE

In This Issue
Sexagesima

 

Lections

Proverbs 8:1, 22-31
Psalm 104:24-end
Colossians 1:15-20
St. John 1:1-14

Celebrant & Preacher

Canon Ian Elliott Davies

 

Deacon 

Dea. Walter S. Johnson

 

Organist/Choirmstr

Mr. Jeffrey Parola
Sunday's Music

 

Prelude

Improvisation on 'Caswall' 
by Jeffrey Parola
(b. 1979)


Offertory

"The Call" from Five Mystical Songs
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872-1958)

Postlude

Improvisation on 'Ratisbon'
by Jeffrey Parola
(b. 1979)
Vestry Retreat 

   

On 13-15 February, the Clergy and Vestry will be attending the Vestry Retreat at Serra Retreat Center in Malibu. During this time, the following Celebrants have been assigned:

 

Friday, 13 Feb.

NO MASS

 

Saturday, 14 Feb.

10am - Fr. Stuart

5pm - Mo. Baker

 

Sunday, 15 Feb.

8am & 10:30am - 

Mo. Baker

2015 Lenten Series

   

The 2015 Lenten Series "Thinking Allowed" will meet on Sundays in Lent at 9am in the Large Parish Hall. The course, created by Canon Davies, will be led by Canon Davies and various learned Parishioners. the theme is "Thinking Allowed: weariness, cadence, tempo, flow, ennui, fatigue, monotony, rhythm, tedium and 'spiritual attentiveness' in the Church and in our Culture. 

 

The deliberate ambiguity of thinking allowed / thinking aloud is from a BBC Radio 4 series that takes contemporary issues and discusses them with experts in their fields.

Automatic Payments

   

You may now make automatic monthly payments to St. Thomas via PayPal! this is an easy way to remember pledge and Capital Campaign payments. Visit the WEBSITE. Click "Donate" on the right side and follow the instructions. Make sure to check the box "Make This Recurring" in order to make it recur monthly.

On This Day in 
Christian History 

   

On this day in 1564, carried to church in a chair, John Calvin preached his last sermon three months before his death.

Coming Soon...

 

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

  

13-15 February

Vestry Retreat

 

14 February @ 7:30am

Homeless Feeding & Outreach

 

16 February

Parish Office Closed 

21 February @ 10:30am 

Newcomer Orientation Series 

 

23 February @ 10:00am 

County-USC AIDS Clinic Feeding Program 

 

28 February @ 7:30am

Homeless Feeding & Outreach

 

28 February @ 5:00pm
Evensong & Benediction featuring LASchola
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, contest the ticket by filling out the form found CLICKING HERE! Contact the Office if you have any issues.

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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