Calendar

We celebrate today our patron saint, Thomas, and rededicate ourselves to Christ and our mission as a parish. [We also remember Thomas on his feast day, December 21] . Our current church building was dedicated on the first Sunday in October in 1913.

The Feast of Dedication serves as the launch for the Every Member Canvass for 2012. We encourage you to pledge for 2012 during the months of October and November in 2011. You may pledge online here. Or, if you prefer, complete the card attached to the EMC Brochure and drop it in the offering plate or mail it in.

On Sunday, November 6, we will have a special EMC Coffee Hour in the Parish House, at which time we will display the "tiles" created as part of the EMC Tiles Project. Please consider participating. Even if you live outside the country and know us only via the webcasts, you can still participate and mail your paper tile to us.

Collect:

Everliving God, who didst strengthen thine apostle Thomas with sure and certain faith in thy Son’s resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in thy sight; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect:

Lord, we pray thee that thy grace may always precede and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 23)

Nun, Doctor of the Church
b. March 28, 1515
d. October 4, 1582

Teresa dedicated her life to prayer, missionary work, the establishment of convents, and writing. Two of Teresa's most important works were The Way of Perfection and Interior Castle. And in her writing, she could be quite honest and straight-forward.

Father Stafford, in a sermon from January 2005, quotes Teresa "To say that we abandon our will to another’s will seems very easy until through experience we realize that this is the hardest thing one can do if one does it as it should be done."

And Fr Mead, in his 2003 sermon Why Pray for the Dead?, reminds us of her directness: "I want to see God and, in order to see him, I must die."

According to Lesser Feasts and Fasts of the Episcopal Church (2000), Teresa was a fan of Saint Augustine as well as Saint Mary Magdelene.

Collect:

O God, who by the Holy Spirit didst move Teresa of Avila to manifest to thy Church the way of perfection: Grant us, we beseech thee, to be nourished by her excellent teaching, and enkindle within us a lively and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, who in Christ hast revealed thy glory among the nations: Preserve the works of thy mercy, that thy Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of thy Name; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 24)

Evangelist

In a sermon from Evensong in 2011, Fr Daniels explained:

Luke is the gospel writer who recorded in his book those two canticles that we hear at every service of Evensong – indeed, every evening office. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, comes from Luke’s gospel, as does Simeon’s song, the Nunc Dimittis, both of which we just heard. Without Saint Luke we’d have neither of those. His is a gospel marked by magnificent story-telling, brilliant uses of words and images that tell the stories that make up what many of us think about, when we think about the stories of the Gospel...read the rest here.

Collect:

Almighty God, who didst inspire thy servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of thy Son: Graciously continue in thy Church the like love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of thy Name; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect:

O God of the nations, who didst give to thy faithful servant Henry Martyn a brilliant mind, a loving heart, and a gift for languages, that he might translate the Scriptures and other holy writings for the peoples of India and Persia: Inspire in us, we beseech thee, a love like his, eager to commit both life and talents to thee who gavest them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.