ABOUT ST. JOSEPH
HELPING HANDS

HOSPITAL VISITS MINISTRY    

              St. Thomas has a very active group of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who visit Memorial Hospital daily to bring the Eucharist to the patients.  The best way to be sure someone will be visited while in the hospital is to be sure when they are admitted is to list their religious affiliation as Catholic and that they are from  St. Thomas Parish.  Sometimes when admissions go through the Emergency Room the patient’s religious affiliation is not listed.  Verify with the Hospital Admissions Office that the above information is included.  If the information is entered at the front desk, the Ministers will see a printout when they come to the hospital to visit and no one will be overlooked.

To those who visit the sick in the hospital and homebound, thank you for this ministry.  It is so meaningful to those who are visited.  Some are struggling with serious health issues; some have minor setbacks-but all are grateful for receiving the healing power of Jesus.  It means a great deal to them to know that their church and their faith have reached out to them in their time of need.

NOTE:  An e-mail can be sent to Phyllis Seal, coordinator of hospital ministry, at rosaliek2@aol.com to ensure information is on the list.
 

AGED AND INFIRM PRIESTS

             Look around the diocese—our priests are getting older!  Next weekend in your offering envelope packet, you will find an envelope for Aged and Infirm Priests. Here in the Diocese of Biloxi, priests are provided a modest pension when they retire. Parishes pay a yearly assessment toward the fund. This collection will help the parish pay toward the retirement of priests in our diocese. Please be generous, for our priests have dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord and the people of faith and deserve to be taken care of in their aging years.

If an envelope is not available, just use a plain envelope or drop an envelope or check in the mail to St. Thomas Church, P. O. Box 1529, Long Beach, MS 39560.

 
Celebrating Children at
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church

Relax! God put the wiggle in children; don’t feel you have to suppress it in God’s House. Sit toward the front where it’s easier to see and hear.  Quietly explain the parts of the Mass.  Sing the songs, pray and say the responses.  Children learn liturgical behavior by copying you. 

Feel free to leave Mass with your child if you need to, but please come back!  The way we welcome children in church directly affects the way they respond to the church, to God, and to Jesus.  Let them know they are at home in this liturgical gathering.
To the members of the parish…

A smile of encouragement and a kind word are always 

PRAYER FOR NEW YEAR

God, thank you for a new year.
May everyone in our family be willing to begin anew with a clean slate.
We know that You are always ready to forgive us.
Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive one another.
 

As we begin a new year, remind us of our truest values and our deepest desires.
Help us to live in the goodness that comes from doing what you want us to do.
Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time.
 
Amen

Weekly Calendar

Sun, Jan 13…...Life Teen, 11&12th Grades, Search Retreat
Sun, Jan 13......10-11:30 am, PreK-5th (RCIC)SRE Class
Sun, Jan 13…..10:30 am, Ensemble Rehearsal/Subsequent Mass–                                         Church
Sun, Jan 13…..12:45 pm, Baptism after 11:30 am Mass
Sun, Jan 13…...4-5:15 pm, RCIT, Rm 211
Sun, Jan 13..….4:15 pm, Testify Choir Rehearsal/Subsequent Mass-                                      rehearsal room
Mon, Jan 14.…..9-12:15 pm, SVdP Society, SRE Building
Mon, Jan 14.......RCIA w/Sponsor, Rm 222
Tues, Jan 15.….9-1 pm, Quilters, Rm 222
Wed, Jan 16…...7-8:30 pm, Confirmation Classes, Rm 203
Wed, Jan 16…...7 pm, Liturgical Choir Rehearsal, Church/Rehearsal Rm
Thurs, Jan 17….9-10:30 am, Centering Prayer & Scripture, Church
Thurs, Jan 17.....9-12:15 pm, SVdP Society, SRE Bldg
Thurs, Jan 17….7 pm, New Wine, Rm 222
Fri, Jan 18......….8 am-4 pm, Adoration, Chapel

RECURRING AROUND THE PARISH…

Adoration in the Chapel….8 am-4 pm, Fri

Baptism Classes….9:30 am, Last Sat of every month, Rm 222; contact person is Sue Hoffman at 228-864-5868

Knights of Columbus, Council #4898….7pm, every 1st & 3rd Thurs of the month (4th Degree mtg follows the 1st mtg of the month)

Ladies Aux of the KofC #4898….7pm, every 3rd Thurs of the month, Rm 203

Liturgical Choir Rehearsal Times….Wed, 7 pm, Choir Rehearsal Rm as well as 8 am Sun. All interested singers and skilled instrumentalists welcome.

Lunchkins….11:30 am, Second Wed of the month, CC

St. Joseph’s Helping Hands….Workday is the first Sat of each month
starting Jan; meeting every 4th Thurs,6 pm

St. Vincent de Paul Society….9:30 am-12:15 pm, Mon & Thurs, open to help

Testify Choir….4:15 pm, Sun evenings, Choir Rehearsal Rm

Youth Gift Cards (SCRIP) sales…After all Masses & during office hours, 9am-4:30 pm weekdays
 

PETITIONS OF PRAYER

Billy Mount, Blakeley Quinn Hammons, Brenda Boney, Catherine Woodward, Evan Jones, Faith Tejera,  Frank Vincent Reed, Gene Marie Mount, Janis Pittman, Kirt Braun, Milton LeBlanc, Nancy Kurowski, Nellie Abadie, Noreen Baker, Roberta Varvel, Sally James, …..and all others in our parish and community who are in need of healing, physical or spiritual.
 
Names appearing on Petitions of Prayer come from hospital visitation lists, and from telephone calls made to the Parish Office.

All of the requests for prayers remain on our list for four weeks.  If notified, we will extend the time frame.
 
Anyone needing to add someone to the electronic prayer group e-mail, send the information electronically to prayer@saintthomaslb.org  or call the parish office at 863-1610.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

   When you are admitted to the hospital please be sure that you are listed as a Catholic and a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church.  If possible please have someone call the Parish office 863-1610 to let us know you have been admitted.  

GONE HOME TO GOD 

†Jimmy Dilorenzo

†Barbara Stannard, mother of Richard Gale 

†Dolores Smith, mother of Kevin Smith

†Cecile Kirby, sister of Dave Gauthier

†Nancy Warner

†Cathy Spencer
 

Events
Scrip Support
Life Teen
Knights of Columbus
             Society of St. Vincent de Paul