Dear parishioners and friends of St. Edward’s,
We welcome you to our online worship and ministry offerings for this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday in Lent. All essential links are noted below.
I prayerfully request that we continue to refrain from gathering, with other parishioners, in public groups, without masks. In Lancaster County, we are moving towards wider distribution of vaccines, and within the diocese plans are being formed, adhering to safety protocols, for parishes to re-open for in-person worship! We are all in this together, and honoring our parish community, by continuing to comply with the recommendations set forth during this time, conveys our love for God in Christ, the members of our parish family, and the wider community.
Here are three links that may be helpful:
vaccinateLancaster.org
**If you need assistance in registering/navigating this website, please contact me, or the parish office, and we will assist you.
Lancaster County, PA COVID-19 Hub
Father Rick+
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During our Lenten journey, we have been asked to rest, remember, and now, as we approach the Fourth Sunday in Lent, we are asked to repent. These aspects are all part of the process of lament. As we lament, we seek forgiveness, and we are called to forgive others. Repentance can be a journey into darkness, but that does not mean it has to be, or feel, “bad.” Throughout our lives, we must travel through darkness, to find the light, around us, and in us; the light that God provides. And the act of forgiveness, does not mean that we forget, but that we can start to move forward.
In our spiritual formation groups this week (please consider joining us!), we have touched on the aspect of darkness. In an email to Father Rick and I, Rayelenn Casey shared a 24-hour Day of Prayer that she was participating in coming from the Leicester Cathedral in the UK with the theme of “Dazzling Darkness” and their motto: “God made the darkness and pronounced it good.” In our Friday Lunch & Learn, Dina Ishler shared a link to the poem “The Night” by Henry Vaughan, which you can find here.
A daily discipline of mine is to walk 5 miles. Many times, especially during Lent, I walk in the darkness of evening, taking in the mysteries of the night sky, while listening to a playlist of music that I purposely allow to be selected for me. Last night, as I was finishing my walkabout, a song popped up in my ears that I had never heard before, but the lyrics that were repeated throughout the entire 7-minute ambient music piece were meditative to me:
Don’t think about all those things you fear
Just be glad to be here (Just be glad to be here)
We close with a prayer from page 831 in The Book of Common Prayer
For a Person in Trouble or Bereavement
O merciful Father, who has taught us in your holy Word that you do not willingly afflict or grieve our children: Look with pity upon the sorrows of all your servants for whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their soul with patience, comfort them with a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.
Michelle
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Please remember to turn your clocks ahead before you go to bed tonight!
Sunday Service Information:
Click here to download our service bulletin for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.
*If you enjoy the St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Lancaster, PA YouTube channel, and you have a Gmail or YouTube account, the next time you tune in, please click the red SUBSCRIBE button on the home page to be included as a subscriber to St. Edward’s! We would welcome the support and we will not generate any unwanted notifications to you. Become a part of our St. Edward’s community! Thank you to those who have subscribed!
We also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you important announcements regarding upcoming events, as well as prayer and adult spiritual formation opportunities.
We continue to honor the guidance delivered by our bishop, as well as our love of God in Christ, to care for one another, by remaining socially distanced, and refrain from in-person worship and gathering. There are many opportunities for us to worship, and perform ministry, in community, in other ways, during this continued Covidtide. Please see a listing below and stay tuned to our weekly emails, web site posts, and Sunday bulletins for updates on specific details, as we are updated, with times and links. We invite you to celebrate with us, as a community of faith!
Stay tuned for additional service listings for Holy Week and Easter (which you can also find in the March Scepter, but will be updated to align with our re-opening plan!)
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Virtual Coffee Hour this Sunday, March 14th, from 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM, on Zoom. Hosted by Christina McLaughlin. Let us share our fellowship with one another during our extended Covidtide. The Zoom join code and pass code are on the back page of the service bulletin. (Please disregard the information about “Annual Meeting” which was left in the bulletin in error.)
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Please continue your support of the Hempfield Area Food Pantry. Let us continue our tradition of generosity for those less fortunate than ourselves. Requested food items for the month of March are:
Large peanut butter
Large jelly
Canned corn
Canned carrots
Canned mixed vegetables
Mac and cheese
2 pound package of dried pinto beans
Soles 4 Souls: St. Edward’s, with Saint John’s of Lancaster will collect shoes through Palm Sunday, March 28th and we invite parishioners to donate used shoes. The shoes can be lightly used to falling apart. Collection boxes will be placed in the sanctuary. Please tie any laced shoes together and rubber and other types. There is also a need for shipping boxes approximately the size of an office paper box. Any questions can be directed to our outreach ministry members: Lynch’s, Milligan’s, Ishler’s, Peg Reiley, or Leslie Arnold.
St. Edward’s is offering a full complement of Adult Spiritual Formation which continues through Lent! Please check your weekly emails which will have all the study details & Zoom invitation details.
Bible Study: Wednesday Evenings from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM: For questions, please contact Bob Mosebach at [email protected] or Leslie Arnold at [email protected].
Lunch & Learn: Episcopal Beliefs and Practices: Fridays from 12 Noon – 1 PM led by Bob Mosebach
The Way of the Cross: Go to our St. Edward’s YouTube Channel to view our Stations of the Cross, each week, as a Lenten discipline. You will find the pre-recorded offering and a Way of the Cross pdf to download.
The Way of the Cross on the St. Edward’s YouTube Channel, click here.
The Way of the Cross order of service pdf, click here.
Friday Evening Prayer: Each Friday at 7:00 PM hosted by Patrick and Dina Ishler
Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Join Code: 863 2710 5082
Sunday Evening Prayer: Each Sunday at 7:00 PM. Anyone interested can send Br. David Rutledge an email to be put on an email distribution list: [email protected] Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/95355083080 Meeting ID: 953 5508 3080
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Besides prayers, calls, cards and emails, there is one more thing you can do to support St. Edward’s. Please keep up-to-date with your pledge or regular contribution. Pledges/giving can be mailed to the church, and we also have an easy-to-use “Give to St. Edward’s” button on our website that links to our secure Paypal page, as well as a “Donate” button on our YouTube Channel home page.
To assist parishes, the diocese has set up online giving for each parish. If you feel comfortable making your weekly giving or pledge donation in this manner (it is a secure giving tool), simply go to the diocesan web site, click on the tab up top and it will take you to a page where you can scroll down, find St. Edward’s, and continue with making your contribution! Thank you for maintaining your faithfulness through your financial stewardship!