Enjoy listening to the Christmas Eve Services at St. Edward’s!
8:00 PM Festival Holy Eucharist with Choir – Part One (through Sermon)
8:00 PM – Festival Holy Eucharist with Choir – Part Two
4:30 PM – Family Service with Holy Communion (Praise Band) – Part One (through Sermon)
4:30 PM Family Service with Holy Communion (Praise Band) – Part Two
In February 2015 St. Edward’s fourth-sixth grade Christian Formation class engaged in a lesson on the creeds. Teachers Dottie Gschwend and Brian Newsome asked each child to write three things he or she believes about God, Jesus, and the church. Each child explained these beliefs to the class. Teachers and students then searched for common themes and crafted three collective statements of faith: (1) God loves us and is always with us, (2) God is always present in the church, His house, (3) We are all part of the Body of Christ.
After the service, Brian showed the statements to Father Stephen Casey. The latter was so taken with the project that he asked the class to develop banners that would be hung in the parish hall. The vestry approved the concept, and the students spent the next five weeks developing table-sized mock-ups of the banners: one for each statement of faith. Bill Swiernik determined the proper dimensions for wall hangings, and Barb O’Brien led fellow Knit Wit members Sue Bianco and Carol Hopwood in fabrication of the banners. Carol’s husband Bill fashioned the cross from wood found in a stand of trees at their home.
In December 2015 Father Stephen blessed the banners during the service of Lessons and Carols. Bill and his son Reed subsequently hung the banners in the parish hall.
The banner project, which started as a simple lesson on the creeds, turned into a much larger work, demonstrating the three statements of faith in action and bringing together a wide segment of the parish community. Each of the individuals involved, whose names appear below, is pleased to have been part of something so special.
Teachers: Dottie Gschwend and Brian Newsome
Class Members: Maya Anderson, Piper Brugmann, Thomas Ishler, James Lynch, Braden Newsome, Anna Rosenberg, Kristen Rosenberg, Rosie Westgate
Knit Wits: Sue Bianco, Carol Hopwood, Barb O’Brien
Technical Support: Bill Swiernik and Reed Swiernik
Rector: Father Stephen Casey
Sermon from the 8 AM service by The Rev. Canon Stephen C. Casey.
Gaudete Sunday
Sermon by The Rev. Canon Stephen C. Casey
“Coming out of the wilderness”
Sermon by The Rev. Canon Stephen C. Casey
“Blowing leaves – a meditation on the First Sunday of Advent”
Sermon by The Rev. Canon Stephen C. Casey
For St. Edward’s children of all ages. Join the Christian Education classes in the parish hall, on December 13th after the Contemporary Service to help build our gingerbread church! All the delightful goodies will be provided. . .we just need YOU to help us construct our St. Edward’s Gingerbread Church!
Children who are attending the 10:15 service will have the opportunity to join us during the Sunday School time. A fun activity for all! We hope you can join us throughout the morning.
Sermon by The Rev. Canon Stephen C. Casey
As a separate musical event, outside of the St. Edward’s concert series, The Lancaster Chamber Singers held a wonderful concert in the sanctuary this past spring and will be holding their Songs of the Angels concert at St. Edward’s on December 5th. The Lancaster Chamber Singers events are performed in various locations throughout the year and they particularly like St. Edward’s acoustics and we are delighted they have asked to perform in our space. They will be featuring Eric Whitacre’s Alleluia, selections by Lancaster County native Daryl Hollinger, John Rutter, Palestrina and others, as well as favorite carols of the season. The Lancaster Chamber Singers offer tickets for sale: $20 the day of the concert or $18 in advance. Please call 330-9025 for more ticket information.
An Advent Pilgrimage: A Spiritual Journey towards the Incarnation is the theme of a quiet morning at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, December 5, 2015. Morning Prayer will be offered in the church at 8:30 a.m.; meditations at 9, 10 and 11 a.m.; the morning will conclude with Eucharist at 11:30. Light refreshments, contemplative crafts and a reading room will be available in the Christian Education wing. St. Edward’s is located at 2453 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601.