Category: News

St. Edward’s Monday Message – August 24, 2020

administrator

Dear friends and parishioners,

We are now gearing up for a fall that is full of events, ministry, and formation offerings, so we hope you find these thrice-weekly email messages of keen interest as we have a lot to share!  St. Edward’s is alive in our faith, our community, and our worship as we walk in love, together, with strength, courage, and gladness of heart.

—

Today, we’d like to share what our Shaped by Faith team has been doing in recent months.  The team is charged to work with a regional group of parishes in our Diocese to examine our future together. Projects will explore congregational vitality and values, financial sustainability, God’s call in the neighborhood, and new models for being church. These projects will take place throughout the Diocese from 2019-2021.

The Lancaster Episcopal churches held their first meeting with the Diocesan leadership in February of 2020 at St. John’s, Lancaster. The Shaped by Faith initiative was introduced and we examined realities and trends within our Diocese. Following this meeting, individual parishes formulated their teams of rector, a warden, and a parishioner.  Our team consists of Father Rick Bauer, Julie Hoff, and Herb Johnston.  Amy Swiernik is the lay representative at the Diocesan level of Shaped by Faith.

With the onset of Covid-19 our bimonthly in-person meeting schedule was put on hold.  However, we have been meeting by Zoom and looking at the new ways of being church we are all experiencing during this Covidtide. We have also participated in Webinars on Anglican Identity, Mission and Sustainability, and Self-Differentiated Leadership.These are available for your viewing at the Diocesan website: diocesecpa.org  Click on menu and select Shaped by Faith. You will see all the Shaped by Faith offerings available for your use. We encourage you to take advantage of these resources.

There are also interesting webinars spanning a wide variety of topics pertaining to Shaped by Faith, which you may find interesting.  Click here to learn more

We invite your support of this effort and look forward to your participation as we progress in this Shaped by Faith journey together!

Shaped by Faith Team,

Father Rick, Julie, and Herb

—
Click here to view our Sunday service of Rite II from August 23rd

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

—
MINISTRY HAPPENINGS AT ST. EDWARD’S
We want to take this opportunity to share with you important announcements that are in our paper bulletin on Sundays, that may be of interest to you, at home, regarding upcoming events, both at St. Edward’s and in our wider community.

First,click here to view our flier for our talent search for our upcoming Variety Show fundraiser on October 24th. In partnership with our Cultural Events ministry, the fundraising committee will be putting on a Variety Show/Basket Auction event for our BIG fall fundraiser, this year, along with offering a lovely casual boxed dinner (think: no cooking while you watch the live streamed event!) that can be purchased and picked up prior to the YouTube virtual evening event. For this to be a success, we need YOUR TALENT!  It is all is the spirit of community, fun, and fundraising!

Second, we will be hosting a very special live streamed musical event featuring Maria Thompson Corley: pianist, soloist, collaborator, and composer on Sunday, September 13th at 3:00 PM. Click here for information on this exciting Cultural Event.

Lastly, the Arts at MU has listed an event on their calendar, as follows, that sounds very exciting:

Xun Pan FREE Livestream Concert
“Beginning of Beethoven’s Middle Period”
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2020 | 7:30 P.M.
FROM STEINMAN HALL – THE WARE CENTER

Kick of the fall season with Beethoven’s 250th Birthday Celebration! The series that began last fall continues with four concerts. The first commemorates the “Beginning of Beethoven’s Middle Period” on Friday, August 28, and will be live streamed for FREE on the internet from the Ware Center at 7:30 p.m.

Visit https://artsmu.com/ on or after Wednesday, August 26 to get a link to the live stream and additional concert information.

—
We invite people to continue to donate funds to our Hempfield Area Food Pantry.  The need continues.  Just since our last check to the pantry on August 14th, we have raised an additional $650+ in monetary donations, some through St. Edward’s, as well as parishioners who have told us they have contributed funds directly to the food pantry.  This is an amazing response to the needs of our wider community and we thank you all!

Card Ministry:  As we have messaged throughout the summer, through the generosity of Thomas Ishler, we have had a wonderful selection of greeting cards at St. Edward’s over the past few months, for those who are able, to come, browse and select and make a free will offering.  As we approach September, we have found a “home” for these cards through Community Aid.  They are very excited to receive them and they will go to good use in helping them in their community mission.   A wonderful way to “pass it on” versus discarding these gifts brought to us through faithful ministry.  So. . .if you are interested in doing some card shopping, do not despair!  We will not be transferring them to Community Aid until the week of September 14th.   We thank Thomas, again, for his  generosity in providing this ministry to St. Edward’s over the summer!

GROCERY CARDS:  I have only received responses from 2 people regarding Giant and Stauffer’s grocery cards for September.  Unfortunately, if we do not have a minimum of $1,000 in grocery cards, for each store, we will be unable to restart this program at this time.  Please contact the parish office no later than this Friday, August 28th, if you would like cards starting in September.
—

MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP THIS WEEK

Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – Wednesday, August 26th
Please enter through the parish hall doors. Masks are required. We have put in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety.

Bible Study – Wednesday, August 26th 6:30 PM via Zoom – Session Two will be finishing this week and please read below for messaging regarding Session Three:

Session 3 of our Contemporary Bible Study ZOOM Meetings will begin on Wednesday, September 9th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM and continue every Wednesday thereafter.  Participants in previous sessions have found the meeting discussions to be interesting, relevant to today’s world/local events, and a great forum in which to connect with St. Edward’s Church members.  The Study Guide for Session 3 will be:

All Things New, A Study On 2 Corinthians by Kelly Minter.

As long as COVID-19 protocols and restrictions remain in effect, meetings will be continue to be held on-line until virus restrictions are lifted.
For information and an invitation to the ZOOM meetings, please contact Bill ([email protected]) or Yvonne ([email protected]).

We look forward to connecting with you during the upcoming session.

Bill and Yvonne Gasperetti

Friday Evening Prayer – August 28th
We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler.
Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082

Sunday Service Online: Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 16 – August 23, 2020

administrator

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

We welcome you to online worship this weekend.

For those who feel comfortable with coming to church, we are fortunate to be able to hold in-person worship on Sundays at 8 AM – Rite I and 10:15 AM – Rite II. We hope that you will join us!  We continue to follow healthy practices for your comfort and safety and we are mindfully complying with mitigation efforts through the governor’s office, as well as our diocesan office.

Please know that we extend our warm invitation of worship to those in the wider community and those parishioners who are still at home, via YouTube Live, with our live streaming service each Sunday. We are one community of faith and we are worshipping together!

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II LIVE at 10:15 AM on Sunday, August 23rd.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 10:15 AM bulletin – Rite II

If you prefer the said service of Rite I, we have provided our service bulletin for you to download and enjoy the service.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 8 AM bulletin – Rite I

We also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you important announcements that are in our paper bulletin on Sundays, that may be of interest to you, at home, regarding upcoming events, both at St. Edward’s and in our wider community.

First, click here to view our flier for our talent search for our upcoming Variety Show fundraiser on October 24th. In partnership with our Cultural Events ministry, the fundraising committee will be putting on a Variety Show/Basket Auction event for our BIG fall fundraiser, this year, along with offering a lovely casual boxed dinner (think: no cooking while you watch the event!) that can be purchased and picked up prior to the YouTube virtual evening event. For this to be a success, we need YOUR TALENT! It is all in the spirit of community, fun, and fundraising!

Second, we will be hosting a very special live streamed musical event featuring Maria Thompson Corley: pianist, soloist, collaborator, and composer on Sunday, September 13th at 3:00 PM. Click here for information on this exciting Cultural Event.

Lastly, the Arts at MU has listed an event on their calendar, as follows, that sounds very exciting:

Xun Pan FREE Livestream Concert

“Beginning of Beethoven’s Middle Period”

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2020 | 7:30 P.M.

FROM STEINMAN HALL – THE WARE CENTER

Kick of the fall season with Beethoven’s 250th Birthday Celebration! The series that began last fall continues with four concerts. The first commemorates the “Beginning of Beethoven’s Middle Period” on Friday, August 28, and will be live streamed for FREE on the internet from the Ware Center at 7:30 p.m.

Visit https://artsmu.com/ on or after Wednesday, August 26 to get a link to the live stream and additional concert information.

Besides prayers, calls, cards and emails, there is one more thing you can do to support St. Edward’s during this time. 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.  We have had several people engage with this newly installed Paypal giving button with great success, so please consider that as an easy way to support St. Edward’s.

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!

Click here if you would like to donate online through the diocesan portal. You will scroll down to find St. Edward’s under Lancaster. The portal is a secure giving site.

We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

St. Edward’s Thursday Message – August 20, 2020

administrator

Dear friends,

Look for all links related to Sunday worship on our usual Saturday afternoon posting.

So many glorious things happening at St. Edward’s this week!  Here’s an update:

We are starting to receive our new Ordinary Time (green season) altar hangings and they will look beautiful.  We hope to be celebrating with these new altar hangings by Sunday, September 20th.

We have completed the new lighting project for the sanctuary in the choir and praise band area, as well as the lectern area on the altar, and it brings such wonderful lighting to these spaces.

We are also in full motion with our Phase One Memorial Garden project.  To learn about all of the specifics of our progress with the care and beautification of this sacred space, please click here to visit our web site page.

We have continued ministry support with small carpentry/housekeeping projects and the care and feeding of our landscaped spaces by faithful parishioners.

All of these projects would not happen without the strong support of you, our St. Edward’s parishioners, and our friends of St. Edward’s.  For these expressions of generosity and continued grace, we most heartily thank you all.

—
Giant and Stauffers Grocery Card Program

If you are interested in starting to order your SKH or Giant grocery cards, or are interested in being a new participant in our grocery card program, please contact the parish office by Monday, August 31st.  It is a great way for St. Edward’s to earn 5% in passive fundraising income and while we had suspended the program during this Covidtide, it has been expressed that people may be interested in having it go back in place.  Our first resumed order would be delivered on Sunday, September 6th if we have enough people willing to participate.
—
Hempfield Area Food Pantry

We are so thankful for all of the monetary (and food) donations that continue to come into our office through the generosity of our parishioners for our local Hempfield Area Food Pantry.

Current food requests are:
One or 2 pound packages of rice, canned fruit (no fruit cocktail no Mandarin oranges)
Canned tomatoes, canned peas, canned kidney beans, canned soup (no chicken noodle) and cereal.

If you would like to donate food, please bring on Sunday and drop in baskets in the narthex.  If you would like to donate food and do not come to services but would like a curbside drop-off, please call the parish office to make arrangements. We want to make certain we are here to accept your donation.
—
We leave you with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer for In the Evening

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.  Then in thy mercy, grant us safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at last.  Amen.

Continue reading below for the details for our Friday and Saturday worship and fellowship activities.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

Michelle

We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler.

Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082

—
Join us for our Virtual Saturday Social from 9 AM – 9:40 AM Saturday morning on Zoom.  It will be hosted by Christina McLaughlin. It’s a great time to get together and say hi to your fellow parishioners. We look forward to sharing some time of fellowship THIS SATURDAY, August 22nd at 9:00 AM.

We are considering alternative times for our coffee/social hour commencing after Labor Day weekend.  But, we want to hear from you!  If a coffee/social hour is something you would participate in, please email the parish office by September 1st and let us know the following:

(1)  Do you like the current Saturday 9 AM time and will you participate in the fall?
(2)  Do you like the Saturday option, but 10 AM would enable you to participate more fully?
(3)  Would you participate if the coffee/social time was moved to Sundays at 12:15?

Your pass code and join code are in the email from Thursday.

St. Edward’s Monday Message – August 17, 2020

administrator

Dear friends and parishioners,

We open with a special message from fellow parishioner, Amy Swiernik:

Dear Fellow Edwardians,

My heart burst with joy each time I receive a card or encouraging email or text from one of you! It has been really uplifting to get mail during my battle, especially during this time of isolation from Covid-19 and I am not able to come to Sunday services. There have been a few meals delivered as well and a watermelon that I was dying to have! All has been very much appreciated.  The beautiful prayer shawl and hand cross have been a Godsend as well.  Sometimes you just get a chill and need to be wrapped in love and comfort. I can’t thank you all enough for keeping me in your prayers and supporting us during this crazy journey.  The next two weeks will be the hardest as I undergo the radioactive iodine treatment and totally isolate from the world for five days, have scans and Doctor appointments.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Again, Thank You!

Blessings and Love to you all,

Amy Swiernik

On behalf of the St. Edward’s Shaped by Faith Team of Julie Hoff, Herb Johnston, and Father Rick, along with our diocesan liaison, Amy Swiernik, we would like to share with you news and information regarding Shaped by Faith.  Featured on the diocesan website are courses offered by Shaped By Faith at the Stevenson School for Ministry.  These are classes that are offered to help all of us, as a congregation, continue our faith journey in a variety of topics.  We hope you find these of interest with topics that include:  Racial Justice and the Body of Christ; Missional Stewardship: Investing in What Matters to God; and  Doing Politics Through the Lens of Faith  Click here to learn more about the courses and how you can register

You may also want to visit the diocesan website by clicking this text to learn more about Shaped by Faith

There are also interesting webinars spanning a wide variety of topics pertaining to Shaped by Faith, which you may find interesting.  Click here to learn more

Below you can view our Rite II service from Sunday, August 16th.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

—

MINISTRY HAPPENINGS AT ST. EDWARD’S

Our major projects of Memorial Garden beautification; Fall Fundraiser event; St. Edward’s Cookbook/Artistic project to benefit Social Outreach Ministries; as well as our installation of new sanctuary choir area, lectern, and praise band area lighting; and the launching of our fall live stream cultural events line up are very much “in the works” this week, so stay tuned for details and photos!  We are a vibrant parish and we thank each and every one of you for keeping our ministry and community alive and flourishing, even in this season of Covidtide.  We are, truly, all in this together!

We invite people to continue to donate funds to our Hempfield Area Food Pantry.  The need continues.

–

MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP THIS WEEK

Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – Wednesday, August 19th
Please enter through the parish hall doors. Masks are required. We have put in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety. May we ask that you please let the parish office know if you are planning on attending (if you have not already done so).

Friday Evening Prayer – August 21st
We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler.
Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082

St. Edward’s Thursday Message – August 13, 2020

administrator

Dear friends,

Look for all links related to Sunday worship on Saturday afternoon.

Stay tuned in upcoming weeks for emails and fliers related to our Variety Show/Basket Auction fundraiser; updates on our Memorial Garden beautification project; upcoming live streamed cultural events in the fall, new ministry session starting in September for Bible Study, and much more!

As we gear up for a fall with some very exciting ministry and community fellowship planned, we also look forward to a little “summer deep breath” time as well, to enjoy the remainder of longer summer days, the blue sky, and warm breezes.  What we do know as truth is that St. Edward’s is alive and vibrant and that is so because of the ministry and faithfulness of all of you who are a part of our parish family.

Also, the Scepter will return in September!!    Scepter pictures, articles and announcements for the September Scepter are due Thursday August 20th. Please send items to [email protected].

Hempfield Area Food Pantry

We are so thankful for all of the monetary (and food) donations that continue to come into our office through the generosity of our parishioners for our local Hempfield Area Food Pantry.

Current food requests are:
One or 2 pound packages of rice, canned fruit (no fruit cocktail no Mandarin oranges)
Canned tomatoes, canned peas, canned kidney beans, canned soup (no chicken noodle) and cereal.

If you would like to donate food, please bring on Sunday and drop in baskets in the narthex.  If you would like to donate food and do not come to services but would like a curbside drop-off, please call the parish office to make arrangements. We want to make certain we are here to accept your donation.
—
I came across a lovely small publication that Bishop Michael W. Creighton, Diocese of Central Pennsylvania from 1995-2006, authored for Forward Movement in 1988 when he was a rector of St. Stephen’s Church in Seattle, Washington. They are lovely prayers.  Here is our offering of one for the end of this week that he wrote for summer:

Bless you, Father, for  the summertime, when I can take my ship of life in for repairs.  Repair every crack in my spirit, every leak in my life, every rotten timber in my character.  O Lord, make me seaworthy, that I may continue in the journey ahead, and weather life with that inward grace and strength that comes from You.  Amen.

Continue reading below for the details for our Friday and Saturday worship and fellowship activities.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

Michelle

We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler.

Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082

—

Join us for our Virtual Saturday Social from 9 AM – 9:40 AM Saturday morning on Zoom.  It will be hosted by Christina McLaughlin. It’s a great time to get together and say hi to your fellow parishioners. We look forward to sharing some time of fellowship THIS SATURDAY, August 15th at 9:00 AM.

St. Edward’s Monday Message – August 10, 2020

administrator

Dear friends and parishioners,

To start your week, we share with you a lovely image from Friday, once the storm had cleared from St. Edward’s, with this poem about nature and life from Emily Dickinson.

The rainbow never tells me
That gust and storm are by,
Yet is she more convincing
Than Philosophy.

My flowers turn from Forums—
Yet eloquent declare
What Cato couldn’t prove me
Except the birds were here!
– Emily Dickinson

Missed the Sunday service?  You can watch it here!

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

—
MINISTRY HAPPENINGS AT ST. EDWARD’S

VARIETY SHOW/TAKE-OUT DINNER/BASKET AUCTION:  Stay tuned in the next week as we will be sending out information on our variety show/call for talent as well as tease some details about our October 24th Fundraising Event.  It is going to be FUN!

COOKBOOK MINISTRY
We’ve received some wonderful recipes, creative writing, and photos.  We hope others will consider contributing their talents to this project.  If you have a creative spirit or reflections, but no recipe, we welcome your contribution.  If you have recipes, only, that is wonderful, too!

GREETING CARD MINISTRY
If you have not had a chance to stop buy and “shop” for greeting cards, we invite you to our greeting card ministry.  Thomas Ishler was able to secure quite a bounty of greeting cards from a pharmacy that was closing its doors in Lancaster County. We have set them up in the Christian Ed wing in safe and healthy spaces for people to browse the cards, make their selections, and consider a free-will offering.  Bring your own “green” shopping bag to fill up.  In our season of Covidtide, card writing is a great way to reach out to those who you miss so dearly. We also encourage people to reach out to others they know and perhaps put together packets of cards to give away.  We hope to see you soon!  Please come in any day, Monday – Friday between 10:30 AM – 4:00 PM.

MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP THIS WEEK
Finance Committee Meeting – Tuesday, August 11th at 6:30 PM via Zoom

Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – Wednesday, August 12th
Please enter through the parish hall doors. Masks are required. We have put in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety. May we ask that you please let the parish office know if you are planning on attending (if you have not already done so).

Bible Study – Wednesday, August 12th
Led by Bill and Yvonne Gasperetti.  For more information about upcoming Bible Study sessions, please contact Bill at [email protected] or Yvonne at [email protected].  This is the 2nd to last Bible Study meeting for Session 2.  Session 3 begins on September 9th and will be a weekly meeting.  If you are interested in joining the group for Session 3, please contact Bill or Yvonne.

Friday Evening Prayer – August 14th
We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler.
Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082

School Supplies Drive 2020 for Landisville Primary Center

Due to the overwhelming generosity and kindness of our parishoners, we have enough supplies to completely cover the needs of 30 school children at the Landisville Primary Center. We were also able to purchase a $100 gift card to give to the school to cover some of the additional needs of the students.

We received $505.00 in monetary donations. Finn was my super helper at Target. He did the calculations and counted out all of the 40+ expo marker packages that we bought today. Many thanks also to Dina for helping to count and record all of our donated supplies and to Beth for finding additional hand sanitizer and tissues. I am simply overwhelmed by how everyone pitched in to help our neighboring school children in this time of need.

Peace, Ellen

Thanks be to God!!!  Ellen, your leadership on this has been absolutely stellar, and it feels like such a grace to walk in Christ with such a loving and responsive group of folks.  Go St. Ed’s!
Rick+

St. Edward’s Monday Message – August 3, 2020

administrator

Dear friends and parishioners,

We hope that everyone will be safe over the next 24 hours as Tropical Storm Isaias makes its way up the coast giving us a bit of heavy rains and gusty winds. 

If you missed the Sunday online service, You can view it here.

I attend the 8 AM Rite I service, but many Sundays I will watch the 10:15 service later in the day to hear Father Rick’s sermon for a second time.  I will say, for myself, the message for this Sunday was especially resonating and meaningful with many “nuggets” for introspection.  The wonderful opportunity we have with live stream archives is to be able to go back and hear the preaching from Sunday in our private space, which could give us a better understanding of our lessons and what it all means to us, in our daily lives. 

It was another wonderful Sunday at St. Edward’s with “full houses” of our allowed gathering size, at both services, following our health and safety protocols, and giving thanks to God and for the generosity of our parish in all of the projects we are embarking on.  From the most important Memorial Garden beautification, to our fundraising and fellowship initiatives being planned for the fall, and in giving back to our community via donations to the Food Pantry and our school supplies drive, we are so grateful to everyone.  Beth Lynch was able to deliver a bounty of food today and a check for $675 to HAFP (which was in addition to the $600 we sent last week). 

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

A FORWARD DAY BY DAY MEDITATION FOR MONDAY, August 3, 2020    Joanna, Mary, and Salome

Judges 6:39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on the ground let there be dew.”

The first time I asked God for a sign I was a child. I received an answer and found comfort.

I don’t remember asking for more signs until years later, and then I asked for enough signs to make up for lost time. I asked for so many signs I perfected the art of asking. I was specific. I set deadlines. I asked for signs to confirm I had read signs correctly.

Though some of my best God stories are sign stories, I don’t believe signs are the only way God communicates. I haven’t asked for a sign in years. Holy direction comes through scripture, nature, humans—even billboards!—when I am quiet and still from the inside out, from the Christ-light within me.

I believe God speaks to us differently, hoping we will tell one another. Gideon’s story helps me feel less alone.

MOVING FORWARD:What signs have you received from God? How have you responded?

PRAY for the Dioceses of Matana (Burundi), Wad Medani (Sudan), and Hyderabad (Pakistan)

Ps 80 * 77, [79] | Judges 6:25-40 | Acts 2:37-47 | John 1:1-18
—
MINISTRY HAPPENINGS AT ST. EDWARD’S

MEMORIAL GARDEN BEAUTIFICATION
Over the month of August, we will be implementing many aspects of Phase One, while also forging our contracts for the more complex tasks, such as monument design and building, and our landscaping plan to be installed when it is a bit cooler in September.  We will continue to keep the parish apprised of our progress.

BASKET AUCTION EVENT:  Now that we are in August, we are starting to plan, in earnest, for our basket auction.  It will be a bit different this year, but please know it will be fun, funny, and interesting. We hope we will infuse enough surprises and lightheartedness for all to enjoy!  All baskets are due by September 13th, giving us a week to prepare them.  Stay tuned in early September for auction details!  If you know the fundraising committee from events past, you know we always have something good up our sleeve for all!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES for the Landisville Primary Center:  We will be collecting through August 9th.  If it is easier to order online through Target and Amazon and have your supplies delivered to St. Edward’s we will accept them here for you.  You can also donate funds and we will shop for you.  Thank you!  A box set up in the narthex. The list is as follows:
Pencils                       Colored pencils                         Crayons
Erasers                      Notebook paper                        Colored paper
Glue sticks                 Tissues                                      Hand Sanitizer
Dry Erase Markers, fine pt., black            Dry Erase Markers, fine pt., red
Folders without clasps
                Let’s help our neighborhood children be ready to learn!

COOKBOOK MINISTRY
More and more recipes are making their way into the parish office! Don’t forget to submit any creative writing, drawing, music, photography, and creative musings you would like to share!  the more we have, the better our book will be.  We are looking to release it in early December.  

GREETING CARD MINISTRY
We have launched a greeting card ministry.  With great good fortune and some very heavy lifting, Thomas Ishler was able to secure quite a bounty of greeting cards from a pharmacy that was closing its doors in Lancaster County. Come in to St. Edward’s, safely “shop” for greeting cards, and donate a free-will offering for their selection.  We have set them up in the Christian Ed wing in safe and healthy spaces for people to browse the cards and make their selections.  Bring your own “green” shopping bag to fill up.  In our season of Covidtide, card writing is a great way to reach out to those who you miss so dearly. We also encourage people to reach out to others they know and perhaps put together packets of cards to give away. Please come in any day, Monday – Friday between 10:30 AM – 4:00 PM.  We have in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety.     

MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP THIS WEEK
Social Outreach Zoom Meeting – Wednesday, August 5th at 6:30 PM. Hosted by Beth Lynch

Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – August 5th
Please enter through the parish hall doors. Masks are required. We have put in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety. May we ask that you please let the parish office know if you are planning on attending (if you have not already done so).

Friday Evening Prayer
We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler.
Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082

Sunday Service Online – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 13 – August 2, 2020

administrator

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

We welcome you to online worship this weekend.  

For those who feel comfortable with coming to church, we are fortunate to be able to hold in-person worship on Sundays at 8 AM – Rite I and 10:15 AM – Rite II. We hope that you will join us!  We continue to follow healthy practices for your comfort and safety and we are mindfully complying with mitigation efforts through the governor’s office, as well as our diocesan office.

Please know that we extend our warm invitation of worship to those in the wider community and those parishioners who are still at home, via YouTube Live, with our live streaming service each Sunday. We are one community of faith and we are worshipping together!

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II LIVE at 10:15 AM on Sunday, July 19th.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 10:15 AM bulletin – Rite II.

If you prefer the said service of Rite I, we have provided our service bulletin for you to download and enjoy the service.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 8 AM bulletin – Rite I.

Besides prayers, calls, cards and emails, there is one more thing you can do to support St. Edward’s during this time. 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.  We have had several people engage with this newly installed Paypal giving button with great success, so please consider that as an easy way to support St. Edward’s.

To assist parishes, the diocese has also 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!

Click here if you would like to donate online through the diocesan portal. You will scroll down to find St. Edward’s under Lancaster. The portal is a secure giving site.

To learn more about St. Edward’s, please click our website, YouTube, or Facebook icons at the bottom of this email.

On a final note:  It was brought to our attention last evening that during our Friday Evening Prayer service, broadcast on Facebook Live, it was mentioned to “pray for a member of our parish who may have contracted Covid19.”  Father Rick and I discussed this at length, immediately upon hearing this news, and want to strongly clarify that there has not been, nor currently is, any member of St. Edward’s experiencing symptoms or diagnosed with COVID19.  We would like to gently remind people that it is imperative, for maintaining the safety and health of our parish home that if you have been diagnosed with COVID19 or feel you may have been exposed to it, that you please contact the office, or Father Rick, so that we can be aware and respond accordingly.  We keep everyone in our prayers that they stay safe and healthy and that we all have the strength to weather the challenges of our global health pandemic and be kind to others. 

We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

St. Edward’s Thursday Message – July 30, 2020

administrator

Dear friends,

On Saturday afternoon, we will be sending our message with links to all things for Sunday worship.

We are so blessed by the generosity we have received from our parish family with the financial support for Phase One of our Memorial Garden.  And we are so excited that we can bring this important project to fruition.  As we continue to raise funds, please know that we are carefully stewarding every aspect of this project, researching all aspects of proceeding with care, and implementing plans this week towards the various aspects which include: the monument for our plaques; the design of the interior garden space with landscaping and trees; the accessible walkway from the parking lot into the garden; the wood sculpting of our cross; the general care of the surrounding spaces of the exterior of the garden; the planning of the planting of a natural wall between the church and our neighbor; along with carefully choosing smaller contemplative elements to beautify this sacred space.  We are fully immersed in this exciting project, and will continue to keep the parish informed of our progress.

With more incredible thanks to all, we have achieved our “ask” for baskets for our annual Basket Auction.  Baskets will be due by September 13th and our plan this year is to present a catalog for people to download to view our selection, as well as a video that details the baskets.  We are still working out the details of the style of auction we will hold this year, which will be accommodating to our Covidtide, but will be filled with fun and the availability to all to participate, so stay tuned in early September for those details.

SOCIAL OUTREACH MINISTRY NEWS:
We are collecting school supplies through August 9th for the Landisville Primary Center for the 2020/2021 school year.  If you would like to send monies for us to shop, please make checks payable to St. Edward’s with memo line “school supplies” and another suggested option is to go on Target or Amazon shopping sites and have supplies shipped to St. Edward’s (please let the office know if you are using this method so we can be on the lookout).  Supplies needed are:

Pencils
Colored pencils
Crayons
Erasers
Notebook paper
Colored paper
Glue sticks
Tissues
Hand Sanitizer
Dry Erase Markers, fine pt., black
Dry Erase Markers, fine pt., red
Folders without clasps

Let’s help our neighborhood children be ready to learn!  There will be a drop off box in the narthex. We thank you for your generosity in helping St. Edward’s reach out to the wider community.

Hempfield Area Food Pantry

Through the generous financial donations of our parish, we have sent a check to the Hempfield Area Food Pantry in the amount of $600.00 The pantry is now accepting food items, again!  Current requests are:
One or 2 pound packages of rice, canned fruit (no fruit cocktail no Mandarin oranges)
Canned tomatoes, canned peas, canned kidney beans, canned soup (no chicken noodle) and cereal.

If you would like to donate food, please bring on Sunday and drop in baskets in the narthex.  If you would like to donate food and do not come to services but would like a curbside drop-off, please call the parish office to make arrangements. We want to make certain we are here to accept your donation.
—
Continue reading below for the details for our Friday and Saturday worship and fellowship activities.

As we approach our weekend, we offer a prayer For the Good Use of Leisure.

O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of refreshment and peace; and grant that we may so use our leisure to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

Michelle

We invite you to Evening Prayer this Friday evening at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful way to peacefully end our week and is led by Patrick Ishler and we hear that there will be a “natural location” to this week’s service, so tune in!

 

Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
    Join Code:  863 2710 5082


Join us for our Virtual Saturday Social from 9 AM – 9:40 AM Saturday morning on Zoom.  It will be hosted by Michelle Bentley (Christina & Joe are on vacation). So join us!  It’s a great time to bring any questions or suggestions you may have for the parish office! We look forward to sharing some time of fellowship THIS SATURDAY, August 1st at 9:00 AM. The join code and pass code is in your email message.