Dear parishioners,
After our long and intense preparation of Holy Week we finally arrive at the great climax of Easter itself. Some of you may know that in the earliest recorded celebrations in Jerusalem, the Resurrection celebration was actually an occasion that began on Saturday evening and ran continuously through the night until Sunday morning. Because the Jerusalem Christians had many sites and churches built around locations traditionally associated with the last days of Jesus, a significant part of the night was spent walking from place to place, interspersed with periods of worship at the holy sites.
This gave rise to the tradition of the Great Vigil of Easter, which echoes the original Jerusalem celebrations. The vigil is the first celebration of the Resurrection and also the original occasion for Baptism. But for many centuries the Great Vigil was lost among Protestant Christians and has only recently been recovered. In the meantime, the celebration on Easter morning has become the norm in many places including the United States.
So we have two equally good options for Easter. One is the one that most of us take, and that is Easter morning. We have put together our own St. Edward’s online Easter service. Much of it, including the music, prayers and preaching, has been recorded in the St. Edward’s sanctuary one piece at a time in order to be safe and practice social distancing. Other parts, such as the scripture readings, have been recorded by the lectors from home. Our Easter service will be available at 6:00 AM on Easter Sunday morning (prior to that time, if you click the link below, it will read “private”) available on YouTube :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WoTZcUnxuA
Click link below to access our Easter bulletin:
https://sainteds.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/041220_EasterSunday.pdf
A special surprise bonus is that Fr. Rick Bauer, our soon-to-be-Rector, will be joining us for prayer and to introduce himself briefly.
But for those who would still like to experience a version of the Great Vigil of Easter, the diocese has asked St. James Church in Lancaster to produce an online Vigil service of the Word. It will be livestreamed at 7:00 pm on Saturday evening and includes the Lighting of the New Fire and Paschal Candle, singing of the Exsultet, selected vigil lessons and hymns and reflection, intercessions, blessings and dismissal. The link is here: https://diocesecpa.org/holy-week-2020-holy-saturday-vigil/
And if you want to double (or triple) your Easter celebrations, there is of course a diocesan online Easter Day service at https://diocesecpa.org/holy-week-2020-easter-sunday/.
It will be Morning Prayer from St. Stephen’s Cathedral and will feature well-known hymns, an Easter message from our Bishop Audrey, and a special prayer of Spiritual Communion.
David +
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VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR AT ST. EDWARD’S
Don’t forget to join Christina and Joe McLaughlin, hosting a weekly “Virtual Coffee Hour.” This is all new to us, so take a chance, set up zoom and see how it all goes! It will be fun to connect and whether you want to stay on for 5 minutes or the full session, grab your cup of coffee or tea, pull up a chair, and say hello to your fellow parishioners.
Here is a link of step-by-step instructions to set up zoom, that Christina put together.
https://sainteds.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/St-Eds-Coffee-Hour-Invite-and-How-To.pdf
And, if you have any questions, Christina has offered to please give her a call and she can help! Her number is 717-415-7043. **Zoom Join code and passcode were in daily message email
DATE: EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 12TH
TIME: 10 – 10:40 am
PLACE: Wherever you are comfortable with your computer in your home environment!
WHAT TO BRING: Your coffee, and a favorite recipe to share!
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LENTEN MEDITATION – HOLY SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020
Almighty God, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up.
- The Book of Common Prayer
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The scene was familiar. I had been traveling to Ghana regularly to support the Anglican Diocesan Development & Relief Organization as they implemented maternal and child health programs. When I attended community gatherings, I often noticed that when children became fussy or disruptive, parents might impatiently shush them, whisper sternly to behave or wave them away to restore calm. After all, the adults were talking. We’ve all been there, right?
This time was different. I had come to see the progress of the newly implemented Moments That Matter early childhood development and parenting empowerment program. In addition to sharing health messages, we also promote parenting practices focusing on attentive and nurturing care. Within a few months of introducing the program, parents began making eye contact with their crying children, comforting and soothing them. Rather than shooing away gregarious toddlers, parents instead played with them. The attention was on the children, and the children responded positively. This shift in dynamic was notable, powerful and quick.
I am elated and humbled by the power and potential of our work with parents and children. It gives me real hope that we can all follow the example of Jesus to create a loving, nurturing world for all of God’s children.
- Melissa Crutchfield is Director of Community Impact for Episcopal Relief & Development
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Stay tuned on Monday for “new” news about happenings for this next week.
St. Edward’s WILL be holding our ANNUAL MEETING, virtually, via zoom, on Saturday, April 18th at 10:00 AM. The Annual Report will be posted on the website prior to the meeting and we will give further instructions next week.
We will also be posting a Sunday service, late next week, with Father David as celebrant, as this will be his final service as our Interim Rector.
We are also in need of one more delegate for convention. As noted in prior notices:
The Rector and Senior Warden are looking for interested parishioners to serve as our delegates to convention. The Diocesan Convention is one day, October 17, 2020, and is a wonderful opportunity to represent us and to be involved in the very important work and decisions that shape our diocese. As per the by-laws, we are seeking confirmed or received Episcopalians who are over 18 years of age and who attend regularly, financially support the Church and who have been a member of St. Edward’s Church for at least 12 months. It would be wonderful if parishioners who have not served as delegates in prior years would seek this as an opportunity to serve our parish community. We need you! Please prayerfully consider submitting your name by Monday, April 13th to the parish office.
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And to end this email on a wonderful ministry note: St. Edward’s will be sending a check, this week, to the Hempfield Area Food Pantry, in the amount of $1,700 to assist them in purchasing food from their sources to keep their food bank well-stocked for all of the families in need, especially during these trying times. Through the generous donations of parishioners, and through the prayerful consideration of the St. Edward’s Social Outreach Ministry to contribute $1,000 from their funds, we are living into our community outreach mission:
The guiding principle of St. Edward’s community outreach activities is found in Matthew 25:37-40. ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Please note: We will continue to accept monetary donations to the Food Pantry, as their need to serve many (and many more) in these extraordinary times will continue for a very long time. They cannot accept food donations at this time and monetary donations allow them to buy much more food, which is so important in these times.
They are open Monday’s & Wednesday’s 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You will need to bring ID to document Hempfield residence and will be able to get food same day. If you are not a Hempfield resident, but attend St. Edward’s, you are eligible to receive food. Entrance is around the rear of building.
85 Brandt Blvd, Landisville
717-898-2954