Dear parishioners and friends of St. Edward’s,
We welcome you to worship with us as we celebrate this Second Sunday of Easter, with joy, and praises of Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! All essential information and links for our Sunday services 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 continue to move towards wider distribution of vaccines, and within our diocese, we are adhering to the same safety protocols we submitted in 2020 for our 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.
We are providing four links, below, that may be helpful and informative to you.
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
Vaccine Distribution Information PA DOH
Father Rick+
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A wonderful weekend with many things happening at St. Edward’s. Always great work being accomplished “behind the scenes” on campus! As our Installation Committee so lovingly is making plans for Father Rick’s+ installation service – A Celebration of New Ministry, on April 21st at 7:00 pm, followed by a wonderful reception, via Zoom, on Sunday, April 25th, at 12 Noon. Our “Sweaty Saturday” clean-up event, organized by Mike Freshwater, on Saturday, April 24th, is taking shape; and ministries are continuing to meet and plan, via Zoom – from Faith In Action, to vestry, and the finance committee. Wait. . . there’s more: The weekly Adult Spiritual Formation from Bible Study, to Friday Lunch and Learn, and two opportunities for Evening Prayer each week, feed us in ways that are transformative.
It reminds us to Walk in Love, every day, and to make this day a day of spiritual joy and peace as we take comfort in the knowledge of God’s steadfast love for us all.
Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.
Click here to download our 8:00 AM Rite I service bulletin for Second Sunday of Easter
Click here to download our 10:15 AM Rite II service bulletin for Second Sunday of Easter
A few friendly reminders for those returning to in-person worship and for those new to our in-person worship:
– We will have ushers/greeters inside the narthex and they will have the service bulletins for you.
We will also continue to take your name and contact information.
– Please do not forget to wear your mask.
– Ushers will direct you to pew locations to maintain social distancing and will also guide you during communion.
– As we will not pass the offering plate, it will be located on the pedestal at the back of the church for you to place your Sunday offerings.
– On the shelf in the narthex are materials that you may find of interest to take home with you.
*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 for God in Christ, to care for one another, by remaining socially distanced, and refrain from in-person fellowship gathering. There are many opportunities for us to worship, and perform ministry, in community, in ways that are of comfort to us, 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. We invite you to celebrate with us, as a community of faith!
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We would like to encourage people in our parish to represent St. Edward’s at a FAITH & JUSTICE ASSEMBLY, next Sunday, April 18th at 4:00 PM, via Zoom. We are seeking 15 people to represent our parish at this event. To participate, you will need to register ahead of time. Once you are registered, you will receive the proper Zoom Webinar link. Because they are utilizing the Webinar function, the precise Zoom link may change. With registrations, the organizers can keep people abreast of what is going on.
Lancaster Mayor Darene Sorace will speak. Mayor Sorace will commit publicly to helping POWER Lancaster County with our campaign to support Governor Wolf’s plan for 100% Fair Funding for Education utilizing the PA Fair Funding Formula. More information will follow.
The Registration link is:
tinyurl.com/Enough4ALLPA
Please let the parish office know that you have registered so that we can be informed as to who will be representing St. Edward’s, by attending the webinar.
Let us reflect on a prayer from The Book of Common Prayer, page 823
Prayer For Social Justice
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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St. Edward’s is forming a team to “walk our way” in the YWCA 2021 Race Against Racism. For more information on this event and to learn how to join us, please click the links below. Thank you to all who signed up by April 7th to receive the race “swag.” We would encourage others to join us and you can register up to the race date to participate. All of the registration details are in the links below.
St. Edward’s Registration Information Flier
YWCA Race Against Racism brochure
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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.
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St. Edward’s is offering a full complement of Adult Spiritual Formation. Click here for our Spring information sheet. 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
Friday Evening Prayer: Each Friday at 7:00 PM hosted by Patrick and Dina Ishler
Join us on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
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!