Sunday Online Worship at St. Edward’s – Second Advent – December 6, 2020

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

We welcome you to our online worship this weekend as we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent.

Due to the alarming rise in cases within Lancaster County and here in our own township, as your rector, I prayerfully request that we refrain from gathering with other parishioners in public groups, particularly in restaurants, indoor spaces, or even outdoors without masks.  COVID-19 is not a hoax.  We are all in this together, and honoring our parish community, by complying 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 two links that may be helpful:

Lancaster County, PA COVID-19 Hub

PA Department of Health

Father Rick +


Please note the NEW TIME of 10 AM for our one Sunday Service via our YouTube Channel, which will be followed by a virtual coffee hour (detailed below).

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy the Second Sunday of Advent Rite II service, with a Prayer for Spiritual Communion, at 10:00 AM, on Sunday, December 6th.

We offer an opportunity for those viewing our online service to Donate to St. Edward’s via our Paypal link directly from our YouTube Channel.  On the St. Edward’s Channel Home Page, in the lower right corner of the image of our church is a “Donate to St. Edward’s” link.  You can also find it in the “About” section, just scroll down to “links” in that section.  We have installed it, tested it, and it works securely and wonderfully!

Click here to download the Second Sunday of Advent Rite II service bulletin, with a Prayer for Spiritual Communion, for Sunday, December 6th.


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.

The season of Advent is upon us, and while we must stay socially distanced and refrain from in-person worship, in our sanctuary, there are many opportunities for us to worship together during this 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! We are all in this together and we are all connected as we walk in hope, peace, joy, and love, during this season of Advent, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Rose Dixon Memorial Service:  In case you missed watching the service for Rose Dixon today, click here to view.

St. Edward’s Virtual Christmas Card Ministry Let’s bless our church family with some Holiday cheer! Since we can’t wish each other a Merry Christmas in person this year, we are asking you to send a digital photo of you/your family holding a large piece of paper or sign displaying some sort of Christmas message. (Santa hats and reindeer antlers are optional). We’ll put them all together to create a virtual Christmas card. Text your photo and names of those in the photo to Christina McLaughlin at 717-415-7043 or email them to [email protected] no later than Sunday December 13th. – Christina McLaughlin and Ellen Milligan

Our virtual cultural event, Fire in the Glen, scheduled for December 13th has been postponed, due to the Coronavirus. Stay tuned for any rescheduling. It reminds us that honoring our parish community, by complying 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.

Christmas Flowers at St. Edward’s: We will be offering our traditional Christmas Flower sign-up with your “In Memory of” or “In Thanksgiving for” names to be placed in the Christmas Eve bulletin. Please prayerfully consider signing up for Christmas flowers this year. Flowers are $20 and can be submitted, via email, with your check mailed into the parish office, made payable to St. Edward’s and marked “Christmas Flowers” in the memo line. Deadline is December 20th.

December 18th: Lessons & Carols Virtual Convocation Event – Stay tuned for details.

Drive-In Christmas Worship: Our December Bishop Out of the Box event will be Drive-in Worship services. We will have two options of free, outdoor, socially distanced services to help us all celebrate the Christmas season. From your car, enjoy a Christmas message, live worship, and carols. The first will be on Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 6:30 PM at The Point Drive-in, Northumberland. The second will be on Sunday, December 20, 2020 at 6:30 PM EST at The Cumberland Valley Drive-in, Newville. We welcome fellow St. Edward’s parishioners to join us at either of these events (Carlisle is the closer drive-in event) as Father Rick, Randy Westgate, Jamie Alton, and Mike Freshwater will be providing wonderful music for these services.

Christmas Eve at St. Edward’s: December 24th 8 PM virtual Rite II service live streamed on the St. Edward’s YouTube Channel. Please stay tuned for details regarding how we will distribute consecrated wafers for Christmas Holy Communion at home.

Our December Scepter is posted on our web site. Click here. Color copies will be in the front entry and available for pick up Monday – Friday 11 AM – 3 PM.

Our monthly grocery cards can be picked up starting Monday, December 7th and will be in your parish mailboxes, or can be mailed to you. Please let the parish office know if you would like your cards mailed.


Annual Jesse Tree Project was such a beautiful example of the love and generosity that abounds this year!  Thank you to all who so graciously contributed to this St. Edward’s Social Outreach ministry, and a holiday tradition at St. Edward’s.  Because of your faithful commitment to this project, we raised over $2,100 this year!!

Join us for our Virtual Coffee Hour, right after the 10 AM service, each Sunday,  from 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM, on Zoom.  It will be hosted by Christina McLaughlin. During these holidays, and because we cannot gather in-person through the end of this calendar year, sharing fellowship with our community is not only a connective thread for the fabric of our parish life, but it is wonderful “social outreach.”  We invite you to join us! Join code and pass code were in your weekly emails.



Welcome to Congregational Care!  Each Saturday, we will include in our messages any submissions we receive from our parish community, as we invite you to share prayer requests or news about yourselves or your family. We believe this outreach to be incredibly important to keep our spiritual community connected to each other and to Jesus Christ, our Lord, as we walk in love with one another in our daily journeys.  Please submit your “news” to the parish office by Friday of each week and we will feature it in the Saturday email, bringing it to our hearts and minds in our Sunday prayers.

For this week, we pray for Robert Carter, father of Dina Ishler, who is battling Covid-19.  Please offer your prayers, love, and support to the Ishler family and keep all of them in our deepest hearts and prayers as they support each other.

As Dina so graciously  expressed this week:  “I’d also like to lift up how hard it is for anyone in a residential facility in this era because of all the isolation and loneliness. . . let us all hold all such folks close in our souls.” 
 
In addition to the Prayer for the Aged, below, please pray for people, of all ages, who live in residential facilities.

Prayer For the Aged

Look with mercy, O God our Father, on all whose increasing years bring them weakness, distress, or isolation. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help; and, as their strength diminishes, increase their faith and their assurance of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Join us, at St. Edward’s, and with our convocation churches, for wonderful offerings, each week, of prayer and adult spiritual formation, via Zoom. Join in, anytime!  Click here to learn more.


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!

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.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle