Dear friends of St. Edward’s,
We welcome you to our online worship this weekend as we celebrate the Third 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
Father Rick +
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Please note our Sunday Service is at 10 AM, via our YouTube Channel, which will be followed by a virtual coffee hour (detailed below).
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!
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.
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 tomorrow, December 13th.
– Christina McLaughlin and Ellen Milligan
And. . .here is a fun “challenge” – If you participate in the virtual Zoom coffee hour on Sunday (details below), come to the coffee hour, tomorrow, with a holiday cheer “sign” to hold up at one point during the coffee hour (Christina will say “when”) so we can take a screen shot and include in our card project. Print one out at home tonight. . have your kids make a fun sign. . . hold up a Christmas card. . anything with a holiday message of love, peace, or Merry Christmas cheer!
Virtual Coffee Hour after our Sunday service 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM, on Zoom. Hosted by Christina McLaughlin. Let us share our fellowship with one another during this stay-at home holiday season!
Your Zoom Join Code and Pass Code are in your Saturday email message.
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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 NEXT SUNDAY, December 20th.
December 18th: Lessons & Carols Virtual Convocation Event – Stay tuned for details/link in this week’s email.
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 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.
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.
Let us continue to pray for the sick, those suffering from COVID19 and those suffering from other illnesses and unable to get the care they need, as we struggle with the challenges of this pandemic. Let us keep in our hearts all who have worked so hard, and have given their lives to keep us well. Let us pray for all who are lonely. And, there are so many people who are lonely and isolated, right now. Please take a moment to open your directory and give your fellow parishioner(s) a call, just to say “hello” and see how they are doing. It is a bright spot in a person’s day.
Looking for a way to brighten someone’s day during the holidays? We can all participate in our own personal “social outreach.” Click on the link below to find a list of Retirement Homes in our area that are accepting cards for their residents. What a nice way for us to reach out to the wider community to let them know that we care!
Retirement Home List for Christmas Cards
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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!
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