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!
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!
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.
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 6:39Then 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?
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
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!
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!
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.
Dear Members of the Episcopal Church in Central PA,
In the last message of her 21-week video series, Bishop Scanlan reminds us to wear your mask, stay safe, and shares a prayer for the good use of leisure.
The Rev. Canon Chris Streeter provides an exciting update to Shaped by Faith.
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 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.
Our summer heat wave continues, but we hear that perhaps by week’s end we will get a reprieve! And we hope all of you will stay safe, hydrated, and cool during these days of extreme weather. If you missed the Sunday online service, you can watch it here:
It was a wonderfully fulfilling day of Rite I worship; a baptism of Lucy Louise Tilley in between services in our Chapel; a wonderful Rite II service at 10:15; a Zoom meeting of our Shaped by Faith team with other parishes; and finally the Sunday Zoom meeting of our discernment committee with Dina Ishler. Such celebration, grace, and ministry all the day through! For that, we are so grateful.
We offer to you a wonderful meditation today from Forward Day by Day to start your week:
MONDAY, July 27 William R. Huntington
Romans 16:16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
This last section of Romans reads like the toast at a wedding being attended by a bunch of people who don’t know each other very well. Uncle Paul starts knitting up the story of this family, reminding them of who belongs to which parents, who married into the family, who brought the nice dinner rolls, etc. By the end of the toast, no one seems like a stranger. Everyone dances to “We are Family” and takes home two pieces of cake.
Paul’s salutation to his family of faith is so dear and kind, so earnest in the way he wants everyone to know and love everyone else—women, men, children, old people. This family Paul loves is big and broad and beautiful. He reminds us that even when we don’t all know each other as well as we would like, we can come to the table and celebrate the One who knows each of us and makes us one—with love.
MOVING FORWARD: Write a note or email to a relative you’ve been missing.
PLANT-A-TREE MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT As Father Rick mentioned during services yesterday, we have put into motion significant aspects of Phase One, thanks to the generous support from all of you! And we continue to raise funds so that our obelisk, walkway, and other essential elements can be achieved. We hope you will prayerfully consider donating to this phase of this most important and sacred space. Please know that many of these important elements of Phase One would benefit from your gift.
BASKET AUCTION: As we have come to know, the St. Edwardians are of a generous and giving spirit. Not only have we achieved our goal of 20 baskets, but we are 1-2 to the plus side, and we are so grateful. There are some fantastic ideas this year, and certainly something for everyone. Our auction will be a bit different this year, but please know it will be fun, funny, and interesting! And, so that everyone can participate “where they are” we will be creating a catalog for people to browse, in advance, as well as a YouTube video describing the baskets. All baskets are due by September 13th, giving us a week to prepare them. Stay tuned in early September for auction details!
SCHOOL SUPPLIES for the Landisville Primary Center: We will be collecting for the next 2 weekends. 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 The recipes are starting to roll in! Don’t forget to submit any creative writing, drawing, music, photography, and creative musings you would like to share!
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 (as noted in our meditation for today!) 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. We have in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety.
MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP THIS WEEK Bible Study – Wednesday, July 29th 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].
Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – July 29th 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
The baptism of Lucy Louise Tilley took place at St. Edward’s on Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 9:30 AM in our chapel. A wonderful celebration for her parents, Ryan and Megan Tilley, and their family members.
Dear Members of the Episcopal Church in Central PA,
In her weekly video, Bishop Scanlan shares about the challenging times of COVID-19, and the teachings and wisdom of Saint Thomas a Kempis, from his book “The Imitation of Christ”.
The Rev. Canon Chris Streeter shares a “thank you” and provides an update to the diocesan initiative, Shaped by Faith.
Our summer heat wave has arrived! And we hope all of you will stay safe, hydrated, and cool during these next few days of extreme weather. If you missed the Sunday online service, you can enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II for Sunday, July 19th right here.
We leave you on this hot day with a prayer and. . .
Click this link below for a virtual tour of the cool, calm, serenity of Finland in a time lapse Winter Wonderland.
A Prayer for Peace St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.
– Michelle
— MINISTRY HAPPENINGS AT ST. EDWARD’S
PLANT-A-TREE MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT
Our Phase One fundraising has received such generous support from all of you! And we continue on with raising funds. We hope you will prayerfully consider donating to this phase of this most important and sacred space. Please know that there are other very important elements of Phase One that would benefit from your gift.
BASKET AUCTION
We have commitments for 14 baskets! We are seeking 6 more for our fall auction. Contact the parish office if you would like to donate or create a basket. Don’t want to go out to shop for your basket? We will do that for you! As always, we can arrange the basket, & we wrap, bow, and tag each basket for you!
SCHOOL SUPPLIES for the Landisville Primary Center
Collections had a wonderful start this past Sunday. We continue to collect supplies over the next week, with 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
We are starting to hear that people are gathering their favorite recipes and any creative writing, drawing, music, photography, and creative musings they would like to share for our cookbook! But it is more than a cookbook. It is an expression of who we are at St. Edward’s!
GREETING CARD MINISTRY
A ministry we are launching today is 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. Thousands of cards were to be tossed away and Thomas had a wonderful idea to bring them to St. Edward’s so that we could open the opportunity for people to come in, 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, take a drive, get out of the house, 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. So, stop by and stock up! Zoom, Facetime, text, and email are great, but everyone loves to get a card in the mail from people in their life. We also encourage people to reach out to others they know and perhaps put together packets of cards to give away. Maybe the residents of retirement communities or nursing homes would love a supply of cards to send. What a great way to reach out to our wider community in ministry and love! If you feel comfortable, give an organization a call and see if you can put together a bag of cards to drop off for their residents! Everyone has an extra shopping bag to bring in and fill up. We hope to see you soon! 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 Vestry Meeting – Tuesday, July 21st
Our vestry, led by Father Rick, will hold their monthly meeting, via Zoom, at 6:30 PM. Please keep Father Rick, and the vestry, in your prayers as they work together to steward our parish, not just through this Covidtide, but every day in ways that keep St. Edward’s vibrant and fulfill our mission in ministry.
Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – July 22nd
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
Dear Members of the Episcopal Church in Central PA,
In the video below, Bishop Scanlan welcomes guests The Revs. Jennifer Mattson and Kyle Murphy to discuss our diocese’s ongoing efforts to combat racism.
Look for the Saturday afternoon message which will have links to all things for Sunday worship.
We are so grateful for the response in these first two weeks of the Memorial Garden fundraiser. As of the writing of this email, through the generosity of all of you, we have raised $6,200. The response is so gratifying and tells us how very important it is to beautify and steward this sacred space.
On the Basket Auction front, we have secured 13 baskets (we are seeking 20 baskets). We hope others will prayerfully consider donating a basket, or if you would like to contact the office and contribute a basket but need us to do the “shopping,” please let us know! We are working on a fun and inventive way to hold our auction this year, so stay tuned!!
We hope people are gathering up their favorite recipes to share, as well as tapping into their creative spirit to help us compile a wonderful cookbook that shows our fellow parishioners and wider community how special we are and could be used to promote our parish community and raise funds for social outreach.
We are also participating in a school supply drive for the Landisville Primary Center for the 2020/2021 school year. 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 on Sundays and in the front entry just inside the red doors during the week for supply drop off. We thank you for your generosity in helping St. Edward’s reach out to the wider community.
As a friendly reminder, we are mindfully complying with the mitigation efforts established through the Governor’s office, as well as our Diocesan office.
Continue reading below to get 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 for our Virtual Saturday Social from 9 AM – 9:40 AM Saturday morning on Zoom. It will be hosted by Christina and Joe McLaughlin. So join us! Ask questions, give us your feedback and enjoy some fellowship THIS SATURDAY, July 18th at 9:00 AM.The Zoom Join code and Passcode are in the Thursday email.
We leave you, this Thursday with a quote from Maya Angelou:
“When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness… all the good things.”
― Maya Angelou
