Sunday Service Online – Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 21 – September 27, 2020

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

We welcome you to online worship this weekend.

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!

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II LIVE at 10:15 AM on Sunday, September 27th.

A new feature on our YouTube Channel:  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 Sunday Service 10:15 AM bulletin – Rite II

If you prefer the said service of Rite I, we have provided our service bulletin for you to download and enjoy the service.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 8 AM bulletin – Rite I


We also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you important announcements that are in our paper bulletin on Sundays, that may be of interest to you, at home, regarding upcoming events, as well as prayer and adult spiritual formation opportunities.

Blessing of the Animals is happening on October 2nd!  Click here to download the flier with details.

OUR FALL FUNDRAISER EVENT IS LAUNCHING THIS WEEKEND STARTING WITH OUR RAFFLE.  CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO FIND OUT ALL OF THE DETAILS OF THE MANY EVENT ITEMS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, CULMINATING IN OUR VIRTUAL VARIETY SHOW FEATURED ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24TH AT 4:30 PM.

LINK TO INFORMATION ABOUT THE ST. EDWARD’S FALL FUNDRAISER BY CLICKING HERE


Parishioners Helping Parishioners

St. Edward’s is a community that has always shown their generosity by helping those in need in Lancaster and the World.  On October 3rd we will have an opportunity to help each other in our own parish.  The Social Outreach Committee will be hosting a day of giving. The purpose of this day is to assist parishioners that need help with yard work, small house repairs and/or cleaning projects.

We are asking that anyone in need of these services reach out to the committee chair, Beth Lynch or fill out the form in the bulletin and leave it in the box in the narthex this Sunday.

Please contact Beth Lynch at [email protected] with your name and phone number if you would like to volunteer or if you could use some help with a chore.


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.

We have an additional course offering from our friends at St. Luke’s, Mount Joy that may be of interest to people.  The details are below.  Please email [email protected] if you are interested in attending.

What if you could defuse tension and create accord in even the most volatile situations—just by changing the way you spoke?

Course details:  Wed October 7, 14, 21, 28  @ 12 noon.
There are four sessions of  60-90 minutes each, via Zoom:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87241283345

The session will be recorded, in case you cannot attend live. Please contact the office for the link to the recording.

Course objectives:

  • Identify the four steps of the Nonviolent Communication process
  • Employ the four-step process in every dialogue you engage in
  • Utilize empathy to safely confront anger, fear, and other powerful emotions
  • Discover how to overcome the blocks to compassion and open to our natural desire to enrich the lives of those around us
  • Observations, feelings, needs, and requests—how to apply the four-step process of Nonviolent Communication to every dialogue we engage in
  • Overcoming the blocks to compassion—and opening to our natural desire to enrich the lives of those around us
  • How to use empathy to safely confront anger, fear, and other powerful emotions

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!

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

St. Edward’s Thursday Message – September 24th

Dear friends,

Look for all links related to Sunday worship on our usual Saturday afternoon posting.

Many happenings at St. Edward’s, all listed below with easy-to-click links for reading and downloading of materials.

Our theme, this year, for the St. Edward’s Talent Show, Boxed Take-Out Dinner & Basket Raffle is:

Our catalog will be launched on our website in a variety of easy-to-use formats by Sunday, so you can start planning  your basket ticket purchases (complete with instructions).  It may be virtual, this year, but we guarantee it will embody fun, funny, talented, interesting, and wonderful community spirit and energy.  Do not miss out on what will be our ONE MAJOR FUNDRAISER for St. Edward’s for 2020!  Tell your friends & invite your family to participate!

Don’t forget the incredible Blessing of the Animals that will happen at St. Thomas NEXT FRIDAY, October 2nd at 6:00 PM. Click here for details.

Hempfield Area Food Pantry:  We are so thankful for all of the monetary (and food) donations that continue to come into our office through the generosity of our parishioners for our local Hempfield Area Food Pantry.  As always, the need continues.  Here is a wish list of current food items for October:

Cereal, spam, prune juice, chicken and beef broth, large peanut butter, large jelly, 2 pound packages of rice, canned pears, instant oatmeal, boxed pasta, cream of celery soup, and cream of chicken soup.

Parishioners-helping-Parishioners:  Sign up this week to volunteer or to have a chore that you need done taken care of by one of our volunteers on Saturday, October 3rd! St. Edward’s is a community that has always shown their generosity by helping those in need in Lancaster and the wider community.  The purpose of this day is to assist parishioners that need help with yard work, small house repairs and/or cleaning projects.  Contact Beth Lynch at [email protected]

Continue reading below for the details for our Friday and Saturday worship and fellowship activities.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

 

Michelle

 

Friday Lunch & Learn:  September 25th 12 Noon – 1 PM via Zoom

Please join us for this informative and spiritual time together.  This week, we will start our Chapter Two session.  Attendance at every session is not required.  If you would like to join and need a copy of Walk In Love, please contact the parish office.

Handout for this Friday, September 25th Session click here.

We encourage you to have your Book of Common Prayer for each session and the text, Walk In Love is optional.   If you do not have a copy of the BCP on hand, this link will give you the downloadable pdf.

Remember to take some time to devote to exploring and making notations on the handout that Bob has supplied so that we may engage in our spiritual formation together, sharing our insights, thoughts, and questions.

Each week, we will provide a hand out in the Monday emails that you can download and review prior to the Friday session.

With Peace,

Father Rick, Bob Mosebach, and Wanda Stoltzfus

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84479709447?pwd=OWlobm83TDgwNlVoK3hFbjBlWnZSdz09

Meeting ID: 844 7970 9447

Passcode: 228332

One tap mobile

+13462487799,,84479709447#,,,,,,0#,,228332# US (Houston)

+16699006833,,84479709447#,,,,,,0#,,228332# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Meeting ID: 844 7970 9447

Passcode: 228332

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbq2eaazXj

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

Join us for our Virtual Saturday Social from 9 AM – 9:40 AM Saturday morning on Zoom.  It will be hosted by Christina McLaughlin. It’s a great time to get together and say “hello” to your fellow parishioners. We look forward to sharing some time of fellowship THIS SATURDAY, September 26th at 9:00 AM.

 

 

St. Edward’s Monday Message – September 21st

Dear friends and parishioners,

We wish you a joyous and safe week!   So much went on this past weekend it was a joy to be at St. Edward’s on such beautiful September days.

Our gallery of happenings (below), show our relocating the children’s play set, the completion of the Memorial Garden Cross, the placement of our previous Memorial Garden cross to the front of our campus, and our vestry retreat this past Saturday.  None of this could happen without the generosity and ministry of all of our St. Edward’s parishioners.  Many thanks to all!

And. . . stay tuned for our BIG fundraiser variety show and basket raffle program which will be published and posted by THIS SUNDAY.  You will not want to miss out on participating in our ONE AND ONLY Fundraiser for 2020.

In case you missed it, here is our Sunday service of Rite II from September 20th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cp2ZY3Ie1U

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle

Please continue to support the Hempfield Area Food Pantry with monetary donations and food items.  Below is a new “wish list” of food items for October:

Cereal, spam, prune juice, chicken and beef broth, large peanut butter, large jelly, 2 pound packages of rice, canned pears, instant oatmeal, boxed pasta, cream of celery soup, and cream of chicken soup.

MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP CALENDAR FOR THIS WEEK

Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – Wednesday, September 23rd

Please enter through the parish hall doors. Masks are required. We have put in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety.

Wednesday Evening, September 23rd – 6:30 PM Contemporary Bible Study

Led by Bill and Yvonne Gasperetti via Zoom.  Please email Bill or Yvonne if you would like to participate.

Friday, September 25th,  Lunch & Learn Adult Spiritual Formation – 12 Noon – 1 PM

Join us for this series led by Father Rick, Bob Mosebach, and Wanda Stoltzfus.  Scroll down to download the handout for Friday’s session and to note the Zoom meeting join information.

Friday Evening Prayer – September 25th

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

Friday Lunch & Learn:  September 25th 12 Noon – 1 PM via Zoom

Please join us for this informative and spiritual time together for the upcoming weeks.  We continue with Session Two, with the Book of Common Prayer and our text, Walk in Love. As you read your text this week, and review Bob’s handout, we hope you will find a few extra minutes to explore and make notes and observations that can be shared with the group, as we take this journey towards a deeper understanding of our Episcopal Identity & Faith, together, in community. Attendance at every session is not required.

Handout for this Friday Session click here.

We encourage you to have your Book of Common Prayer for each session and the text, Walk In Love is optional, but can be ordered at forwardmovement.org or by contacting the parish office (we have copies on hand).  If you do not have a copy of the BCP on hand, this link will give you the downloadable pdf.

Each week, we will provide a hand out in these Monday emails that you can download and review prior to the Friday session.

With Peace,

Father Rick, Bob Mosebach, and Wanda Stoltzfus

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84479709447?pwd=OWlobm83TDgwNlVoK3hFbjBlWnZSdz09

Meeting ID: 844 7970 9447

Passcode: 228332

One tap mobile

+13462487799,,84479709447#,,,,,,0#,,228332# US (Houston)

+16699006833,,84479709447#,,,,,,0#,,228332# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Meeting ID: 844 7970 9447

Passcode: 228332

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbq2eaaz

Sunday Service Online – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 20 – September 20, 2020

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

We welcome you to online worship this weekend.

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!

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II LIVE at 10:15 AM on Sunday, September 20th.

A new feature on our YouTube Channel:  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 Sunday Service 10:15 AM bulletin – Rite II

If you prefer the said service of Rite I, we have provided our service bulletin for you to download and enjoy the service.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 8 AM bulletin – Rite I


We also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you important announcements that are in our paper bulletin on Sundays, that may be of interest to you, at home, regarding upcoming events, as well as prayer and adult spiritual formation opportunities.

We ask that you keep all of the people of our far Western states in your prayers as they battle the horrendous wildfires.  Click here to read more about how we can help.

Blessing of the Animals is happening on October 2nd!  Click here to download the flier with details.

There is still time to submit your articles, photos, announcements to Mac Miller for our October Scepter.  Please send to Mac at:  [email protected] by Sunday, September 20th.


Parishioners Helping Parishioners

St. Edward’s is a community that has always shown their generosity by helping those in need in Lancaster and the World.  On October 3rd we will have an opportunity to help each other in our own parish.  The Social Outreach Committee will be hosting a day of giving. The purpose of this day is to assist parishioners that need help with yard work, small house repairs and/or cleaning projects.

We are looking for volunteers to help with the work.  We are also asking that anyone in need of these services reach out to the committee chair, Beth Lynch or fill out the form in the bulletin and leave it in the box in the narthex.

Here are a few ideas that we are able to help with:

Yard Work:  Leaf raking, pulling weeds, mulching, planting

House Repairs:  Sticking doors, dripping faucet, clog drain, filter changes

Cleaning Projects: Dusting high shelves, decorating for Fall, rearranging kitchen cabinets

Please contact Beth Lynch at [email protected] with your name and phone number if you would like to volunteer or if you could use some help with a chore.


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.

We have an additional course offering from our friends at St. Luke’s, Mount Joy that may be of interest to people.  The details are below.  Please email [email protected] if you are interested in attending.

What if you could defuse tension and create accord in even the most volatile situations—just by changing the way you spoke?

Course details:  Wed October 7, 14, 21, 28  @ 12 noon.
There are four sessions of  60-90 minutes each, via Zoom:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87241283345

The session will be recorded, in case you cannot attend live. Please contact the office for the link to the recording.

Course objectives:

  • Identify the four steps of the Nonviolent Communication process
  • Employ the four-step process in every dialogue you engage in
  • Utilize empathy to safely confront anger, fear, and other powerful emotions
  • Discover how to overcome the blocks to compassion and open to our natural desire to enrich the lives of those around us
  • Observations, feelings, needs, and requests—how to apply the four-step process of Nonviolent Communication to every dialogue we engage in
  • Overcoming the blocks to compassion—and opening to our natural desire to enrich the lives of those around us
  • How to use empathy to safely confront anger, fear, and other powerful emotions

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!

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

Sunday Service Online – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 19 – September 13, 2020

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

We welcome you to online worship this weekend.

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!

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II LIVE at 10:15 AM on Sunday, September 13th.

A new feature on our YouTube Channel:  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 Sunday Service 10:15 AM bulletin – Rite II

If you prefer the said service of Rite I, we have provided our service bulletin for you to download and enjoy the service.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 8 AM bulletin – Rite I


We also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you important announcements that are in our paper bulletin on Sundays, that may be of interest to you, at home, regarding upcoming events, as well as prayer and adult spiritual formation opportunities.

We ask that you keep all of the people of our far Western states in your prayers as they battle the horrendous wildfires.  Click here to read more about how we can help.

All Stauffers and Giant grocery cards are in your parish mailboxes.  Please visit the parish hall to retrieve them and place your payment in the envelope and either place in the plate or leave in the parish office.  If you need to make arrangements to pick up your cards please email the office as to when you will be stopping by so that we can confirm the office will be open.  Thank you for supporting this important ministry.


Parishioners Helping Parishioners

St. Edward’s is a community that has always shown their generosity by helping those in need in Lancaster and the World.  On October 3rd we will have an opportunity to help each other in our own parish.  The Social Outreach Committee will be hosting a day of giving. The purpose of this day is to assist parishioners that need help with yard work, small house repairs and/or cleaning projects.

We are looking for volunteers to help with the work.  We are also asking that anyone in need of these services reach out to the committee chair, Beth Lynch or fill out the form in the bulletin and leave it in the box in the narthex.

Here are a few ideas that we are able to help with:

Yard Work:  Leaf raking, pulling weeds, mulching, planting

House Repairs:  Sticking doors, dripping faucet, clog drain, filter changes

Cleaning Projects: Dusting high shelves, decorating for Fall, rearranging kitchen cabinets

Please contact Beth Lynch with your name and phone number if you would like to volunteer or if you could use some help with a chore.


Join us, at St. Edward’s, for wonderful offerings, each week, of prayer and adult spiritual formation, via Zoom, that have now begun in September. Join in, anytime!  Click here to learn more.


First, click here to view our flier for our talent search for our upcoming Variety Show fundraiser on October 24th. In partnership with our Cultural Events ministry, the fundraising committee will be putting on a Variety Show/Basket Auction event for our BIG fall fundraiser, this year, along with offering a lovely casual boxed dinner (think: no cooking while you watch the event on the St. Edward’s YouTube Channel!) that can be purchased and picked up, curbside, prior to the event. For this to be a success, we need YOUR TALENT!  It is all is the spirit of community, fun, and fundraising!


We will be hosting a very special live streamed musical event featuring Maria Thompson Corley: pianist, soloist, collaborator, and composer TOMORROW, September 13th at 3:00 PM.  Click here to get more information and the links for the event and the downloadable concert program.


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!

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

St. Edward’s Live Streamed Cultural Event – Maria Thompson Corley Sunday, September 13th 3:00 PM

Join us for a special live streamed event, presented by the Stephen C. Casey Cultural Events Series, on our St. Edward’s Episcopal Church YouTube Channel this Sunday, September 13th at 3:00 PM.

Jamaican-born pianist Maria Thompson Corley – pianist, soloist, collaborator, and composer was raised in Canada. She has appeared on radio, television, and/or concert stages in Canada, the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Europe, both as a solo and collaborative artist, including performances in Budapest at the Liszt Academy, and in Carnegie Recital Hall, Aaron Davis Hall and Alice Tully Hall, all in New York City.

Maria is sure to delight our online audience with her wonderful program entitled On The Bright Side featuring works from Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Scott Joplin, and Frederic Chopin, to name a few of the composers she has selected for her program.

We hope you join us, this Sunday, for an afternoon of wonderful music.

Please click here to download our event program.

You will also notice, when you are on the St. Edward’s YouTube channel, that you will have the opportunity, to Donate to St. Edward’s, via our Paypal giving link, which you will see in the lower right portion of our YouTube channel home page photo.  There is also a link in our “About” section to our giving opportunity. 

We thank you, in advance, for supporting our cultural events series through your donations.  Your continued support allows us to provide the wider community with cultural events, for when we gather now, via live stream, and for when we meet again, in-person. 

Please look on the back of your program for two upcoming events that may interest you:  Our St. Edward’s Variety Show and Basket Raffle fundraising event, that will be during the month of October, culminating in a YouTube event on October 24th, as well as a Celtic concert featuring Fire in the Glen on December 13th at 3:00 PM, via our YouTube channel.

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Scanlan Regarding Worship and Episcopal Visitations in our Churches

September 8, 2020

Dear members of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania,

There is a phrase that we hear in Eucharistic Prayer B that resonates with me today: it is, “in the fullness of time.” (BCP pg. 369)

This phrase comes originally from the writing of Saint Paul in his letter to the Galatians when he references the birth of Jesus, God’s act of the incarnation, as having taken place in the “fullness of time.” (Galatians 4:4). The author of the letter to the Ephesians picks up the phrase and, writing about the consummation of time, says it is in the “fullness of time to gather up all things in him, things in heaven, and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:10). In the Book of Revelation, we hear about a vision of those end times; the author John of Patmos writes with vivid detail about what is to come. There is a sense of urgency in his voice as he opens, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place…”. But, alas, today, in September 2020, we are still waiting.

God’s time is God’s time.

Since March, we have struggled to become accustomed to a new pattern of time. Some quip that “COVID-tide” is the season that we are living in the church today. “Coronavirus-time” is fluid, stretched, and undefined. Weeks melt into weekends, Mondays come again, and, on occasion, we get confused. I have had to look at my calendar more than once in a day to make sure I was “on the right day.” Sunday Church- a favorite grounding space and time in our week- has been altered and, with the luxury of pre-recorded videos, we can now worship at our convenience participating, if we like, in several services on a Sunday, toggling between YouTube and Zoom and Facebook Live.  For some of us, this time has enriched our spirituality and opened us to new and exciting ways of being in community. For others, this has been a time of loneliness, isolation and, theologically speaking, a wilderness journey.   We do not know when this will end. We do not know when we will be able to resume our usual practices. We have some influence over that (Wear a mask! Wash your hands!) but even as we do all the right things, we still need to wait.

One thing that was clear to me early on in the pandemic is that the safety of our congregations, clergy and diocesan staff has got to come first. I have been heartened by the care with which congregations have structured their worship to ensure safety, and I am so grateful for the spirit of cooperation in adhering to new measures of mask wearing, receiving communion in one kind, and sacrificing communal singing for the welfare of all. Thank you.

In spite of our efforts, we are not yet ready to resume services with large groups of congregants and some of the fleshy, hands-on, incarnational actions that our tradition values- sipping from a common cup, sharing a handshake or hug of peace, gathering in large groups to witness confirmations or ordinations- cannot be safely practiced.  Not now. Not yet. I have asked our Task Force on Operations to reconvene and discuss how the original set of guidelines issued in April have worked in their implementation and if there are any changes that the task force would recommend as we approach the seasons of Advent and Christmas.

And with the advice of the Standing Committee, I have elected to postpone any Sunday visitations until the virus abates. My assistant Carolyn Patterson is re-working the current schedule with a tentative re-start date of January 2021. We hope to be able to get me back on the road as soon as possible. Carolyn will be sending the new schedule out very soon and, as January approaches, we will see if we can implement it safely.

In the meantime, I will be offering ministry in these ways:

  • I will be available to “video-preach” on Sundays by submitting a pre-recorded sermon or by joining you, live, as a virtual guest preacher. Congregational Clergy: please contact Carolyn for available dates and to get on the calendar.
  • I will be offering, again, short videos every Friday morning, posted on our diocesan website.
  • I will continue my monthly blog posted on the diocesan website every first Friday.
  • I will be beginning a weeknight Zoom Q&A Gathering in the month of October for drop-in visits with me and one of my staff members for conversation and fellowship. This will be the “Bishop out of the Box” event for 4 weeknights in October and will continue on a monthly basis after that.
  • I will be hosting two “Confirmation Conferences” on Zoom- one for youth and one for adult confirmation candidates whose preparation is underway but whose confirmation liturgies will be postponed until a later date. The dates for these conferences will be announced shortly.

All of this is in an effort to be present to you, to hear how you are doing, and to offer prayers and words of hope until we can be together again.

Our diocesan staff will be similarly “sheltering” until the new year, but also available to parishes by phone, email and zoom.  If the clergy of your congregation would like one of our Canons, Dan, Chris and/or Robyn, to virtually guest preach, please contact them directly at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].

I pray that by these efforts we can stay connected, strong in our faith, and encouraged as God’s people living in the Way of Love.

I am grateful for all of you, and in the name of our Lord Jesus, pray every good blessing upon you.

In the Way of Love,

The Rt. Rev. Audrey C. Scanlan

XI Bishop

 

 

St. Edward’s Monday Message – August 31, 2020

Dear friends and parishioners,

St. Edward’s is alive in our faith, our community, and our worship as we walk in love, together.   Many announcements were put forward in our Sunday worship bulletin yesterday and we would like to make them available to all of you to review, mark your calendars, and we hope you will participate during these upcoming months.

Click here to review our Prayer and Adult Spiritual Formation offerings.

Click here to review our upcoming Cultural Event on September 13th at 3:00 PM.

Click here to learn more about our Talent Show search.



This week we invite your participation in the Shaped by Faith initiative. We are asking each parishioner to participate in a brief Anglican Identity Assessment which is available online at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9G39Y5H

If more than one person needs to complete the assessment on the same computer, you will need to close the browser all the way bank to the beginning before starting the next one. Otherwise, you may get a message that says the assessment was already completed.

The assessments will be forwarded directly to the Diocese where they will be tabulated and returned to the parish minus any identifying data.  The Shaped by Faith team will use the data is we proceed through our work with our regional group of parishes.

We are asking you to please complete this assessment by September 15!

Thank you for your cooperation and support!

Shaped by Faith Team
Father Rick, Julie Hoff, and Herb Johnston


In case you missed it!  Our Sunday 10:15 AM Rite II service.

Such a wonderful prayer to keep tucked in your mind for the week from the booklet, For Starters, that was penned by The Rt. Rev. Michael W. Creighton, when he was rector of St. Stephens Church in Seattle:

Dear God, thank you for this morning’s forecast.  The Son is shining in my heart, and I expect Grace to be gently blowing in from the east at 10 mph.  The precipitation of the last few days is gone from my eyes, and due to the high pressure system of love, my anxiety level is down.  Tomorrow there is a chance of dark, patchy clouds over my life, but not enough to prevent the Son from rising and being with me every day.  Thank you for this most glorious day.  Amen.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle


MINISTRY HAPPENINGS AT ST. EDWARD’S
FOOD PANTRY:  We invite people to continue to donate funds to our Hempfield Area Food Pantry.  The need continues.   This is an amazing response to the needs of our wider community and we thank you all!

GROCERY CARDS: We have had a great response to the grocery card program and they will be ordered this week and available by Sunday, September 6th.   We will connect with you to make sure we get them to you, either via your parish mailbox or to arrange for you to pick them up when the church is open.

MINISTRY, WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP THIS WEEK
Wednesday Noonday Service of Healing – Wednesday, September 2nd

Please enter through the parish hall doors. Masks are required. We have put in place healthy practices for your comfort and safety.

Friday Evening Prayer – September 4th
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

St. Edward’s Thursday Message – August 27, 2020

Dear friends,

Look for all links related to Sunday worship on our usual Saturday afternoon posting.

Phase One Memorial Garden project continues.  Weather permitting, we anticipate the wood sculptor will start carving our tree for stage one of the Celtic Cross design this Saturday. Many of the design elements, such as the 5′ circle and the 7′ arm are crafted in his workshop and then will be brought here to install.  We have also placed the frame for the positioning of the monument, which is staked out in the garden. And, with the review and approval from vestry, we have purchased our water element feature, to be delivered and installed in conjunction with our landscaping.  We reviewed samples of our paver stone  from Penn Stone, and the layout pattern in “real time.”   We are also scheduled to have Brubaker install an outdoor outlet for the water feature and allows us electricity access for upkeep and outdoor functions.    To learn about all of the specifics of our progress with the care and beautification of this sacred space, please click here to visit our web site page. 


Giant and Stauffers Grocery Card Program

We have had interest in resuming the 2 grocery card programs.  Right now, we have orders for $800 in Giant cards and $650 in SKH cards.  We need to have a minimum of $1,000 in each program to successfully relaunch for September.  Please contact the parish office by Monday, August 31st.  It is a great way for St. Edward’s to earn 5% in passive fundraising income.  Our first resumed order would be delivered on Sunday, September 6th if we have enough people willing to participate.

Hempfield Area Food Pantry

We are so thankful for all of the monetary (and food) donations that continue to come into our office through the generosity of our parishioners for our local Hempfield Area Food Pantry.

Current food 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.
—    
We leave you with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer For Those Who Live Alone 

Almighty God, whose Son had nowhere to lay his head: Grant that those who live alone may not be lonely in their solitude, but that, following in his steps, they may find fulfillment in loving you and their neighbors; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Continue reading below for 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 on Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327105082
Join Code:  863 2710 5082


Join us for our Virtual Saturday Social from 9 AM – 9:40 AM Saturday morning on Zoom.  It will be hosted by Christina McLaughlin. It’s a great time to get together and say hi to your fellow parishioners. We look forward to sharing some time of fellowship THIS SATURDAY, August 29th at 9:00 AM.

We are considering alternative times for our coffee/social hour commencing after Labor Day weekend.  But, we want to hear from you!  If a coffee/social hour is something you would participate in, please email the parish office by September 1st and let us know the following:

(1)  Do you like the current Saturday 9 AM time and will you participate in the fall?
(2)  Do you like the Saturday option, but 10 AM would enable you to participate more fully?
(3)  Would you participate if the coffee/social time was moved to Sundays at 12:15?


ZOOM JOIN CODE:  419 646 4139
ZOOM PASSCODE:  449312

Sunday Service Online – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 12 – July 26, 2020

Dear friends of St. Edward’s,

On behalf of Father Rick and all of us at St. Edward’s. . . We welcome you!

We are holding in-person worship this weekend at 8 AM – Rite I and 10:15 AM – Rite II. We hope that you will join us!  We have put in place 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!

Click here to connect to our YouTube Channel to enjoy our Sunday service of Holy Eucharist Rite II LIVE at 10:15 AM on Sunday, July 26th.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 10:15 AM bulletin – Rite II.

If you prefer the said service of Rite I, we have provided our service bulletin for you to download and enjoy the service.

Click here to download the Sunday Service 8 AM bulletin – Rite I.

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 also been blessed to discover that 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.

If you are interested in learning more about our parish and our current ministry/fundraising offerings, please click here to view our July/August Scepter.  We have many opportunities to be in community in many ways, even in these times of Covidtide.  We are continually building strong bridges within our parish community and in the wider community and there is a place for you, here, at St. Edward’s.

We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

Be well. Stay safe. Keep the faith.

– Michelle