The Messenger

Message from the Priest-in-Charge

Dear friends,

It was a gift to welcome Lydia and Lisa to the Daughters of the King this past Sunday! Thank you to Carolyn Nippert (the president of our chapter of the DOK) for organizing the service. Please congratulate Lisa and Lydia when you see them, and keep them in your prayers as they enter into this group of service and prayer.
 
Looking ahead to this weekend, the forecast looks promising and so hopefully we will be able to worship outside. As always, please check the church website or Facebook page for notices about indoor worship before coming to the service.
 
It looks like we will continue to worship outside for all our services for the time being. The St. Gabriel’s Vestry and I had discussed the possibility of holding one service indoors for people who have received COVID vaccines, and we talked to Bishop Kevin about this possibility. 
 
With the case numbers of COVID continuing to rise, the Bishop asked us to wait before holding a service indoors. He expressed his gratitude to the St. Gabe’s leadership for bringing up the possibility of a vaccinated service, and he will discuss the matter with other diocesan leadership groups at the end of April.
 
I think that this conclusion, while disappointing, is reasonable and not unexpected. It means that we will continue to worship outside at all services, which is certainly not a worst-case scenario (especially with the weather warming up). Please continue to hold Bishop Kevin and the diocesan staff in your prayers as they do the difficult work of discernment in making decisions that affect our churches.
 
Be well, and I hope to see you soon!

With Easter joy,

Andrew+


Attendance for recent services:

• 8:00 on April 4 - 17 people
• 10:30 on April 4 - 83 people
• 5:00 on April 10 - 19 people
• 8:00 and 10:30 on April 11 - virtual

Links for worship:

• St. Gabriel's Live Facebook page to watch Sunday at 10:30 or afterward
• Sermon texts on the St. Gabe's website and audio recordings

Announcements and Events

Mortgage Campaign Envelopes Available
Thank you to everyone who pledged to give to our building mortgage campaign! You can pick up a set of giving envelopes at church this Sunday, or you can stop by the office sometime next week.

Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic - April 16
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church will be hosting a Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic this Friday, April 16, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (with second doses planned for May 14th), run by the Medicine Shoppe of Boyertown. Appointments are required - sign up for an appointment here.

Text Scam Alert
Several parishioners have received texts from someone claiming to be Andrew. If you receive a suspicious text asking you to do something (often buy a gift card), please ignore it or call the church office to ask about its authenticity (610-385-3144).

Episcopal Magnets
Reminder: You can buy an Episcopal shield magnet for $5. Order your magnet by mailing a check to church with memo "Magnet," or by ordering online through the church Paypal account.

Resources

About the Daughters of the King
We had the joy of welcoming two new members to the Order of the Daughters of the King this past Sunday. Curious about what the Order is? Read about it here.

Summer Job for College-aged Adults
Do you know a college-aged adult who is looking for both a summer job AND a life-changing experience? Become a counselor at Lake Delaware Boys' Camp! This sleepaway camp, which runs from the start of July through mid-August, welcomes male campers aged 8 to 16 to spend a summer outdoors. Our own Rev. Andrew and Becca serve at the camp as chaplain and choir director, respectively. For more information, look at the LDBC website, and email Andrew if you are interested in applying to work as a counselor.

Prayer List

Please remember in your prayers those on our 30-day prayer list:
Kelly Fitzgerald; Colin Hiriak; Gregory Rowe; Mark Rowe.
Heavenly God, watch over these loved ones of ours, and grant that they may be restored to perfect strength and health, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In our parish cycle of prayer this week, we pray for:
Lynn Gibson; Carly, Dan, Stella, and J. Warren Greenwald; Jim and Sue Hadad.

The complete prayer list is in our Sunday bulletin
(which can be viewed on the St. Gabriel's website).
If you'd like to add or remove someone from the Prayer List,
please email Barbara.