St. Hilary's Episcopal Church
March 15, 2020
My dear Hilarians,
We know that we are all experiencing stress and fear when look at how to best handle the COVID -19 Virus (corona). The BC leadership, the Worship and Spirituality Committee and I have come to several precautionary measures to help ensure health and safety for everyone.
I will continue celebrate the Eucharist as long as I have at least one other person to respond to the Prayers, or am given a specific directive by the Diocese or Bishop Taylor.
We encourage those who are over 60, and/or have health issues to stay at home. Practice good personal hygiene by washing hands often, and avoid touching your face. Avoid touching each other. If you need assistance, please let us know. For those who will decide to stay at home, we will distribute blessed wafers good for 4 Sundays and you can use this during the service via virtual streaming. If you are already homebound please call the office or I so we can bring to you the blessed wafers.
At the same time, The Sunday services will be fed live stream via Facebook, starting Sunday, March 15. Simply go to the St. Hilary Facebook page just before the 10:00 am Sunday services, and you will be able to see and hear the entire service. Please let us know if you need help in setting up a Facebook account by calling the office at 760 244 6444 or my cell 714 868 2681.
Starting next Sunday, March 23, 2020, only coffee will be served at the coffee hour. We encourage members to wash their hands. We could not buy more hand sanitizer as the shops were depleted. I have resorted to white vinegar at home as my grandma use to clean everything with it. I really do not know how effective this will be against COVID19. If you have any sanitizing wipes or spray to donate to the church, we would all be most grateful.
I understand this is so unfamiliar to us. Let us offer this as one of our Lenten fasting.
I am reminded of the plague that devastated Rome in the year 590. Sneezing was the sign people contacted the disease. It was about this time people started saying “God bless you.” On April 25th, the pope then, St. Gregory the Great, decided to call for a procession of the icon of the Mother of God painted by St. Luke around Rome, with prayer and singing. St. Michael was seen on top of the cupola of Hadrian’s mausoleum sheathing his sword. A sign the plague has ended. A statue of the archangel can be seen today on top of Castel Sant’Angelo.
Let us call upon the Mother of God and St. Michael to intercede for us to put an end to this pandemic.
May the good Lord surround the High Desert with the hedge of thorny protection from this deadly disease to protect us, our loved ones far and near and all the souls in the High Desert.
God of all mercies, be with those who suffer from the coronavirus around the world. Comfort those whose loved ones have died. Bring peace to those living with uncertainty and fear. Give patience to those who have been quarantined. Strengthened those who are risking their own lives to care for the sick. Give us all compassion for one another, and especially for those who are suffering. Please guide us, and watch over and protect us all. Amen. This we pray in Christ our Lord. Amen. (Rev. Pat Mccaughn)
May the peace of God which passes all understanding be in our minds and hearts now and always.
Fr. Jonathan+
March 15, 2020
My dear Hilarians,
We know that we are all experiencing stress and fear when look at how to best handle the COVID -19 Virus (corona). The BC leadership, the Worship and Spirituality Committee and I have come to several precautionary measures to help ensure health and safety for everyone.
I will continue celebrate the Eucharist as long as I have at least one other person to respond to the Prayers, or am given a specific directive by the Diocese or Bishop Taylor.
We encourage those who are over 60, and/or have health issues to stay at home. Practice good personal hygiene by washing hands often, and avoid touching your face. Avoid touching each other. If you need assistance, please let us know. For those who will decide to stay at home, we will distribute blessed wafers good for 4 Sundays and you can use this during the service via virtual streaming. If you are already homebound please call the office or I so we can bring to you the blessed wafers.
At the same time, The Sunday services will be fed live stream via Facebook, starting Sunday, March 15. Simply go to the St. Hilary Facebook page just before the 10:00 am Sunday services, and you will be able to see and hear the entire service. Please let us know if you need help in setting up a Facebook account by calling the office at 760 244 6444 or my cell 714 868 2681.
Starting next Sunday, March 23, 2020, only coffee will be served at the coffee hour. We encourage members to wash their hands. We could not buy more hand sanitizer as the shops were depleted. I have resorted to white vinegar at home as my grandma use to clean everything with it. I really do not know how effective this will be against COVID19. If you have any sanitizing wipes or spray to donate to the church, we would all be most grateful.
I understand this is so unfamiliar to us. Let us offer this as one of our Lenten fasting.
I am reminded of the plague that devastated Rome in the year 590. Sneezing was the sign people contacted the disease. It was about this time people started saying “God bless you.” On April 25th, the pope then, St. Gregory the Great, decided to call for a procession of the icon of the Mother of God painted by St. Luke around Rome, with prayer and singing. St. Michael was seen on top of the cupola of Hadrian’s mausoleum sheathing his sword. A sign the plague has ended. A statue of the archangel can be seen today on top of Castel Sant’Angelo.
Let us call upon the Mother of God and St. Michael to intercede for us to put an end to this pandemic.
May the good Lord surround the High Desert with the hedge of thorny protection from this deadly disease to protect us, our loved ones far and near and all the souls in the High Desert.
God of all mercies, be with those who suffer from the coronavirus around the world. Comfort those whose loved ones have died. Bring peace to those living with uncertainty and fear. Give patience to those who have been quarantined. Strengthened those who are risking their own lives to care for the sick. Give us all compassion for one another, and especially for those who are suffering. Please guide us, and watch over and protect us all. Amen. This we pray in Christ our Lord. Amen. (Rev. Pat Mccaughn)
May the peace of God which passes all understanding be in our minds and hearts now and always.
Fr. Jonathan+
St. Hilary's Episcopal Church is a community of faith located in Hesperia, California. We welcome all who worship Jesus Christ, and who are looking for a closer walk with God.
Our Presiding Bishop in the United States, The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, sums up our mission and our outlook in the most simple fashion - "If it is not about love, it is not about God." We welcome all - and that means everyone - No Exceptions. We are not concerned with how you look, where you come from, how you identify, or your
economic status. You will find a home with us filled with the love and acceptance that Jesus taught.
The Episcopal Church is a member province of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. We cooperate with them on universal matters of charity, and are deeply committed to meeting the needs of our local community here in Hesperia. It is not enough to simply pray for solutions, one must act to bring into being solutions.
Our offices are open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday every week from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We encourage you to call with questions or to speak with our Priest-In-Charge, Rev. Jonathon Sy. Better yet, stop by on any Sunday and experience our community firsthand. You will be welcomed. May God's blessings be on you.
Events This Week
Mon-March 2 6pm-Bell Choir
Wed-March 4 12pm-Mid Week service
1pm-Soup Luncheon and Spiritual lesson
6:30pm Soup Supper and Lent madness
Thu -March 5 9am-12pm-TOPS (Church House)
Fri-March 7 9:30am-Threshold singers
12pm-Stations of the Cross
6pm-Threshold singers
Sat-March 7 6am-Day workers lunch
10am-1pm-Clothing pantry
1pm-5pm-Day of Prayer
Sun-March 8 Daylight savings time Spring forward
11:20am - Choir Rehearsal
12pm -VEC Service
.
Lent and Easter Calendar
Services at 8:00 and 10:00 AM
Eucharist served at both services
8;00 AM - no music / !0;00 AM music and Sunday School
March 19, 2020
Health and Strength in Community #IV from Bishop Taylor, dated March 17, 2020
To All of St. Hilary’s:
By this time most you, if not all, who received the letter from The Bishop’s Office yesterday will know that The Bishop has suspended all in-person worship in the Diocese of Los Angeles effective immediately and continuing through Easter Sunday. This is in accordance with the message to The Episcopal Church today, where the Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote, “I believe the suspension of in-person public worship is generally the most prudent course of action at this time, even during Holy Week and on Easter day”. Bishop Taylor has; in fact, self quarantined himself to home as a precaution.
Today Fr. Jon and I met this morning to review the Bishop’s decision and guidelines for moving forward and, as best we can, have developed the following for St. Hilary’s:
1. We will be live streaming Sunday services starting at 9:30 am. There will not be an 8:00 am service during this time. The service can be seen on St. Hilary’s Facebook page. (Please contact Shannon Brandner if assistance is needed) These services will not be open for attendance as we are limited by Diocesan direction to only have 10 people maximum in the church, and live streaming will require 4 people. Therefore, we will not be admitting anyone, especially those over 65 years old. There will be no LEM’s, Readers, or Ushers ministering in the service.
2. All Holy Week and Easter Day services will be conducted by live streaming as well. There will not be an All Night Vigil on Maundy Thursday. (More information will be forth coming)
3. Members over 65 should not come into St. Hilary’s for any reason for safety precaution. This is in keeping with State of California Guidelines and our Diocese.
4. Fr. Jon will be blessing Communion wafers for the next 8 weeks and will prepare them for home delivery, or if you want you can come by the Church House you can pick them up.
5. We have suspended the following in-house group activities within St. Hilary’s through April 12th, DOK, ECW, In Reach Caregivers, Wednesday Soup Suppers –Lent Madness, Wednesday Evening Bible Study, Benedictines, Choir practices, both Vocal and Bells, Bunco, Day Workers Lunches, and Clothing Pantry.
6. Outside group activities have also been suspended through April 12th , including off campus groups; NA/AA meetings, Victory Empowerment Center, Armenian Church, Threshold Singers, and Tops.
Please keep in mind, these suspensions are temporary and for the safety of our “family at St. Hilary’s” and we all need to exercise caution during this time no matter what our age may be. The Diocese is in continuous communication with St. Hilary’s and all Parish and Mission Churches within the Los Angeles Diocese.
Fr. Jon will continue to monitor and we will report to all of you information as it becomes available from the Diocese.
In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Jonathan Sy, Priest in Charge
Mike Brewster, Bishop’s Warden
Lent and Easter Calendar
Services at 8:00 and 10:00 AM
Eucharist served at both services
8;00 AM - no music / !0;00 AM music and Sunday School
March 19, 2020
Health and Strength in Community #IV from Bishop Taylor, dated March 17, 2020
To All of St. Hilary’s:
By this time most you, if not all, who received the letter from The Bishop’s Office yesterday will know that The Bishop has suspended all in-person worship in the Diocese of Los Angeles effective immediately and continuing through Easter Sunday. This is in accordance with the message to The Episcopal Church today, where the Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote, “I believe the suspension of in-person public worship is generally the most prudent course of action at this time, even during Holy Week and on Easter day”. Bishop Taylor has; in fact, self quarantined himself to home as a precaution.
Today Fr. Jon and I met this morning to review the Bishop’s decision and guidelines for moving forward and, as best we can, have developed the following for St. Hilary’s:
1. We will be live streaming Sunday services starting at 9:30 am. There will not be an 8:00 am service during this time. The service can be seen on St. Hilary’s Facebook page. (Please contact Shannon Brandner if assistance is needed) These services will not be open for attendance as we are limited by Diocesan direction to only have 10 people maximum in the church, and live streaming will require 4 people. Therefore, we will not be admitting anyone, especially those over 65 years old. There will be no LEM’s, Readers, or Ushers ministering in the service.
2. All Holy Week and Easter Day services will be conducted by live streaming as well. There will not be an All Night Vigil on Maundy Thursday. (More information will be forth coming)
3. Members over 65 should not come into St. Hilary’s for any reason for safety precaution. This is in keeping with State of California Guidelines and our Diocese.
4. Fr. Jon will be blessing Communion wafers for the next 8 weeks and will prepare them for home delivery, or if you want you can come by the Church House you can pick them up.
5. We have suspended the following in-house group activities within St. Hilary’s through April 12th, DOK, ECW, In Reach Caregivers, Wednesday Soup Suppers –Lent Madness, Wednesday Evening Bible Study, Benedictines, Choir practices, both Vocal and Bells, Bunco, Day Workers Lunches, and Clothing Pantry.
6. Outside group activities have also been suspended through April 12th , including off campus groups; NA/AA meetings, Victory Empowerment Center, Armenian Church, Threshold Singers, and Tops.
Please keep in mind, these suspensions are temporary and for the safety of our “family at St. Hilary’s” and we all need to exercise caution during this time no matter what our age may be. The Diocese is in continuous communication with St. Hilary’s and all Parish and Mission Churches within the Los Angeles Diocese.
Fr. Jon will continue to monitor and we will report to all of you information as it becomes available from the Diocese.
In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Jonathan Sy, Priest in Charge
Mike Brewster, Bishop’s Warden
