Download the Worship Bulletin here
Join our realtime Premier on our facebook page – 10:45am Sun. Mar 29 – here
WORSHIP: Lent 5 – Jesus Wept. Today, our tears are CHRIST’s tears.
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Monthly Archives: March 2020
Pastoral Message
In Need of Prayer? Worship during physical distancing!
Worship With Us Online this Sunday
We will be live-streaming on facebook at 10:45am Sunday March 22
You don’t need a facebook account to watch – just follow the link below at 10:45am and join us!
https://www.facebook.com/holycrossnewmarket/
If you miss the livestream, we will upload worship to this site in the afternoon.
Social Distancing does not have to mean Spiritual Isolation. Join us as we seek connection with the ONE in whom we live and move and have our being.
Our theme will be: In Need of Prayer?
Pastor Dawn Hutchings, Marney Curran, Eric Schultz and Andrew Slonetsky will bring worship to your home. We will broadcast from the church sanctuary as we practice social distancing.
Download the order of service:
Movie Matinees replaced by ZOOM Coffee Time!
Movie Matinee Cancelled
Tuesday March 17 – Movie Matinee is cancelled and in its place we are offering an opportunity conversation.
Join us for our first ZOOM Coffee Time Tuesday at 2pmFor those of you who are unfamiliar with ZOOM, it is a simple way to gather on-line for a chat.
So grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit down at your computer, tablet, or cellphone and click a few links and your face will appear in the midst of our gathering, and together we will chat about how we are all faring during this unusual time.
So here’s how to be part of our Coffee Time: just before 2pm – simply click on the link below and you will magically arrive in our coffee room – follow the instructions and fingers crossed, you’ll see familiar smiling faces.
Join Zoom Gathering
Meeting ID: 616 166 8059
Password: peace
We are suspending all activities at the church building until further notice.
We made the decision to suspend all activities at the church building until further notice.
We sincerely hope that we are over-reacting. Our priority is to do our part to avoid the spread of the virus.
We may not be able to physically gather, but this will not prevent us from being Church to one another and to our community!
Our CARE Team is coordinating efforts to stay connected to those in need. You can volunteer to help by leaving a message on the Church phone 905-898-1682 – if you require assistance leave a message and someone will get back to you ASAP or call Pastor Dawn on her cellphone 905-868-0897
Plans are being made to live-stream worship on Sundays and to provide other opportunities for us to gather online.
Please continue to visit our website for updates!
Social Distancing does NOT mean Social Isolating! Let’s continue to care for one another by staying in touch! Remember to be LOVE in the world!
Worship in the midst of a pandemic: Put on LOVE
We abandoned the regular lectionary our readings were Matthew 11:28-30; Colossians 3:12-17; and Mark 1:29-35 you can read them in our service bulletin, found here
View the Sermon only below
Worship with us at 10:45am on March 15
Currently there is NO evidence of community transmission in York Region. Our gatherings are small. So, our planned activities for tomorrow, Sunday March 15 will go ahead.
Adult Education Class will meet at 9:15am
Worship begins at 10:45am
We will observe our Updated Public Health Protocol. We recognize that some people are self-isolating and we commend you for caring for your neighbours.
The sermon video will be posted tomorrow afternoon and we are working on necessary copyright permissions to allow for live-streaming of the full service.
Pastoral Letter to the Holy Cross Family
Friday March 13, 2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
As I write this, the media and public conversations are dominated by the concerns we all share about the COVID-19 Pandemic. As family, we at Holy Cross have been taking our cues from Public Health officials at the regional, provincial, and federal levels. While there is still no evidence of community transmission in York Region and we continue to be advised that the risk remains low, we are being warned to expect this to change. This is why we have already begun to prepare by adopting best-practices now. As we learn together, our Public Health Protocol continues to be adjusted to reflect the wisdom of experts in this quickly changing new world we find ourselves in.
As your Pastor, I am extremely proud of the way our Holy Cross Family has stepped up. Many thanks to our Church Council and to the volunteers who have helped to enact the necessary changes to our life together. Over the course of the next few weeks and months more will be asked of each of us as we continue to care for one another, our loved ones, and the community around us.
This week, I met with the members of our CARE Team to explore how best we might continue to care for one another. We all know that if we are feeling ill or if we suspect that we have been exposed to the virus, we must stay at home. We are grateful to everyone who has already done so and we suspect that more people will be required to stay home in the future. As a result, we are asking those of you who are self-isolating to let us know. Simply, call the Church phone 905-898-1682 and leave a voicemail. Messages will be checked 3 times a day. Members of our CARE Team will then be able to respond accordingly and check in with you from time to time.
The CARE Team will be coordinating volunteers to respond to the needs of those who are self-isolating, eg. shopping, or regular conversation. If you are able to volunteer to carry out small errands or to be a conversation partner, please email me and I will ensure that your name is added to our volunteer list.
In addition to the CARE Team, PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me for any reason: phone or text: 905-868-0897, email dawnhutchings@me.com .
Please take a few moments to review our UPDATED Public Health Protocol which is attached with this letter (updates have been highlighted).
Scheduled activities will continue at Holy Cross: As all of our gatherings are classified as “small,” as of now, we do not fall under any advice to cancel. Sunday services and planned activities will continue. Fortunately should it become necessary to cancel, we do have access to various methods to livestream services. We will continue to innovate as necessary. Any and all updates will be posted on our website and emails will be sent. The health and welfare of the community will continue be our priority!
Social Distancing is a new idea which we hope will go a long way to limiting the spread of the virus. But it is not a comfortable fit for a loving family like ours. However, I have long since learned that the Holy Cross Family is made up of very wise and compassionate people. I have every confidence that together, we can rise to the challenges of being LOVE to one another and to our neighbours. Fortunately, we have access to modern means of communication, and it is my hope that we shall all find ways of keeping in touch with one another. Communication will be the key to opening the floodgates of compassion.
Remember, we are created and empowered to be LOVE by the ONE who IS LOVE.
Our compassion for one another and for our neighbours is a powerful way to ensure that all shall be well.
I shall continue to hold each and everyone of you in my heart and thereby my prayers, trusting that the ONE in whom we live, and move, and have our being, lives and breathes in, with, through, and beyond us.
May each of us continue to take comfort from the knowledge that there is nothing that can separate us from the LOVE that IS God.
I remain, yours in CHRIST,
Pastor Dawn Hutchings
Social Distancing and the Woman with a Flow of Blood
International Women’s Day
Movie Matinee’s continue: March 17 & 31 at 2pm
Public Health Protocols @ Holy Cross
As anxiety about the COVID-19 virus increases, it is only natural for us to wonder what the implications for our community might be. While the risk here in York Region remains low, it is prudent for us to take some basic hygiene precautions to ensure that we are doing our best to limit the spread of the virus. At yesterday’s Council Meeting, a series of Public Health Protocols were authorized for use by our volunteers, members and visitors. You can read or download a copy here
At this stage, we are taking a practical proactive approach, while remaining hopeful that the low risk of contracting the virus will make these efforts little more than a temporary inconvenience.
We continue to hold all those who are affected by the virus in our hearts and thereby our prayers. Trusting that together we can empower one another to be LOVE in the world.
Today, our National Bishop Susan Johnson, together with all of our Synodical Bishops issued a pastoral letter concerning coronavirus (COVID-19) and communities of the ELCIC. here
Please continue to check this website for updates!
Holy Cross Lutheran Church 