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ZOOM this Sunday & Our New Deacon
Hello Good People of St. Laurence! It's been a year, and it's felt like we've been in an eternal NOW, with all the days blending together, no clear future in sight. Fortunately spring is in the air and vaccines are on the way. Maybe there's some hope for a future again afterall. I have a couple of updates. First of all, we will not have a live-stream service this Sunday, instead we will do a ZOOM worship. (See the link below.) An individual involved in last Sunday's service tested positive for COVID this week and was potentially asymptomatically shedding the virus last Sunday. Please keep that individual and their family in your prayers. Those most at risk of exposure are self-isolating for two weeks and are getting tested as necessary. Please keep these folks in your prayers as well. Fortunately, we will still be able to worship together through the miracle of ZOOM. I was not exposed in the same way as the others. While the live-stream was happening, I was in my office, facilitating a ZOOM joint worship service between St. Catherine's and Trinity United. They were marking the end of over two decades of sharing a worship space. St. Catherine's has done the hard work of downsizing their posessions and packing up what's left. They will now be physically located at St. Laurence. As part of this process of beginning to collaborate with each other, we now share the Rev. Pat Ratcliffe as a deacon. Pat will serve both congregations, and act as a laison, helping faciliate our joint outreach into the world. Here's a bit of her bio: Pat Ratcliffe was an Interior Designer when her passion for volunteering with folks experiencing homelessness and poverty led her to believe she was being called to the diaconate. She was ordained in June 2016. Through the ReSponse Refugee Committee of the Deanery, she made contacts at MOSAIC and quit Interior Design to work for MOSAIC in 2018. Pat believes her diaconal calling is to help others to see and to walk beside those in need. She is looking forward to getting to know the folks at St. Laurence and to join them in reaching out to others. She lives in Burnaby with her husband and they have one adult son. I am excited to have Pat joining us, and I invite you to welcome her when you are able to finally meet her in person. She will be giving the homily this Sunday. I miss seeing you in person, and I imagine we are all feeling the toll of this social isolation. It feels that with Easter coming, there will be new life this spring. Peace to you, Eric PS: Men of St. Laurence! Stuart Cox is hosting his yearly St. Patrick's Day gathering on ZOOM this year. Check the website for details.
Eric Mason is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: St Laurence Worship at 10am Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 939 0122 0104
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