Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On October 17-18, Cindy Baser, Jim Harding and I went up to Scranton to be part of the final diocesan conventions of the Diocese of Bethlehem and the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. The two dioceses are slated to merge on January 1, 2026. It was different from previous conventions, because although we were in the same room, we needed to vote on resolutions and elections based on our diocese, so voting was done electronically. It did take bit longer, because legally there were two sets of votes. Many exciting presentations by the various committees were offered, updating us on the work they had been doing over the past months in preparation for the merger. One of the funniest and most heart-warming was a video created by the children in St. Stephens
Episcopal School in Harrisburg and a panel of youth and young adults on Friday evening. Go to this link and scroll ahead to 1.43. The Saturday session is found here.
Many important steps were taken, among which was the unanimous vote that Bishop Audrey Scanlan will become the bishop of the new diocese and Bishop Kevin will be assisting bishop until Bishop Audrey retires.
There was also a celebratory revealing of the lovely new Diocesan shield and logo: https://diobeth.org/.
Jingle! Jingle! Christmas bells will soon be ringing, and that means it’s time for gift wrapping at Boscov’s. Would you be willing to donate a few hours to help St. Margaret’s earn some easy money by wrapping gifts for Boscovs’
patrons? If so, contact Janice at imcraftyj@gmail.com. for more details.
Praying daily with you, for our nation, our diocese, our parishes, and the world,
Mo. Laura
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COMING UP!
- October 6-November 24, Book Study, 7:00 p.m. online. Preregistration required
(send note to Laura) - November 2 9:00 ALL SAINTS SUNDAY SERVICE
- November 3 and November 17 6:00 Yoga class moved to Monday these weeks
- November 14 7:00 Poor Man’s Gambit Concert. Tickets available here
- November 16 9:00 ST. MARGARET’S DAY SERVICE and Reception
- December 1, Advent Book Study, 7:00 p.m., online. A Child Is Born: A Beginner’s
Guide to Nativity Stories. Preregistration required (send note to Laura) - Wednesday evenings, yoga class at 6:00 (discount for St. M members)
- Wednesdays, noonday prayer via zoom at 12:00
- Saturdays, Seventh Day Adventist congregation, 9:00-3:00

