All Saints' Day and So Much More

All Saints and Much, Much More! On Nov. 7 at the 10 am service we are going to honor the 17 members of St. Cross who have died since the start of the pandemic. Some of those people have had a full service at St Cross, some are still waiting for family to be able to travel, some had a very small private service, some were mostly online, and a few chose not to have any service at all. What is most important is that our community have the opportunity to communally give thanks for these seventeen people who have been a part of our community. This will be a full service as we will also have Baptisms and will read the list of those who have died in the previous year during the Eucharist. Yet, being in community cradle to grave community is what defines us as a church. We gather to celebrate and mourn together. Please join us for this special day.

Messiah Concert December 5: Stay tuned for more information about this year's Messiah concert! If you have interest in singing in the choir, contact Sean O'Neal at soneal@stcross.org. This year promises to be a stirring performance!

Consecration Sunday will be Sunday, Nov 14. There will only be a 10 am service. We will have lunch reservation cards in church the next two Sundays.

Veteran's Day will be commemorated on Sunday, Nov. 14.

Faith and Blue: Faith and Blue is an annual event for houses of worship and local police departments to talk and listen to each other. This year will again be on zoom, the topic will be challenges and limits of policing with homelessness, and best of all, members of Temple Shalom will be joining us.

Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 10. Hermosa's Chief of Police (and we hope a few other city/county resources) will be in conversation with us as we discuss the challenges in policing and homelessness in the South Bay. For those who have not yet met Chief LaBaron, he is dedicated to making Hermosa the best little beach city through partnerships, integrity and excellent service. If you sign up here, the link to the event will be emailed to you -- be sure to double-check your email address when you enter it!

Coffee Hour Needs YOU! Many have asked when we would once again be able to get coffee at coffee hour. We are working to do just that. But we are going to need SIXTEEN volunteers (men, women, young, old, we just need all helpers) to make this work! Each volunteer will work one shift once a month 8:30-10:30 or 10:30-12:30. Please, please, if you would like to see coffee hour return, email Rev. Rachel at Rnyback@stcross.org and let her know you are willing to volunteer for two hours once a month. When we get enough volunteers, we will put together a schedule and start rolling out the coffee. Know that it will be a bit refined from the pre-COVID coffee. We will have two coffees, a few teas, and a juice for kids. Nothing much more than that. And we hope to move inside. We appreciate your help, patience, and your understanding.

The Altar of Remembrance: You are invited to bring a framed photo or other item of remembrance and place it on the altar of remembrance in the side chapel. We perform this ritual because our loved ones who have passed away continue to shape us and form us in our life and faith. During the weeks leading up to All Saints Day, we make their influence explicit by remembering our lost loved ones as a community by placing a photo or any other item of remembrance on the altar in the side chapel. The altar will be set up Oct 24- Nov 7th. We invite you to visit the altar and say a prayer for those in our community journeying through grief.

If you bring an item for the altar, it is recommended that you put a sticker on the back with your name and phone number.

If you have any questions, contact Rev. Josh Paget jpaget@stcross.org

Halloween Party | Sunday, Oct. 31, 11:15 am after church: Children and youth (and parents!), put on your Halloween costume and join us for church on the morning of All Hallow's Eve! All are invited to wear their costumes to church that Sunday. After the service we'll have a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot and other Halloween festivities for families. We're looking for folks to decorate their trunks for the Trunk or Treat! If you're willing to decorate your trunk and pass out treats for Trunk or Treat please let Rev. Stephen know by Wednesday, Oct. 27th. We'll follow guidelines recommended by the Department of Public Health in efforts to keep everyone safe.