Mass in the Grass and Parish Picnic:

Our annual Mass in the Grass and Parish Picnic will be held on THIS SUNDAY, June 8 at 10:15am. We will be in our usual spot at El Dorado Park (El Dorado Park West Picnic Areas A and B). There will be signs starting at Willow and Studebaker directing you to the picnic area. As a reminder, please bring your own chairs and blankets. Parish Life will be providing hamburgers and hotdogs with all the trimmings. We are asking those attending to provide any of the following items to share, bottled water, soda(cans), baked beans, chips, coleslaw, potato salad, brownies, cookies, watermelon, or strawberries. For those who do not wish to or are unable to attend Mass in the Grass there will be an 8:00 am service at St. Gregory's as usual.

St. Luke's Taizé - Tuesday, June 10 at 7pm:

St. Luke’s invites all to this quiet hour of prayer, chant and renewal. This is the last service before the season starts up again in October. This month will be a Pentecost Theme. Taizé services at St. Luke's are held online throughout the year on the second Tuesday of every month. Online services available HERE or by joining on this Zoom LINK - Meeting ID: 864 4405 5548, Password 525

Upcoming Funeral Service at St. Gregory's:

The funeral service for Betty Lang will be held on Friday, June 13 at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow both services in the Parish Hall.

Outreach Committee Update:

Our Outreach Committee is thrilled to announce that our congregation has raised $745 for diapers and received several packages of formula from our recent drive! That money will be able to purchase 40-50 packages of diapers for mothers in need. We are partnering with Christian Outreach in Action and they are delighted by the donations!

Sunday School Update:  

Due to the Church Picnic and additional conflicts in June, we are cancelling Sunday School a bit early this year. Sunday School is cancelled through June and July (our regular month off) and will resume Sunday, August 3. If you have questions about Sunday School registration in August, please contact Dana Lindsay 562-716-6634 dlindsay01@yahoo.com or Tamera Benedict 562-301-6800 TLBENEDICT4@gmail.com. Have a GREAT Summer!

Special Concert at St. Gregory's:

Next Saturday, June 14 at 5:00 PM, The Newfangled Four, one of the top barbershop quartets in the world, performing all around the United States, as well as internationally will be joining us for a special concert at St. Gregory’s. Combining old fashion slapstick humor with their quirky offbeat comedy, The Newfangled Four merges their talents as top-notch harmony singers and world class entertainers. You will not want to miss this amazing group! 

St. Gregory's Always Has Your Back! 

BackPACK that is! The Long Beach Rescue Mission is again partnering with local middle schools to provide backpacks and supplies to children in need. We will run our drive from June 1 – July 27, and our goal is to provide as many backpacks as possible. The list is specific, so please do not add anything extra. Remember, you do not have to provide a full backpack; simply donate what you are able. The flyer will be printed in our weekly bulletins and posted for your convenience on our social media accounts. If you choose to make a cash donation, you may do so from the church website (https://stgregoryschurch.com/4721-2) or in the collection plate; make sure that you designate that your donation is earmarked for backpacks. View the flyer HERE.

Fr. Michael Sabbatical Update:

Fr. Michael will be sending periodic updates from his travels during his sabbatical...

UPDATE!

Click HERE for Fr. Michael's

May Sabbatical Update.

Getting to Know You: 

As we move into our sabbatical season, I want us to get to know each other better. We’ll be learning a lot about St. Gregory’s through a simple survey and through conversation, but I also want to know what’s on your minds in a more informal way. If you have something you want me to know; if there’s something you think St. Gregory’s does really well; if you see an area that might benefit from improvement; please contact me and we’ll make time to chat. I will spend as much time as I can hanging out at coffee hour, and I’m also most happy to meet with you other times during the week. I look forward to hearing what the Spirit is helping to bubble up in you. Blessings, Mother Sharon.

Wildfire Relief:  

Those wishing to help provide relief from the Los Angeles fires can make donations to one of the following:

Episcopal Relief and Development, the relief agency of the Episcopal Church, provides funds to help in disaster relief and recovery. They have established a “Wildfire Response Fund” to provide help with the Los Angeles fires. You can make a donation at https://www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/give/donate-now/individual-donation/

One Heart & One Spirit Annual Appeal is a relief fund established by the Diocese of Los Angeles. Currently, all money donated to the One Heart & One Spirit Annual Appeal will go to help parishes and families affected by the fires. You can make a donation at https://diocesela.org/annual-appeal/

Thank you for your generosity.

Altar Flower Donations:

Need a wonderful way to honor or remember a loved one or friend? Make a flower donation. There is a flower donation chart located on the Narthex wall that you can use to sign up for special dates to donate altar flowers. Simply fill out a donation form attached to the bottom of the chart and return the form to the Parish Office. Payment for flowers can be made by check or online at this link. Make sure you specify your donation is for Altar Flowers. The Altar Guild thanks you.

Episcopal News Updates: 

The Diocese provides weekly email updates to help you keep informed about what’s happening all over our six-county diocese. If you want to receive the Episcopal News, visit https://diocesela.org/episcopal-news/contact/ and enter your email address in the box provided.

Feed My Lambs & Food Bank Needs:

THANK YOU for your generosity and your donations

Here’s the latest news on our parish feeding programs. 

• Feed My Lambs
• Homemade cookies can be dropped of any time. Please put your homemade cookies in Ziploc Bags and label them with the date and "FML" (this way we know they are for Feed My Lambs and not other purposes).
• Please do not bring hardboiled eggs. Due to issues with eggs, we now have a dedicated team responsible for providing hardboiled eggs.
• Volunteers – If you are interested in helping out Feed My Lambs, contact Tamera Benedict at (tlbenedict4@gmail.com, 562.301.6800).
• Food Bank The Food Bank relies on your financial support and appreciates all donations of
• funds or non-perishable food items. We also can use more volunteers at:
• bagging and distribution the THIRD WEDNESDAY of each month from 8:30 to 11:00 AM
• any other time you may have available and could assist with assembling our bags (e.g. on Sunday before or after service, or any time the office is open for access)

Please contact Kevin in the Parish Office (info@stgregoryschurch.com, 562.420.1311) or Bill Eldon (billeldon@gmail.com, 562.234.9920) for more information about the Food Bank.

Your continued support of our feeding ministries, through product and monetary contributions, is greatly appreciated!

Gratitude for Your Support of the Parish:

We continue to be humbled and so incredibly grateful for your generosity in supporting our parish and its ministries! While you may not be able to drop your donation in a real offering plate, there are still ways you can make sure your donation gets to the parish:

• You can mail your check to the parish office.
• Make donations through our online payment account, accessible through the parish website at http://stgregoryschurch.com/4721-2/.
• Scan the QR code found in the Sunday bulletin.

And again, THANK YOU for your continued support!

Online Parish Directory:

Our online parish directory is at https://www.instantchurchdirectory.com/. This is a secure site and can be accessed using the email address you had published in the parish directory. You can also download the "Instant Church Directory" on your smart phone. Versions are available for Android, iPhone, iPad, and Kindle.

One Body & One Spirit Annual Appeal:

The Diocese has established an ongoing campaign focused on raising funds to assist congregations, schools, affiliated institutions, and their communities who are faced with unprecedented challenges. We are invited to prayerfully consider making a donation to help others in our Diocese who may have unmet needs. More information is available at https://diocesela.org/annual-appeal/. 

Forward Day By Day:

For those who use the "Forward Day by Day" booklet for personal devotions and need the newest edition mailed, please contact Kevin: (562) 420-1311 or info@stgregoryschurch.com   

In Case of Emergency...Notify Your Priest! 

In the event of a hospital stay, illness, death in the family, or other pastoral emergency, please call Mo. Sharon on her cell phone (562-833-3393) any day except Friday, her Sabbath day. And PLEASE, no excuses about not wanting to bother me. That’s why we are here – for YOU!

St. Gregory's Food Bank:

Our monthly Food Bank distribution takes place the first Wednesday of every month. This ministry helps us help our neighbors by providing a supplemental source of groceries. We CANNOT do this without your generosity. CLICK HERE for more information.

This month we served 70 people!