Flowering of the Cross: 

We will be flowering the cross for Easter Sunday. The Altar Guild will provide flowers, but we invite you to bring flowers from your garden or your favorite shop to add to the cross. You can bring flowers to the church starting Maundy Thursday (March 28) and leave them in the buckets of water in the Bible Garden. We will be flowering the cross on Saturday, March 30 at 10:00 AM. All are welcome to help!

Easter Flower Donations:

Easter is just a few weeks away! If you would like to make a donation to help offset the cost of the Easter lilies, you can do so by sending a check to the church with "Easter Flowers" in the memo line. Or you can go through the parish website and use the "Other Designated Gift" category (just be sure to put Easter Flowers in the adjacent box). And if you would like to make your donation in Memory of, in Thanksgiving of, or in Honor of someone, you can call the parish office of email Kevin at info@stgregoryschurch.com with the appropriate information. Please get your dedications into the Parish Office by Tuesday, March 26 so we can get them into the Easter bulletin. Lilies will be available for pick-up after Easter.

Maundy Thursday Vigil at the Altar of Repose: 

As we have done the number of years, our Maundy Thursday service (March 28) will be at St. Thomas of Canterbury. Part of their custom is to have parishioners hold vigil at the Altar of Repose throughout the night. This is our way of answering Jesus’ question, “Could you not watch one hour with me?” and continues a long church tradition of overnight vigils during Holy Week. If you are interested in watching for an hour that night, please notify Mother Sharon at stlb47@verizon.net. For safety reasons we must have at least two people at all times. We ask that you sign up by March 24 so we can make sure all people keeping vigil together have each other’s contact information. When emailing Mother Sharon, please indicate your name, phone number, and time you'd like to keep vigil.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt:

We are happy to re-introduce the post 10:15 AM Easter service Easter Egg Hunt this year, in the courtyard outside the Parish Hall. Bring your basket, or one can be provided. All children 8 and under are welcome to hunt eggs. We will let the youngest go first, depending on how many participants we have. We look forward to all the fun!

Outreach Ministry Needs - Men's Month:

During the month of March, we are gathering all kinds of items for men for donation to the Long Beach Rescue Mission and other service organizations. Next Sunday, March 31st, is the last chance to donate. So far we have 15 shirts, 4 pairs of footwear, 3 sweaters, 3 pair of socks, 1 small backpack, 14 small rolls of TP, 4 pairs of underwear, and some toothbrushes, razors and toothpaste. See the flyer HERE.

Episcopal Visitation – April 7th:  

Every two years, we are scheduled to be visited by a bishop. This is the year, and our visitation will be on Sunday, April 7, when we will host Bishop Ed Little, the retired Bishop of Northern Indiana and now one of the Assisting Bishops in the Diocese of Los Angeles. That day, we will have only one service at 10:15 AM. Lunch will follow the worship service. There is a sign-up sheet for lunch outside the church doors.

Roamin' Gregorians April Outing:

The Roamin’ Gregorians are going to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on April 13 at 10 AM. If interested, please sign up near the Greeter’s table before April 7, or contact Susan or John Mora at (310) 894-0731 or (562) 531-1883.

Flower Donation Sign-Up Sheet: 

We have a new flower donation chart located on the Narthex wall. You can sign up for special dates to donate altar flowers. Donation forms are attached to the bottom of the chart. If you have any questions please contact an Altar Guild member or Kevin in the office.

Altar Flower Donations:

Need a wonderful way to honor or remember a loved one or friend? Make a flower donation. If you'd like to donate for altar flowers, you may send a check to the office or pay online by using Vanco, following 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 has the following needs: 100 HARDBOILED EGGS; HOMEMADE COOKIES

• Homemade cookies can be brought to church on any Sunday, in ziplock freezer bags, labeled "Feed My Lambs" to the kitchen.
• Wednesday, April 3 from 9:00am to Noon you can deliver to the office: Hardboiled Eggs & Homemade Cookies.
• Thursday, April 4 until 11:00am you can deliver to the kitchen: Hardboiled Eggs & Homemade Cookies.
• Friday, April 5 from 1:00 to 3:00pm you can deliver to the kitchen: Hardboiled Eggs.
• Our Guests always need white athletic socks and belts! Which you can put in the Feed My Lambs bin outside the church on any Sunday.
• Volunteers -- We need some additional help with serving our guests at St. Luke's on the first Saturday of every month. Contact Tamera if interested.

If you have questions about helping out with Feed My Lambs or dropping off items, contact Tamera Benedict (tlbenedict4@gmail.com, 562.301.6800)

Food Bank has the following needs:

• Volunteers -- We need volunteers to assist with the Food Bank distribution on the THIRD Wednesday of the month between 8:30am and 11am.

Please contact Kevin at the Parish Office (info@stgregoryschurch.com, 562.420.1311) 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! 

With our combined ministry program with St. Thomas of Canterbury comes additional coverage for pastoral emergencies. In the event of a hospital stay, illness, death in the family, or other pastoral emergency, please call Father Michael on his cell phone (909-373-6478) any day except Monday, his Sabbath day. Mother Sharon (562-833-3393) covers emergencies in both communities on Monday, just as Father Michael covers emergencies in both parishes on Friday, Mother Sharon’s Sabbath. 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 51 people!