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Christ centered, Biblically based, spirit filled and a place of simple hospitality, we have shared our communal life with our church,our community, and those in need. Your presence enriches us.
This Advent and Christmas season…
Link to all the events.
Dec. 12 – 5:00pm – Port Royal Tree Lighting
Dec. 13 – 10:00am- Choir Retreat, St. Peter’s
Dec. 14 -10:00am – Godly Play
Dec. 14 – 10:00am -"Singing Mary’s Song" – Parish House
Dec. 14 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist- Advent 3
Dec. 14 – 5:00pm- Christmas at the Everetts
Last Sunday
Moravian inspired Coffee Hour on Dec. 7
Dec. 12 – Port Royal Tree Lighting, 5pm
This year St. Peter’s will provide soup at the Firehouse for the traditional tree lighting. Caroline’s Promise, Parks and Recreation, Town of Port Royal and Memorial Baptist are working together to provide a Christmas experience for the children and families. Last year we served over 150 people!
Here’s a link to a gallery for the 2013 event.
Choir Retreat, Dec. 13, 10am
Want to sing with the choir on Christmas ? Enjoy singing in general. Joint Brad and the choir in the church to review the Christmas music and enjoy fellowship afterwards at Fall Hall. Brad will be chipping in some of his specialities such as his cheese cake. Here is a link to a photo gallery on 2012’s retreat
Singing Mary’s Song, Final Session, Dec. 14, 10am
We have had a good crowd for this Advent study. The sessions are not cumulative so you can drop in at any time.
The emphasis has been discovering who Mary was in art, poetry, liturgy and applying it to our lives. Week 1 was about the annunciation, the visitation, the Magnificat, and taking a look at Mary’s Jewish heritage, and other women in the Bible whose stories connect with hers. Week 2 was about the world at the time of the birth of Jesus and why God had an appointed time for this birth. During Week 3, we considered the concepts of increase and decrease in relationship to John and Mary. Come stop in!
Christmas at the Everett’s, Dec. 14, 5pm
Last year’s event and Last year’s pictures
The Everetts, Cherry and Woody have for the past several years planned an open house for St. Peter’s to get us all in the holiday spirit. With their miniature Christmas village, their "second house" with another set of Christmas decorations, it is truly a spectacle and the food is bountiful. This year it is on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5pm which is conveniently Cherry’s birthday. Everyone is invited!
Their home is at 17186 Cherwood Pond Ln, King George just across the Rappahannock and to the right
Christmas Deadlines
1. Poinsettias for Dec. 21 and Christmas Eve – If you like to donate a poinsettia for Christmas, the cost is $10. Please complete the order form and include a separate check to St. Peter’s with poinsettia in the memo line. Deadline Sunday, Dec. 14th.
2. The Christmas pageant will be Dec. 21, 2013 as part of the 11am service. If you would to participate, please let Catherine know.
ECW Christmas Luncheon, Dec. 16, 2014, 10am
Festive Gathering in the Parish House at 10:00AM on Tuesday, December 16th, followed at 12PM by the ECW Christmas Luncheon (all are invited) at The Sandbar Restaurant, Hobbes Hole Golf Course in Tappahannock, VA. In 2013, the ECW traditional Christmas luncheon was at LePetite Auberge in Fredericksburg with 10 people:
Village Harvest food distribution for December 17, 2014, 3:30pm
In December, we plan to provide ingredients for twenty families to make potato soup. Along with the soup ingredients, we want to include crackers, peanut butter, fresh fruit , paper towels, and scotch tape. We also hope to include the fresh produce from the Northern Neck Food Bank.
Please help by bringing any of the following items to church for the next two Sundays, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. The distribution will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 17th, 3:30pm-5:00pm
- Red or white potatoes
- Onions
- Evaporated milk
- Chicken broth
- Apples
- Oranges or tangerines
- Peanut butter
- Crackers
- Paper towels
- Scotch tape
All are welcome to help prepare the food for distribution and to help distribute the food on Wednesday, December 17th. If you can help, please let Catherine know–(540) 809-7489 or by email. The more, the merrier!
Exploring Mary through Art
Just in time for our Advent study! A new exhibit in Washington at the National Museum of Women in the Arts opened this week and will be up until April 12. Entitled "Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea", it "explores the concept of womanhood represented by the Virgin Mary as well as the social and sacred functions her image has served through time. This landmark exhibition organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts brings together more than 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era masterworks from the Vatican Museums, Uffizi Gallery, and other museums, churches, and private collections in Europe and the United States."
Their website is here. They have a blog article about it. The Washington Post has covered it here with "Have Yourself a Mary Little Christmas". Not to be missed in an article in the National Geographic. In addition, there are several web bonus features on the site:
1. A Global Icon: Mary in Context, which delves into the global impact of Mary idea.
2. Interactive Preview of Picturing Mary. This "explores where the artworks traveled from, what to look for on each work, and which pieces are on view in the U.S. for the first time!"
A Stole for Catherine, Dec. 7
During the announcements on Dec. 7, Boyd Wisdom, representing the Vestry, presented Catherine a gift for becoming rector. It was a stole hand made by Susan Tilt, fabric artist in Colonial Beach. Catherine has always admired Susan’s work for Bishop Goff and so was extremely appreciative to have one of her own. The details on the stole relate to Catherine’s life and is a separate study in itself to see all the work Susan put into it. It is an extremely moving piece of art that shows so much personal care and inspiration. The Vestry and particularly Boyd and Barbara Wisdom and Elizabeth Heimbach should be commended for the time they put into it, visiting Susan’s studio and suggesting items for the stole.
Here is a photo gallery of the details of the stole.You can read about the history of stoles here as liturgical garments.
Susan Tilt is a Liturgical Textile Artist who creates contemporary vestments for member of the clergy, altar pieces, and banner installations for worship spaces. Susan graduated in 1998 from Mary Washington College, summa cum laude in Studio Art. Today her art is a synthesis of her background in painting, photography, and textiles. She is an award winning artist with work in many church and personal collections.
Susan’s liturgical work began with a suggestion from Bishop Susan Goff then the Rector of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Springfield where Susan was a member. Susan was a charter resident artist at The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia from opening day in 2008 through spring 2012. She now resides and works in Colonial Beach and is a member of the Colonial Beach Artists Guild.
Explore Advent, Part 2
"Advent is a time to look for “desert places”: the place of solitude, the place of true silence in which we can become fully awake to our sin and God’s forgiving grace which alone can heal it."-Br. Robert L’Esperance
This week we focus on John the Baptist through scripture, art and commentary. Let’s move to Advent 2.
St Nicholas Day is December 6.
Here is a presentation that provides the background of this saint who has had a colorful and varied history over 1800 years.
Additional Meditations:
David Lose – "Active Waiting" (2014)
Suzanne Guthrie – "A Way in the Wilderness" (2014)
Daniel Berrigan – "Advent Credo" (2004)
From the Presiding Bishop- Advent Messages 2012-2014 – "What are you waiting for?"
From the Diocese of Virginia –
Learning the Art of Waiting in Advent (2012)
Rt. Rev. Susan Goff
Be Awake, Alert, Aware, Alive, Part 1 (2013)
Be Awake, Alert, Aware, Alive, Part 2 (2013)
Rt. Rev. Susan Goff
Liturgical Layers – Advent
Bishop Shannon Johnston
Christmas Flowers
Linda Hemming, Aquia Church
Advent Waiting in Hope
Jeff Borden
The surprising origins of the Twelve Days of Christmas
Explore Advent, Part 3 – Over the Sundays in Advent there will be a presentation each week focusing on that week’s scriptures, art and commentary and how they demonstrate the themes of advent. Let’s continue with Advent 3.
A. Voices for Advent 3
"In Advent the church emphasizes these ways of continual change: Repentance. Conversion of life. Self-examination. Awakening. Deepening. "
– Suzanne Guthrie
B. "You Don’t Want to Be a Prophet (Isaiah, Luke)
"Christmas without Anglicans?" – Anglican contributions to Advent and Christmas carols.