ST.PETER’S PARISH POST
NOVEMBER 2010
The Rev. Catherine Hicks, Deacon in Charge
Thanksgiving for One Another
Paul begins his second letter to the Thessalonians with the following thanksgiving.
“We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.”
Faith is like the mustard seed that Jesus talks about in the gospel according to Matthew. “It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
As a Christian community, we have faith in Jesus—that is, we believe in Jesus, and we trust in him. And believing and trusting in Jesus, we open our hearts to him. Jesus comes like the tiniest of seeds into our hearts, and if we cultivate our faith in him, we find that as we become more and more aware of His love for us, that His love grows in our hearts, and becomes so great that we are able to welcome one another as the birds of the air come and make nests in the branches of the mustard tree in the parable.
And so as faith and love for Jesus grow in the fertile fields of our hearts, hope springs up as well. And with hope comes courage, the courage to risk having faith in one another, the courage to love one another as steadfast brothers and sisters in Christ.
The fertile fields in this part of the country have produced their crops for this year, and farmers have been busy for the last several weeks harvesting.
But fall is not only the season for harvesting, but it is also the season for planting winter wheat.
Planting any seed right before winter weather is truly an act of faith and hope that the seed will winter over, and that it will then grow to maturity when the spring sun warms the soil again, bringing with it the warmth needed for the seed to grow abundantly and to reach its full potential.
As Christians, we are called on to plant seeds of love for one another in our hearts and in our community even when our hearts may feel wintry and cold. We have faith that the warmth of Jesus’ love for each one of us will warm the soil of our hearts, so that, come spring, these seeds of love that we have planted for one another will grow to maturity, a magnificent crop of love as vivid as green winter wheat against the pale tans and browns of the early spring landscape, a visible witness of God’s love to the rest of the world.
“We must always give thanks to you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.”
Thanks Be to God for that love. Catherine
Check out the St Peter’s website!
You can find the St Peter’s website on your computer by going to www.churchsp.org. The first page of the website will give you all the information you need for the Sunday coming up, in addition to information and photos about recent events at St Peter’s.
You can also easily find the calendar for each month, which includes upcoming events as well as the dates of parish birthdays and anniversaries. Check out the photo galleries for photos of wonderful happenings here at St Peter’s. All of the sermons are also posted on the website so that they are available to you in manuscript form.
Celebration of our 175 years of service continues
on Sunday, November 14th at the 11am service
On Sunday, November 14th, at the 11AM service, we will be welcoming The Rev. Robert W. Prichard Ph.D., to St Peter’s as the celebrant and preacher. Dr. Prichard is The Arthur Lee Kinsolving Professor of Christianity in America and Instructor in Liturgics at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Prichard is one of the church’s foremost authorities on Christianity in America. In his sermon on the 14th, he will include some of his knowledge about church history. Please plan to attend that day, and invite others, especially those with an interest in history.
SCHOLARSHIP PHARMACY STUDENT SAYS THANKS
Dear StPeter’s,
Thank you so much for the scholarship money. I was able to buy all of my books with it this semester! I really appreciate all of your support and kindness over the years. Thank you so much and hope to see you soon! Love, Ann Upshaw
UMW STUDENT GIVES THANKS FOR LAURA HAYES SCHOLARSHIP
Dear St. Peter’s Church,
I would like to offer my sincerest thanks and gratitude for the scholarship that I was awarded. I will
continue to endeavor on a course of education to benefit myself and my community.
Many blessings,
Kyle Allwine
Come give thanks for your many blessings!
St Asaph’s has invited us to join them for their Wednesday evening Thanksgiving service, which will be held on Wednesday night, November 24th at St Asaph’s in Bowling Green at 7:30 pm.
Please watch the bulletin for more specific information. This worship service is a wonderful opportunity to join with our fellow Episcopalians in thanksgiving and praise.
Your Diocese at Work for You
Committee on Mental Health releases its Report to the Diocese of Virginia
The Diocesan Mental Health Committee has developed a plan to help parishes in the Diocese to develop activities and programs that promote mentally healthy parishioners and congregations, in three areas: spiritual, social, and pastoral. The Wellness Planner that the committee has sent out is a guideline that we can use to see how what we are already doing in our parish contributes to mental health, to identify groups in our parish who could benefit from additional programs, and to think about how to allocate limited resources as we develop new programs.
Here at St Peter’s, we do several things already that contribute to mental health. Our clean up days provide an opportunity for people to enjoy working outside in the company of others, a great way to relieve stress. Pastoral counseling is available. Recently, our book group has been reading a book that points to ways in which our spiritual growth can lead to wellness in other areas of our lives as well.
This report will help us consider other ways in which we can support one another in leading healthy lives. For instance, we may want to consider starting a prayer group. Stay posted for more information.
CONFERENCE AT CHRIST CHURCH IN NOVEMBER
The Faith, Technology and communications Conference will be held on Wednesday, November 17th at Christ Church in Spotsylvania. This conference is a great opportunity to learn about new ways to use technology in church communications. The keynote speaker is Anne Rudig. She is the director of communications for the Episcopal Church. She will include some information about how demographics and shifting trends can affect our communications strategies in her talk. Various workshops will also be offered. If you are interested in attending, please see Catherine Hicks for more information.
ECW
The ECW Fall Social was quite a success! Johnny’s workshop was transformed with cornstalks and pumpkins and traditional fall foods and drink were served. Special guests Marion & Lin Harrell judged the costumes. There was much laughter and fun was had by all. Prizes went to Vivian McDonald who was a great clown, Roger Key (a wise and lovely Caesar got the prize for the prettiest), Best Couple went to the Betchys (a bull & matador), most original was Eunice Key who stuffed her step-father’s overalls and grew a beard! Genevieve was a cute black cat and was the best sport! Personally I favored Stanley who had a “jelly belly”……There were some mighty pretty girls there too and one really cute curly haired “boy”…….a little ole lady kept her eye on him! I liked that cowboy from out of town! Wow…a lovely butterfly flitted around too. We were certainly blessed with wonderfully attired guests……..all for charity as this was a fundraiser for the ECW charities.
Shoeboxes will be filled with Christmas treats for needy children again this year. Nancy Long will collect and deliver them. Deadline is Nov. 21 since many are sent out of the country. Everyone is asked to participate. The ECW will assist the Sunday School children with their expenses. They are working hard to fill their boxes. Won’t you do one?
The ECW has selected December 15th as the day for the Church Luncheon. Let Marion know if you have suggestions for a good restaurant. We might want to go somewhere different.
Our church will again adopt a Christmas family. Watch for the tree with suggestions. Dutchy will coordinate this again. All gifts must be under the tree byDec. 19th
All are invited to attend Catherine’s Ordination in Richmond on Sat. Dec. 11th More details coming later. Save the day and let Marion know if you need a ride or want to carpool.
All Aboard!
Join us as we embark upon a new journey that will be 2011! No trip can be made without planning. The train will be leaving the station soon. Will you be a passenger or simply watch the train go by?
Stewardship is part of the plan – planning to use our resources taking care of what has been entrusted to our care.
Our resources are time, talent and treasury. God has given us abundance – we have more than we need. To whom much is given, much is expected. As stewards we take care of what we have around us at St. Peters. Yes, we have to fund our historic facilities – the regular bills of HVAC, insurance and repairs. But just as important is the best and proper use to fund God’s work in the world through our ministries. These include the work of the ECW, the food ministries, the gifts to charities and the needy to send God’s spirit in the world. They need our resources to continue their work.
Stewardship is not just about what the Church needs but about what you need. For each of us, stewardship is our personal journey of faith and response to the gospel, a reflection of thankfulness for past benefits to us plus the hope of the New Year. Stewardship helps us see both the wholeness and interdependence of life. It helps us to participate in that process of spreading the Gospel mentioned above.
The reality for St. Peter’s is that church expenses are expected to rise 30% in 2011. Can you help? We think you can. The more you give away, the more you realize you have more than you think! But just in case you need those dollars in 2011, turn in your envelope and add the 30% to your 2010 pledge on the front of the envelope and the extra will be in a separate account. If for some reason, you need those funds, it will be refunded to you with no questions asked.
The Conductor has blown the whistle and the train is ready to leave the station shortly so get those pledges in and be board the train in 2011 so that St. Peter’s can continue to be that special light into the world.
“PUMPKINS ON THE FARM” A SUCCESS
The Sunday School Class of St. Peter’s was most appreciative of the wonderful day on the farm they shared with Cookie and Johnny and their grandchildren. The pumpkin carving and combine rides were so much fun for both the big and small kids. It was fun seeing the different faces each child would draw on their pumpkins, and even more fun to watch the big kids trying to follow the lines on the pumpkins with the sharp knives. There were fun games for the children where everyone was a winner and went home with a prize! How GREAT is that? The brownies and cupcakes were scrumptious and the cider set the fall spirit. The children all enjoyed the day playing, running and learning about the farm. Thank you Cookie and Johnny!
Article and art by Terri