It all happened in 2021.
We left 2020 with events eliminated and the church still on Zoom. We were pandemic weary – we had begun to ask when will this thing end and what is the next step for worship and other activities. We continued to add to the services, taking Zoom a step further in late 2020 by integrating videos in the service.
By March, 2021 we were back into the church and by the end of July most of our events (Village Dinner, Village Harvest, ECW, ECM) had returned to meeting as a group. There were compromises to overcome frustrations. For instance, The Village Dinner was delivered at first take-out to the diner’s cars and did not meet inside. Other groups, such as the ECM, did not find it easy scheduling meetings.
Our services had both inhouse participants and those on Zoom. What had changed was that people were getting the vaccine and the infection rates had dropped. Yes, a blessing! However, inhouse attendance was cut by about a third as people’s lives were re-arranged and some had moved on in life.
Ministry had to keep rolling. Activities were both to fulfill their missions as well as keep the group together. Both ECW and ECM created new events (Soup delivery and a plant sale) from the ECW and the Thanksgiving cards sent out by the ECM. Some groups like Sacred Ground, a reading group on race issues, continued to meet online though with them it was a matter of convenience as members were widely spread. They cranked out 3 books in 2021.
The most audacious act of the year was certainly the Jamaican mission trip. A mission trip in the Pandemic ? From such a small church ? Andrea Pogue was the leading force to raise $3,000 for the Jamaican school, creating the organization to provide and ship school supplies and recruit a total of 7 missioners who went. The effort began earlier than 2021 but formally kicked off with Andrea’s video in the Annual Meeting and continued through the year with the mission trip and additional funding activities since the ECW in November and Vestry in December provided additional funds for the school. The 2021 event becomes a launch pad for additional support we can provide to that community.
Another ministry that made progress under difficult circumstances was music. The choirs were rejuvenated with 4 new members as well as new instrumental capabilities (flute and guitar). It was not just in numbers but also in quality. The Christmas Eve service showed of the choir and their instrumentalists.
Outreach donations were a major theme in 2021 with the church contributing over $12,000 to the local community, the nation and the world. Outreach helped us connect to those outside the church to continue our mission but also those inside as participants. Some examples:
1. The church supported the community in collecting 292 bottles of hand sanitizer for Caroline’s Promise for their school supplies distribution on July 31, 2021.
2. The ECM collected $2,300 for the local community’s Thanksgiving and Christmas.
3. We helped to fund our Village Harvest in Giving Tuesday raising $900. It celebrated its 7th anniversary in November.
4. The Vestry contributed $3,000 to various charities.
5. ECW donating $3,000 to various charities – locally, nationally and internally. Much of the funds were collected from the monthly Village Dinners.
6. We not only back into the world locally but internationally in a big way. The church came together to send 7 missioners to Jamaica, raising $3,000 for school supplies. The project provided support to school children but also built a base for extending the ministry.
This is a year-end summary of 2021 arranged chronologically. The links below lead to one of 30+stories during the year, usually accompanied by pictures and/or video:
1. Bishop Porter visits, Second Christmas, Jan. 3
3. Annual Meeting, Jan. 31, 2021
5. Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021
6. Vegetable Soup delivered on March 1, 2021
7. The Village Dinner returns, March 10, 2021
8. Back into the Church building – March 28
10. Metal Detecting Finds, May 1, 2021
13. Coffee Hour Returns, July 4, 2021
14. Village Dinner returns inside July 14
15. July 2021 – an incredible month of ministry
16. Hand sanitizer collection, July 31, 2021
17. Sacred Ground Book Group, August, 2021
18. Larry Saylor comes to our rescue, Sept 19, 2021
19. Plant sale during the Season of Creation, Sept. 29
20. Season of Creation concludes Oct 4, 2021
21. Dr. John Sellers, Sr., Oct, 16, 2021 Pavilion dedication
23. Jamaican Trip Presentation, October, 2021
24. ECW Donates $3,000 to charity, Oct. 27, 2021
25. All Saints Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
27. Village Harvest, 7th anniversary Nov. 17, 2021
28. ECM sends Thanksgiving Blessings, Nov. 25, 2021
29. Advent 1 is dominated by Music, Nov. 28, 2021
30. It was a good Giving Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021
31. The Saylors bring their nativity collection to St. Peter’s , Dec. 5 2021
32. The Vestry donates to the Community, Dec. 12, 2021
33. Christmas Play goes outside , Dec. 19, 2021
34. Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2021 – Music to the forefront.
35. The ECM Thanksgiving and Christmas collection
1. Bishop Porter visits, Second Christmas, Jan. 3
The “gallery trio” sang “Unto us a boy is born.” and Psalm 95
Porter in his sermon preached that Christmas shows God breaking into the world, chancing the DNA of the universe. We are part of a large story when we respond to what God is calling.
Bishop Taylor challenged us to listen to what is God is saying to us in dreams and daily life, to embrace it and respond. What parts of our lives have been diminished ? What could we do to embrace God’s message and become what God wants us to be?
He used the cross as a metaphor. The vertical is living our life for God and horizontal to realize our actions have a ripple effect. We need to be like Joseph and move our feet.
The service was on Zoom with appropriate video segments of the choir, external music groups, Karen Richardson on guitar
3. Annual Meeting, Jan. 31, 2021
Due to the church being closed there were no reports, presentations inside the church this years. Instead online reports were supplemented with videos.
Catherine put together one called “St. Peter’s People” that celebrated those who have been here over the years. That’s included in the video link below but here it is embedded.
Parish Meeting Reports, Jan 31, 2021
Bartlett Tree experts were at St. Peter’s on Feb. 10 to do pruning of our oldest tree, the great sycamore just behind church. Besides this work, they earlier treated a fungus by injection that caused new leaves to turn brown and drop off.
5. Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021
This was our first Ash Wednesday on Zoom and thus out of the church. We had a number of visitors from St. Peter’s Oak Grove. We were asked to bring a candle, lighting the way to Lent.
“Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Amen.
Postlude by Brad – “Postlude Alone to you”, Lord Jesus J. Pachelbel
6. Vegetable Soup delivered on March 1, 2021
St. Peter’s Vegetable Soup delivered
This is an ECW project to deliver soup to 18 families in the area that we have not seen as much during the pandemic. The soup used is a combination of recipes from ECW members. Recipe in included in the link.
7. The Village Dinner returns, March 10, 2021
The Village Dinners returned in March after taking a two month break due to Covid rates in Caroline County.
As Andrea Pogue writes “St. Peter’s Angels along with our steadfast leader, host our first dinner of the year, (still grab and go for now.) Catherine made deliveries to our drive up participants also allowing time for a brief enjoyable 😷fellowship while still maintaining self distancing.” The dinner included chicken, rice, stir fried vegetables, and a green congealed salad (in honor of St Patrick’s Day) along with chocolate cake. The dinners are a bargain at $10 each and all the profits go to charities.
Thanks to cooks Andrea Pogue, Nancy Long, Betty K and Clarence, Cookie Davis and Elizabeth Heimbach and server Catherine Hicks. Susan L took the reservations for the over 40 dinners
8. Back in the Church – March 28
We reopened the church for the first time since March 8, 2020. There was a Litany of Thanksgiving that accompanied the usual Litany of the Palms to celebrate. From the flowers in the window to special violin music there were small touches that added to the celebration. We had 24 people in attendance.
We had 40 in attendance which included 4 online through Zoom. The inhouse attendance was at a maximum based on pandemic guidelines. This was only the second Sunday service we have been open.
A highlight of Sunday was the music. Andy Cortez provided a festive note with his trumpet. He had a workout, with opening hymn “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”, “The Day of Resurrection” as the concluding hymn and “Trumpet Voluntary” as the postlude. Helmut added his violin on Mozart’s “Alleluia”. Brad was featured in the prelude “Prelude and Fugue in C Major” by J. S. Bach. The music was warmly received by the congregation.
Also to be mentioned was Charles McGuire’s Calla Lilies which provided company to the Easter lilies. The lilies were on the altar and all the windows.
10. Metal Detecting Finds, May 1, 2021
Dave and Arthur Duke have spent some time metal detecting at St Peter’s. Dave has put some of their smaller finds into the small display case shown here and has included a map showing exactly where the objects were found. Thank you, Dukes, for revealing some of St Peter’s hidden history. These objects and the map will be on display in the parish house.
It was a warm Pentecost – maybe like a holy wind. 17 were present with another 9 online for a total of 26. There were differences in the past – “Hail Thee Festival Day” was done as a prelude and “O day of radiant gladness” became the opening hymn. The Holy Communion used Eucharistic Prayer D and not the special Prayer for Pentecost. Eucharistic Prayer D is the lengthiest and is generally associated with the holiest of our holidays or with occasions of Christian unity.
One thing that continued was the holy tongues of fire that appeared during the closing hymn, “There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place”. Johnny and Edgar did the honors spreading the “tongues”
The St Peter’s ECW held an afternoon tea on June 1 to welcome Linda Kramer and Jan Saylor to St Peter’s. Linen napkins, silver spoons, antique china, as well as the magnolias that graced the table made the delicious food prepared by Cookie Davis and Elizabeth Heimbach even more delectable. Even more delightful than the tea itself was the gift of seeing one another and to be in one another’s company. Linda and Jan received copies of the St Peter’s cookbook as gifts of welcome from the ECW.
13. Coffee Hour Returns, July 4, 2021
Under a partly cloudy sky and low humidity, coffee hour returned. For a July 4 it was very pleasant in terms of weather.
Ken and Andrea donated all the food from his birthday party on July 3. The menu included hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, baked beans, macaroni salad and a variety cookies and cakes. Cookie and Johnny brought water melon and organized the space with tables and decorations. People could come as they were without having to provide food. Thanks for all of the above.
It was relatively a small crowd which provided plenty of space for conversation. It was the first Parish event with the new pavilion which made it special.
14. Village Dinner returns inside July 14
This was our first inside Village Dinner dining experience in the Parish House since the pandemic began, March 2020. In that it is worth celebrating! It was actually both “take out and dine in.” The dinner is prepared monthly on the second Wednesday of the month from 5pm-6pm.
However, the food was exceptional and included barbecue ribs, baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob and a chocolate dessert. The timing was right for sweet corn from Johnny which was good compliment to Andrea’s ribs main course. Certainly, the best dinner in Port Royal that night.
15. July 2021 – an incredible month of ministry
It is also a summary of where we are as a congregation:
1. Mission Trip Preparations. We completed collection of $3,000, our goal for school supplies for Victoria School in Jamaica.
2. Newcomer welcome. We try to give the best welcome to all newcomers whatever the reason for coming to one or our services.
3. Fellowship. Fellowship is a big part of whom we are sharing stories, needs and ideas. Our congregation is 40 or less with 25-30 on Zoom or in person on Sundays. We had have events where we go around to shut-in and bring greeting. It’s that fellowship that helped us collect 250 bottles of sanitizer in July to benefit Caroline’s Promise which we have partnered with in the past.
4. Worship. Worship is the key to St. Peter’s. We celebrate the Eucharist almost every Sunday as principle service of the Episcopal Church.
5. Outreach – Village Harvest. This is our feeding ministry every 3rd Wed of the month, 3pm-5pm. Since Nov. 2014, over 6 years, we have fed 8,624 individuals, 87K pounds of food. We draw from Caroline County, King George and Westmoreland Counties
6. Outreach – Village Dinner. The Village Dinner is a monthly dinner on the 2nd Wed of the month, 5pm-6pm. The dinners can be eaten in house taken out. The proceeds from the dinner supports our local Episcopal Church Women as they donate funds at the end of the year to charities local, national and international.
16. Hand sanitizer collection, July 31, 2021
We made our goal to donate 250 bottles of hand sanitizer to Caroline’s Promise for their school supplies distribution on July 31, 2021. We actually collected 292 bottles! Thanks to all who helped!
17. Sacred Ground Book Group, August, 2021
The Sacred Ground book group was formed in late 2020 after the Sacred Ground Series was completed that same year. This group read the 3 above books in the picture during 2021. There were 9 in the group from St. Peter’s and St. Peter’s Oak Grove. The last book All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake” won the National Book Award in 2021.
18. Larry Saylor comes to our rescue Sept 19, 2021
Larry Saylor received a call late Friday, Sept. 17. Brad our organist was sick with pneumonia. He played the music for the Sunday service on Sept 19. Wow! Pieces include a piece by Fernando Sors as the prelude, “As the Deer” for the opening hymn, “Singing Skies and Dancing Waters” as the offertory and “Let There Be Peace on Earth” as the closing hymn. Larry said later he thrives on last minute things.
Here are the videos from the Sept 19 service.
He also played some on the following week Sept 26. There was a medley of Be My Vision/Sweet Hour of Prayer (Prelude), Seek Ye First (Opening Hymn), Potter’s Clay (Offertory) and “In my life, Lord by glorified”.
19. Plant sale during the Season of Creation, Sept. 29
Twelve people came to the Tea and Plants on the Patio sale of native (and other) plants at the Davis residence, held on Wednesday, September 29. Maple trees, beauty berry bushes, and an oak tree went to new homes, along with aloes, day lilies, and Christmas cactus plants. Money from the sale, $400, went to the Tree Fund at St Peter’s.
20. Season of Creation concludes Oct 4, 2021
Details
We were involved in composting. We reviewed composting and other steps taken for the Season of Creation at the church.
We provided Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action, a chapter each Sunday online, a free book. M.O.R.E is an acronym for measure, offset, reduce and educate. Our goal with this book is to arm you with the know-how to easily adopt lifestyle changes, habits and actions that will aid in your efforts against the climate crisis.
There was a land acknowledgement at the beginning of the service that our church sits on land originally belonging to indigenous people – To pay tribute to those who came before us, our services now open with an acknowledgement of the Nandtaughtacund people, and the Rappahannock Tribe
21. Dr. John Sellers, Sr., Oct, 16, 2021 Pavilion dedication
The Pavilion dedication for Dr. John Sellers, Sr., Oct, 16, 2021 From Left to right, Top to Bottom – Dedication in the pavilion, Musicians in the service (Helmut Linne von Berg, Jim Heimbach), Reception in the Pavilion, Memories of John (Mahmud Syed)
About 40 people came out in pouring rain for a program of prayer, music, memories and reception on Oct. 16, 2021.
The event was moved inside the church because of the 3 hour downpour outside. The quietness of the church fit well with the program, especially the music which included pieces John loved and a selection of hymns from earlier Gospel on the River events.
After the program inside there was a reception of sandwiches, cookie and other light fare. Catherine said the prayers and dedication at that time.
St. Peter’s choir began the year on video, a trio in front of the church singing “What Star is This”. They had to deal with not only with COVID but Brad’s pneumonia sickness. By Oct. 24 they were back in person with “Heal me, hands of Jesus” with newcomers Larry Saylor and Linda Decatur. By the end of the year, Mary Peterman and Denise Gregory were back.
23. Jamaican Trip Presentation, October, 2021
50 slides The presentation of 50 slides is taken from the words and photos of those who participated it the Jamaica Mission Trip in August,2021.
In 2019, church member Andrea Pogue, who is from Jamaica and who attended the Victoria School herself, came to the Vestry and explained that in Jamaica, the custom is that those who can do so will return to their homeland to give back to the people and the institutions who have shaped who they have become. This way of giving thanks offers others a hope of success in their own lives.
Andrea’s dream was to give back to her elementary school. The Vestry agreed wholeheartedly to take on a project to help the school.
As the Covid rates went down this past spring, we made the decision to move forward with the project, which we had put on hold during 2020. In short order, the church members raised $3000 and purchased enough school supplies and book bags for the 350 students. Andrea and Ken Pogue, Cookie Davis and Johnny Davis, Laura Carey, Jan Saylor, and Catherine Hicks decided to make the journey to bring greetings from St Peter’s in person, and to hand out the bookbags to the students.
At the end of June, church members packed all the school supplies and shipped them off to Jamaica. The principal at the school, Annette Steele, went to Kingston to pick up the supplies and carry everything back to the school.
We arrived in Jamaica on August 19th. After landing in Kingston, Jamaica, we visited old Port Royal, Jamaica. The next day we made the trip out to the school, perched on the side of a mountain in the parish of St Catherine. The yellow school buildings sit along a narrow street in a small village. In a sweltering classroom, we unpacked the crates of bookbags and school supplies, and then filled the bookbags with the supplies, half of the bookbags for the older students in grades 4-6, half for the younger, grades 1-3.
The next morning, under an overcast sky and in the stifling humidity that indicates coming rain, parents and young children, all in masks, gathered in droves, lining up along the covered walkway that sheltered the open walled classrooms for grades one through three and faced into the paved courtyard where the older students gathered to enter their building, with its classrooms for grades four through six.
Andrea Pogue spoke to the assembled children and their parents and told them about growing up nearby, about walking to school every day from the mountain near the village, about the importance of education, about how God has been with her on her journey, and about how God is with us all. Knowing that God is with us helps us through the difficult times in our lives. These families could relate to what Andrea was saying to them, for many of them live with the ongoing challenges of poverty. So Andrea brought encouragement and inspiration to this group. She also encouraged everyone to find and to be a part of a faith community. The Rev. Catherine Hicks, the Rector at St Peter’s, brought greetings on behalf of everyone at St Peter’s, and the promise of our ongoing prayers for the families whose children attend this school and for the dedicated staff of fourteen people who work there.
And then for the next two hours we handed out the book bags and school supplies. As Cookie Davis told the congregation on our return, “The happy faces of the students matched ours as we helped them to choose their bookbags.”
Later that afternoon the principal called Andrea to tell her that students and parents had continued to show up throughout the rest of the day, and that all the bookbags had been taken. The assistant principal told us that although our partially filled book bags seemed like only small gifts to us in the face of all the needs these students have, the bags provide tremendous hope and encouragement. And with the money we had left over the principal plans to buy a new projector for the school.
For the past year, St Peter’s congregation has also joined Andrea’s family and others in donating money for and purchasing dinners put on by Andrea’s family to raise money to restore the family house on the mountaintop a few miles from the school where two of Andrea’s brothers still live. As Jan Saylor reported to the church on our return, “this house provides the two brothers comfort, safety, and protection, but even more importantly, it reminds them how very much they are loved by their family.” Part of our mission was to visit this house, not quite finished, but well on the way to being completed. Soon the house will have indoor plumbing and an indoor kitchen. St Peter’s people, members of Andrea’s family, both family members in Jamaica and those of all ages who flew in from around the United States, gathered on the mountaintop at the family home site to celebrate the progress that has happened thanks to everyone’s support, and to catch up with one another. As Jan said in her report to St Peter’s on our return, “in many ways, St Peter’s has become a part of the family as well, as we’ve taken part in building the house. We reminded Andrea’s brothers that they are loved and cared for far beyond their mountain top. We are proof that God’s hand has touched their lives, and most importantly, they are reminded how very much God loves them.”
Our trip to Jamaica occurred just ahead of the latest Covid surge. We could not have guessed as we were planning the trip that the day after the distribution, the people of Jamaica would go into a three day lockdown declared throughout the country to slow the spread of Covid. We were thankful that Covid did not ultimately sabotage our plans to go in person to Jamaica, to bring the good news of God’s love, to celebrate and to make connections that we hope will endure and lead to more work with and on behalf of the Jamaican people.
This mission has also been good news for St Peter’s. As Cookie Davis reminded the congregation, “Any of us can be a missionary!” and everyone at St Peter’s got to be a missionary in some form or fashion in making this mission a reality. We were reminded, as Cookie quoted, that “we are the ones God chooses and sends into places of need, to do God’s work of healing, liberating, and restoring—and our weakness (or in our case our small size) is no excuse! God says to us what God says to Moses, “I will be with you! We need not be afraid. It is always God’s work, not ours.”
24. ECW Donates $3,000 to charity, Oct. 27, 2021
Link
Under the glorious autumn sky of late October (October 27, 2021), the ECW met on Cookie’s patio for tea and conversation This year’s Village Dinner proceeds of $3,000 from the monthly dinners will go to the following groups:
St Peter’s Discretionary Fund
St Andrew’s School in Richmond, VA. This Episcopal school provides quality education for children who come from low income families.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation Supports the families of fallen first responders and the military by providing mortgage free smart homes for the catastrophically injured and their families.
Wounded Warrior Project provides services and programs and events for wounded veterans.
Five Talents. Helps the world’s most vulnerable families escape poverty through microfinance, job creation and education.
Heifer International Provides livestock and training to help people end poverty and hunger in their families and communities.
Episcopal Relief and Development works to end poverty and to provide immediate disaster relief worldwide through The Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Luis Garcia, priest in the Dominican Republic, to support his ministry in the several churches that he serves.
Caroline’s Promise provides resources for the children of Caroline County through partnership with churches, businesses, and the Caroline County Board of Supervisors.
The Victoria School in Jamaica Providing increased access to technology for the students.
25. All Saints Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Continuing the beautiful fall days with more advancement in color especially with the maples. We had 16 in the church and another 5 on line
The All Saints service was structured differently this year. At the beginning was a mournful piece played by Helmut on violin, Albioni’s Adagio. Next Catherine provided an introduction to All Saints Sunday. We then read the names of all who had died plus the names of the people who requested them added to our bulletins over the year. This was a much more meaningful expression adding those who requested they be added. Next there was a extended tolling of the bell followed by the poem “We Remember Them” by Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemder. It wasn’t until then we went into the regular service with hymns including the majestic “For All the Saints”, put to melody, Sine Nomine” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. All in all a wonderful expression of All Saints.
After the service we had our 1st Sunday refreshment which was a white and chocolate cake provide by Mary’s Cakery & Candy Kitchen in King George.
In 2020, during the pandemic the digital platform Zoom carried the entire service when the church was closed. This meant that each family would accessing the service which was in Catherine’s home through Zoom.
In 2021, Catherine would bring here laptop and provide a feed inside the service. Those who were uncomfortable coming back in the space, were away or for any other reason could watch the service from afar.
We have had anywhere from 3 to 15 online during Sundays this year. During a few services more people were online than in the church building. It is another way a small church can increase its reach.
27. Village Harvest, 7th anniversary Nov. 17, 2021
We celebrated 97 clients on Nov 17, 2021, our 7th anniversary. This was the 3rd highest number for 2021 and over 82 our 2021 average. Thanks to those to who came and who volunteered to support. Cookie and Johnny Davis pick up the foods from the Healthy Harvest Food Bank and volunteers come in early Wednesday to organize and then another group distributed the food between 3pm and 5pm. It’s a group effort even after 7 years.
28. ECM sends Thanksgiving Blessings, Nov. 25, 2021
The ECM has compiled a list of men who have moved or who are not able to get out as much as they used to, and sent them all Thanksgiving greetings, a way to keep everyone connected over the miles.
29. Advent 1 is dominated by Music, Nov. 28, 2021
A new church year (Year C) a new Gospel (Luke) and a new season (Advent) wrapped into one. A beautiful Sunday with clear blue skies and moderate temperatures for November.
Music was one of the highlights with Larry Saylor soloing on guitar for “I Wonder as I Wander” and the choir doing a different arrangement of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The theme of this Sunday was for Jesus to come after being foretold in the Old Testament and after 400 years of silence from God at the time. Thus there is the theme of hope and yearning for Jesus to come again into our lives.
Listen to the performances:.
30. It was a good Giving Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021
A wonderful Giving Tuesday it was ! We raised $899 which will cover 4 months of expenses for the Village Harvest food ministry. We exceeded our goal of $500. This compares with 2019 when we raised, $945 and $497.25 in 2018
Thanks to all who contributed as well as those who help with the Village Harvest and those who take advantage of it.
We also collected
1. UTO (United Thank Offering): $268.87
2. Episcopal Church Men- $905 to Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas donation goes until Dec. 15.
31. The Saylors bring their nativity collection to St. Peter’s , Dec. 5 2021
The Saylors brought their nativity collection to St. Peter’s for Advent. They are in the windows. Jan has been collecting since the early 1990’s. The photo above took a character (or group) from each of the 8 countries represented in their collection.
Top Row, left to right – Bolivia, US, Indonesia, Peru
Second Row, left to right -Dominican Republic, Zambia, Colombia, and Haiti
There is a story behind each piece of art. Some of the art was bartered (Dominican Republic, Haiti) and others bought from Ten Thousand Villages a nonprofit fair trade organization (Indonesia, Peru, Colombia). Some of the pieces from Zambia and Dominican Republic reflect their overseas travels. Closer to home the US piece came from Jan’s family home. We thank them for sharing this treasure with St. Peter’s.
We have a photo gallery of the exhibit.
From a Sermon Dec. 12, 2021
“John the Baptist would encourage us who have more than enough to share with those who don’t have enough. As a church, we try to follow these teachings of loving our neighbor. John the Baptist reminds us too that part of preparing for the coming of the Savior is to pay attention to what we have in excess, and to be intentional about how we are to share with others, for this sharing is part of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
“This teaching is one of the reasons why each year our Vestry sets aside money to share with others, and then at its December meeting disperses that money. At our meeting last Thursday, the Vestry voted to share $3000 from St Peter’s with Hunters for the Hungry, a group that gets venison to food banks and social services around the area; the Healthy Harvest Food Bank, a group that works to provide food for hungry people all over this part of Virginia; the Caroline Recovery Center, a group that works with people struggling with drug addictions; Caroline Young Life, a group working with teenagers in our school system; CERV, an ecumenical group that helps people in need in Caroline County; Episcopal Migration Ministries, the branch of the Episcopal Church that works directly with settling refugees from around the world, helping them to lead successful lives in this country; St Jude’s, the hospital that cares for children with cancer, money for the continuing work of the The Victoria School in Jamaica; and money for a new scholarship being established for a Caroline County student of Black or indigenous heritage who could not otherwise afford higher education to attend community college for two years. Grace Church, Corbin will also receive some money from this distribution, as our way of helping to preserve our Anglican history in Caroline County. The fact that we have money to share and that we are sharing it is cause for rejoicing in the Lord, and for the Lord to rejoice in us.”
Since the 1990’s the annual St. Peter’s Christmas Play was inside the Church, usually during Advent 4. The play has always involved much of the congregation. However, due to Covid, there was no 2020 play.
Let’s do something different! In 2021, the idea was to go outside in terms of location and marketing. We would invite the community and bring the meaning of Christmas to the world and schedule it in the evening outside. It would have two performances to attract a larger audience in the community. We also went outside the church for additional actors and actresses for an ecumenical flavor. We had a real Jesus born in 2021! The angels were not just children but adults as well. The music had to be mobile!
This was a more involved play with 6 scenes and locations, including the pavilion dedicated in 2021. With this complexity the play had to include more directions and location managers.
The play is here
Scenes and locations
Scene 1 – Elizabeth and Mary – Heimbach home
Scene 2 – Joseph – Pine Tree near St. Peter’s
Scene 3 – The Inn – Parish House back door
Scene 4 – Shepherds and Angels – front of the church
Scene 5 – Manger – Pavilion
Scene 6 – Wisemen — Pavilion
This year may be noted as as return of enhanced music. Since last year Larry Saylor was with us on guitar, and Mary Peterman is back on flute as well as Denise Gregory with her voice. The choir had a new energy and depth which was shown on the “In the Bleak Midwinter.” The choir contributed soloists – flute, guitar and violin. Later in the service, Helmut sang “Silent Night” accompanied by Larry on guitar which was the way it was performed in 1818 on guitar and vocal. Helmut sang the first verse in German and the congregation repeated the 1st verse in English along with the rest of the hymn. Certainly a highlight of the service!
Another characteristic was new decoration. We had a new nativity scene outside with 3 figures – Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. The Saylors brought their nativity sets which adorned our windows.
Links:
1. Bulletin Dec. 24, 2021
2. Sermon Dec. 24, 2021
3. Videos from the Service
4. Photos from the Service
35. The ECM Thanksgiving and Christmas collection
Ken announced the Episcopal Church Men had collected $1,100 at Thanksgiving and $1,200 at Christmas for a total of $2,300.
While monies were intended for gift card of those in need, Social Services is recommending a portion for utilities.
The state’s moratorium on utility disconnections ended Aug 30, 2021. The General Assembly is continuing a ban on service disconnections for the most vulnerable Dominion Energy customers through March 1, 2022.