Sunday, June 25,2017, Blessings (full size gallery)
Bishop Shannon’s last visit to St. Peter’s was in the summer of 2013.
4 years past and we have renovated the Campanile or Bell Tower, our kitchen and restored the Altarpiece. We have a new look! By having the Bishop bless this work we share with him and the Diocese in this work, enlarging our community.
In particular, the United Thank Offering grant from the Diocese and Episcopal Church helped us renovate the kitchen which provides not only fellowship but also works in support of our feeding ministry, the Village Harvest.
Links
1. Kitchen
2. Altarpiece
3. Campanile
The following prayers were in our bulletin today:
Prayers of Blessings, June 25, 2017
Blessing of the Bell Tower/Storage Shed
The recently renovated structure in the graveyard served as the bell tower for St Peter’s until the bell was returned to the church roof in 2010. This month the Pitts Brothers and their helpers have repaired the tower by lifting it and placing it on a concrete slab and making it watertight. It serves now as the storage shed for equipment needed for the care of the church grounds.
Prosper, O Lord, the work of our hands:
Prosper our handiwork.
The Prayer and Blessing by Bishop Shannon
Let us pray:
O God, your blessed Son worked with his hands in the carpenter shop in Nazareth: Bless the bell tower and those who have repaired it, and bless those who work around the church and care for the buildings and the grounds, that laboring as workers with you, they may share the joy of your creation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Blessing of the Kitchen
Since Bishop Shannon last visited, we have renovated the kitchen with the help of a United Thank Offering grant. The updated work space is much easier to use, and, is at the center of much of our life together over in the parish house, also known as Fall Hall. We do indeed eat in plenty and are satisfied here at St Peter’s, and we praise the name of the Lord our God, who has dealt wondrously with us.
The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord:
And you give them their food in due season.
The Prayer and Blessing by Bishop Shannon
Let us pray:
O Lord our God, you supply every need of ours according to your great riches: Bless the St Peter’s kitchen, and bless the many hands that work there, and give us all grateful hearts for daily bread; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing of the Altarpiece
Since Bishop Shannon last visited, Cleo Mullins and her colleagues at Richmond Conservation Studios and Rusty Bernabo, a gilt specialist, have restored the altarpiece at the front of the church, which was badly in need of repair. The restoration brings brightness and color into this space and gives new emphasis to these foundational words that shape our faith as Christians.
Look upon the rainbow, and praise him who made it.
How beautiful it is in its brightness.
The Prayer and Blessing by Bishop Shannon
Let us pray:
O Lord God, the whole world is filled with the radiance of your glory: Accept and bless our offering of this altarpiece which we now dedicate to you for the adornment of this place and the inspiration of your people. Grant that as the light shines on it in many colors, so our lives may show forth the beauty of your manifold gifts of grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(From The Book of Occasional Services)