2013 was a year St. Peter’s took advantage of many opportunities making it a rich Church year of experience. Some of them:

-To serve the community (Community Dinners, The Thirteen Concert, Feeding the Team, Charter Day, July 4, Fred Camp, Jail Ministry)

-To enjoy each other (a one day trip to see Noah in Pennsylvania, to sing along the river, to become actors in a murder mystery)

-To take a chance on children’s education with Godly Play; plan a real Vacation Bible School with them and adults; and to celebrate youth with Shrine Mont Sunday.

-To do some unusual things (hold a 3rd century Eucharist,dance in church, feast with Jesus, make bread on a Saturday)

We have over 60 slides in this gallery, with descriptions and links to pictures, the Parish Post and various web pages. After it’s over, I think you agree it was hearty year!

This Sunday combined ancient liturgy of the 2nd/3rd century Christian experience with the congregation meeting. That Sunday's Eucharistic Prayer comes from the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome, written early in the second century, for the Eucharistic Prayer. The closing prayer is from the Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, believed to have been written in the late first century or early second century. The prayers of intercession are taken from the Good Friday service in our prayer book. Even though they do not date back to the second or third century, the format is similar to the prayers of the church in the early centuries.

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This was a youth project. Box Tops for Education has helped America’s schools earn over $475 million since 1996. People contributed boxtops which earns cash for the schools. Box Tops for Education

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The stole is part of the Stoles for Chaplains Project. This project began when Sergeant Stower, serving in Afghanistan, requested a stole made out of camouflage material for his chaplain. Soon, forty-one other chaplains in Afghanistan also wanted a stole. And so, women in several states have been busy at work making these forty-one stoles. Barbara Porterfield made this stole and we blessed it on Feb

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Souper Bowl of Caring" is an annual fundraising drive organized in partnership with the NFL. During "Souper Bowl of Caring 2012", schools, faith-based organizations and service clubs throughout the United States raised over $9.9 million that was donated to local charities. The youth also be collected dollars in our pail at the conclusion of the service. We collected 70 pieces of food compared to 50 last year.

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Ash Wednesday came with a cold steady rain that seemed to fit the mood of the day. For such a night, we had a good crowd at 21. People appreciated being there. Certainly one highlight was Nancy's solo on "The Glory of These Forty Days." The words are attributed to Pope Gregory in the 6th century. "The glory of these forty days We celebrate with songs of praise; For Christ, by Whom all things were made, Himself has fasted and has prayed." While we remember our sins and misdoings, the mood is not dwelling on the past but on improving the future. Ash Wednesday sets us on our course during Lent. The main call of Ash Wednesday is call us into a way of discipline for the next 40 days as the Prayer

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During the Sundays of Lent , Catherine led us on a study of forgiveness, using the work of Father Frank Desiderio, a Catholic priest whose current ministry is helping people to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is good for your body, mind and spirit. The link has summaries of all 5 sessions in the left sidebar.

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The Haiti school attached to Notre Dame Cathedral had one latrine for 300 students. Region One churches raised $22K for a new toilet system and the project was ongoing at the end of the year. We introduced this in March and collected the last funds in Oct. We donated $1,320 in the earlier time and $234 in September

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From VTS - "The award is given annually to the outstanding preaching entry “where prophetic voice is central within the sermon." "Hicks’ sermon from October 14, 2012 (Proper 23, Year B), imagines traveling back in time to the 1700s and sharing a meal in the company of Thomas Jefferson...” The Parish voted how to use the funds. On Palm Sunday, we voted to give $1000 of the award money from the John Hines Preaching Award to Toilets for Haiti, and to the Diocese of Virginia Mustard Seed Fund. Each of these projects will receive $500. Another $750 will go to the Virginia Theological Seminary Missionary Society to fund grants that help Episcopalians all over the world carry out projects that are as diverse as helping to put up needed buildings, digging wells, purchasing vehicles or funding small businesses... Also, $250 will go to Catholic Charities at the request of Henry Weincek, who wrote the Smithsonian article that was quoted in the sermon.

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The Sermon

We featured this class during Lent and then revived it in Sept. and Oct. Learning about the time in which Jesus lived, what his culture was like, and what he ate can help us learn more about Jesus and his teachings. This class is based on the book The Food and Feasts of Jesus: Inside the World of First-Century Fare, with Menus and Recipes by Douglas Neel & Joel Pugh.

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This year the featured entertainment was a Murder Mystery with 20 parts and organized into 4 rounds. Thanks to Boyd and Barbara Wisdom for doing all the working organizing it. Boyd had an entire notebook full of the story and parts. We were constantly given new updates on our characters. The game was actually played over the entire evening. Cookie and Ken won special prizes for their costumes. 25+ people were here for a fundraiser originally created by Tom Mahoney, 11 years ago. We feasted on lots of meats and fish (venison, ham, meat loaf, fish), macaroni and salad and lots of drinks before hand. I can safely say everyone had a wonderful time. Where else have you heard of a church holding a murder mystery during Lent ?

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Johnny Davis announced that Hunters for the Hungry had donated venison that covered one of the largest freezers at social service. The amount donated was 500 pounds! He describes the process. "Our hunt club (which does not have a name) donated several deer to Hunters for the Hungry during December and January this year. Upper Essex Baptist Church has a trailer where we deliver them. They contract to have them cut up and packaged. The meat is then stored in their freezer until we pick it up and deliver it to Social Services in Bowling Green." Also, an article on the bulletin board mentioned he was able to get a company to donate $2,500 to Caroline's Promise and $2,500 to the museum. The former was part of winning the American's Farmers Grow Communities contest.

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We dedicated a new frontal, burse and veil put together by Eunice. She "researched fabrics and materials, and then created our new frontal, burse and veil for a fraction of the cost of ordering these pieces." Thanks be to God for Eunice’s stewardship of time and talent. And our thanks to the ECW, who provided funds for the purchase of the needed materials.

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We had a series of services on Easter Week - including Tenebrae, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday. Preceding Maundy Thursday, we had a traditional Seder supper.Seder means order and it was an instructional meal, remembering the Jewish passover - "death passing over the Jewish firstborns and striking the Egyptians and the Jewish people passing over from slavery to freedom." The service featured the washing and anointing of hands. "And then I’m going to bless your hands as a reminder that God watches over us and blesses us because God loves us. And God wants us to go out from here to love and serve others , not just with our hands and our feet, but with all we have to give, as sacrifices that do not lead to death, but to praise and thanksgiving and life giving service. " The powerful story of Van Cliburn in the sermon illustrated this point. By the end of the service the altar is stripped in preparation for Good Friday.

Holy Week at St. Peter's

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Good Friday is a blend of all of the Holy Week services. There is a long reading like Palm Sunday, this year in Luke. The reading in Good Friday is always from John, a very detailed account of Christ's last day . Like Tenebrae, Good Friday creates a mood and like Maundy Thursday is one day, the last one for Christ. It maybe is the most emotional one – from disbelief over the arrest, flogging, trial and eventual crucifixion in a quickly moving Friday to one of horror, anger and reflection. Horror and anger that a Jewish man was condemned by Jewish officials to one of the worse means of death. Reflection is that you realize he told you all of the time this would happen. John's gospel more than the others witnesses to the victory of the cross. John juxtaposes the persecution of the day with the idea that in the end Jesus is in control, revealing the glory of God. The INRI initials on the cross are for the Latin title that Pontius Pilate had written over the head of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 19:19). Cross was made by Helmut

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This was a Region One project. St. Peter's provided $2,500 of the $3,600 raised for refugees coming from Sudan to South Sudan, the newest country. This was the pitch "Buy an agricultural or fishing tool from the shopping cart outside the church on the bulletin board or online (churchsp.org/toolsforthesudan) for as little as $10 and support new residents from the north starting a new life in South Sudan & Region One’s own missionary, Larry Duffee."

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We had 3 community dinners in 2013 – March (Easter), August (Back to School) and December (Christmas) , continuing what was done in 2012. During Easter St. Peter's donated 880 plastic eggs plus 43 bags/boxes of candy, individually wrapped. We had slightly lower numbers than Christmas and estimates ranged from 80-120. Highlights included face painting and a visit from the Easter bunny. We partnered again with Caroline's Promise, Parks and Recreation, Town of Port Royal

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Clarence Kunstmann expanded the Church directory in 2013 with a section of photos of those in the parish, including friends of St. Peter's. Clarence headed up the directory project with help from a committee.

The day started out early for some of us at the Long's for the 7am Sunrise service. Unfortunately, while the sun came up briefly it was soon hidden by the advancing cloud cover. St. Peter's was well represented in scripture and song. Nancy and Helmut performed twice on "Because He Lives" and "Victory in Jesus." Catherine provided the opening prayer and Gospel reading. Both Memorial Baptist and Shiloh were represented. Rev Joe Dobbin of Shiloh presented the sermon on "First 7 Words After Resurrection." The Longs offered a wonderful reception with various egg, sausage casseroles, doughnut, hash browns. At 11am, we had 54 for Easter on an increasingly cloudy and by service time some light rain. Most of all it was just cold and damp. Not Easter like!

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We started singing the psalms in 2013. The Psalms are the hymn book of the Bible. In fact, the word “psalms” comes from a Greek word that means “song.” The notes from the HarperCollins Study Bible report that “the Hebrew title of the book, Tehillim, means “hymns” or “songs of praise.” The notes also tell us that many of the psalms, especially the psalms of thanksgiving, were used in public worship, and some of them were probably sung at the annual festivals, much as we have certain hymns we sing during particular seasons of the church year.

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Hugh took up the collection of newspapers , a project started by Salem Baptist when they came to St. Peter's in 2012.

Thanks to Andrea Pogue for bringing the paper recycling truck a second year to St. Peter's. It was held on May 10 between 4pm and 5pm and made $60 net for St. Peter’s after expenses

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Except for our first rector William Friend (1836-1870), no one preached longer at St. Peter’s than Sigismund Stribling Ware or as he was known. “Sig”. His years at St. Peter’s spanned 1888-1918. During much of that time he preached at Grace Church (until 1903), St. Asaphs and St. Peter’s. Later in 1914 he later added Vauters. Recently, a copy of an 1893 diary of this rector has come to light from Cookie Davis. 1893 was in the middle of period between Reconstruction and World War I. It represented the last presence of 19th century life. A decade later cars, airplanes, a growing presence of electricity started forever changing America. We featured him on 7 Easter May 12, 2013 in a new celebration of our past, Founders' Day.

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Complete Diary

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Mark Thompson was here on May 22 to rebuild the pedal board trackers. Many of the trackers were original with the 1850 organ. Trackers are connected to the pedal. When the pedal goes down, the tracker goes down . That action pulls another tracker connected pipe to force the pipe to open to receive air. They had to deal with original trackers, trackers that had been repaired in the organ’s history. They carefully wrapped and dated the original pieces and placed them in the organ for historical purposes. A generous parishioner provided $3,400 for this process.

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11am had 37 people for Eucharist. Probably what will be remembered is the congregation linking arms and dancing. As the sermon stated - "Brendan O’Malley tells us that in the Christian Church for the first thousand years Christians danced in procession to and from the church. This dance was known as the “Tripudium, which means three steps or transport of joy… The dancers linked arms and danced in row after row…moving through the streets and into the church and around it during the hymns of the service, and then out through the streets as a recessional.” So we danced through the church. In a society that closely linked life and church it is not surprising. It was one of the things the Puritans reacted against in the 17th century. Later Catherine processed out with dancing.

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Elizabeth introduced her project to have us donate books for elementary school students completing the SOL's. She donated The Secret Garden Link 1

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Eunice reported the ECW made over $520 in Operating Clean Sweep in Bowling Green on June 1. Basically it is gigantic yard sale for the town. Many people helped - Cookie and Johnny, Betty, Roger and Eunice, Jason, Nancy, and Catherine.

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The ECW enjoyed their trip to the Lewis Ginter Gardens in Richmond, especially the butterfly exhibit. The gardens spread over 40 acres and is developed into more than a dozen themed areas - dozen themed gardens include a Children's Garden, Rose Garden, Healing Garden, Sunken Garden, Asian Valley and Victorian Garden. Ginter was a Richmond philanthropist who bought the land in 1884. In response to the new craze for bicycling he founded the Lakeside Wheel Club in 1894. This was the original structure which is now Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's historic Bloemendaal House.

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With no mission trip in 2013, we adopted FredCamp as a local mission. We provide money through a special luncheon at Ruby Tuesdays. After the service, 17 of us ventured to Ruby Tuesdays in Fredericksburg. 20% of our bill will be donated to FredCamp the work camp for youth and adults in early July. It was also a good time for fellowship and to say thanks for all who contribute to our life together. Using cards we did a shout out to FredCamp. Catherine and Becky will be cooking lunch for the workers near to the Church in the first week of July during FredCamp

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Link 3 Providing lunch for FredCamp in July

We are sorry to see Tierra and Cheyenne move to Illinois. They will be with family members close to St. Louis, an attraction. Both have been active in the Children's program, have sang with the choir and have been servers. Seeing them grow up over over the last three years has been a delight. We will miss them and hope they will visit us at another time

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We honored Mark Thompson for his work on the organ since 2011 when Bishop Shannon visited in 2013. In 2011, he improved the tuning collars for the pipes and repitched and regulated the 8 foot reeds. In 2012, Mark completed bringing the blower bellows from attic and reconfigured the main wind line and built a wood cover the line which will help keep it better in tune. This year he has rebuilt our trackers that will reduce pedal noise

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Rob and Marsha Dobson were received into the church. Both have been greeters and Rob led the project to make the Parish restroom handicapped accessible. The work was blessed by Bishop Shannon in June.

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Cookie collected the pictures of previous rectors together in one place and had them beautifully framed. It's amazing we have pictures of two 19th century priests. One picture was of Rev. Poindexter which was restored by Bill Buttram. This work was also blessed by Bishop Shannon. We also recognized former priest at St. Peter’s Karen Woodruff for her role in preserving them

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Warrington had visited earlier in April and we scheduled him in June to explain about the Gideons of which he is a member with Alex. This is what the Gideons do - bringing people to Christ. Warrington explained the Gideons are a world wide phenomenon in 95 countries. They distribute 84 million Bibles a year and have distributed 1.7 billion since they began in 1908. These Bibles go not only to hotels, but colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, jails and other public facilities. Each year they replace many Bibles taken. The Bibles are paid through donations not through their membership dues which pays for the organization expenses. They also sell cards. They are not a church since their members belong to a separate church but they meet weekly for prayer in King George. At the end of the year Catherine and Alex attended a Gideon dinner in Tappahannock and we have included them in the prayers.

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St. Peter's was involved in several ways: 1. Place of rest during the day. We showed two slideshows on the beauty of St. Peter's constantly during the day and a new slide show "We Do- Life at St. Peter's" (previews below). Marilyn Newman provided harp music. We had updated brochures of the church 2. ECW and others (such as Johnny, Charles, Roger, Clarence) provided lunch. They made just under $600! 3. After lunch , St. Peter's Mike and Nancy led a hymn sing with patriotic organ solos by Thom Guthrie. 4. In the main celebration, Mike and Nancy sang the National Anthem and of course, Mike did the Declaration of Independence reading

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One important announcement in Church in July was the completion of the new floor in the Parish House kitchen and bathroom (still under construction). The Royal Caterers (Eunice, Cookie and Betty) made it all possible. Over the years they have cooked for third party functions and contributed their profits to the church. What a generous ministry.!

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Royal Caterers

The highlight of this Sunday was the Episcopal Church Men (ECM) picnic as Coffee Hour for July. What a great idea ! We had 35 in church and about 25 stayed for lunch. And what a lunch! Grillmaster Stanley did the honor on the hotdogs and hamburgers but the side dishes were plentiful - potato salad, tortileni salad, blueberry dish, tuna, corn dressing, cole slaw, tomatoes (contributed by Dave Fannan). Desserts include brownies, and various cakes. The children had a great time making mud pies and a number of delicacies - we had more than the usual number of children which was wonderful with Odessa and Johnathan's family present.

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St. Peter's took a bus trip to the Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster to see an impressive show about Noah. Here are Eunice's reflections on the trip:"I recall getting goosebumps three times during the NOAH performance. The singer/actors were extraordinary, as was the choreography. As a matter of fact, seeing this entices me to want to see every performance that is put on by Sight and Sounds theater."

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Barbara and Boyd ran across a couple, Johnny and Audrey, on July 30 in a trek across country from Oregon, one running and the other riding. They began end of April, 2013. Unique yes ! Through the "powers that be" they received a night stay at Fall Hill. There is a story from their blog

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Amy Turner became children’s ministry coordinator in August to implement the curriculum of Godly play for preschool through second. The contract was provisional through the end of 2013 and has been extended. Amy is a priest having graduated in Catherine’s seminary class. She is also employed as a Latin teacher in Stafford. She a Catherine both took 3 Saturdays in the fall to take a course in the curriculum. Amy also preached for Catherine on Sept 1, Oct 27 and in 2nd advent , Dec. 8.

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Link 2 - Godly Play begins

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On August 10 was the ECM dinner at Johnny's pavilion where the whole church was invited. There were over 30 at the dinner with Boyd and Dave as the leading "crabbers." Besides the crabs there were hot dogs, hamburgers, beans and vegetables.

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Shrine Mont Sunday involved both the Fisher and Long families. The Fishers described their experiences in St. George's camp. Kimberly mentioned three extended opportunities - rowing on the Shenandoah, hiking in the mountains or participating in an activity at the camp which is what Kimberly chose. Tucker said they had two baptisms and celebrated Christmas since the Shepherds may have in the fields with their flock during summer. Then there was Squdoosh, a snake like creature which lived under the boy's bathroom. They brought a picture to share with the congregation. (Note Tucker in the picture with the shouting prayer). The Longs contributed numerous Shrine Mont tee shirts hung in the gallery.

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On Aug 12, Vacation Bible School got off to a good start with 10 children and several adult leaders. Thanks to Elizabeth, Cookie, Eunice, Marion, Barbara, Kelly, Catherine and Becky for their help to make it a success. Becky was the grand coordinator. While the evening was hot no one seemed to mind. While the children gobbled down sandwiches, the adults had barbecue, slaw, potato salad and a wonderful lemon dessert Cookie made. Children were divided into two classes - one around play and games and the other around Paul. The Adults began their own study of Paul's letter to the Galatians.

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Godly Play teaches children the art of using Christian language - parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action - helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives. When Christian language is learned by the Godly Play approach, it is learned as a means to know God and to make meaning of our lives. This approach is quite different from the traditional model in which the teacher tells the children what they need to know. Amy and Catherine took a course over 3 Saturdays in the program. The program went through the fall and has been extended to May, 2014.

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We had 6 people on Sept. 28, 2013 to make bread (Catherine, Barbara, Andrea, Elizabeth, Wendy and Mary Ann) and four others to watch (Crystal, Nancy, Cherry and Cookie). Five made Catherine's braided bread and Mary Ann made a Mediterranean bread. Catherine learned this technique from her dorm mother in college and was "paying it foward." We had food to go along including Barbara's Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread. Others came in to watch the award winning film "The Way"

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We had 30 people at Gospel on the River at the Reynolds pavilion in Portabago Bay, slightly down from last year at 35. Social hour was the for the first 45 minutes. Beer and wines were standard fare along with Nancy's wonderful fish, Andrea's bread, mini casseroles, finger food, Cherry's cookies and ham sandwiches. Helmut and Denise Symonds led us through the pieces.

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Mike Newman and Catherine Hicks began inviting residents of the trailer park each Wednesday at 12:30PM for lunch and Bible study. They gather outside around a picnic table and enjoy the blessings of food and scripture and new friendships.

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St. Francis Day. We had 8 dogs with 17 people - the same number of animals as in 2012 but this blessing was characterized by the number of children which contrasted nicely with last year's more subdued gathering. It was definitely livelier on an unseasonably warm day for this year However, one thing is constant - Elizabeth Heimbach's mouse treats. They're worth coming out for even without an animal.

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The cooking team of St. Peter's and Shiloh Baptist fed that other team - the Caroline Football team on Monday, Oct. 14, 2013. (Catherine also was there as photographer). St Peter’s is participating in a project that is being done by the Community Leaders’ Forum to promote goodwill in Caroline County. Throughout the football season, pairs of churches from all over Caroline County are providing dinner for the Caroline County football team before every home game. We served the food with some our best cooks and also talked with the members of the football team and staff during dinner. This was a wonderful time of Christian fellowship.

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The ECW took their supply of Christmas ornaments, their own fundraisers (cookbook, ornament and mug) and set up at the Bowling Green Harvest Festival on Oct. 19, 2013. A number of people helped - Hugh and Joe B supplying the trucks, workers Eunice, Betty, Cookie, Andrea, Marion, Mary Ann and Catherine. This is quite an undertaking. Eunice said trucks have a designated time to pull in and put the merchandise on the street (7:45pm) and then Main Street is closed. She said the number of vendors have increased on both sides of the street. Thus competition was stiff with the number of vendors. They still were able to make $300.

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The new St. Peter’s mug and ornament debuted at the Harvest festival. We also built an online ecommerce page (St. Peter's Fundraisers) to help sell these- Mug $8, Ornament $15.

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St. Peter's Fundraisers

The Thirteen, twelve singers with conductor Matthew Robertson, brought the Renaissance to life for 100 concert goers on Oct. 22. It was a young group that tackled an ambitious program of two key Renaissance composers - Tallis and Palestrina, both 16th century /composers of sacred music in England and Italy, respectively. We thank Cookie, Catherine, the Pogues, the Carpenters, and the Heimbachs in particular for their help with the concert.

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The Concert

This was a celebration and honoring of a charter 269 years old and a town the oldest in Caroline County. St. Peter's with help of Salem Baptist in Bowling provided the moon bounce and slide for children. Many parishioners contributed their time and talent for the day. Besides the mayor and town council, Cookie handled the moon bounce/slide; Mike Newman put on his colonial garb; Peggy Roberts, Nancy Wick, and Elizabeth took over the water and soda sales; Bill Wick and Helmut handled the beer sales; Becky Fisher was involved in a booth along with Kimberly. Phyllis Sue was involved in the cooking.

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The Rev. Charles Mumbo from Kenya was our preacher on Oct. 27. The Rev. Mumbo has been the pastor of Ruaraka Baptist Church in Nairobi, Kenya for the past seven years. Over 700 people attend the three services that the church holds each Sunday. Pastor Mumbo says that the Holy Spirit is at work in the church, and his main role is to get out of the way of the Spirit. Everything that the church does is built on the foundation of prayer. Pastor Mumbo explains that the four pillars that support the church are worship, discipleship, fellowship, and outreach. Many people in the congregation are responsible for various activities in each of these areas, and the church also has many cell groups, which enable people to develop close relationships even though they belong to a large church. The church also runs a primary school for about four hundred students.

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Charles not only worked as sexton but began acolyting early in 2013. His help has been appreciated in Parish events such as the community dinner.

On All Saints Sunday we welcomed Susan Mitchell, a Roman Catholic lay chaplain and author to be our preacher. Her field of ministry has been primarily with hospice patients and their families. She is a friend of Catherine from her study of spiritual direction. In her sermon, she explored the idea of communion of saints. For Paul it was faith exhibited by worshiping together. The first saints were martyrs but then came to be broader. We identify with them a shared name or characterisitc. Later out it expanded to include living in harmony and expansive view nature.

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This was Stewardship Sunday with Ken Pogue becoming stewardship chair. He felt like "torch had been passed to a new generation" and he promised to make stewardship a year long activity. Since he is only in his second year at St. Peter's he said he wanted to get to know people better. He wants to sustain the love and charity already present at St Peter's to go beyond what we already do. He is developing plans for year round stewardship emphasis

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Stewardship

Last year we provided 25 boxes and in 2013 about 20. This is the 20th anniversary of the national program which has enriching children's lives all over the worlds with gifts provided by churches, letting them know God loves them and they are not forgotten.

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A dreary day awaited us after rain the day before. The river was also completely fogged over until near service time. However, we had 43 people plus another 7 being children from Godly Play. It was a day the children came in the Church at announcements as part of their study of communion. Catherine paused at times during communion to allude to their studies. You can see from the pictures above that there was a certain amount of amazement in their eyes,

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Jail Bible studies occur the first Thursday of each month. Catherine, Chris, Mary Anne and Mairilyn have participated. The humber of inmates can vary from 1 to 20 and began in March, 2012. The Bibles in this picture were donated by Alex. Inmates cannot have their own Bibles according to the rules and use them only in scheduled Bible studies.

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A Big Sunday 1. A visit from St. Nicholas at a breakfast in his name 2. A sermon about the The Circle of the Church Year 3. The children lighting the Advent Candle 4. The Giving tree 5. The collection of the UTO offering 6. New music, a change in the altar

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St. Nicholas presentation

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The ECW held their traditional Christmas luncheon at LePetite Auberge in Fredericksburg with 10 people in attendance, Dec. 11, 2013

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We partnered again with Caroline's Promise, Parks and Recreation, Town of Port Royal, Memorial Baptist to provide a Christmas experience on Dec. 13, 2013 for the children and families. We probably had 150+ people, larger than 2012. St. Peter's provided the food - two kinds of soup, bread and vegetables. The Fishers did the face and hand painting. Numerous crafts and games were setup. After 6pm, we moved outside for caroling led by Nancy, culminating in the lighting of the tree and the arrival of Santa Claus. The line was long for Santa. After sitting on Santa's lap, each child received a gift. St. Peter's also donated the $50 Sheetz gas card for the raffle. Barbara Wisdom and the Evening ECW did an excellent job in organizing this wonderful evening

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"What's the use of displaying all of these Christmas items if no one sees it!" That sums up the reason why Cherry and Woody Everett have thrown their magnificent Christmas party. Pictures don't do the Everett's Christmas justice. The centerpiece is the Christmas village of 19th century buildings - hotels, a bank, a church, a ski facility and various commercial enterprises - even some modern additions like Krispy Kreme. It fills an entire room. There is the sound of a hundred moving items. And Cherry can tell where they purchased every one.

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We had 10 people for a simple supper and a study of John A. Swanson's 6 Advent paintings on Dec. 17, 2013. These paintings are closer to folk art with an emphasis on placing the nativity story with in the community. Mary is integrated within the life of Nazareth and Bethlehem which is turn give you a unique feel of everyday life then. Content links 1. Introduction -Thrill of hope 2. First session. 3. Second session

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Last year the focus was on the Angel Gabriel. This year it was Mary. The church windows were decorated with art concerning Mary from all over the world. The play, written by Catherine, featured an older Mary reflecting on her life which included the birth of Jesus.

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The Play

49 enjoyed music from the choir, soloists (harp, violin, organ, vocal), scripture, hymns and a sermon about Joseph. While chilly, we were treated to a spectacular sunset and evening before the service.

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Bulletin

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A spirited group ended the year in style. About 25 were in attendance at Fall Hall for a evening of fellowship and some great eating.

The evening started with a combination of Cookie's ham biscuits, Bill Wick's "Wicked Egg Nogg", Mike's peanut soup and a tray of shrimp. After that we had Johnny's venison, assorted vegetables (Catherine's grit casserole), salad and cookies and a some cake to top it off.

Catherine's family dropped in from Staten Isle on their way back. Those that went on the mission trip in 2012 remember them. The conversation extended on until 9pm

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