We learned much in 2014. Some things :

- We brought in a consultant to provide ideas on new uses of our building and resources. Out of that came a new feeding ministry - Village Harvest in the fall. How does that mature in 2015 ?

-The Village Harvest became part of our outreach joining regular monthly activities such as Village Dinners and the jail ministry. How do we continue and make new connections in our community ?

- We learned of the education needs in our community through Ken and Andrea Pogue's leadership of the tutoring program. What's next ?

-We learned more about our building through a consultant reviewing our tablets and stripping our paint off the building in preparation for painting. How do we preserve the old and yet make our own contribution ?

The Epiphany celebration remembers the three miracles that manifest the divinity of Christ. These include the visit of the three Magi, Christ's baptism in the Jordan River with the voice from heaven that identifies Jesus as God's son, and his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. We had 20 people at the service at the beginning of a long cold night. Temperature were supposed to reach down to 5 degree. We not only had the window candles but also the prominent Moravian star hanging from the gallery. This star is relatively recent in our tradition. The first Moravian star is known to have originated in the 1830s at the Moravian Boy's School in Niesky, Germany, most probably as a geometry lesson or project. Marilyn and Mike performed a duet of "We Three Kings" and Marilyn performed "Best and Brightest" at the postlude. Harp and voice are a wonderful combination.

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Parish Meetings tend to reflect on the previous year Much of what was accomplished in 2013 was in two broad areas - outreach and furthering worship. In both areas, partnership and working together was the key. With Outreach it was with Caroline's Promise and with the town of Port Royal. "The most important thing we do together is to worship together, because everything else we do grows out of the time we spend in the company of God and one another." With worship we drew on the Baptists (Rev. Charles Mumbo preaching), the baptists in Bowling Green who supplied the moon bounce for Charter Day, the Gideons (Warrington Trip's sermon) as well as the good people at St. Asaph's who partnered with the Thirteen concert. The sermon mentioned the realignment of Christian ed both for adults and children. There is still work to be done in this area in 2014. The wardens were given gifts of cherry boxes with the Episcopal shield. Link 1

We had 38 to bless the candles for Candlmas and hear the story of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple in the readings and approached differently in a scientific sermon. We had an original song to sing with words composed by Catherine. The children came into participate in Candlemas at the procession. A good turnout for them with 7 children. Amy's lesson was on the mustard seed. Link 1

Souper Bowl of Caring" is an annual fundraising drive organized in partnership with the NFL. During "Souper Bowl of Caring 2014", schools, faith-based organizations and service clubs in 7,576 groups throughout the United States raised over $8.4 million in cash and local foot itemsthat was donated to local charities. 70 items of food and $200 were collected this Sunday at St. Peter's.

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Johnny Davis described his work with "Hunters for the Hungry." This is coordinated through Essex Baptist. Hunters store the deer in a truck in Champlain. The Baptists pick it up and deliver to the butcher who prepares it and returns it to the Baptists who later distribute it. St. Peter's provides a donation for the work and Johnny delivered 550 pounds to Caroline Social Services which took a freezer and a 1/3 more.

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As Bill Wick writes " This is the eleventh consecutive year the Men have sponsored this event, and we have raise over $6,000 for the Vestry to use addressing various church needs." As usual the Men "cooked" for the Ladies and it was outstanding. Johnny's venison , Dave's catfish, Ken's chicken dish, Barbara's macaroni, Eunice's deviled eggs, Mary Ann's sangria, Steve's pork sliders (Catherine and Ben's son-in-law) and many others, including a blueberry cobbler (Johnny) at the end. There were plenty of vegetables - broccoli, corn pudding, and spoonbread. The entertainment was a game of "Jeopardy" between the men and women, a game show originally created by Merv Griffin and which graced the air waves from 1964-1975.

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We began our observation of Jesus’ death and resurrection by preparing for Easter with a season of penitence. At this service, 28 received ashes on our foreheads in the shape of a cross to remind us of our mortality, and complete dependence on God and God's grace for our lives. This service offered a way in which we can come together to consider our ongoing need for God’s salvation in our lives, both individually and as a community. The sermon was about this path using the concept of longing - "We are those bulbs, seeds, cocoons. In this season of Lent, we long to grow and to become the unique and beautiful creatures that God longs for each of us to be."

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With the change to Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5, Catherine took time to explain the lectionary changes in Rite 1 particularly with language during Lent 1, March 9. Also she took time to mention the changes with the altar. Helmut's "red" cross going back to medieval times was explained.

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Frog and Toad came visiting three Wednesday evenings (March 12, 19, 26, 7pm Parish House) as our Lenten study. Frog and Toad are the main characters in a series of 4 easy-reader children's books, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel during the 1970's. We found they had additional meanings for adults, reading such stories as the "Garden" and "Cookies". Catherine later expanded this for another church in Northern Virginia.

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You can revisit the discussion for session 1. Check out the gallery Here is Session 3. Check out our gallery

During the service with Bishop Goff Michael Fox was baptized and received a cross and a children's Bible as gifts. The Fishers were received into the church and were given a cross and a prayer book. Michael was one of the original students in Godly Play. What made this Bishop visit different from the past was the role of the children. It is apparent the role that Godly Play has done in bringing the children into the church. The children hear Bible stories and get to act them out in the curriculum. They live into them with a variety of senses.

We had 52 in church for Bishop Goff's visit on March 16. Brad and Helmut soloed on Handel and "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" joined in by the choir at the offertory. Cookie was recognized for her 12 years of service with the newsletter. Words can't express how much her family does for the church. Catherine added a gift of a rhododendron. Meanwhile, the Congregation presented the Bishop with a photograph book of the church spearheaded by the organizational and publishing skills of Barbara Wisdom.

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This is the book presented to the Bishop on Sunday, March 16. It was not only Barbara Wisdom's idea but she put it together! Thanks Barbara.

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Ken Pogue, our Stewardship chair, proposed a new tutoring program for Port Royal youth from kindergarden to high school. Kickoff was March 21, 2014, “Each One Teach One"" which continued through June and was held in the firehouse. Ken, Andrea, Roger, Eunice, Becky, Justin, Karen, Catherine, Ben served as tutors. The program as it developed concentrated on children in elementary school to early high school. In June, Ken summarized the tutoring experience - 100 student encounters, 9 tutors over 3 months with Easter intervening. He felt it had been a great start and success. Thanks, Ken for your initiative.

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We had a wonderful procession into the church. The altar was stripped for the passion narrative. One by one Eunice brought objects to the altar which were symbolic of the event and also provide a lesson for us. It included the bread and wine, a sword, a bowl of water and towel, fair linen, a rock, 30 pieces of silver, a crown of thorns and scarlet robe. After the passion narrative Catherine explained the symbolism in the sermon.

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Tenebrae on April 16, 2014 was the opening of the Holy Week services. We had 20 at the service which was a good turnout. This was an unusual service with its own Liturgy. "The readings range from Lamentations in the Old Testament to commentary from St Augustine, and at last a reading from Hebrews, in which the theology of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ our great high priest is presented for our consideration." 14 candles are lit and extinguished gradually throughout the service until one is left. "This service makes use of the power of light and sound to emphasize the darkness of death. The service ends on a note of hope. One candle remains, a solitary light in the darkness into which we depart."

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On Maundy Thursday we had the added benefit of watching osprey watch over a nest they are a making in an old sycamore tree in the front. Osprey like to be near water for their main food supply. This takes the old and brings new life, which is a theme of Easter. Unfortunately this nest was abandoned. By May 25 the osprey were back with a nest at the base of King Street opposite the river.

Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the Triduum, the last three days of Holy Week, in which our worship flows in one continuous liturgy, beginning with the Maundy Thursday service. We had 28 on a beautiful night with several visitors. It is rewarding to get to church before 5pm on a clear day and watch the change of light and color inside and out. While remaining cool, the clear conditions provided a wonderful backdrop for the service. Marilyn brought her new 60 string harp tonight for the first time and graced us with music in the prelude "Near the Cross and in the ending Keep Watch segment. Helmut and Nancy provided a vocal and violin duet in the offertory "O Loving Father." Helmut also provided the mournful accompaniment to the foot washing in "Abendsegen (Evening Blessing). "

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Holy Week, 2014

We had 30 people on an overcast day with still a chill in the air. There was a "Good Friday" type of mood in the air - somewhat introspective thinking about what happened. Somewhat foreboding looking outside. Certain images come to mind after tonight's service. First the wonderful music. Marilyn played her best on" Domino", an introspective but biting melody that could be easily remembered as Marilyn went through variations. A very moving rendition to say the least. The music swirled around the church.

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We started out at the Sunrise Service at the Long's House, bright and early at 6:30am. The sun was clearly visible down the river but did fully manifest itself until the Rev. Bobby Greene of Memorial Baptist was in the midst of his sermon. Catherine read twice, the opening prayer and the Apostles Creed and Nancy and Helmut provided the music for the opening hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "He Lives." A good crowd was appreciative of the abundant reception in the Long home with ham biscuits of many sorts, egg casseroles, donuts and fruit. By 11am we were basking in full sunlight with blue sky. Temperatures were in the 60's. The Osprey were out building nests in the gentle breeze, certainly one of the memories of this week. 75+ people were in attendance augmented by some families - Longs and Dukes, especially. Bonnets were everywhere including Boyd's. A great time to greet parishioners. Easter is a time of celebration and that included music with Marilyn providing music inside during the lighting of the Paschal fire, Mary Lawrence on trumpet echoing the hymns, Brad performing the intricate "Prelude and Fugue in F major" (Bach) and the choir adding "Up from the Grave" during communion.

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Best of Holy Week and Easter, 2014

“Shrine Mont is a place where people are more important than things, where prayer and reflection, rest and recreation are more important than appointments and tasks. It’s a place where people give thanks to God for his creation—from the beauty of the streams, flowers and wildlife which are at home here, to the people who come to this place to celebrate being part of the family of God.” This was an unusual Sunday with the church "split" - 12 people up at Shrine Mont with Christ Episcopal and also St. Paul's King George. That took both Catherine and Amy so there was no Godly Play. The rest of us were here duplicating Morning Prayer of last Sunday.

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Sallie O'Brien of the Episcopal Church Building Fund was our guest speaker in announcements and after lunch. Sally was here to encourage us to think about what we will want to be doing as a parish in the next several decades. She writes “Our church buildings are more than bricks and mortar, they should be the heartbeat of mission and service, not the heartache of history and loss. As congregations find a role in their community, they can also find creative and innovative ways to sustain themselves financially.” How can we become the heartbeat of mission and service in Port Royal? Sallie's key idea is to know your strengths and what you do well (your foundation) and build from there. The food ministry Village Harvest in the fall was an inspiration from her sessions.

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Jim Anderson was recognized for the work done on the handicapped railing.

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This was a repeat project from 2013. Elizabeth introduced her project then to have us donate books for elementary school students completing the SOL's. She donated the Secret Garden and it is a way to show reading is fun.

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Andrea's Shred-It raised $175 on Friday evening. This is an outreach fundraiser in its third year. People used this occasion to clear out old file cabinets, boxes, folders and envelopes containing pay stubs, tax records, bank statements and receipts. Suggested donation was $5 per bag.

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St. Peter's has its own flags on its veterans in the grave yard - Civil War (Rev. Friend a chaplain, D. B. Powers one brother of a large family that survived), Austin Hoyt (WW. II) and others. Today we had current veterans representing the Army, Navy and Air Force recognized for their service from World War II to Vietnam. Woody Everett, an Air Force colonial, wore his uniform which fit almost perfectly considering it had not been worn in 31 years! The other celebration is Rogation Sunday. Rogation" means "asking". In the agrarian culture of yesterday, it was common for the church to gather on the Rogation Days to ask God to bless the crops being sown. We would have asked Him to send rain and to bless us with a good harvest later in the year. A common feature of Rogation days in former times was the ceremony of beating the bounds, in which a procession of parishioners, led by the minister, churchwarden, and choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their parish and pray for its protection in the forthcoming year.

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We had no baptisms at Pentecost this year but we did salute Tucker Fisher on achieving the God and Family award. Tucker has ambitions of going all the way to becoming an Eagle scout. Congratulations!

On Pentecost we sadly bid farewell to the Rev. Amy Turner who started, nurtured and made Godly Play a ministry for children from preschool to 2nd grade. Callie Towler who took over the position in the fall was in attendance in Godly Play along with her family in church, Chip her Dad and Bea her mother and especially her aunt visiting from Hawaii. We had a special reception for Amy after the service which included cakes, cupcakes, strawberries, donut holes, donuts and two types of tea. At the reception Catherine presented Amy with a book of photos prepared and compiled by Barbara Wisdom.

Godly Play from May, 2014

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Amy's Book

11/2/2014 We celebrated the 61st wedding anniversary of Clarence and Betty and the birthday of Andrea.

8/17/2014 Boyd was the only birthday person present but he got to stay up front for his 46th anniversary with Barbara. The Everetts were celebrating 56 years.

6/15/2014 We celebrated Barbara Segar's 55th wedding anniversary, pictured here. She recounted the story of getting married in the first Trinity church on Prince Edward Street

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The sermon has a section where four volunteers acted out a visual of the trinity - the circle of perfect love and unity, turning and turning. "Our challenge as Christians is also to look outward, reach outward, to draw others into this great circle of love...Unity in Community, a community of love that is never complete until all of creation has been drawn back into this vast expanding circle of perfect love."

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New sandwich board - Helmut brought in a sandwich board which we can use to advertise St. Peter's events on the street side. This will come in handy for July 4 and later events. We used it frequently through the rest of the year, reminding parishioners of events.

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Nancy, Catherine, Mary Ann and Becky contributed to the FredCamp lunches from Mon to Thursday, June 29- July 3. Betty added the drinks earlier on Sunday and everyone took some for their day. This year the camp was off Route 17, Ware Drive.

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Recently we received a $7,000 Mustard Seed Grant from The Diocese of Virginia to help us cover the $14,000 expense of re-leathering the organ bellows. The leather on the bellows is over one hundred years old and is beginning to crack. Mark Thompson will be removing the bellows on Tuesday, July 8th and will have the work done sometime near the beginning of August. We will be using the keyboard in our Sunday services while this repair takes place. The organ was silent until the middle of August.

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The ECW made $600 from July 4 and we collected separately $50 for the organ bellows. We had a good crowd in the church from the morning through the hymn sing. Thanks to all those who made it a success - Marilyn for her harp in the morning; Nancy and Mike for leading the hymn sing at noon; Mike and Boyd for greeting; Thom Guthrie for his organ accompaniment; Charles, Johnny, Roger and Clarence for cooking and drinks; and all the ladies who worked diligently for lunch - Cookie, Betty, Eunice, Catherine, Mary Ann, and Andrea.

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On Sunday July 6 the church was split between St. Peter's doing Morning Prayer and the remainder of the congregation sharing a Sunday with St. Asaph's at Pitt's Pond, a man-made lake created in 1968. Based on the continued lower humidity and abundant sun, it was beautiful in either location. We had 10-15 at St. Peter's and 12 at Pitts Pond. Lunch was organized by St. Asaph's with all of us bringing a dish. The weather was ideal and there was more swimming after the service than two years ago when it was extremely hot.

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There were 125 at the funeral of Genevieve Davis, our oldest parishioner who died at age 92. The day began early as Eunice's food crew began arriving. Cookie worked with the flowers and Roger hosed off the tables. The day was going to be hot early on. Still the crepe myrtle were beautiful in the adjacent Heinbach yard. David Storke said one of the most unusual touches of this funeral was a toast for Genevieve led by Helmut.

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Vacation Bible School, 2014 filled up 4 days We had a lot of help and the 8 students thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The theme was Give and Receive God’s Great Love.

Day 1 - Today we heard the story about Abraham and Sarah welcoming three strangers and offering them hospitality. Link 1 Day 2 - We entered into the Good Samaritan parable by hearing it and then acting it out, several times. Link 2 Day 3 - Zacchaeus climbed a tree to be above the crowds to see Jesus. Jesus stopped under the tree and called Zacchaeus by name, and then invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house for supper. Zacchaeus is forever changed. Link 3 Day 4 - Everyone heard the story from I Samuel about Nabal, Abigail and David. Link 4 We hung the "tree of life" which they decorated in the front of the church. We added pictures taken during the last day of each student.

Charles read for the first time as lector and did a great job and he was told so by many it the congregation. Catherine after a call from Barbara Segar yesterday displayed a shape singing book during the announcements which interested a number of people.

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It was a special Sunday at St. Peter's - a Coffee Hour celebrating the upcoming wedding of Justin and Karen. After church there was a "prelude to Coffee Hour" just outside the parish house with drinks and toasts. Presents were provided to Justin and Karen in a basket. Nancy recalled how Helmut was supposed to play for Justin when he proposed to Karen before Christmas last year in Fredericksburg. Apparently it was raining heavy and Nancy had to contact him that Justin was proposing to Karen after a carriage ride. It wasn't raining in Fredericksburg! So they rushed to Fredericksburg after having retired for the evening. Apparently, Nancy and Laura hid under the seats of the car parked at the Baptist church to witness the scene. Today, Helmut played "Ave Maria" for them today while we sipped sparkling cider, orange juice with champagne and mimosa punch. Alex and Justin provided toast. Justin thanked the Church for being with him through his life.

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During 2014 we shared our building with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service for their Foode Fridays program, which met once a month at St Peter’s for several months in 2014.This program teaches people about healthy eating and how to prepare healthy foods. The groups of people who came prepared recipes and shared the results by eating lunch together. At their last gathering for this summer, Pegi Wright, Lou Harper and The Rev. Wil Greene arrived early to set up for the gathering of people who were coming from both Caroline and King George County to have fun cooking together for a few hours. The Rev. Greene was the featured chef for the day and he planned to grill turkey burgers for the group. Inside the parish house, the participants planned to create dishes from fresh produce that they brought to chop, dice and slice. Pegi Wright,the Extension Agent who heads up the program, says that the average attendance for these events is around twelve people, and twenty five people have participated in this year’s sessions at St Peter’s.

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St. Peter's took 12 to Staten Island in 2012 to work with the combined Moravian Church clothing distributions, working with Catherine's sister. Roger and Eunice's returned this year where they served 1,100. The Moravians had had a group cancel so their experience was a big help Roger was the "door man" and "bouncer" and Eunice organized the kitchen and feeding. Roger has now served 3 times there - twice for this event and once in the recover for Hurricane Sandy. We recognized Roger and Eunice for volunteering to participate in the Staten Island Clothes Distribution.

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The leather of the organ bellows was worn out. The bellows is the lungs of the organ. The entire job to replace the leather cost $14,000. Link 1 The fund raising took from the end of March to the middle of August with most of the work done from July 1. The bellows was be returned on the week of August 15th. Thanks to the donations of many generous parishioners and the Diocese of Virginia Mustard Seed Grant, we have paid for the bellows – all $14,000!!.

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Shelagh Casey Brown came from Virginia Seminary came this Sunday to finally present Catherine with a certificate for winning the John Hines award in 2013 during coffee hour. This had been delayed for a year. Even so, she had difficulty finding the church so we were wondering whether it would actually take place.

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This is one Sunday with events happening that could not have seen ahead of time and they were all good. Two former priests appeared- John Wall (2005-2009) and Macon Walton (1958-60). Macon came after coffee hour and so few saw him but he enjoyed our priest pictures in the parish house. John lives in both Fredericksburg and Florida and came during the service. They had a good time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Bill Jones one of Karen Woodruff's friends (1994-2003) was also here. That's the third connection to a priest in one Sunday!

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For the second year in a row we sponsored a community concert.Lyra is a collective of over 20 musicians in St. Peterburg Russia established in 1994. Smaller groups tour the US and other countries giving concerts. Our group was 4. They congregate around their common experience as conservatory graduates and most are now involved in opera. Concert fees support both their travel and to strengthen the group. Sergey, the unofficial leader, said their current tour is 49 concerts over 45 days. We had between 80-100 people enjoying the concert and we are hoping we can continue the series in the future.

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A wonderful late afternoon of hospitality, conversation, music and the singing of traditional hymns along the beautiful Rappahannock River. We have been doing this since 2007. Link 1. As Helmut recalls about the beginning "It really began with the formation of the 'Rappahannock Baroque Music Group' in Portobago Bay Estates. The group consisted of: Denise Symonds, piano, Helmut, first violin, Mildred Bohlmann, second violin and occasionally we had a base player from Vauters church. At times, my violin students would participate as well."

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Godly Play began with 7 children and our new teacher Callie Towler on Sept 14. Callie did a session on the church seasons and Sundays leading up to individual activities and snacks. The previous Wednesday she met with all the parents. Godly Play attracted 10 students to hear about the 7 days of creation and the Good Samaritan on Sept 28. This was perhaps the largest class we have ever had with student in attendance.

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This month beginning Oct. 1 we began gathering the names of those who would like to receive a bag of food, including fresh seasonal produce and a recipe providing information about how to cook the food. We solicited clients on Oct 1 when the Food Trucks visited Port Royal. 44 signed up, including 13 children. We did the first distribution Nov. 20 families, 65 people. We repeated this on Dec. 17. In those two months we were able to distribute around 1300 pounds of fresh produce, including collards, sweet potatoes, potatoes, acorn squash, avocados, and even watermelon (!) from the Northern Neck Food Bank. Johnny Davis has been obtaining this produce for us each month Eunice contributed the name "Village Harvest" to this endeavor.

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November Village Harvest

December Village Harvest

Oct 4 was both Charter Day to celebrate Port Royal's 1744 Charter and also remember St. Francis pet blessings. Catherine gave out 30 dog packets and 26 cat packets, only 10 calories flavored with pumpkin and sweet potatoes to fit the season. She did bless at least 8 dogs that were at Charter Day. We also provided two different cards on St. Peter's - one with the Rappahannock River and the other with the Sea of Galillee. We were pleased that several people asked about church and expressed an interest in visiting. It was a beneficial evangelistic activity and a way to let people know how we are involved in the community. We had the St. Francis statue in the church window which was raffled off at Coffee Hour. We collected $107 on Sat. and another $43 today for $150 raised which will be used for our new food ministry, Village Harvest. Bill Henderson was the winner despite Johnny Davis many, many tickets. (And we delivered it after Coffee Hour!). We are going to supplement this ministry taking up soup donations for the rest of the month on Sundays

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The church is beginning long process to repaint the church as of Oct 1. As of Sunday, Oct. 5 the coverings were being removed from the windows. Johnny Davis, the junior warden, is heading up the project. The church was last painted over 10 years ago but a specific date is not available. Out of three quotes, they chose J. L. Clark of Warsaw whose name they received from a friend in Essex County. Clark uses a special chemical process to first remove older layers to get down to the wood and then specially treat it. He will be removing the lead based paint in the process. After then scraping, stripping and other preparations he will provide two coats of paint to the windows and one to the walls. He will sure up the glazing on the windows. As part of the job he will plug the rust spots around the church.

During November, there was sentiment not to repaint the doors but to apply a covering over top of it after the top coats were taken off. Over the years it had been obscured by paint. The beauty was striking and another distinguishing characteristic of the church.

We thank Roger, Eunice, Cookie, Johnny, Betty, Clarence, Charles and Catherine for their help in feeding a bunch of hungry guys in "Cooking for the Team". The team is the Caroline High School football team and it was before a game. They partnered with Second Mount Zion, Dawn, including Beverly Baylor, Elnora Smithers, Dorothy Tolliver and Stanley Quash. St. Peter's fixed the chicken and macaroni and Second Mount Zion the String beans, fruit and rolls. This is the second year for this activity, an idea of the Pastors group in Caroline County.

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On Sept 18, 2014 L. Cleo Mullins of the Richmond Conservation Studio visited the church for the purpose of an examination of the tablets and proposing solutions due to problems she uncovered. We do not know the origin of the tablets but feel sure they are not from the older Mount Church. Surprises - Test cleaning of the background with methanol and dimethyl-formamide showed that the field behind the letters and cross was originally a bright cerulean blue-color, but it has been painted over with a dark maroon or reddish-brown colored oil paint, probably the same paint used when overpainting the pinnacles.

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The sermon featured a live tree in the church. The Gospel was about leading holy lives through keeping the Greatest Commandment - loving both God and Neighbor. Trees support the path toward leading holy lives. 1. "So the first step toward living into our holiness is to immerse ourselves in God through prayer, the prayer that yearns for and longs for and desires God, prayer that thirsts for God, returning the yearning and longing and desire that God has for each one of us."... 2. "And then the Apostle Paul’s list of the fruits of the spirit in his Letter to the Galatians comes to mind—the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." During the sermon, red badges representing these qualities were put on the tree by the children. 3. "Trees are a source of healing. As holy people, we too can be sources of healing and peace for others simply by being a calm presence that is rooted and grounded and immersed in God’s love." Trees foster reduced fear and violence and provide a calming influence on society.

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We had 46 at All Saints, a good crowd. We had two special guests - Laura Carey's son and wife and Johan and his wife from Sweden with their daughter Bella. They were married at St. Peter's in 2003 by Karen Woodruff. Johan's wife was a member of the family that was the last lessee of the Parish House

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Both the 9am and 11am on Oct 26 introduced the "Season of Giving" handout spotlighting 4 causes we are supported - Village Harvest, ECM Thanksgiving/Christmas project, United Thank Offering and the Samaritan's Purse. The idea was to allow parishioners to pick and choose what they can support along with a "free" prayer at the end. Each week will introduce one or more on the list. Today Nov. 2 it was the mens group's project. Next week will be UTO and Samaritan's purse.

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In our first food distribution, we gave out food to twenty families for a total of sixty people, 3:30pm to 5pm. We gave out 80 cans of soup, and 300 pounds of fresh produce. The produce included white potatoes, sweet potatoes, collards, carrots. We also distributed kleenix. Some received chickens (16) and some recipes for collards and carrots. Thanks to all who contributed and worked to create this new ministry. The ECW was instrumental in getting the bags together for the event and working to distribute.

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We also began our Advent story one week early with Christian Ed at 10am study of "Singing Mary's Song." Written by a Methodist minister, it focuses on the essential pieces of the Mary story. We looked at the Annunciation of the birth in art and in music. Catherine traced the Mary story back to Old Testament parallels Miriam during Moses time and Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel. Her notes for Week 1 are here. We had 16 attend for this week.

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We had approximately 10 shoeboxes turned in. This is the 21st 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. They hope to provide 10 million boxes in 2014 - they have provided over 100 million since they began.

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Two services to begin Advent - 9am Morning Prayer, Rite 1 and 11am Holy Eucharist Rite 2 with 7 and 32 at each service, respectively on a relatively mild Nov. morning for this time of year. During the 10am hour, we had the second part of the Advent Christian Ed study, Singing Mary's song with 13 present. Advent was setup with a change of color to purple and pink. At 11am we had the lighting of the Advent Candle by Michael and Sydney. A Moravian hymn was introduced for the ceremony - Candleglowing. Each week we sing a different verse. The sermon was taken from the latter sentences in Mark and was a dialog between the master and his slaves trying to keep his teaching alive, to share the good news. The teachings are a challenge to think of others needs in the role. To take up the cross. To accept suffering in the midst of work. To keep the master's teachings even while we are being challenged in age. To practice forgiveness in the community. To understand the temptations of others, particularly in the accumulation of goods.

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This is only one of twelve Village Dinners that are scheduled through the year. The 40+ people that come to St. Peter's every month may not realize how much time and care are involved. The schedule is made a year in advance. Each month, Betty shops in the commissary for the best deals. She may cook the main meat that is served. All of this takes multiple days. Eunice and Cookie are involved with the rest of it from cooking other dishes to the other details of the dinner, such as publicity. There are servers, like Catherine and dish washers that are part of team. It is a great ministry of hospitality, evangelism and yes, it does make money for the church. A salute to all who are involved and give their time and effort freely.

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During the announcements 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.

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Link 3, stole details

This was a combined effort among Catherine, Cookie, Eunice, Betty and Toni. Toni is from Bethlehem, PA, central home of the Moravians and Catherine graduated from Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, the largest southern settlement. Thus, it was a natural to bring some of Moravian traditions to Coffee hour. The Episcopalians and Moravians are now in full commuunion as well. On about the first weekend of December, the Moravians celebrate Candle Tea. This is hosted tour into their culture with foods (cookies, sugar cake), crafts (candles) and Putz and music (hymns). Highlights of today's effort would include Cookie's Moravian chicken pie, Eunice's meat balls and assorted spreads, Betty's cake and Catherine's sugar cake plus Toni's contributions of book and funds.

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Moravian Christmas traditions

The Port Royal Christmas event has centered around lighting the town Christmas tree, opening the Christmas season. However it is much more and is really a Christmas party for the whole town with food, games, songs and a vist from Santa. St. Peter's provided 3 types of soup, chicken noodle, chicken vegetable and vegetable plus there were hot rolls and a raw vegetable tray from Memorial Baptist. St. Peter's also provided most of the servers for the food and drink. Caroline's Promises provided the crafts and games, including bingo, words puzzles and guessing the candy in a jar. The craft table was especially popular the whole night, making various types of ornaments and gifts. After a soup dinner, Nancy Long (whose birthday was on Friday also) led a group out for the Christmas tree lighting and caroling. Finally after a phone call, she led the group to the front of the fire house where Santa arrived in a Port Royal fire engine. After meeting an adoring crowd, Santa made his way to his "throne". Each child received an audience with Santa, pictures and a gift. Cake was served as people waited in line. Finally there were word puzzle games and a round of "Happy Birthday" for Nancy.

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This is not a Christmas party but a Christmas experience. In every room in the Everett household you are surrounded by Christmas. It is challenging just to see everything. And their collection is still expanding! This year was special since it was Cherry's birthday. We sang "happy birthday" and had a combined Birthday/Christmas chocolate cake. Also as the festivities began, we were at sunset along the Rappahannock with a wonderful light and the occasional heron flying by. There is a separate home attached with a inground pool covered over for Christmas. In this room are larger Christmas exhibits, including a manger scene, Santa in a balloon and a wire Christmas tree. (Don't even try to count the trees in this house!). A long table was set for dinner for 30+.

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The traditional ECW luncheon was broadened this year to include checkwriting for their 2014 gifts and preparation for the Village Harvest on Dec. 17. They met in the morning to decide and write checks for 16 charities totaling $4,000. 15 then went to Hobbs Hole in Tappahannock and had lunch.Finally they were back at St. Peter's to prepare for the Village Harvest food distribution for December. That is happening December 17 from 3:30pm to 5:00pm.

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2014 donations

At 5pm youth group started on 12/17. Instead of reading the Chronicles of Narnia, they talked about the story of Christmas and particularly the idea of giving gifts through the wisemen to those who need them. Coins and incense were used to demonstrate the wisemen providing gifts. The children had a chance to give their own gifts through the Heifer project. Catherine put various pictures of animals out on the table from the Heffer project and gave each child $100 to buy animals so they choose their present. This was real money - a parishioner had donated $1,000!

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The Christmas Play or Pageant has been with St. Peter's since the 1990's. Among churches it is unique since it involves so many in the congregation. The last two plays tended to spotlight one figure - Gabriel or Mary. This year's play was shorter and simply told the entire story. Highlights included Mary and Elizabeth's moving dialog. (Cookie memorized her lines and was very effective). Alex rendition of Angel Gabriel was also magnificent helped by his height and booming voice. (This is actually his favorite part that he played in year's past). Mary and Joseph did a wonderful job with the Baby Jesus even when the latter started crying. The Shepherds and angels acted out their parts well. Of note were the costumes made by the Fisher family. Callie also was able to get all the children into costume before the play and keep it all together. (She brought her entire family as well). Elizabeth's family from Ohio was also here and watched the preparation of the actors/actresses.

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We had 56 at the Love Feast on Dec. 24.This service was the culmination of our Advent in introducing Moravian traditions. We hosted the Candle Tea during Coffee Hour on Dec. 7. We have added Moravian musical pieces such as Candle Glowing for the Advent candle lighting each Sunday. The Love Feast was the final celebration.  Here is Catherine's introduction of the Love Feast from the service.

Thanks to Marilyn, Amy, Helmut and Brad who provided the music before the service and the choir during the service. The Love Feast required many hymns! We would also like to thank the following who contributed to the Love Feast. Helmut for his candle holders (that would cause any Moravian to be envious!) Particularly for those who served the Love Feast - Cookie, Johnny, Eunice, Andrea, Kimberly, Tucker.

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Video excerpts

"Lessons and Carols' takes up one of two Sundays in Christmas. The service,first held after World War I in 1918, was planned by Eric Milner-White, who at the age of thirty-four had just been appointed Dean of King’s College. His experience as an army chaplain had convinced him that the Church of England needed more imaginative worship. The readings can vary as can the music. Traditionally, "Once in Royal David City" is the opening passages. Beyond that the service is flexible. This year the 9 readings offer a sweep of the Old and New Testaments with the following stories - Creation of the earth (Nancy), the banishment from the garden (Roger), the exile to Babylon (Alex), Story of Elizabeth and Zechariah (Mike), Annunciation to Mary (Andrea), Birth of John the Baptism (Marilyn), Birth of Jesus (Eunice), Simeon in the Temple (Bill), John's Prologue (Ben). We had 28 at the service. We welcomed Ken's family from Montana - Ken's sister, niece and fathers' friend.

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We had over 35 people at our annual New Year's Eve celebration, a noticeable larger turnout from last year. The people and food change from year to year but the glad tidings and celebration are a constant

This year we had a wonderful hordeuvres selection with Chinese foods, little casseroles, peanut soup and raw salad. Thanks to Andrea and Sylvia for a number of those items plus Marilyn for her peanut soup. You could have made your dinner on just these. We can't forget Bill's wicked eggnog which was very popular and provided warmth on a cold night with temperatures dipping into the 20's. It didn't last the evening.  Cookie was our impecable host serving ham biscuits and Dave's salmon.

We had mostly couples but there were two families - Ken's family from Montana, and Amy's. It was good to see the youth enjoying themselves. Dutchy was a hit of the evening as everyone wanted to catch up with her.

Dinner included a Johnny's venison (a mainstay), two different corn puddings, black eyed peas (a must!), mixed vegetable plate, rice, Caesar salad and an Italian dish. Desserts included a walnut pie, a fruit cake, cream cheese crescent, an "unknown" pie"A great way to end 2014

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