Priest in Charge Annual Report, 2012 for St Peter’s 2013 Congregational Meeting
“The spirit of the Lord is among us, because he has anointed us to bring good news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The words that Jesus read in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry offer guidance to us as we focus on our mission as a parish, working together to proclaim God’s good news to the world.
Mission, Outreach and Community Witness
During 2012, we continued our Community Dinners as a way of bringing God’s good news to the town of Port Royal. Thanks to a Mustard Seed Grant from the Diocese of Virginia that we received in 2011, we were able to host six dinners and invite people from the town and the surrounding areas to come and share a simple meal and some fellowship. We held three of the dinners in 2012—March 10, June 9, and December 14, 2012. Our average attendance for the first five dinners was around twenty-five guests. We held the last of these dinners in conjunction with Caroline County Parks and Recreation and the Town of Port Royal. This joint effort that included games for the children, an appearance by Santa Claus, and the Christmas tree lighting brought over 100 people to the fire station for food and fellowship. We plan to continue these dinners in 2013 and to partner with Caroline County Parks and Recreation each time. The Evening ECW has headed up the Community Dinners.
Our ministry of hospitality continues with our monthly Village Dinners. In addition to providing food and hospitality for those who attend, this ongoing project provides steady funding which the ECW (Episcopal Church Women) uses to support outreach efforts locally, nationally, and internationally.
On Friday, May 11, 2012, the Evening ECW took small arrangements of flowers to the women residents of the Bowling Green Healthcare Center in celebration of Mothers’ Day.
On March 15, 2012, we began a new ministry to the prisoners of Peumansend Creek Regional Jail. Four volunteers from St Peter’s go to the jail once a month to study the Bible with the prisoners there. Our average attendance is around fifteen prisoners, who are happy to have the opportunity to discuss God’s words and apply it to their current lives in prison, and to think about how to use God’s help in restructuring their lives once they are released from jail. The entire congregation has supported this ministry by providing money to buy Bibles for distribution to the prisoners, and for the second year, we provided candy bags at Christmas for the over three hundred prisoners at PCRJ.
We partnered with JoySong on Sunday, July 15th. The gospel sing and the concert by this wonderful group of singers raised money for our earthquake relief fund, and also provided financial support for JoySong, a group of people bring God’s love through song to residents of nursing homes, for Hospice patients and their families, and in historical venues throughout the region.
Our first mission trip as a parish took place August 22-28, 2012. Thirteen of us (including Zeke Fisher, our youngest member) went to Staten Island to help with the annual clothing distribution that is put together by the Staten Island Moravians for the people there who need clothes for school and job interviews. In just three days, we unpacked 400 boxes of clothes and distributed the clothes and school supplies to 1086 people in need on Staten Island. In addition, we worked alongside the Moravians, and learned more about their worship and traditions, important for us since we Episcopalians are now in full communion with the Moravian Church. We also walked the labyrinth at Castleton Hill Moravian Church and learned more about that ancient tradition.
In response to Hurricane Sandy, four people returned to Staten Island on a second mission trip during the first week of December to help sort the clothes that were sent to the island from all over the country to help those who lost everything in the storm. This group sorted mountains of donated clothes into four hundred boxes of clothes that are now ready for the next clothing distribution to benefit those who lost everything in the hurricane, and others who are in need on the island. These clothes will be distributed this February.
In addition to providing hands-on help, our parish gave generously to the fund for hurricane relief run by the Moravians on the island, and the money given has gone directly to families in need as a result of the storm. Some of the money will also go to help support the ongoing mission work that will be taking place in response to needs created by the storm.
Closer to home, we are now collecting newspapers and magazines as part of a mission effort by Salem Baptist Church in King George County. The young people in that church are collecting paper for recycling to support several local mission efforts through Salem Baptist.
Ongoing efforts to bring God’s good news to the world at St Peter’s included contributions to the Caroline County Food Bank of food that parishioners generously donate each week. Once again we participated in the Samaritan’s Purse program and provided shoe boxes to be sent to children all over the world. Our parish provided Christmas gifts for a family in Port Royal, and the ECM (Episcopal Church Men) also provided gifts for a family in need. We found both of these families through the Caroline County Department of Social Services.
2012 has definitely been a year of the Lord’s favor at St Peter’s. The 2011 earthquake left us with quite a bit of damage to the church. In 2012, we received a matching grant from the Diocese for $3500. Thanks to the generosity of parishioners and others, we were able to provide the matching funds.
On April 15, 2012, we dedicated the beautiful cross that Helmut Linne von Berg made for the door behind the altar. He made the cross from one of the wooden beams that was removed from church roof during the belfry restoration. That day we also dedicated the two restored stained glass windows in the back windows of the church. One of the stained glass pieces was completely missing, and the other was damaged. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, these two windows have been restored to match the other four windows. We have also had the gift of two new dogwood trees for the church yard. On October 7, 2012, we held a Belfry Celebration Day and installed a framed list of donors on the back wall of the church. Two very generous anonymous donors gave St Peter’s the gift of a brass Advent Wreath/paschal candle which we blessed on the first Sunday of Advent and enjoyed using throughout the season.
Worship
We had our evening Epiphany service on January 6, 2012, followed by a reception at the Long residence. Lent began with our annual pancake dinner followed by Holy Eucharist and the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. During Lent, 2012, a small book group read Introduction to the Devout Life, by St Francis de Sales. We also had weekly 7:30AM weekly healing Eucharists during Lent, and Catherine did a Sunday morning Lenten series about God and the Mystery of Human Suffering. During Holy Week, we had a service of Tenebrae, a Maundy Thursday service, and the Good Friday service. Many participated in the community sunrise service on Easter Day and then came to our parish celebration at 11AM that morning. We traveled to St Peter’s, Oak Grove, on Sunday, June 17th and celebrated the confirmation of Tucker Fisher, the reception of Thomas Guthrie, and the baptisms and confirmations of Andrea and Ken Pogue. On Sunday, July 8th, we worshiped with St Asaph’s, Bowling Green at Pitt’s Pond . On September 16th, we went to Portabago Bay for our annual Gospel on the Rivah worship service and social hour. Later in the month we travelled to Oakenbrough for an EvenSong prepared by our choir service at the home of the Bowens. We had several dogs come to St Peter’s for the Blessing of the Pets on October 4th. We started off the Christmas season with fellowship at the home of Cherry and Woody Everett, who hosted a Christmas party/covered dish supper for St Peter’s. Our Christmas pageant on the fourth Sunday of Advent focused on the Angel Gabriel. The choir prepared a program of carols for the pre-service music on Christmas Eve, and we ended the year with Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 30th. With the exception of a few months, we had a 9AM Rite I Holy Eucharist service on the last Sunday of the month, when we have Morning Prayer at 11AM. This year we celebrated the baptisms of Holly Davis and Alexander Long VI. We came together to celebrate the life of Peter Bryan, who died in July of 2012.
Christian Education
This year’s Christian Education has included adult classes that have covered an assortment of topics an ongoing study of Sunday’s lectionary, including an overview of Islam, a one Sunday class on the work of the Episcopal Church in Sudan, Church History, and Handel’s Messiah, the Lenten program on God and the Mystery of Human Suffering, and the ongoing midweek ecumenical Bible Study.
We have added a new class for preschoolers this year, taught by Catherine, along with our class for elementary school children and our class for young teens.
Priest-in-Charge- updates on other responsibilities and activities
In addition to my part-time duties at St Peter’s, I’m also serving as a Spiritual Director at Virginia Theological Seminary, where I meet with twelve students and one staff person individually once a month. Beginning in September of 2012, I became the “Chapel Coordinator” at the seminary. I plan three midday Eucharists each week, and schedule the people who will preach and serve at the services. I am also on the preaching and celebrant rotation for these services. Beginning in 2013, I will also be responsible for two Morning Prayer services each week.
In January, I took a week long class at VTS called The Four Gospels on Sunday, taught by Gordon Lathrop, a Lutheran liturgist. At the end of October, I went to the Eastern Point Retreat Center in Gloucester, Massachusetts for an eight day prayer retreat. This time away for prayer and refreshment brought with it renewed energy and I’m thankful to have had the time to go. The January class and the retreat were funded by The Second Three Years Program, which is run through VTS and the Lily Foundation. In June, I attended the second residency of this program which took place at VTS for a week in June.
The spirit of the Lord has definitely been among us at St Peter’s during 2012. For a small church, we have done an amazing amount of mission, outreach and witness this past year. We have been diligent in worshipping together as the family of God, and we have worked hard to continue to grow in the knowledge and love of God. God has truly blessed our congregation. Thanks be to God for all of the blessings from the past year, and I pray that God will continue to bless our worship, study, mission and our witness to God’s love in the world in the year to come.