Page 4 - Annual Meeting, 2020

Rector, Annual Report, 2019
The Rev. Catherine D. Hicks

The St Peter’s mission statement is to do God’s will. We can do God’s will best when we
pray for and love one another, proclaim and teach God’s word, and take the gospel to our
neighbors and out to the world.

Carrying out this work of the church can be joyful and inspiring for all of us. And with joy

and inspiration comes a sense of urgency about keeping ourselves alive and well in the
years ahead. So our challenges are to pray for new life for St Peter’s every day, to do
our best to get to church every Sunday so that we can support one another
consistently in person, and to be generous with our time, our money and our talents
for this part of God’s body in this world. Invite others to join in our work for God’s
reign on this earth and for the good of our community in Port Royal.

The ways in which we pray for and love one another.

I am grateful for the way that the people in our congregation support one another through
prayer and love for one another, both in worship and throughout the week. This past year,
the community came together to support the families who lost loved ones. I am so grateful
for all of you who came to the services and offered your love and support to the families.
In addition to that visible support, we are intentional about praying for one another, by
paying attention to the prayer list and praying for those who request prayers. Our love for
one another is strengthened through prayer for one another and the fruits of prayer are
evident throughout our congregation. We have fun socializing together, which also draws
us closer. The First Sunday potluck lunches every month, the Everett’s annual Christmas

party and the New Year’s Eve party, the ECW Tea and Gospel on the River give us the
chance to get together and enjoy one another’s company.

To proclaim and teach God’s word.

Ecumenical Bible study continues. This group, which meets every Wednesday from
10AM to noon, prays for those in any sort of need, and then studies the lectionary for the
coming Sunday worship. In these Bible studies, we learn more about the context in which
the passages were written, and we consider how these scriptures speak to us.

On Sunday mornings this past year, we studied Romans and then delved into an in-depth
study of First Corinthians, which culminated in a visit from Bishop Ihloff, who played the
part of Paul in our class. We have also traveled around the world in a series of pilgrimages
and have spent some time with The Rev. Deacon Carey Connors discussing mission and
how best to carry out our mission of proclaiming God’s love to the world.

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