Page 5 - Annual Meeting, 2020

The Spanish Bible Study. Last year, thanks to help from you, the Fredericksburg Region
and the Diocese, I was able to attend the Latino Ministries competency course at VTS. This
study led to the Spanish Bible study which began last Lent and then continued through the
year, with commitment from those attending to continue to meet in 2020. I would like to
thank Ramon and Linneth Feliciano, Elizabeth Heimbach, and Cookie and Johnny Davis for
welcoming Claudia Villa and Antoinetta and Melanie Avila to St Peter’s. Countries
represented in this one Bible study are Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Mexico.

The St Peter’s music program. Many churches are no longer fortunate enough to have a
choir, especially smaller churches. I’m so grateful to the choir members who have been so
faithful over the past several years—Nancy Long, Helmut Linne von Berg, Mike Newman,
and Roger Key. With the addition of Thom Guthrie, Mary Peterman, Denise Gregory and
Tucker Fisher, our choir has been able to add beauty and quality music to our worship each
Sunday. We are also blessed with several instrumentalists who are willing to share their
time and talent: Helmut Linne von Berg, violin; Marilyn Newman, harp; and Mary

Peterman, flute; Thom Guthrie, organ. Brad Volland, our music director and organist, as
done a masterful job of putting all of these talents together to make some wonderful music,
as well as contributing his own talents by playing our little tracker organ. Every year
Helmut Linne von Berg and Jim Heimbach produce Gospel on the River, an enjoyable
afternoon of singing gospel hymns together. Brad and these wonderful musicians are true
blessings for our church.

The Concert Series. St Peter’s offers a world class concert for the community each year,
thanks to your generosity and commitment to this outreach program for the community.
This year we welcomed PhilHarmonia, a chorus of over twenty young people from
Philadelphia, PA. The Heimbachs hosted the reception before the concert.

Two new worship services took place this year—The Blessing of the Backpacks for the
children, and The Christmas Service of Comfort for those who have suffered losses during
the year and may not have felt overwhelmed with joy during the Christmas season. The
Connexion Chamber Choir from Colonial Beach came over and sang for this service.

The Season of Creation this year brought us to the end of the three year Season of
Creation lectionary cycle. During this season, we not only celebrated the wonders of
creation, and thanksgiving to God for all God has made, but we also looked at some of the
current problems that the earth is experiencing and how scripture applies to current
environmental crises.

Our beautiful property brings us closer to God. Robert Bryan cleared the riverbank and
worked on the old colonial road bed next to the church, opening up the river view. We are
so blessed with the beautiful view that we enjoy of the Rappahannock River and of the
many flowerbeds around the buildings that Cookie Davis maintains.

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