"For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour."
St. Matthew 9:21-22
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Bp. Jones visited St. Peter's this past weekend. What a very busy and special weekend in the life of St. Peters!
Saturday
On Saturday Bp. Jones celebrated "The Opening & Consecration of the Church with its Dedication to St. Peter the Apostle, and the Burning of the Mortgage" along with Holy Communion. This is a very special service as a church is only consecrated once, recognizing the church is debt free (i.e. the mortgage is paid off).
We started outside. The Bishop blessed the outside walls,
the Memorial Garden,
and the outside gardens.
Then the Bishop knocked on the doors with his crozier.
Fr. Yossi opened the doors for the Bishop. The Altar was stripped.
Inside the Bishop blessed all the interior walls and the bare altar.
The Altar Guild then vested the altar and
then they placed all the ornaments on the altar.
The Bishop then dedicated
"this Altar, and this Temple, together with all the Vessels and Vestments thereof, to the glory of God, and in honour of Saint Peter the Apostle: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Last the Bishop pronounced the Sentence of Consecration saying:
"Blessed be thy Name, O Lord, that it hath pleased thee to put it into the hearts of thy servants to appropriate and devote this house to thy honour and worship; and grant that all who shall enjoy the benefit of this pious work, may show forth their thankfulness, by making a right use of it, to the glory of thy blessed Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
The Blessings, Dedication, and Consecration were followed by a beautiful sung Holy Communion service which was followed by many pictures!
Everyone at the service!
Bp. Jones with Fr. Yossi and the servers - Levi and Hutch.
. . . with the Choir - Nancy, Carol, Rose Marie, Laurel, and Teresa
with the Mission Committee - Hutch, Diane, Lin, Rosalind, and Teresa.
. . . Sam and Mere
. . . Taylor
. . . Garrett
. . . Lin
. . . JP
. . . Jessica, Levi, & Keith.
And that was just Saturday!!
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Sunday
On Sunday the Bishop confirmed five and received 15 people!
Both Jackson and Ann were confirmed - Fr. Brandon was both the happy father and son!
Chandler was confirmed - his father and sister were with him on this special day.
Daniel was confirmed! Family and friends were with him but sadly I didn't get a picture.
Levi was confirmed - pictured with proud parents Keith and Jessica!
Bishop Jones received 15 new members into St. Peters!
He received Andy, Nichole, Annabelle, Anderson, Garrett, Elaine,Taylor, Fr. Paul, Benita, Phil, Melinda, Fr. Mike, Nancy, Jessica, and Keith! Welcome!
After the confirmations and receptions, the Bishop celebrated a beautiful Holy Communion service!
We concluded with a delicious lunch of lasagne, salad, garlic bread, and several amazing homemade desserts!
What a wonderful weekend! Thank you to everyone for making this weekend with the Bishop so successful!
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We will resume Morning Prayer on Sunday, November 24 at 10:15 am.
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Fr. Yossi's Christian Education classes which focus on the weekly lessons and how they tie in with the other daily readings will resume on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 9:15. Please join us - a pot of coffee will be on!
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Our Choir is holding rehearsals at 10 am on Thursday upstairs in the sanctuary under Rose Marie's direction. All are welcome to join! Please see Fr. Yossi or Rose Marie for more information.
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Our Bible Study program, led by Fr. Paul, will continue this Thursday at 11 am. The study is using the "Dust to Glory" study guide and DVDs originally created by the renowned Christian scholar Dr. R.C. Sproul.
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Our Annual Congregational Meeting is coming up on Sunday, November 17. An operating budget for 2025 will be submitted for approval by the congregation.
Also, we have two open positions on the Mission Committee. The new members will be elected to 3 year terms which start on Jan 1, 2025. Please let Fr. Yossi or one of the current Mission Committee members know if you are interested in running for one of these very important positions.
After the meeting, we will enjoy a pizza lunch downstairs!
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Carol's husband, John, passed away last year on Monday, 11/20/23, the day before their 53rd anniversary. We are celebrating Holy Communion on the anniversary of his passing, Wednesday, November 20 at 11 am. After the service, we will move to the Memorial Garden. Please join Carol for this special service.
Last year Carol sent this description of John:
John was a fisherman, a great cook, and a wonderful husband. He loved helping people and animals.
After services, Carol is hosting a catered BBQ lunch for everyone who attends - all are invited!
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We are collecting for the Marines' Toys for Tots program - collection boxes are located both upstairs and downstairs! The Marines are coming to pick up the toys on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1 pm - so two more weeks for us to collect the toys!
Jessica has graciously agreed to coordinate our future giving programs! She sent this message about the first project she is working on:
St. Peter's mission statement is "to bring people to Jesus Christ and incorporate them into the community of faith through our historic Anglican tradition." It is with this in mind that we enter in to our next endeavor. With overwhelming support at Claudia's suggestion, we are in the process of sponsoring a family from the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. There were many families along the Nolichucky River in Greene County whose homes were washed away. Currently, there are many families who have kids in the school system there and are in very tight living quarters as they squeeze in with other family members. We will be supporting a family in Chuckey, TN that will be rebuilding their home and belongings from scratch. We will get to minister to them in many ways, but their needs are evolving. There will be more details about the family in the weeks to come. In the meantime, we have three more boxes to fill for the Marines' Toys for Tots with just two weeks left to go. Let's fill those boxes!!!
Thank you Jessica and we look forward to learning more about this family and how we can help!
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Misty invited all congregational veterans to a Veterans' Day celebration at the John F Kennedy Elementary School where she works!
Fr. Paul, JP, and Sam attended the show! Thank you, Misty for the invitation!
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Lunch at Chop House and By the Fireside: Symphony of the Mountains Holiday Concert - Saturday Dec. 7
The Symphony of the Mountains is having their 'By The Fireside' Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 7 at 3 pm at the Toy F. Reid Eastman Employee Center in Kingsport. For all who signed up, Rose Marie has both lunch reservations at The Chop House in Kingsport at 11:30 and has picked up the tickets for distribution before the concert.
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For the next two Sundays, the after services meals are as follows:
Nov 17 Pizza after Congregational Meeting
Nov 24 Fr. Yossi's last Sunday - potluck
On Fr. Yossi's last Sunday the church will provide catered beef brisket. We are asking everyone to bring a pot luck side or dessert.
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This Monday is Veterans Day. Several members of St. Peter's are veterans and several are parents of active and retired military. Thank you all so much for serving and protecting our freedoms.
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November Activities
Thur., Nov. 14 10 am Choir Practice
11 am Bible Study, Fr. Paul
Sun., Nov. 17 11 am Holy Communion
Fr. Yossi
Fr. Paul, Hutch, Levi
sung service with incense
Annual Congregational Meeting
Pizza for lunch downstairs!
Wed., Nov. 20 11 am Holy Communion in memory of Carol's husband, John
Fr. Yossi, Fr. Paul
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