And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:15-16
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Fr. Scott's sermon focused on Jesus's healing of the ten lepers as he traveled to Jerusalem through Galilee and Samaria as described in Luke 17. As he began his sermon, he reviewed the events at the recent Diocesan Synod in Ashville (DEUS - Diocese of the Eastern United States of the APA). He gave thanks to God for the APA, the diversity of gifts & projects happening through out the APA, and the knowledge that we are part of a much larger church and are not alone in trying to reach people in the Tri-Cities.
Jesus healed the ten lepers who cried out to him. Jesus's only comment to the lepers was to go show themselves to the priests. The lepers were healed as they went. However, only one leper - a Samaritan - turned back to thank Jesus. We can assume at least some of the other lepers were Jewish and would have known about God, the Torah, the sacrifices, etc. They represent the mistake of falling into a casualness with our faith. Often new believers or people new to the Anglican faith show more gratitude and enthusiasm than long time believers. Fr. Scott reminded us to remember St. Peters and the APA are the antidote to the modern version of Christianity - we are the unchanging faith in the changing world. We should be like the Samaritan leper that turned back in gratitude.
Please find the complete sermon and service on our YouTube channel:
Thank you Fr. Scott for the thoughtful sermon!
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During Christian Education this past Sunday Fr. Scott, Scott, and Sue reviewed their time at the DEUS Synod. They reviewed the services, the church projects, the overseas projects, and the new Diocesan website. Thank you all for the updates.
Next week bring your Bible and join us as we continue reading and studying 1 Peter.
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After services we ate a wonderful lunch of soup, sandwiches, fruit, chips, and cookies! Thank you , Deborah, Carole, and Rose Marie for all the wonderful food!
Wonderful company and wonderful food!
And the joy of watching Ambrose (and all the other children) grow and thrive!!
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This past Saturday morning, we met for our church maintenance day.
Claudia, Sue, and Rose Marie worked on cleaning up the front of the church . . .
Earl worked on the Memorial Garden . . .
Stepping stones were installed from the lower stair case to the front door! Claudia and I purchased and delivered the stones, but Fr. Scott, Matt, and Mike did all the work to make this happen! I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of the work in progress!
Mike, Scott, Matt, and Fr. Scott also worked in the nursery - adding a shelf and installing a TV. The TV allows anyone in the nursery to watch the YouTube broadcast of the services upstairs!
Thank you to everyone for all your hard work - the results are amazing!
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This past Saturday was Constitution Day! On September 17th, 1787 the Constitution of the United States was signed by 39 delegates from the several States. The signing was held at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, in Philadelphia two hundred and thirty-five years ago.
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On Thursday, September 29 we will celebrate the Feast Day of St. Michael & All Angels. Fr. Scott will lead a Holy Communion Service starting at 6 pm.
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Blessing of the Animals
We are sponsoring a Blessing of the Animals celebration on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. Fr. Scott will bless pets between 4 and 6 pm on Oct. 4 at the church. We want to reach out to all local pet owners for this event. Teresa has created flyers and is mailing them to local veterinarian offices and shelters. We are also planning to announce in the Kingsport Times and possibly other local magazines.
Fr. Scott prepared the following message for the flyers:
Gen 9:9-10 says “And I (God) establish my covenant with you… and from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.” God deeply cares about all His creation, from the house fly to the human, all are worthy of His love. We participate in His love though our own care of animals that have found their way into our lives. St. Francis of Assisi, during his life, proclaimed the love of God to all, even to the animals around him. On his feast day, we especially remember and dedicate our furry, feathery, finned, and any other companions to God.
The rest of the flyer has the following information:
As part of remembering this special man, our priest,Fr. Scott Greene, is offering special blessings for all pets brought to the church. In addition to the blessing, a small treat will be given to each blessed pet. For everyone’s safety, we ask that all pets are properly restrained. In the event of inclement weather, this event will be rescheduled.
Please let Fr. Scott or Teresa know if you have ideas for more outreach for this event!
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Armed Intruder Training
". . . Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." Nehemiah 4 :14
The Mission Committee also agreed to sponsor a 'Law Enforcement Response to Shootings in Public'. Mike and Teresa are arranging a free public seminar at St. Peters about how to respond in a random shooting situation. Teresa has arranged for the Sullivan County Sheriff, Jeff Cassidy to come to St. Peter's on Tuesday, Oct 11 at 6:30 pm. Teresa is also creating flyers for this event and mailing them to local churches.
Please let Fr. Scott or Teresa know if you have ideas for more outreach for this event!
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Discord. Thank you so much Sue for taking the time each week to lead our prayers! If you have a special prayer request but cannot join us, please send your request to Sue. Please contact Rosalind if you would like to join us on Discord.
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Our Annual Congregational Meeting is coming up at the beginning of Advent. An operating budget must be submitted and approved for the next church year. In order to establish a budget we must ask for pledges. Please prayerfully consider and submit your pledge by September 30. Daryl has blank pledge sheets in the Narthex. As in the past, we ask only for anonymous pledges dropped in the offertory plate or sent in the mail to the church. The pledge slips will be tallied and then destroyed as we do not track pledges.
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