We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Outreach

Welcome, Annette Steele!

On Sunday Aug 13, 2023, Annette Steele, Principal of the Victoria Primary School in Jamaica, will be with us during the 11AM worship service. Two years ago we purchased enough school supplies for 350 children and sent 7 on a mission trip. We will return this month sending more school supplies and this time equipment.

Annette was born in Jamaica and received her education at University of the West Indies, Jamaica with a Bachelors in Primary Education and a Masters in Education. She started as a 6th grade teacher and then moved toward administration, first as a vice principal and then a principal in 2010 at Victoria Primary School.

Victoria Primary School has been in existence since 1932. They currently have 300-350 students in enrollment ages 6-12 years, 13 teachers, and one guidance counselor on staff. Annette is married and has two daughters

What does she love about education? “Teaching and watching the kids excel is my ultimate goal, I am extremely passionate about my students.”

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Andrea, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and the community for initiating this Back to School Drive. Thanks for their continued support. It is making a tremendous impact on the students, parents, teachers, and the community alike.”

We will have lunch to honor Annette following worship in the Parish House.

Following the lunch, all are invited to come to the Davis residence from 2-5 PM for a time of renewal, recreation, and refreshments. During our time together, we will consider our baptisms and renew our baptismal vows, and those who would like to experience what baptism by John the Baptist might have been like will have that opportunity. Thank you to Cookie and Johnny Davis for hosting this party.

Summer, 2023 outreach

Caroline’s Promise – 95 packs of notebook paper were donated to the Caroline’s Promise school supply distribution, which was held at  Caroline Middle School at the end of July

Jamaica –  We donated enough school supplies for each student at the Victoria School in Linstead, Jamaica,  10 categories of supplies, 3,000+ items – drawstring backpacks, sharpeners, pencils, pens, toothpaste, toothbrushes,  erasers, crayons, pencil cases, rulers,  Also 6 tablets were contributed. Finally, St Peter’s was able to donate seven used computers to the school, along with keyboards and monitors to use with each computer. We collected $2,355 at the end of June for the computers and remaining school supplies. 

A Busy Tues, July 18, 2023

Everyone was trying to stay out of each other’s way!

1. Preparing the Village Harvest for Wed, July 19- removing food from the truck, organizing it and bagging them. We have canned goods, fresh corn, both white and sweet potatoes, premium white chicken as well as frozen chickens. Some good stuff!

2. Painters were continuing to paint the outside of the Parish House.

3. Workers eradicating termites in the church. Catherine was working with them.

4. Later in the day we took 95 packs of notebook paper to Caroline Middle School for their School Supply Give-Away on July 29, sponsored by Caroline’s Caroline’s Promise. Thanks to all who contributed.

Notebook Paper Collection for Caroline’s Promise School Supply Distribution

Sunday, July 16th is the deadline for St Peter’s to collect 8.5”looseleaf, hole punched notebook paper for Caroline County school children, to be distributed by Caroline’s Promise on Saturday, July 29th.   Our goal is 200 packs of 8.5×11 looseleaf notebook paper, 3 hole punched .  There is no specific quantity (200, 500 sheets, etc) to purchase. Most of them have been 150 sheet packs

[As of July 9 we have collected 37 packs of notebook paper. One week to go. ]

Bring your donation to church and place it in the back pew.  If you’d like to make a monetary donation toward this project, write a check to St Peter’s and put Notebook Paper/Outreach on the memo line. 

We have frequently partnered with Caroline’s Promise for school supplies. (Last year it was markers). Caroline’s Promise works to help young people in Caroline County to succeed by providing a healthy start and future, one of their five promises.  You can read more about Caroline’s promise at

this link.  https://www.carolinespromise.org/

Their distribution July 29, 10am-12pm

Caroline Middle School
13325 Devils Three Jump Road
Milford VA 22514

Donations and Supplies for Jamaica, Update June 30, 2023

1. Donations. Donations -collected $2,355 as of June 28. $1,499 is earmarked for the school principal to purchase notebooks, computers (keyboards, mouse and monitors), shipping, customs, checking suitcases on the plane for supplies).

2. The rest of the funds were available for supplies which Andrea purchased on June 30. We are done! Pencil cases, 280. Rulers, 350 Pens, 100 Toothbrushes, 50 Sharpeners, 156 Erasers, 200 Drawstring backpacks, 220

Thank you for your donations.

Jamaica Project Update – Supplies left to purchase As of June 16

Donate school supplies for the children at the Victoria School in Jamaica. Two ways to do it:

  • 1. Purchase the actual supplies through Amazon. Ship the supplies to P.O. Box 385, Port Royal Va 22535. Purchases due on June 18, 2023

    Here are the current items left as of June 16 which are left to purchase.

  • 2. Make a check to St Peter’s with Jamaica/Victoria School on the memo line. This will cover remaining costs – computer supplies and shipping of school supplies. As of June 11, we had collected $1,500!

    • Checks are due by the end of June. Checks are needed in two areas. (We do not have the costs yet). 1. Cost of the monitors, keyboards and mice for 7 computers. The computers are being donated. The school does not have any computers, currently. 2. Cost of shipping- the school supplies and computers.

    Thank you for your donation.

    Souper Bowl collections

    Today, Feb. 12, 2023, we collected soup from parishioners today plus cards addressed to the recipients to provide additional connections to our Village Harvest food distribution, happening next Wed Feb. 15, 3pm-5pm. We collected about 25 cans and numerous cards. If was not just the donation that was important but also the symbolic bringing of the donation to the altar which we did today. This practice goes back to at least Exodus in the Old Testament when Moses encourages bringing donations forward to the Lord.

    ECM gives $1,250 to the Community for Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2022

    Each year the Episcopal Church Men (ECM) provide support to those in need during the holidays by coordinating with the Caroline County Department of Social Services. In pre-pandemic times they donated Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas gifts to specific families from Social Services. With the Pandemic the Department of Social Services will continue providing families with secure store specific grocery limited gift cards.

    This year $500 was given for Thanksgiving and $750 for Christmas for a total of $1,250. It was the third year since 2020 that over $1,000 was provided!

    Thanks to all who contributed and to Ken Pogue and the leadership in the ECM for their work in organizing their ministry and this outreach effort!

    ECM Thanksgiving and Christmas Outreach, Due Nov 13

    From Ken Pogue, ECM Chair.

    “Each year the Episcopal Church Men help St Peter’s provide support to those in need during the holidays.  The men coordinate with the Caroline County Department of Social Services to provide families in the area with Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas gifts. 

     This year the Department of Social Services will be providing families with secure store specific grocery limited gift cards due to the ongoing pandemic.

     Ken Pogue says on behalf of the ECM,  “Your donations are greatly appreciated by the ECM and the recipients of the gifts, especially the children.  Thank you so very much in advance from a grateful community  for your love and your participation” in this worthy holiday project. 

     If you’d like to donate, please make a check to St Peter’s with ECM in the memo line.  For a Thanksgiving donation, please make your donation by November 13th.  Donations after the 13th will be used to assist families at Christmas. 

    In 2021, $2,300 was donated  to Caroline County Social Services in November for Thanksgiving and Christmas, a figure  compares with $1,200 in 2020.

    Collecting Markers for the school year

    Sunday, July 17th is the deadline for St Peter’s to collect 250 boxes of markers for Caroline County school children, to be distributed by Caroline’s Promise on Saturday, July 23rd. Our goal is to collect 250 boxes of markers, eight in a box. The illustration will give you an idea of the sort of markers needed, although your donation does not have to be a particular brand.

    Bring your donation to church and place in the back pew in the marked box. If you’d like to make a monetary donation toward this project, write a check to St Peter’s and put Markers/Outreach on the memo line.

    Understanding trends of the Village Harvest in May

    Understanding trends of the Village Harvest in May

    We are close to the results of 2021 after 5 months in 2022. For the year (2022) we are at 447 clients compared to last year’s 465. Overall pounds for 2022 are at 6,343 pounds which is close to last year’s 6,364. Like the clients figure it is statistically the same.

    Looking at just the last two months together (April and May), however, shows a variation from the two months before that (Feb and March). Basically, Feb and March offset the results of April and May to allow for a similar year to date in May, 2022 to May, 2021.

    Read more about the May harvest

    World Refugee Day, June 20

    “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” – Hebrews 13:2

    World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 to celebrate the strength and courage of those around the world who have been forced to flee their home country to escape prosecution or conflict.   World Refugee Day helps to raise awareness about the growing refugee crisis in places like Syria and Central Africa and to focus on ways to improve the lives of refugees. 

    “ Refugee” is a legal term used to define an individual who:

    “…owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” (1951 Geneva Refugee Convention.) 

    Read more

    The Connection – Juneteenth (June 19) and World Refugee Day (June 20)

    Juneteenth is related to World Refugee Day.

    Juneteenth and World Refugee Day are times to celebrate what has been done to make our world better for all and reminds us to recommit ourselves to the healing work we need to do before we can all truly be free. It also reminds us to attend to the systemic forces that prevent change, keep oppression in place, and distract us with the falsehood that one person’s freedom must be another person’s loss. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”—Ruth Frey

    Jesus disturbed the comforted and comforted the disturbed – Ryan W. Clayton

    Junetenth is about personal freedom. World Refugee Day also proclaims the value of each person as a unique child of God and commit ourselves to the healing and wholeness of all persons.

    There is a community element as well. As the Bishop of Atlanta writes “God rejoices when we celebrate the truth-that we were made for each other and for God’s glory. “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters and siblings to dwell together in unity.”

    Juneteenth also preserved the integrity of the family by allowing families to stick together without the possibility of being sold. World Refugee Day remembers and honors the families and individuals made homeless by disasters, wars, poverty, and intolerance around the world.

    Shred-it, May 19, an Essential Ministry

    Above – From Left to right, top to bottom – 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022

    Please note the change of date from Wed, May 10 to Fri, May 19

    Shred-it is an essential ministry because it involves a number of people around a common necessary task that is best accomplished by professionals.

    Shred-it’s goal is to safely dispose of records no longer needed. It may be old Tax returns, bank statements, investment records,  any expired document etc.   They lie around gathering dust and may contain personal information that needs to be kept secured even if the records are no longer pertinent or useful. For obvious reasons we don’t want to put them in the regular trash or even recycling bin.

    There is also the environmental benefit for having these documents shred rather than lying in  some landfill. We don’t need any more paper cluttering our lives!

    Shred-it is a fellowship event as well that goes beyond the church. It is a community event  We get to see people who come around once a year from the community. We might ask “What’s new ? How has your life changed over the year ? Have you seen so and so from the neighborhood” and then .”Thanks for contributing to St. Peter’s ministries.” Andrea usually had food to encourage the fellowship.

    It is also a time to remember those no longer part of our lives whether due to relocation, sickness, death  or some other reason. It is another event that is part of the scrapbook of our lives.

    It is also a fundraiser for our outreach ministries.  We have netted $2,570 over the last 10 years for outreach ministries.

    Finally, Shred-it is another opportunity to thank Andrea Pogue who came up with the idea and has organized it since.  For all these reasons here it is a great ministry!

    So I am encouraging you to check your valuable records, stuff that needs to go that you don’t want to entrust with your regular garbage or recycling services and plan to bring it to St. Peter’s on May 10 to let the professionals dispose of it securely.  Publicize it to your friends!

    Souper Bowl- Giving a can of Soup and a card this Sunday – the Gift of Life

    Bring a can, or cans, of soup to church on the 11th, along with a Valentine’s Day card wishing the recipient love from St Peter’s to be included in a Village Harvest bag on Wed, February 21st. The goal—thirty cans of soup and thirty cards for those who come to the distribution. Monetary donations to the Village Harvest are always welcome. Write a check to St Peter’s with Village Harvest in the memo line if you wish to donate.

    Why give ?

    A sermon by the Rev. Evan Garner highlighted why Church food ministries are so important in our time:

    “Because feeding them is our job. As followers of Jesus, it is our calling to feed these people, indeed to feed all hungry people. The kind of people who left their homes to walk out into the wilderness and hike up a mountain to see Jesus are the kind of people who were desperate to be fed. Some of them may not have needed physical nourishment, but most of them did. For most of them, their spiritual crisis was born out of an economic crisis. We know that because usually the kind of people who had enough on their own weren’t very interested in Jesus. The rich and the powerful ignored him or laughed at him or, sometimes, plotted against him.”

    “It is our job as the leaders of the church, as the stewards of the resources entrusted to us by God and by our parish, to count costs and estimate resources. But it is never our job as the people of God to allow an attitude of scarcity to overcome a theology of abundance. “

    The Village Harvest addresses the Food Insecurity issue in surrounding counties and is one our key ministries. The definition of Food insecure is “those households who not have access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.”

    Food insecure is not the same as poverty. Many of those in poverty are not food insecure though poverty is one cause of food insecurity.

    There is a “poverty circle” just south of Port Royal in the direction of Fort A.P. Hill (map from Virginia Community Food Connections):

    Food insecurity is associated with numerous adverse social and health outcomes and is increasingly considered a critical public health issue. Key drivers of food insecurity include unemployment, poverty, and income shocks, which can prevent adequate access to food. Figures for food insecurity are expressed as a percentage of the population.

    Here is the data for the local counties which we serve from Feeding America and the percentage of those who are food insecure. There have been significant improvements in all counties since 2017 except for Westmoreland. Half of the local area is still above Virginia in food insecurity which we would like to reverse:

    2020 2017
    County % %
    Caroline 7.4% 11.3%
    Essex 11.0% 14.0%
    Westmoreland 10.7% 10.8%
    King George 5.6% 8.1%
    Virginia as a whole 7.7% 10.2%

    St. Peter’s spends about $2000 a year on food purchased from the Healthy Harvest Food Bank for the Village Harvest. Please give generously this Sunday. Thanks!

    Village Harvest in 2022

    The Village Harvest grew in 2022 both in numbers and food.  The number of people served rose from 999 to 1,051  and pounds of food from 14,303 to 15,302. The percentages of growth are 5% for people and 7% for food.  This compared to 2019 (8%) and 3% for people and food respectively. (The 2019 harvest had only 11 periods and thus the numbers were annualized for the comparison). Additionally, the positive growth in both people and food had not occurred together since 2016.

    One comparison is reviewing the Harvest is to consider. pounds per person. In 2022  it was 14.6 pounds closely followed in 2021 at 14.32. The 2022 figures not only posted an increase but are the best in the 8 year history of the harvest!  Another achievement in 2022 was going over 10,000 people served over the lifetime of the Harvest

    Thanks goes out to Eunice Key one of the originators of the program and who provide the name, “Village Harvest”.  The success of the harvest is due to volunteers like Eunice and Cookie and Johnny Davis who have delivered food from the Healthy Harvest Food bank month after month as well as Jim and Elizabeth Heimbach.  Kudos also go out to our current director Andrea Pogue who has contributed many pictures to display the Harvest.

    Giving Tuesday, 2022 results

    The 2022 collection on Giving Tuesday of $1,175 exceeded teh 2021 total of $899. This should help to pay for 5-6 months of the Village Harvest in 2023. We serve about 190 people a month. Wonderful!

    Also at the end November, the United Thank Offering collection was $484.73, rolling past November, 2021’s total of $268.87. The UTO is one of the oldest women’s ministry. Here is a short article on the UTO.

    From a recent article in Episcopal News Network. “Practicing gratitude can be “a truly transformative thing,” UTO Board President Sherri Dietrich told ENS, since it helps people focus on what they have instead of what they might be lacking. “It just makes your life happier,” she said, and that can have an impact on others. “I really believe gratitude is one of those things that changes a circle of the world around you and can spread from there.”

    Rev. Heather Melton, UTO staff officer called practicing gratitude “a healthy and important practice” and added that gratitude is sorely needed today. “We live in a time where people feel disconnected. Gratitude is one way to notice not only the thing someone is doing for you but also the connection we have with that person. Gratitude is a reminder that we need each other, from the person who makes your coffee to your best friend.”

    Thanks to all who contributed!