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, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Outreach

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!

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!

Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29

Why are we pushing Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29 in support of our Village Harvest food distribution ?

1. There is a need.

In a sermon on September 22, 2019 Catherine wrote “I have had people who come to the distribution tell me that they wouldn’t have had enough food to get through the month without the food we provide.”

The Free Lance-Star reported in Aug., 2018, “about 31,000 residents of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford consistently lack enough food to maintain a healthy, active life. They’re considered food insecure by the United States.” Department of Agriculture.

We are called to do like Jesus – and he fed people both physically and spiritually. Witness the stories of the Feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000.

2. There is a cost to recover.

We are averaging $170(average 10 months) or over $2,000 a year. Help us recover the cost and even add to our resources to do more.

3. The ministry has been successful.

8 years later we have served over 6,800 clients over 64,500 pounds of food. This year the average pounds of food per person is over 12 which at $6 a pound is worth $72. It is clearly one of our more visible and valuable outreach expressions from our church.

4. We have goals and a way for you to help.

Our goal in #Giving Tuesday is to raise 3 months support or $500.

• A $10 donation feeds 6 people, 12 pounds each. It provides 72 pounds of food and $430 in total value!

• A $20 donation feeds 12 people, 12 pounds each. It provides 144 pounds of food and $860 in total value!

Help us on Giving Tuesday, Nov 29

Two ways to donate:

1. On or before Nov 29 make out a check to St. Peter’s with “Giving Tuesday” in the memo line. Send to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 399 Port Royal, Virginia 22535

2. St. Peter’s PayPal account

Thank you for your support!

ECM Collection for Thanksgiving, Christmas – $1,017.20!!

As of Mon, Nov 14, the ECM (Episcopal Church Men has collected $1017.20 for their seasonal offering

The plans are to distribute to social service to they can provide gifts cards for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The men will decide how to divide their gifts.

The church will be collecting the Christmas portion of the offering until Sunday, Dec. 11

Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29 – the background

Why give ? The Village Harvest addresses the Food Insecurity issue in surrounding counties and is one our key ministries. Food insecure definition – These households to 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. 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:
County %
Caroline 7.4%
Essex 11.0%
Westmoreland 10.7%
King George 5.6%
   
Virginia as a whole 7.7%

St. Peter’s spends about $2000 a year on food purchased from the Healthy Harvest Food Bank for the Village Harvest.

Our goal is to raise $500 or about 25% during Giving Tuesday.

Thanks to the generosity of St Peter’s, not only are we able to provide food, but Catherine has also been able to use her discretionary fund to help these people in other ways.  

During the first  11 months of 2022, we have fed 970 people compared to 898 in the previous year during the same period.  The amount of food provided is about the same – 13,834 pounds for 2022 and 13,292 for 2021. Pounds per person, however, were higher in 2021 at 14.80 compared with 14.26 in the current year

You can give at this link which has the mail and online address for Village Tuesday.. Many thanks for your help!

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.

UTO offering collected, Nov. 6 – Nov. 27

The United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through UTO, individuals are invited to embrace and deepen a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude. UTO encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings, and to distribute the 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion. 

Over the next 3 years, The United Thank Offering, in the spirit of Matthew 25:36, will focus on areas of ministry that serve those who society has left out and left behind.  Therefore, the UTO grant focus for 2023 will be on innovative mission and ministry projects addressing all aspects of the worldwide incarceration crisis, specifically:

  • preventative programs and intervention; 
  • prisoner support outreach; 
  • prison reform work; 
  • or post-prison re-entry.  

Jerusalem Greer, Staff Officer for Evangelism, points out that “Jesus says we are to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. What if we could see all of creation as our neighbor? How would that change our prayers and our actions? Anytime we use the toil of our hands to bring newness and restoration to the world, cultivating gratitude and love alongside clean water and healthy soil, we become part of God’s healing process in creation. How better to love all our neighbors?”

Make a donation by writing a check to St Peter’s and putting UTO in the memo line.  The ingathering will begin on Sunday, November 6th and the intake will take place on the first Sunday of Advent, Sunday, November 27th.  This  offering is a great way to express gratitude for the blessings of this life.

ECW Donations, 2022

The ECW met in Early October to decide the distribution of their earnings from the Village Dinners. $2,550 was distributed almost evenly between domestic and international charities. It was slightly lower than $3,000 a year ago. However, some funds were held back for other ministries, such as the altar guild and fellowship.

  Domestic  
 
Donation Amount Description
St. Peter’s Discretionary Fund   300 Fund to help local residents pay utility bills, rent, etc
Village Harvest Food Distribution   250 St Peter’s Food Distribution
Healthy Harvest Food Bank   250 Source for food for St. Peter’s Food distribuion
St. Andrew’s School in Richmond   250 School in Richmond, VA providing quality education for children in low income families
Micah Ecumenical Ministries (in honor of the Rev Thomas Hughes)   250 Churches in Fredericksburg established Micah our churches care for the whole person through ministries that address basic needs, health care, housing, income and the social/spiritual.
Total Domestic   1,300
International
Donation Amount Description
Five Talents   250 Transforming lives around the world through Christian economic development
Heifer International   250 Ending hunger and poverty around the world, by providing livestock and training to families
Episcopal Relief and Development   250 Working with partners around the world to alleviate hunger, create economic opportunities, respond to disasters, promote health, and strengthen communities.
Victoria All Age School in Jamaica   250 School visited in 2022 with support for Increased access to technology for the students.
Rev Luis Garcia   250 Priest in the Dominican Republic, to support his ministry in the several churches that he serves.
Total International   1,250  
     
Total 2022 Donations   2,550  

Markers for Caroline’s Promise completed~

St Peter’s goal was to collect 250 boxes of markers, eight to a box for Caroline County school children, to be distributed by Caroline’s Promise on Saturday, July 23rd at Caroline Middle School.

As of Sunday, July 17, we had 183 markers with another 67 to go. We reached 250 during the next week, in time for the distribution.

The photo shows the delivery to Caroline Middle prior to the event. Thanks to all who contributed!

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.

World Refugee Day, June 20, 2022 – the Stats

UNHCR 2021 Global Trends Report – key data:

  • By May 2022, more than 100 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.
  • At end 2021, the figure was 89.3 million, comprising:
    • 27.1 million refugees
      • 21.3 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate
      • 5.8 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate
    • 53.2 million internally displaced people
    • 4.6 million asylum seekers
    • 4.4 million Venezuelans displaced abroad
  • Among refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad in 2021:
    • Low- and middle-income countries hosted 83 per cent
    • Least Developed Countries provided asylum to 27 per cent of the total.
    • More than two thirds (69 per cent) of refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad came from just five countries: Syria (6.8 million), Venezuela (4.6 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.4 million) and Myanmar (1.2 million).

Definitions

1. Internally displaced People are people who have been forced to leave or abandon their homes, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border

People flee within their own countries for example to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural- and human-made disasters. 

2. Asylum seekers

An asylum-seeker is someone whose request for sanctuary has yet to be processed. Every year, around one million people seek asylum.

3. Refugees

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.

They often have had to flee with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs and loved ones. 

Arrivals climbed in Uganda, Chad and Sudan among others.

Most refugees were, once again, hosted by neighboring countries with few resources.