Photos

We had 20 at Morning Prayer on a sunny but cooler Sunday as we move toward the end of summer. This was our first Morning Prayer on the river after an Evening Prayer a month earlier

We had 25 for Evening Prayer on July 12, an outside service. It was the first service at the church since March 8 though we have been having online zoom services since that time. The bulletin is here.

Evening Prayer has been the title for the Evening Office in Anglican worship since the 1552 revision of the Prayer Book. It is a shorter service with opening sentences, readings, sermon and prayers and no communion. The Invitatory may include the canticle Phos Hilaron, an ancient hymn praising Christ at the lighting of lamps at sunset, appropriate for the time of the service.

We had three musical selections which are at a separate video link – Helmut on violin “Ave Maria”, Nancy soloist on “Spirit of the Living God” and Phil on guitar “How Can I Keep from Singing.”

Sunday March 29 was our first online church at 10am, one hour before that of the National Cathedral. We had 24 people online through Zoom.

People could converse with one another before the service and there was a period of comments/questions about the sermon. Thus some real benefits from this platform!

Catherine also used the screen sharing feature to show photos of St. Peter’s in the spring and display the lectionary readings for the readers.

We conducted our mid-week ecumenical Bible study earlier in the week. Some documents used on Sunday

The photo gallery was a flashback to 2017

A mild and sunny Sunday with the river fogged in with the colder earth from the morning interacting with warmer air. This was the first week with the flowers out – daffodils, cherries, and other blossoms. The Campbell Magnolia was out at St. Peter’s.

Catherine presented “A blended family” at 10am with the family of Jacob and the 7 sons who will be part of the 12 tribes of Israel and his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and two concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah,

We had 35 with a smaller choir and at least two families away

Deacon Carey led the children’s sermon and preached the sermon on Nicodemus. The children received a plant to track how plants in a dark bag with a hole will grow to the light.

There were several celebrations this week. We began Communion after a lapse of 6 months due to Covid (the last one on March 8). It was very different. Communion was distributed in one kind only—the bread. The wafers were in cups. People lined up to take a cup and then consume it raising your mask. Still, it was a sign of a restoration of the key ceremony in the church.

The second was a celebration of Carey Connor’s ordination a priest in Richmond yesterday at St. Paul’s. She had been Catherine’s friend since 1992 when she came to St. George’s. In the fall of 2019, Carey became our Deacon. In that year, she has graced us with her preaching, Christian ed on mission, hospitality and participation in many parts of St. Peter’s life. Today we presented here several tokens of appreciation. Elizabeth presented a collection of stoles for every season. We got to see them unwrapped after the service. Second was a St Peter’s cross made by Helmut. Today was her first Eucharist as a priest outside of her ordination. About 10 of her friends from St. George’s came to witness and brought out attendance up to 30

A dozen ladies gathered at Cookie Davis house to celebrate the year almost past, to decide on how to use the monies they collected in terms of donations and to enjoy the day with tea and other foods. They also made tags for the Giving Tree which will debut on Nov. 24.

Donations of $250 each or $2,750 in total to 11 groups
Healthy harvest food Bank
Village harvest food distribution
Tunnels and towers
Heifer international
The discretionary fund
Wounded warriors
Saint Andrews school
Caroline’s promise
five talents
Episcopal relief and development
Caroline young life

We were back in the church for this Christmas Eve after being on zoom exclusively a year earlier. Masks continued as the omicron variant of Covid19 swept the world. Some churches like the Washington Cathedral moved all of their services online. We held ours in the church but with masks required. We had 39, 36 in house and 3 on Zoom. The weather was moderate in the 50’s with partly cloudy to cloudy skies.

We had a new nativity scene outside with 3 figures – Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

This year may be noted as as return of enhanced music. Since last year Larry Saylor was with us on guitar, and Mary Peterman is back on flute as well as Denise Gregory with her voice. The choir had a new energy and depth which was shown on the “In the Bleak Midwinter.” The choir contributed soloists – flute, guitar and violin. Later in the service, Helmut sang “Silent Night” accompanied by Larry on guitar which was the way it was performed in 1818 on guitar and vocal. Helmut sang the first verse in German and the congregation repeated the 1st verse in English along with the rest of the hymn. Certainly a highlight of the service!

Our first “Blue Christmas Service” entitled” “A Christmas Service of Peace and Comfort” was held Dec. 22 , 4:30pm at St. Peter’s.

We advertised it this way -” the Christmas Season a time when you feel sad, lonely, or depressed? We invite you to join us at this service to acknowledge these feelings and share in a time of reflection on the pain, sadness, or loneliness you may feel. We pray that you will find hope and comfort in knowing that you are not alone with this service. ”

The setting of the service at 4:30pm at the winter solstice echoed the darkness of people’s lives. In contrast to this the candles in the windows and the altar candles provided an alternative setting.

The words through prayers provided a petition. “Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”

The Way of Beauty Retreat took place at St Peter’s on Saturday, November 9. Carol Maher, the founder of Many Waters Ministries, led the retreat for a group of fifteen people from St Peter’s and from St Mary’s in Colonial Beach. Carol shared the story of how she came to be interested in Native American spirituality. We learned about the concept of hozho, which is the Navajo word that describes “the beauty way.”

The beauty way is a way of life, much like the “Way of Love” that Bishop Curry has developed. The beauty way integrates God into all of life. To find what gives you harmony in your life, the moral condition of good, the things that are harmonious, blessed, good and satisfying are all part of living the way of beauty. The Navajo people find that they live engulfed in beauty. Carol told us about “The Long Walk,” when various tribes from all over the West were forced to walk to Ft Sumner in Arizona. The mindset of The Way of Beauty gave the people the strength to persevere and to survive the ordeal. This group of tribes is now the largest in the United States.

Carol asked us what we want our own lives to radiate. Jesus talks about abiding. What does it mean for us to abide in Jesus and to produce the fruit that lasts? Carol also talked about how The Way of Beauty prayer has the same themes of St Patrick’s Breastplate and the Prayer of St Francis.

After we spent some time in prayer, listening to God, we made collages that reflected what we feel most passionately about in our lives, what means the most to us, what inspires us, where we go for refreshment and peace.

After we shared lunch together, the day ended with a Eucharist in the church and during the service, each person presented her collage and talked about the inspiration behind the art.

The location has varied over the years but the format is similar – singing favorite gospel hymns on various instruments with food either before or after. It has always been sometime in September just before the fall coolness arrives.

They enjoyed at larger attendance – 35+ people with people in adjacent rooms participating compared to 17 in 2018 with Jim Heimbach on the piano and Helmut on the violin with some vocals from Nancy. It has been in the church, besides the Parish House, in Portobago Bay and this year for the second year in a the Heimbach home.

The history of the event is here and it goes back to 2007.As Helmut describes, “From our residence, we see the river front improvement here at Portobago. The Lord has created this beautiful spot for us. So, why not thank him and praise him right there in the midst of his beautiful creation.”