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