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.

2023 Sun Dec 3

Advent Season Resources

An online Advent potpourri in 6 categories of things to do in Advent – Read, Watch, Learn, Listen, Pray and Reflect and Make. There is something for everyone!

An Advent Collection

Read includes key points of Advent, the beginning of Advent, and waiting

Under Watch there are  videos –Nativity: The Art and Spirit of the Creche and The Story of Silent Night .

The Learn tab has the classes we have had at St. Peter’s including Luke’s Canticles, Matthew’s Infancy Stories, Christmas Carols and Dickens.

Listen includes Lessons and Carols from National Cathedral as well as an exploration of Antiphons .

Pray and Reflect features Advent meditations  a workshop involving prayer, scripture, candlelight and an adaptation of the Way of Love for Advent.

Finally Make has all sorts of crafts from Advent calendars, cooking and wreath creation.

Advent Meditations, 2023 – Living Compass

Living Compass produces a book of daily meditations for Advent- “Living Well through Advent which begins Dec. 3

https://shop.livingcompass.org/collections/advent-and-lent-resources   The printed copy is $1 and the download is free.  (We have purchased 20 copies.)

The Living Compass Model for Well-Being offers us guidance in four dimensions of our being: heart, soul, strength, and mind and focus on how they are interconnected. The goal is wellness and wholeness

The theme this year is “Practicing Wonder as we move toward Christmas.”  Each week has an example of it demonstrated by the lives of the author

Week 1 is the connection between wonder and love. Through time and space, adversity and divide, love remains. Love is a constant. Like love, wonder opens the heart and touches our soul.

Week 2 is the connection between wonder and stories. Stories so often help us remember the One whose love we are preparing to celebrate, and those who have taught us so much about wonder and love through the years. Think of the diverse family members in your family

Week 3 explores the connection between wonder and thin places, be they physical, spiritual, emotional, or relational.  . A thin place is a location where the distance between God and Heaven and the Earth is thin. It is a place where deep transformation can happen as we strengthen our personal connection to God.

Week 4   is  the wonder of  God as made manifest in Mary’s faith and courage described in Luke, the birth of Jesus, and the reverent response of the shepherd

Discretionary Fund in 2023

There have been 41 checks totaling $3,524.58 from January through October of this year. The last year reviewed was 2021 for the same period which showed $2,243.68 distributed These funds help people with utilities, medical bills, rental payments, food, and car payments. The Discretionary Fundis a vital part of St. Peter’s Outreach. Thanks for those who have donated to this fund!.

St. Peter’s Endowment Fund – An end of the year gift to the Church

Consider a gift to the St. Peter’s Endowment Fund this year by Dec. 17. If you have not taken your IRA minimum distribution, this would be a good fund to consider. It’s tax deductible These funds, which are invested, will help assure financial security for St Peter’s for years to come. Money from the fund can be used for the future maintenance of the buildings in the future and also for outreach projects that the church may take on. On your check, just designate the “Endowment Fund” in the memo line.

Giving to the Endowment Fund also offers some tax advantages. You can donate stock which is sold by the church with the proceeds going into the Endowment Fund. There are no capital gains for you and you can get a deduction for the appreciated value of the stock. Supporting St Peter’s in this way can increase your tax deduction and not your tax bill.

You can also go further and add a percentage of your estate which is taken off the total estate when computing estate tax.

For details consult one of the trustees, Johnny Davis, Ken Pogue or Ben Hicks.

Advent Compline

Join us online for the 20 minute service on Zoom , Dec. 7, 14, and 21 at 7PM.

Link Meeting ID: 863 3487 7905 Pass 868383

Compline was a service to close the day, an opportunity to give thanks for the joys and graces experienced, a chance to confess sins committed throughout the day, and the perfect moment to close the day the same way it started: in prayer. If Morning Prayer is designed to start the day off right then Compline is designed to end it well. It frames you for sleep and puts the day in perspective. It helps you recommit yourself to prayer during Advent. Give it a try!

ECW Dinner for the “House”

The ECW will be taking dinner to the “House” located on Collage Ave, Fredericksburg on Dec. 5.  (This was last done Feb.5 , 2019 for about 10 students.) . Their website is – https://www.thehousefxbg.org/.

The Episcopal and Lutheran churches in downtown Fredericksburg have shared ministry for years, working together to fund and staff a mission to the University of Mary Washington campus since 2011. In 2018, the leadership of the three churches dreamed up the new position of Young Adult Missioner to coordinate campus ministries.

The missioner is The Rev. Ethan Lowery. College students meet Tuesdays during the semester from 5-7pm at The House for dinner and discussion and time to hang out and check in.  Our goal for our young adult ministry is to create safe spaces for fellowship, creativity, and learning and growing

Our missioner’s work is supported and shared among three parishes–Christ Lutheran, Trinity Episcopal, and St. George’s Episcopal, all within walking distance of UMW and The House

Sunday links, Dec. 3, 2023

Advent begins, Dec. 3


  • Web site
  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
  • Facebook St. Peter’s Page
  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535

  • Ecumenical Bible Study, Wed., Nov. 29, 10am-12pm, Parish House Reading Lectionary for Nov. 26, Last Pentecost, “Christ the King”
  • ECM Christmas Donations due Dec. 3 Write a check to “ECM Christmas”

  • God’s Children, Dec. 3, 10:15am. All about Advent
  • Sun. Dec. 3, 2023, 11am Church service – Eucharist Live or YouTube St. Peter’s Page
  • Lectionary link for Dec. 3, Advent 1
  • Serving – Holy Eucharist
    Lector: Linda Kramer
    Chalice Bearer: Johnny Davis
    Altar Cleanup: Jan Saylor
  • Coffee Hour after Dec. 3 service Bring a dish

  • Tues, Dec. 5, 5pm. ECW takes dinner to the “House” in Fredericksburg
  • Ecumenical Bible Study, Wed., Dec 6, 10am-12pm, Parish House Reading Lectionary for Dec 10, Advent 2
  • Compline Thursdays in Dec. Dec. 7,14, 21 on Zoom, 7pm. Praying for a peaceful night during a hurried season Zoom Link

  • Poinsettia forms and Gifts to the Endowment Fund are on the back pew, due Sun., Dec. 10th. Endowment Fund gifts are tax deductible.
  • Dec., 2023 newsletter

  • All articles for Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
  • Christmas Play poster download