After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Revelation 7:9-10
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Fr. Scott, Garon, Sue, and Scott planned a beautiful All Saints Day service for us this Sunday! They elevated our traditional service on this special day with sung responses, incense, and amazing music! The service was followed by an outdoor blessing of our new Memorial Garden created with years of effort by Earl! Then we shared a wonderful pot luck lunch with food brought by everyone! Before getting into all the details, I just wanted to say 'thank you' for everything each of you do for St. Peters!
Now to the details!
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Fr. Scott's sermon this week focused on answering questions about saints. Why do we call certain people saints? Why do we have days dedicated to a particular saint? Why aren't all Christians that go to be with our Lord called saints? St. Paul called the Corinthian Christians to be holy ones which the KJV translates as saints. The Greek word for holy one is "hagios" which is found in the New Testament 229 times and translated as saint 60 of those times.
There are two truths affirmed this Sunday as we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. First we recognize that all who have died with faith in Jesus Christ are saints of God, while at the same time recognizing some Christians have served God to such a high degree we look to them for inspiration. All Saints Day is the day to remember the holy ones in our own life - people who lived quiet lives of servitude and love, unsung heroes of the faith and saints of God. We also recognize people who, through their extraordinary level of faith and participation in God's plan, can rightfully be called saints. The first Christians recognized by the early Church were the martyrs that gave their lives for the faith, St. Stephen being the first. We thank God for both the known and unknown saints and look forward to being with them one day in heaven worshipping our God.
However, we are not alone when we celebrate Holy Communion. All the angels, all the archangels, all of the extraordinary examples of faith, all of the unknown Christians throughout the ages, and all of our holy loved ones are also with us. As we join our offering with the offering of Heaven, Jesus Christ comes down to us through the giving of His Body and Blood. When He comes, He isn't coming alone, He is bringing All His Saints with Him. Let us shout with them "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Amen.
Please find Fr. Scott's beautiful sermon at the 24:40 minute mark at the following link:
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A big 'Thank you' to Garon for being our thurifer this Sunday and for providing the incense! Also, this past week, he and Mike cleaned the church, getting us ready for All Saints Day.
On this special Sunday, Sue and Scott provided all our beautiful music!Thank you both so much for sharing your amazing musical talents with us! In the video link above, you can hear all their beautiful music!
At the end of the Holy Communion service, we moved outside for the blessing of the Memorial Garden. Thank you Fr. Scott for leading the beautiful service and for blessing our Memorial Garden.
After the blessing, we gathered for a congregational picture!
Then we headed back inside for lunch!
And what a wonderful lunch it was! Thank you to everyone for bringing food!
Several of Claudia's grandchildren joined us!
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All Souls Day - Commemoration of All the Faithful
At 3 pm on Tuesday November 2, Fr. Scott will celebrate All Souls Day at the church.
Please note, the Tuesday morning prayer group meeting on Discord is cancelled for this week. The regular prayer group meeting will resume next week on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 11:30.
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As more of us are getting involved with nursery work, prayer groups, and other small church groups, the Mission Committee felt a review of the APA "Policies in Cases of Sexual Misconduct" was prudent. The APA policies "set the parameters of expected behavior around the topic of sexual misconduct and establish consequences for stepping over these boundaries. These parameters and consequences apply to all who minister in the APA whether clergy, lay employee, or volunteer."
Please join us next Sunday, November 7 at 10 am for this session. Please note this session replaces the regular Christian Education Program.
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Next Sunday Daylight Savings time comes to an end - remember to set your clocks back!
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This Christmas St. Peter's is supporting the Marine's Toys for Tot's program.
Below is a link to the Johnson City Toys for Tot's FAQ's. They do not provide a list of recommended toys, instead ask us to use our judgement in selecting toys for 5 -12 year old children. The toys must be new and unwrapped.
Our collection box is in the parish hall in the basement. We will collect toys through Sunday, November 28.
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Our Annual Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, November 21 after services. Please plan to attend as we will be approving a budget for next year and electing new members to the Mission Committee. After the meeting we will decorate the sanctuary for Advent!
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Teresa sent information on this upcoming movie about CS Lewis. The website describes the movie as follows:
An elder C.S. Lewis looks back on his remarkable journey from hard-boiled atheist to the most renowned Christian writer of the past century.
The Most Reluctant Convert features award-winning actor Max McLean as the older Lewis and Nicholas Ralph – breakout star of PBS Masterpiece’s All Creatures Great and Small – as young Lewis. Beautifully filmed in and around Oxford this engaging biopic follows the creator of The Chronicles of Narnia from the tragic death of his mother when he was just nine years old, through his strained relationship with his father, to the nightmare of the trenches of World War I to Oxford University, where friends like J.R.R. Tolkien challenge his unbelief.
This movie is showing at the AMC Classic Theater (1805 North Roan Street, Johnson City, TN) on Wednesday, Nov 3 at 7 pm. Several plan to attend and will meet outside the theater before the movie. We recommend buying tickets ahead of time! Please let Teresa know if you plan to attend so we will know to look for you!
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Scott let us know the Symphony of the Mountains is having their 'By The Fireside' Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 4 at 3 pm at the Meadowview Marriott Resort in Kingsport. We are planning to meet for lunch (restaurant to be determined) and then attend the concert. Group ticket prices are $25 each (maybe less - Scott is confirming). Please let me or Sue or Scott know if you are interested in attending.
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