"Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed."
St. John 20:8
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Holy Week Services:
On Maundy Thurday, Fr. Yossi led a beautiful service which included Holy Communion, foot washing, and closed with the Altar Guild stripping the altar.
After services several of us went to Perkins for dinner.
A lovely service followed by a joyful evening.
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Our Good Friday service included readings from the Prayer Book, a congregational reading of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and The Stations of the Cross.
Thank you Fr. Yossi for the moving service.
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St. Peters opened for an Easter Vigil on Saturday between 8 am & 5 pm. This time was used for prayers and quiet meditation. Thank you to all the people who staffed the church during the Vigil.
After the Vigil the Altar Guild prepared the sanctuary for Easter services Sunday morning. Thank you to the Altar Guild for such a beautiful job!
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Fr. Yossi led our Easter Sunday Holy Communion service. The beautiful sung service included, incense, the blessing & lighting of the Paschal candle and the renewal of our Baptismal Vows.
Also, Sue and Br. Scott shared their amazing musical talents with us!
Please find the complete service at the following link:
Thank you to Fr. Yossi for the beautiful service. Thank you to Anderson, Hutch, and Br. Scott for serving with Fr. Yossi. Thank you Sue and Br. Scott for the beautiful music.
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After Easter services, we celebrated with a Festive Congregational Easter Feast. The church provided an Easter ham and drinks!
Thank you to everyone for all the delicious food and the delightful company! And many thanks to Ed for the extra chairs!
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Our Parish Hall decorated for the Easter Feast!
Thank you Diane and Rosalind for all the decorating!
Happy Easter!!
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Starting Sunday April 7, Fr. Yossi will start a new Christian Education series on miracles. Please note Christian Education classes are now scheduled to start at 9:15 on Sunday mornings!
Fr. Yossi has asked us to bring our Bibles for these studies. Please join us on April 7 at 9:15 am - a pot of coffee will be on!
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Morning Prayer services will resume next Sunday at 10:15 am. Please note the time change!
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Our Bible Study will continue this Wednesday, April 3 @ 11 am at the church. Fr. Paul is leading a series of lessons which are focused on his book As It Is In Heaven A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Introduction to the Traditional Church and Her Worship. The topic for the next lecture is "What Do We Mean By Worship" - Chapter 3 in the book.
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Discord every Thursday but now at 9:30 am! Thank you so much Sue for taking the time each week to lead our prayers! If you have a special prayer request but cannot join us, please send your request to Sue. Please contact me if you would like to join us on Discord.
Please note the time change - now meeting online at 9:30 am on Thursday.
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Time to catch up on our yard maintenance after this winter, We have scheduled a Spring Yard Work Day to complete some yard work around the church for Saturday April 27 @ 10 am. The work includes trimming bushes, pulling weeds, cutting back some bamboo, and mulching.
Please join us as we keep the church looking nice! Please bring your garden tools.
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The Anglican Connection
contributed by Teresa
As some of you may know, I have always been drawn to the sea. Lanny (my late husband) and I often travelled to a beach, especially after retirement. We found that Hilton Head Island suited us and went there often during the winter months to escape the cold. One year at the DEUS Synod, I met the Rev. Chris Gardner, Rector of the Anglican Church of the Ascension on Hilton Head. While advising him that I came to Hilton Head often, he pointedly asked why he’d not seen me in church. Suitably chastised, I attended the next time we were on Hilton Head Island. I found, much like St. Peter’s, a group of welcoming, faithful Anglicans. I enjoyed learning more about them in the after church social time over coffee. I quickly learned how very much we had in common: one member was an attorney for TVA, working in Knoxville, another member & his wife had attended an Anglican church in Illinois with Rosalind. As we traveled to Hilton Head five or six times each Winter, I soon felt part of this small church. This was the only APA church in the area. Lanny rarely attended services with me but did enjoy meals with members. He and Walter (the TVA attorney) shared a love of history and had long discussions. Fr. Chris had retired from the US Army in much the same sort of work that Lanny had done during his service. They had long discussions of their time in the Army. Unfortunately, this was the last time Lanny & I were together on Hilton Head Island. During my time of loss and grief, I was supported with prayers and love by this group of Anglicans as I was by my St. Peter’s family.
I continued to visit Hilton Head, taking my new friend Agnes with me. She was accepted by my Redeemer church family, as I had been. We soon joined in meals with them after services or meeting at other times to share food and fellowship. We enjoyed sharing the holidays, our love of cooking and the beauty of their Island home. I never dreamed how very much I would need them. In February of this year, I became very ill on a Sunday evening. Agnes & I had attended Holy Eucharist that morning at Redeemer and enjoyed brunch afterwards with Fr. Chris, his wife Georgetta (Jetta), Walt and his wife, Lea. After being transported to the Hilton Head Hospital about 8:30 that evening, Agnes called Fr. Chris to advise him what was happening. He and Jetta came to the Emergency Department where I was being treated, offering me comforting prayers and providing Agnes with support. They stayed with us until the wee hours of the morning when the doctor determined I would be admitted to the hospital. The doctor determined I had COVID and bleeding ulcers. Jetta & Lea stayed in touch with Agnes until her son-in-law, James arrived from the Columbia, SC area later that morning. Jetta and Lea along with James saw that Agnes was well cared for. As my hospital stay lengthened, we realized that our VRBO rental would be over before I was able to leave the hospital. Jetta and Lea both offered to have Agnes stay with them. Fr. Chris and Jetta helped Agnes pack my clothes and belongings, along with her own. They then helped load my car and move all that stuff (we do not pack light!) over to Walt & Lea’s, as Agnes would be staying with them. During this week, Fr. Chris was also keeping medical appointments for an ongoing problem of his own. Despite doing all this, they found time to visit me in the hospital, again offering prayerful support. I was so relieved to know that not only was Agnes well cared for, but our rental was cleared and cleaned. Finally on Friday, I was discharged from hospital but far too weak to drive back to Tennessee. Walt & Lea picked me up from the hospital and took me back to their home. There I enjoyed their hospitality and the beauty of their Island home, along with delicious meals until James returned to drive us to his home for more time to rest & recuperate.
Without the support of our Anglican church friends, I don’t know what either of us would have done during this trying week. I am blessed beyond measure to have two home churches, which consist of caring, loving people. I felt the love of Christ, expressed by them in their prayers and their actions. They truly were His hands there on that Island. My point in writing this is not only to thank them but to tell others that our Anglican communion is more than just worshipping together. We, as Christians, are the church beyond the walls of our buildings whether we are in our own community or another. When you travel, seek out another APA or one of our G3 churches, especially if it is a place you visit often. Not only will you find a place to worship, but you will also find the love of Christ extending far beyond that church building.
Fr. Chris, Jetta, Agnes, Lea, and Walter
First Peter 4: 8-10: “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
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