"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
St. John 16:33
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Fr. Yossi led a beautiful Holy Communion service on the The Fifth Sunday after Easter, also known as Rogation Sunday. His sermon opened by explaining that Rogation Sunday and the following three days leading up to Ascension Day are called "The Rogation Days" because the word rogation comes from the Latin rogare which means "to ask". In the Anglican tradition, Rogation is closely associated with specific prayers for a bountiful growing season. Fr. Yossi then focused on the Gospel lesson from St. John 16:23-33 in which Jesus tells his disciples that "whatosever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you". He clarified that saying in 'the Name of the Lord' is not a magical formula that compels an Almighty Genie to comply with our wishes but rather we must align our prayers with God's will. He closed his sermon by asking us to remember the words of our Savior at the end of the Gospel lesson: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Thank you Fr. Yossi for the beautiful service and thoughtful sermon. Thank you Anderson for serving.
After services we enjoyed a delicious lunch provided by The Men's Cook Team which included chicken & rice casserole, salad, strawberry cake, coconut cake, and pecan pie! Thank you all so much!
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Thank you Fr. Paul for leading our 10:15 Morning Prayer service. Please let Fr. Paul know if you are interested in being a reader of one of the lessons during Morning Prayer.
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This past Sunday, Fr. Yossi's Christian Education class focused on the Gospel lesson and how that ties in with the other daily readings.
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Announcements:
1. As Fr. Yossi is out of town next Sunday, Christian Education is cancelled on Sunday, May 12 however both Morning Prayer and Holy Communion services will be at their regularly scheduled times.
2. Also, on Sunday May 19 we will restart Fr. Yossi's discretionary fund. All the cash in the collection plate plus any other funds specifically designated as discretionary fund will go to his discretionary fund.
3. Starting in June we will have services on Wednesday Evenings at 6 pm. We will alternate between Evening Prayer and Holy Communion. We will start with Evening Prayer on Wednesday, June 5.
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Construction Update:
The fifth week of construction!
Jim worked at installing the columns and trim at the church this past week.
Though still a work in progress, the church looked beautiful this past Sunday!
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On Saturday Diane, Teresa, Rose Marie, and Rosalind met at the church to prepare the sanctuary for Sunday services after a week of construction.
After cleaning, we all joined Rose Marie in prayer in the Memorial Garden to remember her husband, Earl, who passed away on May 4, 2023 at 87 years.
Among many other things, Earl designed and constructed the entire Memorial Garden and made the cross in the center of the garden.
We miss you, dear friend!
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Our Bible Study will continue this Wednesday @ 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 "The Ties that Bind Part III - the Eucharist."
Please note Bible Study will switch to Thursday @ 11 am starting on Thursday May 23.
Before Bible Study started this past week, Jody (owner of the church's pest control company) gave a short presentation on the Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc. He also discussed the visit his group of volunteers is making to the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City in early May and the reasons for bringing in all the homemade cookies.
He was very grateful for the over 20 dozen cookies we donated to his group. Thank you to everyone brought cookies!
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Sue started our wonderful weekly online prayer group on Discord several years ago. Between her concert commitments, her upcoming move to Wisconsin, and the additional services starting in June this Thursday will be the last online prayer meeting.
If anyone has 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. Thank you so much Sue for faithful service to God and St. Peter's over these past few years!
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