"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
Romans 14:4
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Fr. Scott's sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent focused on the The Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent found on page 92 of the Book of Common Prayer. This is the famous Bible collect composed by the Anglican Church during the Reformation as the theme for this Sunday. He reviewed Article VI of the Articles of Religion which states that the "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation". In addition to scripture, Anglicans use tradition and reason, but not on the same level as scripture, to help with our understanding of God's message. We need to study Holy Scripture to prepare for His coming and to understand His plan for the future.
Please find his complete sermon at the following link:
Thank you Fr. Scott for the very informative sermon tying together the Bible, Tradition, Reason, and our Anglican Heritage.
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This past Sunday we collected toys for the Marine's Toys for Tots program! Thank you to everyone who donated!
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Due to the continuing heat pump related construction in the basement followed by the Christmas Holidays, Christian Education has been cancelled. We will resume Christian Education on Sunday, January 8 at 10 am. Thank you for your understanding and patience!
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What a joy to have Mike and Claudia back with us this past Sunday! Mike looked amazing after his surgery! May God continue to watch over both of them as Mike continues his recovery!!
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Construction Update!
All the duct work in the basement is installed. The HVAC contractor will finish early this week. New light fixtures are in the hall way. The new drop ceiling will be installed either late this week or early next week. This week professional cleaners are scheduled to come and throroughly clean both the sanctuary and all the down stairs rooms!
Thank you so much Earl for your work and supervision on this big project!
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On Saturday we had a wonderful early Christmas celebration with lunch at The Chop House Restaurant followed by the Symphony of the Mountains "By the Fireside Holiday Concert".
The Chop House was delicious as always!
The concert was amazing! In addition to the Symphony, children and young adults from the Academy of Strings, Mountain Empire Children's Choral Academy, Voices of the Mountains, and Mountain Mission School Choir also performed.
(Finally learned how to do a slideshow!)
The show even included an early visit from Santa Claus!
A very special 'Thank You' to Sue and Scott for arranging for the fantastic seats as well as all the work they do as part of the Symphony of the Mountains and St. Peters!
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We continued our Women's Bible Study for Advent. This past week's meeting was at Lynn's house. For lunch we enjoyed chicken salad, potato salad, croissants and cookies! Thank you Lynn for hosting our meeting and providing the wonderful lunch!
The theme of this past week's lesson was 'Response - Christmas requires us to respond.' We completed the first two parts of this lesson - the response of Mary to the Angel Gabriel's message and Joseph's response to an angel informing him that Mary's conception was from the Holy Spirit. We will complete the next three parts of the response chapter this week (yes, we are already behind schedule!!).
Teresa has arranged for our next meeting to be at the Maple Street Biscuit Co (1033 Hamilton Place Drive, Johnson City) on Wednesday, Dec 7 at 11 am.
Please remember to bring the book and your bible!
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Discord every Thursday at 11:30 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.
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Sunday, December 11, is our monthly pot luck luncheon! Please remember to bring a dish to share!
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St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church
Presents
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
The Festival tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ through nine scripture readings interspersed with traditional hymns and carols of the Christmas Season. First used in England to start the healing process after the horrors of WWI, the Festival is Anglican in origin but now used by many churches. The service at St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church features a string quartet from the Symphony of the Mountains and traditional Christmas Hymns.
Please join us on Sunday, December 18 at 11 am for this beautiful service! Please note there will not be a Christian Education class before this service.
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Our Annual Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, December 18 after the Lessons and Carols service. 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 plan to eat pizza and decorate the sanctuary for Advent!
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