The St. Pete’s Weekly
Welcome! Whatever your religious background, and however you have come to be here, we’re glad to have you join in our praises of God today. We hope you will feel comfortable here and fulfilled and strengthened spiritually to meet the challenges of your daily life.
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING:
- For Mark, our Bishop
- For Tom, our Rector
- In our Parish Cycle of Prayer, for our Greeters
- In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, for Church of the Province of South East Asia
- In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for Diocesan Campus Ministries: The University Fellowship at University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Pace Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond; The House at University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg; Canterbury at James Madison University, Bridgewater College, and Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg; and Arise at George Mason University, Fairfax
- For Persecuted Christians in Mauritania
- For our President, Donald, Congress, and Judges
- For our Governor, Glenn
- In our Community Cycle of Prayer, for our Citizens (to find their voices and roles)
- For U.S. troops throughout the world, our foreign service personnel and contractors
- For those who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts and are suffering from posttraumatic stress
- For our Federal, State, & Local Police Officers and Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Departments
- For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, Sophie Bzozowsky, Carrie Marie Burden, Jake Cathers, Nancy Dillon, Theo Hanzel, John Hartman, Gwen Hill, Jennifer House, Gail Hunt, Peggy Kiernan, Steve Koss, Becky Loker, Mike Muihlbauer, Marsha Price, Martha Ramirez, Don Sengpiehl, Randy Stoutenbugh, Karen Stunkel, Heather Voss-Andberg, Debbie, Reid, Sean & Libby, Nick, Nancy Oxenreider and all those who suffer from any grief or trouble.
PRAYER NEEDS: Individuals and families may choose to have their names placed on the public and/or private prayer lists. The names on the public prayer list are included during the Prayers of the People during worship on Sunday and in the bulletin. St. Peter’s Prayer Quilt members spquilt@stpetes.net pray for the people on the private list. Names are listed for four weeks. If you would like someone to remain on our list, please send us an update every 4 weeks.
NEW WAYS TO PRAY! We have been doing a lot of praying in new ways this year. Consider joining us or making use of any, or all, of the opportunities below –
- Sweet Hour of Prayer every Wednesday at 10:30 with seven of us regularly gathering.
- Using our new Prayer Cards on the first Sunday during prayers of the people.
- Turning the altar in the Chapel into our Prayer Altar, covered with new prayer requests.
- The Vestry is incorporating praying together into our Strategic Plan and into Vestry meetings.
- And the latest: Gathering an intercessor team to pray for people in-person after church on Sundays. Once the crowd has left the Nave, they’d be happy to meet with you discreetly one-on-one to pray with you.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BULLETIN DEADLINE – Please submit all announcements for the Sunday Bulletin by noon on Wednesday to ensure inclusion in the upcoming bulletin. Send announcements to office@stpetes.net.
COFFEE HOUR SIGN-UP – There is a signup sheet on the bulletin board for the remainder of the year. If you haven’t served in the last few months, please sign up for a Sunday.
CHURCH SERVICE ONLINE – Even though you may be on vacation, here’s the link to the service so you can join remotely! https://www.youtube.com/@saintpetersepiscopalchurch6579/streams
TGIF – Friday, August 29, 2025, at 8p.m. The host will be Fr. Tom @ 38433 Millstone Drive, Purcellville, VA. As usual, bring a chair, a sample of your favorite beverage, a snack to share and bring someone new! . Please contact Fr. Tom with any questions.
ST. PETE’S MINISTRY FAIR – Sunday, September 14, 2025. Spread the news about the Ministry! The Ministry Fair is a fantastic way to show old, new, and potential members of St. Pete’s what’s been going on within your ministry and a great way to recruit volunteers/participants for your programs. Leaders please confirm with Dell Nunaley at dnunaley@aol.com.
MT. CALVARY WOMEN’S GUILD – Next meeting will be September 15, 2025, 10:00 – 12:00, in McCray Hall. Please read Judges 5:1-21:25; Ruth 1:1-4:22; 1 Samuel 1:1-6:12; Luke 22:35-24:53; John 1:1-5:47; Psalm 79:1-106:12; Proverbs 19:17-23:12. We welcome everyone!!
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS – Sunday, October 5, 2025. Rain or Shine. In Celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, nature’s saint. – Bring your beloved animal of any size; furry, squirmy, scaly or feathery to be blessed. Be sure that small animals are in a proper carrier and large or potentially quarrelsome animals are properly restrained. Bring family & friends. More info at www.stpetes.net.
FALL CLEANUP / PARISH WORKDAY – Saturday, October 18, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – Noon. Lunch will be provided. Bring work gloves and rakes if you can. All hands on deck!
THE GARDEN GUILD – We need volunteers to assist with flower bed maintenance. This can be done whenever you have some spare time. Please contact Deana Czaban (email: kelly_dscm@yahoo.com).
ALTAR FLOWERS: If you would like to dedicate altar flowers in memory or honor of a loved one, or in thanksgiving for a birthday, anniversary or other special event, please contact the church office with the date and details. We gratefully accept gifts in the amount of $45 to defray the cost.
LEARNING
SUNDAY SCHOOL REGISTRATION – September 7, 2025. The program year starts soon! Sunday School is available to all rising K – 10th graders. Sign up on the St. Pete’s website! Please reach out to Mrs. Voss if you have questions. Email: katvoss1970@gmail.com.
ANGLICAN WAY – You ARE who you “hang” with. We at St. Peter’s are part of a global Anglican Communion of churches 85 million strong, following Jesus in Britain since the 2nd century, reaching now around the world on every continent. For the next four weeks we will discover the history and distinctive character of the Anglican Way. Join us in the Library at 11:15 to learn what that means for us August 24, September 7, 14, 21, 2025.
BOOK TALK: CALLED TO FREEDOM, BY BRAD LITTLEJOHN, Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 4:00pm – “For you were called to freedom, brothers,” writes St. Paul. “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Today, we live in a time and place where “freedom” is constantly invoked as an opportunity for the flesh, where autonomy is prized above all, and any exercise of moral judgment is dismissed even among Christians as “legalism.” And yet freedom is central to our heritage not only as Americans, but as Protestant Christians, as a people brought out of slavery to sin and set free to follow Christ.
What does it mean to be “free” and how can we use our freedom well? Does “gospel freedom” or “Christian liberty” have anything to do with political freedom? How do we distinguish “freedom of conscience” from mere relativism? Is the “free market” a Christian ideal or an American idol? And what about technology, which promises to free us from the constraints of nature but often shackles us in new forms of slavery?
In his new book, Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License, scholar and writer Brad Littlejohn explores all these questions and more, distilling insights from a career at the intersection of the church, academy, and public policy. Join us for an exploration of the true meaning of freedom as he shares key concepts from his book and answers your questions about Christian liberty.
ADULT FORMATION: FIGHT FOR SOULS – Share a meal, share the gospel. If you desire to do what Jesus says, consider joining the Fight for Souls group!
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Mt. 6:33-34
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Col. 3:16-17
“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44
“God is not calling us to be fruitful, He’s calling us to be faithful in spreading the gospel.”
-Unknown
The next meeting will be held at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, September 14th at the Novak House.