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 Building and Grounds Team
- In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, for The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean
- In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for St. Paul’s Church, Millers Tavern and Our Saviour Church, Charlottesville
- For Persecuted Christians in Libya
- For our President, Donald, Congress, and Judges
- For our Governor, Abagail
- In our Community Cycle of Prayer, for our County Administrators
- 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 Valley Fire and Rescue Departments
- For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially Have compassion on especially Sophie Bzozowsky, Nancy Dillon, Gail Hunt, Steve Koss, Becky Loker, Mike Muihlbauer, Marsha Price, Randy Stoutenburgh, Karen Stunkel Heather Voss-Andberg, Erice Wanis, Barbara Kuhler, John Hill, Gwen Hill, Debbie Pappas, Rick Smith, William 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.
CHURCH SERVICE ONLINE – Even though you may be on vacation, traveling for sports or work, here’s the link to the service so you can join remotely! https://www.youtube.com/@saintpetersepiscopalchurch6579/streams
OUTREACH AND SOCIAL MEDIA COMMITTEE – We now have an outreach and social media team. If you have a suggestion, or would like to be involved, please contact Jean McElroy at office@stpetes.net or call (540) 338-7307.
FOLLOW US NOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA – You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Next Door, and You Tube. Sign up and stay in the loop of what’s happening and what’s to come!
WE NEED YOU – Please remember to take pictures at any activities, meetings, dinners or ministry events we are doing here at St. Peter’s for our social media pages! We do so many great & fun things here, and we want everyone to know what a great community we have! Send them to office@stpetes.net with a short description.
ALTAR GUILD – Please consider serving with the group of ladies who have been very short-handed in the previous months. Our duties are light when we only need to serve once a month. (Saturday morning: 1-2 hrs., Sunday morning: 20 min. before the 9:30 am service, and after the service removing altar items and putting them away). You will always have a partner who will work right along with you.
Please think about this and pray along with us that we can welcome some new members. Feel free to ask questions from one of the people you see serving each week or call Karen Wilson 540-533-0528.
CALVERY WOMEN’S GUILD – All women are welcome to attend our Mt. Calvary Women’s Guild meeting on Monday, February 16th, 10 AM to 12 in McCray Hall. We will try to finalize our choice of a logo, pray & enjoy each other’s company.
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICES – February 18th is Ash Wednesday. Services will be held in the Nave at 7:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 7:00 pm (music at this service only).
SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE SUPPER – Mark your calendars for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper in McCray Hall on February 17th from 6 – 8 pm. There will be a craft for kids. Youth Group and Acolytes will help with set up and serving but adult volunteers are needed and appreciated! Please let Kathleen Voss know if you are available to help.
WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP – Joins us on Friday, February 20th at 7:00 pm for bracelet making for the Liberia mission in McCray Hall. Please bring any beads and old jewelry you are looking to get rid of; broken or not! Supplies will be provided.
HELP US RAISE MONEY FOR MISSIONS – Did you know, your next grocery bill, gas tank fill-up, restaurant check, coffee run, and online purchase can help you raise funds for our mission trips?
Join St. Peter’s RaiseRight program and buy gift cards or shop online through RaiseRight. Every purchase earns up to 20% back—and it adds up fast! Your family has the potential to earn $1,000 or more every year for St. Peter’s missions. Whether you’re at home or on the go, RaiseRight gives you the flexibility to earn with eGift cards, reloadable cards, and a mobile app. Earn anytime, anywhere.
To get started, sign up at : https://raiseright.com – enrollment code LDJX6GND9THT. Or contact Marcia Davis at marcia.davis2018@gmail.com for more information.
FOYER GATHERINGS ARE STARTING UP IN APRIL – Foyer Gatherings at St. Peters, one of our best ministries to gather groups of 6 to 8 people once every 4-6 weeks to get together to spend time with each other that is flexible on what we can do together. Share a meal/activity/a conversation. As a small group it will be up to your group leader to decide what works best. Small groups allow us to get better acquainted and help us become a more deeply connected church by creating time for friendships to grow. It is a great way to “turn strangers into friends into followers of Jesus”. Bob and Debra Macher will give a brief overview today on how you can join us and others so we can get to know each other better. All are invited to participate to include friends that are not part of St. Peters Church. The more the merrier. We look forward to the opportunity to offer more information on how we can all join together to know one another better.
LEARNING
GAINING CONFIDENCE AND CLARITY
One reason Episcopal churches are shrinking, while evangelicals are more often growing is they are leading more people to faith in Jesus.
Episcopalians promise in the Baptismal Covenant to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.”
We tend to emphasize the “by example” part of this vow, but …”by word”?!…not so much!
Maybe you are gun-shy about the intellectual firepower of skeptics and are unsure how to answer the tough questions. Maybe you’re asking some of the same questions, yourself!
This Lent, Charles Murray will help us go from gun-shy to Gaining Confidence and Clarity with the Gospel.
Murray is a famous social scientist, researcher and writer, best known for The Bell Curve. Educated at Harvard and MIT, Murray could be the poster child of secular unbelief.
But here’s where it gets interesting!
Murray latest book, Taking Religion Seriously, tells of his decades-long journey to Christian faith: the influences, discoveries and arguments that convinced him to embrace Jesus. It started here in Loudoun, at the Goose Creek Friends meeting house in Lincoln!
We will follow Murray’s journey in this thin book, discussing together how we can use the same ideas and arguments with the skeptics in our life (or in our own heart!).
And who knows?!…maybe YOU will lead someone to Jesus!
Join us for a potluck dinner and insightful discussion on Wednesday nights, February 25, March 4, 11, & 25. Dinner starts at 6:30 and the discussion starts at 7. You’ll be on the road by 8. Activities available for children. Trillium Farm, 18915 Lincoln Rd., Purcellville.
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!
“While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son whom I have chosen; listen to Him.’” Luke 9:34-35
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11
“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call on My name, I said, ‘Here am I here am I.” Is. 65:1
“Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from His lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christians.” Thomas Jefferson
Next meeting will be at 4:00 pm on March 8th at the Novak Hous e
BUILDING BLOCKS 2026
For a decade now, St. Peter’s has made concerted effort to upgrade our facilities, making it more useful, beautiful, and up-to-date too as a platform for ministry, attracting new people and partners in mission.
We have transformed every space, making incremental improvements every year:
Paneling, lectern, chairs, altar and reredos in The Chapel.
Doors, floors, paneling, video screen, pew pads and baptismal font in The Nave.
New kitchen, paneling, floors, ceiling, doors, bathrooms in McCray Hall.
Paneling, screens, furniture and restored Bell Tower in The Entryway.
Larger, nicer, heated and cooled classrooms upstairs and downstairs.
New Upper Room space for the Teens at the top of the stairs.
Raised paneling, conference table and bookcases in The Library.
Front and back parking lots reconfigured, expanded and lit with streetlamps.
Playground expanded with basketball court, gaga pit, firepit, and outdoor tables.
Added 21st century tech: lights, sound and streaming, security cameras, Wi-Fi, fire alarm.
Phase 1 (of three) outdoor fellowship space: front walkway.
Though we did little in 2025 (completing the McCray Hall ceiling and paneling), we have started 2026 strong, finally building the pillars planned for our front sign. It really makes it stand out, doesn’t it?!
Now, looking ahead…
I have proposed to The Vestry that we complete the Nave upgrade by adding walnut wainscot paneling down the side aisles this summer. This will:
Match the paneling we built up-front during my sabbatical in 2019.
Add tremendous warmth and beauty to our dingy drywall
Draw the room together, joining the paneled Sanctuary and Chancel up-front with the Chapel in-back.