(Left to Right): Laura McCarthy, Stephen Leader; Ruth Anne Oartel, MD, Stephen Minister; Kirsten Culler, Stephen Minister; and Dr. Barbara Anne Fisher, Stephen Leader, enjoy a celebratory lunch at Market Street in Salisbury.

Congratulations to Kirsten Culler and Ruth Anne Oartel, MD who were commissioned as St. Peter’s newest Stephen Ministers on Palm Sunday, April 1, 2012.  The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing laypeople to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people in and around the congregation.  Kirsten and Ruth Anne spent six weeks of intensive training in topics such as listening, feelings, assertiveness, confidentiality, and ministering to people in specific situations such as divorce, terminal illness, grief, and childbirth.  They were also trained to recognize when a care receiver’s needs go beyond the care a Stephen Minister can provide and how to refer the care receiver for additional care.  The next step will be to link each Stephen Minister with a care receiver—a person in need of one-to one Christian care.

For more information about Stephen Ministry, please contact Laura McCarthy at 443-523-8669 or by email at lmccarthy6@comcast.net .

Be sure to read the upcoming Keynoter for more!

Come join us to celebrate the death, suffering, and triumphal resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ!  Easter truly is the weekend that changed the world.

Our schedule for Holy Week is:

Palm Sunday – April 1st

8:00 AM – Holy Eucharist, Rite I

9:15 AM – Holy Eucharist, Rite II (our Family Service, w/ Music)

11:15 AM – Holy Eucharist, Rite I (with Music)

5:30 PM – Evening Prayer

6:00 PM – Music Meditation

Monday – April 2nd

5:30 PM – Evening Prayer

6:00 PM – Music Meditation

Tuesday – April 3rd

5:30 PM – Evening Prayer

6:00 PM – Music Meditation

Wednesday – April 4th

12:00 PM – Holy Eucharist

5:30 PM – Evening Prayer

6:00 PM – Music Meditation

Maundy Thursday – April 5th

7:00 PM – Maundy Thursday Service, with Foot Washing and Stripping of the Altar

8:15 PM – Prayer Vigil

Good Friday – April 6th

12:00 PM – Good Friday Service

1:00 PM – Lunch in the Parish Hall

2:15 PM – Stations of the Cross

Holy Saturday – April 7th

8:00 PM – EasterWatch at St. Alban’s

5:15 AM – Easter Vigil Service at St. Alban’s (w/ Bishop Shand)

Easter – April 8th

8:00 AM – Festival Eucharist, Rite I

9:30 AM – Festival Eucharist, Rite II (Family Service, w/ Music)

11:15 AM – Festival Eucharist, Rite I (w/ Music)

II Christmas

Feast of the Holy Name

Altar Guild

8 AM Service

9:15 AM Service

11:15 AM Service

Scripture Readings:

Numbers 6:22-27
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 2:15-21
Psalm 8

I Christmas

Nativity of Our Lord

Altar Guild

10:00 AM Service

Scripture Readings:

Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)
John 1:1-14
Psalm 98

I Christmas

The Nativity of Our Lord

Altar Guild

5:00 PM Service

11:00 PM Service

Scripture Readings:

Isaiah 9:2-7
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Psalm 96

A lot of us show up for church on Christmas Eve and don’t give a great deal of thought to what went in to preparing our Christmas worship experience.  A special thanks to the dedicated ladies of our Altar Guild (and their other volunteers) for the great job in “Greening the Church” and getting everything prepared for our Christmas services.  Thanks to Barb Fisher and Bruce Horner for all of their hard work in preparing the music and children’s’ program.  Thanks to our Grace Notes bell choir and the other folks taking part in our Christmas Eve program.  I hope that we all appreciate the hard work that our brothers and sisters put in so that we can have meaningful Christmas worship services.
 
We’re in a pinch for any nursery staffing at the early service.  So here’s the broadcast appeal: we need at least one person comfortable with such responsibilities to staff the nursery for $50 from 4:30 pm to 6:15 pm.  If you or someone you might know of would at all be interested please call Fr. Todd at 410-726-8685.
 
For those of you that are conscious of timing dinner, Bruce our organist and music director has painstakingly timed out the music selections and when we add them to the regular service format I have totaled up a service length that lasts until about 6:15 pm, give or take a few of course.
 
Again, as our Senior Warden mentioned a couple weeks ago, invite some friends along to experience the beauty and sacredness of St. Peter’s at some of it’s most festive and sublime during the Christmas season.
 
Blessings,
Fr. Todd+

While I’m comfortable worshipping in almost any setting, the liturgy makes me feel closer to God.  I enjoy the structure of the prayer book.  It allows me to concentrate on the worship, God’s Word, the preaching, and the celebration of the Eucharist.  More than anything else, Father Todd and the people I met at St. Peter’s made me feel at home.

Another thing that I love about the parish is that I’m given an opportunity to serve the Lord in multiple ways.  I had never volunteered at a homeless shelter, until I was given the opportunity when St. Peter’s hosted the Community Emergency Shelter Project for two weeks.  I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to serve as a chalicist, a lay reader, to work with the altar guild and many other opportunities.  The people at St. Peter’s have really become family.

Great job Barb!  And thanks from all of us.

Faithfully,
Todd+