Thursday, April 14 the TRIDUUM begins 6pm MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE
Friday, April 15 Noon and 6pm GOOD FRIDAY SERVICES
Saturday, April 16 7:24pm (SUNSET) The GREAT EASTER VIGIL
Sunday, April 17EASTER SUNDAY 8am Rite I and 10:30 Rite II Bring some fresh cut flowers for the flowering of the cross ! Great Egg Hunt following the 10:30 service !
GOT EGGS ? Bring your filled eggs to St. Peter’s for our Great Egg Hunt no later than Saturday’s Great Easter Vigil. Eggs may be dropped at the office between 9am and 11am or during any of our Holy week services.
Tuesday, April 12
ECW Meeting NOON in the Parish hall.
ALL ladies of the parish are invited to join us at noon. Bring a sack lunch and gather with us.
Bereavement Group Meets at 5:30 in Deacon Rev. Scott’s office (last door on the right). Deacon Rev. Scott Williams, experienced in hospice care, will facilitate this group and all are welcome.
Wednesday Wave, April 13 9am Prayer, 10:30 Bible Study, 12:05 Litany of Healing, ~12:40 Via Media Live Stream The Kids of Casting Nets arrive at 2pm ! 5:30 Stations of the Cross in lieu of Evening Compline NO DINNER
A look back at last week...
Casting Nets explores Ukrainian Culture
This week our Cast of Kids had a lesson in traditional Ukrainain dress and toys, we learned a few Ukrainian phrases, danced the Hopak then painted eggs in a modified Pysanky style.
Lent-urgical Arts Constructs Collages SATURDAY
Our LENT-urgical Arts classes concluded this week with our Collage making workshop. We began with a BUNCH on magazines, tore out pages that “spoke” to us, cut images representing ourselves and God, and what brings us together.
Thank you you everyone who participated and special thanks to those that help lead these projects: David Wilson (bowls), Joy Jennings (iconography), Tracy Williams (Pysanky eggs) and Jan Anderson (collage)
Watch this space for an Advent Arts series ?
Making Palm Crosses
Thank you to all who participated
CONGRATULATIONS Our own Tracy Williams, talented Pysanky Egg instructor and wife of Deacon Scott Williams, was crowned Mrs. Mississippi Senior America Saturday afternoon. Next stop, Hershey, Pennsylvania !
The Collect Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect Almighty God, who for our redemption gave your only- begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. or this O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord’s resurrection: Stir up in your Church that Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we, being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Ladies’ Night Out Tuesday, April 26th the ladies of the parish are invited to El Agave’ 25th Ave, Gufport. . We will gather around 5:30pm for social time with meal beginning at 6PM. Contact Maryem Hopkins, Jan Shook or Jane Swett
Tuesday, April 26th in the parish hall. ALL men of the parish are invited. RESERVATIONS are REQUIRED – please contact Mike Cassady at 228-326-6601CAMP ABLE GUMBO DINNER RETURNS !
Donate to the continuing improvements to the Gray Center and CBG DONATE
We want to honor all of our We want to honor all of our Graduating High School Seniors on May 15th ! Do you have a graduate in your family ? Please send their name a short bio to us and we’ll celebrate their achievements during an 8am or 10:30am service. Deadline April 30th !
Parish Clean-Up Day Saturday April 23rd9am – Noon Parish Baby Shower Bunco We’re planning a “stock-the-nursery” event. Watch this space for upcoming info.
…make a difference to that one… St. Peter’s will be hosting a very special concert to raise money to help a Ukrainian family. We will share more details after Holy Week. When: May 21 at 6pm Where: St. Peter’s by-the-Sea
Weekly Worship Schedule
Wednesday Wave
9:00am Intercessory Prayer in the Chapel 10:30am Bible Study in the Great Room 12:05 pmLitany of Healing in the Chapel ~12:40 pm Via Media on the Internet 2pm Casting Nets 5:30pm Stations of the Cross NO DINNER
Sundays by-the-Sea
8:00 am Rite I Service 9:30 am Caffeinatin’ and Congregatin’ in the Great Room 9:30 am Kids’ Sunday School 10:30 am Rite II Service* In-Person and LIVE Streaming Service* 10:30 am Children’s Church Child Care Available GREAT EGG HUNT following the 10:30 service NO EYC THIS WEEK
April 10 – April 16 Birthdays 11th – Dunny Green 12th- Hannah Bell 12th – Vanessa Vincent 14th – Dottie Long 15th – Dianne Poirier 16th – Liz Hurley
April 17 – April 23 Birthdays 17th – Suzie Patricks 19th – Will Steiner 20th -Julie Black 21st – Lonnie Burch 21st – Karen Crews 21st – Earline Sawyer 22nd – April Chewning Anniversaries 17th – Mike & Sue Cassady
ECW News Beginning Easter Sunday and continuing through the Great Fifty Days, our ECW will be providing Giving Boxes to support the United Thank Offering or, UTO. You may pick up a box Sunday and make an offering each day in thanks for the blessings of the day. We ask that they be returned Pentecost Sunday Learn more about UTO HERE
Collect: O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
In this lesson, we will explore the account of Jesus calming the storm. Our passage is Mark 4:35-41. These verses give us great assurance that God is in control over all things. Some of the point we will consider are:
Support our ECW with the purchase of a St. Peter’s Ornament! Commissioned in 2009, and the 4th in a series of Downtown Gulfport Landmarks, these cast pewter ornaments are the original work of artist Maurice Milleur. Measuring approximately 2 3/4″ tall. These make great gifts and help support our ECW. Ornaments are $20/each and may be purchased by contacting any ECW member or the church office.
In my faith community we have lately been asking ourselves what is our purpose. We are getting ready to make some big changes, and we really want them to be driven by God’s dream for us. Who are we? What is our vision and our mission?
I have discovered just how wordless these questions leave me. I want to mutter, with a forbidding scowl, “How the heck do I know?” In spite of the fact that I know how important it is going to be for us to articulate the answers – or to have at least walked around the parameter of them – I can only respond with uncomfortable irritation.
Partly I fight the unconscious inclination to limit us to a set of behaviors. We are not, after all, providers of meals for homeless people. Nor are we helpers at the local food bank, nor are we donors to a school in Haiti. We do those things, of course; but they are just a few of the things that are brought to birth in us because of who we are.
Where do I look for the language that goes below that “doing” to an utterance of what is more fundamental? How do I describe our Soul?
Even as I struggle with this we are standing on the threshold of the Triduum, not only my community but you and yours. Together we turn, facing away from the outer world, to experience once again the core of that which we profess to be true. Together we prepare to experience a mystery. In liturgy that has evolved over hundreds of years, we will taste and smell, hear and walk through the story that defines us most profoundly.
Jesus will say to his disciples, “be servants to one another.” And we will dare to be those people whose feet are washed and who wash the feet of our neighbors. Jesus will say, “Eat this bread; here is my body. Drink this wine; here is my blood.” And we will risk taking that bread and that wine into our mouths, knowing full well how life-altering that act can be, how it opens us to the needs of all the world.
We will hazard trying to stay awake with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We will presume to shout, “crucify him!”, even while we deny him three times, run in fear and hide ourselves, help him carry his cross, wipe his face, witness his torture, and weep as he dies. And these acts will join us with all suffering and all death.
And then will come Christ’s great, dark journey through the underworld of the psyche. Bait to the forces of shadow and wholly consumed, he will still prevail. He will harrow hell itself. And that will make us, once again, certain of his presence even in the bleakest night.
In a miracle exceeding our wildest dreams (even when we already know it is coming), he will be resurrected. In the Great Easter Vigil we will witness his mind-boggling triumph. On Easter morning we will celebrate with all Christendom who Christ is. And if we proclaim who Christ is, aren’t we also announcing who we are?
The Triduum will engulf and clarify us. For we are the people who engage in these liturgies. We are they who dare to lift the bread and the wine to our lips, who presume to wait and watch, who risk suffering, running away, repenting and sorrowing, knowing that we are Christ’s at a level much deeper than words. Christ reveals himself in the story reenacted in these most holy days, and therefore he also reveals us. For we are, for better and for worse, his people, the followers of his Way. It is our story and it defines us.
Perhaps knowing that will make the task my community has before it easier. First we are Christ’s people. Next we are Christ’s particular little community in this place. First we are revealed in the holy mystery at the heart of our worship. Then we make it our own.
Laurie Gudim is a writer and religious iconographer who lives in Fort Collins, CO. You can view some of her work at Everyday Mysteries. Image from Episcopal Cafe image archive
Week 6 – Life Transformed The Way of Love in Lent April 10, 2022 from the Episcopal Church Website
The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self-giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. Throughout Lent, come along with us as we explore Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, produced by Hillary Raining and Jenifer Gamber. You can find resources mentioned below at iam.ec/lifetransformed or by scanning the QR code to the right.
Week 6
Sunday, April 10
Today’s Practice: Watch the Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining’s video at iam.ec/lifetransformed for Week 6. The topic is based on the practice “Worship” and is titled, “The Gathering of God’s People”.
Read: Zephaniah 3:12-20
Monday, April 11
Today’s Prompt: Who might you have a conversation with to learn about God?
Read: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105
Tuesday, April 12
Today’s Prompt: Listen to the daily office today at missionstclare.com
Read: “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.” – Psalm 55:17
Wednesday, April 13
Today’s Prompt: When you reflect on financial giving, are your palms open?
Read: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order.” – Matthew 12:43-44
Thursday, April 14
Today’s Prompt: How do you want to prepare people to remember you?
Read: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Friday, April 15
Today’s Prompt: Who can support you in living a Jesus-centered life?
Read: “Our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” – 2 Corinthians 3:6
Saturday, April 16
Today’s Prompt: How did you turn back towards God’s love when you made a big mistake?
Read: “I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.'” – Luke 15:18
Reflections from “Living the Way of Love” by Mary Bea Sullivan (Church Publishing, 2019). Used with permission. Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This section of Isaiah is the third of a four-part series in Isaiah which talks about the suffering servant. Many Christians have interpreted this to be Jesus. In this third servant song, as it is called, the servant is talking about how he is willing to suffer because he knows that he has listened to God and that God sustains him. The first two verses are the most interesting for me because they talk both about teaching and learning. This author is saying that to teach, you must have the ear of a student. It is the humility of recognizing that you continue to need to learn which gives you the ability to teach. And as you learn to listen closely to God, God sustains you through these teachings.
In what areas of your life do you need to learn how to listen as one who is taught?
When and how have you experienced God’s sustenance? What teachings helped you to recognize it?
Here, Isaiah offers us a vision of God’s kingdom, both apart from and within the pain of exile and separation of which Isaiah’s context may have memory. This vision seems utopian in nature, though a world that is not far away, but immanent and present to us here on earth. This vision is one that allows a young child to live out their lives to their full potential, for the elderly to flourish to a full age. In a time where our concerns of lifespan are different than the original audience of Isaiah, how might this vision of full life fit in our world today?
The reading speaks also of the people living in homes that they have built and eating food from what they have planted. What might this say about our call as stewards of God’s creation and our purpose as co-creators with God? On Easter and throughout the season of Easter, this vision of new heavens and a new earth provide hope, comfort, and room for contemplation around how Jesus’ death and resurrection have the capacity to make all things new, even the systems and evils of the world that might want for us to be separated from God. How might we participate in the work of renewal in an active way in our world, so that children of God live to their full potential, and we are able to flourish as stewards of God’s creation?
Where are the places in our world where individuals are not able to live into the full flourishing that God hopes for us?
How can we, as followers of Christ, help to steward this vision from Isaiah from a lofty and far away vision to an immanent and present one? Is God looking for us to participate in this new vision? How?
How might we participate in this vision alongside God with joy and celebration, even while carrying memories of hardship or exile of our own kinds?
Did you know there are RCL (Revised Common Lectionary) Readings for each day ? While there is a little overlap each day, they are posted on-line as a service of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library: Daily Readings
“O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.“
Contact Us
email: stpetersbythesea@bellsouth.net phone: 228.863.2611 address: 1909 15th Street Gulfport, Ms 39501 See much more: stpetersbytheseagulfport.com
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Join us each Wednesday, in-person or on-line
9am Intercessory Prayer (Chapel)
10:30 Bible Study (Great Room)
12:05 Litany of Healing and Holy Eucharist (Chapel)
12:45-ish Via Media: The Middle Way (LIVE Streaming)