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St. Peter’s by-the-Sea, Gulfport, MS
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Keeping close while keeping our distance.
A weekly guide for this journey.
Our destination: Big Love BACK By the Sea.
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February 15, 2021
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The Good News
Ash Wednesday Services
In person and on-line
12:00 Noon: stpetersbytheseagulfport.com/ashw21noon/
 Drive Thru 4:30-5:30 pm
5:30 pm: stpetersbytheseagulfport.com/ashw21530pm/
Ash Wednesday at Home
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
We have prepared Traveling Ashes for those wanting to participate in the virtual Ash Wednesday services. They will be available for pick-up at the office between 9am and noon Wednesday morning or limited delivery by contacting the office 228-863-2611 (leave a message) or email: stpetersbythesea@bellsouth.net.
Message are checked regularly despite office closure.
Lenten Program
“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people,
and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God’s help.” [BCP Baptismal Covenant]
This year’s topic for Lenten discussion will cover Dignity in many forms.
In conjunction with Church of the Redeemer’s Father Chris Robinson, we will discuss the importance of practicing civility and humanity throughout several segments of our society:
Political, Theological, Social, Economic and Racial.
Tentatively, our meetings will alternate Wednesdays between St. Peter’s and Redeemer, at 6pm, and take place in-person and through Zoom meetings.
Check our Facebook page for updates.
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Revised Worship Schedule
12:05 pm Wednesday In-person and LIVE Streaming Litany of Healing
11:00 am Thursday LIVE Streaming Centering Prayer with Rev. Liz
8:00 am Sunday Rite I In-person and LIVE Streaming Service
10:30 am Sunday Rite II In-Person and LIVE Streaming Service
Worship guidance
– Wear your mask
– Wash your hands
– We are still at limited capacity to maintain social distancing.
– RSVP not required
– Please sign -in upon arrival
All of our services will continue to be streamed LIVE on Facebook and on our website
Would you like to be a reader ?
Interested in being an Usher?
Contact Susan at stpetersbythesea@bellsouth.net
be sure to include your contact info and time and date you can serve.
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Inspiration
Lent is almost here
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Ash Wednesday
It’s the day after Mardi Gras, here on the coast; the first day of Lent. What’s it all about ?
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the imposition of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants. These blessed ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent is observed by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, or making a Lenten sacrifice that will not be partaken of until the arrival of Easter.
From the Anglican Compass:
“Ashes on the head have signified repentance from biblical times. Job said, “I repent in dust and ashes.”
Ashes also represent mourning, as Tamar in the Old Testament used them to mourn her abuse which was not in any way her fault, but which devastated her.
Ashes are the result of burning. This burning in our lives is from our own sins and follies and from the abuse of others, and ashes represent both. They remind us that we are living in this mortal world, this fallen world, and that we are made from dust, when all else is burned away. We are mortal and will return to our maker.”
[read more…]
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Our service focuses on repentance, grace, and forgiveness.
The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Like Jesus wandering for 40 days in the wilderness, we begin our 40 day Lenten journey with repentance; prepared to sacrifice.
It’s no coincidence that, that journey starts with ashes, or dust, and the verse,
“Remember that you are dust….”
[Psalm 103:14]
from which God created us.
As Lent continues, through our intentional acts, it is a time of transforming from dusty, to clean. And, on the last Sunday of Lent we ask,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.”
[Psalm 51:11]
The Lessons Appointed for Use on
Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:1-2,12-17
or Isaiah 58:1-12
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
Psalm 103 or 103:8-14
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View our latest streaming offerings…
Sunday Worship Service,
February 14, 8:00 am Rite I
Sunday Worship Service,
February 14, 10:30 am Rite II
Centering Prayer with Rev. Liz
February 11, 11am
Litany of Healing, Wednesday
February 10, 2021 12:05 pm
View any of our services, anytime
February 15 – February 21
Birthdays
14th – Dale Belham
15th – Fran Burch
15th – Carl Chosa
15th – Judy Joest
15th – Miriam Ozerden
16th – Julius Ward
18th – Noah Moorefield
18th – Doug Singletary
19th – Olivia hood
19th – Vicki Jo McArthur
19th – Karen Reuther
20th – Kiara Kersanac
20th – Amy Rollins
20th – Jan Shook
20th – Ajia Wood
Anniversaries
14th – Skip & Linda Harborth
14th – Dave & Liz Jones
15th – Julius Ward & Maria Watson
16th – Jordan & Rebecca Gerardine
17th – Ian & Heather Phillips
email stpetersbythesea@bellsouth.net
to subscribe to our newsletter
Donations and Offerings for 2021 can be made on our website or by mailing your check to the church
NEEDED:
plastic grocery bags
Drop off at the church office
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Upcoming:
 Explore the Way of Love
Getting Started on the Way of Love
What is the Way of Love?
The Way of Love is a way of life. More than a program or curriculum, it is a return to the ancient pathways and Rules of Life that followers of Jesus have observed for centuries. They knew the power of commitment to a core set of practices – Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest – and the power of gathering in a small group where you find love and support for living into these commitments. If we hope to not only worship Jesus but to grow more like him and bear his redeeming love in the world, we can adopt a rule of life like the Way of Love and find a community with which to practice it.
What is a Rule of Life? How Do I Begin?
A Rule of Life is an intentional commitment to a set of practices that provide guidance, rhythm and inspiration for living a beautiful, meaningful and holy life. As we place these practices at the heart of our daily lives and join with companions who share the commitment, we grow more and more in the unselfish, hope-filled Way of Love that Jesus embodied in the world.
Exploring and Living the Practices
We invite you to take time exploring these practices for living a Jesus-centered life. Sit with the words from scripture and from the Book of Common Prayer, pray over the practice, reflect and discern where God is calling you, and note the “Helpful Terms” at the end if you want to learn a little more. And remember: no one follows Jesus all alone. The ideal way to live the Way of Love is in a community of love, support and accountability.
[read more…]
About Rules of Life
An Invitation from Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry to Practice the Way of Love
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
– Ephesians 3:17-19
In the first century Jesus of Nazareth inspired a movement. A community of people whose lives were centered on Jesus Christ and committed to living the way of God’s unconditional, unselfish, sacrificial, and redemptive love. Before they were called “church” or “Christian,” this Jesus Movement was simply called “the way.”
Today I believe our vocation is to live as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. But how can we together grow more deeply with Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, so we can bear witness to his way of love in and for the world?
The deep roots of our Christian tradition may offer just such a path. For centuries, monastic communities have shaped their lives around rhythms and disciplines for following Jesus together. Such a pattern is known as a “Rule of Life.” The framework you now hold – The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life – outlines a Rule for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.
It is designed to be spare and spacious, so that individuals, ministry groups, congregations, and networks can flesh it out in unique ways and build a church-wide treasure trove of stories and resources. There is no specific order you need to follow. If you already keep a Rule or spiritual disciplines, you might reflect and discover how that path intersects with this one. By entering into reflection, discernment and commitment around the practices of Turn – Learn – Pray – Worship – Bless – Go – Rest, I pray we will grow as communities following the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus. His way has the power to change each of our lives and to change this world.
Your brother in the Way of Jesus,
+Michael
The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, Primate and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
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Way of Love Practices
Turn Learn Pray Worship Bless Go Rest
 Week One – Turn
There are so many voices in the world, telling us who we are, what we should do, and how we will be fulfilled. They tell us to focus on our desires, on our cravings, on being the best individual we can be. The world, we are told, revolves around each of us.
For many, these pursuits of self-fulfillment can leave us feeling drained, empty, and alone. They can lead us away from our divine calling. Away from the creator in whose image we were made. But if we listen closely, there is a spirit calling us to come back to ourselves, back to our purpose, back to something more meaningful.
When we look to the example of Jesus, we see the way that he followed. This is the Way of Love.
One aspect of this Way and making it a practice in our own lives is remembering to simply to turn toward the voice that calls us. Intentionally choosing our direction, choosing to turn and face the light, is the fundamental shift that puts the Way of Love into action. As Jesus tells us in the Book of John: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.”
Turning doesn’t have to change who you are—you are loved as you were created. But it can change where you are going. It can shift you from selfishness to loving the other. It can shift you from hoarding to generosity. It can lead you from sin and distance from God into closer alignment with the One who made and loves you so much.
Obeying this call means recognizing the things we put first in our lives, the things we allow to have the most space in our minds, our fears and hopes and desires. And turning instead toward love.
It can be as freeing as the early followers putting down their fishing nets. It can be as missional as Jesus asking us to pick up our cross and follow him. It can be as simple as paying attention to which direction our feet are facing on our journey.
Turning is not just a one time event, but an ongoing discipline, re-directing our steps as often as we think to, always turning toward the light. And turning toward the light can also illuminate how many there are on the journey with you, emerging from the shadows to walk the same path.
The Way of Love can lead you to discover a community of fellow travelers with whom you share the journey. The Way of Love shows us who we are, it lights the path to where we should go, and it gives purpose to our desires for fulfillment. And it shows us that we are not alone. That like us, there are many who choosing to turn toward the Way of Love. Are you ready to commit to turning and following Jesus?
Learn more about the Way of Love at episcopalchurch.org/wayoflove.
You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Turning at iam.ec/explore
Published by the Office of Formation of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 © 2020 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
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Being Episcopalian
The Mississippi Episcopal Diocese
The Episcopal Church
National Cathedral
Episcopal Cafe
Check out our neighboring
Coast Churches
St. Mark’s Gulfport
Trinity Pass Christian
Christ Church Bay St. Louis
St. Patrick’s Long Beach
St. Thomas Diamondhead
Church of the Redeemer Biloxi
St. John’s Ocean Springs
First United Methodist Church
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Bible Study
Lent 1 (B) – February 21, 2021
RCL: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15
Genesis 9:8-17
The covenant that God establishes here is an unusual covenant. Most covenants are between two entities, with the more powerful one promising protection and provision and the less powerful one promising fealty. Here, however, God establishes a covenant with not just Noah, but with “every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” Noah is merely a stand-in entity; God makes this promise to the billions and billions of creatures, both human and animal, who will call Earth home. Further, despite the fact that the first flood was the consequence of humanity’s evil, God requires no promises from humanity in this covenant. God will never destroy the earth by flood again, even though humanity is still sinful and will forsake God again. The rainbow is God’s pledge to us of this unusual covenant: a sign visible to all generations that God will remember God’s abundant promises.
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What kind of a God makes a one-sided, everlasting covenant with humanity? What aspects of God’s character does this passage highlight?
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God promises to remember this covenant through the rainbow. What does it mean for us as humans to remember this covenant?
read more…
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| “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
getting social
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In this lesson, we will learn about the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11:1-9. After Noah and the flood, the number of people on earth grew. They were supposed to fill the earth as God commanded, but instead stayed in one area. One day, they decided to build a tower. This passage warns us about leaving God out of our plans.
