The Labyrinth Walk
Thursday, December 7, 2017

Stewardship Update

As of Monday, December 4, St. Peter's has received $230,000 in pledges for the 2018 Budget!
The proposed budget for 2018 is $525,000.00.

You may put your Pledge Card in the offering plate on any Sunday, mail it to the church office, or hand it in to the church office during regular business. The Vestry and Staff respectfully ask that you pray about the amount that you will be donating to St. Peter's in 2018.
 
Here are a few FAQs about pledging:

At this time of the year,  many Churches are asking their members to make a "Pledge." What exactly is a "Pledge"?

- Is it a Legal Contract? NO.  In other words, if you find that you are unable to pay as pledged, or promised, you will not be sued or harassed.

- Is it a  statement of intention to donate a certain amount?  YES
 
- Are there any circumstances that are acceptable for a person to cancel or decrease the amount of a Pledge?   YES  Some of these circumstances could include:death of the person who made the pledge;  transfer to another state; layoff or cut in salary;  unexpected and exorbitant medical bills not covered by insurance.

If you have further questions on this matter, please consult a member of the Vestry or a staff member.

Dollar Bills 
All $1 bills  in the offering plate this Sunday will go to the Discretionary Fund.     
Bank Draft Form
Did you know that you can have your tithe to St. Peter's automatically taken out of your checking our savings account? The Bank Draft Form is located in the link below. Print this form out and give it to the church office. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mike King at
 
All Hands Ministry Team Meeting!
 All Current (and those interested) Lectors, Greeters, Ushers, Oblationers, and Hospitality Members are encouraged to attend one of the upcoming Ministry Team Refresher Trainings! We will be going over information such as Ultimate Ushering: Mastering Mixed Doubles and To Bow or not to Bow, that is the Question.
These 30 minute meetings will be held in Classroom Two at 9:30am and 10:30am on December 10, January 21, and February 18.

Join Bob, Peggy, and Linda as they unwrap the mysteries of our prayer book and how to use it - both communally and privately. A simple soup supper will be served. Childcare will be provided.

December Sr High Lunch
This month's Sr High Lunch will be on December 10, 12:30 at Bob's Grill.
All 10th-12th graders are invited!
College Finals Week
December 11-15
As part of our College Ministry, we will be opening the church building in the evenings during Finals Week ( December 11-15) for any college student to come in and find a quiet place to study. If you would be interested in providing some snacks at any point during that week, please contact the church office or Rev Peggy.
Jesus and His Jewish Influences
8:50am Discussion in Library
This set of 24 30 minute lectures by Dr Jodi Magness, Dept. of Religion. U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks to provide an understanding of how Jesus's teachings and views were shaped by his Jewish background and context.Jodi Magness PhD is an archaeologist who has done distinguished work in Israel and Greece, participating in 20 excavations. Her primary research interests center on the archaeology of the Holy Land from the destruction of Solomon's Temple to the Muslim Conquest.
Church's Teachings for a Changing World
Parish Hall Chapel, Sundays at 10:00am. Books are available in the office to borrow or purchase.
All are welcome at any time.

Brown Bag Book Club
Start Date: November 29
Time: 12:00 Noon - 1:00 pm
Place: St. Peter's Library

Kathleen Norris, the author of Dakota and Cloister Walk offers up her meditation on Mary, collecting sixty images of the mother of Jesus, from Raphael to Leonardo da Vinci--from Virgin, to peasant girl, to anxious parent, to Mother of God.
 
The Brown Bag Book Club will read and discuss Norris' beautifully illustrated book as their Advent Study. I hope you will make time in your busy Advent lives to come and focus on Mary, Mother of Jesus.
 
The book may be obtained through Amazon for approximately, $15.
 
Rev. Dr. Linda Brown, Deacon
 

Brotherhood of St. Andrew
All men of the church are invited to give one hour a month as part of your Christian experience.  Join the Brotherhood of St. Andrew which meets for one hour the third  Monday of each month.  The Brothers pray, study scripture, and serve together.  Check the lobby bulletin board for this month's meeting.
Fall Bible Studies
The Fall Bible Study is a discussion of the Gospel of Luke.  Check lobby bulletin board for additional information or telephone Joe Arn.
Afternoon Bible Study: Mondays, 12:15 pm, Church Library.
Evening Bible Study: Thursdays, 7 pm, Morgan House
Art, Pray, Love

Many thanks to Art Pray Love committee member Dr. Doug Stroud for introducing worshipers at St. Peter's to the Guatemala Marketplace on November 12th. The items displayed so artfully showcased the creative talents of the Guatemalan artists and artisans. Proceeds from this Pre-Event Sale will help defray the cost of medical supplies needed for the Medical Mission to Guatemala. But Dr. Doug does more than manage the Guatemala Marketplace for Art Pray Love. In a previous newsletter article, he outlined the details of the medical mission which the Art, Pray, Love committee would like reemphasize.
 
Marianne Black heads the mission team which travels to the rural areas of Western Guatemala to provide clinics for people who live in extreme poverty and suffer from a lack of access to health care. Next year over 20 people will travel to Guatemala, at their own expense, to fulfill these needs.
 
Dr. Doug explains that the clinic group will provide a clinical setting, usually within the Episcopal Churches in the area, where the team will complete eye examinations as well as fit over 400 people with eyeglasses or sunglasses. They also provide clothing for children. The team will provide examinations for at least 500 patients and give them appropriate medications to manage acute infections and a variety of medical problems.
 
The surgical team will provide nasal and sinus surgeries at St. Francis Hospital and Orphanage in Putan. There will a surgeon, anesthesiologist and several operating room nurses to complete a number of surgeries in this small rural hospital.
 
We hope you understand a little better why we need your support at the Art, Pray Love event in January 2018.

 
Christmas Schedule

Christmas Eve

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
December 7
December 8
December 9
December 10
December 11
12:00pm
Advent Noonday
Prayers
2:00pm
SLS Planning
(Library)
7:00pm
Enneagram
(Library)
7:00pm
Evening Bible Study
(Morgan House)









 
4:00pm
Conway Locally Grown
(Parish Hall)
5:30pm
Advent Compline
5:30pm
Girl Scouts 6057
(Morgan House)











9:00am
Food Pantry
9:00am
Girl Scouts
(Parish Hall)



7:30am
Rite I
8:40am
Nursery Opens
8:50am
Jesus/Jewish Influences
(Library)
9:00am
Enriching our Worship Eucharist
10:00am
Adult Forum
Family Formation
Choir Practice
10:30am
Ministry Team
Training
(Classroom 2)
11:00am
Rite II
12:00pm
Handbells
(Balcony)
12:30pm
DOK
(Morgan House)
12:30pm
Senior High Lunch
(Bob's Grill)
1:00pm
EV Training
(Library)  
4:00pm
Parish Hall Reserved
4:30pm
Vestry
(Morgan House)
7:00pm
Contemplative Quaker Fellowship
(Classroom 4)
12:15pm
After-Noon Bible Study
(Library)
5:30pm
Advent Compline
6:30pm
Narcotics Anonymous
(Morgan House)
7:00pm
Circle of Trust
(Classroom 4)
**College Finals**




























Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
December 12
December 13
December 14
December 15
December 16
12:00pm
Advent Noonday Prayers
5:30pm
EfM  
(Classroom 2)  
**College Finals**
  
 


12:00pm
Brown Bag Book Club
(Library)
2:00pm
Staff Meeting  
5:00pm
EYC
(Parish Hall)   
5:30pm
Fledglings Writing Group
(Library)  
5:30pm
Unwrapping the Prayer Book
6:30pm
Narcotics Anonymous
(Morgan House)
7:00pm
Holy Eucharist and Prayers for Healing   
12:00pm
Advent Noonday
Prayers
2:00pm
SLS Planning
(Library)
7:00pm
Enneagram
(Library)
7:00pm
Evening Bible Study
(Morgan House)
6:30pm
Sandy Hook Vigil












4:00pm
Conway Locally Grown
(Parish Hall)
5:30pm
Advent Compline
5:30pm
Morgan House Reserved

9:00am
Food Pantry
9:00am
Morgan House Reserved
 
 
Save the Date!
                    
December 10    The Rev. Dr. Robert C. Brown, preaching in Rite I (7:30am) and  
                          Enriching Our Worship (9:00am)  
                          Choir Cantata, 11:00am  
 
December 17    The Rev. Peggy Cromwell, preaching in all three services  
 
December 22    Greening and Singing, 5:00pm   
 
December 24     Christmas Eve
                          11:00am Service (only service for the morning)
                          The Rev. Dr. Linda Brown, preaching 
                          5:00pm Christmas Eve Service   
                          8:00pm Christmas Eve Service
                          The Rev. Peggy Cromwell, preaching
 
December 25    9:00am Christmas Day Service   
                         The Rev. Dr. Robert C. Brown, preaching  
 
December 26 through December 29 and January 1, Parish Office Closed   
 
December 31   The Rev. Dr. Robert C. Brown, preaching    
 
January 15       Parish Office Closed for Mr. Luther King Jr. Day 
 
January 27      Art Pray Love  
 
February 14    Ash Wednesday  
 
February 18   First Sunday in Lent  
 
This week's Wedding Anniversary:  
Wayne and Ellen Stengel   12/15
 
December 10 - December 16  Birthdays
 
 
Gina Teague
12/15
Jason Hansen
12/16
O God, our times are in your hand: Look with favor, we pray, on your servants, as they begin another year. Grant that they may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen their trust in your goodness all the days of their lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, page 830
Help Out the Food Pantry
Don't forget your items to bring this Sunday!  You may also drop off items in the church lobby anytime during the week.  With your help we are able to provide food to those in need.
2 cans of soup; 1 16oz peanut butter; 1 jelly (no glass)
Diapers, Feminine Hygiene Products    
**If you are bringing fresh produce to donate, please contact someone with a key and see that it is placed in the Food Pantry refrigerators. 
Pantry Musings
This is the second Sunday of Advent and the Old Testament reading for this Sunday is that familiar passage in Isaiah 40.1-11 which is used by Handel in his Messiah and is sung by a male voice: "A voice cries out in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord. . . ." If we have heard this work in its fullness we know that Handle was familiar with the liturgy of the Anglican Church and that he gives a powerful statement in this work. We move through Advent, Christmas, and Lent and Easter, this work of art has spoken to many for centuries. There are hopeful messages in all of the readings for this Sunday. (Please refer to the blue card insert in your service printout this past Sunday.) The reading from Mark 1.1-8 is the baptism of sinners by John the Baptist. What can bring greater hope than a baptism! Particularly one that forgives us our sins. And Mark quotes a portion of the reading from Isaiah telling us that we are to prepare a way for the Lord is coming. What are we doing to prepare a way for the Lord, for Christ in our lives? We've been baptized, I suspect. But what does that mean for us in our everyday lives? How do we express the love of Christ to others? I have a small poetry plaque hanging in my work area which reads: "All are to be welcomed as Christ." It is a quotation from Saint Benedict. It was given to me by a woman who was touched by something in my life that enabled her to see not only the Christ in me but in a friend of hers that she was having a particularly difficult time accepting. Somehow she could now see that Christ was in all of us through what little she saw of me. I am as proud of that plaque as I am of anything that I own simply because I was able to reflect Christ to someone, and they actually told me about it. What a gift that was to me! How we live our lives makes a difference. We are not always told that our baptism, our initiation into the body of Christ makes a difference. We can live with the assurance of the possibility that we are forgiven and are freed to prepare the way for the Lord, Christ so that he might be seen through us in our caring, compassion, tenderness, openness, vulnerability toward others. We also show Christ through our lives by allowing others to live their lives without imposing our agendas on them and by celebrating their lives as their own. Try it, it will take some practice.- Ann Drake
 
Scripture Readings for Sunday, December 10, 2017
The 9:00am Service will lead the Psalm  
and read from Isaiah. 
 
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
 
A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
 
A voice says, "Cry out!"
 
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
 
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
     You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
        you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.
2      You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
        and blotted out all their sins.
8      I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
       for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
       and to those who turn their hearts to him.
9      Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
       that his glory may dwell in our land.
10    Mercy and truth have met together; *
       righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11    Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
        and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12    The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
        and our land will yield its increase.
13    Righteousness shall go before him, *
       and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.
 
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.
 
Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
 
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
 
make his paths straight,'"
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
 
 
Prayers of the People 
Prayers and Petitions: 
Bill; Tommy; Heather; Shannon; Anisa; Dee; Kay; Larry; Jeff; Marie; Harry; Freda; Brandon; John; Jessica; Susan; Michelle; Nikki; Fred; Kay; Nancy; Liz; Peggy; Glenn; Julie.  

In Loving Support for:
Jenny, Doug, and Odessa; Micah; Sam; Mouaz; Natalie.

In Constant Prayer for our Future Rector, whomever God leads to us.

Thanksgivings:
We give thanks for the people of St. Peter's and visitors with us this week.
We give thanks for:Bob and Dee Sanders; Andrea Savage; Sam, Dana, and Chuck Savage; Mike Schaefer and Lynn Ramage; Charlie Schmeider; Carolyn Scott; Jacquie Seroy; Milo and Ann Shult; John, Kate Marie, and John Robert Shute; Lance, Angelia, Rowen and Felix Simpson.
We give thanks for the Bible Baptist Church.    
We give thanks forthe Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock.
We give thanks for our Church In a Changing World Study on Sunday Mornings.
We give thanks for The Rev. Miguel Salanic and James of Jerusalem in CHimaltenango (chee-malt-in-ango) and St. Andrew's in St Andrew's Itzapa (it-zap-a).
We give thanks for The Rt Revd Jos Antonio McLoughlin, the Diocese of Western North Carolina.
We give thanks for the Help Design Our Future Building Program at St. Martin in the Fields, Philadelphia. 

 
The Departed:  

 

Team 2
7:30am
9:00am
11:00am
Lectors
Douglas Young
Donna Bowman
Marianne Black
Bev Freiley
Ushers

Patsy Evans
Bob Essert
Dave Larson
Marilyn Larson
Oblationers

Judy Helm
Robert Wickser
Kelley King
Greeters

Tom Courtway
Melissa Courtway
Eric Hutchinson
Donna Hutchinson
Eucharistic Visitor



Eucharistic Minister
Erin Weindorf
Wylie Greer
Jay Ruud
Acolytes

AM:
CB: Cady Gray

AM:
C: Harper Sobel
T1: Elise McGarrity
T2: Austin Losardo
Vestry Counters


Christy Garrett-Jones
Karen McNutt
Altar Guild


Team 1



STAY CONNECTED: