Life at Saint Peter's
February 28, 2018
In This Issue
Upcoming Sunday Readings
A Word from Fr. Mike
Daylight Saving Time
Grief Talk This Sunday
Family Church & Sunday School
Pancake Supper Thank-You
Holy Communion Recognition
Lenten Journey With Our Neighbors
Bishop's Visit on Sunday, March 24
SPY Spaghetti Dinner, RESCHEDULED to Saturday, March 30
Girls' Night Out, Thursday, April 4
125th Anniversary Brunch to be held on Sunday, April 28
2019 Street Fair Dates Announced!
Harmonium Concert on April 7 in Somerset
Web Site
Your Weekly Newsletter
Worship
Quick Links
Upcoming Sunday Readings 
You can look ahead at the readings for this Sunday by connecting to the Lectionary Page.
 
This Sunday, March 10, is the First Sunday of Lent.
Our Staff
Join Our List
A Word from Fr. Mike


"Return to me with all your heart"

You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism
and marked as Christ's own forever. (BCP, 308)

The greatest treasure we can ever be given is the faith to know that we are a child of God and part of the eternal body of Christ. Yet, we often have an inability to see how glorious is this hope to which we have been called. Lent is the time to immerse ourselves once again in God's love, so that our inability to see God's glorious treasure maybe washed away.  Return to the Lord, your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Come, this first Sunday in Lent, to be washed in God's outpouring of love.

Daylight Saving Time
Grief Talk This Sunday at 11:30
null

In the Deserts of Life
The Many Faces of Grief

Grief is a term used for the feelings and behaviors we experience when we are faced with loss of any kind -  the death of a friend or relative, the end of a relationship or marriage, the loss of a job or career, the loss of independence resulting from an illness.

Each person's experience of grief is unique because every loss is distinctive, a combination of the psychological, social, behavioral, spiritual and physical reactions.

Using the resources of the Christian Tradition and the compelling imagery of desert, this presentation will explore how the often difficult journey of grief can be embraced as a pathway to deeper insight, healing and engagement. This presentation is open to all.

Sunday, March 10, 2019 after the 10 AM Service (start at 11:30) 
The Undercroft of St. Peter's Episcopal Church
271 Roseland Avenue, Essex Fells, NJ
973.226.6500

Lead by St. Peter's Pastoral Assistant and retired Hospice Social Worker and Grief Specialist,  Rev. Vince Corso, M.Div., LCSW

Family Church & Sunday School



Family Church
This week is Family Church and the first week in Lent!  See you all there as we begin our journey toward Easter together!

Sunday School
This Sunday in the 1st-3rd grade we heard the Parable of the Sower. BOY, parables are hard! The discussion in class was amazing! One child recognized the same person who told this parable, about the kingdom of heaven, also tells us each week, "I am the Light!"  Jesus! We tried to sort out who the sower might really be. When the sower scattered the seeds on the path and they were eaten by birds it was hard to understand why that would be so bad. It certainly seemed good for the birds.  We agreed "the good earth" was definitely the best place to grow seeds. I'd like to say we sorted out "what the kingdom of heaven is really like," but we ended up still wondering.

Godly Play says, parables are presents given to us. They have a lid like a present and sometimes they are hard to open. We have to keep coming back to them and one day they will open for us. It's such a joy to see the children thinking and trying to sort out these abstract ideas that are even hard for adults. I hope we all keep coming back to these hard questions of our faith and wondering!

To help with Sunday School as a greeter over the next few months please reach out! 

Peace & Love,
Dana Leach
973-364-7544

SPY Pancake Supper Thank-You

Thanks to all who came out to support
our SPY Mission Trip Fundraiser!



Now that you've tasted our delicious food, we hope you'll come back later this month
for our Spaghetti Supper on March 30!
Communion Classes Begin April 13
Please Register Now!

HOLY COMMUNION RECOGNITION

St. Peter's Church wants to celebrate the importance of receiving  Communion for children and their families and has designated May 5, 2019* as Holy Communion Recognition Sunday (please note corrected date).  The Episcopal Church does not call this First Communion because many of these children have already received Communion as small children.

Three interesting and engaging classes have been designed to help the children, second grade and older, prepare for this special day. Please mark these Saturdays on your calendars:

April 13 th - 10:30 am
April 27 th - 10:30 am
May 4th - 10:30 am

Father Mike would like to speak with the parents at the time of the first class. Liz Muller will be teaching the classes with me. We are looking forward to making this day and  the preparation fun and meaningful. More information will be coming.

Please call or email me if you are interested and looking forward to this program for your children.

Blessings,
Rev. Susan Negrotto
(201)637-2962
Lenten Journey with Our Neighbors

The neighboring Episcopal Church parishes of Holy Spirit, Verona; St. Peter's, Essex Fells & St. Peter's, Livingston, invite all to share a Lenten journey of prayer and fellowship on the Wednesday evenings of Lent .

During Lent, we will meet each Wednesday at 7:00 pm for a quiet Eucharist followed with a short meal of bread and soup.

Church
March 13
St. Peter's Church
271 Roseland Avenue, Essex Fells


March 20
Holy Spirit Church
36 Gould Street, Verona

Church
March 27
St. Peter's Church
271 Roseland Avenue, Essex Fells



April 3
St. Peter's Church
94 East Mount Pleasant Ave, Livingston


April 10
Holy Spirit Church
36 Gould Street, Verona


April 17
St. Peter's Chapel (Tenebrae)
271 Roseland Avenue, Essex Fells


"Together they devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and prayers."
(Acts 2:42)
Bishop's Visit on Sunday, March 24

Bishop's Visit
Sunday, March 24



On March 24, we will be honored to receive our newly- elected bishop, the Rt. Rev. Carlye Hughes.  

Bishop Carlye was consecrated as the 11 th Bishop of Newark on September 22, 2018. She comes to us with a hopeful message of how we are all beloved by God and that we are gifted, called and sent to share this news with the world.

We will all have a chance to meet the bishop as she celebrates and preaches at both the 8 am and 10 am Eucharist.  She will join in coffee hour after both services and lead a town hall discussion during the coffee hour after the 10 am Eucharist.

SPY Spaghetti Dinner, March 30

Our SPY Spaghetti Dinner has been
Rescheduled for Saturday, March 30



Tickets purchased for our previously-scheduled date will be honored.  Didn't get your tickets yet? They will be sold at Coffee Hour closer to the event and at the door.
Girls' Night Out, April 4



Save the Date! Please join us for a Girls' Night Out on Thursday, April 4th at 7pm at Kimberly Butler's home at 25 Hathaway Lane in Essex Fells.

The event will be BYOB, and we'll do a pot luck of appetizers and desserts. Click this link to sign up!

Please note: sign-up has been updated, please check to be sure your items were recorded if you signed up last week.

Grab a friend and join us for a fun evening of catching up!  ALL ARE WELCOME! Please contact Pam Au at  pamau@comcast.net or 201-960-5566
for more information.
Celebrate Our 125th Anniversary with
a Brunch Celebration on April 28!


All are welcome to our special "125th St. Peter's Birthday Party" being held at the Essex Fells Country Club on  Sunday, April 28th, 2019.  The brunch will begin at 11:30, so come right over after the 10 AM St. Peters Church Celebration Service!  

The cost is $40 for adults and $17.95 for children 12 and under. We will send out invitations to all parishioners in early March with an RSVP date of April 19th. We are excited to honor and celebrate this great parish of St. Peters and look forward to seeing you there. Please save the date now, as we'd love to have everyone who is part of St. Peter's attend.

If you have any questions, or would like to reserve your place now, please reach out to Pam Bayard at  pamelabayard@gmail.com .   

Happy 125th Anniversary to all of us!
Pam Bayard
2019 Street Fair Will Be June 7 & 8

streetfair12

The Street Fair is coming!

Our annual Street Fair will be held on June 7th and 8th from 5:30-9pm. We are looking for a few good men, women and youth to help make this event a success. There are many different types of opportunities available whether it be helping out at game and food booths, donating strawberries, shortcakes or tricky tray items or being involved in the set-up and take-down.

If you are interested and/or willing to help out, please contact Christina Doyle by email or telephone 301.802.7878.
Harmonium Presents 
Bach's St. Matthew Passion
Sunday, April 7 in Morristown
stpetersef.org


You are invited to view our website! 

Your Weekly Newsletter,
Life at St. Peter's


If you would like your St. Peter's-related event highlighted in Life at St. Peter's, please send an email to Christine Corso by noon Wednesday (The eblast is usually distributed on Thursday mornings).

Please also reach out if you would like to promote your event to the larger West Essex community through Facebook or our website!
We are a proud Member of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.