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Dear Friends-

This weekend we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King. Our church sets aside a day, January 15 (King’s Birthday) as a moment to reflect on his work with Civil Rights, the rights of workers and economic justice, and his opposition to the war in Vietnam. 

It is easy to forget that King was not compelled to do this work because it was popular, but because he felt obligated to by his faith in Jesus. 

In 1957, he received, late at night, a vicious telephone threat. Alone in his kitchen, he wept and prayed. He relates that he heard the Lord speaking to him and saying, ‘Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice’ and promising never to leave him alone—‘No, never alone.’ King refers to his vision as his ‘Mountaintop Experience.’ 

I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday. 

                                                                                        --George

“By opening our lives to God in Christ, we become new creatures. This experience, which Jesus spoke of as the new birth, is essential if we are to be transformed nonconformists . . . Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.” –MLK

Report from the Steering Committee Available Now!

 Earlier this week the Strategic Planning Committee sent along its report both electronically and in hard copy. The plan outlined St. Peter’s new mission statement, strategic priorities, and our vision for clergy and lay leadership. If you didn't receive the report, you can find it on our parish website (www.stpetersweston.org) or by clicking here.

Hard copies available in the church office and the leadership of the Steering committee will be available following Sunday’s service to answer any questions. 

Save the Date for the Annual Meeting

Following the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, February 5^th, we will gather for St. Peter’s 109^th Annual Meeting. We’ll discuss our new Strategic Plan, Clergy & Vestry Leadership, Finances and much more. Please join us. 

Ministry reports are due to Emily by Monday, January 23rd.

Vestry & Lay Leadership Nominations are now open! 

The Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for members of the vestry and delegates to diocesan convention. Please reach out to Nominating Committee members Ann O’Roarke orourke65@gmail.com at or Scott Westvold at swestvold@sprintmail.com nominate yourself or others! 

We joined Instagram! 

Follow us at @stpetersepiscopal_weston

If you are interested in adding to our profile, please send any pictures and/or announcements to Emily at office@stpetersweston.org

Martin Luther King Breakfast Information

Afghan Ministry Update

Our Afghan ministry is off to a great start in 2023.  At the end of the year, we wrote 2 grants to the New Hampshire Diocese, in collaboration with Grace Episcopal Church in Manchester. I'm pleased to report that both grants were funded.  The first grant is called Our Kids and supports expanded programming for children's education and enrichment.  The second grant is called Reconciliation and partially funds the weekly women's program, the new men's program, adult literacy activities and a large community gathering.  We also wrote a grant to Episcopal Province 1 (New England), called Coming Together in Hope and Healing, which is geared towards collaborative projects among multiple churches. We were just awarded this grant as well, to provide seed funding for a pilot program to set up a women's network to produce and sell handicrafts. This is a joint project among St. Peter's, Trinity Concord and Grace Manchester. Stay tuned for more updates as we get these programs underway.

This week, we kicked off the first women's event with a big birthday party.  Many Afghans do not know their actual birthday and put January 1 as their birthday on documents.  Therefore, we had a lot of birthdays to celebrate, a new experience for the Afghan women! On the topic of birthdays, we are continuing to conduct a diaper drive for the rest of January.  Larger size diapers are particularly needed. Please bring diapers to the church or the hall.

Thank you,

Hansi and Karen

Though many of St. Peter's parishioners have returned to worshiping and receiving Holy Communion in person inside our church building, we know it is not yet safe for all of us to do so. We will continue to live-stream our services so that we may include as many as possible in our offerings of praise and thanksgiving to God.

If it is not yet safe for you to worship with us in person, and you would like to receive Holy Communion and/or a share a time of prayer at your home, please contact the Parish Office.

If you would like to schedule a time during the week for private prayer in the church, please contact the church office.

St. Peter's is committed to continuing to make our worship space safe and welcoming to all. We hope to have you back with us in person as soon as doing so is the right choice for you.

Do You Have a Pastoral Need?

For pastoral support or emergencies or for any other church matter, please call the church office number (781-891-3200) and press 2 or email George. We encourage you to let us know if you are in the hospital or have some other need that calls for pastoral support.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church | 320 Boston Post Road | Weston, MA 02493

www.stpetersweston.org