Childcare and Church School have resumed at the 9:30 a.m. service. Please RSVP to Marie Scagnelli at churchschoolatsaintpeters@gmail.com, by Saturday 5 p.m.

The Vicar continues his weekly exposition of the Catechism, found in the Book of Common Prayer, pp. 845-862.

Q.   What does it mean to be created in the image of God?

A.   It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.

Ask: is the opposite true? On the one hand, you might say yes, because, after all, you are free to hate, destroy, backslide into ignorance, and to live a life contrary to nature, all the while cursing God. On the other hand, you must say no, because the opposite is not true—for none of these choices bear the image of God! Thus, free will only works in one direction, as a "yes" towards God (2 Cor. 1:20). Everything else is sin, which is not free. Sin is slavery.

The Committee seeks submission of names to fill one warden position and three vestry person slots. Email John Reid at johnreidnz@gmail.com.

It is the time of year for the annual EMC appeal campaign!

Letters were mailed out last month, explaining the purpose of the campaign—to raise money for the operating expenses for St. Peter's—and outlining the anticipated operating expenses for the upcoming year. The good news is that in spite of all the COVID-19 restrictions, St. Peter's remains a place of constancy and connection in our congregation thanks to the wonderful services that Jake presides over each Sunday. The bad news is that even though we are not all able to gather together in person each week or have coffee hour, the expenses of running the church are not reduced in any way.

We have a lofty goal this year to raise $270,000, which is a significant increase over last year's goal of $230,000, so we are asking everyone who is able to consider increasing their contribution to St. Peter's by 20%. If we are to meet this goal, it is going to take 100% participation from the Parish, and, if circumstances allow, increases in everyone's giving levels.

The Vestry and our Vicar have already pledged for 2021, and in some cases, even fulfilled their pledges before year's end as a way to show their commitment to funding the 2021 budget. It is our hope that the congregation will follow their lead, and help us meet our goal.

EMC Committee members (Jim Wilson, Ginna Sermier, Sarah Stack, Andrew Garcia, and Phil Balshi) together with Vestry members will be following up with calls and emails to everyone in the parish in the next few weeks to make sure everyone understands the purpose of this appeal and its importance to the financial health of St. Peter's. Look for those emails and calls, and thank you in advance for considering our request for your support!

— Sarah Stack, for the EMC Committee

If you are interested in dedicating flowers in memorium or for a special occasion, please send an email to stpeterschurch@optonline.net with the date and the name(s) to whom you would like to dedicate the arrangements.

You can either send a check to St. Peter’s (PO Box 1502, Millbrook, NY 12545) or put the check in the weekly offering with "flowers" on the memo line. You may also add a dedication in the bulletin or leave it anonymous.

Dutchess County was established on November 1, 1683. By 1714 there were 64 settler families living here, many of whom were members of the Church of England. The first recorded visitation of an Anglican clergyman to Dutchess County was in 1755, when the Rev. Samuel Seabury (the elder) was sent by the Church of England's Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to Fishkill, N. Y.

—Louise Tompkins, A Landmark: The History of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church (Lithgow, NY, 1971), 7-8.

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins and give us, we beseech thee, the liberty of that abundant life which thou hast manifested to us in thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.