St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Carson City
News and Inspirations

 

775-882-1534     www.stpeterscarsoncity.org   3 14 N. Division St., Carson City, Nevada 
September 7, 2017
In This Issue
Oppty to be of Service
EfM Answers
St. Peter's History
Male Spirituality
Lighter Side
Upcoming
 Lectionary Readings
Info Links
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From the Rector


Dear people of St Peter's,
 
        Men's breakfast is this Saturday in the parish hall at 8am.  All men of the parish are invited.  Also that morning are the Ladies' Crafting/Knitting Group at 9:30 in the Rectory, and the memorial service for Paul D'Anneo in the church at 11:00 am.
 
     Many thanks to those who made the Interfaith picnic a wonderful afternoon.  Rory Hogen & Doug Bocskor trimmed up the trees on the parish lawn for comfortable shade;  Susan Newcomb organized the set up & John St Hilaire set up awnings, tables & chairs;  Suzie & Bryan McCurdy helped set up;  Freddie King & Lisa Young set up & organized food & dessert;  Cecil Chapman was big on clearing & clean up;  others behind the scenes, thank you all!  
 
    The fall Inquirer's/Confirmation/Everything-You-Wanted-To-Know-About-The-Faith class begins this Sunday in the Library between the services.  All who are new at St Peter's or curious about our traditions or interested in preparing for Confirmation during the Bishop's visitation on December 10th are encouraged to attend the class.
 
Blessings.
Jeff+
    

Opportunity to Be of Service
 
     As you know, the faith community of Carson City welcomed the Habibi family from Afghanistan with open arms on August 2. The six children are getting ready to start school and learn English.   

    The Habibi family is looking for volunteer tutors from 4-6 pm, 2-3 days a week.  It will be very basic tutoring and no previous teaching experience necessary.  The job of tutor will be to work one-on-one with a child to help him or her understand the very basic threads of education such as letters, numbers, writing their name, and assist with homework assignments.   
 
   Interested individuals should contact their education mentor, Roxie Brewer, at brewerfam@sbcglobal.net  .  Please include your name and phone number so she can coordinate a schedule with you.
 

We Are Invited....
 
The Episcopal fellowship of St. Catherine's who have been worshiping for the last several years in the Manogue High School Chapel have moved into a new church home.  The congregation is led by the Rev. Laurie Chappelle, whom many of you know.  The new church will be consecrated and dedicated by Bishop Dan this Saturday, September 9th, at 4pm.   Their new address is 10435 Double R Boulevard Reno, Nevada, in south Reno.  All are welcome to join in the festivities.  Click here for the flyer


Questions to be Answered 
Are You Interested?
 
On Tuesday, October 17th at 6:30 pm, there will be a question and answer session for anyone interested in learning about EfM -Education for Ministry. This gathering will be held in the church library and is open to all parishioners.

If you have any further questions now, please call Louise Hogen at 883-7224.
 

Bits and Pieces of St. Peter's History

It took the congregation three years to build their church and raise the funds to pay for it.  On June 19, 1870 St. Peter's was consecrated in a service led by the Rt. Rev. Ozi W. Whitaker, Missionary Bishop of Nevada and Arizona.

In October 1873 work began on enlarging and improving St. Peter's.  For several months there were no church services.  Then on Easter Sunday of 1874, services resumed in the newly enlarged and renovated church.  On the following Sunday, the formal reopening service was led by Bishop Whitaker.

---- The Friends of Historic St. Peter's


Writing as a Spiritual Practice
The Heart of Our Story.... Learning who we are and why we are here
 
Writing can be a powerful and transformative spiritual practice -- through which we can cultivate an expansive mind, open heart, authentic relationships, liberated creativity and a freer soul.  This space is going to give examples of PROMPTS that are intended to give you a launching pad for some writing.  Please approach this as a spiritual practice and invite the Holy into your writing time.  Here are some suggestions to begin with:
 
HOW:  If you'd like to engage in a bit of self-discovery,
consider setting a timer for 15 minutes and  begin with one of the PROMPTs below (or other topic that calls to you).  Then just write whatever comes to mind until the buzzer goes off.  (Don't edit it, don't correct your spelling or worry about punctuation.  This is NOT that kind of writing.  The only person who's going to look at it when you are done, is you.  And if you want to keep going, reset the timer for additional time.)   Later, feel free to dive into the other PROMPT if it begins to call to you.  

PROMPTS for this time:

When I see the reports of flooding in the Houston area, I feel: ___________________.

One last thing I hope to be able to do before the summer ends is:  ___________________.
 

Practicing the Presence of Spirit--
Even on a Busy Day
  graphic of seeing with love
Seed Thought:
In Judaism, ethical conduct involves more than refraining from harmful activities.  One must also perform beneficial activities, or mitzvot.  Mitzvot are good deeds that are a blessing on the person they are done for, a blessing on the person who does them, and a blessing on God.  Visiting the sick is a mitzvot, as are such things as feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers into one's home on holidays, and taking good care of one's body. 
 
Prayer/Practice:   Spend a few minutes connecting with your breath.  Then focus on your heart.  Contemplate a good deed that you could do for your own body or for another person today.  When you begin to derive great joy from mitzvot, the Godseed within you is well on its way to blooming.

[Adapted from p. 263, of Pocketful of Miracles, by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.]   

A Love Letter from the Divine.....
good_morning.jpg 

     You do not focus on the beauty of this world.  Instead, you focus on the negative, the harsh, and the ugly.  You are blind to what I teach.  Turn your eyes to me.  Let me educate you in my ways.  First, look always for beauty.  Beauty is a great teacher.  It bears harmony.  There is nothing in excess.  The beautiful reflects my nature.  It has generosity  It holds surprise.
     "Ah," we breathe when we see something beautiful.  "Ah-ha," we exclaim, delighted.  Let delight be a light for you, shining you on your path to me.  Look for me in loveliness.  You will find me there.  Look for me where love is found.  There, too you will find me.
     I am an energy of beauty and an energy of love.  I am boundless in my resources.  If you learn to see and love my beauty, I will bring to you still more beauty for you to see and to love.  Your appreciation multiplies your good.  As you receive and respond, I am able to give to you.  The more receptive you can be, the more generous I can be.  It is my nature to give.  Allow me to fulfill my nature in my interactions with you.  I am love.  Allow me to be loving.  Look for my love and you will find it.  Having found my love, expect more of it.  Allow the negative, the harsh, and the ugly to be washed away.

[This is an excerpt from Answered Prayers, Love Letters from the Divine, by Julia Cameron, p. 145.]
 

A Moment of Zen


Male Spirituality --- Encouraging an Inner Life 
mens rites of passage 
This is a series of articles aimed specifically for the Men of St. Peter's.  The material is taken from the written works of Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who is renowned for his retreats and lectures on male spirituality.  This is not intended to be a "daily devotional."  It is meant to be more confrontational.  It is truthful and brave; and invites you to be the same.   
 
The Prerequisite                                  
    
     How do we begin facing our own dark side?  First things first:  We cannot face the dark at any depth until we have seen some real light.  We will not have the courage to face the shadow until we've experienced some unconditional love in our life, from God or friends.  Until then, we don't have the guts to do the hard work of the soul.  This helps us be patient with people living at a survival level who have no courage or encouragement to do their shadow work.
      We must discover a source of inner security before we can withstand the insecurities that every life holds.  Children are not ready for this, nor are teenagers, nor are young adults.  Honest soul work is usually done in the second half of life, although it is forced on some much earlier through imprisonment or family tragedy.  
                                 
---Have I tried to face the shadow before I've grown confident
in God's love for me?  How can I develop more awareness of  
this great and unconditional love?  
   
  [Adapted from p. 222 of On the Threshold of Transformation: Daily Meditations for Men,
 by Fr. Richard Rohr]
 
 On the Lighter Side

(Thanks to Isobel for sharing this cartoon with us!)
 

Ongoing Fellowship Activities

Please Join Us (in the Parish Hall unless* otherwise indicated) 1st Monday at 5:30pm--
 
Every Wednesday from 6 to 8pm -- Circles of Support Community           *(meets in the parish hall and the Rectory, next door to the church)

1st and 3rd Thursdays at 5:30pm -- Caregivers' Exchange Group
      (information and fellowship for anyone who's a caregiver)

1st Saturday from Noon to 5:00pm -- Wine Walk
             (our sanctuary and parish hall are open for hospitality) 

2nd Wednesday from 11:00am to noon -- St. Peter's Ladies' Group                                      (all St. Peter's women are cordially invited)

2nd Thursday from 5:30 to 7:00pm -- Mary~Martha Guild   
                    (all St. Peter's women are cordially invited)

2nd Saturday from 8:00 to 9:30am -- Men's Breakfast
            (all St. Peter's men are cordially invited)

2nd Saturday from 9:30am to 1:00pm -- Ladies' Crafting Day 
            (all St. Peter's ladies are cordially invited; bring something to work on or join in a group project.  Bring a sack lunch if you like!)
(We take December and January off.)

2nd Saturday at 9:30am -- Prayer Shawl Knitters 
      (Meet with the Lady Crafters in the Parish Hall; for info contact Pat F-P or Karen L-F)  
4th Friday from 5:45 to 8:30pm --  Sophia's Salon Reading Group
       *(meets at a private residence, for info contact the Rev. Kim)


St. P's Gratitude Garden: The Garden has come alive!  Our contact is Gayle Bowers. 


Schedule of Worship Services
Watercolor painting of St.P's altar by pat f-p
St. Peter's Altar ~~ by Pat Frederick-Perona

Sundays    

8 am:  Holy Communion: Rite II  
10 am: Contemporary Worship Service and child care for the summer (in the Rectory).  Sunday School with Godly Play will resume after Labor Day. 
       
Wednesdays
10 am: Healing Service and Holy Communion

We at St. Peter's are a lively spiritual fellowship blessed with the rich heritage of community involvement.  We are open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly.  We hope you find us to be intellectually and spiritually stimulating.  

The Rev. Kim Morgan, Associate Priest and E-news Editor