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26th October, 2023
"Invite, Support, Encounter"
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***NEVER BUY OR SEND GIFT CARDS FROM AN E-MAIL OR TEXT MESSGE REQUEST!! IT’S A SCAM!!***
Please expect a brief recorded phone message to every single phone number we have warning you of the criminal trying to scam people with gift cards.
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St Peter’s Fifth Annual New Pillow Drive
Last Weekend for the New Pillow Drive
We currently have 32 towards our goal of 40 New Pillows ( the Senior Warden’s Stretch Goal is 50!) which will make their way to the Native American Connections Shelter and Rehabilitation Facilities. This is our fifth year of supporting the Native American Connections rehabilitation and shelter residents with a new pillow for those who were formerly unhoused or are beginning sobriety wellness. Thank you to all who continually support St Peter’s efforts to love and care for our Native brothers and sisters.
Ministry Contact: Rev. James Gamble
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Stewardship Campaign Continues this Weekend at St. Peter’s
As St Peter’s collectively enters the weeks of Stewardship, individually we have the opportunity to reflect on God’s generosity and provision in our lives this past year. It is a time for us to consider how we give back a portion of God’s blessings through our pledge of tithe, time, and talent to further His love in our parish, community, state and world. We will celebrate at our Ingathering on November 18 & 19, gathering corporately to present our individual pledges as thanksgiving and praise for God’s faithfulness and care.
We Invite you to pledge as an expression of faith and personal response to God’s generosity this past year. We ask your Support of the ministries of St Peter’s which serve so richly those in our parish and the broader community. We expect to Encounter God’s love, joy and peace with you in 2024 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
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63rd AZ Episcopal Diocese Convention Well Represented by St. Peter’s
Several members of St. Peter’s attended the 63rd Arizona Episcopal Diocesan Convention held on the campus of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Paradise Valley. Delegates to the convention included Pastor James and Vestry Members Dawn Conley, Tyler Dixon, Carolyn Bougher, Pam Gist, and Jenn Cordner and members Tim Quick and Paul Bixler. Also attending were our Pastor’s wife Jayin, Deacon Gay and Bridges Reentry representatives, Michael Douglas representing our Veterans Ministry, Mary Kate Turco and daughter Brianna who was a Torch Bearer in the Eucharist, and Diane Woodyard and Bob Kerr who sang in the Choir. Judy Bryan had a special Daughters of the King prayer station set up for all to enjoy. Overall it was a good representation from St. Peter’s. If I missed anyone I apologize!
The event was led by Bishop Jennifer Reddall and included presenting our own Dawn Conley with an Honorary Canon award and leading a dynamic and enthusiastic worship service with the several hundred attendees from throughout Arizona. The Keynote Speaker was The Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer, Bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod of ELCA who delivered an inspiring message based on passages from Acts. Most of the business of the convention was completed during a well attended Zoom meeting on the Tuesday prior to the Convention so the time at St. Barnabas could be devoted to workshops, fellowship, and worship. I believe if you ask anyone who attended they would tell you that it was a rewarding and inspiring experience.
You don’t want to miss this Year in Review message from our Bishop which reinforces the convention theme of Go, Gather, Grow and Give - 2023 AZ Diocese Year in Review - YouTube. To see more about the Convention check out the Diocese website or ask any of the attendees to get their personal insights!
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From the Rector...
Dear Ones,
This weekend at the 10:00 am service only we will welcome Canon Anita Braden, the Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Arizona. She lives in Litchfield Park. Canon Anita assists the bishop in overseeing the operations of the diocese, and deals with congregations in transition, and congregations experiencing conflict, and clergy who are struggling. Canon Anita is a wise and loving soul and we are fortunate to welcome her as our preacher at the 10:00 am service.
We are gearing up for our fall festival on Nov. 5th, and we need your help! Please sign up to help, or email Senior Warden Tyler Dixon to be assigned a task. Please plan to come and celebrate our community.
And please send us the names of loved ones who have died since last All Saints Day to include in our sung litany at all worship services on Nov. 4-5th.
In Christ's love,
Pastor James
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Warden’s Corner
***NEVER BUY OR SEND GIFT CARDS FROM AN E-MAIL OR TEXT MESSGE REQUEST!! IT’S A SCAM!!***
Just a friendly reminder that no one from St. Peter’s will ever request a gift card or other financial aid via an e-mail. If you have any questions about a request call the office or Pastor James or me!
Now for the news of the week! A busy weekend by a number of St. Peter’s members who attended the annual AZ Episcopal Dioceses Convention at St. Barnabas in Paradise Valley. Look for the write-up in this week’s newsletter. The 4 services went off without a hitch even though I know Pastor James was challenged with a full day that included the Men’s Group breakfast, a bible study, the convention, and the 5 PM service! Thanks to Lou Gray for the donation of the “Trinity Cactus” for our Columbarium and to Lou’s son Jeff and John Bradley for replanting in the center planter!
This is the last week to donate pillows for our Native American Connections Pillow Drive. We have about 40 so far and hope to get around 100! I know that our Faith Community is super generous so I expect that we will be able to meet that goal. Other outreach activities going on include another i-Help weekend with an extra night on our campus. Several people will be teaming up to serve a potluck feast to our guests – I heard lasagna might be one of the main dishes so I might have to stop by and visit! I am very appreciative of Terri Weber who is our overnight host when i-Help guests are on campus – she does a great job with organizing and maintaining a structured program to keep our guests comfortable and safe!
Please sign up to volunteer at a booth or activity during our Fall Festival November 5. We will be teaming with the School Parents to supervise the games and activities that our Montessori students will be participating in! There will be sign up sheets in breezeway outside the Narthex. We still need 1 or 2 more chili cooks so if you’ve been waiting to cook up a kettle of chili – now’s the time!
Keep thinking about Stewardship as our campaign kicks off. Thanks to Brian Luce for a moving testimonial on the meaning of Stewardship. We look forward to another successful campaign this year.
Tyler Dixon
Sr. Warden
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Get Your "Baby Fix"!
Our Sunday morning (10:00) nursery needs volunteer assistants to help Holly rock, soothe, entertain, and return babies and toddlers to their parents for Holy Communion. This is a very important ministry that serves not just our little ones, but also the young parents who can enjoy time together in worship on Sunday mornings. Can you commit one Sunday service each month to serve? Please contact Debbie Quick for more information.
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Litany of Saints
On November 4th and 5th, we will celebrate All Saints Sunday. If you have the names of loved ones who have died since October 31, 2022, please email the names to the office for inclusion in our "Litany of the Saints" for remembrance on All Saints Sunday.
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Saturday Fellowship after the Service
Looking to connect with your fellow 5:00pm worshippers? Join the Bradley’s, Ms. Patty, and others at Wildflower on Litchfield Rd. after the service for food and fellowship.
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RePete Boutique Thrift Store
RePete Boutique Thrift Store
Winter boots, jackets, and apparel have arrived. Name brands!
Visit the thrift store Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 9am – noon.
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Do you Shop at Fry's? Help Our School!
If you have a Fry's VIP card, you can raise money for the school for free! Fry's will automatically donate funds to our school when you checkout using your linked VIP card (physical or digital). Linking is easy! Click here. |
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Social Emotional Learning
Recently, the school connected with Dr. Missy Gryder who runs a company that focuses on children’s Social & Emotional Learning. We worked out the opportunity for our church families to have access to the program alongside our school families.
St. Peter’s Montessori School has made this special course available to you for the next calendar year with three extra bonus months. Every month for 12 months, a new lesson will become available to you on an important social and emotional learning topic that will greatly benefit your family.
We hope you will take advantage of this offer that we are making available to all of you who have children or grandchildren.
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Parents of Addicted Loved Ones
Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL) offers free, weekly meetings in Goodyear, AZ that help parents and family members deal with the issues surrounding a loved one struggling with addiction by providing education, fellowship, and most importantly, hope. The meetings offer an evidence-based curriculum to help parents and family members learn healthy ways to deal with addiction challenges and provide support to exchange ideas and suggestions. The PAL meetings are open to parents, spouses, grandparents, siblings, and close friends, 18 and older. The Goodyear meetings are held Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., at Harvest Baptist Church, 535 N. Sarival Avenue, Goodyear, AZ 85338. Go to www.palgroup.org for information and locations throughout the valley.
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Sunday Night Meditation Meeting
A local AA group is hosting a weekly meditation meeting in Celebration Hall, beginning October 8, 4-5pm. All are welcome! If you’d like, bring a yoga mat. For more information, please contact Vivian Harris.
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Annual Fall Festival with the Montessori School November 5th @ 11am.
Watch for details as the date comes closer.
Our November 5th Fall Festival volunteer sign-ups will begin this weekend for 30 minute shifts for each of the 6 game booths. We also need festive cupcakes (spice cake was suggested by the Senior Warden) are needed for our Cup-Cake Walk booth. Finally - behind the scenes folks are also needed on the set-up and clean-up teams to ensure this event is a success for our St Peter’s community and Montessori School families. Contact any planning team member for more information!
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Food Bank Potato Bagging - 11th December
Ever wonder what it's like to bag 900lbs of potatoes? Wonder no more. Every year our youth group partners with the Agua Fria food bank and bags hundreds of pounds of potatoes to give to families in need. This year the ask is HUGE! St. Peter's youth with lead but we need all hands on deck to get this giant task done. The evening of December 11th we will prepare for nearly 1000 families to be blessed. There are jobs for all abilities.
Specific time and location forthcoming.
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Save the Date: Christmas in the Park Parade - 9th Dec
Join us for the annual Christmas in the Park event on Saturday, December 9th and walk in the parade to represent St. Peter’s.
Details to follow as the event gets closer.
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I-HELP 2024
The I-HELP 2024 Calendar is now available as a google.sheet for Meal Sign Ups and open to all. A home-cooked meal for 10-15 adults is needed every other Friday evening as we offer safe shelter, showers and laundry, with a shared evening meal to our guests. We also need bi-weekly donations of orange juice, milk and breakfast items which can be labeled for I-HELP and left in Celebration Hall kitchen, refrigerator or freezer.
Ministry Leads: Mike Ketcham and Michael Douglas
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St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Financial Summary through Sept 30th
Through September, congregational giving is up over the same time last year. We are slightly better than budgeted year to date. Our last three months are always our best giving months, and so we believe we can end the year in the black with your generous support. The vestry unanimously decided to devote 30% of all thrift store income this year to support our Outreach Ministries, believing that our congregation will support our mission budget and that we will end the year with strong giving. The Thrift Store income transfer to the operating budget is net after capital expenses and outreach fund transfers. Outreach income donations from the congregation are disbursed entirely as received as part of the Programs total shown.
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Diocesan Cycle of Prayer
We also pray for our companion Diocese: The Diocese of Western Mexico, Bishop Ricardo Gomez Osnaya.
Read the weekly email newsletter for the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona here. This newsletter includes reflections from The Rt. Rev. Bishop Jennifer Reddall, news, events, and updates throughout the diocese.
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Worship
Lay Led Worship Service on Zoom
(adapted from Celtic books and prayers)
Contact Deacon Gary
Saturday - 5pm
Holy Eucharist with the Primetime Band.
Sunday - 7:45am
Traditional Holy Eucharist
Sunday - 9:00am
Meditative Service
Sunday - 10am
Holy Eucharist
Children's Nursery Care Available
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Church Office Hours
The church office is staffed from 9:30-12:30 Tuesday-Thursday, and Friday 9:30 - 2:30 pm. Prior or after you can usually find Diane in the office across the patio, and James may be here except on fortunate Thursdays and Fridays.
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Contact
Phone: 623-935-3279
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