News
Still Going Strong
Today is Friday. It's June. It is absolutely gorgeous out. Have you remembered to give thanks to God that you are alive?
As beautiful as it is, and as strong as the lure of summer in Rhode Island is upon our hearts and pale bodies (well, mine is), I want to remind you of a few things coming up at St. Peter's. It's possible to relax, enjoy the beauty of God's glorious creation, bask in the sun, and still retain your strong connections with our church community and the wonderful work we are about as
Posted By Casey on June 02nd
Bishop Search Process
The Nomination and Transition Committees now are in place for the process to elect the next bishop of Rhode Island. The committees will begin their work June 3-4 at a retreat hosted by St. Mary’s, Portsmouth.
Lora MacFall, a member of St. Andrews-by-the-Sea in Little Compton, will chair the Search & Nomination Committee, which will develop a profile to describe our diocese, solicit nominations for bishop, screen nominees and then present final names to the electing convention.
Other laypersons serving on
Posted By Casey on June 01st
The Hope Within Us
The epistle for Sunday comes from the first letter of Peter, and it includes this line: "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you." What a profoundly counter-cultural thing, to be ready at every moment to speak a word of hope. Usually, folks in our society are ready at every moment to speak a word of busyness, or anxiety, or boredom.
You know what I'm talking about. "How's it going," we casually ask one another--friends and
Posted By Casey on May 27th
Chicken Little
It's time to weigh in on the whole "world is ending at 6pm" thing. If you haven't heard the news, a Christian pastor in California, who leads a network of radio and television programs, has declared that the end times begin tonight at 6pm. It's been all over the news, as even the steady string of fear-mongering that is our local nightly news can't compete with the end of the world. Hopefully you have been suspicious from the start.
Hopefully you recognized in this man's predictions the dubiousness of his
Posted By Casey on May 21st
St. John Chrysostom's Easter Sermon
Are there any who are devout lovers of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!
Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!
Are there any weary from fasting?
Let them now receive their due!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their reward.
If any have come after the third hour,
let them with gratitude join in the feast!
Those who arrived after the sixth hour,
let them not doubt; for they shall not be
Posted By Casey on April 24th
Invitation to a Holy Week
Tomorrow morning, children are invited to come at 10am and walk the way of the cross. It will be an opportunity to experience the story of Jesus' Passion using every sense and all of our imagination. We'll recreate the entire story--from the joy of Palm Sunday, through the Last Supper, into Gethsemane, through the tragedy of the cross, down into the tomb...and then...back out again. It is so important that children have an opportunity to engage with this story, to learn it and feel it. We do
Posted By Casey on April 15th
Worship During Holy Week
Holy Week is the most sacred time in the Church, when we commemorate the events of Jesus’ final week leading to his crucifixion. It begins with his entry into Jerusalem, and includes his final meal with his friends, washing their feet, praying fervently in Gethsemane, betrayal by Judas, the strange trial before Pilate and his execution. Christians believe that every aspect of this week is sacred, and especially the Triduum (Maundy Thursday through the Great Vigil of Easter). Each service is
Posted By Casey on April 14th
The Gospel Come to Life
The New Testament contains four different accounts of the life of Jesus--four different takes on the story of a 1st century Jewish itinerant rabbi who was executed by the political authorities, and who mystically, surprisingly, didn't stay dead. There are four versions of this story instead of one because when four different people observe the same event, they tell the story of that event in different ways. Each perspective is unique. Elements of the story that are less important to one will stand
Posted By Casey on April 08th
The Lord's Prayer
In Adult Forum right now we're discussing the Lord's Prayer. Many of you have heard me joke that the first prayer I remember learning was Now I Lay Me, but the Our Father was not long on its heels (and is ever so much a better prayer, too). Perhaps for you, too, this prayer was among the very first things you ever memorized and recited, and has been with you so long you can't even remember not knowing it.
Familiarity is a blessing. Spiritual disciplines are often things that we do out of habit because
Posted By Casey on April 01st
