January Spire

Anti-racism training; New international partnership; Hymnathon

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Looking Around Us, and Looking Within

In the immediate aftermath of the election in November, many people at St. Peter’s expressed distress, anger, or fear. They, along with Sean and me, asked, “What can we do? What should our response be?”

We all had a deep desire to do something—and do it quickly. And, while there are definitely things we can do in the short term (raise our voices in protest, call our Senators and Representatives regularly), there is no short-term solution to our nation’s problems. No short-term solution to the long festering wounds of racism, misogyny, xenophobia.

So, our response needs to have both short-term and long-term components, and our response needs to be rooted in the baptismal covenant; to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Our response is to be agents of God’s peace and justice in a broken and hurting world, to care for the lost, the lonely, the sick, the stranger, the immigrant, the outcast. It is to recognize that all, without exception, are beloved children of God. Which sounds great (because it is), and at the same time, it is very hard. It requires a lot of work. And the first part of that work is to open our eyes to see and feel the pain of the vulnerable and the oppressed around us. And not just looking around us, but also the uncomfortable work of looking within.

So, as Sean and I discussed with both the social justice group and the vestry, part of our work as a predominantly white congregation is to learn more about our own implicit biases as well as develop a deeper understanding of systemic racism and injustice. It is only when we have done this work that we will be able to truly walk beside and collaborate with our Black and Brown sisters and brothers in Christ, that we will be able to participate in challenging and dismantling an unjust system.

So to that end, I urge you to join me at a workshop in the theater of St. Peter’s School at 9 a.m. on Saturday, February 4. The workshop will be run by Training for Change, a Philadelphia-based group that does national trainings for activism. While Sean and I strongly invite and encourage all parishioners to participate in this training, some elements will be particularly applicable to more deeply engaging white people in the work of anti-racism.

Click here to register.

Here is a brief description of the workshop:

In a nonjudgmental, supportive setting, participants will...

Build confidence in their ability to address racism through action; increase their understanding of how racism functions and what their role in it is; explore their internal racism and barriers to working on it; develop a personal vision for racial justice; build their skills in being accountable allies to people of color and working in coalitions; develop strategies for interrupting racist situations; increase their ability to support other white people doing racial justice work; and build an action plan of concrete next steps.

This work will not be easy, but it is work we are called to do. As I said in my homily on November 9 “we will find the strength to do it together because while it feels like Good Friday is hard upon us right now, we are an Easter people. A people of courage and hope.”

It is such a blessing and privilege to do ministry with you—to walk part of your faith journey with you. I look forward to walking a little further down the road with you on February 4.

Peace,

Claire+

International Partnership Visioning Meeting

12:30 p.m. January 8

At the Parish House, 313 Pine Street

Please join Claire and Sean to dream together about possibilities for a new international partnership for St. Peter's.

For many years, St. Peter's has had a vibrant partnership with the Canterbury School in Guatemala. Many St. Peter's parishioners have made friends in Guatemala through this partnership, and St. Peter's has also contributed a great deal toward improving the school's facilities and infrastructure. As a result, the school's enrollment has grown significantly, and they are now able to be self-sufficient.

As a result, it's time for St. Peter's to find a new partner community, and we're seeking your ideas and input. Building relationships with Christians from other parts of the world is a vital way to expand and deepen our personal faith and our understanding of Christianity as a global religion. By forming intercultural relationships, we learn to see both what is universal about following Jesus as well as how Christian discipleship is practiced differently in diverse cultural contexts. At a recent gathering of the Global Episcopal Mission Network, Presiding Bishop Curry told attendees: "Jesus consistently calls us to a higher self and is a consistent challenge to our way of being...Jesus is very often not simply ‘Good News’ but often ‘new news.'" Traveling to other cultural contexts and building relationships with God's people in those places is one vital way for us to experience "new news" about Jesus and to be transformed in the process.

Please join us for this visioning meeting. If you cannot attend but would like to share ideas, please email Sean at lanigan@stpetersphila.org.

You're Invited to St. Peter's first Hymnathon!

12:15 p.m. Sunday, January 22

Following the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, January 22, stick around for a potluck lunch, an opportunity to sing your favorite hymns, and help raise funds to send our choristers to England for their 2017 Residency at Saint Paul's Cathedral, London!

Need more EXTREME Hymnody? Experiencing a dearth of TOTALLY RAD hymns in your life? Missing "The Old Rugged Cross," "In the garden" or "Blessed assurance?" Now is your chance to sing your favorite hymns!

Raffle tickets (5 for $10) will be available for sale at a table following Sunday services on January 8 and 15. Tickets will also be for sale at the Hymnathon on January 22. Write the name of a hymn of your choice on each ticket. There are three ways to play:

Blue ticket raffle—If we pick your blue ticket, we’ll sing your hymn! The more tickets you buy, the better the odds are that your favorite hymn will be selected!
Red ticket raffle—The winner of this raffle will get to choose to have one hymn not sung at St. Peter's for an entire year! (rector approval required of course)
Want to be sure your favorite hymn is sung at the Hymnathon? Make a $100 donation for a “guaranteed hymn.”

The Hymnathon will begin with a potluck lunch at the Parish House directly after the service (you can purchase tickets and enter the raffle during lunch). We will then head over to the church to choose and sing the winning hymns. Please bring heavy finger foods to share for the potluck.

A good time is guaranteed to be had by all and you'll be supporting a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our choristers as they sing daily services at Saint Paul's Cathedral next summer!

New Information about George Croghan

Submitted by Libby Browne

We have recently learned from Allan Hasbrouck, a Christ Church member and volunteer in their archives, that George Croghan (1718-1782), who is buried in our churchyard, was a friend and rival of George Washington from the time of the French and Indian War.

Croghan’s grave is located to the right of the pathway to the school, near Charles Willson Peale’s monument. One wonders if George Washington paused to remember his friend and rival when he visited St. Peter’s in the years after Croghan’s death. Read more on the St. Peter's blog.

Announcements

Welcome Recent Visitors:

Sonia, Indramil and Kiryn Dasgupta

Congratulations

Fiona Claire Dunne, daughter of Kat and Stephen Dunne, was born on January 1, 2017.

Thank You:

Leslie Ross for making the bows for the Christmas wreaths.
All liturgical ministers who served at the Christmas services.
Nancy Fago and Marcia Rogers for their tireless work in our archives.
Allie Vail for hosting the December Supper & Scripture.

What's Going On

Annual Parish Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held after the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, January 29. Lunch will be provided.

Bishop's Bible Challenge

Join Bishop Gutierrez on a year-long journey through the Bible starting in January. Visit www.diopa.org/bishops-bible-challenge to register and learn more.

Upcoming Events

TNT Brews & Beliefs
7 p.m. Wednesday, January 4

Following the Star: An Epiphany Bible Study
10 a.m. Sunday, January 8

On Being
12:15 p.m. Sunday, January 8

International Partnership Visioning Meeting
12:30 p.m. Sunday, January 8

St. Peter's Youth Group
12:30 p.m. Sunday, January 8

Knitting Group
5 p.m. Tuesday, January 10

Book Group
7 p.m. Tuesday, January 10

Sunday@10: Views from the Pews
10 a.m. Sunday, January 15

Social Justice Team Meeting
12:30 p.m. Sunday, January 15

Roundtable for Newcomers
12:30 p.m. Sunday, January 15

Via (Forties & Fifties)
12:45 p.m. Sunday, January 15

Sages Gathering
12:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 18

TNT Supper & Scripture
7 p.m. Wednesday, January 18

Sunday@10: The Book of Revelation
10 a.m. Sunday, January 22

Hymnathon and Potluck
12:15 p.m. Sunday, January 22

Sunday@10: The Book of Revelation
10 a.m. Sunday, January 29

Parish Annual Meeting
12:30 p.m. Sunday, January 29

Click here to view our full calendar.

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St. Peter's is a church on a mission: To embody the love of God as Christ's heart, mind, and hands.

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