We will be taking our group (grades 9-12) camping in the Dismal Canyons of North Alabama May 4-5. Far from a dismal trip, this time together will focus on God’s creation and how we can take part in it. We will depart from the church at 4:30 p.m. and return around lunch on Saturday, May 5.

While camping, we will visit the Dismal Canyons, the only place in North America that has the Dismalites (glow worms). We will eat dinner and breakfast at the campsite so each person should bring whatever food they will need. We will have some tents, but if you have one that could be used, please let us know.

For more details or questions, contact Paul Martin.

Make sure you fill out a Release Form is you intend to go.

Come and receive Grace for Your Journey as we discover powerful choices in powerless places. With mesmerizing stories and relevant Scripture, Jane Rubietta will lead us hand-in-hand with God toward the Promised Land. It’s a journey you won’t want to miss!

Friday, March 9
6:30 Registration
7:00 – 9:00 Session

Saturday, March 10
8:30 Registration
9:00 – 1:00 Sessions

Pre-registration $20
Day of registration $25
Lunch is Provided
Pre-register for childcare up through 2nd grade
for more information, contact Marjean Brooks - 991-6655

Special Ash Wednesday Service: February 22nd @ 6:30. This powerful time of worship marks the beginning of our Lenten journey (traditionally the season of Lent has been a time of penance, reflection and devotion in preparation for the great festival of Easter). The service will include the imposition of ashes, as well as preaching and communion. Nursery through 2^nd grade will be available, but as always children are welcome in the service. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending!

(*there will be no meal served before the service)

A Note on Ordered Worship

We believe that ordered worship sets us free.  C.S. Lewis compared this to learning to dance.  At first, we are thinking about the steps, conscious of each movement.  At this state we are not yet really dancing, and can’t dance well with others.  But as we learn the steps, we begin to be free to dance, because we know the steps by heart and can enjoy the movement and the moment.  The pattern we have learned for dancing helps us to coordinate with others dancing with us, and move in one motion.  Ordered worship is not created to stifle the Holy Spirit or to limit us, instead it frees us to join together as one voice in praise to God.  It gives us that pattern by which we can together “dance” in God’s presence.

Sunday Services

We follow the Book of Common Prayer, our heritage of worship in a simple, catholic and reformational worship tradition.  By ‘catholic’, we mean the faith and order of the early Church and the Faithful throughout Church history, and by ‘reformational’, we mean the foundation of Scripture and lively faith renewed at the Reformation, during the evangelical revivals, and the renewal movements.  The pattern of Word and Sacrament has been present in Christian worship from the earliest days of the Church. Although there are many distinctively Anglican customs, the shape of the liturgy is a historic, Christian pattern.

Our next term for Wednesday night discipleship has begun and we have some great offerings for you. One of the best ways to get to know the wonderful people of St. Peter’s is to participate in our Wednesday night discipleship focus. This term’s offerings are sure to bring you closer to Jesus.

Heart and Mind

The words of God challenge us in our daily lives. Many of us want to live either in our thoughts or our feelings while abandoning the other. The same word that challenges us also tells us to love or Lord with our heart and mind. This study, led by our interim pastor Victor Oliver, will cover these challenges through Biblical principles. An excellent video presentation will accompany discussions.

Hezekiah: King of Judah and Reformer

In terms of the acute crisis he had to confront and the brazen challenges to his confidence in God, Hezekiah could well be our contemporary. Hezekiah’s struggle was akin to ours when circumstances are grim and enemy forces seek to undermine our trust in God. Moreover, he also had to deal with the monster of human pride that haunts our thoughts when conditions are favorable. Hezekiah is typically human and a study of the man exposes the various tendencies of the heart that believes in God but battles with its own weakness and waywardness in anxiety and prosperity. Led by Roger Salter.

Prayer

Also joining our offerings is our very own Glandion Carney  and Mike Furlong leading a subject they are familiar with – prayer. Together and with special guests, they will explore the motivations and expectations that drive us to our knees. They will also study the role of prayer in our relationships with God and each other.

As you can see, this is a rich opportunity to expand your soul in new growth. We hope that we all can honor this opportunity by setting aside the many things that distract us from growing in our faith and make it a priority to attend. Our new session begins Wednesday, January 11 and continues for 6 weeks.

Youth Ministry

The youth will be looking at how heritage informs our present identity. Through looking back into our church history, we can see who we are today. Likewise, through looking into our own individual past, we see a picture of our present selves in Christ.

Children’s Ministry

This semester, our theme is Pray around the World.  We are looking at different countries in the world to learn about their customs and cultures, to hear about the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters there, to hear about the prayer requests of these countries, and to pray for them.  We are doing this by inviting people who have lived or served in these countries to share with us.

We will have great opportunities to have a lot of fun this semester as we learn that:

1.  Our relationship with Jesus means that we are brothers and sisters with people around the world who also love and trust Him.  While we are different because of our cultures, there are people in every country who trust Jesus, and we are all a family together.

2.  One way we can love our brothers and sisters who are far away is to pray for them.  We will practice praying for our brothers and sisters, and we will also pray for those in other countries who do not know, trust, or love Jesus.  We will pray for our brothers and sisters as they share their faith with other people who do not know the Lord.

These resources can be found locally through the Cokesbury Bookstore at Beeson Divinity School, on Samford’s campus or at a local Christian bookstore.

The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas, by Dean Meador Lambert, from Abingdon Press.

This wonderful little book uses the medieval church Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree in order to provide daily devotionals with two tracks, one for adults and one for families with children. It is brief and fairly simple and is customizable for each family, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for nightly family devotionals throughout the season. It could become an annual family tradition!

Jotham’s Journey, by Arnold Ytreeide, from Jericho Quill Press

This storybook devotional is a creative take on Advent.  Follow the fictional story of 10-year old Jotham, who lives in ancient Palestine and discovers the miracle of the first Christmas.  The first in a trilogy of three Advent devotional storybooks, this text captures imaginations and hearts of children and adults ages 5 and up. It is broken into daily readings—don’t peek ahead!  Although I have not read the entire book, I have skimmed it and was captivated.

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, selected readings, from the Plough Publishing House.

This text is appropriate for adults or families with older children and includes writings from authors across the span of Christianity, broken into daily devotional reading format. The writers include people ranging from C.S. Lewis to John Donne to Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Phillip Yancey to William Willimon, and it has come to me highly recommended. This text, unfortunately, is the only one that cannot be purchased at Cokesbury. It is out of print, but is available on Amazon for a very affordable price.

What is Advent? Preparing for Christmas, by Marcia Stoner, from Abingdon Press.

This booklet is geared for children and their families and uses a combination of puzzles and brief written blurbs to look at Advent through Scripture and traditions. It provides activities for the entire advent season. This would be a great purchase for each child (or member!) of the family and at just a couple of dollars apiece, the price certainly allows for that.

What We Do In Advent: An Anglican Kids’ Activity Book, by Anne E. Kitch, from Morehouse Publishing.

This children’s activity book has great Advent information from both Scripture and tradition in a fun, interesting, and accessible format. It is intended for use throughout Advent, allowing kids a different activity or discussion for each night. It is geared for ages 4-7 and can be enjoyed by even younger pre-readers with parent involvement.

Websites

Reflection and Advice on Advent

Though Roman Catholic, this article is still useful in considering what we do in Advent. It has great tips about keeping Advent a simple, thoughtful season. By searching on catholicmom.com for the keyword “Advent,” there are also lots of free kids activities that relate to the season.

Advent Wreaths

This site gives easy, understandable information on the background and purpose of Advent wreaths. It explains how to make them and gives a brief example for weekly Advent readings.

Advent Calendar

This Advent calendar has directions for a nightly Advent wreath, a nightly Scripture reading, songs and activities for each day. It makes Scripture reading as a family easy and includes an Advent wreath each night.

Weekly Advent Family Devotionals

This online, printable family devotional is targeted for families with children from 3^rd-5^th grade, but could be used for a range of kids and adults.

This year we are using the Advent devotional from the Mosaic Bible. Pick up a copy in the Arc.

“Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord! ” is the Prophet’s cry; and we again prepare our hearts for the celebration of the coming King with the season of Advent. Don’t be overwhelmed by the shopping and the advertising, the parties and the pressure. Spend some time pondering the meaning of Christmas. Slow down a little, pray a little, or maybe a lot. Come and worship with us these next Sundays of Advent and prepare to celebrate the day that changed the world forever!

Please note that this year we will have one service on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24th, at 4:00 p.m. It will be a special, family friendly time of worship; with caroling and communion. We will have a string quartet from the Alabama Symphony to help lead our praises.

There will be a nursery available for children through second grade, but of course children of all ages are welcome in the service!

Also, look at our Children’s Advent programming here.

Good Morning, SUPER JANE!
Hello, SUPER CLAYTON!
How was your week, SUPER OBEDIAH?

Every child is SUPER in Mrs. Joan Watkins’  9am  K-3rd Grade Sunday School Class. A row of capes hang along the wall and children are encouraged to pick a cape – if they want. It’s okay to dress up and okay not to. Choices of this or that are encouraged. “I believe that a child that is growing strong decision-making skills will become more self-sufficient, and as a result develop self-confidence. I believe that God wants our children to have a healthy love and respect for themselves. After all, He certainly loves and adores them!”

The theme of SUPER CHARACTER began as a sweet whisper of the Holy Spirit in Joan’s ear during the children’s summer mission project. The thought blossomed into an outline for the 2011-2012 curriculum. The theme is simple and fun – SUPER CHARACTER. The title has multiple meanings. The most obvious is the super hero aspect which grabs the amazement of the children and yields to a colorful and delightful theme for the classroom. The other meanings get to the heart of the matter:

* Each child is a SUPER character. An incredible person created, loved and designed with purpose and talent.

* God wants to grow within each child super CHARACTER. To know what that character looks like, the children get into God’s word together.

* Children can have a positive impact on their world – at home, school and at play – by demonstrating SUPER CHARACTER. Practical application and discussion of real-life situations are part of the class each week. There is an strong emphasis on praying for God’s help in every situation.

“Try, try, try to be good” is not the message. “Listen to God and yield to the Holy Spirit’s work within you and HE will grow these marvelous characteristics in you and they will flow from you, spilling upon those you come in contact with!” Through scripture memorization, learning the books of the Bible, learning to use tools such as a concordance, and finding the address of a given passage are all part of the class each Sunday.

“It is amazing to me to watch a child begin the class as a Kindergartner and keeping the place without letting their Bible fall shut after I’ve help them find the scripture is a big accomplishment. By the time they hit first grade they are finding the reference on their own, then in the second and third grade they are assisting the younger children and sharing their own insights about the verses we are reading. It is a beautiful process to watch a child’s heart and mind open to God’s Word!” Joan says.

SERVANT HOOD, the newest Super Character, seeks and receives God’s goodness, developing his gifts from our Heavenly Father so that he might serve others well. Through November and December the focus will be service at home, church, school, in the community and in our world. The scripture focus is Mark 5: 35-45 – to be truly valuable we must serve others as Jesus served.

SUPER CHARACTER @ 9am K-3rd Grade Sunday School Class

Can you imagine… a life of complete fulfillment?

So often in our lives we experience frustration for just one reason. We are trying to do things in which we weren’t created to do. Teen are especially known for this paradigm.

What if you were a toaster and all you wanted in life was to make coffee. Could you see yourself pouring coffee grounds into your slots, then water? It would be a disaster.

That is very similar to the life of someone trying to do the things they aren’t created for. Add adolescence to the mix and it’s nothing short of a setup. Every teen constantly polls their peers and their culture for the things they should do, what they should look like and who they are.

On this retreat, we will be asking very specific questions about identity and, with God’s help, we will get some answers. We will point out the myth of trying to measure up to everyone else. And we will also eat a lot of bacon.

Please encourage your child to participate and grow closer to God through practicing faith.

The Youth ministry’s next retreat is coming up soon. November 11-13 we will visit Gray Rocks Lodge and wrestle with some basic questions.

Click here for the Release Form.

What to bring form.

Hearing God Part 6c (Dallas Willard and Bill Heatley)

Hearing God Part 6b (Bill Heatley)

Hearing God Part 6a (Bill Heatley)

Hearing God Part 5 (Dallas Willard)

Hearing God Part 4 (Dallas Willard)

Hearing God Part 3 (Dallas Willard)

Hearing God Part 2 (Bill Heatley)

Hearing God Part 1 (Dallas Willard)

Dallas Willard – Sunday Morning – 08/07/2011