This Week at St. Peter | 11-27-22
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
2169 74th Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138
Church Office: 215-424-5122 Fax: 215-424-7841
e-mail address: stpetersinfo@yahoo.com
Revs. Gwendolyn Johnson-Bond & Neil A. Bond, Co-Pastors
🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆 🕆
First Sunday of Advent. 11-27-2022
First Sunday of the Church Year
WAKE UP!
We welcome all who have come to worship God this Advent Season, who wish to prepare themselves for Christ’s coming. Perhaps you sense that the Holy Spirit is leading you into a continuing fellowship with us here. Speak to the Pastors about Holy Baptism, church membership, and faithful discipleship. God’s love for us is greater than our sins, failings and fears. Don’t refuse it. Don’t abuse it. And don’t lose it in the clamor and clutter of what this world pimps as the “good life”.
TODAY
9:00AM Choir rehearsal.
10:00AM + ADVENT WORSHIP +
CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA PLANTS. To sponsor a plant in memory or in honor of someone or something, please submit an order form and payment – this year’s plants will cost $9.00 each – by December 11 to Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen.
Have you ever wondered why poinsettias are the flowers of Christmas? The flower is from Mexico, where a legend tells of a poor girl or a poor brother and sister with no gifts to give to the Christ child at Christmas. On the way to worship she gathers or they gather some weeds for a bouquet. When the bouquet is placed at the feet of the Christ child or of the Virgin Mary, beautiful red poinsettias suddenly bloom. Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the shape of the leaves were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem, and thus the plants became associated with the Christmas Season. The first United States ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, brought the plant to this country in 1828. The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow. But surrounding the flower are large, bright red leaves, often mistaken for the flower petals.
Some Christians have found meaning in the color of those red leaves as symbolic of Herod’s brutal slaughter of the innocent children in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus, or of Christ’s own future suffering and crucifixion, or of a passionate commitment by the believer to follow Christ. New colors of poinsettia plants have been developed over the years, and today there are many shades of red and pink, as well as whites, creams, purple, peach, yellow, neon orange, marbled, speckled, and bi-colored. Sometimes leaves are even dyed.
IT’S NEVER TOO SOON TO BE FAITHFUL.
BUT, ONE DAY, IT WILL BE TOO LATE…
ThiS week At st. peTer’s
Wednesday, 10:00AM Diane Hughes, volunteer office administration.
Wednesday, 10:30AM Senior Ministry “Games and Social Activities”.
Thursday, 7:30PM AL-ANON PROGRAM. Find encouragement to end your own codependence.
Friday, 8:00AM Senior Food Boxes will be distributed.
Friday, 6:30PM Girl Scouts.
Saturday, 10:00AM Women’s Ministry “Gathering”. Christmas crafts and tea party!
Saturday, 1:00PM ALL SAINTS CHOIR and CHRISTMAS CHOIR rehearsal. Add your voice
to the joyful rhythms of proclaiming Christ’s birth!
Saturday, 6:00PM Rental event in Rhoda Hall.
What’s Happening… .
December 4… SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. Hybrid Worship at 10:00AM.
December 4… Worship honoring Rev. Jehu Jones (who established the first African American Lutheran
congregation in 1834), held at Christ Lutheran Church, 7420 Walnut Street, Upper Darby, 3:00PM.
December 5… Property Committee meeting on Zoom, 7:00PM.
December 10… Eastern Star training event, 10:00 –11:00AM.
December 10… “Pop-Up Shop and Flea Market”, fundraising event, 1:00 – 5:00PM.
These will benefit our Building Fund. To secure a space or to get more information,
contact Elaine Jones.
December 11… THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. Hybrid Worship at 10:00AM.
Deadline for poinsettia plant orders.
December 12… Church Council meeting on Zoom, 7:00PM.
December 13… Area Girl Scout leaders meeting in Rhoda Hall, 7:00PM.
December 17… Decorate the sanctuary for Christmas. 9:00AM.
December 17… Girl Scouts “Investiture Service” in Rhoda Hall, 9:00AM.
December 17… Rental event in Rhoda Hall, 2:00PM.
December 18… FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. Pastor Clesha Staten preaching.
December 24… CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP. Hybrid Worship at 7:00PM. Celebrate JESUS!
December 25… CHRISTMAS DAY. ZOOM Worship at 10:00AM. Worship the BEST GIFT ever!
Giving.
Beyond regular and responsible support of Christ’s work that happens at and through St. Peter’s, there are additional ways to give gratefully and to share generously: (1) World Hunger offerings that go to our national E.L.C.A. denomination World Hunger Appeal and help relieve local, national, and international suffering through direct aid, development, and advocacy; (2) Lutheran Charities Appeal offerings that support three Philadelphia metro area social ministry organizations: KenCrest Services, Lutheran Settlement House, and Gemma Services, together serving over 30,000 of our neighbors with varied needs each year; (3) Mission offerings that, in 2022, will be split between two causes: No More Secrets which addresses inadequate access to menstrual sanitary products and hygiene education in Philadelphia… and Covenant House in the Germantown neighborhood which helps get homeless young adults off the streets, into a job, and transitioned into independent living. Please designate the purpose of any of your monetary gifts.