Letter From The Rector - St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Jim's Corner

“Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.… The scene in which this sentence appears takes place on a balcony attached to Juliet’s bedroom. The young lovers in this play talk to each other for a long time and fall in love.… They make a plan that Romeo will send Juliet a message the next morning about getting married. They can hardly tear themselves away from each other, and Juliet expresses her sadness that it should happen. However she is also anticipating the joy (the sweetness) that she feels is coming their way. They are to see each other soon and the sadness will be replaced by sweetness. Leaving Romeo hurts her and yet, although the parting is very painful the pain intensifies her feelings for him. And thus we have the ‘sweet sorrow.’” ¹

This quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet came to me as I sat down to write my parting article for The Call. It seems appropriate, as many of you have expressed some sorrow that Jeannine and I will have our last Sunday with you on July 14th. The “sweet sorrow” is that we are not leaving permanently. We are taking a sort of sabbatical from St. Peter’s to allow both you and us to have a healthy separation. Although we love you, we, at least, would feel awkward being in the position of Interim Rector one week, and the following week being in the role of parishioner, sitting in a pew. That might also cause some confusion in the congregation. You know, “how is he gone one week and back the next?” On the positive side, Jeannine will not be moving her membership from St. Peter’s, we will maintain our financial support for the parish, and we anticipate returning sometime in the fall. Of course, that depends on the person who follows me and the Diocese of Southern Virginia’s policy. However this situation develops, we will be back in God’s time.

It has been a privilege to serve as your Interim Rector. We have accomplished a lot over the past two years. I say “we” because no one person could accomplish the many advancements we have made. I list them, not out of pride, but to give you a sense of the momentum that we have at St. Peter’s. So, let’s begin at the beginning when Jeannine and I came to you. It started with nine months of interim ministry training by the Interim Ministry Network (IMN) based in Baltimore, Maryland. I completed the training and was certified by IMN on August 7, 2023. During this training, a Transition Team was formed in June of 2023 to help prepare the way for the formation of a Search Committee for a new rector. This Search Committee was successfully organized on November 28th.

I am sure you recall the series of four Formation Events led by Canon Lynn Farlin last September and October. In January of this year the vestry took the information gathered at these Formation Events and revised our Mission and Vision Statements to short, pithy, memorable statements. Our Mission Statement is: We celebrate the love of Christ and proclaim our faith by welcoming and serving all. Our Vision Statement follows: St. Peter’s is a vibrant, thriving community of all ages with a focus on outreach, fellowship, and faith. When we live into our mission, the vision will follow.

One of the outcomes of the Formation Events was the recognition of the need to thank those who have served St. Peter’s over the years. We realize that there are many to thank for maintaining our beautiful parish, and we value all of the members of the congregation’s efforts to keep this a thriving parish. One of the first thoughts that came to mind was to honor Roger & Bonnie Rennick and Bruce Comfort for the many years of serving in and remodeling the parish kitchen. Consequently, On Sunday, November 19, 2023, the kitchen was officially named The Rennick – “Comfort” Kitchen.

Liturgically, the 8 A.M. Rite I Holy Eucharist was brought back in September of 2022. We have seven individuals who usually attend this service. White and blue altar, pulpit, and ambo (lectern) hangings were purchased to glorify our Lord and add beauty to the sanctuary during Advent, Christmas, and Easter. We are using the full variety of Eucharistic Prayers and Prayers of the People afforded by the Book of Common Prayer in both Rite I and Rite II. We were able to acquire some vestments (chasubles and stoles), as well as a chalice and paten as gifts from the diocese. The organ was overhauled and brought back to being a quality performing instrument, glorifying God and bringing joy to our worship services. Finally, due to the difficulty in securing the service of supply priests, six individuals have stepped up to lead Morning Prayer worship on Sundays when a supply clergy person is not available. They were trained to lead Morning Prayer on June 1st and June 8th of 2024. You will be spiritually cared for.

Administratively, the vestry was brought back to its full complement of nine, though one vestry member needed to resign for personal reasons. Our hope is that the Lord will lead another member of the congregation to step forward to serve on this important leadership team. With Vel Shreve’s retirement as Office Administrator and Assistant Director of the Day School after forty years, Laura Kallestad was hired to take those positions. Laura is doing a marvelous job in both roles and, I would highlight, the juggling required to keep the Day School staffed, advertised, and enrolled with students. The vestry determined that drawing up a set of bylaws, or guidelines, for the parish would provide clarity and order to our common life. Such bylaws were drawn up and adopted by the vestry at the April 2024 vestry meeting. Also, a Flower Guild organically formed with the purpose of arranging the flowers at the altar on Sunday. It has been a joy to witness how beautiful the flowers are, and at a dramatic savings.

Our fellowship Coffee Hour has been restored with the efforts of all those who generously provide refreshments after each service. Laughter and lively conversations can be heard throughout the building during this time. This Sunday morning fellowship is a vital part of strengthening our community.

Another important element of our community is ongoing Christian education. We have committed teachers who dedicate their time to teaching our elementary age children about the love of our Lord and how to share his love with others. For the adults, there are two Bible study groups that meet weekly to discuss the Scriptures that will be heard the coming Sunday during worship. Bruce Comfort has accepted the call to continue the Thursday Bible study I have been leading. Bruce will begin on Thursday, July 18th, at 1030 A.M. in the Diffenbaugh Library. Thank you, Bruce. We have continued our Vacation Bible School in the summer focusing on a biblical theme for the children to learn. Additionally, Kimberly Truxell took the initiative to offer a Bible study on the Book of Genesis last fall.

The Cursillo Community at St. Peter’s faithfully meets every Wednesday evening for Group Reunion. St. Peter’s members are also active on the Cursillo Secretariat on the diocesan level and volunteer to make Cursillo weekends happen at Camp Chanco. It was my privilege to serve with Papa John+, Bruce Comfort, and Laura Kallestad at the Fall Cursillo Weekend of 2022.

St. Peter’s is a strong parish with excellent lay leadership. The Search Committee is working diligently to find and screen candidates for the position of Rector of this parish. The Search Committee Chair, Vel Shreve, is in constant contact with the diocese and the whole committee is doing its best to find the person called to be the next clergy leader for St. Peter’s. In God’s time, I believe someone will emerge.

From all of this, you can see that St. Peter’s is a thriving parish with great potential. You are moving in the right direction, and you are accomplishing a lot. Just because there is a gap in clergy leadership does not mean that the good work going on at St. Peter’s should pause or even slow down. Every one of you makes up this community and every one of you has an important part to play in the life of this parish. The best “gift” you could give Jeannine and me would be to continue and expand upon the work you are now doing. Jeannine and I want to thank you for warmly welcoming us into this community. We have made many friends and expect to maintain those friendships. For the immediate future we look forward to worshipping together in the same pew, doing things together at home, reading, taking some DVD based courses on Roman History, American History, Reason and Faith, The History of Christianity, and The Era of the Crusades. Yes, I enjoy good continuing education and I love history. If you are wondering, no, we do not anticipate traveling very far or taking any extended trips anywhere. We will just enjoy being together.

I have spoken with Bishop Haynes about working at the diocesan level in the area of evangelism. I love sharing Jesus’ Story and helping folks relate his Story with their stories. I’ve offered to make myself available to any congregation in the diocese that would like to learn more about evangelism and how to do evangelism. She seemed interested in my offer, so now I have to wait and see what she decides to do.

I hope you sense the momentum I referred to earlier. I believe St. Peter’s is here to stay. All we have to do is to do our part and know that the Lord is working to bring the right person to be our next pastor. God bless all of you.

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¹	Parting is such sweet sorrow, Meaning and Content,” n.d., https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/famous/parting-is-such-sweet-sorrow/.