St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

Smyrna, Delaware

UPCOMING INSPIRATIONS

e-Weekly

September 3, 2026

Service Bulletin for Sunday, September 6th

September 7th- Happy Labor Day

WEEKLY MUSINGS FROM SARAH

My friends,

Some of my best fodder comes from my experience as a parent and from my five amazing children. In life there seems to be a reciprocity among things. 

This past Christmas my second son Caleb gave me a small book, “It’s a Beautiful Day” written by Fred Rogers. The book is designed as a book of days: a short paragraph for each day of the year. As I read the book each day, I can hear Mr. Rogers voice sharing comfort and ballast in a world that often seems overwhelming. 

You guessed it, one of the first entries begins with iconic Mr. Rogers, “You are special. There is nobody just Iike you.” Simple, straightforward, and understanding. Not some brilliant novel thought. Instead, just a profound reminder of what we already know to be true. 

Obviously, I am enjoying this practice with Mr. Rogers. It reminds me of the song from the Bernstein Mass, written for the opening of The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The song begins with a dark stage left in shambles after everything seems to have fallen apart. A single boy on a stage lit by only the single candle he holds. The child’s single voice begins, “Sing God a simple song Lauda Laude. For God is the simplest of all.”

Mr. Rogers sure had it right. It’s not always complicated. At the core God is the simplest of all.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Every Thursday- Bell Practice begins at 6:00 pm and Choir practice begins at 7:00 pm.

SEPTEMBER 2026

September 13^th– Celebration Brunch in honor of the search committee and recognition for the hard work they have done over the past year to find us a new rector. Brunch will be following the 9:00 am service.

September 18^th and 19^th– Crafting Fundraiser– $30 includes both days (Friday, September 18th 3:00 pm-10 pm and Saturday, September 19^th –9 am to 10 pm) See Dawn Adams to register at skittnu@gmail.com or text/call (302) 233-1095.

September 20^th– Vestry meeting following the 9:00 am service.

September 27^th– Fundraiser meeting following the 9:00 am service.

OCTOBER 2026

October 3^rd – “Witch’s” Tea Fundraiser. We are still in need of gift cards or baskets for the raffle. Please see Dorris Wheeler to sign up to donate something or to purchase tickets.

October 4^th – Reverend Sarah Nelson’s First Sunday celebrating here at St. Peter’s Church. There will be a Welcome Brunch following the 9:00 am service.

October 9^th and 10^th– Crafting Fundraiser– $50 includes both days (Friday, October 9th 3:00 pm-10 pm and Saturday, October 10^th –9 am to 10 pm) More information to follow. See Dawn Adams to register at skittnu@gmail.com or text/call (302) 233-1095.

October 10^th– Saturday, Sacred Ground Garden Planting. Garden is located on the side of the church. Please join us as we plant local flowers to bloom in the spring. Time to be announced. See Shirley Biddle for details.

October 11^th–Blessing of the Animals. Bring your pet or a picture of your pet to be blessed during the service. All animals welcome!

October 17^th– NEW Fundraiser— Dinner Theater. Event will be held at the American Legion from 4:30pm-8pm. The show is Monster Mash Murder Mystery with spaghetti dinner included. Cost is $60 per person. Funds will be used to cover the cost of the new roof. Look for more information to follow in the coming weeks. Please see Shirley Biddle on how you can help.

October 18^th– Vestry meeting following the 9:00 am service.

“Cover the Roof” of St. Peter’s

We have collected $19,883 as of August 31^st for the roof project. 

The new roof and gutter installation have been completed. The total cost of the project was $129,190.

Look for more information about our Dinner Theater Fundraiser in October to support the roof project. 

There are special yellow envelopes marked “Cover the Roof” for the contributions/pledges at each entrance to the church. When writing a check for your contribution/pledge, make the check out to St. Peter’s Church with a note on the memo line “Cover the Roof”.

The Vestry thanks each of you for your commitment, your contributions, and your prayers. We cannot do this without you!! All donations collected enable us to reduce the withdrawal from the investment account.

St. Peter’s accepts online donations to support our on going mission and ministries. Please click HERE to support our mission. Thank you in advance for your support and donation to our ministries.

Diocesan News…..

Click HERE to see what is going on in the diocese.

Thank you to everyone who supported the August Outreach of Backpacks for Education for students at North Smyrna Elementary School. 

We collected 63 backpacks. This is a record number of backpacks collected since the fundraiser began.

Thank you to Terry Merrill for coordinating the event and delivering the backpacks to the school.

Look for more information to come on October’s Outreach Event for the Annual Smyrna/Clayton Ministerium’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

We “Thank” everyone who donates to all the outreach opportunities and food pantry over the year. Your generosity is appreciated by the outreach committee and all the various organizations who received the support. 

Game Time

Have You Seen This?-Will return later in the fall. We are taking a break as we remodel the hallways and update the bulletin boards.

Continue to look around to see how beautiful our church is!

Local Events

Images through Church Online Subscription, Account # 74074931

Images downloaded for free on Unsplash.com