Praise and Worship Ministry
The Worship Ministry continues to play a vital role in the spiritual
life and health of our congregation here at St. Peter’s.
God has blessed this ministry with faithful and dedicated
people who serve week after week and oftentimes year after year
because they are called to glorify the Lord with their time and
talents; this is truly the heart attitude of worship.
The mission for Worship Ministry is always, always to glorify the
Lord with the sacrifice of praise and the offering of our hearts and
lives for His honor and for His purpose.
Our vision is to shape and fashion this ministry according to
the needs of our church body and the resources that God provides.
Our vision may change size and shape, but our focus and
mission remain the same
The Praise Ensemble serves on the frontline of our worship
ministry every week.
Their dedication and commitment is amazing and steadfast. There are
10 singers in the ensemble, and I am continually amazed at how God
has blessed and anointed this group well beyond its numbers.
Our newest members are: Mary Ann Cox and her parents, Chris
and Beverly Gaddy. No
wonder the Choir feels like family when we’re together!
We are all grateful to have Joe Bifano as our drummer with
Todd Cambron filling in when needed.
We have added two guitarists to our ranks: Bob Cox on
electric guitar and Gary Babcock on bass guitar.
All of these folks are team players which speaks volumes
about Who they put first in their lives and in this ministry. Go
Team!
The Worship Ministry would be at a great disadvantage without
the ministries of Eddie Haley and Kim Fooshee with the Sound
Ministry and Pam and Les Holman with the Projection Ministry.
These people often go
unnoticed because they do such a great job week in, week out which
is certainly a huge compliment to them, of course.
Evelyn Baldwin is another person we would never want to take
for granted in the Worship Ministry. She ministers at the 7:45 a.m.
service every Sunday with her beautiful piano music and her desire
to glorify the Lord in what she plays.
Unfortunately, the Sanctuary Organ is out of commission and
has been for some time now so Evelyn can no longer play the organ at
the 10:30 a.m. service because essentially we have no organ.
However, we do have an Organ Repair Fund in the works to pay
for the repair and restoration of the Sanctuary Organ.
Les Holman has graciously put together 2 CD’s that will soon
be available in the Media Ministry Office in the Lower Sanctuary for
purchase with a cash donation.
One CD is a collection of favorites sung by the Praise
Ensemble, and the other is a collection of piano selections that
Evelyn Baldwin has played at our services.
Your donations for these CD’s will go directly into the Organ
Repair Fund for the purpose of bringing our Sanctuary Organ back to
life. We would love to
hear the sound of the organ being played again at our services
especially played by the dearest of organists, Evelyn Baldwin.
We are truly grateful to have the Cox family back at St.
Peter’s. Mary Ann Cox
has stepped back into the reins as our Children’s Worship and Music
Director, and we have already seen the fruits of her labor as the
children presented their special music for this past Christmas
season. In a word, they were AWESOME!
We look forward to seeing and hearing the Children’s Choir
and Hand Bell Choir participate more often in our worship services
and events this year under Mary Ann’s direction.
The Youth did a terrific job leading praise and worship at
one of our Family Services last year, and we would like to see them
continue to grow and develop in this area of leadership and ministry
in the church. What a
blessing to see the youth share their talents and witness like
Augustine on his guitar, and Sasha on her violin, and Leslie with
Sacred Dance. Keep on
keeping on, young people!
The ministries of the Altar Guild, Lay Readers, Chalice
Bearers, and Ushers fall under the umbrella of Worship Ministry
directly under the leadership of our Rector, Father Tony.
Each serves weekly and faithfully, some visibly and others
behind-the-scenes, to help provide what is needed for our worship
services.
These continue to be our faithful leaders:
-
Sharon Hobbs - Altar Guild
with
Marlene Miller heading up the team for the 7:45 a.m. service
-
Charles Bickerstaff – Lay Readers
-
Roy Lightfoot – Chalice Bearers
-
Charlie Arnold – Ushers
I personally want to thank each and every person who has served and
continues to serve as part of our Worship Ministry here at St.
Peter’s. Great is your faithfulness, and great is God’s faithfulness
to us. Blessings unto the Lord and to all of you in 2009.
