Farewell St. Peter’s

Dear St. Peter’s,

It has been quite a journey over the last four+ years that I have served you as your Rector. I arrived on a dark and rainy night right before Thanksgiving 2020. My first Sunday we went into the second COVID shut down and Nerissa Boccino, who was Senior Warden at the time and I waved “hello” to you all via Facebook live stream. We had 3 tripods with iPhones on them in the sanctuary to stream worship.

We stayed remote for months, returning to in person worship in May of 2021. With the pandemic rules, restaurants closed, no in person worship and no coffee hour, no visitations allowed in hospitals and nursing homes, we met on the phone and on Zoom. In the summer of 2021, we rejoiced in returning to in person worship only to find COVID cases increase again in the winter months.

Despite these challenges, we prevailed. We found our routine again in Sunday services, we updated our welcome cards and added holders for them in the pews. We updated the lighting and sound in the sanctuary. We added a young family service at 9:15 which began with 16 and has grown to almost 50 weekly.

We repaired roofs and HVAC systems and installed safer sidewalks. Meditation group and the Men’s Ministry, both of which had been popular in years past, returned reinvigorated with new leadership and new ideas. We repaired the rectory masonry and roofing and installed new windows, we found an amazing new tenant for the Annex building (MPAC from across the street).

We hosted local creative artisan fairs, dog adoptions, big band on the great lawn, carillon concerts, wine tastings, 9/11 commemorations, carillon anniversaries, documentary films, concerts, silent auctions, coat giveaways, vaccination clinics, meals for the hungry, the CoHome Social Club, tango dances, swing dances, AA meetings and annual celebrations, young family playdates, and teen mentor programs and parish potlucks.

We’ve baptized 76 babies and young people and over 30 people have attended Episcopal 101! We started a laundry ministry, built up our support of houseless veterans, continued our support of Nourish NJ and booked Habitat for Humanity work days.

We’ve organized the parish administration, created new financial policies and a finance committee to streamline our budgeting and bill pay processes and begun to update the by-laws. We cleaned up old technology and created an all-community wizard event that sold out in its first year. We’ve launched an organ console campaign that is going extremely well!

St. Peter’s, I was called here as your Rector to rebuild this community and to open our doors once again post-COVID to all who seek God. It is such a gift to see this place come back alive and return to action. I have led you to the best of my ability and I believe that God has richly blessed our time together. Now that you are in a good place it is time for me to leave you. In my prayers and in my heart, I have discerned that my call here is done. My final Sunday will be March 2nd, 2025.

I thank you for your support, prayers and meals during my five (!) surgery recoveries. Your flowers, notes, and kind words on Sunday mornings made all the difference.

As I leave you, please know, I will not participate in Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals or any official pastoral duties after March 2nd. This is a necessary policy for a healthy clergy transition, to ensure that your new clergy will have every opportunity to be your pastors. While I treasure your friendship and am open to contact in the future, it will not be in the capacity as your priest or pastor.

God gifted us this time together and now as our journeys part ways, may God continue to bless and watch over you all, both now and always.

Blessings,
Rev. Anne

The Vestry will be hosting a Celebratory Potluck Coffee hour. Feel free to bring or drop off your favorite dish or bake product to the coffee hour on March 2nd.

We will be collecting a "purse" for Rev. Anne. Please send your contributions to Osh in the Finance Office.