St. Peter's Anglican Church Synod

St. Peter's Anglican Church of Port St. Joe is hosting the annual Synod for the ACC-Diocese of New Orleans from June 10-12. We are welcoming delegates from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida to our area. The Mainstay Inn will be the headquarters for our delegates. Meetings will be held at Faith Christian Church in Port St. Joe.

A service of Ordination will be held on June 11 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mexico Beach. This beautiful and ancient service will be held at 6 p.m. CT. There are seven candidates for Holy Orders; two being presented for the Order of Priesthood, two being presented to be admitted Deacons. The three other candidates will be ordained at a later time. Our own small church is proud to be honored with two candidates for ordination. The Rev. Dr. D. Pete Windham will be presented for the Order of the Priesthood, and Mr. Louie J. Little, Jr. will be presented to be admitted Deacon. We have been honored to watch these two men grown in their service to God over the past few years. All seven candidates for Holy Orders are responding to their calling from the Holy Spirit, with Ordination being one of the seven sacraments of the Church. Through the Holy Traditions of the Church, this ancient service continues up to the present. Please join us in celebrating the ordination of these men in their chosen vocation.

St. Peter's Anglican Church is affiliated with the Anglican Catholic Church and the Diocese of New Orleans. Our Bishop, the Rt. Reverend D. Presley Hutchins, will preside at our Synod. We are especially honored that our Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Anglican Catholic Church, the Most Reverend Mark Haverland, PhD, from Athen, GA, and the Rt. Reverend Terry Lowe from Dallas, Texas will be our guests for the Synod.

Many people are unfamiliar with our church and beliefs. We are the Anglican Catholic Church. We are Anglican because our heritage comes from the Church of England. We are Catholic because we are a part of the Universal Church established by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

We maintain the Apostolic Ministry of Bishop, Priests and Deacons in unbroken succession as set forth by the Apostles. We believe that the ancient Faith as declared in the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds and as established by the first seven Councils of the Undivided Church in the first thousand years of Christianity. We know the Bible to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary for Salvation. Our worship is liturgical allowing everyone to be active participants rather than just listeners. The center of our worship is the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We believe Christ to be present in this Sacrament.

We rely upon the seven Sacraments of Grace as the tools Christ has given us to approach God and in turn to receive His blessings. And we are fortunate to have inherited, as part of our Anglican Tradition, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, two masterpieces of the English language.

We are enormously appreciative for the use of the facilities of Faith Bible Church and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Both churches have been more than gracious to welcome our group. Also the United Pentacostal Church where we meet has been more than supportive in allowing us to use their facility. This certainly demonstrates the extent to which our local churches will go to assist other fellow Christians in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In addition, we want to express our sincere appreciation to the Mainstay Inn of Port St. Joe for their warm and friendly manger in arranging for our Synod and the Capital City Bank for the use of their facility. The Gulf County Chamber of Commerce deserves praise for their interest in putting together a packet of materials for our out-of-town guests and delegates. Our community has been wonderful in cooperating with us in this huge effort for our church.

Currently St. Peter's Anglican Church worships at the United Pentecostal Church at 309 Sixth Street in Port St. Joe. Sunday service is at 8 a.m. ET and Bible Study is every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET. St. Peter's Anglican Church began its first service on Nov. 5, 2006 with eight people. We have moved from a mission status to a church status. We have continued to grown and now have 27 communicants. We welcome all and invite you to "Come and See" ... John 1:46.