St. Peter’s Church is adorned with plaques and memorials throughout the church and parish house, each telling the stories of those who have shaped its legacy. Portraits of past rectors and images of the church’s picturesque campus line the parish house walls, offering glimpses of generations gone by. Though these memorials once held deep significance, […]
A Simple Document with a Powerful Message Read More »
Last summer, Parish Administrator Kate Randall was contacted by a patriotic historical organization composed of and incorporated as the “Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.” Unbeknownst to us, that group had discovered that Elizabeth Matthews Heyward, the wife of one of the signers (Thomas Heyward of South Carolina), had been buried in
The Newest Revolutionary War Marker in St. Peter’s Churchyard Read More »
The little light that is hanging from the chancel is an Epiphany star lamp, but we really don’t know much about it! Every year, it is brought down from its home above and behind the front of the chancel on or about January 6, the start of the Epiphany season, and goes back before Ash
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This article was written by St. Peter’s historian and parishioner Libby Browne. A remarkable discovery has been made in the last year which pertains to St. Peter’s. I was contacted last summer by an old school friend of mine, Phoebe Griswold. She and her husband, Frank, a Philadelphian and the former Presiding Bishop of the
Hidden in Plain Sight Read More »
This special post was written by Libby Browne, a parishioner and historian at St. Peter’s Church. My daughter Katrina and I participated in the streamed March 22, 11 a.m. service at her house in Washington, DC, where I am staying. When it was over, she wondered what St. Peter’s would have been like during the
St. Peter’s in the Midst of the Yellow Fever Epidemic Read More »
This article was submitted by Libby Browne of the St. Peter’s History Committee. St. Peter’s Church has been involved in reaching out to its community since its earliest days, especially after 1832 when it became independent of Christ Church. In the years before the Civil War, the surrounding neighborhood became home to Irish immigrants fleeing
Looking Back as We Look Forward: Open Doors Read More »
This article was written by Judy Van Hoy. One day, 5-10 years ago (I really don’t remember when), I was walking home from my job at Germantown Friends School. As I was walking, either on Greene Street or School House Lane, I saw this beautiful old chair out on the sidewalk. It was out by
The Journey of the Vestry Chair Read More »
This article was written by Libby Browne. Have you noticed that we have new kneelers at the communion rail? Nancy Fago and Elaine Markezin noticed not long ago that the old ones, especially the central one which gets moved around a lot, were almost in tatters and needed to be replaced. It was not possible
This article was written by parishioner Al Heavens. Charles P. Peitz, whose editing skills and encyclopedic knowledge guided St. Peter’s Church: Faith In Action for 250 Years to publication in 2011, died of lung cancer August 23 in Haddonfield at age 62. I knew Charlie at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was fine arts editor
In Remembrance of Charles P. Peitz Read More »
This article was written by parishioner Alan Heavens. George F. Harding didn’t think much of Abraham Lincoln when the renowned Philadelphia patent attorney first met the future president in 1856. In fact, as quoted in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 2005 book Team of Rivals, Harding said Lincoln was “tall, rawly boned, ungainly back woodsman, with coarse,
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