June 21st, 2015
Sundays are days of worship, but on this Sunday as the tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina, is still fresh in our minds and hearts, it is also a day for reflection.
Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church is the First Church in the First Town in the First State. It is located at 2nd & Market Streets in Lewes, DE 19958 Tel. 302-645-8479 Website? http://www.stpeterslewes.org
You can imagine how surprised my friend, Cindi, was when I asked her if she wanted to walk around The Churchyard at Saint Peter’s. After all, I had invited her to Lewes to spend the day celebrating her birthday. Graveyard? Birthday? That was not on the agenda, so she thought.
This is a historic Church. It is beautiful in its simplicity. It is an Episcopal Church. The doors of the Church are open 24 hours a day, providing a sanctuary in Lewes for spiritual reflection, meditation, and prayer. I love a totally quiet church. I enjoy visiting them to catch a quiet moment away from all the news and the hectic world we live in. I am in awe of their beauty and strength.
Saint Peter’s Parish was founded in 1681. The original church building was finished in 1724, sat in front of the current structure. A second church, consecrated in September 1808, had a small bell tower. The bell rings every Sunday announcing their services from that tower.
The building in which services are held today was constructed from 1854 to 1858. A steeple was added in 1870 and the Sacristy was added in 1903-4.
Among Saint Peter’s historical possessions are the communion table used in the original church of 1724, a prayer book showing the changes made after the War of Independence, and a silver communion service given by John Penn, grandson of William Penn, on June 10, 1773.
As Cindi and I started to walk the Churchyard her attitude changed completely…from total perplexity to inquisitiveness. She saw other visitors walking around, reading the tombstones.
In addition to the Churchyard, Saint Peter’s owns the oldest cemetery in the state of Delaware. The Pilottown Cemetery was the site of the first western settlement in what is now Delaware. Some of the early colonists are interred there on Pilottown Rd.
The most noteworthy graves are marked and there is information for you to follow them.
The oldest tombstone is the one from Margaret Huling. #17 This is what the inscription says: Here lyeth ye body of Margaret ye widow of James Huling who desert Febry ye 16th in ye 76th yeare of her Age 1707 Born 1631.
The second oldest is #18. It also belongs to the Huling family. It says: Huling mARTHA HIS WIFE deCEST FEBRY YE 1708 IN YE 8TH YEAR of HER AGE. There is a portion of the stone broken so the whole inscription cannot be read.
The Labyrinth – It is an ancient symbol found in many traditions around the world. It is not a maze. It only has one path with no tricks or dead ends. You are not to solve a puzzle, which creates anxiety. The Labyrinth shoud lead us to the Source of our solutions, creating peace. And God knows, we need peace.
Walking a labyrinth becomes a metaphor for spiritual journey. It is used as a form of walking meditation or contemplative prayer. The Labyrinth helps us find inner peace. It welcomes those of all faith traditions and those with no traditions at all.
There is no right or wrong way to walk the Labyrinth. With only one path in….follow it and you will arrive at the center. Each walk is unique. You may want to take a moment to breath deeply and focus on an intention for your walk.
The center is a place of meditation and prayer. As you can see visitors leave some offerings.
Stop by and discover. Have a good one!!
June 24th, 2012
My friend, Susan, and I were out and about in Historic Lewes, Delaware, just a couple of weeks ago, when almost at the end of our stay we decided to visit Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church. Saint Peter’s is located in the heart of Lewes at 2nd & Market Streets. Tel. 302-645-8479. Website? www.stpeterslewes.org.
The Church was open, which is a rarity these days. It was so quiet. We sat down to absorb this small and beautiful church, whose parish was established in 1681. The original church building was completed in 1724, and sat in front of the current one. A second church was built in 1808 and had a small bell tower. The bell that rings every Sunday is from that bell tower. The third and present building was built in 1854.
The Church is surrounded by stained glass windows; “The Story of God in Pictures”.
All of a sudden someone came out and sat in front of the organ and proceeded to play. At first we were the only ones there. A concert for us only. He was probably the director.
If you would like to check the choirs and music at Saint Peter’s, please visit http://www.stpeterslewes.org/#/worship-music/st-peters-organ.
Saint Peter’s has a beautiful Parish Hall that offers school, nursery and also a store with books and gifts.
Saint Peter’s owns the oldest cemetery in the state of Delaware. This particular cemetery is visited all the time. There were people walking, reading all the stones.
I don’t think many of my friends like to visit cemeteries. To me, they are a snapshot of time.
At Saint Peter’s there are about 18 noteworthy graves. They are marked and easy to find.
The two oldest ones are somewhat together, near a wall by the Church.
The oldest stone had inscriptions that were hard to read; Here lyeth ye body of Margaret ye widow of James Huling who desert Febry ye 16th in ye 76th yeare of her.
The second oldest one is also from the Huling family. A portion of the stone is broken so the whole inscription cannot be read. It said: Huling Martha his wife decest Febry ye 1708 in ye 8th year of her age.
We were fascinated with the fact that when reading the dates, we realized some of them lived really full lives.
The grave marked as 8th was the tomp of Caleb Rodney, the 23rd Governor of Delaware, born in 1767 and died in 1840.
The 9th Grave was from Hon. Caleb S. Layton, sometime Associate Justice of the Superior Court of the state, born in 1798 and died in 1882.
The 10th belonged to Dr. Henry Fisher, born in Waterford, Ireland in 1700. He was probably the first physician of eminence in the territory now known as Delaware.
If you are visiting Lewes, please do stop by. They are so interesting.
Labyrinths at St. Peter’s
The labyrinth is an ancient symbol found in many traditions around the world. It is different from a maze; it has only one path with no tricks or dead ends. It does not create anxiety; you are not solving a puzzle. It does lead us to the Source of our solutions, creating peace.
Susan and I decided to walk it. The winding path becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives, touching our sorrows and releasing our joys. It is to be used as a form of walking meditation to help find inner peace, manage stress, make decision and heal physically, emotionally and spiritually. I was following Susan and was trying to follow what she was doing. I don’t think I meditated much. They say that each walk is unique for each person.
After we reached the end…there were offerings left by other walkers.
St. Peter’s offers 2 Labyrinths to the community. There is the outdoor Path of Peace, the one we took. And, then there is the 30 ft. circular Chartres design Labyrinth which is used for indoor guided walks and special events. For more info., regarding presentations, retreats and other special events, contact Mary Van House at 302-684-1652.
Our visit to Saint Peter’s Church was the perfect ending to one pretty day. Susan and I had not seen each other for many years, so spending the day with her was just priceless!!
Have a good one!!
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