Who We Are
A Message from Our Rector
Thank you for your desire to learn more about the life of faith at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Glenside. Here you will find community that is rooted in God’s love, growing through God’s grace and reaching out to all. We strive to be Christ's hands and feet in the world as we live into gifts of inclusive welcome, caring connection and inspired liturgy. Come journey with us in worship and ministry. For more information please contact us at stpeter654@gmail.com.
- the Rev. Barb Ballenger
Our Mission
Worship is central to who we are as people of faith. We believe that our primary act as Christians is to offer up our praise to God. We gather each week to be fed on God’s holy Word and at God’s holy table in the sacrament of Holy Communion. And we offer praise to God through music, following the Biblical example set forth in the Psalms and elsewhere. Having been nourished, we are sent back out into the world to share what we have received in worship and to serve as living sacraments of grace.
Spiritual Growth and Education
With the understanding that Faith Formation is a lifelong process, St. Peter’s strives to offer rich and engaging opportunities to people of any age, offering educational opportunities for adults, children, and youth. We believe that knowledge and education about the world are fundamental to our spirituality. We seek to learn from one another by encouraging and asking people in the parish to teach us the things that they are passionate about. We seek to learn about the world by inviting engaging speakers who are from all faiths and serve as leaders in their communities. We seek to learn from our children by inviting them to lead and be a part of worship.
Care and concern for those among our own community is a ministry we value at St. Peter’s. Whether it is taking holy communion to a homebound parishioner, praying for someone at our Wednesday Healing service, or taking a home-cooked meal to a fellow parishioner in need, we reach out in compassion to our sisters and brothers as a sign of Christ’s love for them. We believe that this kind of care also extends to our ministry of fellowship. We love to eat and drink and have fun together at St. Peter’s and share our joy of being a community with all who enter our doors.
Concern for the world outside of our walls has long been an important theme at St. Peter’s Church. This is one way we believe we are living out Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” St. Peter’s members contribute generously to our Food Cupboard. We donate blood. We reach out by supporting other ministries through our own financial donations as well as collections, such as our backpack project, Layette Sunday, St. James School or work with ECS. We are also committed to ever-widening the circles of fellowship with our sisters and brothers who differ from us in culture, language and religion. We do so through our interfaith work and our relationship with our companion parishes in Guatemala.
A steward is a trusted person who manages property or affairs on behalf of another. At St. Peter’s we believe that we are all God’s stewards, managing in God’s name the gifts of Time, Talent & Treasure entrusted to us. Stewardship begins with our grateful acknowledgment that everything we have - our families, our homes, our work, our abilities and talents, our friends, our ministry and our money - is a gift that has come to us from a generous God. Our mission is to manage our gifts in a spirit of thanksgiving and in accordance with the way of Jesus.