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teacher and practicing artist, had the idea to create<br />
the Stations of the Cross with the students to teach<br />
them about Jesus. She drew the outlines, and the<br />
children carefully painted the scenes.<br />
Each platter had to be painted three times prior<br />
to the firing process.<br />
Services at the church begin with the ringing of<br />
the tower bell using a pulley system of long ropes.<br />
Led by interim pastor, the Rev. Archie Palmer, 82,<br />
with the assistance of several lay leaders, a service is<br />
a combination of readings from the Bible, hymns,<br />
a sermon and prayers leading up to Communion.<br />
Tall and thin, Palmer has only been at St. Peter’s<br />
since June 2021, but his affection for the church is<br />
evident. He refers to the congregation as “dear and<br />
dedicated.”<br />
Preferring to be called Archie, he wears a stole—a<br />
long strip of material worn by bishops, priests and<br />
deacons when officiating at the Eucharist or other<br />
sacraments. His is made of fabric featuring a variety<br />
of images of children of all races. Palmer said he had<br />
the stole made so he could kneel down to children<br />
and ask if they see themselves pictured.<br />
“It’s a way to help them understand that they are<br />
all children of God,” he said.<br />
This message is also offered to adults. While<br />
serving Communion, Palmer asks each person to<br />
say their name out loud prior to him replying, “You<br />
are a precious child of God. The body of Christ.”<br />
A number of parishioners have been longtime<br />
members, coming to the church in a variety of<br />
ways.<br />
Betty Holick, 71, was in search of a new church<br />
after moving to the area from Morristown in 1974.<br />
She found St. Peter’s in the Yellow Pages.<br />
“I walked in, and it was love at first sight. I was<br />
impressed with the people, and they have become<br />
my extended family,” she said.<br />
Terry Pine and his wife, Carrol, have been<br />
members of the church since 2008. “We were<br />
looking to join a church to get involved in the<br />
community. We attended a friend’s wedding at St.<br />
Peter’s and decided to join. We enjoy the people<br />
here,” he said.<br />
Although Puskas was baptized and spent her<br />
youth as a church member, she did not attend<br />
for 20 years, she said. Dealing with her husband’s<br />
terminal illness, she returned in 1992 and found<br />
the “something missing” she felt in her life.<br />
As a small congregation, all members are heavily<br />
involved in church activities and fundraising efforts.<br />
Seven times a year, about a half dozen members<br />
organize a rummage sale held in the parish hall—a<br />
cinder block building located just across a side<br />
street. Purchased in the 1970s, the building was<br />
once a former bar named Dawn Patrol.<br />
Membership outreach includes collecting items<br />
for North Porch, an organization formed in 1984<br />
by the Episcopal Diocese of Newark that provides<br />
emergency aid and baby supplies to mothers and<br />
babies in need. The items collected through St.<br />
Peter’s go to the organization’s Dover location. The<br />
congregation also runs its own food pantry and<br />
supports Family Promise of Morris County, which<br />
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serves the homeless.<br />
The most popular service every year is the Blessing<br />
of the Animals in celebration of Saint Francis,<br />
patron saint of animals. On or around October<br />
4, the Feast <strong>Day</strong> of Saint Francis, the church<br />
welcomes anyone—whether they are members or<br />
not—to bring their pets to be blessed. To encourage<br />
children to participate, stuffed animals are also<br />
welcome.<br />
Another church activity that brings both<br />
members and non-members together is the weekly<br />
Bible study. Led by the Rev. Deacon Jeanette<br />
Hile, 72, the group meets on Thursday evenings<br />
and reviews the readings of the previous Sunday’s<br />
service.<br />
On a Thursday in May, eight women gathered<br />
around a table in the small auxiliary room off the<br />
main church. Although there are deep and serious<br />
discussions about each Bible passage, there are also<br />
lighthearted moments.<br />
A review of Acts 9:1-6 led to a conversation about<br />
miracles, with participants sharing stories ranging<br />
from childbirth to surviving a car accident. As if on<br />
cue, Holick chimed in with her miracle wish.<br />
“I wish a miracle would restore my husband’s<br />
hearing,” she said, and the room dissolved into<br />
laughter.<br />
The members of St. Peter’s Church pride<br />
themselves on being a congregation that sticks<br />
together and combines faith and laughter in all that<br />
they do.<br />
“We<br />
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are like a little family,” said Puskas.<br />
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