St. Peter’s Church will hold its annual Tree Lighting and Carol Sing this Sunday, November 28. All are invited to the 5 pm supper and 6 pm caroling unless you can’t keep a tune and then you are asked to just hum. I’m kidding, folks, so just step back while the lightning bolt gets me. This is a lovely tradition, and it’s great to see it back after a year off due to the pandemic restrictions.

The Owl could not resist a look over at St. Peter’s History link and that is one interesting read. Did you know that Mrs. Daniel Lamson led the breakaway to St Peter’s Church from First Parish in 1865? And that most of the first parishioners were the ladies…remember the ladies…and they started with informal prayer services in people’s homes. Eventually, they got themselves Weston’s first Episcopal rector, The Reverend Arthur Papineau, who arrived in 1901. My favorite line here: “Armed with a revolver and blank cartridges to frighten off farm dogs, he bicycled seventeen miles from Maynard every other Sunday after conducting services there.” And your teenagers complain about getting to the high school through the wild turkeys and mangy coyotes. Hardcore, folks.

Moving on to the next history link, you learn that in 1917, the first St. Peter’s Church, a “perpendicular Gothic,” which eventually became the Christian Science Church but is now being looked at by a girls’ school, was built on Lamson property at 439 Boston Post Road in a ‘spirit of unity and concord.’ The best line here: “such spirit had its limits, however, and one prominent member resigned over the heated issue of planting ivy on the church’s stone walls. He objected, he said, to the symbolism of a “clinging” plant.” I do not know who wrote this history but I love them and they are immediately hired.

I would suspect one rector named Webster of writing it when this line comes in the next history chapter: “In 1931, The Reverend Stephen Webster, both handsome and charming, succeeded Dr. Cabot and continued the Anglo-Catholic tradition until 1942…” Ummm, what happened to humble, handsome and charming? This is the best stuff I’ve read in a while.  

So, the Church is actually much younger than it looks (no offense, architect)–it was finished in 1959. Here’s a look at them putting the steeple up:

Some of the hilarity of the first history chapters seems to have calmed down by 1992. Also, it needs to be updated to include Reverend Lynn Campbell who was “called to serve” in 2016 and I met just last week at a strategic planning event. It’s a very nice group of folks there — I advise you to check it out.

In any case, come to sup and sing at St. Pete’s on November 28 at 5 pm (sup), 6 pm (sing). Sadly, the Owl has other plans but would otherwise be there humming along…

St. Peter’s Church is located at 320 Boston Post Road in Weston.