Welcome to St. Peter’s
Seeking to serve God’s mission of restoring all people to unity with the Creator.
The doors open wide: In the name of Jesus Christ,

St. Peter’s has been a presence in Midcoast Maine for over 150 years. In that time it has evolved from a bastion of traditional Anglo-Catholic Episcopalianism into a proudly inclusive Episcopal parish.
In 2000 the members of St. Peter’s undertook a serious study of who we were and what we saw as our ministry. (See comprehensive long-range planning report at stpetersrockland.org.) The decision to continue investing our energies at our historic downtown location says much about who we are and how we see ourselves: a spiritual community with a sense of service to the people around us. All of these activities occur in our recently expanded and upgraded spaces. A commercial kitchen was created to address the need for a serious outreach feeding ministry. The parish hall, with its labyrinth-patterned floor is a versatile meeting and activity space. Our new carpeted parlor is a welcoming venue for forums and study groups, and it serves as a nursery during church services. New offices, a vestry room and quiet library area are the new heart of activities that keep us vital.

St. Peter’s is surrounded by the Rockland Recreation Center and public playground, the Rockland Public Library, the Knox Center for Long Term Care, and the Knox County Courthouse; and all this is one block away from Main Street and the Rockland Harbor.

Over the exit from the nave is a banner parishioners see as they go in peace to love and serve the Lord. It says welcome to the mission field.

We believe that worship is the center of life at St. Peter’s. We know this is what makes everything
else we try to do happen. We pray well together and our services have a casual dignity in an environment of safety and warmth. Our care for each other and our community starts with loving God and our neighbors. We need to hear the Good News constantly and in ways that give us energy for our work in the world.
We have two Sunday morning services. The 8:00 service uses Rite I and is music free. The 10:30 (10:00 in the summer) service generally uses Rite II and has a variety of music provided by our organist and our guitarist-composer-choir director. A small but dedicated choir leads the congregational singing and performs quality music. Over the years we have enjoyed music written specifically for our services and a joyous combination of instrumentation and chants, sung psalms, and spirituals. Liturgies and music can change widely with the church calendar. We are open to Eucharistic settings of other Christian communities. Our 7:00 Wednesday morning Eucharist combines Taizé chants with liturgies developed by the Iona community. We love our festival seasons and go all out for Christmas and Easter, but we also enjoy the quiet seasons and the richness they offer.