St. Peter's Episcopal Church stands on North Union Street in Smyrna, Delaware, a faith community that describes itself with three simple words: hospitality, hope, and healing. Its roots reach back to a wooden chapel finished in 1744 at Duck Creek Crossroads, and the brick church that replaced it was named St. Peter's in 1764. The present building on Union Street has been the congregation's home since 1828, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as part of the Smyrna Historic District. Today St. Peter's is known for its warm welcome, its food pantry that opens every morning at 9:30, its preschool preparing three- and four-year-olds for kindergarten, and a Hall of Flags that tells the story of Anglican Christianity in Delaware.
Sunday Worship and Wednesday Prayer
The principal Sunday service is Holy Communion at 9:00 a.m., held in person and offered simultaneously online through the congregation's Facebook page. The service follows the liturgy of The Book of Common Prayer and uses the three-year lectionary of the Episcopal Church. On the back of every pew, a bulletin leads worshipers through the liturgy, with hymns led by the choir at the principal service.
Midweek worship takes the quieter shape of Morning Prayer at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. Both services are open to all; no membership or registration is required.
Visitors who cannot attend in person can watch Sunday services streamed live on the St. Peter's Facebook page. Office hours run Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the parish office phone (302-653-9691) is the best way to reach the church between those hours.
Three Centuries on Duck Creek and Union Street
Anglican worship may have taken place in the Duck Creek area as early as 1706, served by missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The first formal record begins on May 17, 1740, when Thomas Green donated one acre of land at Duck Creek Crossroads for a church and graveyard. A small wooden chapel was completed there in 1744, and twenty years later it was replaced with a brick church named St. Peter's in 1764 by the Rev. Charles Inglis, who was then shared between St. Peter's and Christ Church in Dover.
The town of Smyrna gradually shifted south, and by 1827 the old brick church had deteriorated beyond repair. The vestry had it razed, salvaged the bricks, and built a new church on a lot on Union Street, one mile south of the original site. That new building was consecrated in 1828 and remains the heart of the present structure. The Rev. Samuel T. Carpenter was called in 1850 as St. Peter's first rector, ending decades of clergy shared with Christ Church, Dover and St. Anne's in Middletown.
Growth soon followed. A transept was added and the sanctuary extended in 1857, a parish hall in 1872, and a Sunday school wing in 1958. Several small houses in poor condition on adjoining lots were acquired and converted into two parking lots, a backyard, and open green space. Beginning in 1885, the clear sanctuary windows were gradually replaced with stained glass; one depicts the Holy Family and was made in Tours, France, while another showing the Good Shepherd came from Innsbruck, Austria. On May 23, 1980, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Smyrna Historic District.
The Hall of Flags: Heritage Made Visible
A distinctive feature of St. Peter's is the Hall of Flags, a display of the religious and cultural heritage of Delaware. Each flag is given in memory or thanksgiving of a member of the parish, and each carries a written explanation of what it represents.
The Episcopal Church flag pairs the red cross of St. George on a white field, marking the American church's descent from the Church of England, with miniature crosses symbolizing the nine original American dioceses that met in 1789 to adopt the first constitution of the Episcopal Church. The cross of St. Andrew on a blue field acknowledges the Church of Scotland's role in ordaining Samuel Seabury as the first American bishop in 1784. Other flags honor the United States, the Episcopal Church in Delaware, the State of Delaware, Kent County, the Church of England, Sweden (in recognition of the 1638 colony in northern Delaware), the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the Netherlands, the patron saint St. Peter the Apostle, and Great Britain. Together the flags tell a single story: how Anglican Christianity came to the Delaware valley and how St. Peter's parish belongs to that larger history.
A Working Parish: Outreach Beyond the Church Doors
St. Peter's reaches well beyond its walls through a network of outreach ministries that touch nearly every corner of the Smyrna community.
The Food Pantry, housed in the basement of the church, is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., except on holidays. Volunteers staff the pantry, sort donations, and pick up items from Wawa each morning. The pantry served more than 230 people in a single recent month, and ongoing needs include juice boxes, peanut butter and jelly, hamburger and tuna helper, canned tuna or chicken, sloppy joe sauce, mayonnaise, boxed spaghetti and sauce, Vienna sausage, cereal, boxed milk, breakfast bars, and Chef Boyardee.
The Backpack Project gathers every August to fill bright new backpacks with school supplies for second graders at North Smyrna Elementary. More than forty backpacks are delivered each year to students who might otherwise start the year without the basics.
The Animal Ministry partners with the First State Animal Shelter and the SPCA to provide basic necessities for animals experiencing transition or trauma.
The Veterans Ministry supports Home of the Brave, a ministry to homeless veterans that began with Vietnam veterans and now operates a renovated farmhouse on five acres south of Milford, along with a separate home for women veterans. Each June the parish collects paper products, personal items, household items, cleaning supplies, and office products for the small staff and residents.
The DHCI gift shop is St. Peter's oldest continually operating service ministry. More than fifty years ago, Naomi Dunning and a circle of women started a small gift shop for residents of what is now the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill. What began in a closet has expanded into a true gift shop, and parishioners still volunteer and contribute to the auxiliary that benefits residents. At Christmas the parish sends a card to every resident and helps fulfill residents' Christmas wish lists.
St. Peter's is one of several congregations active in the Smyrna-Clayton Ministerium, a cooperative of local churches that serves those in need throughout the Smyrna School District area. Several months a year St. Peter's collects food for its own pantry, personal items for the Personal Items Closet housed at Ewell-St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and money for the Emergency Fund at First Presbyterian Church. The ministerium also sponsors three ecumenical services each year: Good Friday, the Patriot's Day Remembrance on September 11, and Thanksgiving Eve. A free community Thanksgiving Dinner, hosted the Sunday before Thanksgiving, is open to all and is a joint effort of the ministerium churches.
The Prayer Chain prays for the needs of others, and a long-standing tradition invites the wider community into the life of the parish through events such as the Annual Pancake Supper on Shrove Tuesday (with batter from an early-1900s recipe), the Annual Spring Tea, the Flags for Heroes display at the cemetery, the Annual Quarter Auction, the Annual Witches Tea in October, and the Thanksgiving Dinner.
The Preschool Since 1994
Since September of 1994, St. Peter's principal outreach to children and families has been its preschool, which prepares three- and four-year-olds for kindergarten. The program follows the academic calendar of the Smyrna School District and operates on a half-day schedule. St. Peter's participates in the Delaware Institute of Excellence in Early Childhood Education at the University of Delaware.
Teachers use The Creative Curriculum, a developmentally appropriate framework that incorporates thirty-eight objectives aligned with the Delaware Early Learning Foundations and Common Core standards. The curriculum supports dual language learners and includes resource volumes for math and literacy. Through the year, classes celebrate Grandparents' Day, Superhero Dad Day, Mom and Me Tea, a Christmas show, and graduation. Registration for the next school year opens each February, and the preschool can be reached directly at (302) 653-5690 or stpeterspreschool@aol.com.
Parish Life: The Ministries That Hold a Service Together
A worship service at St. Peter's is shaped by an unusually complete roster of lay ministries, all drawn from the congregation. The Altar Guild cares for altar, linens, and vessels, setting up the altar for every weekly and special service and cleaning afterward. The Choir leads music and verbal responses at the principal service and provides music during the offering. The Crucifer carries the cross in procession, lights and extinguishes the candles, holds the Gospel book, and assists the celebrant.
Eucharistic Ministers are licensed by the Episcopal Church in Delaware to assist in the distribution of the Cup at communion and may also read lessons or the prayers of the people. Lay Eucharistic Visitors take the consecrated Eucharist from the Sunday service to parishioners unable to attend because of illness or hospitalization; this ministry requires a license and confirmed adult membership in good standing. Greeters welcome people as they arrive, help first-time guests be seated and comfortable, invite guests to coffee hour, and introduce them to the Rector and members. Ushers hand out service booklets and bulletins, assist with the offering, help the congregation come forward for communion, and pick up items left in the pews afterward.
Bell practice meets every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and choir practice at 7:00 p.m., and the parish life ministries gather for shared work, food, and fellowship throughout the year.
Weddings, Funerals, and the Historic Cemetery
Weddings at St. Peter's conform to the traditions of the Episcopal Church and are open to opposite- and same-sex couples. The parish asks for a six-month preparation period to complete counseling and planning, and a schedule of fees covers building use, clergy, sexton, and musicians. Couples interested in a marriage, union, or blessing of a civil marriage are invited to contact the parish office at 302-653-9691.
The Episcopal service for the Burial of the Dead is offered with both comfort and hope. Scripture readings, hymns, and prayers with Holy Eucharist acknowledge the mourning of those left behind while celebrating the gift of new life won by Christ. Clergy meet with the family to plan the service, and arrangements are made as soon as possible after a death.
The Historic Cemetery on North Main Street, across from the George C. Wright Municipal Park, is the original 1740 gift of one acre from Thomas Green. The wooden chapel of 1744 and the brick church of 1764 both stood on this site before the church building was moved closer to town in 1827. The cemetery continues in active use, and the annual Flags for Heroes display flies nearly a hundred American flags across the grounds, each one dedicated to a hero past or present - veterans, first responders, teachers, family members, and friends.
What Episcopalians Believe
St. Peter's worship and teaching rest on the classical Anglican foundation. The Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testaments along with some apocryphal texts, is read in three or more passages at a typical Sunday service. The Book of Common Prayer, most recently revised in 1979, contains the liturgies, prayers, theological documents, and the Catechism that together are a primary symbol of unity across the Episcopal Church. Spanish and French translations of the Prayer Book are available from the national church.
The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism and the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Mass). Baptism, performed through pouring or immersion, is open to all people of any age and is the formal entrance into the congregation and the wider Church. The Eucharist is the family meal of Christians and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet; all who have been baptized are welcome to receive the bread and wine. Other sacramental rites include Confirmation, Reconciliation of a Penitent, Matrimony, Orders, and Unction.
The Baptismal Covenant from the Prayer Book (pp. 304-305) is widely regarded as the normative statement of what it means to follow Christ. The first four questions follow the pattern of the Apostles' Creed; the next five ask how Christians are called to live out their faith - continuing in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, resisting evil, proclaiming the Good News, seeking and serving Christ in all persons, and striving for justice and peace while respecting the dignity of every human being. Each question is answered, "I will, with God's help."
The two foundational Creeds used in worship are the Apostles' Creed at baptism and daily prayer, and the Nicene Creed at communion. Together they join St. Peter's worshipers with Christians across the world and throughout the ages in affirming faith in the one God who created, redeemed, and sanctifies.
Recovery Meetings and Open Doors
St. Peter's building hosts two recovery meetings that are open to anyone seeking them, regardless of religious affiliation. Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Wednesday night from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous meets every Friday night at the same hour. Both meetings are listed on the parish calendar and welcome drop-in attendance.
A Season of Transition
St. Peter's is currently in a clergy transition. The parish is seeking a full-time priest to serve as its next Rector - someone to partner with the vestry and congregation as spiritual leader, to guide and inspire the parish, and to help it live more fully into Christ's love. The search is being shepherded by the Episcopal Church in Delaware; those interested in learning more about the parish and the opportunity can read the St. Peter's Parish Profile brochure.
During the transition, the lay leadership of the parish is carried by the Senior Warden, Shirley Biddle, supported by Junior Warden Wayne Burris, Treasurer Temple Carter, Parish Administrator Lisa Embert, and the vestry. The parish office, the food pantry, the preschool, and the full round of worship, fellowship, and outreach continue as they have for nearly three centuries, sustained by the same conviction that has held the congregation since the wooden chapel first opened at Duck Creek Crossroads in 1744: that the country of believing is open and free, and that everyone is a citizen there.